India – Cochin and Mangalore

Welcome to India - where revered elephants are carried by truck and cobras are sacred!

Our first two ports were in the South of India - both are high growth areas with skylines full of new apartments.  Both our guides lamented the changes to their 'sleepy' backwaters, but...

Cochin

South Indian city states Cochin (Kochi) and Mangalore are only 350 kms apart: Canberra to Sydney.  But felt so different.

Cochin was settled by the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British.  It is the capital of the state of Kerala which has a (rapidly expanding) population of 4.4m.

Busy street scene Cochin - rickshaws and motorbikes everywhere

The Chinese left a legacy of fishing nets still in operation – though now mainly a tourist destination.

Chinese designed fishing nets over 50 years old

The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama found the spice route to Cochin round the Horn of Africa in 1497 (he got the correct country unlike C. Columbus Esq), and this opened the door for the first time to Western settlement and the oldest Christian church in India, St Francis. Vasco da Gama died here in 1524, and was buried here at St Francis, but his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539.

St Francis Church, Cochin. Built 1502 (pic, Wiki)

It is very ethnically diverse and the rate of Hinduism as a religion is less than 60% with even a small Jewish population.  It enjoys 94% literacy rate and the regional education is in demand by those outside the state.

 It remains the centre of the spice trade of India but also of coir matting – so next time you wipe your feet, think of Cochin.

Outside of Cochin in the state of Kerala, are the ‘backwaters’: a network of 1600 kms of freshwater channels and lakes once known as the “Venice of the East’ – for once almost deserved.

Venice of the East - it's certainly busy enough

The backwaters are home to a thousand houseboats who ply the waters to provide a day trip for local families or for longer stays for the more adventurous.

Houseboat full of happy campers - Kerala backwaters

 It was so peaceful after the bustle of the city.  But many people live here full time and the water is their road and they grow rice in paddyfields dug below the water level so they automatically flood during the monsoon season.  They travel by unique 'snake boats'

Snake boat: Kerala backwaters

We enjoyed its serenity - this has been a hectic trip

They promised tranquillity...

We were also treated to a fabulous lunch on the way, complete with traditional drummers

These guys were giving it all in 40 degree heat

Candy decided this was the like to become accoustomed to.

This is the life!

Mangalore

Mangalore is a city of about 600,000 people built around the hills of the Western Ghats.  This was very different country to the Kerala backwaters: a land of snakes where the Cobra is king and each family has its own shrine to their cobra.  We did see any live ones, but the hills are very rugged.

Whilst Mangalore had the same sort of settlers as Cochin, in addition it had German settlers who bought printing and tile making.  Even today there are small roadside printing presses, but the tiles are everywhere and are still being made from the local red clay largely in the traditional manner.

Traditional tiled house

Useless Trivia #3: In this part of India, Muslim families paint their houses green.

Mangalore, like Kerala, has a very high literacy level and women here outnumber men.  The women are noted for their beauty and their strong, independent manner. Noted actress of Bride and Prejudice Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World, is from here.

Aishwarya Rai - just a local Mangalore gal

 Of course, it all comes unstuck when it comes to the huge bride-price dowries the woman’s family need to come up with.  Arranged marriages (legal) and dowries (officially illegal) still occur in 80% of marriages, although the tradition is moving towards the western model.

We had come to Magalore to see the 'Temple of a thousand pillars' at Moobidri dating from 1430 - some of the carving was amazing.  This is a Jain temple - a mysterious religion of 5 million adherants whose primary message is non violence.  

That's a 20 metre high statue, but you had to be Jain to entr the inner sanctum

Wonderful carving in the temple

We then moved across to Karkala to see the monolithic statue of Lord Gommateshwara.  The view at the top of the hill across to the Western Ghats (rugged home of some tigers etc.) is pretty amazing

The rugged Western Ghats from the temple 

The statue is 20m high and is one of the world's largest free standing statues.  It dates from around 893 A.D and how it found its way to the top of this hill remains unclear. Some parts of the anatomy were behind scaffolding...

Scaffolding in strategic places

On to Goa next...

Ambassadors for Burma

In Rangoon with Kan Daw Gyi lake and Shwedagon pagoda in the background

At 55 million people, Burma remains one of the more forgotten places in South East Asia.  Yet it is the largest, richest in terms of natural resources and most ethnically diverse with around 135 different groups.  Since 2007 its capital is Naypyidaw (rolls off the tongue) which has replaced Rangoon (Yangon), the commercial capital. There is a chance Myanmar will be renamed Burma formally and Yangon Rangoon, but because of the billions spent on establishing the new capital at the whim of the then government, the new capital will not change.

Due to the political turmoil that has wracked the country over the last 50 years, many decisions made beggar belief.  An example is the decision to change from driving on the left hand side of the road to the right in 1968, taking effect in 1970.  This was due to advice given to the country's then leader General Ne Win by his astrologist that he would live longer if it was changed.  The General lived to 93, but most of the vehicles on the road are Japanese imports fitted for left hand drive.  Chaos anyone?  Buses need to have a 'look out' person as well as a driver.

Japanese car imports all right hand drive waiting for their new home in a left hand drive country

Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s history is well known but for decades it was forbidden to mention her name for fear of reprisal – she was known as ‘The Lady’.  She is currently the powerful advisor to the President – although she is unable under the Constitution to be President herself as her children have foreign passports.

Theravada Buddhism is a mainstay of life in Burma

Buddhist monk in Rangoon

and each boy (and girls if they choose) must enter a monastery at least once in their life and this can be as early as 7 years of age.  We were fortunate enough to witness a novication (initiation of novices) ceremony

Novication ceremony at the Shwedagon pagoda

and be part of monastic life by attending a meditation ceremony plus be part of a presentation of donations to the monks and novices in the town of Thanlyin.

Monk accepting a donation from Paul

Buddhism also dominates the architecture and most famous is the Shwedagon gold pagoda in central Rangoon.  It is covered in 60 TONS of gold and is topped at its 100 metre spike with a 76 carat diamond.  It is astonishing in its richness and its importance to the local community. 

Some passengers observed that the wealth lavished on it could be better spent on the community in general, however the numbers of visitors to the site every day indicate the richness they derive from its presence will be felt for generations.  It dates to 2600 years ago according to legend however it has been added to many times since that date.  Our guide informed us that a UNESCO Heritage Listing for it had failed as the local population were reluctant to allow the research into its history due to the sacredness of the site.  The days of the week people are born are important to its adherents and we gave offerings in our respective ‘corners’.

A giant reclining Buddha

Like some neighbouring countries, Burma was a British colony from 1885 to 1948.  Unlike its neighbours, Burma chose to sever all ties with Britain with independence choosing not to become a member of the British Commonwealth and cricket is not played.  Some British buildings remain: the Strand Hotel, formerly a Sarkies Brothers' hotel like the Raffles and E&O in Penang has been beautifully restored - no swimming pool, extra modern wings etc.

The beautifully restored Strand Hotel, Rangoon.  Home of the memorable 'Strand Sour' cocktail

But the Strand Sour - a drink to rival the Singapore Sling remains.  We saw a magical traditional marionette show in the ballroom.

Traditional Burmese marionettes

And the country also suffered tremendous losses to the Japanese during WW2 from March 1942 to July 1945 - some ancient buildings we never rebuilt.

A none too beautiful housing complex, Rangoon

Other colonial buildings have not fared as well and will probably be restored as Hotels - with swimming pools.

Shell of a colonial building awaiting restoration

Burmese people are catching up with technology – a SIM card now costs $1 compared to $1500 five years ago.  They are happy, generous people who are optimistic about their future and are keen to overcome the horrors of the past.   There is a long way to go – infrastructure is poor, education limited and is neither free nor compulsory.  Wages are low but the natural resources the country has in oil, gas, precious stones and teak will augur well for its future, if managed well.  Housing remains basic and 75% of the population rely on subsistence farming for their livelihood. 

Typical farmhouse and rice paddy - no irrigation so just one crop a year

Just about everyone wears the traditional dress of a sarong like garment called a longyi.

Paul with our (highly entertaining) guide Giovanni who's wearing a traditional longyi. Why a guide has an Italian name is too long a story to tell here.

The lifeblood of the country is the enormous Irrawaddy River (The Road to Mandalay in Kipling parlance; there are no flying fishes BTW) which flows north south from the Himalayas to the Andaman Sea/Bay of Bengal.  It is hoped a dam planned on the river to supply power to China can be overturned before it cuts the country in half.

Ambassadors to Burma?  We were asked to take back to our respective countries the positive aspects of Burmese life: the food, the culture, the amazing architecture and the warmth of the people.  Tourist numbers are low, but they would love others to experience their land before it becomes too commercialised – we would love to return.

Bill's day at sea on the Voyager

Bill from the (now defunct) French TV show le Bigdeal, travels with us in lieu of Alexander who stays behind to mind the house and lone remaining budgie.  He's very blue and cheeky and fellow passengers and crew either love him or hate him.  Look, it's all a bit silly, but...

He made his first outing last night at the swanky 'Signatures' restaurant, toasting us all with a bottle of Veuve - of course.

Suzie, Candy, Bill, Roger and Paul. Veuve champers, of course!

Bill and Suzie having a 'tete a tete' over dessert

This morning Bill joined us for breakfast of Eggs Florentine in the lovely La Veranda restaurant

It appears only Candy, not Bill eats spinach

We are rather spoilt by our lovely stewards, Aprilyn and Jerix, both from the Philippines.  How they can be so cheerful whilst cleaning up after us is quite an achievement.  Our room is the smallest on board: 33 square metres plus 5 sq m of deck, so we're doing OK.

Our room before Jerix and Aprilyn

Jerix our Room Steward with Bill

We don't get to Yangon/Rangoon in Burma until this afternoon.  Plenty of time for a quick dip - it's hot and there's not too many people out in the sun - 

Anyone for a quick dip?

Bill likes living dangerously - the 11th floor atrium is quite high

Bill the risk taker

There's always time for a coffee with Roger and Suzie

Funny looking coffee - see the Illy tins in the background

Before having a quick snooze on the deck as we glide along the Yangon River into Rangoon

Life is good!

Pha Nang Bay, off Phuket, Thailand

Pha Nang Bay is probably most famous for its role in the James Bond Movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun', but really it had to be that spectacular to get a guernsey in the first place.

Situated on the Malacca Straits (is this a theme?), it is 90 minutes drive from Phuket, a long established holiday spot for Australians. The Thai architecture looked a little different from the Malay, but certainly had the haphazard wiring of Cambodia 

They obviously don't have flocks of Galahs here

Thailand is a strongly Buddhist country and this reclining one was visible from the bus.

A resting Buddha

We travelled in a slow covered boat amongst the spectacular limestone rock formations. Weather was fantastic and these are the 'cheap shots' from Candy's point and shoot camera. Can't wait to see the decent ones.  There's a tiny village at the base of one of the formations and there's evidence of habitation in this area from 10,000 years ago when you could walk between the islands.  50% of the village are employed in the local fishing industry, the other 50% sell trinkets to tourists to keep their local school in good shape.

See the small fishing village at the base of the rock

Here's the village up close - we bought some trinkets to support the local school

Ko Tapu is the real name of the best known of the rock formations but is known by locals and tourists alike as 'James Bond Island'.  It's actually only about 20 metres high, but feels bigger, probably due to the narrow base.  Its neighbours were higher.

We sadly didn't land here, but it looked inviting

There's a healthy tourist trade with a variety of boat options.  Paul had been hoping to zip between the islands but was in a sedate, covered and comfy one instead.

This is the boat Paul WANTED to be on

The 'James Bond' island

Malaysia: Malacca and Penang

We explored these two iconic destinations on consecutive days – so similar yet so different...

Malacca

Malacca, or now Melaka in the local Bahasa Malay language is the older and more historic port – and had more tourists.  Apparently it’s named after a tree.

It was a 2 hour drive from Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur’s port) along the romantically named North South Expressway and faces the strategic Malacca straits - for centuries a centre for both pirates and seafarer’s battles. We must have passed two billion Palm Oil trees, now grown responsibly and mulched rather than burned according to our guide. It is seen as a modern city and promoted as such by the government.

Don't mess with Malacca/Melaka

Malaysia has emerged as a well-educatedand developed country proud of its progress beyond the colonial past with low unemployment and much to encourage the younger generation to stay and develop the country further.  Unemployment stands at about 3% and there are tax breaks for low income earners (under $A400 per month) and for those who buy locally produced cars.  We saw plenty of Beemers and Mercs, though.

The Portuguese arrived in Malacca in 1511, were ousted by the Dutch in 1662, the British in 1795 and the Japanese in 1942.  The Federation of Malaysia was formed in 1963.  Elements of all these cultures remain – though the Japanese tenure was very brief.

Catholic Church from 1710

Malacca, like Penang has a UNESCO World Heritage listing based around its unique mixture of Malay, Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisation – and the Nyonya Baba culture: the mixture these races created.  Nyonya food – a blend of the best of Malay and Chinese cuisine is popular in Australia.  There’s also Chitty (Chinese/Indian) but for some reason hasn’t quite taken on as well.

We strolled down Jonker Street and grabbed some food, but I suspect it would have been livelier at night.  The distinctive shop-houses are narrow and long as they were subject to taxation based on house width, and window and door taxes.

Jonker St Malacca

Malacca wa one known as the Venice of the East

Dutch and British influence in Malacca

Chitty transport - very tasteful

 George Town, Penang

George Town, the principal city of the Malasian Island of Penang was established by the British captain Francis Light in 1786 and named after George II, the British monarch of the day.

Australians have an affiliation here as the Butterworth airbase, manned by up to 4,000 Australian airforce personnel and their families from the 1960s to 80s, is just across on the mainland - now connected by bridge, but previously it was ferry only.  200 personnel remain for regional training purposes.

Useless trivia #2.  George Town is the only place known with a railway station but no railway.  You buy a ticket at the Penang Railway Station, catch a ferry to the mainland, then hop on the train.

St George's Church built 1818

 Unlike the rest of Malaysia, the Chinese is the majority race, although by law, should they choose to marry a Malay person, they must convert to Islam.  Schooling in Malaysia is divided by ethnic groups  in which each of the three major groups of Malays, Hindu and Chinese follow the same curriculum but in different languages.  The lingua franca of the area is known as Manglish.

The very well off Khoo family compound in George Town was open for our visit; although still owned by the trustees of this now very large family, most live elsewhere, including Australia.

The incredicly eleaborate late 19th C Khoo family compound, Penang

 Education is extremely important in Chinese culture; the Khoo family made no exception - the results are on public display - I don't think failure is an option.

Khoo family 'honour board'

 Penang was an early British colonial destination of refined pleasure - beach is quite lovely and the breezes welcome.  The Sarkies Brothers of Raffles Singapore fame also established the Eastern and Oriental Hotel (E&O to the locals) where we had lunch - and tea, of course.

Elegant E & O Hotel on the beach, Penang

Doorman in pith helmet at the E & O

 For both Malacca and George Town to maintain their UNESCO Heritage listings - and funding - they must restore the historic buildings - some of this is still underway

A work in progress?