Kerala

Hard to believe that I am in my last week here (last few days as I write this). This has been a crazy roller coaster ride with great highs and some lows. One of my favorite highlights was spending this past weekend in Kerala, specifically Alleppey and Kochi. It was one of the last weekends for a few of the other girls that I have been spending my time with so we opted for a nice relaxing weekend as opposed to going to Mumbai or another large city that would leave us exhausted. Plus by the end of the 6-12 weeks (6 for Ashley and Christina, 8 for me, and 12 for Alissa!) we had seen so many temples, forts, palaces etc that we wanted a new experience. The boarding process was much different than what we were used to. You go through your gate and then take a bus to the plane and take the stairs up. Once on board, I was literally the last seat on the plane, next to the bathroom...

Last Row...

Bathroom or Kitchen, not sure which smelled worse

We flew into Kochi, the capital of Kerala, and drove the 3 hours to Alleppey (should only take an hour but with the traffic related to the metro construction and a car accident it took us 3). Everyone said if come to India and are NOT in a wreck then you are lucky. Ours wasn't bad. Another driver just clipped us. Both drivers got out, yelled, went back and forth and ultimately our driver paid him off. It wasn't our fault but otherwise the police would be involved and it would take 3-4 hours.

A little background on Alleppey. It is a city in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. With its canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, it was described as the "Venice of the East".  Houseboats are the one of the top tourist attractions to take in the breathtaking views and to be on the water. It was so different from any other place I have visited in India. There wasn't honking, there wasn't people everywhere, it wasn't as hot, and there was plenty of lush, green plants and trees. We didn't really do much on the boat but relax, talk, and play cards. Alissa and I, being from the midwest, taught Ashley and Christina how to play Euchre :)



Our Boat

Me, Alissa, Ashley, and Christina

I'm on a boat!

Doesn't even feel like India

#selfie

Pano of the boat

Fresh Coconut Juice

Could get used to that view

Us before we docked for the night

Docked for a sunset dinner

Doesn't get much better than this

Favorite picture from the whole weekend

The next day we woke up and made our way back to shore for sightseeing in Kochi. Kochi is is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Heralded as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading center on the west coast of India from the 14th century. Occupied by the Portuguese Empire in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in colonial India. It remained the main seat of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British. This is why we saw so many CHRISTIAN churches and almost everyone spoke English well. Also, Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India at approximately 93%.

Drive back to the city

Ashley, Christina, and I

Ashley, Alissa and I on the "beach"  Arabian Sea in the background

Arabian Sea

Our next stop, and probably my favorite thing we did in Kochi, was the Chinese Fishing Nets. These nets are large system  that utilize ropes and pulleys. They are fixed to the land and only pull from one spot. The fishermen were nice enough to let us give it a try, for a small tip :).

OUR TURN!

Our Catch

You catch it, you eat it right?

So nice to greenery and flowers

St. Francis Church was built in 1503 and is the oldest European Church in India. It was originally built and founded by the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama and dedicated to St. Bartholomew. Vasco da Gama died in Kochi in 1524. His body was originally buried in this church, but after fourteen years his remains were removed to Lisbon. The church remained Catholic until 1663 when the Dutch captured Kochi. The Dutch were Protestants and they destroyed all churches except for this one. They converted it to a government church. 1795, the British captured Kochi from the Dutch but they allowed the latter to retain the church. In 1804, the Dutch voluntarily handed over the church to the Anglican Communion. It is believed this is when the name changed to St. Francis.

After this we bid farewell to our guide Phillip and headed back to the Kochi airport. Hard to believe I was beginning my 8th and final week in Hyderabad!

My Indian Birthday

I had a few reservations about being over here for my birthday. I do not make a big deal about it but it is still nice to be around your loved ones and do something special. Many of my friends and family said that celebrating my birthday while on this adventure would be unforgettable. They were right about that. For starters, I had the flu the week before and had to cancel my trip to Singapore. On top of this, due to the election the government instituted "Dry Days" or a ban on sale of alcohol. We were notified that the "Dry Days" would begin Monday night (April 28th) and last through Thursday AM (May 1). These "Dry Days" also included closing of a good majority of restaurants.  The real icing on the cake was on the morning of my birthday I woke up with a severely swollen ankle and horrible skin infection. So for the second time in 4 days I saw the hotel doctor. He gave me some antibiotics and said it should get better in 48-72 hours and if not I would have to go to the hospital. Thankfully, it didn't come to this and the antibiotics really worked. I was extremely worried, as I am sure my sisters were as well since I kept sending them gross picture updates. Despite all of these bad things my friends here really helped me to have a good day! It started with a good Skype session <3 and opening of my birthday cards that my mom and sister sent for me. While in the office I had many well wishers stop by my desk and wish me "many happinesses" and they got me a pink birthday cake. I knew from prior rotators that I could expect a "caking" (see Deloitte, G Block post). My only stipulation was to avoid my hair. This did not happen!

Thankfully I did not wear make up today and my hair was up!

The IT SE crew

Attempting to clean up and not get cake/icing everywhere

After work, Kathryn (a manager from the Atlanta office) invited me to dinner at The Westin's Italian restaurant "Preggo!". The food was so delicious. The only thing missing was the red wine (one of the few places here you can get GOOD wine). They were so sweet and told the wait staff it was my birthday and they came out with this dessert and sang to me.

I thought my day was pretty special with TWO cakes but when I got back to my hotel room there was another one waiting for me!

All in all it was a good day despite the bumps, sickness, and re-arranging plans it ended up a good day surrounded by new and old friends. Thank you to everyone that helped make my day special here in Hyderabad and back home. Here's to a 28 being a great year!