Courtney’s Vicarious Voyage...
India: Part 2
By Courtney DeSchepper  April 1, 2012 

The Ganges River was something that will forever stay in my memory. I thought after seeing the Taj and the river I could just get back on the ship because there was nothing else to see. Well, I was wrong. There was so much more that I could see in India, and there was no way I would ever be able to do it all in one trip. 

While in northern India I did a few other tourist activities: saw Gandhi’s monument at the site where he was cremated, the place where Buddha gave his first sermon, but none could compare to that of the Taj Mahal and the Ganges River. After the last day in northern India of course I traveled back to Kochin where I would get to spend two days experiencing a different Indian culture. 

In Kochin, I decided to walk around down town and just see the sights. I saw many unique sights. I saw what was left of the Kochin Fort, the Chinese Fishing nets, St. Francis Church, and many other sites. The Kochin Fort is now just a stone wall near the water’s edge of the Arabian Sea. This fort used to protect the city of Kochin from water attacks during times of war. Now it is just a reminder of the long history that India has. The Chinese Fishing Nets are manmade, hard labor nets that catch fish out of the Arabian Sea. The fish nets are very close to the fort wall, which made a unique view of what Kochin looked like many years ago before India’s independence. St. Francis Church is one of the few working Christian churches left in Kochin. This old Cathedral style church is the place where Vasco De Gama was first buried. Vasco De Gama was a Portuguese explorer who traveled from Europe to India. In our classes before we arrived in India we learned about Gama. The sites were very interesting, but I also wanted to see what life was like away from the cities. 

On the last day in India I went to the back waters. The back waters are a river that flows through the country. This river has a very calm current. I floated down the river for two hours watching what life is like on the river. There are many people who live along the water. They generally have no running water, electricity, and use the river as their main mode of transportation. The people in this area can rely on the river to get almost anything they need. It was a very relaxing and interesting experience.  I learned so much about life in a very rural area of India. 

While in India, I had the opportunity to experience so many different lifestyles from the wealthier cities to smaller very rural areas. I have experienced so much here. I look forward to experiencing the rest of Asia. Until then please read my blog at agirlaroundtheworl-2012.blogspot.com