GuerillaZ

Cochin Kochi, Cochin is a beautiful town. It is really part of the Ernakulam conurbation in central Kerala. The Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch traded spices from this port from the 13th century onwards. They still do. A huge Chinese vessel cruised through as I took this picture. The series of Chinese fishing nets left by the Kubla Khan empire remain operational as seen here. Modern Kochi lies in the background. On Making Proper Chai I was telling someone proudly how I used black pepper during the making of my Chai tea when he told me that on no account should pepper be used; only cinnamon, cardomom and ginger. The way to make satisfying Chai is as follows. I found this to be as tasty as anything I've had here. Take 5 cardomom pods and slash lengthwise releasing the some of the black seeds inside. Take a knob of ginger the same size as the end joint of your thumb or even more. Peel, chop and bruise. Crumble cinnamon bark to make a small mound. Put all ingredients prepare...

First of all a big thankyou to Lonely Planet for following this blog on Twitter. The Pariah Dog: Part II A few more thoughts on my favourite subject. The Pariah Dog. These creatures exist in poetic contradistinction to the pampered dogs of the UK, the King Charles spaniel always comes to mind here. I can also boast a co-researcher, a rather alert Danish woman called Mette I met in Varkala, Kerala, who demonstrated considerable acumen when it came to this curious species, the feral canines of the highways. The Pariah Dog leaves no droppings whatsoever. In Paris spoilt pooches, holed up in apartments leave odd orange waste behing them, in England larger droppings can be found. In India droppings are, incredibly, completely absent. The P Dog sets up night communication in waves of howls that run across palm groves and beaches. Like coyotes the howls spring up in an automatic way and all dogs join in. The pack behaviour also appeared when a European family rolled up with tw...