A relaxing cafe by the ocean, a nice place to have a coffee or lassi in Fort Cochin

A JEWISH community was set up here 2000 years ago and the Synagogue dates back to 1568. It is in the centre of the Spice Trade area known as Jewtown and the narrow streets are fun and picturesque.

Women stroll around wearing beautiful saris and scarves floating behind them or they sit sideways, demurely on a bike or motorbike while their man drives with the children in front of him. The women’s lustrous black hair is worn long often below the waist .The men here dress differently. They wear a long skirt like lunghi often in white but they fiddle with it constantly and most usually hitch it up half way and tie it loosely in front which looks a bit like a bulky nappie. It looks especially strange when they are cycling. They seem to have to arrange it again every few minutes and often there’s a big expanse of leg showing as they do so – same legs are frequently matchstick thin especially in old gentlemen. Spreading it out wide looks as if they are about to flash. The shortness probably suits the humid climate and many of them do not wear anything on top around work or the house.