I have been watching a lot of tutorials online.  It’s my new fascination.   Some of the great ones are: Angry Chicken, That Darn Kat, How About Orange, and there are so many more.  These have inspired me to create my own tutorial.  This is my first one and isn’t the best, but it’s pretty good. This is a super easy project so if you are a beginner, this is perfect for you.

This is a basilica that people said we must go see.  The original church was built in 1524, but destroyed by a flood.  This current church was rebuilt in 1676.  Around here they call it “the sweeping church” because there is a little shrine in front of the church with a pile of brooms off to the side and to pay respect you take a broom and sweep a bit. When we arrived I was amazed at the space around the basilica. There is a large area for people to come and worship outside. The area is surrounded by large artificial tree trunks. Inside the tree trunks are scenes from important times in Jesus’s life. There are about 40 of these surrounding the grounds. This place was really quite amazing to see. Check out some of the pics.

This is the area where the sweeping is done. On the right side are the brooms.

Diwali is an official holiday here in India.  In short Diwali is the Festival of Lights.  You can read the whole description of Diwali here.

We shot off a bunch of fireworks in celebration.  The fireworks here in Kochi are a lot more scary than the fireworks in Utah.  One of them actually shot a bunch of times into the air and a piece of it came down and burned the top of my head.  It hurt, but I survived.  The sound of some fireworks is like bomb going off.  All in all, the celebration was a blast (haha).

Here is a short video that Liji filmed. Around 1:27 you can hear me say “It landed on my head.” That is when it burned me.

I have been waiting to write a post to share how amazing the Ramada Resort here in Cochin is.  Liji took me there for my birthday and it was just what I needed.  I have been on hiatus from my life in Utah now for two and a half months and so far it has been not what we initially planned.  I have been a bit stressed about the changes in our plans that have taken place and this hasn’t been as enjoyable as I thought it would be.  Thus, the trip to the resort was an amazing get-a-way.

I have never been to such a place.  The Ramada Resort in Cochin is just about 15 km from where we live, but it felt like I was thousands of miles away.  The resort is nestled right along the beautiful Kumbalam backwaters where you can watch a few villagers take their boat onto the water each day to fish.  I was able to enjoy the views of the backwaters from the infinity pool that is 90 meters long.  You can also enjoy this view from the cottages that are available or you can choose to stay in a room in the hotel, which is what Liji and I did.  The room was very comfortable.  The service throughout the entire resort was amazing.  When you stay at the resort you get a complimentary breakfast buffet each day that you stay.  The breakfast buffet has traditional south Indian food (fresh made dosa upon request, idle, curries, etc.) as well as western food (fresh made waffles upon request, toast, croissants, cereal, etc.).  Fresh juice is also made right in front of you.  The restaurant staff is very friendly.  The landscaping makes you feel like you are in a magazine.  It is incredible beautiful and it is surrounded by many different exotic flowers.

In the US a resort like this might be around 300-600 dollars.  The price listed was Rs. 10,000 ($200.00).  Liji sent them an email asking if we could stay for Rs. 5,000 ($100.00) and they agreed.  I am sure this is because it is off season here.  Come December I am sure the place will be regular priced and full of people.  There are something like 18 cottages and 24 hotel rooms so I can’t imagine the place would feel crowded even if the resort was fully booked.

I can’t wait to return there for another stay.  I give the Ramada Resort, Cochin 5 stars.  It was luxury without the price of luxury.