Cochin ( Kochi ) an important old Port in Kerala, India
I will be adding a brief on Cochin, but until then you can go through the photographs of various places, from the old buildings, the Bishop's Palace, the Dutch Houses, and a boat ride around the shore through the harbour. Then You can visit Chavara South or Tangasseri ( Tangy ).
Cochin or Kochi as it is now called, is a very interesting part of Kerala. Infact, it is perhaps one of the olderst trading sections. A trading port is said to exist since the Roman times, and it was on the main trade route between Europe and China. The Town of Cochin is basically in three parts. Fort Cochin, which is on the seaward side, and perhaps was why the Fort was built to safeguard the city. Willingdon Island, which was a man-made creation of the 1920's by dredging the bay to increase the depth of the entrance to the harbour. The Navy has an established base overe here, and also is where the Cochin Railway Terminus and Airport are located. Across the causeway from Wellingdon Island is Ernakulam. When you are approaching by road from Quilon, you will be able to see the roads branch off to Ernakulam and Fort Cochin. Immediately opposite the jetty at Ernakulam is Bolghatty Island and further away is Vypeen Island. Bolghatty Palace built in 1744 by the Dutch, has now been turned into a hotel, and you will be able to see the walls of the same when you take a boat ride. A picture of this so called 'island' is seen below as part of the Cochin boat ride and Island.
It was from 1795 until India's Independence, the outer part of the island and beach was under the British Colonial rule or political control, while the inner part was under the Kochi State and Raja of Travancore.Because of this division of political ruling, the harbour was not developed till around 1920 - 1923, when the approach channel was dredged to allow any ship that could pass through the Suez Canal to dock safely, thus opening the harbour to then so called 'modern shipping lines'.
Most of the historical buildings are in Fort Cochin, and the Portuguese
fort founded in 1503 is now a ruin.( I did not get to see it). One place
that really was interestng was the Mattancheri Palace. They do not allow
photography there, hence I do not have any photographs, but I am trying
to get some 'official' ones. History goes back that the Portuguese built
the palace around 1557 as a gift for the raja of Kochi in exchange for
trading rights. In 1663, it was substatially re-built by the Dutch who
had taken over from the Portuguese. The Palace is on 2 floors and built
in a quadrangle. It now houses the Museum which has exhibits of the Rajas
of Kochi, such as gowns, palanquins, weapons (mostly spears and swords)
and furniture. The interior is panelled with wood as well as the flooring,
but there are some walls that are covered with detailed mural paintings
from the Ramayana. Other paintings in the rooms adjoining are large murals
which are of the Rajas, and are very realistic and look like photographs.
The ladies chambers are below, but that was closed off to visitors. Adjacent
to the Palace is a Temple that has as a backdrop 
the
Jewish Synagogue.
The Temple is not open to non-Hindus
.
The entrance to the compound of the Mattancheri Palace is through two arches
.There
is a lot of similarity between these arches and those found at the entrance
to Tangassery, which shows the Portuguese influence. Even the side of the
palace seems to have a little bit of the flat features found in the building
of Churches.
There are two pages on the Churches of Cochin, one covers St.
Francis Church 
and
the other covers Santa Cruz and old Churches.
The Dutch Cemetery, is another tourist attraction, and brings history out into the open. The graves however, are not kept well and is maintained by the CSI, and comes under the Francis Xavier Church.
A boat ride around Cochin Harbour and the Island
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A visit to the Boat Club, spending a pleasant evening with a song along the water front.
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The Bishop's Palace , Cochin ( Kochi ).
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Old Dutch style houses, the roof is covered with wood on the inside but very low. Also Some old buildings, a view of the nets on the shore, where one can rest and watch the fishing.
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Kerala , Alleppey ( Alappuzha ), Quilon ( Kollam ), 
Tangasseri
(Tangy), 
Chavara
South, Cochin
(Kochi )
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