The Hanuman Temple and the kids traffic park in Kochi

We were very lucky to get a tour of the inside of the Hanuman temple. Most of the temple was having restoration work done, and the sanctuary was closed for the mid-day rest. A priest took nearly an hour to show us around (though not, of course, inside the sanctuary, since non-hindus are forbidden) and tell us stories about Hanuman. Hopefully Maggie will write something here, since Hanuman is one of her favorites, and she's been reading up on him. Basically, he is a half-monkey and half-man god who played a role the Ramayana epic, where he helped Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu) when he was in trouble. He is loved for his selflessness and strength. In this image, he is revealing that Rama (in blue) is inside his heart and guides all that he does. Rama's wife Sita is also shown.

An image on the walls of the Hanuman Temple, with Rama and Sita in his heart.


The walls of the santuary were covered with a six-sided star -- a sign of peace for Hindus. At the center of each star is a shallow bowl which holds oil and a lighted wick when the sanctuary is open at night.


The sanctuary was closed.

In the late afternoon we visited the kids traffic park. You can rent a play car for 3 rupees for a half-hour, and drive around the pretend streets, or climb on the playscapes. Interestingly, the playground has a sort of demon theme, as shown here.


A piece of kid-friendly sculpture. This is apparently a demon who eats people by the fistful.


Karma does the dirty work while Maggie looks on, and Kobi learns to steer.


This little boy tested his English on Tenzin and did quite well until he ran away giggling. A whole school class (in uniform) was visiting the playground

Just before dinner, Mark stopped at tiny roadside liquor store. He thought it was really neat.


Mark bought a bottle of Kingfisher beer and a bottle of Foster's for our hosts at Le Royale.