Playing Tourist

The smells had dissipated so breakfast was taken on the roof at a leisurely pace.  The day started with a ride to the Dutch Palace (built by the Portuguese but rebuilt by the Dutch) during which we became caught up in marching drummers and an elephant!  Here we were given a bespoke tour, then we wandered through the tourist shops with demos of sari cloth weaving, incense stick making, perfume essential oil extraction, and other tourist retail treats.  The excursion finished in a waterside cafe where we had a welcome sit down a cardamom tea and a lime soda.  Then it was back for lunch at the hotel and a bit of chill time before the next muster and walk out for another cultural experience: a demonstration of traditional Kathakali dance which told a small part of a story that would otherwise continue for many hours. The demo started with the donning of the makeup, included key features of expression of emotion, and culminated in the dance. All fascinating, but the whole saga would have been tough to sit through!  This was followed by a rather over-long meal at the Seagull restaurant, and involved way more walking than I was comfortable with. Happily, we managed to leave ahead of the main party (the wonderful Jomy had the minibus on location so 6 of us got a lift back to the hotel). After all, this is the last day and it's an early rush to the airport tomorrow!