R. Doug Wicker — Author

Celebrity Millennium overnighted in Kochi, so we actually got two cruises local cruises in. On 21 November 2025 we had an evening cruise along the Kochi Backwaters (Vembanad “Lake” which would more appropriately be called a coastal lagoon), and on the next day we traveled by tour bus for two hours to get to the Kerala Backwaters. For now, I’m going to show you a couple of pictures from the 21st, and after that you’ll be treated to our houseboat ride on the 22nd. The Aspinwall House pictured below was built by John Hutchison to headquarter his Aspinwall & Co. trading company, established in 1867. Alas, the structure seen today is not the original, as that building was gutted by the Great Fire of Cochin (now Kochi) in 1889. What you see below is the building that rose from the ashes in 1890:

Right next door to Aspinwall House is the Indian Coast Guard DHQ-4 Headquarters.

Another day. Another cruise. Early the morning of 22 November we loaded up onto a bus and headed south for a houseboat cruise in the Kerala Backwaters. Same basic body of water, just much farther south. And here we would be traveling in luxury aboard a kettuvallam, a type of houseboat widely used for tourism in Kerala.

We were just here for a day journey and onboard lunch, but I must tell you that I wouldn’t mind spending more time on one of these because…

I’ll show you more on this fascinating cruise next week. Until then, I’ll leave you with this photo gallery/slide show to whet your appetite:

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The image above represents an iconic Kochi site — Kochi’s world-famous Chinese fishing nets. Their technical name is shore-operated lift nets, but Chinese traders and explorers brought the concept with them to the Malabar Coast of India and the name stuck. At any rate, they’ve become quite the tourist attraction both here in Kochi as well as Kollam, about 3½ hours south by automobile. Unfortunately, the lighting was not ideal to capture the truly stunning images for which these nets are known. For that you need the Golden Hour and a cooperative sunset. Now for a closer view of one of these massive, cantilevered contraptions:

From the shoreline in the Fort Kochi district we started heading south passing along the way the Old Harbour Hotel:

And another fun sight:

But our next destination was approaching quickly — Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica:

This is a relatively recent (1905) church, although the diocese dates back to the early 16th century and Pope Paul IV elevated the original church to cathedral status in 1558. Time to look around both the exterior and interior of this historic church:

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