Indian Finale With Food And Sabbath

I am in a lovely restaurant in Fort Cochin with classical Indian music.  It is at a hotel and I am sitting outside.  This is the first good restaurant experience in India.  it is also the most expensive the price yet to be determined.  However the atmosphere is great and so far I have had batter fried cuttlefish with green chili sauce. I am waiting for my spicy crab fry.  Not what I expected.  A big mound of crab meat with rice.  Not a shell in sight.  Kind of like a crab cake but no eggs to hold it together.  If I had known I would have had the tandoori prawns because I am not crazy about the dish.  However I haven't eaten all day so I will force myself.  The atmosphere is still nice.  I did not finish the crab fry.

This part of India is so different from where I have been before.  There are churches everywhere and I presume the predominant religion is Roman Catholic with a few other Christian denominations thrown in.  I know there are some Hindus and I have seen Mosques and women with headscarves but they seem in the minority.  Tomorrow I will see Jew Town.  I don't know if there are really any Jews left.

Went to Jew Town today, Saturday, and since it is Sabbath the Synagogue was closed but since I am a Jew I went in for services.  They probably have trouble finding a minyan but with Jewish tourists they certainly had one today.  I am not used to being a second class citizen and the women are relegated to a small place in back of the main room.  However, it was interesting.   There is a police station adjacent to the Synagogue.   

Sunday tomorrow morning I leave my hotel at 1:00 AM for my flight at 3:45 AM to Bahrain.  There I take a plane to Amman, Jordan but my flight to Tel Aviv has been changed from 4:00 PM until 9:00 PM so I have eleven hours to kill in Jordan.  Hopefully I can get a visa at the airport (which I need anyway to go to Petra) and go into the city for the day. 

I am getting tired.  I look forward to my arrival in Israel.  I need my hair done, I am grey around all the edges.  I need to find some basic things which I am sure will be easier in Israel.  I was looking for a food odyssey around the world but besides Vietnam and Thailand I have been disappointed continuously.  I miss my home which is unavailable so I will persevere.  It is both a vacation and a difficult journey.  

Glad for the experience but getting tired.