I'm back to obsessing about my retirement destination halfway around the world! This is a new series of posts about what I see into the future for “God's Own Country” - Kochi. Kochi’s future is intertwined with its role as a trade port. Kochi originated from Muziris, the legendary spice-trading port city, which led to the ‘Spice Route’. Kochi’s location gave it the name ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’. The crown jewel of Kochi’s port (called Cochin Port) is Dubai Port World's Vallarpadam Transshipment Terminal. The government-owned Cochin Port is spread across two islands: Willingdon Island, which is India’s largest man-made island, and Vallarpadam Island, which houses Dubai Port World's Transshipment Terminal. Dubai Port World's Vallarpadam Transshipment Terminal (started in 2011) competes with Adani's new Vizhinjam port (started in 2025), which is just 180 nautical miles away. Like the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports made Califo...
Kochi - Asia’s Largest Natural Christmas Tree & Asia’s largest art Biennale coincides to herald a secular, sustainable paradise for artists!
Asia’s largest Christmas tree Kochi has a 25-year-old tradition of decorating Asia’s largest Christmas tree. This natural Christmas Tree is located in Veli Ground, in a locality called Fort Kochi in the older part of Kochi City in Kerala, India. The lighting of this Christmas tree draws huge crowds, with up to 50,000 visitors each evening during the Christmas period. This is a natural Christmas tree, an existing rain tree, estimated to be around 200 years old. The rain tree is decorated with lights and ornaments every year for Christmas celebrations. Every year, the Christmas tree is lit up in a different color, and it is yellow this year. The Christian population in Kochi (and the state of Kerala) traces its roots to St. Thomas the Apostle and can be considered among the oldest Christian communities in the world. The people here have a strong secular civic identity, often attributed to high literacy and long social reform movements, and you’ll find temples, churches, and m...