COCHIN COCHIN/ KOCHI KERALA INDIA A guest room at Le Colonial Hotel built in 1506 one of the first buildings constructed by the Portuguese in Cochin...
{"Image ImageDescription": "FORT COCHIN, COCHIN/ KOCHI, KERALA, INDIA - 2008/07/15: A guest room at Le Colonial Hotel, built in 1506, one of the first buildings constructed by the Portuguese in Cochin in south India. The mansion was where early explorer Vasco de Gama slept on his many trips to Cochin. De Gama later died in Cochin and was buried in next door St Francis Church.\n\nSettled by the Moors, Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish, Chinese, Arab and British, the cosmopolitan town of Fort Cochin is one of south India's premium tourist destinations. A string of colonial era mansions being transformed into boutique hotels is now reinventing the towns lodging scene. (Photo by Leisa Tyler/LightRocket via Getty Images)", "Image Copyright": "? 2008 Leisa Tyler"}