India

INDIA Five Nights, Six Days
India, probably the country that impacted the emotions more than any other. Larry has coined a term we have used to compare cities/places…”cultural substance” and India has a lot. Diverse religions, historical depth, absolute poverty and an agrarian lifestyle all describe India. Shanty town villages in the shadow of city skyscrapers. India is an experience like no other with many layers of history, culture, religion, lifestyles and peoples. There is an active caste system supported by Hindu practice, even though the government has passed laws against caste driven prejudice. The Moghuls, Arabs and British have all at different times through history, conquered and contributed to the tapestry that is India.
The Indian people are curious about Westerners, wanting to photograph us, and would ask for our picture, as we tried to capture them in them in their brightly colored saris going to and from in their daily life. Although there is a great deal of poverty and miserable living conditions, the poor seem resolved to endure it.
Traveling in the city, one sees segments of the population dressed and living in the Western standard…business suits, cell phones, laptops…and a glance across the street, one sees cows (sacred in India) walking unattended, young children shirtless and shoeless looking for opportunities to relieve tourists of their rupees. In the city and villages you can see monkeys, elephants, camels, dogs, goats, pigs, water buffalo and people all co-existing side by side.
Due to the diversity of the 1.1 billion people, there is no such thing as a “typical” Indian. India has 18 official languages, fortunately for us, one of them was English, although only 5% of the population speaks English. An estimated 850 languages are in daily use. People are everywhere. The country has a frenetic pace. It is exhausting and a constant challenge to mind and body.
Highlights
The ship took port first in Chennai, known until 1996 as Madras. This is where we disembarked and began our Indian adventure. The city was hot and congested. The city population is 7 million. It was Easter Sunday. We visited a Hindu Temple and the Basilica of San Thome, built atop the tomb of the apostle St. Thomas. In the mid afternoon, we boarded our flight for Delhi. The 2.5 hour flight was uneventful and we arrived at the hotel in Delhi eager for a good night’s sleep.
Delhi has a population of 14 million. It is the capitol of India and has a 5,000 year old history. The sights are endless. We visited the Red Fort, built 1638; Jama Masjid, largest Mosque in India; Raj Ghat, sight of Gandhi’s cremation and now a memorial park; Humayan’s tomb, the precursor to the Taj Mahal. Then we went on a rickshaw ride through Old Delhi. It was amazing. The streets of Old Delhi are too narrow for cars and transportation is by bicycle, motor scooter, rickshaw or on foot. The narrow streets are packed with people and shopkeepers selling all manner of goods. The smells, 1,000 year old dust, and sights are indescribable. Ask us to see our video when we get home.
After Delhi, we took a tour bus ride for 5 hours through the countryside to our next stop, Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. In the country side we saw fields of grain, women in colorful saris carrying huge bundles on top of their heads, camels pulling carts, turbaned goat herders guiding their flock with long sticks, and flat, dusty, dry land sprouting several tall chimneys that spewed the smoke of primitive brick factories. All along our route we saw small villages with open air markets, open sewers, water pumped by hand from the village well, and dogs and cows wandering unattended.
Agra is the most popular tourist destination in India. Agra was the capitol of Akbar the Great, ruler in the mid 1500’s. We visited the Agra fort, the tomb of Akbar and of course, the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Both the emperor and his wife are buried at the Taj Mahal. The Taj does not disappoint. We enjoyed every bit of time looking at the monument, although, we enjoyed it more from the outside then the inside.
Our next stop was Jaipur. Jaipur was a 4 hour bus ride from Agra. In Jaipur we stayed at Jai Mahal Palace, a hotel converted from the former residence of the Prime Minister. It was a beautiful and restful location separated from the hustle bustle noise and swarms of people that is India. In the evening we could hear the “call to prayer” from the local mosque. While in Jaipur, we visited the Amber Fort, built 1592. Our approach to the fort was by elephant. Our guide told us all important visitors to the fort had arrived by elephant. It was a fun experience and the elephants are beautifully painted, even the toenails! Jaipur is called the “pink city” due to the paint color of the historic buildings.
After Jaipur, we flew to Mumbai, formerly Bombay, and caught up with the ship for our sail away to Dubai. We had a quick sightseeing day in Mumbai, now the biggest city in India with a population of 18 million people. Mumbai is the home of Bollywood, the Indian equivalent of Hollywood. Bollywood produces over 800 movies a year, twice as many as Hollywood. We visited the open air laundry, and Gandhi’s residence and the birthplace of India’s independence movement.
We returned to the ship glad that we made the decision to explore India beyond what the ship tour desk offered. We were relieved to have completed our journey intact although four of the nine of us traveling together did experience a little “Delhi belly”. In the final analysis, we feel blessed and so lucky to live in America.

Singapore and Malaysia

THREE PORT CALLS IN THREE DAYS!

Today is Good Friday, March 21, 2008. We are a bit fatigued after three very active port days and are happy for a day at sea to relax and rest up. During the past three days, we visited Singapore, Port Kelang for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Penang, Malaysia. We are now cruising through the Andaman Sea and will be entering the Bay of Bengal this evening on our way to India. Once we reach our first port of call in India, we leave the ship for 6 days, 5 nights and explore India on an overland excursion.
Our last blog showed pictures only.. We had a little time at an internet café before getting on the ship. If you are curious about where the pictures were taken, here is a brief description...the picture of Larry with Dennis and Don are on Bondi Beach, Australia. The picture of the Sydney opera house was from our cabin balcony. Larry with chop sticks trying to eat a pea was in Hong Kong. The deity pictures are from the grand palace in Bangkok. All the snorkel pictures are from the great barrier reef tour. The strange looking men with Ruthanne are Aborigines in native costume. The sunset picture of Larry is from our balcony sailing away from Melbourne.
We have many more pictures to share and hope to get them off when we can. Now, here are our impressions of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Singapore
Singapore is an island, city and country-all in one; located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It is the smallest country in Southeast Asia. Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island itself. Singapore’s population is a mix of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and Eurasians with Chinese being dominant. It was once a British colony, becoming independent in 1965, and British influence is evident, cars drive on the opposite side of the street from the US, English is frequently spoken and the colonial architecture.
Today, Singapore has a population of 4 million and is the largest container port in the world. It is a very modern city with many high rise condos to house the population. 70-80% of the housing developments in Singapore are government subsidized. These are small but modern condos and are dotted all over the city. There are very few slum areas and the city is surprisingly clean and orderly for such a huge population in such a confined area.
While in Singapore, we visited the National Orchid Garden. The garden has over 1,000 different species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids. Orchid is the national flower of Singapore. We had a fabulous Chinese lunch after the garden walk and a bumboat ride on the waterfront. We had a drink at Raffles (famous for the Singapore sling) and shopped for bargains in Chinatown.
Kuala Lumpur
Our next stop was Port Kelang, for Kuala Lumpur. The day started with a long drive, 1 ½ hours to reach the city from the port. Kuala Lumpur is the capitol and largest (1.2 million) city in Malaysia. It is the only city in the world to have a million year old primary forest within the heart of the city. It is an equatorial climate (think hot and humid) and has plenty of rainfall. The locals say there are two kinds of weather, “rain and rainy“. Malaysia was once a British colony(those Brits were busy!) and just celebrated its 50th year of independence.
Kuala Lumpur holds the title to the world’s second tallest high rise, the twin Petronas Towers, which we visited. Most of our day was spent sightseeing as much as possible within a short timeframe due to the distance from the ship and our need to get back in time for the “all aboard”. We went to a pewter factory, very interesting, saw the Royal Palace, they rotate the Malaysian King every five years from the royal families, and the Independence Square which is surrounded by the legacies of the colonial era.
Penang
Penang is the most famous island in Malaysia. Priceless architecture centers mainly in George Town, the capital of the “Pearl of the Orient”. A noteworthy fact about Malaysia and Singapore is their law and justice system which relies heavily on caning as a disciplinary measure. Any where from 4 to 36 strokes can be meted out for crimes such as burglary, rape and certain traffic violations. Our guides repeatedly mentioned the effectiveness of the policy to control crime. Once again, we hired a guide to spend the day traversing Penang seeing sites such as the snake temple, the “Wat Chayamankalaram or the home of the 108 foot reclining Buddha, and touring George Town. Overall a good day due, mostly to our excellent guide, Marco. Next stop, five days in India including a visit to the Taj Mahal.

more pictures

Thailand

Thailand--Bangkok and Ko Samui
BANGKOK
The King and us! Wow, what a terrific place to visit. The contrast between Bangkok and Saigon is hard to believe: Bangkok is clean, business oriented and modern while Saigon is the exact opposite. Where motor scooters ruled the road in Vietnam, automobiles were very prevalent on the streets of Bangkok. We visited the Grand Palace which was established in 1782 and it houses not only the royal residence but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is the place where King Mongkut (King and I as well as Anna and the King) did his magic. Known as Rama IV, his impact is still present. The current King, Rama IX, is loved by the people and considered one of the best at the job. 80% of the people of Bangkok are Buddhist and you can see monks walking to and fro to visit more than 400 Temples throughout the city. We also took a boat ride down Chao Phraya, Bangkoks river lifeline. At one time, Bangkok was compared with Venice because of it’s network of canals but most have now been filled in to accommodate the growing metropolis. While on the river, we were given loaves of bread to feed the catfish, with each fish that takes your bread, you get a day of good luck; they were ravenous, good for us! Had a traditional Thailand lunch, overall, delicious but Larry had trouble with the hot, hot, hot soup.
KO SAMUI
A small, sleepy Island with shops aplenty. Not much to say about our two hour walk through the city. It was again very hot and humid, so we decided to go back to the ship for a movie and needed rest.
By the way, we haven’t heard much from the desert, is everything OK? Everyone healthy? Dale, Doug, Tom, how are you all doing? Miss you and all the guys! Dennis and Jane, did the inspection go well? All closed up? Tom and June, how are things at the beach? Has the new road been started? Jennifer, mama June, Jo Bell, Chrissy Gail, Shannon, Beth and Tina, thanks for the news of the family. Katie, let Mikayla know that grandpa is getting sugar free syrup on his pancakes here on the ship. Alec and Isobel, are you back in Belfast? Orin,Bill, Jack and Charles, have you been playing? Everyone healthy? Mike and Natalie, all well with you and the boys? Stephen and Debra, we’re sailing our way to South Hampton on schedule, hope you can make it. You can tell Larry is a bit stir crazy and misses home. Next stop, Singapore.

Saigon, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city (7 million people) in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong Delta. This city was once the main port of Cambodia, before being annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon, it was the capitol of the French colony of Cochinchina. Saigon was also the capitol of the independent state of South Vietnam. In 1975, after the “civil” war, Saigon was seized by the new government and renamed Ho chi Minh City.
Interestingly,there is a saying in Vietnam…”Vietnam is a country not a war”. During our visit we had only four hours to explore and experience the renamed city. We saw a French Cathedral named Notre Dame de Saigon, built by the French and looked hugely out of place given its European design in an Asian city. We then went to the war museum with its anticipated one sided story bringing back sad memories and the reminder that war is an atrocity and all sides share in the tragedy. We walked the bustling, noisy, busy shop lined streets in weather too hot and too humid to be enjoyable. After a few hours of sightseeing on foot, we retreated to the American built Rex Hotel. We were told the Rex was the meeting sight of many journalists, government, business leaders and armed forces personnel during the war. We went to the roof top garden restaurant, relaxed with a beer and watched the activity on the street below.
Half way through our lunch we noticed a developing crowd and the police response on the street below. It appeared to be an expression of civil unrest, perhaps a protest of some sort. The police response was swift, forceful, and included military personnel supported by the police. The protesters were quickly outnumbered and after a few were pulled from the crowd, roughly handled by the military, arrested, thrown into a pick-up truck and driven away, the crowd dispersed. Within minutes, the city was back to business as usual…motor bikes whizzing along, shop keepers sweeping the sidewalks, if you had not been looking on five minutes before, you would not have known anything had happened. We remained at the rooftop garden restaurant until it was time for our bus to take us back to the ship. Next stop, Thailand.

Hong Kong and Vietnam

Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong(HK) primarily consists of HK Island and the Kowloon Peninsula which is part of mainland China. In addition, HK is surrounded by a number of smaller islands, over 200 of them in the South China Sea. HK, of course, was a British dependency from the 1800’s until July of 1997 when the Chinese took over control. The history of how Britain gained control in the first place is interesting and you will have to ask us about the story of the British inspired opium wars in 1841 and 1860 then the retaliation of China (over 100 years later)by threatening to turn off the water supply to HK which was the basis of Sino-British Joint declaration to turnover HK and the Kowloon Peninsula to China.
HK is frequently described as a city where east meets west. On one street corner, there may be traditional Chinese shops selling herbal medicine, Buddhist paraphernalia or bowls of shark fin soup; but around the corner you’d find a skyscraper, theaters showing the latest Hollywood blockbuster or a McDonalds. Frankly, we were stunned by the thriving, modern city with over 7 million people. Larry expected rickshaws, sanpans and bicycles but none of those could be seen, we might as well been in NYC or London. Hong Kong is a progressive, efficient, diverse city in a forest of skyscrapers.
Our day was spent with a wonderful guide (Marco Foehn) who met us at the pier and led us to the star ferry to enter HK. He showed us the highlights of the city, Tea at the Peninsula Hotel, a wonderful lunch at Hunan Garden (we highly recommend it for authentic, delicious Chinese), up to Victoria Peak to see the city from high above and a great three mile walk around Lugard street.
While walking the city, our guide pointed out the clusters of young Filipino, Malaysian, and Indonesian women sitting on overpass pedestrian walkways, under the overpasses, and in commercial plazas where the businesses were closed (we‘re talking thousands of women)
. These women were socializing with their homeland villagers on their one day off, Sunday. The young women are contracted as domestic workers for the Chinese Hong Kong households and gather to visit, eat, and share experiences on Sundays, their day off. Hong Kong households typically have domestic help live in and both husband and wife work outside the home.
Our evening was spent at the Rainbow restaurant on Lamma Island where we had a great seafood dinner and a wonderful harbour cruise.
Chan May Vietnam and Hue
Viet Nam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to the southwest. On the country’s east coast lies the South China Sea. With a population of over 85 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world. Chan May and their new harbor continues to contribute to the strong economic growth of Vietnam Centrally located between historic cities, the working port of Chan May is the gateway to Danang, Hoi An and Hue (pronounced “way”).
Our day was spent on a ships tour to Hue, the historic Imperial City, crowded with historic Shrines, Pagodas and Temples. We were struck by the agrarian life style, shanty homes, unique fishing vessels and most of all, the people. Extremely hard working, every one young and old appears to participate. We observed work in the fields as well as construction work and quarry work being done manually. No heavy equipment to ease the work. The traditional bamboo leaf cone shaped hats and bundles of purchased goods carried on long sticks resting on one’s weary shoulder were visible everywhere. It was also interesting to see extremely few traffic lights on the very crowded streets with hardly any autos. Just buses, trucks and motor scooters, hundreds of motor scooters transporting entire families (sometimes even two adults and young child, on one scooter!). In the city, we noticed cell phones in use. What a contrast of technology when within a few miles, you could see water buffalo
being tapped with sticks to encourage movement in the right direction and farmers using hoes to clear land for planting.
Sorry we missed Larry’s Mother’s 90th birthday celebration, we did attempt a phone call from Hong Kong but it apparently failed. Happy birthday to Desi as well. Next stop, Ho Chi Min City

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
The large Island of Borneo contains three countries: Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu(KK) resides in Malaysia on the NW coast of Borneo in the state of Sabah. The city KK is named after Mt. Kinabalu and has a population of about 500,000. The relatively modern capital city is lively with an ethnically diverse population and continues to grow with immigrants of Chinese and Filipinos.
Upon our arrival, we traveled by small boat to two small islands, one for snorkeling and lunch, the other for a two hour nature hike through a tropical rain forest. Not much wildlife to be seen but we did see lizards, hanging fruit bats, butterflies and a poisonous viper snake, bright neon green.
The rain forest was very humid (95% humidity), dense with vegetation (imagine indoor house plants on steroids), and our guide told us how certain plants were used by the native population. Rattan was abundant and is a creeping plant along the forest floor as well as curling around other trees. It has a spiky exterior similar to long slender thorns. The needle-like thorns are tied to fish nets and also used as darts blown at prey through hollow pipes. The smooth interior wood of rattan is what westerners are familiar with in furniture making.
Borneo has a past history of native head hunters. Even today, some fishing villages are still built on stilts. Local guides say the reason is two fold…one reason was to make it difficult for raiding headhunters to capture people in the night (homeowners lift the entry ladders into the house) and the second reason to allow flooding waters to flow underneath the home. Today the city of Kota Kinabalu has both a mix of modern western style stucco buildings and the stilted wood shacks clustered tightly together in coastal neighborhoods. It would seem for some of the population, the old ways are hard to abandon.
Next stop, Hong Kong!

oops

Brisbane and Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef)
During our stay in Brisbane, it rained cats and dogs- all day. We were met at the ship by a friend of the Kredels (Rob) who was the ex-husband of Jackie Christian from Pitcairn Island. Jackie was a descendant of Fletcher Christian who was the rebel leader of the mutineers on the HMS Bounty and took the Bounty to Pitcarin Is. as a hopeful safe haven. Rob was an excellent host, not only filling in our knowledge of Pitcarin Island, but taking us South to surfers paradise, a famous site in Brisbane. Rain prevented much exploration but we did get to a winery (Thumm) and had an excellent lunch. After a ride around the circumference of Brisbane, we returned to the ship.
Two days later, Port Douglas and the barrier reef…WOW! Our overall experience in Port Douglas was flawed a bit by the news the day before arriving that our contracted Catamaran was cancelled. Apparently there was a communications error since our contractor was prevented from taking Queen Victoria passengers out to the reef. With some astute scrambling by our traveling partner, Don Kredel, we were able to find an alternative and what a trip it was. The trip was especially good since the day before arrival, they had 25 inches of rainfall. We arrived to a sunny, clear and calm day-Feb 29.
We traveled out to the reef for 1 and 1/2 hours and made three snorkeling stops. We swam with sharks, turtles, and all kinds of tropical fish and giant clams the size of club chairs. But maybe most fascinating was the various shapes, sizes and colors of the coral itself. It truly was like swimming in natures own abundant aquarium. Clown fish, unicorn, angel and surgeon, big spotted trigger, harlequin fish-the list is endless. The coral (a living animal) were all colors of the rainbow and fluorescent, truly natures own Las Vegas strip.
The whole event was probably one of the top two experiences of our cruise to date. Ruthanne was, at first apprehensive (due to the reef sharks and stinging jelly fish) so we snorkeled together holding hands. But after about 20 minutes she became quite comfortable and wandered out on her own. Next stop, after 5 days of cruising, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Brisbane and Port Douglas (The Great Barrier Reef

Melbourne and Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef)