May 12, 2019 - Sea day #372 no D says just #12

We are in the Indian Ocean going around the bottom India near Sri Lanka. When we get to the Andaman Sea we will be close to our destination of Penang Malaysia. There’s some “rock the baby “ ship motion today. Last night to put the clocks ahead another hour. Soon it will be tomorrow without having yesterday because tonight we will set the clocks ahead yet another hour. While D napped I spent some time researching why the cow became sacred in the Hindu religion. There are lots of explanations not all the same and no beginning that I found....

May 11, 2019 - Cochin is Mumbai lite

We were out the gangway and on the bus by 8am even with 2 Visa check points. Cochin is hectic but not with the same intensity of Mumbai. The pace is a notch lower. English is used much less in this area of India. There is garbage along every road, building, house, lot, any empty space. We got no answer about some sort of garbage pick up. My impression was it might be available but no one is going to spend money for that service. So hundreds of women were picking up garbage and clearing tall weeds from along side the roads. The government...

May 10, 2019 - Enrichment speakers can make you scared of other guests.

Tomorrow we will be in Cochin, India & we will present our visas several times again. But I had forgotten the attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in 2008 killing 167 people, many who were tourists, but most were Indian citizens. The man who planned it was a Pakistani-American who had stayed there many times. They can check my visa and put our bags through the scanner all they want. We took pictures of that very hotel that now has a huge addition added to it. This was a Sea day prepare for odd random comments. This ship has soft water and...

May 9, 2019 - We are in the Arabian Sea, I have been corrected.

I am so overstimulated from the sights,sounds, smells, and shear mass of people in Mumbai I am finding it hard to communicate what the last hours have been filled with. Let me start with just a few facts. 1. The tide here shifts 18 feet every day. 2. Much of Mumbai is reclaimed land from the sea. 3. The Victorian train station has 5 million passengers a day. That is not a typo. 4. India has 29 states Mumbai is in the state of Maharashtra. 5. The population of Mumbai is 16 million. 6. They have beautiful beaches but the water is too polluted...

May 7, 2019 - Good Morning 30 minutes early - part #2

Good morning from the Indian Ocean. I will complete yesterday even though it was another sea day and could put you to sleep since it is almost 10pm in Florida and 730am the next day in our floating hotel. Something I forgot to mention earlier was at the start of the second voyage 3 men in hazmat suits looking very much like ghost busters, showed up with equipment to sanitize our room from D’s earlier 24 hour room incarceration. It must be a secret sauce because we could not smell any disinfectant when we returned. At supper we were...

May 7, 2019 - Time keeps moving forward.

First I will mention we are to turn our watches forward again for the third time but just 30 minutes. Last night we were given India immigration cards to fill out. This morning we were to arrive in the dining room with the aforementioned slips and our sea cards. Lined up to get our passports with original visa folded inside. Waited in 2nd line, handed an immigration officer our passport. Sea-card , and form. He in turn stamped a copy of original visa, and passport. Ship than took back the passport to return it ship safe for the third...

Dec 14, 2018 - Mumbai

The flight from Udaipur was good but the landing in Mumbai was questionable as we seemed to change directions multiple times once we hit the tarmac. We were excited. Security before and after the flight was very heavy and a result of the terrorist attacks a few years ago when hundreds lost their lives. We always felt safe and appreciative of the checking points. The drive to our hotel was slow because of heavy traffic but unlike all other places we've visited horn blowing was minimal and things seemed like 'organised chaos'. Following the...

Dec 12, 2018 - Udaipur

Another 5 hour drive got us to our next stopover, Udaipur, the 'City of Lakes'. Along the way we visited Ranakpur and its Jain temples, one of the sects main holy places. Though over 500 years old the temples were in near perfect condition and extremely interesting. The drive was an interesting one but did have its moments. On a few occasions we were confronted with oncoming traffic which normally would not have been any concern except these were in our lane and required some changes in direction. Our driver simply made the appropriate...

Dec 10, 2018 - Jodhpur

Jodphur, the Blue City on the edge of the Thar Desert and the second largest city in Rajasthan ,was our next stopover and was impressive with its 10km long encircling protective wall and other fortifications. When it came to fortresses Jodhpur's Mehrangarth Fort was excessive. The Pearl, the Flower and the Mirror Palaces were all located within its walls and all were impressive. That amazing complex was built in 1459AD and houses a fascinating display of elephant seats called 'howdahs' and an armoury full of all sorts of weaponry. We made...

Dec 7, 2018 - Jaipur

Next stop was Jaipur the capital of Rajasthan. Its red sandstone buildings definitely gave credence to it being known as the 'pink city'. The mixture of Hindu and Mughal architecture fitted well together in the 1592 Amber Fort built from sandstone and marble. The extremely impressive 5 storey, 953 window Hawa Mahal Palace got our attention. Ladies from the royal household were able to watch everyday life through the intricately carved honeycombed windows known as 'jharokhas”. The architectural astronomical instrument collection of Jantar...

Dec 5, 2018 - Agra

One of Gilli's dreams came true when we visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was magnificent and she was ecstatic. It took 20000 workers over 22 years from 1631 to construct the opulent mausoleum and it remains impressive. A tonga ride was less impressive but fun. The tough little pony used for our personal ride was called upon to haul not only the four of us but also the driver, our guide and a 'hanger on'....plus the cart! The Agra Fort built in 1666AD was another spectacular feature of the city which was the capital before the move of the...

Dec 3, 2018 - Delhi

It was certainly an abrupt change of scenery, temperatures, noise and smells when we arrived in India after our time in Europe but we were ready for the final leg of our travel year. Our drinking partners from home, John and Gayle, had also arrived so it was all systems go. A rickshaw ride through the narrow lanes of Old Delhi, once the capital of Islamic India, was exhilarating if not a little scary . Spice markets and shops of every kind crammed the minimal space. New Delhi, created by the British Raj, had tree lined avenues and grand...