March 10, 2006 Just left the Seychelles
The Seychelles were similar in timing to our visit to Singapore back in the 70’s. We had been in some very poor countries, with difficult sanitary conditions, and suddenly we were thrust into a very friendly, clean environment. There were no beggars, no one trying to “give you a good price”. The food and water were safe. What a difference! And to be in the middle of nowhere.
Carter, Alemitu and I split up, partly by design and partly by mistake. I had agreed to go with another group to go visit the Botanical Gardens early in the morning, in hopes of avoiding the heat and humidity. Well, we ended up shopping for several hours (not my idea of fun), but we did visit the local market before going to the Gardens. We took a wrong turn, so added about a mile to our jaunt, but did get to see the ancient, giant turtles, a ton of fruit bats and some beautiful flora. I sweat thru everything I had on and almost had to put it in the dryer when I returned. It will take several days just to recover from the heat.
Carter and Alemitu had signed up for a snorkeling expedition, but Carter got pulled by patients on the ship, so he was unable to go. Alemitu went for her first time snorkeling and was awed by the clearness of the sea and the sea life. I’ll let her explain it.
Today we are seeing pods of porpoises and schools of flying fish. It is amazing. Alemitu also saw a whale spouting this morning. The seas are so calm and beautiful, however the air continues to be warmer than you can imagine.
We are having social obligations with the guests, which are stressful for me. I hope I don’t get left at the table alone again….We shall see. We also are expected to entertain guests for dinner and go to tons of cocktail parties. How anyone can get thru this experience the same weight, and sober is a question. I am drinking quite a bit of Perrier. Carter says his weight has stabilized and Alemitu and I have lost a little, but have spent many hours in the gym.
Someone asked about why there is extra security on the ship. Well, I guess it is because of the threat of terrorists and the cruise industry has been implicated. We also will be passing by Somalia and they have shown that they do have pirates and many of the places we have just left and will visit soon are not too happy with the US foreign policy. So there is just a more visible presence that I can ever remember. Makes life a little less carefree.
Alemitu’s comment as she rose from her nap: “Why can’t we live like this forever? Why do we have to go back to real life?”
March 11, 2006 At Sea in the Indian Ocean
Well, last night’s dinner was ok. The dinner was help just for the people who have suites and each week or so they try to have dinner in an unusual place on the ship. This time was out on the deck right under the bridge. It was a gorgeous night with a full moon and many, many stars. It was also rather windy. The napkins were handed out individually and several wine glasses were blown over, as well as rolls and garnish from the plates, but the ambiance was interesting. Most of the women were upset because they had gone to the hairdresser to have their hair perfect for this special dinner, and here they were blown to pieces……The dinner was 7-9 courses and after 3 hours Carter announced that he didn’t think there was enough food. Honestly, that man ate everything on each plate. There was one plate of tarts and I thought it was dessert. Carter wolfed his down with nary a word. I thought there was a custard tart and one with cream, so I took a hefty bite out of one, only to find that this was the cheese plate. I got one huge bite of a blue cheese tart – not a favorite!! Carter just laughed because he knew I wouldn’t like it, but he was not going to give me a clue. Winnie
March 13, 2006 Cochin, India
Alemitu and I headed off the ship with another couple, all 4 of us piling into a motorized rickshaw. It was definitely exciting (terror!) to see oncoming trucks in our lane, or to almost hit a bicyclist during a moment of inattention by our driver. I just held on and closed my eyes. Sense of personal space is very different and the population explosion is certainly felt here. Winnie
Cochin, India is a very interesting place; I was able to go out with mom and another couple that sits with us at dinner time. We ended up taking a taxi that cost 10 dollars for all 4 of us, which was a very good price because the taxi driver said he would stay with us until we finished shopping and would take us back to the ship afterwards. I thought it was nice to have the taxi driver with us where we went shopping because it was safer having someone that knew about the places we were going. I ended up buying some things like two really nice shirts for 4 dollars each and a bag for 3 dollars and two circus elephants that you can hang in your house. I had a fun time just looking and shopping. The people were very aggressive to sell you things and when you said no they still kept on bugging you. I found it annoying when they would just get in your face when you said no. I enjoyed the experience of the place; it is true this place is full of people in the streets and everywhere. One of the things I really liked about the place was how the people were dressed in there beautiful saris. Anyway our next stop is Mumbai, India and it’s supposed to be even bigger and the people won’t leave you alone.
Always Alemitu
My 2 hour highspeed tour around Cochin in a tut tut (motorized three wheeler) was indeed exciting and educational. Saw some great shops, old churches (Catholic-Portuguese, Anglican, Hindu, Mosques, and the Dutch Palace where 300 years of Maharajah’s). The palace had these incredible murals with the Hindu gods in various explicit sexual poses with a background of fornicating animals of ALL types (including elephants). The women were all very full breasted which raises the question of artistic license or historic fact. The female guide winked at me and “permitted me to photo” when no one else was in the room….for a tip of course at the end. I was wisked to the beach, the Chinese fishing nets which during high tides scoop up huge tiger prawns, and fish of all kinds into the beach-based fishing contraption. People selling “everything” for a great price. Witnessed a snake charmer with his two cobras on the street as well as a primary school with beautiful children in uniforms. India is so diverse, noisy, aromatic, with beauty, poverty, wealth, and sadness all mixed together in an amazing pot pourri of senses to stimulate. Winnie finds the heat and humidity plus the unceasing pressure to buy things and to bargain, a real hassle….I on the other hand rather enjoy the chaos. Got a patient to see with Chest pain. Off to the races!
Carter
March 14, 2006 At sea, on the way to Mumbai (Bombay)
We have an ex-ambassador on board who was in Iran for years, as well as Sweden and Egypt. His insight into the mess we are in as a US nation is refreshing. He said he teaches a class to all new ambassadors where they are told to not surround themselves with “yes men”, but to entertain criticism and dissention. He feels that if we just hear that everything is going well and none of the negative, we will make the wrong decisions. He tries to teach the new recruits to question their superiors. He feels he may not have made enough impression on the newer recruits. Sobering. Winnie
Continuation of March 14, 2006
Today while eating lunch on the outside deck, I was bitten by either 2 mosquitoes, or one mosquito twice. How can this be? We are 12 miles from land… Winnie
March 15, 2006 Mumbai (Bombay), India
We are here on the Festival of Colors. I guess it is something about the equinox – the change of the weather from hot to hotter, along with the coming of the rainy season. As we awoke, we smelled the odor of burning and the sky was so hazy that the sun couldn’t break thru the clouds. I know in some parts of India the burning is that of cremations, but I have no idea here. Maybe just pollution. The idea of the Festival of Colors is that people share colors with others, whether they want it or not. They have powders in many colors and will throw some on you as you walk by. We were warned to avoid any crowds, especially young men. We did pretty well. At 4pm, the Festival ends, so that was when we truly ventured out.
We were invited by some Holland America associates to go for a true Indian dinner. They drove us thru a business area that has some of the most magnificent buildings, mostly left from the British occupation. Then we experienced the dinner of fire for me and warmth for Carter and Alemitu. Even though my mouth and esophagus burned, the flavors were quite nice. I knew Tums awaited me upon return. All 3 of us have the rumblies this morning.
Our trip back to the ship was troublesome as we were accosted by a beggar who stood and just pounded on the window of our car, persistently, but not violently. Then the streets by 11pm were lined with the homeless sleeping on the sidewalks next to these huge buildings. The dogs were mangy and half-starved, but seemed to be guarding these people. We only saw one cat and it certainly didn’t look healthy. Winnie
posted by Hills @ 5:19 AM
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