New Years 2017 – Day 17

A sea day and when we woke up after turning our clocks ahead 1 ½ hours, it was very cloudy.  Later on in the day there was even thunder and rain.

Ed had breakfast and went to the gym while Barb work up and we walked around and didn’t do anything exciting.

Towards noon, we ran into Brian and Sandy and sat with them for an hour or so and just talked.

Then we went to lunch in the Aqua Spa and had a grilled pork chop and vegetables.

Later Ed played and lost and Barb lost just a little. 

We had been up really a lot earlier and now we are behind a little, but we had several days left.

The show tonight was a lady who gave a very good singing performance.

Following the show we again ate in Blu; however, Brian and Sandy had another commitment so we had dinner without them.

Then we went to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed won

Certainly this was a relaxing day – but very boring!!

Tomorrow is another sea day and we hope for great weather.

Night

Going out for the evening

New Years 2017 – Day 16

Today we arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a country that we have never been to before. Colombo is the capital and main port and largest city.  There are reminders of Portuguese, Dutch and British influence found around the city. 

We are yet farther south than yesterday and of course it was HOT!

Our tour today was in a private Tuk Tuk but first we had to walk the length of two football fields to get out of the port.  Then we had to take a taxi to another port entrance to meet our guide/driver.

There are 800,000 people living in Colombo and 400,000 TukTuk's and I think they were all on the road to day.

In our first stop, we saw the train station – it looked like something out of the early 1900’s and was still being used.

Then we traveled through the city to the largest Buddhist Temple and was spectacular.   We also went to see the oldest protestant church in Sri Lanka, a Dutch church.

We kept driving seeing the houses of the very rich and government buildings.   We stopped on the street to taste the juice of a King Coconut, which was a different taste from any coconut we had ever tasted.

We stopped along a main shopping area and walked for about ½ hour before getting back into the Tuk Tuk and going to lunch.

Lunch was at a very nice local restaurant, although it was a little fancier that we have been used to.

After that it was about 45 minutes to get back to the ship and we quickly took showers and we had really been hot.

The show tonight was an individual singer, piano player from Britain and he was very entertaining.

Dinner with Brian and Sandy was very good and then it was on to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed lost.

Tomorrow is the first of 2 more sea days, so hopefully it will be a relaxing day.

Night

Delivery person on the main street

A Mosque

Our Tuk Tuk and Driver/Guide Shane

A large Buddhist Temple

Street food - WOW was it hot

Buying his painting

Prayers inside the Temple

New Years 2017 - Day 15

A day at sea and it was hot!!

Most sea days when the sun is shining, our day is very predictable –

Ed reserves deck chairs, has breakfast, goes to the gym and then goes to the sun deck.

Barb joins Ed on the deck.

At 12:30pm we go to Aqua Spa and have a healthy lunch.  Today it was grilled chicken.

Showers and then to the casino. 

Today was the finals of the slot tournament.  Last month Ed won a cruise; however, this cruise the prize was money and not much of it.  Both of us qualified for the finals and as luck would have it, Ed won.

After that we both played an afternoon session where we both lost.

Then we got ready for the evening.  The evening show was a couple who presented a Cirque-style aerial/acrobatic show and they were really good, probably one the best we have ever seen on a cruise ship.

Then we had a wonderful dinner with our friends from London, Brian and Sandy. 

After dinner we went up to the room to see the inaugural; however, the speech was just over.  We hope for the best for the country in this change of administration.

Tomorrow we arrive in Colombo, Sri Lanka and we have a fun tour planned.

Night

Barb and our Casino Host Silvia

Barb with the Casino Manager, Danyell

Dinner tonight with Brian and Sandy from London

New Years 2017 – Day 14

What a beautiful hot day it was in Cochin, India when we docked today to visit our 4^th city in India.

What we have found out is that each of the 4 cities we visited has almost totally different ways of life and culture.  The reason is that different countries like the Dutch, the English and the Portuguese have settled the different areas.  Some are more Hindu that others while some have a lot of Catholics as an example.  While we wanted to visit India and we are glad we did, we have no desire to go back.  There is just nothing to draw us back like Barcelona, London, Singapore, Rome, etc.

Last night our dinner partners had told us that they were going on a tour with a small group and we thought that we might like to go on it also.

So, we were the first off the ship and found the company that was putting on the tour and asked if they had room, which they did.   So we joined the tour but our friends were on another bus with the same tour.

We had a mini bus for 14 people and there were only 8 of us plus the driver and the guide.  The guide was a really good guide; however, the people who were there from the ship made this a trip from H**L at the end.

We started out by driving for about ½ hour and then first visited huge market selling everything from fruits, to nuts to fish, etc.  It was both retail and a wholesale market. 

Then we went to a Jewish Synagogue that was being restored by one man.  This city once had a very large Jewish population because the Dutch settled here first.  There are now only 5 people left who are Jewish as everyone has moved away.

Next we drove or about an hour to a river to take a boat ride that lasted an hour.  We had a few minutes before we boarded the boat so Ed & Barb went off the bus into a local “restaurant” and had a meal with the guide.  The boat trip showed us how the fishing people lived and they had amazing net structures that they would use at night to catch fish.  This was very primitive area. 

After the boat ride, we went to another Synagogue and then to a huge street market before heading back to the ship.  Then one of the major problems happened as a 6 of the 8 on the bus insisted that the guide take us all back to the shopping area because they did not have enough time to buy things.  The guide agreed and when they finally arrived back at the bus after shopping we were very concerned that we wouldn’t make if back to the ship on time, but we did – thanks goodness.   This group of people, all from the US were the most rude group of people we have every run into, on any cruise.  Oh well, we have some interesting memories.

The show was a combination of a hand shadow puppet show and the sax player from the other night.    The hand shadow puppet show was ok and the sax play was tremendous.

We had an excellent dinner with our new friends from London, Brian and Sandy and then went to the casino where Barb broke even and Ed lost.  We are now negative with Barb ahead and Ed behind.  10 gambling sessions left in the cruise – wish us luck.

We are finally done with India and tomorrow is a day at sea before arriving in Sri Lanka.

Night

Delivery Man in the market

Cleaning fish outside their fish stand

The kitchen where we had lunch before the boat tour

Regular fishermen

The catch of the day on Celebrity

New Years 2017- Day 13

While we were in Mumbai and in the Slums, we were not allowed to take pictures; however, I took one and was able to do a couple of short videos which I will post once we are in Singapore.  I just received a roof top picture from the tour company, so I have posted it on the Mumbai page, which is Day 11 – please look at it – you will be amazed as we were.

Our third stop on our tour of India was at New Mangalore, a city of 3 million people and they all seemed to be driving in Tuk-Tuk scooters.    There is a picture at the bottom of this page if you don’t know what a Tuk-Tuk is.

We did not have anything planned as we had been told that there really isn’t much here except a big city. Catholic churches,  temples and some beaches.

It cost a lot to take the ship’s shuttle to the town and back but we walked about 1/3 or a mile to the entrance to the pier and arranged for a cab to take us to the City Center which was a big modern shopping center in the middle of the town.   From there we walked a few blocks to the kind of street market that we love, lots of stuff and cheap.  Along the way we stopped at a local food market to buy a bottle of water.  We didn’t have the local currency and offered the owner a $1 and he said that was way too much and gave us change in their currency – he was very pleasant.  The cost was 37 cents for a bottle.

The market was a lot of fun.  First we had to find an ATM as they did not accept American currency.  When we found one, we had trouble figuring it out because of language and two local people helped me.  They were so nice we asked if we could take their picture and to our amazement, the Muslim lady said ok also.

Barb bought some bracelets at a very low cost and we hope that they gold color stay on past a couple of wearings!!  Local people were buying them so we hope they are good – they really looked good.

They for 50 cents we took a Tuk-Tuk back to the City Center Mall and next to it was a local restaurant where we had a wonderful meal and the total costs was only $7.37!!  Food, taxis and stuff are very cheap here.

We then took a taxi back to the ship; however, we paid a little more for a sightseeing trip to a beautiful Catholic Church and two temples as well as an old fort that guarded the harbor a long time ago.  At the Catholic Church, we once again ran into a couple, Mark and Nigel who we had eaten with on our second night.  They are from London and we hope to see these delightful guys when we go to London in October.

We had no expectations of what to expect when we arrived and it turned out to be a really fun inexpensive day, one that we enjoyed a lot.

The show tonight was a person called “Elton Jack” you did an Elton John impersonation and he did look and sound like Elton John so it was a nice show.

We had a good dinner with Brian and Sandy from London and then we went to the casino where Barb won and Ed lost for the 3^rd straight session.  We are still ahead, but not by much so we hope for better in the future.

Tomorrow is our last port in India, Cochin and we don’t have anything planned so we will see what the day brings us.

Night

My help at the ATM

Time to buy earrings

And now bracelets

Riding in a Tuk-Tuk

A great lunch

Great guys - Mark and Nigel

Buying a bottle of water at the market

New Years 2-17 – Day 12

Our second India port was the city of Goa and we arrived at the port at 10:00am.  We had a tour arranged and we met the driver and guide at 11:00am.  We could not book a private tour; however, there was only one other couple with us and they proved to be fun to spend the day with. 

This was basically a tour of the city of Goa and a couple of other cities in the area as well as, of course, driving through the country side.

This area of India has a strong Portugal influence as the Portuguese did not give up this part of India until the early 60’s, after Britain had already left the country. 

In addition, the Catholic Church has a large influence in this area because of the Catholics from Portugal.

We drove about an hour and came to two very large Catholic churches and we visited both of them.

After those two churches we visited a Buddhist Temple closer to the capital of Goa and it was neat to see and they are very plain compared to the Catholic churches.

We then drove to the capital and ate in a very local restraurant and the food was great – sorry I didn’t take any food pictures as we were talking so much that I forgot.  After eating we visited a local market.  In the picture inside the market, there are two people sleeping right on the piles of fruit – can you find them?

Our last stop was a local beach which was very nice, but just a typical beach.

Then we drove back to the ship and were let out a 5:00pm.  A nice day but the tour wasn’t really that much; however, there really wasn’t much to see here.

When we arrived back at the ship it was too late for snacks so we took showers and went to the show.  The show tonight was a sax/flute player and he was very good. 

In the morning, Ed had run into a couple from Bloomington and invited them to have dinner with us as the London couple had another commitment.  We met them after the show and had a delightful dinner and were amazed at the number of people who we all knew.  It was just a fun dinner.

After dinner we went to the casino where Barb won and Ed lost.  The good news is that we are still ahead for the trip.

Tomorrow we are in the third of four port days in India – New Mangalore.

Night

The Bishops Church

A stall in the market

New Years 2-17 – Day 11

Finally a day in port. 

We are now in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, India. 

The first thing we had to do is wait to be called to the lounge as everyone was made to go to a face-to-face meeting with the India immigration officials before we would be let off the ship. 

Once finally off the ship, we took a shuttle to the main terminal gate, walked a little bit and met our guide.

 To start with, this tour by Reality Tours with Sunny as our guide was absolutely the best tour that we have ever taken.  Everything they promised they delivered and more so. 

We had been told that the traffic would be horrendous and that was an understatement.  Horns and horns so loud and so many you could hardy hear when you were walking.  There are no lanes in either direction on a street, you just fill the gap and keep driving.  Somehow everyone makes it but we saw a lot of cars with a lot of scratches.

They have 5,000 busses on 400 routes and 60,000 cabs and all with very loud horns and they seemed to be all on the same street.

We started out with a short trip to the sea area where the massive arch that is the gateway to India stands.  Right behind it is the hotel where many people were assassinated in 2008 in a terrorist attack.  Then we stopped and had some street food before going to the main railroad station.

This station handles 2.5 million people a day and it is massive.  We went onto the main train platform and the sea of humanity coming off the trains was amazing and almost freighting as they pressed toward us.  They were on the roof of the trains and hanging onto the sides of the trains they are so crowded!  Apparently 8 people a week are killed riding the trains into the city.  Our guide rides the train every day 1 ½ hours each way and a lot of the time he starts his trip to the city by hanging on the outside until a space opens up inside. The train has compartments and he told us that in the space of a small SUV, 24 people are standing, very tightly!

We also found out that most of the marriages are arranged marriages; however, he said it is not too bad as the families first exchange pictures and you can say no.  Then they meet and soon afterwards they marry.  Our guide has a girlfriend; however, he doesn’t feel he will ever marry her as her father does not approve of him.  So, he is waiting for his Mother to provide him with a wife, probably soon.  There is also virtually no divorce in India.

Next we stopped at the house in Mumbai where Gandhi lived for a lot of his later years.  It was very interesting as they had his life and sayings posted throughout the house.

The city is extremely dirty and there are thousands of people who are living on the streets, just on blankets, under tarps and just shacks built right along the road.  This is the dirtiest city with the most poverty that we have ever seen.

The average working class family earns $350.00 a month.

Contrasting the poverty, we then saw the 2^nd most expensive private residence in the world.  The 1^st is Buckingham Palace in London.  This house is a very modern house that is 27 stories tall and holds a family of only 6 people and cost 2.5 billion dollars.  The garage on the lower levels holds 168 of the family’s cars.  There is also a helipad on the roof.  In addition, they have 600 people working for them in the house.  Every month their electrical bill is $10,000.

We then stopped overlooking the Dhobi Ghat which is the largest of many outdoor washing areas in Mumbai.  They have over 5,000 people working in this cleaning business in 282 stalls and they wash, dry and fold over 200,000 pieces of laundry every day from the hospitals and hotels and other businesses in the area.    When we are in Singapore I will post a video of these cleaners. 

Then we went to lunch.  We had asked the guide to take us to a non-tourist place where we could eat local food and we also invited the guide and drive to join us so they could explain what we were eating.

The picture only show part of the vast amount of food we had for a wonderful lunch, including an amazing desert and the total cost converted into US dollars was only $16.38.

Mumbai also has a company called Lunch Box Systems and they pick up lunches from your mother at their home and delivery it to you at your place of work.  When you are finished, they pick up the lunch box and take it back to your home while also taking any food that was not eaten to the poor.  They transport over 250,000 lunches a day.  The lunch boxes are picked up and taken to staging areas in massive interchange systems all over the city.  They make 1 mistake per 6 million lunches.  It cost $15 a month for this service.  It is a FedEx system for lunches only they are using scooters.

After a short drive we arrived at the largest “Slum” in Mumbai.  Mumbai is a city of 33 million people and right in the center of the city is the biggest slum.  In .8 of a square mile live 1.2 million people – yes those are correct numbers.  A total of 9 million people live in a slum in this city.  This one is a city within a city as they also produce an amazing amount of goods there, mostly recycling as every bit of garbage in the city is delivered there and hand recycled.  The meld down the metals, chop up the plastic and do everything by hand.  They produce 655 million dollars worth of goods in a year out of this area.  It is dirty, dirty and then dirtier.   That have one bathroom for every 1,200 people.  We spent 2 ½ hours walking in this area, including being on the roof tops.  This is where Slum Dog Millionaire was made and the movie doesn’t show how horrific this area is. 

They are totally self contained with schools, banks, barber shops, stores, and everything they need to barely survive each day.

We were told to wear clothes that we didn’t care about and when we got back from the tour, we put them in a bag and sent them to the laundry.

At 4:30pm we once again had some snacks from the buffet and went back to the room to relax before going out for the show and dinner.

The show tonight was a cast production show called “Land of Make Believer” and it was very good.

Last night at dinner, we had met the couple from London again tonight as we having so much fun and still had tales to tell each other. 

After dinner we went to the casino where Barb didn’t play and Ed lost.

Tomorrow we are in the second of four port days in India - Goa – this is going to continue to be interesting.

Night

A morning snack

And it was about 23 cents

A spring in the city

The Laundry

More of the Laundry

The start of lunch for 4

The 2nd most expensive private home in the world - 2.5 billion

Thousands living on the street in the city






Then we went to the city within a city called Dharavi - the largest slum in the city

Roof Top of the Mumbai Slum called Dharavi
This is where Slum Dog Millionaire was filmed

Houses in the slum.  They typically live in the bottom and rent the top for the equivalent of $30 US dollars a month.
They share bathroom facilities with over 1,200 people for each public bathroom

Just one street in the slums

An inside street - most are not this wide