Safaga - Luxor - Egypt

Sunday April 19 2009 - We had taken advantage of an offer of a private tour arranged by Pete and Leslie, two other passengers, for less than half the price of the same tour operated by Princess. Our tour also included a half hour boat ride on the Nile, something not in the Princess tour, and it all worked out great, we were very happy with the arrangements provided by the tour company, Memphis Tours.
It was advertised that it would take from 2½ to 3½ hours each way by bus from the dock to Luxor, in fact it took 3 hours and 45 minutes approximately each way. We were up at 05.00am for a quick breakfast, the ship docked about 06.00am, and after a lot of waiting around our convoy moved off shortly before 08.00am.

Our escort vehicle on the way to Luxor




Our government supplied security guard



Our bus was first in line directly after the lead security vehicle, we sat directly behind the security guard who was smartly dressed in a nice business suit and had an automatic weapon slung over his shoulder, under his jacket so that it wasn’t too obvious, we named him Rambo. In addition to our driver, we also had a back-up driver, a representative from Memphis Tours and an Egyptologist/guide named Islam also employed by Memphis Tours. We started off slowly winding through town, allowing the other buses to stay with us, occasionally the security vehicle would sound his siren to encourage traffic ahead to pull over a bit to allow us to pass. As we moved out of town and into the desert landscape, sandstone hills and sandy flats, I couldn’t help but think, here we were in the first bus, most likely to be first into trouble if any arose, sitting behind the most likely target of any attack, the armed security guard. After an hour or so we stopped at a roadside café for a washroom break, all kinds of souvenirs were for sale at hugely inflated prices, Izzy looked at a local head dress, $35, the guy asked, eventually she paid $5, it was probably worth $2 or $3. By the roadside several women and children with donkeys, or camels, or goats posed for pictures for $1, they got a few takers, but most people sneeked a quick pic while they weren’t looking.
Our journey continued, every 5 or 10 miles we passed through a check point where the road was blocked by a chicane of barriers with armed police manning each post, sometimes with an elevated watch tower with a machine gun projecting out an opening, sometimes with a couple of policemen seemingly asleep in their vehicle.


Izzy, Pat and Jim at the Valley of the Kings




On the trolley at Valley of the Kings



When we arrived in Luxor, it was almost noon, our first stop was the Valley of the Kings and it was hot, 100 degF and the sun was brilliant white reflecting off everything around, we entered the reception building and reviewed the photographs and 3D model of the tomb locations, then boarded the little electric trolley to take us up the long drive to the location of the tomb entrances. Our entrance ticket allowed us to visit any 3 of the several tombs open to visitors and we chose those of Ramses 4th, 9th and 1st, the tomb of King Tutankamun was not open to visitors and we were told it was quite plain and contained nothing other than his stone sarcophagus.

Me at the Valley of the Kings with several tomb entrances visible behind




Excavation work continues



The tombs we did visit were basically all similar with complete wall and ceiling decoration pictures and hieroglyphics, that of Ramses 4th was different in that the walls were not protected by glass and, surprisingly, you could actually touch the paintings. All the tombs were amazingly bright and clean, easily accessible by stairs or ramps, no photography was allowed in any of them.


Shell talking to one of the guards at the Valley of the Queens



Next, we moved on to the Valley of the Queens, the location of the spectacular Temple of Queen Hatshepsut rising out of the desert plain in a series of terraces merging with the sheer limestone cliffs surrounding it.

Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Valley of the Queens



Our guide suggested that her name is easily remembered if you think ‘hat cheap suit’. The Valley of Queens is also memorable for the 1997 terrorist attack where 58 tourists and 4 Egyptians were killed, it was strange to be there, remembering back to the reports on tv, now the area appears to be somewhat protected. Izzy decided to forego the long climb to the top of the temple and relaxed in the coffee shop near the entrance while I climbed to the top. I made sure I was back at the coffee shop 10 minutes ahead of schedule so that I could get a drink, the price of which varied from $2 to $4 depending on who you asked, I opted for a $2 ice cream bar.

Our transport on the Nile




Arriving at the Sofitel hotel for lunch



We moved on, making a brief photo stop at the colossal statues of Amenhotep III, then on to the banks of the Nile where we enjoyed a relaxing half hour boat trip to our lunch stop at the Sonesta Sofitel hotel.

The avenue of huge columns at Karnak - it was the busiest place we visited




Inside the temple complex at Karnak



Lunch was edible and by the time we were finished it was after 03.00pm so we wasted no time in moving on to the world famous complex of temples at Karnak, built over a period of 2,000 years by generation after generation of pharaohs. Although the complex has been completely rebuilt in modern times, it is particularly nicely preserved, in fact it’s so clean and tidy that it reminded me of Disneyland, I almost expected to see a roller coaster winding through the top of the columns.

Sunset on the drive back to the ship



We left Karnak around 05.30pm, driving back to Safaga, I watched the passing scenes of life and fell asleep before we arrived back at the ship around 09.15pm, we were scheduled to sail at 10.00pm. Back on board, we had a late dinner then watched the sail away before going down to our cabin.

Next Post

Two more sea days after Salalah

Friday April 17 2009 - It‘s a beautiful partly cloudy day as we head North West in the Red Sea. We‘ve left the pirates far behind, the coast of Sudan is a hundred miles off the port side and Saudi Arabia is a hundred miles off the starboard side. The sea is medium to high waves, but the ship is remarkably stable and level, probably as we‘re moving at close to top speed. There was a special interest lecture at 01.45pm this afternoon, ‘Mind stunts and memory techniques‘, I meant to go, but forgot about it. We played trivia this afternoon and won, with a stunning score of 17 out of twenty, ‘which superstar had a snake named muscles?‘, later we watched the big production show, Rhythms of the City.


Saturday April 18 2009 - Bright sunny day, today with a high of 26 degC (79 degF), I spent most od the morning working on my suntan. We had lunch in the main dining room, first time since we came on board, as the buffet is getting wilder as out-of-control seniors run riot. We went to a gameshow, Liars Club, where you have to determine who is telling the truth from four celebrities on stage. We got zero out of five correct, but had a good time throwing marshmallows at the people on stage, Bill had the idea at lunch and the maitre d‘ was happy to supply the marshmallows, he even suggested we could have some ripe tomatoes as well. Tonight was a formal night, so we were all dressed up in our finest attire, right after dinner, we changed into shorts and went up to the pool for an evening swim, then an early night as we have to be up at 05.00am tomorrow. One of the passengers has arranged the same tour that Princess offers, so we cancelled our ships tour and joined the passenger’s tour at less than half the price, I’ll let you know tomorrow night how it all went.

Next Post

Two sea days after Salalah

Wednesday April 15 2009 - First day in the area subject to pirate attack and we were disappointed, this morning that we didn‘t see another single ship. By 10.00am the captain announced that we were now in the corridor protected by an international task force and around 02.00pm we saw a destroyer, don’t know which country, as it was too far away. There was a flurry of activity, mostly by passengers with cameras and binoculars, when a couple of small boats appeared ahead of us, was this finally the pirates, they turned out to be only fishing boats, but they could have been pirates disguised as fishing boats. At 03.00pm we went to a free wine tasting seminar, where we learned all there is to know about fine wines, 2 white, 2 red and an ice wine sample, trouble was there was a long discussion between each sample. We went out on the promenade deck after dinner tonight and our lunch time waiter had been drafted as a security person patrolling the deck with his eyes focussed out to sea, we felt so much safer.



Our location on the stateroon tv



Thursday April 16 2009 - No pirates in sight, in fact no ships of any kind in sight, we’re 1000 miles away from our next stop, Safaga, in Egypt. Currently, 09.00am, the coast of Somalia is about 50 miles South of us while the coast of Yemen and the town of Aden is about 30 miles North, if all goes to schedule, we should pass through into the Red Sea by the end of today.

Canadian Navy to the rescue



Around 11.30am the captain announced there were several navy vessels ahead of us, too far for anyone to identify, then within 5 minutes from behind the ship, we could see a helicopter approaching, a Canadian Sea King flew by, I was on the top deck and could clearly see a crewman standing in the open doorway waving as the big copter flew the length of the ship before peeling off to the port side. We never saw any of the ships ahead of us, presumably they moved off to other locations. We went Sabatinis, the special restaurant, for an English pub lunch of fish and chips with mushy peas, the food was good enough but the portions were small so we headed straight to the Panorama buffet after, for desert.

Next Post

Salalah - Sultanate of Oman

Our one and only Frankincense tree - in the distance, the black spot is a military group, training



Tuesday April 14 2009 - Is it Salalah or Salalah, we were up early for a 07.15am start to our tour ‘Jobs Tomb and Frankincense Trees’, Salim, our guide, met us dockside and we were soon underway in this second largest town in Oman and birthplace of the Sultan, Qaboos Bin Said. The countryside around the dock was scrubby desert in all directions and soon we were at our first stop, the Frankincense trees, or I should say the Frankincense tree, as we only ever saw one. We had only stepped from the bus a few seconds when he sound of automatic gunfire startled everyone, the guide was quick to explain that the area was also a training ground for the military and about 200 yards across the wadi, a large black vehicle with several black clad individuals, could be seen. I kept one eye on them, one eye on our bus and one eye on the guide as he explained how Frankincense is collected.


Mughsail Beach




This rock outcropping reminded me of wee Spammy



We piled back onto the bus and headed to our next stop, Mughsail Beach, a picturesque 2 mile stretch of beach with interesting cliffs and rock formations, I walked down to the blowholes while Izzy took a shady seat, it was 85 degF and still only 08.15am. Unfortunately since it was low tide, the only thing coming out of the blowholes was air.

The mosque at Job's tomb




Izzy makes friends with a camel, we called him big Spammy



Next we drove a long distance into the mountains to the site of the tomb of the prophet, Job, or one of the tombs as our guide told us 2 other countries also claim to have Job’s tomb. After visiting the tomb, we made friends with a local camel, who allowed Izzy to approach him, then we took the long trip down the mountainside avoiding stray camels on the road. In town, we stopped at the souk and Izzy bought two Arabian style robes before we returned to the ship, just in time for lunch. After dinner, we watched a comedian, Jack Wilks, he’d missed the ship in Dubai and just joined us today at lunch. I realised after a few minutes, I’d seen him before about 15 years ago and he was still doing the same act, still funny even the second time.

Next Post

2 sea days after Dubai

Sunday April 12 2009 - I have a chest cold and cough so we just had a quiet day at sea - slept in late and had dinner by room service. So I’ll take this time to post pictures of some of the greatest people who have become a large part of our journey.












Monday April 13 2009 - This morning we had breakfast on the open deck at the back of the ship. It was a beautiful morning, 25 degC (77 degF) and sunny, as we sailed down the coast of Oman toward our next stop, Salalah. There was a notice in our daily patter that there would be a ‘practice pirate attack‘ alert and around 09.45am as I sat reading on deck 5, a 5 second blast on the ships horn followed by the announcement ‘code papa, code papa, code papa, sounded out. I passed by the casino, collected Izzy and we went down to our cabin and propped the door open as per instructions , shortly the captain announced we were being followed by a fast boat accompanied by two small skiffs and that some fast manoeuvring may be required. After being checked by a crew member, we sat and waited for the captains ‘all clear’ announcement which came about 10.05am, the drill was completed and all passengers accounted for in 18 minutes and 36 seconds, we had successfully outrun the bad guys, the passengers went wild with excitement………….. just kidding about the passengers getting excited, the only time the passengers get excited is at meal times…….

Tonight at dinner, the captain announced that we would be staying in Salalah longer than originally scheduled. Arrangements have been made for us to be accompanied by a couple of warships through the area most susceptible to pirate attacks, we are to meet at a pre-arranged location at 10.00am Wednesday morning so instead of leaving Salalah at 05.00pm we’ll stay ‘til 10.00pm.

Next Post

Dazzling Dubai

Saturday April 11 2009 - No customs or immigration for Dubai, all we had was a landing card handed to us as be departed the ship. The forecast for the day was 38 degC (100 degF), fortunately our driver, Jameel, was right there to greet us, with a 15 seat air conditioned van which made it very comfortable as there were only six of us, Shell & Bill, Lucy & Jim and me & Izzy. We had a loose itinerary worked out and after discussing it with Jameel, we took off toward our first stop the Jumeirah mosque.
The mosque has tours for non-Moslems at 10am, 4 days a week and I’d hoped to take the tour, but our timing wasn’t suitable.

Jumeirah mosque



I found out later that the tour was a closed door, hour and a half event with long descriptions of the finer points of Islam, so it’s probably fortunate that we missed it since our time in Dubai was already limited. Next we moved on to the Bastkiya district, mostly reconstructed buildings in the ‘old Dubai’ style, the area was originally settled by Iranian traders, now it’s pretty sterile and we didn’t find much of interest.

Entrance to dubai Museum



We left the Bastkiya district and drove through heavy traffic to the Dubai museum and fort, a mix of basic reconstructions and video presentations, the undersea depiction of pearl divers was quite well done. We spent 40 minutes walking through the successive areas, plenty of time for a quick look. Jameel was waiting at the exit and suggested we take a 10 minute walk to the Dubai Creek where we wanted to hire a river taxi for half an hour. The walk was interesting in itself, as we skirted the ‘old souk’ area, absorbing the everyday business of life. I was surprised that there were so many people walking on the street, though I don’t recall many native Dubai-ers, it seemed to be mostly Indian/Pakistani and Europeans. All of the everyday work is done by temporary workers from other countries, the original Dubai-ers ‘work’ mostly in government positions.


Izzy and me at the Dubai Creek



We waited in the shade while Jameel negotiated our river taxi cost, 60 dirham (about US$17) for all six of us. The dock area was packed with people and boats coming and going, all full of travellers, so we had a strange feeling when our large boat pulled in and a path through the crowd was cleared for just the six of us to board, others who attempted to board were prevented. We pulled clear of the dock and headed out into the river, the boat would normally accommodate 20 to 25 people, it was no more than a wooden deck about a foot above the water with a long back to back bench down the middle, an engine in the centre and a canopy overhead. It was a great way to see the city from the water and we were free to move around for photographs, though it required some care as there were no rails or anything to hang on to.

sailing up the Dubai Creek on our water taxi




Izzy on the water taxi



After 25 minutes, we pulled into the dock at the spice souk, paid the boatman and wound our way back and forward through the alleys, Jameel had provided some directions on where he would meet us. The spice souk gave way to a more general souk and after heavy but friendly bargaining I took advantage of an offer from a small clothing vendor and bought a thobe, the long Arabic robe, complete with ghutra and lgal (head cover and rope type thing).

The spice souk



We continued on into the gold souk where the ladies did a lot of window shopping ‘til suddenly Jameel was there, he had found us amongst the thousands of busy shoppers. After a bathroom break, we decided it was lunch time and soon Jameel dropped off at the main entrance to the Mall of the Emirates.

The mall houses a massive winter setting complete with ski slope, while the temperature outside may be 38 degC, inside it’s a constant minus 4 degC, we spent some time enjoying the winter scene and thinking of home where it had snowed just recently, life is tough. We found a food court and made our choice for lunch (New York fries for me) and after some shopping, we met back at the mall entrance.

Driving down the trunk of the Palm




Contrast in Dubai, bikini clad woman next to burqua clad woman in the Atlantis hotel



After a drive-by of many of the royal residences and more affluent neighbourhoods, we headed out onto the Palm, a massive man-made island/peninsula in the shape of a palm tree jutting out into the Persian Gulf. We drove down the length of the trunk, under the tunnel at the end and arrived at the Atlantis Hotel, the building furthest out into the ocean.

Me outside the Atlantis hotel on Palm Island



We took twenty minutes to check out the hotels interior and then headed back to the mainland and along to the Burj Al Arab for a brief stop at the entrance and then on to Jumeirah public beach for further views.

Me by the Burj Al Arab



The Burj is the iconic, sail shaped building, known world wide as the only 7 star hotel in the world, we couldn’t confirm that claim as entrance to the interior is strictly limited to paying guests and at $120 each for afternoon tea, we decided that a view from the main gate was good enough.

Burj Dubai (from 2 separate photos)



Our last stop was possibly the most spectacular, the Burj Dubai, 818 metres (2684 feet) of gleaming steel and glass, tallest structure in the world, it was awe inspiring, unbelievable to see how high it stretches above all the other skyscrapers in the area, I didn’t expect to be so impressed, but it really is impressive. We stopped at the Palace hotel which afforded great views of the tower and had nice grounds of its’ own, we were too close to the tower to get it all in one picture, so I took it in sections for joining later. By then it was around 05.00pm and we were ready to get back to the ship, so about 40 minutes later, Jameel dropped us off back at the dockside, he was a great driver and we were very happy with his service, he went way beyond driver duties and made our visit stress free.

Dubai is truly dazzling, everywhere is new and sparkling, presently there‘s $93 billion in construction underway according to our guide. Entire areas are just a forest of cranes and new construction, the opulence of palaces and royal households and new buildings, one trying to outdo the next, is amazing

Back on board, I fell asleep and didn’t waken ‘til sail away around 09.00pm when I went up to have some pizza, Izzy had already eaten with Doreen and Bob.

Next Post

Second & Third sea days after Mumbai

Thursday April 9 2009 - Our main focus of today was to make a decision on our tour in Safaga. At the moment, we‘re booked with Princess for a full day tour, but we‘ve been offered the same tour plus extras, by private vehicle, for less than half the Princess price. Looks like I’m going to cancel the Princess tour and go along with the private tour, there will be ten of us in a private vehicle supplied by www.memphistours.net . We won trivia this morning after a tie breaker ‘what acrobatic move does a skunk make before spraying?’ we collected our coupons, added them to our others and exchanged them for valuable prizes (ie ‘junk’). I spent some time in the sun and the pool in the afternoon and In the evening, we watched the movie ‘Valkyrie’ which was on the theatre yesterday and on television today, the movies onboard have been very good, surprisingly, with a lot of recently released titles. Things I missed today, ‘a tour of the galley’, ‘a special lecture on Dubai’, ‘the passenger talent show’, oh well you can’t see everything.


Friday April 10 2009 - This morning according to the ships info channel we’re 216 miles from Dubai, it’s 26 degC (79 degF) and the sea is calm. The water has been amazingly flat crossing the Arabian Sea, today we will pass through the Strait of Hormuz, that’s the narrow gateway to the Persian Gulf where the Arabian peninsula juts out toward the Iranian mainland. It’s a busy area as it’s the only access to the oil rich areas of this part of the world, I expect we’ll see more than a few tankers. I spent my usual couple of hours in the sun in the afternoon, then ran around with Izzy arranging a last minute private tour in Dubai, we got a ten seater bus with driver for $250 for ten hours and we needed some more people to share the costs, fortunately that didn’t prove too difficult. In the evening we went to see comedy impressionist, Tony pace, he was very good.


Maintenance guys work on the new equipment



During the day I noticed some unusual activity on the lowest outside deck, the promenade deck about twenty feet above the water. Maintenance guys were rigging pipes with spray heads on them, clamped to the railing, overhanging the edge of the ship. It seems that they are being readied to spray the sides of the ship with water, without someone actually standing there, it would appear designed to make it more difficult to climb up the side of the ship. Tonight, I noticed, for the first time, a security guard patrolling the same deck.

The new nozzles installed every 20 feet or so













Hose lies waiting for attachment












PS. The answer to yesterday’s trivia tie breaker was ‘a handstand’

Next Post

First sea day after Mumbai

Wednesday April 8 2009 - We went to a talk by Captain Kent this morning, it was a general question and answer session, but of most interest when he got into discussing our upcoming passage through the pirate area off the coast of Somalia. He told us he will be attending a briefing in Dubai given by the Royal Navy, on current status in the area. We are to stay within a narrow corridor which is patrolled by warships of many nations, it’s expected that should problems occur, we can be reached within ½ an hour by one or other of these ships. As far as passengers are concerned, if problems occur, a five second blast will be sounded on the ships horn and the announcement will be made ‘code papa’ (the secret code for a pirate attack), at this time passengers should go to their cabins and remain there with their door open, staying away from windows. This evening we watched a really funny comedian, Mel Mellers, he had the whole audience rolling in laughter. Shortly after the show the Indian themed deck party started, well attended from what I saw.

Lucy,Pat, Shelley and Izzy (in front)










The deck party










Izzy at the deck party

Next Post

Marvellous Mumbai

The Taj Hotel




The old Taj hotel, the new Taj hotel tower and the Gateway to India Arch viewed from our boat going across to Elephanta Island.



Tuesday April 7 2009 - When we awoke, we were already docked at Ballard Pier, Mumbai, out our cabin window ships of all sizes were dotted across the bay at anchor. We were on the Southeast side of the peninsula that makes up Mumbai, a few miles North of the Gateway to India. I had arranged for a local service, Mumbai Magic, to pick us up for the day along with Shell and Bill and around 08.30am we met our guide, Sandhya and driver Virendra. After introductions we drove South to the the large open plaza with the Gateway to India and the Taj Mahal hotel, the Taj hotel was subject to last year’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the effects were still in evidence if you looked for them. The familiar corner windows of the hotel, seen so often on CNN, in flames, are now boarded up and access to the older part of the hotel is only through the new tower block. You are required to pass through two levels of security to gain access and there are plenty of security guards present, though I didn’t see any weapons.

We came to the plaza to catch a boat over to Elephanta Island, the bay was filled with these colourful craft and I wonder how they all can make a living from it.

Izzy talks to a little boy on board the boat to Elephanta Island.


We boarded what we thought was our vessel, only to find we had to cross to the next, then the next boat before we were actually on the correct one. I wondered why we wound our way out of the harbour in a strange back and forward path until I realised we were dropping one or two people at different boats at anchor in the bay, our boat sidled up to another and those leaving us made the precarious jump on to the other deck.

The little train travelling along the pier



The trip out to the island was pleasant and warm, Bill and I sat on the top deck in the open, enjoying the breeze, while Shell and Izzy sat on the crowded lower deck, where most of the passengers were locals, when I returned downstairs, Izzy was already engaged in her favourite pastime, talking, particularly to the kids, a little boy named Sushovan, from Calcutta, was writing her a note, he was six years old, spoke fair English and had excellent writing skills for his age.
We reached the islands long dock after about 45 minutes and after climbing the few concrete steps, we boarded the small open train, 10 rupees to transport us about half a mile along the jetty, all the time being assailed by vendors hanging on to the outside of the train trying to sell their wares.

The sedan chair ride to the top of the hill.


We dismounted the train and walked the few hundred yards to the beginning of the long stairway up the hillside, the stairway interspaced with sloping parts, was shaded most of the way by awnings erected by the many vendors who lined the sides from bottom to top. There are two ways to ascend, walk or ride in a sedan chair, I’d read about the sedan chair option, on the internet, and we’d decided that it was the ideal way to avoid the rigours of the long climb. We negotiated a price of 300 rupees and Izzy took her place on the wooden chair, flanked by a strong pole either side. With some effort, her four porters hoisted the chair shoulder high and, like the Maharani of Jaipur, she was off up the hill, I had to run ahead to get into position for photographs as the procession moved at a steady pace up hill. When we reached the top, I was exhausted, while Izzy stepped freshly from the chair, we gave the porters 500 rupees since their task was exacerbated by the possible few extra pounds Izzy may have put on during our cruise, just possibly, nothing you would ever notice.

Elephanta Island caves entrance.



Me in the main cave



We walked up the slope to the entrance to the caves which date from the sixth century, all the caves were man made, carved from the softer volcanic stone. The main cave is famous for its’ carvings of the Hindu God Shiva and the whole complex was visually stunning and a testament as to what can be done with time and dedication. Our guide led us step by step, explaining each of the great carvings and indicating the vantage points for viewing the unique geometry of the cave then we walked slowly back down the hillside window shopping on the way. As we waited by the tracks for the return train, I was followed by an ancient lady with some pots on her head, she wanted ‘one dollar’ for me to take her picture, I politely declined practising my few words of Hindi, to her amusement. After a while she lost interest in me and she approached an Indian guy asking 20 rupees (about 40 cents) to take her picture, this time she made the sale. We rode the little train back and then stepped onto the rolling deck of our boat for the trip back to Mumbai, it was hot but the breeze across the top deck made it an enjoyable journey.



Lunch at Samrat restaurant - Sanhya, Izzy, me,Shell and Bill



By then it was almost 01.00pm, so after a visit to an ATM, we headed off to lunch at Samrat vegetarian restaurant for a traditional Thali meal. After a short wait, we were shown to our table, each person was given a large stainless steel tray, five small dishes set on the tray, a large spoon and a small spoon. Various sauces and chutneys were on the table and we were encouraged to add a dab of each to our tray for sampling along with the main items which arrived by waiter and were doled out into our smaller dishes. This was followed by a liberal selection of different bread types distributed to each person and soon our trays resembled an artists pallette, each dish and dab a different colour from any other. I was hungry, so I ate a good amount, as spicey as it was, most was tasty enough and I threw caution to the wind (no pun intended) as far a ‘Delhi Belly’ was concerned. It was different and interesting to try, the food was obviously very popular as the place was packed enough to contribute to two ominous events. The first occurred when two waiters collided and several dishes of food crashed to the floor showering several patrons with multicoloured sauces, narrowly missing our table, the second was a collision between my beer glass (held by me) and my beer bottle (wielded by the waiter) fortunately the glass was empty and was soon replaced. Outside, our transportation was waiting for us and we headed off for a quick visit to the one time home of Mahatma Ghandi, an interesting but austere house depicting Ghandi’s lifestyle and history. As we drove, we were constantly assailed by the passing street scene, women carrying massive packages on their head, carts drawn by oxen and donkey, overloaded bicycles, beggars of all ages tapping on the car windows at every stop, dogs scrounging in every corner and everywhere vendors, vendors and more vendors and we loved every minute of it.

Dhobi Ghat workers



We drove along Marine Drive, popularly known as the ‘queens necklace’ due to its’ shape and sparkling lights at night, on our way to Dhobi Ghat, the massive outdoor washing area. The Dhobis are a caste of Indians who have long specialised in this outdoor laundry business, a Ghat was originally a section of a riverbank used for washing purposes. It was quite a sight, exclusively men washing the clothes, beating them against the walls of each small rectangular enclosure, the enclosures stretched into the distance.

Street vendors at Dhobi Ghat



Overlooking the Ghat, we were surrounded by an array of colours in the form of multiple vendors each intent on extracting a sale from us, the colour and the sounds were overwhelming and as we moved so did the crowd of vendors, like a giant multi-celled organism we moved en masse back to our vehicle escaping the heaving throng. Next stop was at a local street market where Izzy and Shell were looking for some Indian wear, Bill and I wandered around aimlessly outside, checking out the price of a McAloo Tikki at McDonalds and gazing in amazement at the shoe store where shoe requests were dropped, 3 or 4 boxes at a time, through a hole in the store ceiling, into the waiting arms of the salesman. The ladies didn’t find what they were looking for, so we decided to return to the ship and around 05.30pm we said our goodbyes and thanks to Sandhya and Virendra for a most enjoyable day in Mumbai, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and have decided already that we need to come back and spend more time there.



Some of the dancers in the folk show



Back on board, we had a nap then went up to the Cabaret lounge at 07.30pm for a folk/cultural show by a local dance troupe, fantastic stuff. The colours and the music were intoxicating as the constant beat of the drums juxtaposed with the high pitched squeal of the flute, the flashing of orange and yellow and blue and gold and the constant beat of the drums, it was mesmerizing, or it might have been the two beers I had on an empty stomach. The ship was scheduled to sail at 10.00pm and we thought we might not be able to stay awake, but the tiredness wore off and we found ourselves out on deck for the sail away which was delayed until closer to 11.00pm. Back in the cabin ‘Slum Dog Millionaire’ was just starting on TV, so we sat up and watched it, before calling it a day.

Next Post

Last two of four sea days to Mumbai

Sunday April 5 2009 - Wasn’t as sunny this morning, but still warm, 28 degC as we head North up the West coast of India, 600 miles to Mumbai. At 11.00am, we watched ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ it’s 2 hours and 45 minutes long, best movie I’ve seen in a while, worth missing lunch for. When the movie was finished we went out on deck as the sun was shining brightly, we watched the crew verses passengers pool volleyball, the passengers won, surprisingly since it was 4 fit 20 year olds against 4 less than fit old guys. The show after dinner featured the ‘sparkling Irish diva‘, Sinead Blanchfield, so we gave it a miss and spent the evening up on deck by the pool.


Monday April 6 2009 - 300 miles to Mumbai and it’s hot again today, I saw on CNN the forecast for Mumbai is sunny and 37 degC (99 degF). Slumdog Millionaire was on the movie house but as they were lined up six deep for ¾ of an hour before the picture was due to start, we decided to watch it on TV later in the week. Tomorrow we dock in Mumbai.

Next Post

First two of four sea days to Mumbai

Friday April 3 2009 - This morning we’re on a South Westerly course through the Bay of Bengal, the sea is calm and it’s 29 degC (85 degF) already a 08.15am. Overnight we’ve travelled 238 miles from Port Blair and Singapore is now a long way off, more than a thousand miles to our South East. I’m feeling a bit better this morning, my cold has developed into just a head cold, hopefully it’ll be gone by the time we reach Mumbai. I spent some time by the pool reading my new book, Tandia by Bryce Courtenay, ‘til it got too hot and I went down to the cabin to get Izzy before going up to our usual morning trivia competition. After dinner I played some 3 card poker with some success then caught the evening show, a double bill with Jessica Zamprogna, a singer, and Danny Storts, an alleged comedian. After the show we went up on deck and sat in the evening heat having a beer, talking to Lucy and Jim and Jim ‘til after eleven. Lucy showed us her latest invention, a knitted pouch, worn around the neck to carry a bottle of beer, hands free, we discussed other possible uses for the pouch. Lucy should be known as ‘Lucky Lucy’ she has won bingo 11 times, a few days ago she was booed as she entered the bingo lounge, so she’s now considering disguises.


Saturday April 4 2009 - We’re still heading South West, the weather is unchanged, though the ship is a little more rocky, but nothing worth bothering about, as we pass close to the Southern end of Sri Lanka before heading North up the West coast of India. I’m told we’ll be close enough to see Sri Lanka, fortunately we’re at the opposite end from the current fighting in the North. I had more early morning sun time by the pool as it has been too hot later in the day, then we watched Defiance (the movie) showing at 11.00am, it wasn’t bad. The afternoon saw us in and out of the casino, shopping and having another meeting with the purser, still no refund of the overcharge. After dinner we went up on deck and sat in a hot tub for an hour or so looking at the stars, then at distant lightning.

Next Post