Friday, March 31, 2006

Day 93 - Friday March 31 At sea day 1

position at 7:00am: N14 08.10 latitude E49 7.30 longitude
(about 1530 miles SE of Safaga, Egypt our next port)

temperature: 80F, 93% humidity, cloudy

distance since FLL: 29,992 miles

We had an extra hour today because the hour time change last night. This made for a crowd on deck walking this morning. It was a little warmer than it has been, but it was still very pleasant.

It was a chocolate croissant day for breakfast and lunch. At lunch, they had a chocolate croissant pudding with chocolate ice cream. Debbie's eyes were spinning in her head.

No real news on this sea day. Debbie is still trying to shake a cough and slight fever. We did see Yemen a couple of times today off the starboard side. We expect to enter the straights at the mouth of the Red Sea around midnight or so, and should be in the Red Sea for the next few days. The seas have remain relatively calm making for a calm ship for the most part. We are doing 19+ knots so you can feel vibrations in La Veranda, but that's about it.

La Veranda was closed this evening (for some kind of special fucntion) so the only non-reservation meal choice was Compass Rose or room service. We had a quick meal in Compass Rose only getting a main course and dessert.

Just a note of Blackberry usage in Oman. In all ports, the Blackberry only had phone service. There was no data service (email, internet) available in either Muscat or Salalah, or in any of the territorial waters where there was local service available.

Sorry no pictures today.

Here are some hints on accessing entries in this journal. The last ten entries in the journal are accessible by clicking the links you find on the left side of this page. To see any of the earlier 80+ entries, you can click the View Archives link on the right side of this page toward the top to display a page that will allow you to navigate to any of the previous entries.

 

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Day 92 - Thursday March 30 at Salalah, Oman

Salalah photos
position at 6:30am: N16 59.48 latitude E54 6.98 longitude
(Salalah, Oman)
temperature: 79F, 72% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 29,601 miles
Here is the description of the ship's tour that we are taking today.
===================
Frankincense Trail & Job's Tomb

Duration: 4½ Hours.
Seated.


Discover Salalah by driving into the surrounding area to see the contrast between the lush vegetation of the Garden City and the desolate landscape of the desert. Leaving the port, the tour begins with a drive to Mughsail Beach. Camels may be seen roaming the roadside. Enroute stop for a unique experience - tapping your own Frankincense tree.
Travel to Mughsail Beach, nearly two miles of unspoiled white sandy beaches, with high cliffs at both ends and many picnic areas. If your your arrival coincides with the high tides; you may be among the lucky ones to view the beach's spectacular "Blow Holes".
We drive on for the rare experience of 'tapping' your own Frankincense tree! The trade in frankincense has been the source of wealth of the Dhofar province since ancient times; it was used in holy ceremonies by the Egyptians and the Romans. In bygone days, export was done through caravan routes to Syria and Egypt and by sea across the Indian Ocean to Africa and Asia. Today Dhofar people still use frankincense to add fragrance in their houses.

Next explore Job's Tomb where, according to legend, the remains of the Moslem and the Old Testament prophet Job can be found. This is a sacred place of pilgrimage for Moslems, Christians and Jews. You can take photos and admire panoramic views of the striking Qara Mountains and the Jubriah plain.
This tour also includes a stop at the Al Husn Souq to stroll among the vendors. The colorful stalls are heaped with mounds of frankincense, myrrh, incense, bottles of fragrant perfume oils and a large variety of fascinating artifacts.
Please note: Guests must dress modestly and respect the local culture and traditions. Shorts and skirts are permitted but must reach the knee, and shoulders should be covered. Shoes must be removed before entering mosques. Ladies must cover their heads with a scarf while visiting Job's tomb.
Price: $50 pp
===================
Our tickets have a departure time of "on arrival." Since we are due to dock at 7am, Debbie set the alarm for 5:30am so we could catch breakfast at 6:00am in LaVeranda and be at the dock as soon as we clear customs. Debbie got oatmeal! We need not have worried being out on time. We were docked a little after 7am but we did not clear the ship right away. The ship's staff herded us into the seats of Constellation Theater again for a first in/first out again, no matter what tickets you had. It appeared that they did not let people out early who were not on tours. Here as at the other Arabian ports, walking is not allowed in the port area. So, you must take a shuttle to the gate and then because of the strong taxi union, a cab anywhere else. There are no shuttles into town. The town of Salalah is about 20km from the port. We got seated in the second section of the Constellation Theater. We got on bus one doing our tour about 7:30am. We were on our way around 7:45am. Roger said they could only get about 9 buses total here for our visit and the 2 tours offered.
The tour was pretty much as described above. We did not tap the poor tree, it did have a rock sitting in its branches, but it was so lonely and beat up already. We did see the water shoot out of the blowholes. There was also a photo stop at the Salalah Palace and a stop for a complimentary coconut water drink. We saw lots of camels today. We had heard about how green it is here vs. the rest of the country because it gets a monsoon in July to September. It must be green then because it was pretty brown here now. Salalah is a city of 100,000 people and we are here on a Thursday which is the start of their Thur-Fri weekend. We did not see a lot of people out and about, and maybe it was because we were here on a Thursday, or maybe there are not that many people to begin with.
Oman, prior to 1970, had very little infrastructure. All the roads, cities and buildings we have seen have been built in the last 30 years for the most part.
We got back a little after the sailing time of 12:30pm and the ship did not sail until about 1:30pm. We were already sweaty so we went up to the Pool Deck for the Tex-Mex buffet there. It was really hot!
Around 3pm, we saw about 8 to 10 large dolphins off our balcony. They were really active, jumping 6-8 feet out of the water and doing back flips. They were only visible for two or three minutes, but they made the most of it.
At 6:30pm, we got our big red parkas and headed to the Ice Bar Party being held in a fish locker. They had large blocks of ice set up to form a ice bar from which they were serving drinks and caviar. We have pictures. It was fun and very cold. The walk-in freezer was very near the engine control room where we had been for an earlier party. But, they walked us through have the length of the ship in service corridors this time so we did get to see some new things in addition to the walk-in freezer turned into an ice bar.
We had a segment directory delivered to our room this evening. It shows there are 611 guests on this segment that started in Dubai and ends in Rome. There is also a time change this evening, one hour backward.
Here is looking to smooth sailing for the next 3 days to Safaga, Egypt.
Salalah photos

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Day 91 - Wednesday March 29 at Sea

New menus
position at 7:00am: N23 37.34 latitude E58 34.22 longitude
(about 440 miles NE of Salalah, Oman)
temperature: 77F, 68% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 29,186 miles
It was pleasant on deck this morning after a calm night in the Arabian Sea. Clay walked 5 miles this morning to make up for skipping yesterday and tomorrow. It is a chocolate croissant day, but Debbie is taking it easy, still trying to shake her cough and congestion and fever. She is getting slowly better. Clay brought Debbie a chocolate croissant and we did not go out for breakfast until after 8am. We went to Compass Rose. Debbie had raspberries and swedish pancakes. Clay had blueberry pancakes. Our room wasn't ready yet so we got the laptop and a book for Debbie and spent some time in the library.
Back in the cabin, Debbie went back to sleep and Clay worked some. Debbie got up for lunch. There was a hamburger extravaganza going on up at the Pool Deck, but we went back to Compass Rose. Debbie had her usual turkey sandwich and Clay had lamb kofta. we both had peanut butter ice cream for dessert.
Back to the cabin and Debbie slept again while Clay did some more work. Clay observed lots of little boats out fishing. There was also a lot of shipping traffic visible. Debbie woke up for dinner. It was Formal night, but Debbie did not feel like getting dressed up. We dressed casually and went up to deck 12 to check on the sunset. But it was gone already. We went back down to deck 11 and LaVeranda at 6:31pm. There was a line outside but the restaurant was not open. Tonight is the first night of their new simple food concept. Either a lot of people did not want to dress up or a lot of people liked the menu. A scanned copy of the menu is in the pictures. Tonight is also the first night of the Crazy Kitchen in Latitudes, we took a picture of the menu today and it is in pictures. There is nothing on the menu that Debbie will eat, so we will probably just cancel this reservation. Sorry, we will be unable to report about the "Amapola" entertainment.
At dinner, Debbie had jerk pork tenderloin. It was bland. Clay had the BBQ pork ribs. They were the same as he has had at the Pool Deck BBQs and he liked them. They were a little messy for indoor dinner. Clay found rice krispy treats on the dessert buffet and Debbie was happy.
Tomorrow is an early start. We should dock at 7am in Salalah, Oman for a half-day stay. We are on a 4 1/2 hour tour that is scheduled to depart on arrival. LaVeranda will open at 6am, so we will plan to eat breakfast there then and see the sail in and then depart for our tour. After that there are 3 seas days before the big overnight to Luxor, so we hope to be completely recovered and whole again by then. If restful sea days don't do it, not clear what it will take. We will keep our fingers crossed for continued smooth sailing as we leave the Arabian Sea and enter the Gulf of Aden and then the Red Sea.
New menus

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Day 90 - Tuesday March 28 Muscat, Oman

Muscat photos
position at 7:00am: N23 37.34 latitude E58 34.22 longitude
(Muscat, Oman)
temperature: 77F, 73% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 28,890 miles
Here is the description of ship tour we are taking today.
=======================
Mystical Muscat

Duration: 4 Hours.
Seated, Walking.


Enjoy this fine introduction to Muscat, Oman's capital and the country's political, economic and commercial hub. Its exciting mix of medieval, traditional and modern architecture and culture lends Muscat a unique ambiance. From the port, you'll drive through Oman's exclusive residential district of Shati Al Qurum. First visit the Grand Mosque to learn about its distinguished and noble Islamic heritage.
You'll drive along Muscat's pretty coastal road, through the fishing village of Sidab and on to the old city of Muscat. You'll see the splendor of Al Alam Palace, official residence of Sultan Qaboos, which overlooks the sparkling waters of Muscat Bay and sits between the 16th-century medieval fortresses of Jalali and Mirani. Continue on for a visit to Bait Al Zubair, a private museum housing traditional Omani Heritage items that include collections of Omani weaponry, jewelry, clothing, household items, books, photographs, paintings, and maps.
Next, you'll visit the colourful Muttrah Souq, where scents of exotic Arabian perfumes and spices waft through the air. Its shops offer famous Omani khanjars (daggers) and hand-made Omani costumes, along with antiques, traditional silver jewelry, and handicrafts in copper, camel bone, wood, and leather.
Please note: Women must wear modest clothing that covers the body and the head, including the hair. Arms and legs must be covered to wrists and ankles, and a scarf must cover the head. Men must wear modest clothing befitting the sanctity of the mosque. Shorts are not allowed, and food, drinks and smoking are strictly prohibited. Slip-on shoes are recommended, as guests must remove their shoes before entering the mosque. Photography is prohibited at Bait Al Zubair Museum.

Program Pricing
Adult: $45.00.


=============================
The seas were again very calm overnight and Clay skipped his walk this morning. We docked before 7am this morning on the port side. The city of Muscat is a white collar around the harbor and made for a nice sail in. There were a tug, a couple of dhows and a little freighter docked where we headed. So, they had to scatter as we approached. There was a strange-looking ship docked before us and it looked like you could see animals moving around in it. (Clay talked to Laurens during the sailaway and he and Don had toured that ship today! Laurens said it was carrying sheep from Australia and that there were 7 floors and each floor held 20,000 sheep! Clay asked if we were having mutton soon. Laurens just laughed and said, no. But, that is amazing. And, a lot of sheep!)
It is hot and very sunny here today. It is a desert with rocky, barren mountains. There are lots of old watchtowers left behind on the hilltops around the city. This was at one time an old fortified city. Today there are 3 parts, Old Muscat, Mutrah (middle-aged) and Ruwi (new Muscat). Our tour drove us through all 3. They have a strict building code here and there are none of the highrises here that we have seen lately. The buildings must all be white and they have fanciful trim and windows to make them all look traditional. Everything was very clean and appealling-looking.
We had a quick breakfast from the buffet in LaVeranda. Today there was no hot cereal at all. It looked like all the cream of wheat had been eaten, but it was not refilled as Debbie milled around looking for something to eat. She finally had cereal and peanut butter toast. Clay had Cheerios and a banana. We were down on the dock early for our tour but the bus was already loading.
As we left the ship we had a pink and white, laminated badge clipped on us. We had to wear it all the time and return it on our return to the ship. As we drove out of and into the port, an armed, uniformed man came onto the bus and inspected us for the badges. The guide handed each of us a postcard from Oman with stamps already on it as we turned over our tickets. It was a nice touch. We did not ask if this was postage to the USA. We will just keep them for souvenirs. The tour above was pretty much as described. We were on a bus of 37 people again and were on the first bus of 3 or 4 of them. We only entered the mosque, the museum and the souk, all the other stops were only outside photo opportunities. It seemed like things were very spread out and that we drove a long time between, but it was interesting. There were security guards at the mosque along with one woman apparel checker. The guards were wearing wooden clubs as well as pistols on their belts. It seems they take security and appropriate dress very seriously here. Sadly, we had some women who were not prepared to enter the mosque. No matter how many times you tell some people something, we still had a few who did not understand that a ballcap or other hat would not work, even when the female RSSC escort on our bus came around and told women in hats that and asked them if they had a scarf to enter the mosque. So, some tempers flared and some people did not enter. We had about 30 minutes in the mosque and 45 minutes in the souq and about 30 minutes in the museum. We did manage to buy some T-shirts in the souq, but that was all. It was a maze of tiny alleys and we did not find our way around easily. By the time we had unloaded the bus and been guided to the souq entrance we were down to about 35 minutes. We did not buy any frankincense, but the air in the souq was thick with it. For that reason, a half-hour was plenty of time in there for Debbie. We had time at the end to make an unscheduled photo stop at the fish market. It was immediately outside the port gate and had an air about it.
We were back to the ship and at lunch by a little after 1pm. Debbie scored a 3 course lunch and ate almost all of it. She has not had much appetite lately. After lunch, she napped. Clay burned photos to CDs. We sailed a little before the scheduled time of 6pm. The captain did a 360 degree turn in the middle of the harbor for all the guests to be able to see the old Sultan's Palace from the water. (Or maybe just because he likes to do a doughnut a day!) There is a block party tonight at 6:15pm. It is Informal tonight and we plan to eat up in LaVeranda at the Mediterranean Bistro and then Debbie plans to do laundry.
We got an invitation today to an Ice Bar Party. It is for Thursday, March 30th from 6:30pm to 7:15pm. The invitation tells us to wear our red parkas that they gave us in LA and to follow the signs down and forward from the foyer on Deck 4. It says they will break out the caviar and vodka. Since we don't want any of that, we will just go to see a new part of the ship. (And remember to take Bob, so he can get over his sulking about missing the Burj-al-Arab.!)
At LaVeranda during our meal a couple was seated at the table next to us and as he went up to the buffet for his salad and appetizers, he stopped and asked Debbie when we would be posting today's update to the journal. What!?! This couple from Baton Rouge, Louis and Beth, stopped by and said they had just gotten on in Dubai, but had been tracking this journal leading up to their trip. They had been referred to the journal by Karen, a sister in Miami who had found it online. So, Karen, check out the photos today and enjoy! Louis and Beth are both fine and look great, but Beth missed the oatmeal this morning!
Debbie did get the laundry done, but had company. It seems she is not the only one to figure out that dinner is a good time to do laundry. This may mean some tough future competition on that front and Debbie hates competing.
There is some restaurant news in Passages tonight for those who are interested in such things. Update on Latitudes and the new concept of "Kitchen Cabaret." They saw they are "starring our very own Cabaret Mistress, 'Amapola' accompanied by the Voyager Trio. We will keep you posted on this. We have a reservation on the 4th. Also, change is in store again for LaVeranda. Starting tomorrow evening, it will feature "a selection of staple American dishes, good, honest, down home country cooking is on the menu."
In other news, we have a new Staff Captain, Jean Pierre Ravanant. We saw both Daniel Green and the new Staff Captain yesterday, but the newsletter tonight lists the new Staff Captain. We have not met him yet. We will miss Daniel and wish him well wherever he is! It looks like from the newsletter that we may have some new faces in other departments as well, but since we had not met all of them we cannot be sure who is new and who is not.
Muscat photos

Monday, March 27, 2006

Day 89 - Monday March 27 Fujairah, UAE around 1pm

Fujairah photos
position at 7:15am: N15 00.49 latitude E56 37.32 longitude
(About 60 miles N of Fujairah, our next port)
temperature: 73F, 97% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 28,654 miles
Here is the description of ship tour we are taking today.
=======================
Duration: 4 Hours.
Seated.

Departing the port area you will drive to the center of the city, where most of the main sights are located in a fairly compact area. The main business area is Hamad Bin Abdulla Road, where you will find banks, the post office and the central market. Your tour will start with a short panoramic drive through Fujairah, making a visit to the Museum and the Old Town.
The Fujairah Museum is one of the newest in the UAE, only having opened in 1991. There are two main galleries, archaeology and an ethnographic display. The archaeological gallery features items from the digs at Badiyah, Qidfa and Bithna. One item of particular interest is the container made from an ostrich egg. The ethnographic gallery features old photographs, weapons, tools, clothing and household articles.
Driving a short distance to the Old Town, there is a 300-year-old fort, which overlooks the ruins of old Fujairah. Some restoration is ongoing in the Old Town and at the Fort, and it may be difficult to gain access. Depart the Old Town and drive by the Palace, the residence of the ruler of Fujairah.
Drive to the Heritage Village in Fujairah and observe the local women at work on various craft items. From here, head out of town for a drive up to Bithna Oasis in the mountains, 12 kilometers outside of Fujairah. You will stop for a photograph of this lovely view.
Your coach will continue to the "Friday Market" outside Masafi, where pottery, craft and carpets may be bought, before driving through the mountains, the highest of these at 792 meters, before stopping at a canyon for a photograph. Continue along the same road to a 'wadi', (dried up riverbed), through which water flows year round. You will leave the wadi and go on to the coastal town of Dibba, before stopping at the tiny Bidiyah Mosque, the oldest mosque in the UAE. A photo stop will be made outside the mosque, before continuing to Khorfakkan, an enclave of the emirate of Sharjah. From here drive the short distance to the pier to board the ship.
Please note: All guests need to dress modestly with skirts below the knees or trousers and shirts or blouses with sleeves. The tour sequence may vary to avoid congestion at the venues.

Program Pricing
Adult: $99.00.

=============================
The seas were very calm overnight and it was very pleasant on deck this morning. Clay was into his third mile before anyone else arrived on deck, and when he finished, there were only two other people there. The temperature was in the high 60's and there was a litle breeze. We ate breakfast up in LaVeranda. There were chocolate croissants for Debbie and Clay had cereal. Debbie got a big bowl of raspberries from her new buddy behind the buffet. She noted that there was no oatmeal today, but what looked like either cream of wheat or grits. Presumably, it was cream of wheat. But, that will mess with Debbie's regular breakfast if oatmeal is now off the buffet. Debbie is still fighting her chest congestion and has a fever, so she rested up during the morning so she would be fresh for our ship's tour in Fujairah.
Around 11:00am, we slowed and took on a pilot, so Clay went up to deck 12 to watch the sail-in from his regular position. He did not want to waste his bridge sail-in invitation on this port. We were docked on the starboard side by 11:30am and then we went down to Compass Rose which was opening at 11:30 for an early lunch so people could make their tour times and still have lunch. We ordered by 11:35am. Clay got his regular burger and Debbie got her regular turkey sandwich. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. We saw people get their food, eat it, and leave. So, just after 12, Clay lost his patience and flagged down one of the head waiters to ask him to check on our order. Another head waiter appeared with our order within 3 minutes of a conference between the 2 head waiters. Good thing Clay got impatient, our order might never have come out otherwise.
We got down to the dock and were welcomed by what looked like a troop of Boy Scouts. They were handing out small pottery pots provided by Fujairah Port. It was a nice little welcome. We got on the 2nd of several buses doing this particular tour. We left the dock around 12:45pm and went directly to the Fujairah Museum where we were turned loose for 20 minutes to browse the museum on our own. The other buses there were lead through the exhibits by their guide. They had many ancient pieces (~4500 years old) as well as some more recent pieces found in some 1500-year old tombs in the area. Our next stop was a photo op at the Fujairah Fort. Then we drove about an hour to see the Friday Market. (Dubai's souks are not in danger from this market!) This is apparently a spot on a highway called Friday Market and there are machine-made rugs and fruits and vegetables, etc. sold there everyday of the week. We had a snafu with a passenger miscount and were the last bus to leave here after far too long a stay. The guide and driver both said we were 1 person short, not 37. Debbie got up and counted after they went out to search for a missing passenger and told the RSSC rep that she counted 37. Including, the RSSC rep. Yep. The RSSC rep counted again and confirmed Debbie's count. The RSSC rep got the guide and driver back and another count took place. All aboard and we left after a good 10 minutes of head counting in the blazing sun. After another 30 minutes or so, we arrived to unload at the UAE's version of the Grand Canyon, a dry wadi. You could see goats at the bottom with the naked eye so it wasn't too large. Then we drove another 30 minutes to see the Bidiya Mosque. This is the oldest mosque in the UAE, some 400 years old. We were there right as there was a call to prayer, so we could not go inside. There was a restroom there. One room, 3 stalls, 2 sinks. 2 western toilets and 1 eastern. The women ceded the 1 eastern stall to the men and we all used the same restroom. There were some old watchtowers on the hilltops over the mosque and Clay went up to take pictures. Not sure what happened here, but our guide bathed himself (face, arms up to the elbows and feet up to the knees) in a tile footwashing room at the restroom, put his socks and shoes back on, and then vanished. By the time, the bus driver blew the horn to roust him 10 minutes after the time he told us to be back on the bus, we had lost another woman passenger and the RSSC escort who went to search for her. No idea what happened here. It was a very small and contained physical area. We stopped for a last photo op at a new-looking strip mall of bank branches overlooking the Gulf of Oman. Again, not sure what was going on here. There was nothing photo-worthy. Then we headed back to the ship, arriving about 5pm. It was far too long for many people on the bus! (We did not go to the heritage village listed in the tour description and there was no explanation for this omission.)
In general, Fujairah looks a lot like El Paso, TX, but without the population. Desert with rocky mountains all round. Fujairah may be a little dryer than El Paso, and it has better roads. But they do share the same geological look. In all honesty, there was not much to show off here and had we not been on the tour we would not even have had a drive through the countryside. It took us through parts of Sharjah, a neighboring emirate, and past parts of an Omani enclave that is cut off from the rest of Oman by Fujairah and this part of Oman controls the Strait of Hormuz. So, it was somewhat interesting. This emirate is the second poorest of the seven United Emirates and it showed. The ship's shuttle took people to Lulu Hypermarket and people who did not tour and went into town on the shuttle said it was an enormous, amazing store with everything you could ever want and excellent prices. So, some people who have been onboard for a while had a nice restocking opportunity. We are happy that we took the tour, such as it was.
Sail away was on time and smooth sailing so far. Tonight was Country Club Casual. We showered and changed and went down to Compass Rose because they had chocolate souffle on the menu tonight. Debbie's taster is not working too well and she hasn't much appetite, but together we finished off the souffle. We hope to continue smooth sailing. Tomorrow is an early morning arrival in Muscat. We have a 4-hour morning tour there. The newsletter says that there is a strong taxi drivers union here so no shuttles and that because of the lock they have they also are very expensive. The newsletter quotes $15USD for a 2 mile ride to the closest area of interest. (In Dubai, the same length ride was only $3-5USD.) We are here for a 10-hour day, but that will probably preclude us doing any other exploring in Muscat outside our tour, so we will keep our fingers crossed that this will be an excellent tour. The Captain told us last night that if we were not going on tour here that we should go to the Al-Bustan Palace Hotel. He said it is quite stunning to approach and wonderful inside as well. He told us that next year's World Cruise cocktail party will be held there instead of in Dubai at the Burj-al-Arab Hotel. Given the taxi prices here and Debbie still not feeling well, we will probably not make the trip out to visit the hotel.
Fujairah photos

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Day 88 - Sunday March 26 Dubai day 2

Dubai day 2 photos

position at 8:00am: N25 15.43 latitude E55 16.27 longitude
(Dubai in the UAE)
temperature: 70F, 83% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 28,493 miles

It was a cool 65 degrees when Clay walked on deck this morning. There were only a few people on deck so it made for a pleasant walk this morning.

We had an early start with breakfast in Compass Rose at 7:30 instead of 8:00 because of the disembarkation going on today. There were no chocolate croissants, but there were 2 black cherry jams on the table, so Debbie had Swedish pancakes again. By 9:30, we were in a taxi on the way to Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House. The ride took about 10 minutes and cost around 12 dirhams. It was the residence for the grandfather of the current ruler of Dubai. It has been restored and now showcases the history and development of Dubai. We spent about an hour or so walking through the exhibits at the house.

After the house museum, we made quick walk-throughs on a heritage village and a diving village that were close by the house museum. The museum cost 2 dirhams per person, but the two villages were free. The reason was they were mainly shops selling stuff, and that is why we quickly got through them. We then walked under the creek using a pedestrian tunnel. This was our 2nd trip under the river this way and we were old hands at it, knowing exactly where to go. Once on the other side of the creek, we walked through a series of jewelry shops that were on the main road outside the gold souk. We did not find anything to buy though. We did stop in a nut and candy shop (we passed several) and Clay bought what is supposed to be local Dubai treats for his office. We then walked up to the fish souk and the vegetable souk. It was impressive. The fish souk was a covered area about half the size of a football field and it was full of people trying to sell and buy fish. By this time, it was about 1pm. The weather was hot (hotter than the previous day) and Debbie was still fighting her congestion and cough, so we caught a taxi back to the ship. We ate a quick lunch in Compass Rose and then Debbie rested for the afternoon. Clay took a mall shuttle bus to the Deira Centre City Mall and did a little more shopping. It seemed the mall bus does not regularly take people back, so Clay ended up taking a cab back and got to the ship around 4:15pm.

At 5pm, we went outside the terminal building to catch our 5:25 bus to the Burj Al Arab Hotel. We were not the first ones there and the bus was full by 5:10. So around 5:15, we headed out. Traffic was heavy but moving. We got to the hotel around 5:55. The guide on the bus said we should be back on the bus at 6:25. This meant we had 30 minutes to enjoy our cocktail party on the 27th floor (top floor) of this sail shaped hotel where the rooms start at $1000 a night. As soon as we got our drinks (a bellini and a beer), Lars, the Hotel Director on board, walked up to Clay and wanted to know if that beer was a Kingfisher. We laughed and said no, it was a Budweiser (Clay had asked when he got it). Lars also wanted to know where was Bob. Well, we had to admit that we had forgotten Bob. Debbie had switched purses, and had not gotten Bob. She realized it as we rode on the bus but it was too late to do anything about it. So, we have no shots of Bob at the Burj Al Arab. Bob is not too happy right now. The captain also came up (and thank goodness he did not make any Kingfisher remarks). He said he had noticed Clay was always on deck 12 overlooking the flying bridge when we came into port. He invited Clay to knock on the bridge door sometime as we come into a port and see a sail-in from the bridge if Clay wanted to. It was a nice invitation and Clay will likely try to take him up on it at some point.

The Burj Al Arab is a swanky hotel. It is very colorful and everything is oversize. It would not be out of place in Las Vegas. There is a multilevel lobby with a couple of dancing fountains on the multiple levels. It was very impressive and they served excellent Bellinis. The Captain went to the hotel in a Silver Cloud Rolls. We meant to be at the bus at the time they told us to be there, but we could not walk away from the Captain and so it was about 6:55pm when we got out to the bus. The hotel had staff on the bus offering dates to the people there waiting for the bus to fill. The man seated behind us told us this was the 6:25 bus. It left just before 7pm and took a different route back. On the way out, we seemed to go out of the way to get there, but we took a major highway and sped right along and got there in 30 minutes or so. We took a street under construction on the way back and we sat in bumper to bumper traffic just stopping and rolling for an hour to return to the ship. We walked straight to Compass Rose once back onboard and had a quick main course. Spaghetti for Debbie and a steak for Clay and then Debbie medicated herself and went straight to bed. She woke up between 10:30pm and 11pm and thought we were already moving. It is possible that if everyone was all aboard that we did leave early. Tomorrow afternoon we should be in Fujairah, which is another of the United Arab Emirates. We will only be there for about 6 hours, so to make the best use of the time, we booked a 4 hour tour.

Dubai day 2 photos

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Day 87 - Saturday March 25 Dubai Day 1

Dubai Day 1 photos

position at 8:00am: N25 15.43 latitude E55 16.27 longitude
(Dubai in the UAE)
temperature: 68F, 83% humidity, partly cloudy with some breeze
distance since FLL: 28,493 miles

The ship was rocking and thumping and cracking overnight. The wind was howling in around our balcony door and waves were spraying up onto the balcony. Who would have thought that the Strait of Hormuz would be so dramatic? The weather info on the TV said the wind was hitting the port side at about 90kmh. We rounded Oman and went through the Strait around 11pm-1am. We did not go out to see if you could see lights from Iran on one side and Oman on the other. Looking at the schedule, it seems that we will probably be asleep when we sail through the Strait on the way out as well. So, we probably won't get to see anything. This is the first rough sailing we have had in weeks and we had gotten spoiled. By the time Clay was on deck walking this morning, the seas had calmed but it was still windy. It was also 68 degrees which is much cooler than the 78-82 that has been common lately. There is an older Japanese couple who walk earlier. They looked like they were dressed in snow suits with the wind puffing up their windsuits.

Debbie was a slow starter again today. With the chill wind, she decided to not go up top to watch the sail in. We had breakfast late in Compass Rose because it is Saturday. Debbie had raspberries and a double order of Swedish Pancakes. Clay had his usual 2 eggs over easy with 3 link sausages and 2 pieces of white bread toasted.

We arrived in Dubai a little ahead of schedule. We docked on the startboard side. This is a huge port and they have a dedicated cruise terminal building that is very nice. There is an ATM inside as well as a few free Internet terminals. We had a large welcoming committee. There was a band of sheiks playing drums and bagpipes. There was another band of bedouins playing drums and singing. Inside the terminal we were welcomed with perfumed oils, incense and roses by some beautiful young women in beautiful costumes. There were 3 free shuttles being operated from the terminal to 3 different locations but none of them started before 9:45am. It was about 10:15am when we got on the RSSC shuttle to the Gold Souk area. They drive on the right here.

Debbie is in the market for a new gold bracelet. So, this was the place to be. We got lost to start and Clay got a big purple Dubai T-shirt at the "first customer" price. ;) Debbie asked the man who sold it to him for directions to the Gold Souk, so that was worth something too. Around the corner, Debbie found a T-shirt she wanted and the asking price was less than Clay's final offer threat at the store around the corner. ;) Later in the afternoon, Debbie bought another T-shirt for her brother and the asking price was so low that we did not even negotiate. Clay's head nearly exploded. So, the Gold Souk. Amazing. There is a lot of gold for sale there. But, nothing for Debbie. She tried on one bracelet, but was not fond enough of it to even ask for a price. She was looking for an everyday, gold link-type vs. bangle bracelet and there just wasn't much of that. Gold bangle bracelets, now, literally truckloads of those, but that is not what she wants. Then, we walked through souks of different varieties. Textiles, spices, watches, shoes, plastic junk... Finally, we wound our way to Dubai Creek and walked up and down the dhow wharf and were amazed at the big screen TVs being transported on old wooden boats. Then, we took an abra to the other side for lunch. Abra is a small wooden boat that just ferries people from one side to the other to 2 docks on each side. It cost 1 UAE dirham for the 2 of us. It took about 5 minutes. We had lunch at Bayt Al Wakeel. It was in an interesting building that was built in 1935. It was an old wind tower building. This was an early, basic, non-electric form of air conditioning. They did not have the wind tower working though. We ate on the deck overlooking the creek and watched the boat traffic. We had 2 Shwarma plates, one chicken and one lamb and a Coke and a Diet Coke. They came with a big piece of flat bread. We were there long enough for the shady spot we were sitting in to become a sunny spot and then some. Debbie got a sunburnt nose. They total price was about $18US. Thee women sat at the table next to us and they ordered 3 sheeshas (water pipes)! They each had a different flavor if that is what you could call it. The waiter got to smoke plenty while he was setting them up and keeping them going. He emptied and relit them halfway through and with the nice breeze we got covered in ash. It was definitely a we're not in Kansas moment.

All the shops close down in the midday, so we were headed to a museum that is open all day. We walked through some more souks and most of the shops were closed. We went to the Dubai Museum in Al Fahidi Fort. Admission was 3 dirham each. It was an interesting and well done museum. Everything was well signed in English. It had artifacts from the 3rd century BC to last century. They had a lot of dioramas and these were just a gas. You walked on sand and in semidarkness. It was fun and we enjoyed it.

Debbie was really dragging after this and thought that if we started walking back towards the ship's shuttle bus stop now that we would be back to the ship just in time for dinner. We were a little early, but that was alright. We walked back downstream on the creek and past the museums that we want to visit tomorrow. Then we located the pedestrian tunnel under the creek and used it to cross back over. Then, we just had to go under the street in another pedestrian tunnel and through the bus depot parking and our shuttle bus was there waiting. We were the last ones to get on before it left. We don't know if there was some schedule for these, but they seemed to be running about every 30 minutes. The other 2 shuttles from the cruise terminal go to the Mercato Mall and the Deira City Center Mall.
The weather today was just about perfect. It was not too hot and it was sunny with a nice breeze that you could catch almost everywhere. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to just take our time and wander and absorb the sights and sounds and ambiance of the place. Everyone spoke to us in English and many asked where we were from. The odd thing is that most of them were from somewhere else! Not sure if we ran into any native Emiratis.

We went to dinner right at 6:30pm at LaVeranda and finished quickly. We will be early to bed tonight. We had a long day of easy walking, but Debbie is not breathing well with the chest cold and of course, spice souks and incense and perfumes and then sheesas smoke and ash treatment! We will hope for a long, good night of sleep and a late start tomorrow. Tomorrow evening is our big World Cruisers' Special Event. The reception at the Burj al Arab. Roger said in his tour talk that the hotel was not allowing not houseguests onto the property without advance reservations because they were overbooked for the Dubai Cup horse race this weekend. Guess we'll skip the big race, too. We will look forward to having a look at this famous hotel though. This is a cruise end and begin point for the segmenters. There seems to be a lot of activity. We have not heard any numbers about how many are leaving and how many are joining. If we hear, we will post it. Other news. When the bands were taking turns playing this morning, an ambulance backed up to the gangway. After breakfast, we came out and it was still there. We were going to go into the terminal building to check things out and we happened by as an injured young Filippino woman was taken down the gangway on a stretcher. She did not appear to be sick but rather to be in pain. They lifted her legs to move her from the ship's equipment to the ambulance and she was clearly in agony. It was very sad. We did not recognize her and do not know what happened to her. On the shuttle bus ride back to the ship, some other passengers were talking about a fire on the ship with an injury. But, we do not know what happened to hurt the young woman. It must have been terrifying for her to be in so much pain and carried out in the sun like that on the dock and driven away from everyone she knows. We felt just awful for her and wish her the best. This seems like a place that would have excellent medical facilities and we hope that she is well cared for and makes a speedy recovery.

In other news, we wandered what they did with old jigsaw puzzles. Well, they recycle them as we have seen a repeat.

Dubai Day 1 photos

Friday, March 24, 2006

Day 86 - Friday March 24 at sea

Sea Day 86
position at 7:00am: N23 43.28 latitude E61 26.27 longitude
(about 540 miles SE of Dubai, our next port)
temperature: 73F, 91% humidity, partly cloudy with some breeze
distance since FLL: 28,012 miles
Clay walked this morning and it was very nice with a a nice breeze. The Japanese lady that walks in the morning had on elephant pants. (Clay wants to make sure Debbie knows this since she was coveting this woman's elephant blouse in Bangkok. He did point out that the pants did not go with the blouse. Debbie is so over it, she has more elephant things than she ever needed now!)
Debbie was a slow starter this morning. She does not feel very well. She dressed for morning aerobics class and we went up to LaVeranda for breakfast. She had banana and oatmeal finally, after the run of chocolate croissants, so maybe that will make her feel better. Clay bacon and tomato sandwich. After breakfast, we came by the cabin and it had not been touched. We took down the service sign and Debbie changed out of her exercise clothes. She will not make it today. She took some medications and we took the computer downstairs to get the last 2 journal entries posted. After an hour or so, we came back to the cabin and Debbie took some more drugs and went back to bed. Clay went to a lecture but all the back seats were full, so he didn't stay. He read Monday's USA Today and Wall Street Journal in the library. While he was gone a room service waiter, woke Debbie with the doorbell, looking for an ice bucket. He must have thought she was loopy as she showed him in and said I don't understand, there WAS an ice bucket here, a big one with a stand. Debbie told him someone must have taken it already. (When Clay heard about this, his comment was that we better not see that bucket with stand on our account.) He came back to see if Debbie would get up for lunch. She would. She still felt bad with a headache and the chest cold, but she no longer felt dizzy and nauseous too. They were having a Rossini BBQ on the Pool Deck but we went down to Compass Rose. Clay felt compelled to order a Kingfisher Beer after Ricardo told him last night that thanks to Clay they would now be stocked in all outlets. We got a completely new bar waiter that we have never seen before. (We should point out that there must have been a pretty good crew turnover at Mumbai, because we are seeing quite a few new faces besides this one.) He was dubious about finding a Kingfisher, but Clay assured him that he would find one. He came back with a big smile for Clay and told him he was right. Clay ordered a hamburger and Debbie ordered a turkey sandwich. During lunch Laurens came in, Debbie wave to him and said thank you. He stopped and spoke to a couple by the walkway, we were by the window. Laurens waved over to Clay and Clay boomed out, I have a bone to pick with you! Laurens, laughed and said, what now, there is no local beer in Dubai! Clay told him, I had to spend an afternoon drinking a six pack of Kingfisher in the sun because of you. Laurens laughed and Debbie added, thanks again, Clay has given himself aversion therapy to Kingfisher. By this time, the wait staff who all knew all about it were laughing too. We both had cinammon and dulce de leche ice cream for dessert. Debbie went back up to the cabin and slept the rest of the afternoon.
Tonight is Formal night and the Captain's Farewell Party for this segment. We have not been to one of these yet. So, we went. The crew put on a show with 5 or 6 songs. They pulled a guest from the audience and put a Beatles wig on him and gave him a rubber guitar. That part was funny. Debbie wore her new salwar kameez tonight.
Sea Day 86

Day 85 - Thursday March 23 at sea

Bob loves Kingfisher Beer

position at 7:00am: N20 10.28 latitude E68 54.27 longitude
(about 1120 miles E of Dubai, our next port)

temperature: 77F, 73% humidity, cloudy, windy

distance since FLL: 27,472 miles

We were slow starting this morning. Clay did walk this morning. We did not head out for breakfast until after 8am. Debbie wanted to go to Low Impact Aerobics at 9am, so we went up to LaVeranda. Chocolate croissants!!! Debbie was double-lucky this morning and also scored a nice bowl of raspberries to go along. Clay had cold cereal and a banana. Debbie has the rebounded virus from hell now settling down in her chest. She has a smoker's voice and she sucked wind to get through the 45-minutes of aerobics. She stretched and cooled off during the halfhour between classes and stayed for Abs/Backs and Butts on the Fitball. She was back to the room just after 10:45am. Clay went to Roger's tour talk on Dubai. He also went to the Tour Desk to pick up our tickets for the next World Cruisers' Special Event in Dubai. It is a reception at the Burj al Arab Hotel on our second evening there.

There was a surprise gift in our cabin this morning. A small fancy, zippered bag was just lying at the foot of the bed when we came back to the cabin. Bob, for some reason, was staring up at the ceiling instead of over the room and claimed to know nothing. Debbie opened the bag. It contained a small, very colorful statue of Ganesh. It had a card: "LORD GANESH The God of good beginnings and the remover of obstacles. Compliments from Micato India." What a nice touch. But, what is Bob's problem? We also had a letter informing us that Taj Mahal dinner has been extended to 3/27/2006. Next up is Crazy Kitchen Cabaret. We will not do the Taj dinner again, but will make a reservation for the new concept that will be running from 3/29 to 4/10. There was not any information about what Crazy Kitchen Cabaret would involve so as not to spoil the surprises in store for us, but it did say that "we are flying over a very special artiste to perform exclusively in Latitudes and create an evening that will live in your memories." OK, that should be some special dinner!

Debbie handwashed her salwar kameez outfit. Tonight is Informal. She said it might be a long time before she gets another chance to wear it. (We have not had any theme nights for wearing local clothes since we left French Polynesia. Too bad. People wore their Asian silks to dinner on dressier nights anyway.) She had it hanging up from the airvents between the bed and desk/sofa area.

There was a lobster BBQ on the Pool Deck. We went down to Compass Rose. We were making a reservation for the new restaurant coming up in Latitudes before being seated. Suddenly, someone was standing very close behind Debbie with their hands on her shoulders. She stood very still and so did they. She swiveled just her head around and read Laurens Hazelbach on the name tag at her eye level. She exclaimed, Laurens, we have a bone to pick with you! He stepped back about 3 steps. You know he wished he had just slipped past her! She was smiling and laughing though. He asked what was wrong. She told him that we could not believe that we had spent 4 days in 3 ports in Indian and he had not loaded any Kingfisher Beer onboard. He puffed up with indignity and claimed, that is not true! Who told you this? She told him that Clay had asked several times and been told none was loaded. Who?, he asked again. Debbie ticked off names. Laurens, smiled with some relief, and told her that it was only being served in Latitudes. We had not asked there since we had arrived in India. Clay had asked in Compass Rose and in LaVeranda. Debbie smiled and was ready to tell Laurens that we were not likely to return to Latitudes just for Kingfisher Beer, when he held up a finger and pulled out his cell phone and told her, not to worry, I'll take care of it as he walked away. Clay ordered a Kingfisher Beer to have with his chicken salad sandwich. Debbie told him where Laurens had said to find it. He came back to say it was on ice and should be cold by the time his sandwich arrived. Good. We skipped dessert because there was nothing appetizing sounding. Debbie had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for lunch with a Coke and tortilla chips and pickles. Clay started with a salad and Debbie started with chilled peach soup. (She already had dessert!) We went and picked out a DVD and then made our way up to the Pool Deck to check out the ice creams. It was Spumoni and Vanilla. Debbie got a peanut butter cookie and Clay got Spumoni. Only it wasn't Spumoni, it was pistachio. Lucky Clay.

We came back to the room and Clay stretched out on the bed. After brushing her teeth, Debbie pushed past the hanging outfit and was surprised again. There was a big ice bucket on a stand by the balcony doors. It was filled with crushed ice and a 6-pack of Kingfisher Beer! Clay had plannedto spend part of the afternoon on the balcony drinking 2 local beers that he still had left over from Hong Kong and Singapore. New plan! Debbie asked Bob what was going on in this room today and he was staring at the beers, not the ceiling, this time. Clay came back in from the balcony some hours later and said that he thought he had given himself aversion therapy to Kingfisher now. He took the remaining beers out and put them in the bar cabinet and emptied and dried the ice bucket and stand.

Debbie went to 2 hours of exercise classes in the afternoon. She plans to do laundry after dinner this evening. We wound up going back to LaVeranda for Pasta y Basta since nothing sounded appealing on the CR menu. It was a quick dinner and then back for laundry. While we were there Ricardo came over to tell Clay that his beer was now available in all outlets on the ship. We hope that no one got upset over this. Debbie and Laurens were clearly smiling and laughing about it, but it did let Laurens know that there was a breakdown in communications with the bar staff not knowing what stock was available on the ship. When we returned to the cabin, Debbie saw that the clocks move back another hour tonight. Clay said good, so you can do laundry and still get to bed early! We are having some extra long days as we try to recover from the big overnight excursion. Debbie had the laundry room on deck 7 all to herself. When she returned, Clay pointed out that the ice bucket was still in the room and he was going to have to call Laurens to come and get his bucket. Very funny! Thanks Laurens!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Day 84 - Wednesday March 22 Agra, India

Agra photos

distance since FLL: 27,204 miles

Radisson's Tour description for Taj Mahal trip
========
Price $1995 pp
Duration: 1 Night.
Seated.


OVERLAND TOUR FOR WORLD CRUISE 2006 If you have not already pre-booked this Optional Shore Excursion, you may contact Radisson Seven Seas Reservations on 1 (800) 285-1835 to verify current status of this program. Limited space may be available and should be booked via reservations. You may also check with the Tour Manager upon embarkation to verify if this tour is still available. The following cancellation penalties apply, and cancellation charges will be billed to shipboard accounts.
90-75 Days 50% of per person cost 74-0 Days 100% of per person cost
Constructed by the great Mogul Emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his wife, the Taj Mahal is, perhaps, the most perfect architectural monument in the world. To the poet Tagore it was a "Tear on the Face of Eternity." We've included both a sunset and sunrise tour of the Taj, which takes on different hues with the day's changing light. You'll stay just 600 yards away in the Oberoi Amarvilas, enjoying an uninterrupted view from your room of this peerless "monument to eternal love." Elaborate gardens, terraced lawns and fountains, reflecting pools and pavilions complement the classic architecture of this deluxe hotel. Also included is your choice of a tour to one of the following highlights: Fort Agra, also built during Mogul Emperor Akbar's reign; Itmad-ud-Daulah, known as the "Baby Taj"; the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri, nine square miles of palatial architecture built to reflect the glory of the Mogul Empire; or a shopping excursion to the Kohinoor Jewelry Museum featured by National Geographic, and the marble inlay stores.
Please note: Hotel space at the Oberoi Amarvilas is limited. If our space sells out at the Oberoi Amarvilas an alternative will be offered at the Mughal Sheraton hotel.
Program includes:
o Return charter flight on modern Boeing aircraft
o One night accommodation at the Amarvilas Hotel (or alternative hotel) with Taj Mahal view
o Buffet-style breakfast, lunch and dinner. House wine and local beer included
o All sightseeing and transfer as per itinerary
o Entrance fees and camera/video fees at all monuments
===============================

We were up just minutes before the wakeup call actually came in. Clay had showered the night before and was ready to go. He had a sore throat and cough though and was afraid that the virus from hell that has been making rounds of Voyager's population had rebounded on him. Debbie is just not a morning person anyway. She needed a hot shower and some time to get going. We were in the lobby by 5:30am. They were serving coffee in the bar there and she had a cup while enjoying the lovely breeze off the balcony. She called Clay out there to feel it and to show him that as the sky was beginning to lighten that the full Taj Mahal would be visible from here, though not from our room which was on the same level and probably not 200 feet away. Pretty soon we were outside and loading the minibuses. The courtyard out front is pretty in the dark with all its fountains but we expect it will be stunning in the daylight and can't wait to go and to get back.

We had a quiet ride to the Taj Mahal. There was not a lot of traffic out yet and it was mostly on foot. We passed a uniformed woman walking in the road and Debbie said it was the woman who frisked her yesterday afternoon. We arrived before the bulk of the hawkers had and the gates were still closed and locked. We would be the first ones in. While we waited, there was a broadcast call to pray and the dogs in the area went bonkers with howling. Eventually, they all just sat down in the road and stared at the walls of the compound. It was weird. There are some massive ancient-looking wooden doors in the walls. We noticed them yesterday while waiting in line, but are not sure if they are original or how old they are. There was a very small door in one of them. Debbie commented that no matter how small they people were when the thing was built, they would have had to duck to use that little door. While we waited the little door opened and a small dog stuck his head out. How funny is that. Eventually, a man squatted there and he looked out too. He gave some orders through the little door and eventually the gates opened and some men worked for a few minutes to assemble the bars that would separate the men and women and the curtained booths for frisking and then we were queued and segregated and through the entry procedure. Again, people brought bags and forbidden items and we went through all that again.

We walked through to the gatehouse and it was still mostly dark as we arrived inside. We stood there for a half hour or so as light began to silouhette and then shine on the Taj Mahal. Ourguide chose not to lead us this morning (though some of the others did) and told us to do as we wished now but to be back at the gatehouse by 7am. He advised us to just find a seat and spend the hour watching the light shine more and more brightly on the Taj Mahal, or the find a spot in the center of the garden or center platform and just sit and watch. Debbie asked him if it looked different inside the mausoleum in sunrise vs sunset natural lighting and he said no. We are not so sure about that now, but there was not much time and we would have had to do everything at a trot and not see the light changing the appearance of the Taj Mahal outside if we wanted to enter it. So, we did not enter.

Inside the gardens, there are entrepeneurs who will show you where you can get good camera shots. They start out just showing you a spot close to where you are, and then try to lead you to other spots. After a while, they want some money. Well, Clay had one lead him to 3 spots and gave hom a dollar for this two minutes of 'work'. Later, we were down by the middle viewing stand, and another man showed us some spots and actually took 3 or 4 pictures of us (less than 5 minutes of time). For this, he wanted $5 (after the fact) when we offered him $2. We ended up giving him $3. He was not happy about that, and started on the "first customers" spiel but he had been there as long as we had and had surely had other customers before us. Also, as we pointed out to him, you are asking for more than a $1 a minute and we don't even make that kind of money! After that, we had fun taking different shots of our own and photographing Bob.

We spent our time walking around the grounds, taking shots and just looking at things. The sun rose in the east so the outbuilding (not the mosque) to the east cast its shadow upon the eastern side of the Taj for a while. As the sun got higher in the sky, it lit up the Taj's marble, and made it gleaming white. On the back side of the Taj, we saw a band of 30-40 monkeys cross the courtyard. Along the way, there were some encounters with other tourists and this caused some agitation in the monkeys. They started hooting and chasing a man that got caught in their midst and he had to jump over a fence to a lower area to escape. He fell, but a grounds keeper came over as soon as he heard the noise and chased the monekys off the man (with some difficulty). We saw other passengers from our ship who were staying at the Sheraton, about 4 miles away. It was the first time we had seen them in Agra. We spent about an hour walking around the gardens taking in the Taj. It was a delightful way to begin the morning.

The ride back was uneventful, the vendors were a little less numerous and aggressive this morning and Clay did not buy any more T-shirts. We ate breakfast in the hotel at the Bellvue Restaurant, where they were serving both a cold buffet and hot dishes from a menu. The hot dishes included some Indian dishes. We ordered and shared two of them. Clay was gone to the buffet while the people came about the menus and ordering. Debbie quizzed a waitress about the Indian dishes at the bottom of the menu and then ordered steamed idlis and masala dosa, both came with some kind of spicy lentil soup, but we didn't get the name of it. Check the pictures out to see one of these dishes. We really enjoyed both of these dishes and we were so glad we got a chance to have something new. We were now really excited about lunch buffet later at the same restaurant. The food and service here are really excellent. At 8:30am, we loaded the big buses and went out for a morning tour. We went on a tour named the Agra Fort and Shopping, which combined parts of two of the original 4 tour options into a single tour. (We believe everyone in our hotel either took this same tour or just stayed at the hotel for the morning. All 3 of the buses had the same sign on it. The guides sort of eliminated the other 2 options when we tried to sign up for an option at the hospitality desk. We suppose that if one had made a stink about it and demanded either Itmad-ud-Daulah or Fatehpur Sikri that they would have taken you, but since we were leaning to the red fort anyway, we just let it go.) The red fort was where the Shah who built the Taj Mahal for his dead wife was locked up by his son (after being overthrown) for the last 8 years of his life. It was sort of a house arrest, and his surrounds were magnificent, and they overlooked the Taj Mahal so everyday he could gazed upon his wife's tomb. We spent about an hour or so walking around this very large complex of buildings and gardens inside this fort. Lots of marble, inlaid pieces, marble lattices, archways, etc. It was and is palacial in every sense of the word. The really amazing thing is that only 1/3 of the fort is open to the public. The rest is still in use by the Indian Army as a base. It has been continuously occupied by some army or another since the day it was constructed. It replaced an even earlier fort.

We then were driven to a 4-story building that sold local handcrafts, etc. They showed us how the marble inlay was done by hand, and gave us plenty of opportunity to purchase some pieces. But, they were just too expensive. They wanted 30-50 USDs for little boxes. Very similar boxes were being sold on the street for 10 rupees (about 25 cents). Now, the workmanship may have been a lot different, but you just had the feeling they you were being had in this place and not just getting 9 useless T-shirts for $20. They wanted big bucks for nice pieces they were selling. Their sales pressure was intense (about the same level as the street vendors). Debbie picked up a plate that was very similar to one she had admired in one of the hotel's boutiques. It was 3 times the price in this shop as the clearly inflated price at the hotel boutique and was of absolutely equal quality. It was a very unpleasant shopping experience even though it was interesting to see them demonstrate how they produce the marble inlaid pieces. Debbie pointed out that if we just wanted WOW factor with no intention of buying because it was far too much money to spend then we would rather have been taken to Kohinoor which was the original shopping excursion offered. We were there about an hour. That was 15 minutes longer than our scheduled time. We only left when a passenger went back inside and got the guide back to the bus. All three buses had people sitting in them wanting to leave. Enough people left one bus that demanding to leave this store that they were put into a couple of taxis and one of them came and told her husband she was going with them to a "jewelry store." We are not sure if they got to go to Kohinoor. It was the one low point for our guide who otherwise did an exceptional job.

We got back to the hotel at around 11:20am and had until 12:45pm to checkout and eat our buffet lunch. When we arrived back at the hotel, we got our first good look at the exterior in daylight. It was really beautiful. We entered the courtyard to find a man sitting on a fancy blanket and pillow in the center of it playing a flute. It was just an awesome experience. We walked around the outside of the courtyard to listen to the water and the flute-playing and shot some video of it for the sounds. Too bad we cannot post video! We left our bag in front of our door for pickup, went to reception and checked out, and then went to lunch. The hotel staff and tour staff took careof our bag and we got it back when we got back to the ship. Lunch was not as wonderful and amazing as dinner or breakfast, but it was still very good. A woman seated at the table next to us asked if they cooked the bread in a tandoori oven and the answer was yes. She asked, You have one in the kitchen? The answer was again, yes. She asked if she could go back to the kitchen and see it and the waiter told her, sure, come on. She got up. Debbie looked at Clay and said, She is not even taking a camera. Clay had his camera in his pants pocket. He jumped up and followed the woman and asked to come too. The cook was surprised, but recovered nicely and after showing how to do it, he let the woman make her own piece of naan.
The Agra Airport did have a couple of curio shops in the waiting area, so the group shopped some while we waited. Debbie got an elephant outfit and Clay finally got a big enough T-shirt (for almost what he paid for 9 t-shirts from the street vendor), but this one fits and did not smell like a toxic waste dump. We boarded the plane on time around 2pm. The boarding passes were handed out at the hotel, and this time they were done by hand. And all the seats were assigned sequentially. This made the plane packed at the front with no empty seats, but empty at the back. Once onboard, everyone shifted their seats around so we were not packed together. The flight back was uneventful except we were able to see the Taj Mahal from the air when we took off. Not sure why we did not see it when we landed. The same routine this time as on the way to Agra. They served lunch! Almost no one took the lunches because we were all still stuffed from overeating the wonderful and delicious food at the Oberoi Amarvilas. We were supposed to land at 4pm but we were a little late. Not sure why but we did circle the airport for a while before we landed. We were on the buses and headed back to the ship around 5:15pm. The ship had an all-aboard time of 5:30pm set to sail at 6pm. Well, at 6pm, we were still on the bus stuck in some notable traffic. We finally got back around 6:30pm or so. They must have been holding the ship just for our group because we were sailing about 5 minutes after we walked into the cabin.

We took a different route back from the airport and did not see the mile after mile of sidewalk shanties. Instead, we saw much more upscale parts of the city. We went through several areas where the guide said that apartments were selling to $500-$1000 USD per square foot for modest apartments. We also went by the Queen's Necklace (road by the harbour) and saw the Haji Ali Mosque and the Chowpatty Beach. It was certainly a more pleasant ride back as far as the scenery than the ride to the airport. But it took about 30 minutes longer, maybe due to traffic. The bus this time was truly awful, much worse than the first one we took. The seats were child-sized and we had to share a row. Clay sat by the window to take pictures and Debbie rode the whole time hanging halfway off the seat with a metal ridge cutting into one butt cheek. She was just about paralyzed by the time we got off. The ship's staff was waiting out in front of the terminal building in force to help us back onto the ship so we could depart quickly.

We were exhausted and chose to eat in LaVeranda which is again serving its Pasta y Basta menu. We did not even change clothes. It was a Country Club Casual night and LaVeranda is always casual. Debbie had angel hair pasta with sundried tomato pesto and grilled chicken which has been one of her favorite meals onboard. She ate it 2 nights in a row the first time it appeared. Clay had lamb, and thought it was very tasty. Early to bed. Since the time changed back by another half-hour, it was even earlier! We were very happy to be in a mosquito-free room with our very comfortable bed after a very, very long day.

We were pleased with this excursion. At RSSC's prices, we think that it can be very difficult to deliver value. Expectations are relative to prices and both are very high. So, when things go badly or are not as promised, we are disappointed again in relation to the money spent, the advertising promises and our expectations. The let downs are not little, they are relative to everything else involved and are large. But, this excursion delivered to our satisfaction we are very pleased to report.

The itinerary for this excursion is posted as the last three pictures.

Agra photos

Day 83 - Tuesday March 21 Mumbai, India (trip to Agra to see Taj Mahal)

Taj Mahal photos

position at 7:30am: N18 55.47 latitude E72 50.39 longitude
temperature: 83F, 73% humidity, cloudy
distance since FLL: 26,855 miles

Clay walked only 2 miles this morning and it was hot and very windy on the top deck. Clay watched us sail in and dock. Debbie was the first to sight the Gateway to India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. She tried to take pictures, but it was very hazy this morning. We were docking by 7:30am and we went down to Compass Rose for breakfast at 8am. Debbie had a bonus chocolate croissant this morning! Two days in a row! This one was made by a completely different baker than the ones yesterday, maybe they will have them every day now. But, then Debbie would have a serious dilemma. 83 days and clothes are getting tighter!

We are docked on the starboard side. You have never seen such a fuss about putting up a gangway. How many Indians does it take to move a gangway?!? More than you might imagine and all acting like they had never done such a thing before. The mystery is that we carry a perfectly good one with us and have been allowed to use it in a lot of other ports. It must be another Indian powerful union thing. This gangway was a trip. It was wobbly and almost impossible to walk on. Very tricky. All guests are required to present their passports and a landing card to immigration officials in person in the Constellation Theater this morning before the ship can clear. But, we saw people with suitcases waiting to get in the theater and they said they were going to the Taj Mahal. How is this possible? While we were eating breakfast, we saw lots of people with luggage on the dock and Jamie had not yet started calling us by decks to clear immigration. Huh? Debbie postulated that maybe only we were leaving after 11am for Agra. We went and took the 1 minute required to clear immigration immediately after breakfast. By then Jamie had announced that once your yellow card was stamped that you could go on ashore if you wanted. So, we did. Debbie was empty-handed but Clay assured her he had his wallet. We got roses and forehead dots as we came ashore. We walked into the terminal building hoping to find shops. We did! Hurray! Debbie found a stool similar to the one she had admired in Cochin. And they had the Indian women's trouser outfits. It is a salwar kameez. They did not have the blouses with the elephants printed on them that she had admired but she could get a formal outfit. Clay found lots of other wood carving that he liked. We spent way more money than we had thought to spend. But, these people all were hard bargainers and we were the "first customers" of the morning. Something about if you are first, you have to pay more or it is bad luck for them for the rest of the day. Hello, it was after 9am and people had been exiting the ship for an hour. Debbie looked at her watch and asked one guy on our return visit to his booth, What were you sleeping in this morning? How could we still be 'first?'. So, we got the "morning price." Anyway, this was probably our only hour to browse and shop and they had most of what we were looking for, plus some. We are satisfied.

Back to the ship and the cabin before going down to CT at 11am. While we were there we heard Jamie making final announcements for the 9:30am Taj Mahal group. So, apparently there are multiple groups going at different times. Not sure how we drew the late departure, but we got to shop and we have no idea what those people who left early will be doing with their time either. So, no way to tell if early departure would really have been better. Debbie is still looking forward to airport gift shops. Clay needs a T-shirt. Well, we will probably head on down to the Constellation Theater now, better early than on time! We will have to catch up with this tomorrow evening and hope to have lots of wonderful tales to relate.

We were not the first to arrive in CT and we were 20 minutes early. Asta was ready and checked us off her list as we walked in and gave us our airline boarding passes and luggage tags. (The airport security here and the airline requires that every single carryon item from purse to camera have a separate tag on it and it is xrayed and the tag stamped. The stamped tag would be checked at least twice more before we boarded the jet.) Of course, the last person to arrive in CT was 20 minutes late. There were 71 people in our late departure group that were staying at the Oberoi Amarvilas.

There were 3 buses to take us to the airport. Ours was not very nice. We drove for over an hour to go the 12km or so that the guide said the airport was away. We drove through unimaginable squalor and poverty. You know about it and you read about, but it is incomprehensible. There are no words to actually describe it. Pictures cannot make it real for you. Mumbai has 15 million people, and a sizable number of them live in roadside shanty villages. (On the way back from the airport, we took a different route and missed most of the roadside squatters. Instead, we went through neighborhoods where the guide said that modest-sized 1-bedroom apartments sold for a minimum $USD500 per square foot.)

We left our bag with the guide to be checked. Somehow others did not understand what was happening and they carried in their bags. Our bag was the only one to be checked from our bus. (This worked out very well for us. We did not handle the suitcase from the curb at the ship until we opened it in the hotel room.) Inside we were directed to the security clearance line. There were no shops at this domestic terminal in Mumbai, after security there were a couple of shops and stands selling snacks and beverages but that was it. Also, we did not see an ATM or a money exchange place. So, we could not buy any snacks, though later we did see a couple of women negotiate for cans of Lay's chips in US Dollars. It took quite a long time to get through security and it was a nightmare. Apparently the Indian people do not believe in the concept of a queue. They understand the concept, but reject it as applying to them. Well, it is their country, so we stood in line and let them push us back and forth as 1 of us got through for every 4 or 5 of them. We were together in one line and within 6 feet of the x-ray machine's belt when Clay realized that men were being shunted to the left and women were staying to the right. He moved over and broke that line. (There were never any signs to this effect or any announcements of it in English.) Within minutes Clay was through and watching from the other side. It took Debbie about another 20 minutes from this point. Clay picked up her purse and the backpack on the other side and continued to wait for her to come out. Beyond the confusion about queues, the metal detectors we walked through did not work, so each person had to be hand- frisked and wanded. There were 4-5 booths for this on the men's side with men working in them and Clay got a quick wanding and sent on his way. There was only 1 booth with 1 very thorough woman working it on the women's side. Eventually, we were through and used the restrooms in the small gate area. There were only, maybe, 4 gates there and seating equal to one good-sized jet. So a good number of us just stood around waiting. After a half-hour of waiting, word spread that the chartered Jet Airways jet was delayed by 30 to 45 minutes. Another flight boarded and we grabbed a couple of seats. A couple of the local Micato Safaris guides came around and offered us a small paper cup of water. We accepted it and asked what was happening. They told us the jet was delayed and we should begin boarding in about another 20 minutes. Debbie asked and was told that the jet was coming from Delhi and the delay had occurred there. Clay asked how this would affect our short time to see the Taj Mahal today. He was told it would not affect it. We would go straight to the Taj Mahal from the airport and we would stay there until sundown and arrive at the hotel just in time for dinner. This did not sit well with most of the group because they thought all along that we were going straight to the hotel (though this was never the case as per the written itinerary we received) and that was why they hand carried their suitcases and went through that nightmare at security. It was bad enough for us and we did not have anything excess with us. Finally, our flight was called at the same time as a regular flight to Goa and there was an emptying of the gate area. We got outside and the 2 groups were divided to the right for us and to the left for Goa. We had to board small buses. Our bus took a big circle and ended up across what was a road painted on the tarmac to our jet that was parked less than 50 feet from the door we had walked out. The next groups queued and waiting outside were laughing as we got out on the tarmac and waved back to them before going up the steps to board. Must be another Indian union thing!

Our boarding passes had us assigned to seats 15 A & B. This turned out to be an exit row. They had some very strict rules about sitting in an exit row. You could not keep anything with a strap with you at your seat, not even if is stuck into the pouch of the seat ahead of you. Debbie finally sat on her paperback book and Relief Band case so they would not be taken and put her purse overhead. The rows were 3 on each side and there were 6 empty seats in front of the 2 exit rows. The last people to board were 2 local guides and they each took a side to themselves on that row. It looked like none of the rows had 3 people in them. Jets both ways were 737-700s but the exit rows were configured differently because we were assigned 14 C & D returning (across the aisle from each other) and it was not an exit row. The flight lasted 2 hours and they were constantly coming through to offer candies, cold cloths, drinks, meals, hot cloths, etc. Lunch was served onboard the jet. They came around and asked if you wanted fish or not. Debbie did not get a chance to reply before fish was set in front of her and the stewardess left. Clay got his fish and asked her as she lingered if there was anything other than fish. She stared. Debbie pushed her tray aside and said, I don't eat fish. The stewardess looked around, then leaned over and said, we have a few vegetarian dishes. Debbie said she would have one. Her fish dish was removed and replaced. The food was alright. The fish was good. All the food was strangely spiced, but it was OK for airplane food.

We landed in Agra a little after 4pm. As we landed we kept our eyes open to see if we could spot the Taj Mahal as we came in, but could not even though it seemed like we did a couple of 360 degree circuits before landing. The airport is part of a military base so they had special rules for tour operators to follow and we could not take pictures inside the airport. (The same rules were posted in the Mumbai airport about photography being prohibited, but the guides said that Mumbai was one of the few nonmilitary airports in India and that photography is allowed. Maybe there is more than one airport in Mumbai?) As we entered the terminal from the plane, the guides told us to us the restroom facilities as we would be going directly to the Taj Mahal without any other stops. The buses in Agra were better than the buses we had in Mumbai. The air conditioning worked well:) We loaded the big buses, and drove for about 20 minutes. On the way, we passed sights similar to what we had seen in Cochin and Goa. We did not see the overwhelming roadside poverty that we saw on the way to the airport in Mumbai. There definitely was much less traffic and fewer people in Agra than in Mumbai, but Agra had more cows:). It turned out that large buses can no longer go up close to the Taj Mahal. About a mile or so from the compound, there is a road block where the large buses have to park and unload and the passengers get into 16 person electric minibuses (or pony carts or camel carts) to go the last mile or so. The stated reason for this is to avoid the pollution of the big buses, but it may well have to do with the minibus/pony cart/camel cart drivers union. But, since we are staying at the Oberoi Amarvilas which is inside the restricted zone, our large buses were allowed to go up to the hotel, and there we immediately got into minibuses to go up to the Taj Mahal. One thing that can surely be said is that the hawkers that descended upon us as we got out of the minibus and walked 20 yards to the Taj Mahal entry gate were world class. More on this later. Again at the gate, they had two frisking lines, one for men and one for women. But this time, the lines moved more or less at the same pace as there were 2 friskers for women. On our big bus, our guide explained that before entering the Taj compound, we would be thoroughly checked for food and sharp instruments. For this reason, he suggested we carry only minimal stuff with us to speed up the entry process, leaving any bags and purses etc. on the big bus where they would be safe. Needless to say, this did not register with everyone. Some of us were able to quickly be frisked just holding the articles we were carrying in our hands. (That said as the women stood in line, our guide and a helper handed out a case of bottled water to us and told us we could take it inside.) But, others had to empty bags and get rid of cookies, etc. Some of the line slowdowns were caused by other (non-Radisson) tourists and some by people in our group who had been advised. One guy in line (non-Radisson) literally had a fruit salad in his backpack, and well as cigarettes and matches (also forbidden). This guy took about 5 minutes to be checked and cleared after they removed all of his forbidden items.

Anyway, we finally made it through the entry gate into the courtyard. Still could not see the Taj Mahal. It was a walled area about the size of a football field. As we walked into the area, on the right was a red sandstone building that turned out to be the gatehouse for entry into the gardens around the Taj Mahal. Then, we were awed. It was an amazing site to see for the first time. Of course, there were people everywhere (though the next morning, our group was the first people to enter this area and we were able to see it with absolutely no other people visible. It was really a dropped jaw sight.) The ponds had water in them, but the fountains were not working. This made getting the 'reflection photo shots' fairly straight-forward if you did not mind other people in your shots. And we got dozens of them. It was fun. The Taj was maybe 200-300 yards from the gate entry way which gave you an elevated view of the gardens and ponds that occupy the vista up to the Taj Mahal building. The building is surrounded by 4 minarettes as well as two other buildings to either side. To the west of the Taj is a mosque. To the east, is a mirror image of the mosque building. This building is not a mosque, but just built to maintain the symmetry of the vista that you see from the gatehouse.

Our guide walked us about halfway to the Taj building to the east side of another viewing platform in the garden. There he continued telling us the story behind the building of the Taj Mahal that he had started telling on the bus. The building took 20000 workers about 17 years to build. It was built as a tomb for the favorite wife of a Mughal emperor in the 1600's. The emperor, himself, was later buried in the Taj by his daughter. The guide explained that the Shah had not planned burying himself there as his vault destroyed the symmetry that was clearly his goal when he originally had it built. We then walked up to the Taj Mahal building. We had to put on shoe covers when we got to the marble flooring surrounding it. The guide took us through the inside of the building on the upper level where we saw the representational tombs. The actual tombs of the wife and the Shah are on the ground level, but you cannot visit that level. Instead, you visit the upper level where you see the reconstruction. The guide pointed out the translucent marble and the details of the marble inlaid work. We could not use our cameras inside the mauseleum so no pictures, sorry. After the inside portion of the tour, we walked with the guide on a tour around the outside of the Taj Mahal building. We then had about 30 minutes to walk back to the gate house to meet the group again and catch the minibuses back to the hotel. The sunset was best viewed from the back, or river, side of the Taj Mahal. During all our visit there was a very pleasant breeze coming off the river that kept the mosquitos down and us cool. It was full dark by the time we exited the gate house. On the 20 yard walk back to the minibus from the walled off compound, Clay made the mistake of trying to look at a T-shirt from one of the street vendors. By the time the minibus left, Clay had bought 9 T-shirts for 20USD. (Who knew one XL would not fit a 10-year kid, but another would almost fit Clay? Not to mention the toxic smell which we are still trying to air out). These vendors were an absolute nightmare. They were grabbing and pushing and pulling us as they yelled into our ears and faces. They came inside the bus and they opened the windows from outside and grabbed at us and threw stuff into our laps. It was frankly a little terrifying and overwhelming. We were back at the hotel by 7:15pm. The driver on the way back was a wild man. It was like a theme park thrill ride, but with real danger! This guy was a menace. He almost ran over the uniformed doorman outside the hotel. When he greeted Debbie with namaste, she returned the greeting and told him she thought he was a goner there for a second. He laughed and said that some of the drivers are more aggressive than others. No kidding!

The hotel was gorgeous. The staff were wearing the most amazing costumes and all greeted us so warmly and formally. It is a stunning hotel experience. They had our keys waiting for us, and we were in the room within 3 minutes and found our checked bag waiting in the room for us. The room was beautiful as well with a large patio overlooking the pool complex and the live evening entertainment on the rooftop of the swimming pool pavilion. There was a Rajastani dancer there when we first looked out, but later there were just 2 musicians. The evening buffet was inside and had delicious Indian food. It was much better than Latitudes' Taj Mahal dinner according to the 6 people at our table. The naan bread was served at the table warm and was excellent. Clay had 2 Kingfisher beers.

The chefs were on hand at the buffet to answer questions and were very helpful and gracious. Clay almost got some dessert at the end of the line from the last chafing dish. Debbie took the opportunity to check out desserts and asked if they had her favorite, gulab jamun. No. But, the dish that Clay had almost put on his dinner plate was described as something she would like very much if she liked gulab jamum. It was warm semolina pancakes in rosewater syrup with condensed milk topping. It was great and that was the consensus from everyone at the table. Debbie had 2 servings. We were both exhausted and about to pop by the time dinner was over. But, Debbie put on more insect repellent and spent a little while sitting out on the balcony enjoying the entertainment. Debbie used all 3 books of matches from our room trying to keep the candle lit out there. There was a group having a buffet dinner out by the pool with the entertainment and it was Prudential. (They left in the morning at the same time and flew out of the airport at the same time as well. So, we saw a lot of them.)

We arrived after dark, but from the silhouette visible we can only see the tip of the dome of the Taj Mahal from our room. We are on the first floor. The Oberoi Amarvilas advertises that all rooms have a Taj Mahal view and technically one supposes that is true, but we could not see anything but the very tip of it from our first floor room. We arranged for a wakeup call at 4:50am to be outside and ready to go on a sunrise Taj Mahal tour at 5:45am. We slept well when we got to sleep, but the bed was very hard. There was no boxspring to the bed. It was a beautiful piece of furniture, but not terribly comfortable. We had mosquitos in the room. So, it was a short night.

More (and better) Taj pictures tomorrow.

Taj Mahal photos

Monday, March 20, 2006

Day 82 - Monday March 20 Goa, India

Goa photos

position at 7:00am: N14 03.49 latitude E74 11.54 longitude
(about 90 miles S of Goa, India, where we are scheduled to dock around 11:00 am)
temperature: 81F, 95% humidity, cloudy
distance since FLL: 26,855 miles

It was again warm and humid on deck in the morning. The skies were cloudy without a real sunrise. A repeat of last night's sunset which started out so promising. We forgot to post about yesterday that all afternoon and early evening we saw many quite surprisingly small fishing boats out. We were far enough from land that it was not visible and these were very small boats to be out so far and apparently out for an overnight since it was at, near and after sunset. We also did not report that we saw some very large pale gray dolphins in the bay as we sailed out of Cochin. They appeared to be ignoring our wake which is not the normal dolphin behavior we had seen in the past. Of course, we had not seen a dolphin since New Zealand. They were small and dark colored, very different from these in size, color and temperament. It was interesting. Also, forgot to post about the disembarkation surprise. We had been notified repeatedly in writing about getting our landing card and filling out ashore to be sure and return it when we came back to the ship, etc. Well, we had a welcoming committee and we took our time going off the ship to get our cards, but we could not see that there was anyone handing them out, so we went on out and got on a bus. Debbie asked the couple to board after us if they had gotten landing or shore cards. They laughed and teased her about she better go get it. Then, when she got worried and started to leave the bus, they told her that an announcement had been made in the morning as we were arriving that the boarding cards would not be required. Debbie explained that we had been in Compass Rose and they never make announcements in there, apparently in the belief that if you are in there having a leisurely meal that you are not going ashore and don't need any information of that type. We had breakfast in LaVeranda this morning. Chocolate croissants today! Always a good start.

Debbie went to this morning's one 45 minute class, Fusion Fitness, a combination of Pilates and Yoga, not for beginners. She had a good workout and Jacquie joked about what she would do for the next 2 days without her core exercise fanatics onboard. Most of the 9 or so people who came for class are among the hundreds leaving the ship for the overnight to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Debbie got a strong endorsement to see the little Taj Mahal or option 2 of morning options. We still are undecided, but may do that one.

Clay heard this morning's Vords of Visdom and the Captain said that he expected to arrive in Goa about an hour late. At 11am, he came on again and said he expected to pick up the pilot about 11:45am and be docked after noon. He blamed the strong southerly current in this ocean for our slow speed. He said this should not affect the plans for the Special Event afternoon in Goa. Um, our tickets tell us to be at the bottom of the gangway and 12:05pm for a 12:15pm bus ride to the Taj Exotica hotel, so we imagine the schedule will be affected by the late arrival. We decided to go have a sandwich at the Pool Grill. Laurens, the Food & Beverage Mgr., came by and made fun of us for eating before arriving at the hotel's Indian buffet. But then he told us, no seriously, this is a good idea. He said that he had never been to the hotel but had been assured that the chicken curry would be bird flu-free so expected it would be good. Debbie went ahead and had dessert as well. Just in case. We saw the Pilot come aboard at 5 minutes of noon. It is 12:20pm now and we are just nearing the dock. Capt. Dag warned that Goa's port is not a cruise port, it is a coal shipment port and to expect everything to get a dusting. OK.

This morning we saw the weirdest marine life yet. It looked like some kind of needlefish. It would shoot out of the water a couple of inches and then skip along the surface for 6 to 20 feet or as many skips as it could get. Very strange. We only saw them sporadically and singly, so no idea why they would do this. It was also difficult to gauge what size the fish were, but bigger than flying fish.
As we entered the port area, we saw dolphins. Two different kinds, the small blackish ones and the large pale gray ones. We also saw fishing boats with groups of men manually hauling in nets while chanting or singing. It was amazing, we never saw that before either. Hopefully, Clay got some still photos because we do not think there is a way to post video to the journal. (We have looked for a way, but no luck.) The Captain was absolutely right about the port. It is 12:30pm and they are just pulling the ropes to the dock with tugboats. It is not the kind of dock where they can be tossed ashore, hopefully the pictures will show it. One of the white jumpsuited guys that handles docking saw a gray-jacketed butler-type on another deck and pointed to the piles ashore and yelled up to him, "spices, all spices." They both cracked up laughing as did any of the passengers who heard and saw them. It was a good bit of spontaneous comic relief. It is 12:40pm and they are getting the gangway set up on the port side where we are docked. So, we will go ahead and head down and get in line.
So, we went down to get in line. We followed blue ribbons through the Main Atrium around to the Constellation Theatre and we entered it. There were several hundred people seated in there and CNN was playing on 2 big screens. We were directed to about halfway down the leftmost section and told to fill in the seats. We did and it continued that way. Guess we are throwing out the timed departures on the tickets along with the schedule at this point. We sat for an hour in the theatre. Jamie announced that we were filling buses by the order in which we entered the theater and the staff tried very hard to make that happen, but were not 100% successful. Jamie stopped taking groups out at some point and announced that there was another problem, that the buses that had been loaded and had departed were not being allowed out of the port gates and we would stop loading buses until the problem was resolved and the first buses were released. After about 10 minutes he came back in and announced that he would start taking people out to buses soon but that we all needed to know that it was a 45-minute to 1 hour drive to the Taj Exotica Hotel where the Special Event was being held and we needed to decide if we wanted to go and be back in time to sail at 5pm. Well, that cleared some people out of the theater to make room for others. We were in the theater for an hour before Jamie shared the fact that it was an hour's drive to the hotel. It seems that if he thought it was not worth our while that announcement should have been some time ago, or that someone should have just stepped up and canceled the thing. We were on our way by about quarter to 2pm. We arrived at the hotel about 3:50pm. It took our bus an hour and 10 minutes to get there. At that rate, we should have just turned around and headed back for the all aboard at 4:30pm for 5pm sailing. We saw Capt. Dag right after we arrived and he told us that he timed his bus and his took 1 1/2 hours. He caught us as we were returning to the party after using the restrooms and just seeing the famous beaches of Goa. After he told us this, he grimaced and looked at his watch. Debbie told him, yeah we know, we used the restrooms and saw the beach, we are just on our way back to the bus! Capt. Dag laughed and said that he thought the World Cruise would maybe be better without these Special Events, that they just mostly served to aggravate the passengers. We agreed that it was aggravating. He said he did not know what to do now. He had to let everyone eat but if we did not sail on time we would be late to Mumbai. We had already decided when we saw the schedule to Agra that the only rational reason for it was that we would in fact be late arriving to Mumbai, so no surprises there for us. We checked out the shops in the hotel and they were way too upscale for our tastes and budget. Unless we find some time and place to shop in Agra, or on the way there or back, we will leave India with little in the way of physical remembrances. We went back down to the party to see if the long lines had yet abated. They were only about 20 people deep now, instead of 100, so we got in line. Also, by now it had been more than 4 hours since we ate lunch. We tried a little of several of the Goan specialties and we enjoyed everything. Some things were very hot, but most were just flavorful and tasty and some were just weird. Sorry can't be any more detailed. We did not get a menu or anything and there were way too many dishes to keep track of what was what.

After we ate, we got some more drinks. Clay had a beer before the shops, but Debbie could not get a Coke. They had bottled water, but not individually sized and she was not ready for a big bottle. They had Kingfisher Beer, fruit juices and Pepsi-Cola. Debbie allergic to citric acid and so she could only drink the water here. So, we got a big, ice cold bottle of water and walked around the event to see what there was to see. Debbie got her palm read. She disagreed with the palmist. He told her that she had a very good fortune. Then, he told her that she has big dreams, but they never come true. She plans things, but then never does them. Um, did he not get the memo, that we are all on a luxury cruise around the world! How's that for making dreams come true? Hello! Then he told her that she had great wealth but always spent it and could never hold on to it. Well, maybe he did get the memo, that we are all on a luxury cruise around the world! Anyway, Debbie only gave him partial credit for that one, so he reiterated part one about not seeing through plans and dreams. She scoffed again. He then told her that other people see her and are jealous. OK. Debbie got up and thanked him. A guy waiting there asked if all of us would get the coming into money fortune told. Debbie told him, no we are getting the you have great wealth and can't hold onto it fortune. He cracked up laughing and said, yeah that one would work on everyone in this crowd. He did not sit down. Later we saw a "Parrot Reader." We thought that was a funny error and was meant to be Tarot Reader, but no, there was a parrot in a tiny cage with a big apple. We waited in line, but after several minutes just gave it up while a woman argued about her fortune. Her husband told us if you gave the man some money he would hold out a stack of folded papers to the parrot and the parrot would pull one out and they would read your fortune from it. He told us hers was confused and contradictory and she was trying to straighten it out. Um, OK. We went down and watched some dancing and juggling and then made one last restroom stop and got back on the bus. We had a different bus each way. The return bus had great AC, we sweltered on the way out. After sweating out in the sun for an hour or so, we were very happy to board a cold bus and it stayed cold. Neither bus though appeared to have any shocks and they drove like maniacs on rough roads. Debbie got motionsick on the ride out and had to switch seats to be able to see out the front and put her seabands back on. She put the seabands on before boarding the bus back and got a seat where she could lean out in the aisle and see out the front. It was a rough hour plus ride each way. One the way to the hotel, a woman sitting near Debbie told her this was the same hotel from last year and she did not remember this port or the drive at all. The guide assured her this was always the only port and Capt. Dag said he knew that the hotel was an hour away from the port to start with, so he must have been he last year too. Other people who had been here last year that Debbie asked if this was the same hotel did not know and said they could not remember. The port and getting to the hotel all seem pretty remarkable and memorable to us, but then it is amazing what unpleasant memories people will block. Debbie was suspicious when after we got the letter with the name of the hotel, that no one she asked about the Taj Exotica could remember it from last year.

So, was this Special Event another disaster? Not quite. Yes, it did not go well. We were too late for lunch and too early for dinner. We watched CNN for an hour during lunch time and no one even offered snacks and beverages or the information that it would be another hour of drive time to get to a meal. That information should have been shared first thing in the morning when it was known that we would arrive late. Then people could at least have eaten something onboard or made a decision about what to do with their time here. Once we got there, the party itself was probably very well done, but most people were too overwhelmed by the rigors of getting here and fed and watered and too stultified by the heat and humidity to get up much fun spirit. We agree with Capt. Dag, better just to let these Special Events go by the wayside in the future. They do mostly serve to aggravate rather than reward. Most people would just as soon not suffer them, but everyone wants to get what they paid for and not just voluntarily forfeit it.

We had spotted a dog on the dock as we approached this morning. When we left the ship, we did not see it. As we were in line to reboard the ship, Debbie spotted the dog sitting in the shade of the gangway. She opened her purse and got out a pack of Nabs. She ripped it open. This dog knew the sound of food because her ears pricked up when she heard the cellophane crinkle. Debbie held 2 crackers down to her but she backed away. Debbie did not want to hold up the line and did not really desire to handfeed this stray, so she dropped the crackers on the ground in front of the dog. The dog sniffed them with a wagging tail but did not eat them right away. She licked up some of the crumbs that had broken in the fall. Someone yelled to Debbie, are those Goan crackers, she won't eat them. Debbie yelled to the dog, those are cheese and peanut butter Lance Nabs, they are good, I brought them halfway around the world, you better eat them. The dog turned to Debbie and wagged some more and then set to gobbling up the Nabs. The crowd cheered. After Clay got seated on the balcony he saw someone pour out water for the dog and then Jamie came out with something yummy (maybe meat) and took the dog and another lame dog that had arrived and fed them more. Several people brought out bread and cookies after that and threw stuff from the ship to them. Those dogs went to bed with full stomachs tonight. The first dog to greet us on arrival was the last one left on the dock after we left.

Debbie rushed off to make the last exercise class of the day, Stretch and Relax at 5:30pm. She arrived and was the only one there, so no class was held. Jacquie has a minimum of 3 requirement. Debbie used the room alone and stretched out the kinks of the brutal bus rides. She came back and we watched the sailaway together an hour later than scheduled. We stayed out on the balcony to watch the sunset and to watch for more dolphins on the way out. The sunset died in the haze yet again and we saw no more dolphins. By 7pm we realized that we did not want to go out to eat. So, we showered and ordered pizza and a salad and a hamburger. Debbie got us packed and ready to leave for our overnight trip to Agra in the morning. Room service warned us that they were very busy tonight and it would be a while. It was. We started eating after 8pm. Clay also ordered a slice of pecan pie. It arrived with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it, so he had to eat dessert first. We watched a DVD, Hotel Rwanda, during dinner.

Sadly, our time in India is half over and we are strangely dissatisfied with our time here. We know that cruising is not a good way to get a in-depth look at a country. But, we feel that we haven't really seen anything of India yet and fear that we will not in our optional tour starting tomorrow. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope for better days ahead than behind. We will not carry the laptop to Agra so it will be a couple of days after this post before we post again. We hope to have wondrous and amazing stories to tell then.

Goa photos