Sensory overload is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of our time in India. There are so many people, so many cows, so many scooters and taxi cabs. It is crowded and dirty, it is beautiful. Did I mention the cows?? One disadvantage of so many cows is the cow pies. One advantage of so many cows is the cow pies! They are shaped by hand (YUCK) into rings, dried in the sun, then carried on people's heads to areas where they are used as cooking fuel. The traffic in the cities is unbelievable, thousands of cars, buses, bicycles, scooters, 3-wheeled taxi cabs and bicycle rickshaws vie for the same roadways. The honking of horns NEVER stops. The colorful saris are beautiful. I saw hundreds and hundreds, all different. The beggars are everywhere, old and young, children alone and with parents. It is unthinkable but apparently true that parents sometimes maim their children in order to make them "better" beggars. We saw a six or seven year old girl begging, felt sorry for her, then saw her steal a sandwich right from the mouth of a crippled man. Survival of the fittest, I guess.
Internet cafe closing, more later.
T & L Puerto Viejo, CR
Monos con Monos
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
OUR STAY IN INDIA
Day 1 We arrived in the port of Chennai, India on Sunday, March 6th. This is a working/industrial port. There were no dancers in native costume to greet us. That afternoon we transferred to the airport for our flight to Delhi. Foreign airlines still provide food and beverage service!! When we arrived at the New Delhi Ramada Plaza we were in awe of its opulence. We were greeted by a tall bearded man in full Indian dress including a turban, then a beautiful woman "lei'd" us. The lobby has marble floors, many portions are inlaid, some of the walls are onyx, there are huge chandeliers and the ceilings are painted in Italian style. Although it was late when we arrived we spent a short while enjoying a bottle of wine with friends.
Day 2 began early, the hotel provided us with a light continental breakfast before we left for the train station. It was there that we first saw the extent of VERY poor beggars, many with horrible deformities. By 6:15 a.m. we were on the Bhopal Shatabdi Express headed for Agra. Although the train served a boxed breakfast, we decided not to take a chance. We're hoping to make it through six days in India without getting sick. Once in Agra we were served yet another (delicious) breakfast. From there we traveled by bus to the Fatehpur Sikri, the beautiful well maintained ruins of an ancient city made of red sandstone. Trust me, on the highway in India you definitely want to be on a bus. No matter who has the right of way, the bus ALWAYS wins!!
We went back to a local hotel for another delicious lunch. We visited the Agra Fort, and from there we saw our first glimpse of the near-by Taj Majal. It was breath taking!! We arrived at the Taj Mahal with plenty of time for exploring and we didn't leave until after sunset. It took my breath away two more times: once when we walked through the gates and saw the Taj standing majestically before us and reflected in the pool in front, and again when we walked inside the grand building. We were transported to the train station for the ride back to Delhi, where we spent another night at the beautiful Ramada. At the train station many of us left our box diners on the bus for our driver to distribute to the hundreds of people begging outside of the bus. We opted not to give the food to the people ourselves, as we feared a stampede. (The Indian drivers and guides speak their native language and are better able to control the crowds than we are.)
Day 3 began a bit later with a tour of New Delhi, a thoroughly modern clean huge city. The beautiful green parks, mansions, and embassies are a marked contrast to the dirty crowded streets of Delhi. The beautiful buildings are left from the time of British rule. If you closed your eyes for a minute you would swear that you were looking at the Washington Mall. After another delicious lunch at the Ramada we transferred to the airport for the short flight to Varanasi.
After checking in at the Radisson Hotel we boarded bicycle/rickshaws for the most fun/frightening ride of my life. Imagine thousands of bicycles, bicycle rickshaws, three-wheeled taxis and cars sharing the same narrow road!! At one point our driver turned off of the main road onto a completely dark alley. I was sure that we were going to be robbed or killed! Fortunately it was just a short cut away from the main road. We soon reached the banks of the Ganges River where thousands were celebrating Aarti (a type of thanksgiving) at the Dasaswamedh Ghat (steps leading down to the water). There were chants and singing and a conch shell was blown.
The hotel served a delicious dinner, followed by dancing to North American music played by a D.J.
Day 4 saw us up again at the crack of dawn to witness the sunrise bathing in the Ganges. Thousands of people bathe in the river daily. Some live there, for others it is a pilgrimage from their home towns. We were at the area where young boys (some as young as five years old) begin training to become monks. We saw their morning prayers and yoga. Another tradition is the cremation of the dead, and it was common the see a jeep or car headed to the crematorium with a body on top, wrapped in gold cloth with feet & head sticking out!! This area is where the Beatles stayed, and Goldie Hawn comes here regularly to purchase her essential oils. After breakfast we toured the area and went to Deer Park where Buddha preached his first sermon. We had a dinner flight back to Chennai.
Days 5&6 we were back in Chennai where we shopped and had a nice farewell to India lunch at the Raintree Hotel. We went to a couple of malls, one very high end, the other a more "local" mall. There are beautiful clothes to be found in India.
It was an amazing experience, we hope to be back to India some day.
Day 2 began early, the hotel provided us with a light continental breakfast before we left for the train station. It was there that we first saw the extent of VERY poor beggars, many with horrible deformities. By 6:15 a.m. we were on the Bhopal Shatabdi Express headed for Agra. Although the train served a boxed breakfast, we decided not to take a chance. We're hoping to make it through six days in India without getting sick. Once in Agra we were served yet another (delicious) breakfast. From there we traveled by bus to the Fatehpur Sikri, the beautiful well maintained ruins of an ancient city made of red sandstone. Trust me, on the highway in India you definitely want to be on a bus. No matter who has the right of way, the bus ALWAYS wins!!
We went back to a local hotel for another delicious lunch. We visited the Agra Fort, and from there we saw our first glimpse of the near-by Taj Majal. It was breath taking!! We arrived at the Taj Mahal with plenty of time for exploring and we didn't leave until after sunset. It took my breath away two more times: once when we walked through the gates and saw the Taj standing majestically before us and reflected in the pool in front, and again when we walked inside the grand building. We were transported to the train station for the ride back to Delhi, where we spent another night at the beautiful Ramada. At the train station many of us left our box diners on the bus for our driver to distribute to the hundreds of people begging outside of the bus. We opted not to give the food to the people ourselves, as we feared a stampede. (The Indian drivers and guides speak their native language and are better able to control the crowds than we are.)
Day 3 began a bit later with a tour of New Delhi, a thoroughly modern clean huge city. The beautiful green parks, mansions, and embassies are a marked contrast to the dirty crowded streets of Delhi. The beautiful buildings are left from the time of British rule. If you closed your eyes for a minute you would swear that you were looking at the Washington Mall. After another delicious lunch at the Ramada we transferred to the airport for the short flight to Varanasi.
After checking in at the Radisson Hotel we boarded bicycle/rickshaws for the most fun/frightening ride of my life. Imagine thousands of bicycles, bicycle rickshaws, three-wheeled taxis and cars sharing the same narrow road!! At one point our driver turned off of the main road onto a completely dark alley. I was sure that we were going to be robbed or killed! Fortunately it was just a short cut away from the main road. We soon reached the banks of the Ganges River where thousands were celebrating Aarti (a type of thanksgiving) at the Dasaswamedh Ghat (steps leading down to the water). There were chants and singing and a conch shell was blown.
The hotel served a delicious dinner, followed by dancing to North American music played by a D.J.
Day 4 saw us up again at the crack of dawn to witness the sunrise bathing in the Ganges. Thousands of people bathe in the river daily. Some live there, for others it is a pilgrimage from their home towns. We were at the area where young boys (some as young as five years old) begin training to become monks. We saw their morning prayers and yoga. Another tradition is the cremation of the dead, and it was common the see a jeep or car headed to the crematorium with a body on top, wrapped in gold cloth with feet & head sticking out!! This area is where the Beatles stayed, and Goldie Hawn comes here regularly to purchase her essential oils. After breakfast we toured the area and went to Deer Park where Buddha preached his first sermon. We had a dinner flight back to Chennai.
Days 5&6 we were back in Chennai where we shopped and had a nice farewell to India lunch at the Raintree Hotel. We went to a couple of malls, one very high end, the other a more "local" mall. There are beautiful clothes to be found in India.
It was an amazing experience, we hope to be back to India some day.
Monday, March 21, 2011
THE TRAIN STATION IN AGRA #2
This story takes place the same evening in the Agra train station. Nine-year old C.J. is standing next to a woman and her six year old girl who are begging for food and money. C.J. has been overwhelmed by the hoards of beggars, and being a pretty blond little girl people have been touching her all day, especially her hair. It's hard to tell how old the mom is, she just has a sad face that looks like it never smiles. In spite of wanting to be left alone C.J. asks her mom if she can give the little girl a juice box that she has saved from her box dinner for the train ride. Mom says, "O.K.", and the little girl smiles just a bit as she accepts it. We were all happy to see her open and drink the juice, as we had been told that often food gifts are taken by older men & women who send the women & children out to beg. They also confiscate any money that they are given, often beating them in the process. We rounded up another box of juice for C.J. to give to the girl. This is met with a BIG smile, she knows how good it is!! Mom is looking on, but her sad (hopeless) expression never changes. C.J., wise beyond her years and comfortable in many situations smiles at the woman, tells her that she has a beautiful daughter, and asks her name. The little girl is now playing peek-a-boo with C.J. behind her mom's sari. Suddenly, thanks to C.J., the little girl is happy for a moment knowing that she has a friend. And Mom smiles a real smile at her daughter's happiness. For a moment Mom's face is beautiful
THE TRAIN STATION IN AGRA, INDIA
This is a short story I wrote in Spanish (and received an A!!).
In the last two essays that I wrote I spoke of delicious food, beautiful places, like Stellenbosch, and fine wines. But this story is different, it is sad. I am going to write about poor people who do not have enough to eat, and about those with horrible deformities.
My story begins when we arrived at the train station in Agra early one morning. We were traveling with a group of fellow SAS voyagers, including a nine-year-old girl. Immediately many poor people came up, touching us and begging for food and money. There were two with deformities of their legs, one walked like a gorilla, the other like a crab. They looked like monsters. They walked/crawled rapidly towards us, and frightened the little girl. For this reason she was fearful of returning to the train station that night. But something good happened that changed her opinion of them. When we returned to the station the men came to us, again begging for food and money. This time, instead of turning her back on them, one woman from our group began a conversation with them. Soon two more crippled men approached. Because of this kind conversation the men slowly began to smile. I don't know if the woman gave them money or not, it doesn't matter. More importantly she gave them respect. And, seeing their smiles, the little girl was no longer afraid.
In the last two essays that I wrote I spoke of delicious food, beautiful places, like Stellenbosch, and fine wines. But this story is different, it is sad. I am going to write about poor people who do not have enough to eat, and about those with horrible deformities.
My story begins when we arrived at the train station in Agra early one morning. We were traveling with a group of fellow SAS voyagers, including a nine-year-old girl. Immediately many poor people came up, touching us and begging for food and money. There were two with deformities of their legs, one walked like a gorilla, the other like a crab. They looked like monsters. They walked/crawled rapidly towards us, and frightened the little girl. For this reason she was fearful of returning to the train station that night. But something good happened that changed her opinion of them. When we returned to the station the men came to us, again begging for food and money. This time, instead of turning her back on them, one woman from our group began a conversation with them. Soon two more crippled men approached. Because of this kind conversation the men slowly began to smile. I don't know if the woman gave them money or not, it doesn't matter. More importantly she gave them respect. And, seeing their smiles, the little girl was no longer afraid.
WE HAVE SOME CATCHING UP TO DO!!!
Today is Monday, March 21st, and as Dean reminded us our last post was March 3rd!! It's been a combination of really slow internet on the ship and being so busy and having sooo much fun there's no time to write. Tom still owes a story about our African safari. I have a couple of stories about our time in India, as well as the itinerary of our 4-day in-country trip which included a visit to the Taj Mahal. We are now in Saigon, which is another amazing and emotional experience.
Shipboard life continues to be a joy. We have made so many new friends among the students, faculty/staff and other life-long learners. At sea we enjoy meals together, wine tastings and talk about our last and next ports. The life long learners meet for an hour every afternoon at sea, sometimes we have speakers about upcoming ports, and we are learning Tai Chi. Afterward there is a social/cocktail hour in our adult lounge, and from there we amble down to dinner. We eat almost all of our meals on deck, the weather has been BEAUTIFUL about 95% of the time. We go to the gym every day while at sea, and I attend Zumba classes every other day. There is a constant fashion parade on board with all of the clothes and jewelry from Africa, India, and now Viet Nam.
We have an "adopted" family of about 14 students. We have treated several to a "special dinner" and have had a pizza party for a larger group of kids. We're looking forward to a Mexican fiesta in the next few days at sea. Sometimes we have a quiet pizza or burgers on the pool deck with one or two. They are all very respectful to us, and are always looking out for us on excursions while in port. When we were leaving Singapore the port was so crowded that we almost missed on-ship time (we slid our card with 4 minutes spare). We would never have made it if our "son" Daniel had not run back and grabbed Tom's back pack (risking being late himself) so that Tom could run the last 100 yards. Being late is serious, and results in "dock time" at the next port.
My other constant on board is Spanish classes, I'm taking grammar and conversational. I'm even taking all of the tests and writing all of the required papers. I think I have a good strong B.
Shipboard life continues to be a joy. We have made so many new friends among the students, faculty/staff and other life-long learners. At sea we enjoy meals together, wine tastings and talk about our last and next ports. The life long learners meet for an hour every afternoon at sea, sometimes we have speakers about upcoming ports, and we are learning Tai Chi. Afterward there is a social/cocktail hour in our adult lounge, and from there we amble down to dinner. We eat almost all of our meals on deck, the weather has been BEAUTIFUL about 95% of the time. We go to the gym every day while at sea, and I attend Zumba classes every other day. There is a constant fashion parade on board with all of the clothes and jewelry from Africa, India, and now Viet Nam.
We have an "adopted" family of about 14 students. We have treated several to a "special dinner" and have had a pizza party for a larger group of kids. We're looking forward to a Mexican fiesta in the next few days at sea. Sometimes we have a quiet pizza or burgers on the pool deck with one or two. They are all very respectful to us, and are always looking out for us on excursions while in port. When we were leaving Singapore the port was so crowded that we almost missed on-ship time (we slid our card with 4 minutes spare). We would never have made it if our "son" Daniel had not run back and grabbed Tom's back pack (risking being late himself) so that Tom could run the last 100 yards. Being late is serious, and results in "dock time" at the next port.
My other constant on board is Spanish classes, I'm taking grammar and conversational. I'm even taking all of the tests and writing all of the required papers. I think I have a good strong B.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
THE PERFECT DAY
Today was without a doubt the most beautiful day we have had at sea. We crossed the equator again this afternoon. The water is the most beautiful deep blue, calm like a sheet of glass. Though we have made over twenty knots most of the day, there is hardly a sensation of movement. The fluffy clouds in the powder-blue sky reflected in the water and flying fish skimmed across the surface. We enjoyed lunch and dinner on deck, lunch with our "old" friend Joe, and dinner with our new friends Loxmi and Carolyn. Loxmi is Indian, and is a music professor on board. He knew Ravi Shankar well. After our voyage we look forward to visiting Loxmi & Carolyn at their home in Napa. If the day wasn't already perfect, at 9:30 the captain turned all of the deck lights off except for navigational lights. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and we enjoyed star gazing for nearly two hours. We started with a group of friends on a 7th deck balcony (these have no ceiling) then moved up to the 8th deck, the highest level that passengers can access. The constellations, Milky Way and shooting stars were fantastic. I wonder what tomorrow will bring!!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
WE'VE BEEN DIVERTED
This morning was not your average morning aboard the Explorer. Last night at the Captain's dinner I asked the captain if there was a special reason that we were traveling at over 27 knots, a much faster than average speed for this voyage. He replied that we had three passengers (two students and one crew member) on board who needed medical evacuation and we were en route to Diego Garcia, a British Indian Ocean Territory where the U.S. has a military base. It is apparently quite difficult to obtain clearance to go there, but somehow we managed to do so. At around 7:30 this morning we were in sight of the island. A tug and several armed small vessels and hard-bottomed inflatables came alongside and a number of Marines, Navy SEALS and a dog came aboard. We were then escorted into calmer waters in the harbor in the lee of the island. From outside deck 7 we were able to see all of the activities. After we reached the harbor a dock was lowered to the water level, one of the boats came stern to our starboard side, and the three were taken off of our ship, two walked and one was on a stretcher. Throughout this time the small boats maneuvered fore, aft, and along both sides of the ship. There were Royal Navy sailors in addition to our men. All were friendly, and several boats were happy to be given Semester at Sea t-shirts. Although we were not allowed to take any photos they were all busy taking pics of us and the ship!! This whole activity took over two hours. We hope all will be O.K. They are all being flown to Singapore, which is our next port after India, and maybe some will be able to rejoin us.
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