Egypt: A Modern World Surrounding Ancient Ruins

After our nearly six-day run through the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, we finally arrived in Safaga, Egypt.  This marked our very first visit to the continent of Africa.

Egypt is about a million square kilometers so if I did my math right, that makes it about 360,000 square miles.  It’s divided into five regions:  Upper Egypt (Aswan/Southern Egypt), Lower Egypt (Northern Egypt), Sinai Peninsula, Western Egypt (Sahara Desert), and Eastern Desert (Safaga area).  Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt seem to be in reverse of what most people would think, but that is based upon the direction the Nile flows.  Upper Egypt designates upriver; Lower Egypt designates downriver.  99% of Egypt’s population of 80 million live in Upper and Lower Egypt. 

The port city of Safaga was our gateway to the ancient historical sites of Luxor, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings.  As soon as the ship was cleared by customs officials, our group of 83 people tendered ashore and boarded the three awaiting buses to set off across the desert to Luxor.  All we saw of Safaga was the few minutes it took to drive out the evening of the 4th and back in the night of the 5^th.

We set out in a caravan late in the afternoon, accompanied by a security officer on each bus, as well as a spare bus – just in case.  Our tour guide Abdul was from Aswan and was extremely knowledgeable and friendly.   The 100-mile trip across the desert was among the most desolate places we’ve ever experienced!   I knew we would be crossing desert, but I pictured the deserts I was familiar with – like those of Arizona.  In this case, we went miles without seeing anything but sand and dusty mountains.   I began to wonder if we’d even see plant life, but finally a few knee-high sized shrubs started to appear here and there, and once in a very great while we’d see a tree.  There were a few wayside places where it appeared that a few people lived, but nothing we could really describe as more than a couple of canopies and a handful of people living near one of the sporadic checkpoints along the one road that ran between Safaga and the point where we turned south toward Luxor.  About 50 miles across the 100-mile stretch we stopped at a checkpoint where we had to wait and switch security officers.  (Each checkpoint we encountered had well-armed military personnel.)  Our officer was to travel back to Safaga and we were to pick up another officer who would head back toward Luxor.  We sat and waited there for well over a half hour, but finally we were on our way again, continuing on mile after desolate mile until all of a sudden we could see lights.  We had arrived on the banks of the River Nile, which is the lifeblood of the vast majority the population. 

Turning south, our progress was slowed by the constant flow of all kinds of traffic, and I do mean all kinds!  By now it was dark so everyone was out and about, driving small trucks, cars, motorcycles, and riding donkeys.  Both of us commented that we’d never seen so many donkeys that were actually used for transportation of people and goods.  Yes, we’ve seen the places at home that advertise donkey rides, but those donkeys we saw in Egypt were used as working animals.  Not exactly what we’d expected.  (On the other hand, we only saw a few camels, and most of the ones I saw appeared to be regal passengers in the back of a truck.  Yep – five of them relaxing and enjoying their surroundings as they rode past.) 

We always knew when we were arriving at a gas station because the traffic became gridlocked!  Everyone in town seemed to show up at the gas station and wait in line for blocks.  Our tour guide told us that sometimes they got in line and left their vehicles there overnight if the station closed before they got their gas! 

What was particularly interesting was the fact that the streets were teeming with men – standing about chatting, heading somewhere,  relaxing on chairs or sitting on the ground.  It appeared that the entire male population of each village was lined along the streets as we drove by.  However, in stark contrast, we didn’t see a single woman!  Apparently the entire female population was at home – or at least inside! 

Finally arriving at our hotel, the Sonesta St. George in Luxor, we settled in quickly and went down for a buffet dinner out on the terrace on the banks of the Nile.  It was very late so we made it a quick dinner and headed back up to get ready for bed.  The next day would be very long!  Stepping out on the small patio before turning in, we realized that we had a view of the Nile and the mountains, and what we guessed was the Valley of the Kings, beyond. 

I was awaked very early in the morning (4:15 or so) by a very loud Muslim call to prayer.  Just exactly what I wanted to hear after a very long day, late night, and an upcoming long day!  Sure glad I don’t have to hear that at home!

Since Ancient Civilization became the Social Studies curriculum for fifth grade my last few years of teaching, I had been looking forward to this port since the beginning of the trip!  So many of the things we would be seeing were things that we had discussed in class, and I never dreamed at that time that I would have the opportunity to visit Egypt and see the tombs and temples of ancient Pharaohs!

After a delicious buffet breakfast, once again overlooking the Nile, we boarded the bus and headed out for our first stop of the day.  It was a 45-minute ride to the west bank of the Nile and the Valley of the Kings.  As we drove, we watched people carrying out their daily business.  Many were farmers, and one of the most important crops was sugarcane.  Dressed in their traditional long robes (which our guide told us is much cooler for them), they were in the fields working, often with small two-wheeled carts at the edge of the field, accompanied by a donkey tied to a tree.  Sometimes a cart would roll by, powered by a trotting donkey or two, often with the owner perched on the back.  We saw the occasional water buffalo, and sometimes other animals – goats, cattle, some sheep, etc.  In town there were women who appeared to be on their way to market, and men out doing whatever they needed to do.

The Valley of the Kings is the final resting place of at least 63 of Egypt’s Pharaohs.  Probably one of the most famous though least prominent of those Pharaohs was King Tutankhamen, whose grave was unearthed back in 1922.  The site is still being excavated, as they find more and more Pharaohs, sometimes one tomb on top of another. Unfortunately absolutely no photos or videography is allowed within the site, so we left our cameras on the bus and trooped out into the dusty morning warmth.  Abdul had warned us not to even acknowledge the vendors that we encountered unless we wanted to be hounded during our entire visit.  Following his instructions, we didn’t so much as make eye contact, but they still seemed to come out of the woodwork.  “One dollah?  One dollah?” became their battle cry, and we just stepped around them, completely ignoring their pleas for us to view their wares.  We would have been happy to look had we been able to browse without being pestered to death, but that was not to be!

We hopped onto a little tram that took us closer to the entrance to the valley.  Whew!  The hawkers were gone, and we could have some peace – or so we thought!  As soon as we entered the gates, they were back. 

We had tickets that allowed us into three different tombs.  Only ten tombs are open on a given day and they vary the tombs that are open.  Abdul explained what we should look for and had us go into a nearly finished tomb, a partially finished tomb, and a tomb that had a detour around another tomb.  So we visited the tombs of Ramses IV, IX, and III.  The tombs are numbered from 1 through 63 in order of their discovery.  King Tut’s tomb is 62, and there is a $20 charge to go in.  Abdul said we could opt to pay for entry, but we needed Egyptian pounds and there was very little to see because most everything was removed to the museum in Cairo. A few people did opt for this, but we decided we’d take a pass, having seen the Tutankhamen display in Chicago many years ago.  

It was absolutely fascinating to enter those ancient tombs and view the works of art in the interiors, imagining what these Pharaohs would think if they knew that people thousands of years later were tramping past their life stories!  The colors were very vivid, and they were not retouched!  We were surprised, though, to discover that most of the hieroglyphics and paintings appeared to be done on a plaster-like material rather than actual stone.  I’m not sure what I expected, but I guess it makes sense that these things were not carved into the stone! 

Not far from the Valley of the Kings was the Temple of Hatshepsut.  With some finagling, Hatshepsut managed to lay claim to the throne in an Egyptian world where only men were allowed to be Pharaoh.  She even wore a beard to establish her masculinity, and she was finally accepted, despite being a woman.  We made a photo stop at the temple but didn’t go in as there wasn’t much to see in the interior.  Instead we traveled a few miles further down the road to see the very well-preserved temple of Ramses III, whose grave we had just seen at the Valley of the Kings. 

This enormous temple had amazing carvings on the walls and pillars that told stories of the bravery of the Pharaoh and his troops.  We were fascinated to see all the towering columns and walls covered with those ancient figures and colorful paintings. 

After another brief photo stop at the Colossus of Memnon (Amenhotep III), we made the 45-minute return trip to Luxor.  Driving along the irrigation canal, we again enjoyed watching the daily life of the people.  One thing that was rather upsetting was to see the occasional bloated animal floating in the irrigation ditches.  When I asked Abdul about this, he explained that the people were not only poorly educated, but that it was against their religion to burn the bodies of animals.  So they would just dump them into the irrigation ditch, assuming that scavengers would come along and eat them.  Yuck! 

By now the heat of the day as well as the dust and sand were getting to us, so by the time we made our last stop before lunch we were ready for a break.  Karnak Temple, located back in Luxor, is absolutely massive! At one time there were 1334 immense columns, all ornately decorated!  We entered the temple passing along the avenue of Ram-Headed Sphinxes.  It was incredible to see the massive columns and view all the statues and obelisks honoring various ancient Pharaohs.  The Obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut was one of about four obelisks and the only one that was still standing.  Not only was this an immense place to visit, but our timing was such that we were able to enjoy the sites and take pictures without throngs of humanity wandering in front of us – something that doesn’t often happen!

Returning to our hotel, we freshened up, checked out, and had a buffet lunch before heading to the smaller but just as interesting Luxor Temple.  Luxor Temple had at one time been linked to Karnak Temple by the Avenue of Human-Headed Sphinxes, many of which remain.  At the entrance to the temple our guide pointed out a tall obelisk and on the other side of the archway a pedestal where an obelisk was missing.  Interestingly we’d already seen that obelisk many years ago – in the center of the Place de la Concorde in Paris! 

Temples normally are built so you can see from one end to the other, but this was built a little “crooked” – around a temple for Hatshepsut that was already there.  High above our heads was a doorway beneath a minaret.  At one time that small mosque had been at ground level.  Through excavation they discovered the ancient temple below ground.  As we proceeded between the tall colonnades, we came to another area that had been used as a Catholic church, complete with paintings in one corner of some of the disciples.  So this temple had, during the course of its history, had been a temple for the ancient Egyptians, a Christian church, and a Muslim mosque!

We made one final stop at a factory that gave us a demonstration on making papyrus.  Although a very short explanation, I found it quite interesting.  Human curiosity has produced some wondrous things, and we take paper for granted.   What a revolutionary idea these ancient Egyptians had to work with the papyrus plant to produce the world’s first paper!

Back on the bus, we made the long journey back to the ship.  This time the trip was faster – we went cross-country (cross-desert?) rather than through all the small towns lining the Nile irrigation ditches.  Once again, the land became desolate with little to view other than sand dunes, small rocky mountains, and the occasional checkpoint.  It wasn’t long before dark descended and the only thing we could see was the moonlit landscape – quite a barren wasteland! 

Upon our arrival in Safaga, we found the port area packed with men, all with small suitcases, lounging around and chatting with each other.  Abdul explained that they were awaiting the ferry that would take them to Jedda, and from there they would continue on to Mecca. 

We certainly saw some very unique things on this excursion.  Some were as we’d expected, like the ancient ruins.  Some were total surprises to us – mostly the ways of life that we hadn’t at all anticipated!  What an enlightening experience!

BT

Pirate Sightings?

A short update is in order.  We are now in the Red Sea with Egypt to our west and Saudi Arabia to our east.  We have passed near Mecca, holy city for Muslims and will reach Safaga, Egypt tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon.

But the news is that on Monday morning, several friends sighted two small boats moving toward our ship’s stern.  Supposedly one contained three people and the other, five people.  One person showed us pictures they took and it clearly shows people with automatic weapons on board.  Other friends saw the activity but had no camera at the time, but they did see on the ship’s route map that the ship swerved and picked up speed.  Still another captured some of the activity on video.  All of them, separately, seemed to see weapons.  Our friends with pictures indicated that the ship asked to see the pictures.

Most of us were completely unaware of the incident as it occurred between about 8:30 and 9:30 AM.  I was in the interior of the ship at the time and saw nothing.  Barb was in the stateroom, having been quarantined for a day due to a respiratory problem and a brief 101° temperature.  She had visited the doctor who gave her medication and told her to stay in the stateroom for 24 hours and if the temp dropped and she felt better, she could leave the room once she was checked by the ship doctor.  By Sunday evening, she felt the temp had dropped and she felt better, so late Monday afternoon, she was allowed out of confinement and went to dinner on Monday evening.  A lot of people who experience respiratory problems have shown symptoms and there is speculation that the smog and pollution in India may be the cause.  At any rate, Barb saw nothing of the excitement either.

Today, at his 12:45 PM daily announcement, the Captain said he had been asked about the unidentified boats near the ship and he wanted to assure us that they had been “fishing boats.”  That seems to conflict with what several people report they saw with their own eyes and in some cases, pictures they took.  Needless to say, this is sparking a great deal of interest and discussion on the ship.  Regardless of what really happened, most of us were unaware of what happened at the time and we continue en route to Safaga where we will take the 3½ to 4 hour bus ride to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.  It will be our first visit to Egypt and some of the antiquities.  More on that when we return to the ship.

CT

Pirate Waters of the Arabian Sea (No April Fool’s!)

We are in the third of five days at sea between Mumbai and Safaga, Egypt.  Before setting sail from Mumbai, the ship was outfitted with coils of razor wire just below the walkaround deck (one friend has called it the ship’s “tutu”).  The water hoses are connected and ready to go if needed.  Security guards, two of them, are constantly walking the deck 24/7 with binoculars trained on the sea looking for possible pirates.  The ship has picked up speed to nearly maximum speed of 22 knots.  We have been averaging a little over 20 knots per hour.  The captain tells us that we should be able to outrun any potential pirate activity.  They are in constant touch with military vessels in the area as well as other monitoring programs and Seattle (home office for Holland America) is in constant touch.  We even learned that a decision was made to increase the speed of the ship ahead of the intended speed in our dash between Mumbai and Safaga so that we arrive in Safaga, Egypt about 4 PM on April 4 rather than 7 AM on April 5.

As this is written, we are just moving into the Gulf of Aden with the Horn of Somalia to our south and Yemen to our north!  Last night the vibration of the ship moving at nearly top speed was quite noticeable and this morning when I went out to walk the deck before breakfast, security guards had binoculars peeled and were checking out an increasing number of ships that were clearly visible.  Obviously the vast majority are on legitimate business in a busy sea lane leading to and from the Suez Canal, but they have to watch for that one possible rogue boat up to no good.

In the meantime we are going about shipboard events as normal.  Since Barb wrote the blog on Mumbai I will add my two cents on my impressions of India as well.  I had taken a graduate school course when working on my Master’s Degree on the history of India/Pakistan and developed a bit of an interest in seeing India “some day”.  It hadn’t been high on my priority list and had been low on Barb’s, but having spent four days there now, we were glad we made the visit.  Despite the poverty we observed, people as in other parts of Asia were genuinely friendly and seemed pleased to have visitors.  I was so glad to visit Mumbai and to have my misconceptions changed.  In short, I really liked Mumbai!

We have two new speakers on board, one of whom, Major Rod Baldwin, is lecturing on the history of the areas we visit.  His first lecture dealt with India’s first war for independence in the mid 19^th century.  The other speaker, Mel Foster, is a biologist who has studied in both Britain and Canada and is knowledgeable in the seas of this part of the world.  The special theme formal nights continue with the most recent being what they called the Maharajah and Maharani Night with its Indian focus.  Our tablemate, Gerda even had an extra sari which she gave to Barb so she could dress the part!

With busy ports we haven’t mentioned some of our new friends.  Gerda and John are our new tablemates from Brisbane, Australia.  Gerda was born in Holland but has lived in Australia for the last 30 years.  Both she and John have traveled extensively and are excellent sources of information on the various ports we visit. Likewise, we have met Bob and Nancy, both recently retired college professors from West Virginia.  They usually find a seat in front of us in the Queen’s Lounge for the lectures and after several weeks, Barb spoke to them saying that we should become acquainted since we sit so near each other so frequently.  They obviously enjoy travel as do we.  They had each expressed interest in visiting different places on their next trip and happened to notice that this world cruise included both places.  They were still working at the time and decided to retire as of December 31, 2011 so they could enjoy this long voyage!  We’ve enjoyed getting to know both couples.

Because of our revision in itinerary, a new shore excursion was offered which basically encompassed the one we had chosen to do in Safaga.  It was to have been the longest shore excursion of the trip with a 14½ hour round trip to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.  With the early arrival, an overnight trip was offered with a departure in the late afternoon and a dinner at the hotel.  It allows a more relaxed, and hopefully cooler start to the sightseeing as well as a somewhat earlier return to the ship on April 5.

We just wanted to update the current status of our voyage into the waters of the Middle East.  If there is further news before Safaga, we will update.

The Marvelous Metropolis of Mumbai

As we sailed north to our final stop in India, each port got larger.  Mumbai is the largest city in India at 17 million, according to the 2005 census.  This also makes it one of the world’s largest cities.  We weren’t sure what to expect, but we certainly didn’t expect to see what we saw! 

In the 16^th Century the Portuguese named it Bom Bahia, which meant “Good Bay”’; this was anglicized to Bombay when the British took over.  The name was officially changed to Mumbai in 1995, honoring the local Hindu goddess, Mumbadevi.  Mumbai was built on eight islands which are now connected by reclaimed land.  There are sixteen languages throughout India; the recognized languages are Hindi (first) and English (second), and the rest are regional languages that are not understood in other parts of the country.  When speaking in Hindi, the city is referred to as Mumbai, but when the people speak in English, they call it Bombay.  Hence our tour guides on both days referred to the city as Bombay. 

As we awaited our first shore excursion of two scheduled for Mumbai, Banganga and the Khotachiwadi Heritage, we wondered what made us choose that one when we’d never been to Mumbai and would have appreciated having an overview of this massive city!  But there we were with tickets in hand and the description printed up on the computer verifying that we’d made this choice for some strange reason! 

Our tour guide explained that she had been told that the city reminded people of Edinburgh, but she couldn’t verify this as she’d never been to Edinburgh!  After her comment, we really began to notice the similarities in buildings.  However the masses of humanity are far more prevalent in Mumbai, and we were more likely to see a cow on a street corner than a kilt!  Everywhere we looked people were walking, riding, driving, weaving in and out!  What a colorful place.  We would have been happy to just sit and people-watch! Certainly though, we found that everywhere we went the people were once again greeting us with friendly smiles and waves!  As we drove, not only did we enjoy the tour guide’s commentary, but we were fortunate to sit in front of a very interesting lady!  The last two people on the bus had been a blind man and his legally-blind wife.  Since there was no place where there were two seats together, the man sat behind us and his wife sat ahead of us.  The lady seated next to the blind man spent the time when the guide wasn’t talking describing the urban scenery in great detail.  One of the first things she said was that she had been in Mumbai several years ago and she was very pleased to see that by comparison with back then, there was very little litter on the streets.  We started watching for it also, and in contrast with Goa, where we saw litter everywhere we looked, we quickly realized that Mumbai was far cleaner! 

Our first stop was at Banganga, an area where there are many Hindu temples.  We alighted from the bus and began a trek down many stairs, through narrow streets, past small temple after small temple, arriving at an enormous cleansing pool which Hindus would use for bathing before worship.  This pool was created from a natural spring which is an offshoot of the Ganges River. The Ganges is as sacred to Hindus as the Vatican is to Catholics. As we walked, we could opt to step inside the small temples, but since most of us had already visited temples in Mangalore and Goa, we didn’t feel the need to once again remove our shoes and enter temples.  We contented ourselves with peeking in the doors, listening to the rich sounds of bells and gongs clanging inside the small temples, and watching the people going about their daily business.  At one point I noticed a man on small side street giving another man a haircut – right on the sidewalk.  People walked by us pushing carts or balancing things on their heads; all seemed willing to stop for pictures or to greet us with a smile.  One lady who had been to India before commented, “This is the real India! When I’ve been here before I’ve never had a chance to get into areas like this.”  It truly was amazing to watch these people as they went about their daily lives.

A short ride took us to Khotachiwadi, an area dating back to the 17^th Century settlements of the Portuguese.  The colorful homes were Portuguese style, and most of the people who lived in this area belonged to The East Indian Roman Catholic Community. We were invited into the home of one of the people who lived there and served tea or lemonade and hors d’oeuvres.  It was very interesting to get inside a local home.  We went upstairs where there was a small shop where handmade clothes were available. We had passed a room where the fabric was being woven.  When we exited the home, we walked through the very narrow streets to view the architecture of other buildings in the area.  I honestly think that the rear access drive in our subdivision was wider than these streets, which teemed with pedestrians, vendors with pushcarts, bicycles, and motorcycles, all performing a seemingly intricate dance to advance through the neighborhood. 

We made a final shopping stop, and on our way we passed the famous Gateway to India as well as the Taj Hotel, which had been bombed in the terrorist attack of 2008. 

This was the first photo stop on our excursion the second day in Mumbai.  That day we had selected another wonderful, but very different tour, A Day in the Life: Mumbai on the Move.  Within minutes of leaving the port, we were exiting the bus in order to take photos of the Gateway to India. Built in 1911, it commemorated a visit by King George V and Queen Mary, this    archway not only symbolizes arrival in India but also was the exact location where Britain left India once and for all, giving them their freedom in 1947. Across the street was the Taj Hotel, giving us a much better opportunity to get pictures than we did the previous day!   Apparently the best hotel in India had denied entry to a man who decided that he was going to build an even better hotel.  The result was the Taj, and the original hotel is now very run-down and not nearly the showcase that the Taj has become! 

Both days we made a quick photo stop at Victoria Terminus, which was built to look somewhat like St. Pancras Station in London.  (For those people who have never been to London but have seen the Harry Potter movies, St. Pancras is located across the street from King’s Cross Station and was used for the filming of King’s Cross exterior in the movies.  This will give you an idea of what Victoria Terminus in Mumbai looks like.)  India has the largest network of trains and is the largest single employer in the world, and Victoria Terminus sees a half-million passengers every day! 

We took quite awhile to visit the Mani Bhawan Gandhi Museum, the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s base between 1917 and 1934. It is filled with memorabilia, including letters he wrote to FDR and Hitler, as well as dioramas that depict important events in his life. 

Our guide timed things so that we would be getting of the bus at Churchgate Station in time to watch the dabba-wallahs in action.  Dabba-wallahs are members of the Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association.  There are approximately 25,000 dabba-wallahs who go out to homes and pick up tiffin boxes (stackable aluminum lunch boxes that can hold a multi-course meal), take them by train into the city, get off the train, separate them according to destination, where others pick them up and deliver them to the person at work.  This first started in the 1800s because men were reluctant to eat food if they did not know who had prepared it.  So the wife would prepare it at home and send it to her husband.  At first the dabba-wallahs were not all literate so various methods were used to identify the destination of these unique lunch boxes.  Now it has become a real art as the men rush off the station with about 100 lbs of lunches balanced on palates on their heads, deliver them across the street where they are separated to be carried further to their destinations by bicycle or other method.  After lunch these boxes are picked up and delivered home again.  They virtually never make a mistake!  Our only question was, “Why can’t the men bring their lunches to work when they leave home in the morning?”  Guess we’ll never know…

We entered the train station, which reminded me of the train scene in Slumdog Millionaire and boarded a train for a short ride to Mahalaxmi Station, where we got off to view the Dhobi Ghat, or laundry.  Our guide had told us that we must hurry because all of us had a total of 30 seconds to get off the train before it would continue on its way.  Glad to know that after so many days on the ship, we’re still all very quick as nobody was left behind!   We walked up the stairs and over the station to the Dhobi Ghat. There were what appeared to be hundreds of men doing hand laundry in the local river and hanging it out to dry, then pressing it, wrapping it in bundles, and returning it to the owners.  Once again, these professionals mark the laundry in such a way that nothing gets lost.  Absolutely amazing! 

As we returned to the ship, we got caught in a traffic jam, which in itself isn’t surprising in this vast and populous city.  However, in this case it wasn’t the traffic that caused the jam.  We had timed our return with a demonstration just outside the Port House, which apparently has something to do with the Mumbai Port and employs people outside the state of Maharashtra (of which Mumbai is the capital).  These people were blocking the road waving flags and placards protesting for the hiring of people within the state rather than outside the state.  Fortunately we were only held up for about 15 minutes before the police came along and paved the way for us.  I would not have wanted to be the bus driver who had to back down that narrow street onto the major thoroughfare we had just left!

I’m not sure what I expected when we came to India, but having felt very indifferent about seeing India, this was the one part of the trip where I was not terribly enthused about our stops.  I’m delighted to say that I was very pleased with all three of our Indian ports!  Each was very different, and each had something unique to offer.  We were received very warmly in all three ports, and I am so glad that we had this wonderful opportunity!  I enjoyed Mangalore and Goa, but I think I would definitely put Mumbai on my list of places that I would like to visit again sometime!

While we were in Mumbai our ship was fitted with a little extra decoration.  We are now adorned with barbed wire that surrounds the ship below the Promenade Deck in preparation for our tear across the Indian Ocean and (supposedly) pirate-infested waters! 

BT

Goa – India’s Smallest State

We are now in the second most port intensive part of our journey now, behind only a series of consecutive days in the Mediterranean.  It was a quick overnight sail from Mangalore in far southern India to Mormugao in India’s smallest state of Goa.  For once our side (port side) had the nicer view as we overlooked the harbor with many small boats and some reasonably modern buildings to view rather than view the commercial, industrial side of the port.

Goa evolved separately from the rest of India and to this day¸ Goans, if asked where they are from, will say “Goa” instead of “India.”  Only if a person doesn’t know where Goa is located will they say that it is on the west coast of India.  We have seen the name “Mormugao” spelled in several different ways but this seems to be the spelling of choice here.  The port itself is named for the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama as it where da Gama embarked when he was returning to Portugual after his voyage to India.  Goa, unlike the rest of India, was largely settled by the Portuguese starting in the 16^th century.  For a time the Dutch tried to take over from the Portuguese but the Portuguese influence still remained.  As the British gained foothold in India, and since Goa was so small comparatively, Britain eventually asserted control over India including Goa.

In 1947 as a part of the end of the European colonial empires in Asia and Africa, India became independent but Goa remained under colonial rule.  It wasn’t until 1961 that Goa became free.  In 1970 the states to the north and to the south, which contained Bombay (Mumbai) and Mangalore respectively invited Goa to join them but Goa rejected the offers.  Instead it became the smallest of the Indian states.  They preferred to remain independent but logistics didn’t make this practical.  Goa’s population is under two million people today out of a population of over a billion people nationwide.  It has a land are of just over 3700 square kilometers.  To this day, Goans refer to Mumbai as “Bombay”.

For our excursion we chose Mangushi Temple and Panjim City.  We boarded our bus and found the seats to be smaller and window viewing wasn’t really good, but it was air conditioned!  We can’t imagine what it would have been like in this hot, humid climate without air conditioning.

 The Mangalore excursion had only shown us the city, but here we quickly got out into the countryside.  While there were still many shacks visible we also saw some more attractive home which clearly showed the Portuguese colonial architecture.  Many of these had been nice in their day but a bit run down now.  However there were still a number of nicely preserved homes.  Someone asked our guide, Caesar, about the preponderance of trash along the road and he told us the story of why that has happened.  He said that at one time, Goa was the cleanest of the states.  He indicated that he remembered that as a younger man, he observed someone throwing trash from a car window; he picked it up, caught up with the driver and handed it back to the driver to dispose of properly.  But now he said that much trash had been tossed out by visitors to the state and that they would be accused of racism if they spoke to anyone about discarding the trash.  Apparently there is a political correctness in Goa too – same story, different issues.  But as a result, Goans have become careless too and thus the trash is apparent almost everywhere.

Our first stop, about an hour from Mormugao was at the Mangushi Temple, another of the Hindu temples we are visiting.  Once again, we had to remove our shoes to enter the temple and this time I wore loafers rather than shoes that had to be tied!  That was much easier.  We could take pictures outside but it was strictly prohibited in the temple.  The Mangushi Temple in the village of Mangueshi was different from those we toured in Mangalore but that should come as no surprise because our Christian churches look different from each other with certain standard characteristics unique to our religions.  Someone asked what the significance of the elephant head on a man’s body was.  Our guide told us that in the Hindu faith, the Lord Shiva¸ the most holy man, had had a quarrel with another man.  It seems that Lord Shiva went out to the mountains alone and had stayed for years.  But before he left, his wife became pregnant and had a son. The son grew up not knowing his father nor did Lord Shiva know the son.  One day, Lord Shiva’s wife was bathing and instructed her son not to let anyone into the house at all.  It was at that precise time that Lord Shiva returned.  Since Lord Shiva and the son didn’t know each other, they quarreled over whether he should come into the house.  In the course of the confrontation, Lord Shiva beheaded the young man, not knowing it was his son.  His wife, when she found out what happened, was so distraught that she asked that the first living thing be beheaded and placed with her son.  It was an elephant that Lord Shiva saw first so he beheaded the elephant, placed it with the son, and so began the importance of the elephant to the Hindu faith.

We are aware that the cow is sacred and we saw many cows wandering the countryside.  Al told us that he had seen quite a few in Mangalore the day before but Barb and I were on the other side of the bus and for some reason, we saw none.  But in Goa it was different. We saw lots of cows, many alone but several in groups. In the Hindu tradition, the cow’s milk sustains infants and the bull was the chariot of Lord Shiva. Shoes aren’t worn in the temple as most shoes are made of leather.  So as not to make a mistake, even shoes not made of leather are prohibited.

When we left Mangueshi, we drove toward Panjim City by way of the town of Old Goa.  Old Goa is a well preserved village and the location of what once had been 30 churches, pretty much all in one area.  Six of the churches survive including a large Roman Catholic complex which we drove past.  Driving into Panjim City on the Mandovi River (Goa’s second longest river), we noticed that for the most part it was quite modern but still reflected the old Portuguese heritage.  We stopped to visit the local market which included the vendors’ booths along a very narrow street.  That led into the big market, made of concrete and with a roof.  Everywhere fruits and vegetables were being sold along with fish and other products.  Most of the women sat up on the tables and sold their products from that perch.  We encountered several beggars, one a woman carrying a baby, another a small girl who asked me to buy a plastic toy for her.  Initially I thought the girl was trying to convince me to buy it but then I realized she wanted me to buy it for her.  We were warned by our port lecturer, Barbara Haenni, that giving to beggars was our choice, but if we did, we should expect 20 more to come out of the woodwork to ask us to do the same for them as we did for the one we helped.  As a result, none of us that I observed gave anything to the beggars.

A 45 minute drive brought us back to our ship in time for an early departure from Goa at 3 PM. The reason had to do with the tides.  We needed to get into the open sea before the tide came out. 

Sri Lanka and India are not even hours off most of the world, but rather ½ hour.  For example, we are not 10 or 11 hours ahead of Chicago, but rather we are 10½ hours.

We are now half finished with our four day Indian exploration with our two days in Mumbai ahead.

CT

Mangalore: An Introduction to the Indian Culture

After a busy day at sea, we arrived in India.  Not only was this our first time to India, but it was also the very first time that Holland America has stopped at the port of Mangalore. 

India is divided into states; each state is divided into districts; each district is divided into talucks (sp?); talucks are divided into cities.  Mangalore is in the Indian state of Karnataka, and is located about 220 miles from the capital of the state, Bangalore.  Mangalore is a city of about 600,000 people and is one of the largest ports in India.  It exports most of the country’s coffee.  Since the processing of cashews is so important to the area, the port handles the vast majority of the exportation of cashews. 

While our guide was excellent, we had quite a bit of difficulty understanding some of his descriptions, especially since we are not well-versed in the practices of the Hindu religion!  We really appreciated what we did, but we have a feeling that we won’t be able to do justice to what we saw. 

Our tour was called Mangalore Highlights and included four stops.  The first stop was at a cashew processing factory.  We learned about the many steps that they go through to prepare cashews for sale – most of which is done by hand.  About all that we saw done by machine was a conveyor belt and an oven.  The cashew is a nut that is attached to the top of a kind of apple. The cashew must be removed from the apple, the poor quality ones are removed, and the rest are placed on the conveyor belt, and sent into the factory. Women are hired to crack the cashews open by hand, one by one.  For this tedious task, they make a whopping wage of approximately $4 a day, based upon how many cashews they can crack open!  One woman worked so fast that her hands appeared to be a blur!  After being cracked open, the cashews are weighed, and then roasted for eight hours before being sent to the grading room where they are separated according to the color, size, and  of the cashew.  We decided that we now understand very well why cashews are so expensive! 

From the cashew factory it was a short drive to the Khadri Manjunath Temple, a Hindu temple dating back to about 1068.  As is always the case in Hindu temples, we had to remove our shoes before entering the various separate building of the temple.  (Being in stocking feet was a real challenge, especially since I don’t do well walking around without shoes for long periods of time!)   The chief deity for this temple is Manjunath (or Lord Shiva).  Since Monday is the sacred day for Lord Shiva, our guide warned us that it would be a very busy day as people would be coming to worship.  That was certainly the case!  Everywhere we looked there were people coming in and worshiping – cleansing themselves in nearby pools, kneeling in prayer, bowing to the priests or Brahmins.  The statues that adorned both the exteriors and interiors were very ornate and often depicted various gods sacred to the Hindus – Lord Shiva with his many arms, the elephant-headed “prince”, and others.  We had to move around each room in a clockwise pattern to bring luck.  It was very interesting, but we have decided that we would not make very good Hindus because we didn’t seem to understand a whole lot about what was happening!  One thing is for sure: as Al commented, the Hindu religion certainly is a noisy one with all the gongs and bells being rung and the people chanting!  Apparently “ohmmmm” is a lucky sound! 

Our third stop was much more understandable.  As we arrived at the St. Aloysius Catholic Church, uniformed students were flocking to the gates.  Our guide said that it was exam time and they had most likely finished up an exam and were heading home.  The church itself was built at the end of the 19^th Century; the interior was adorned with paintings that depicted the life of Christ as well as the life of Aloysius Gonzaga, the wealthy young man who did so much to help the poor and needy.  Here was a place where we could examine the artwork and actually know what things meant!

Our final stop was the Gokarnanath Temple, a modern temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.  Its founder wished to erect a temple where non-Brahmins could come and worship. Hence people can worship here without concern for the caste they belong to.  As a result they are far more tolerant (though we still had to remove shoes to visit the temple grounds).  We were allowed to take pictures inside as tourists, though people who worship there regularly are not allowed to do so.  We got special permission thanks to our guide, who is a member of this temple.  Each different temple on the grounds honored a different god.  Lord Shiva’s was the most prominent and important.  His wife was Parvati (which I found very interesting – couldn’t help but wonder if JK Rowling got the name for one of her Gryffindor characters from Lord Shiva’s wife), and she was pictured beside him.  There was also the monkey king, the bull, and many others.  I didn’t quite follow what the guide was saying, but apparently the planetary positions of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the ascending and descending moon are extremely important to the religion because there were icons that represented each in two or three places. 

Our guide told us that since he had been married in that temple, he arranged for them to open the marriage hall so that we could see it.  There are three marriage halls, based upon the wealth of the people being married.  The wealthiest are married in an ornate, air conditioned hall, while the poorest are married in an non-air conditioned hall, though it was still very beautiful.

About 85% of all Indian marriages are arranged, including his.  Parents arrange marriages for their children within their castes, and the children meet anywhere between one and six months before they get married.  The father of the bride pays for the wedding.  When they are married, the eldest son takes over responsibility for his parents.  The wife goes to live with her husband and his family.  When the woman gets pregnant, she spends the last couple of months of pregnancy with her mother and remains there for about the first three months of the baby’s life, returning to her husband and family at that time. 

Literacy was at about 85% on the 2001 Federal Census, but they anticipate that it will be up over 90% when the results of the 2011 census are published.  To encourage parents to send children to school, lunches are provided for free.  Otherwise, our guide said that parents may decide to have their children work instead of receiving an education. 

As we drove throughout the city, we passed several factories.  The dust and grime brought back memories of our trips back and forth to Buffalo through Lackawanna. (For our friends who don’t know the Buffalo area, Lackawanna was a steel mill town, and the homes were virtually all rust-colored.)   I can’t say that Mangalore was a pretty city, but despite this, the people exuded enthusiasm and friendliness to all they met.  No matter where we were, people were waving to us on the bus, wearing broad smiles and happy faces.  In the temples, many people nodded their greetings and gave us delighted smiles.  One lady said that her tour guide told them that guests to their temples were seen as gods and were treated as such.  At one of the temples, there was an elderly woman standing at the door who made eye contact with every one of us and gave us a smile and a friendly nod, her hands folded as if she was in prayer.  We smiled and nodded back.

While we can’t say that we were taken with the scenic beauty of Mangalore, we found much beauty in the warmth and friendliness of all those we encountered!  That was a lovely first impression of the vast nation of India! 

BT

Sri Lanka: The Teardrop or the Emerald Island?

Our journey around the world continues as we officially leave Southeast Asia behind with our visits to Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand now complete.  Now we focus on Sri Lanka, the large teardrop island off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent, and of course India itself.

Never a part of India and with a completely different culture and tradition, Sri Lanka has always been in the shadow of its larger neighbor on the continent.   Formerly known as Ceylon, Holland America was paying its first visit to Sri Lanka in many years primarily because of the political strife that had occurred there for the last few decades.  Forty years ago, whoever would have thought we would visit Vietnam as tourists?  The same applies to Sri Lanka whose civil war ended quite recently with the killing of the rebel Tamil Tiger leader in 2009.  (One wonders if ever tourists will enjoy the wonders of Baghdad again.  But Vietnam and Sri Lanka give it some hope.)

Sri Lanka (Ceylon) had long been on the trade route going back to the days of the Greek, Persians, and Romans.  Going back to the 15^th century, the Portuguese had established a foothold.  The Dutch, followed by the British assumed control there until 1948 when Britain granted independence to Ceylon.  Over the years a mix of Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims populated the area.

During the recent era of political strife, the city of Colombo, and other parts of Sri Lanka were no place for tourists.  In fact our tablemates, John and Gerda told us of Gerda’s harrowing experience in Sri Lanka on her last visit in 1983.  She was with her two daughters coming back to their hotel in Colombo when fighting broke out and the streets were awash in gunfire.  Her first husband was elsewhere in Sri Lanka at the time.  Gerda clearly remembers her young daughters seeing people killed and lying in the streets.  Their trip back to the hotel was less than pleasant and they left the country as fast as possible.  This was her first return visit since that time and she said her daughter said she would feel much better when she heard that her mother was on her way from Sri Lanka this time.

But no worries today.  The events that gave rise to the reference to the Teardrop are over and peace reigned supreme today.  Our guide today said that Sri Lankans are essentially a peaceful people and that people are thankful that the events that brought on the civil conflict are in the past.

We had elected an excursion called Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage by Train and Motorcoach.  There was a two price system for this excursion – one with a 3 hour ride by motorcoach and the other with a Viceroy train, and old, elegant train car which undoubtedly was for first class travelers.  We had chosen the less expensive option since it was $100 cheaper to do the visit by bus, but Holland America offered one complimentary excursion to suite guests who had booked early and who were doing the entire cruise.  This was a change from the past since previously they had done a special event excusive to suite guests.  On our 2009 Grand Voyage, we had gone to an Air Force Museum on Remembrance Day (Veterans’ Day to Americans) in Christchurch, New Zealand where there was an outstanding dinner, World War II vintage entertainment from “the Andrews Sisters”, and more.  Last year on the World Cruise there was a special event at the Celsus Library in Ephesus.  This year, as part of the economic cutbacks at Holland America, we could pick one shore excursion from an approved list and we had chosen the train version of the elephant orphanage tour.

As we waited for our tour to be called, my eye began to burn from the sunscreen I had applied.  In the three minutes I was in the public restroom caring for my eye, our tour was called.  Al went on ahead and was in a different group from us all day.  Barb and I were in a second group that had to wait until the time the tour was scheduled to depart in case stragglers arrived just in time.  Al’s group boarded the train and we never saw him again until lunchtime at the hotel near where the elephants were located.  When we got on the train, we had to scramble for seats. I found a double seat but didn’t realize until the train was ready to leave that we would face the reverse direction of the train and our seats were in recline position and they couldn’t be adjusted.  Barb’s not a happy camper when she has to travel facing back.  I don’t care for it but it doesn’t make me sick like it does her.  She leaned back and closed her eyes, missing the interesting sights of the Sri Lankan countryside – all because the sunscreen had burned my eyes at exactly the wrong time.  We communicated the problem to the attendant who found her a seat in a small connecting car.  That one wasn’t air conditioned but at least she could face forward and had some fresh air.  Later she moved to a dining car and sat at one of the tables facing forward with the window open and was able to enjoy most of the trip.  We enjoyed watching the unique scenery of Sri Lanka which included people in small towns, people in the fields, cows and water buffaloes, dense and lush foliage and even, at quite a distance, a mother using a tub of water from a nearby river, to bathe her small child.

When we arrived at the station nearest the Elephant Orphanage, we were told to gather all our belongings as we would be taking a motor coach back to the ship in Colombo.  That came as quite a surprise as our tour description clearly state that we would take the train in BOTH directions!   Very interesting …

When we arrived at the Elephant Orphanage, we were walking to see where the elephants bathed and also to the restaurant overlooking that area where we would have our buffet lunch.  We were asked to step out of the path of several elephants that came lumbering down the street from their bath.  As we walked, it behooved us to watch carefully to avoid stepping in a few piles of football sized elephant droppings!  We had the opportunity to watch the elephants of various sizes including a few baby and adolescent elephants in the stream.  There had to have been more than a couple dozen in the water, enjoying spraying the water on their backs on a hot sunny day.  It was fun watching the mother elephants watching out for their babies.

I should comment that the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage was established in 1975 to care for seven orphan elephants.  It grew and elephants were sent from all over the world.  It’s the only program of its kind in the world and has grown to become a conservation and educational site which fosters the breeding of the gentle, intelligent Asian elephants.  The Asian elephants are smaller and more trainable than their African counterparts.  The elephants found on Sri Lanka are the largest of the Asian elephants. The first baby was born at Pinnawela in 1984 and elephants are free to find mates.

After some time for the requisite shopping, we walked a short distance to view the elephant feeding.  Several elephants, with the assistance of some willing guests and the elephant handlers, fed bananas, watermelon and other items.  They drank water from some bottles as well.  There was one elderly elephant that was virtually blind but quite obviously was beloved at the orphanage.  We were told as well that the elephant had been shot several times but survived.  Another appeared to have lost its front right foot but we never learned how that occurred. Without the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, certainly several of these elephants would never survive in the wild.

After several delightful hours there, we boarded our buses for the three hour return to Colombo.  That was the part of the excursion that had been unexpected since we had been told through the excursion description that it would be by train both ways.  The drive through small busy towns was interesting with many people out on the streets on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  What we all noted was that vendors seemed to be selling the same things in each particular village.  In one place we saw all kinds of places selling car seats (not children’s but front or back seats of cars) with many of them on display in front of stores.  Another place was selling plastic children’s toys, yet another had lots of fresh pineapples, and another with toilets for sale.  Some were just the bowls, some had tanks as well but they came in various bright colors.  How can there be a market for so many of the same product in such a small locality?

Back to the ship, I saw a group of young girls from an orphanage that performed for those on the ship before we returned.  Holland America always chooses a charity in a particular place and this year they chose this cause in Sri Lanka.  Some fundraisers were held including a silent auction of watercolor paintings by guests and a dunking of ship celebrities like Cruise Director Scudder, Port Lecturer Haenni, and Captain Mercer.  A generous cash donation of about $5000 (about half of which was raised by passengers that was matched by Holland America Line) and supplies were made to the orphanage.

We did inquire at the Shore Excursions office about the bus ride versus the train trip back to Colombo and they had been made aware of the situation.  There was a possibility that something might be done for the people who paid for the tour but not for those who received it as the complimentary excursion and who based choosing this one on the description as written.  Later we heard that Holland America was caught unawares too and that it had been a decision by the excursion provider without Holland America’s knowledge.  But there has been no explanation to us so we are left to wonder where the real truth resides.  If there is any change, we will note it in a further blog.

It was a great excursion and we enjoyed our time seeing a country that neither of us knew much about.  Our day ended with one of our favorite groups that had performed on the 2009 Grand Voyage, “The Unexpected Boys” who sing many of the songs of the Four Seasons.  They are very energetic and always do a great job.

And next … three ports and four days in India!

CT

(PS:  We miss our proofreader, Pam!  It was one month ago tomorrow that she flew home from Sydney.)