INDIA - APRIL 23-APRIL 28, 2016

"It was as if all my life I had been seeing the world in black and white and when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor." ~ Keith Bellows

April 23, 24, 25: The Taj Mahal

Our overland journey to the site of the renowned Taj Mahal began with a 3:15am wake up call as The Voyager docked in Cochin. A day-long series of bus and plane rides brought us to the plush ITC Mughal hotel in Agra close to the Taj. Another early morning wake up call on Sunday summoned us to gather for the long awaited visit to the iconic monument at sunrise. We were not disappointed! The spectacular Taj Mahal has been described as "...perhaps the world's greatest monument to love, certainly for a mausoleum." What better way to celebrate our 50th anniversary!

Upon leaving the Taj around 8:15am, we had an opportunity to attend a Hindi Catholic mass in Agra. This proved to be another unexpected memorable experience. Meeting Sister Ruth was an added bonus!


However, the down side to all of this was witnessing the poverty that exists in the shadow of these beautiful attractions. We were delivered from place to place in comfortable air-conditioned coaches with big windows allowing full unedited views of the sights, sounds and sometimes the smells around us. These experiences have led to interesting discussions with fellow travelers who hail from all over the world. Our local guides on these excursions have been very personable and informative and Regent's guest professor/lecturer has prepared us with great history lessons about what we are seeing. So, after another wake up call at zero-dark-hundred on Monday morning, we were off on another long bus ride (3.5 hours) through northern India's many miles of agricultural land arriving in New Dehli just in time for Monday morning rush hour traffic that rivals the biggest traffic snarls anywhere in the world! We made it to the Dehli airport in time for Dick to get his pre-flight cup of Starbucks coffee before our three hour flight to rejoin the ship in Goa. What a journey!!

April 26: Mumbai (Bombay)
With a population of approximately 21 million, Mumbai is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. And we had only eight hours to explore this crazy Indian city teeming with people, traffic and a mix of old and new buildings. Our first stop was at the huge Crawford Market with its mountains of fresh fruit, vegetables and spices plus a wide variety of other items for sale. Instead of a shopping cart, you hire a man balancing a large flat basket on his head into which he places the items you select and then he delivers the goods to your car or whatever vehicle brought you to the market. My small bags of cinnamon, chai tea and masala did not warrant the services of a basket carrier.

Back on the bus we saw throngs of people heading to and from the massive Victoria Terminus. Our guide described the history of this bustling railway station, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is considered "the finest example of Victorian Gothic architecture in India."

Then on to one of the highlights of this visit for me--an opportunity to meet the "dabbawallahs" of Bombay. Each morning around four thousand dabbawallahs call on suburban housewives who pack lunches in small circular tins called dabbas. Typically each dabbawallah collects 30-40 lunch bags, ranges them out on long poles, bicycle handlebars or decorated handcarts and delivers them to the nearest railway station. Here he hands them over to a fellow dabbawallah who transports them into the city for delivery to the consumer. (This is the point where we met the deliverers.) After lunch the empty containers are returned home via the same reliable and efficient system. The dabbawallahs pride themselves on never losing a lunchbox. This unique system of lunch box delivery has been described as "a symbol of this enigmatic and intriguing city...extremely investigated from Harvard Business School to French television and documentaries." One of my favorite movies, The Lunchbox, depicts this whole process...with a twist!

Of course there was a lot more to see in Mumbai and we spent the remainder of the day taking in more colorful sights and sounds of this multi-faceted city before returning to the ship in time for a 6:30pm departure from India into the Arabian Sea under the setting sun.

April 27 & 28: at sea
These are two very welcome days sailing across the Arabian Sea and trying to rest and recuperate from our Indian experiences and adventures in dining. Oh my! In spite of what we thought were judicious choices of only cooked foods and canned sodas, etc. our stomaches are grateful for those little pink pills and lighter fare on the ship. We will survive!

SOUTHEAST ASIA: SINGAPORE, CAMBODIA, MALAYSIA, MYANMAR - APRIL 6-APRIL 22, 2016

It's Wednesday, April 20 and we are at sea---in the Bay of Bengal somewhere between Myanmar and India.  We boarded the Seven Seas Voyager in Singapore on April 12, after a short stay in Singapore and an overnight visit to Seam Reap, Cambodia.

Southeast Asia is a very different part of the world that we have never seen before--at times we are overwhelmed with the friendliness of the people, the diversity of the cultures and the exotic beauty that surrounds us on land and at sea.  The history and background of the people is very interesting and complicated.

Our impressions so far:

Singapore:  A big modern city with very tall buildings, very clean streets and very busy people! After arriving here on Wednesday, April 6, it took me several days to get over jet lag and feel almost normal. Glad we allowed a few extra days here before flying to Cambodia on Sunday, April 10. We managed to catch a glimpse of the British colonial influence via a visit to Raffles and a refreshing Singapore Sling on a hot day. Also visited Little India and Chinatown where we witnessed the devotion of Hindus and Buddhists praying at their temples. We got caught in a downpour while exploring the beautiful and extensive Singapore Botanic Gardens on Saturday. There was so much more that we could have seen while in this big city, but we were knocked out by the heat and our long journey to get here!

Seam Reap, Cambodia (April 10, 11 & 12):  An old city with a burgeoning tourist business because of its proximity to the ancient Angkor Wat Temple and many others from the Khmer Empire. The people were charming and friendly; our tour guide provided us with a sad history of Cambodia. Thousands of people suffered and died during the military rule of Pol Pot.  Our guide didn't know his own date of birth, nor who his parents were because he was taken away from them right after he was born (late 1970's) and raised in a group home. His first toy was an automatic weapon and he was in the army at the age of 13.  After the oppressive Khmer Rouge military regime was overthrown in 1979, the country suffered through a war with Vietnam until 1991.  A coup in 1997 placed power in the hands of a Prime Minister and the Cambodian People's Party. According to Wikipedia "The country faces numerous challenges and sociopolitical issues, including widespread poverty..."   However, the people we met appear to be a new generation who have survived and are rebuilding their beautiful country. Hope our visit helped their tourism industry!

Welcome to Seam Reap!

Ancient Temples in Cambodia

Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Maylaysia (April 13 & 14): Our first port of call after boarding Regent's Seven Seas Voyager on April 12 was Kuala Lumpur, the capital and largest city in Malaysia. Our eight-hour bus tour of the city included photo stops at the Blue Mosque and the 88-story Petronas Twin Towers in the center of the city. We had some time to visit the National Museum and a busy "wet market." Along the way, our local guide provided an informative account of the history and diverse cultures of Kuala Lumpur, including Hindus from India, Muslims from China, Christians from Portugal, The Netherlands and Britain prior to the country's independence in 1963.

Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur

After an overnight sail aboard our comfortable ship, we embarked on a scenic bus tour of the lovely Maylasian city of Penang and a visit to the magnificent seven-story Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The young woman who was our tour guide on this outing provided us with an interesting history of the area which included a strong British legacy. After a buffet lunch provided for our Regent bus groups at a beachside resort, Dick and I decided to take a taxi on our own back to the ship rather than continue touring with the group in the 100+ degree weather!

Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Penang

Phuket, Thailand (April 15): Spectacular Phang Nga Bay was the destination of our excursion on this 104 degree day. After a l.5 hour bus ride (at least the bus was air conditioned!) to the island's north end and then across to the Thai mainland via the Thep Krasettree Causeway, we arrived at the Phang Nga Bay National Park where we boarded a unique motorboat that held about 25 people, and cruised through spectacular limestone scenery. The rock formations appeared like fairy castles out of the sea, all different shapes and sizes. There was a photo op at the small island of Kao Ping-Gan where part of the James Bond film, Man with the Golden Gun was filmed. Apparently, this is the major claim to fame of this area and it was thoroughly overrun with tourists both on the water and on the small island! Luckily we took our photos from the covered motorboat. After another long hot day we returned to the ship exhausted by the heat and decided to have dinner in our cabin and enjoy the prospect of the next day at sea...no more excursions until Sunday, April 17, when we get to Myanmar!

Phang Nga Bay, Thailand

Myanmar/Burma (April 17, 18 & 19): Happy New Year! The Burmese Buddhists are celebrating the beginning of their new year and new political beginnings! Although tensions remain among multiple ethnicities, this is a nation where life is permeated by Buddhism. And we got to witness their New Year celebrations firsthand during our Sunday evening visit to the fabulous Shwedagon Pagoda complex in the city of Yangon. It was very hot and crowded but we persevered through the vast compound of golden temples in our bare feet, long pants and covered shoulders, for this once-in-a-lifetime exposure to an ancient culture...although I don't think I appreciated the whole experience until it was over! The 1.5 hour bus ride from the ship to Yangon provided ample opportunity to witness the way of life including colorful parades, markets, food vendors and primitive shelters of many of the local people. We learned a lot about Myanmar history, culture and current politics from our local guide and from Regent's historian-lecturer. Everyone is very excited about their new democratic leader, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. They are placing a lot of hope in her ability to lead them to new prosperity and freedom in the future.
Since we are gluttons for punishment and because we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see more of Myanmar, we opted to take another full day excursion on another 100+ degree day, Monday, April 17. This excursion took us to Bago, the ancient Mon Capital of Burma. More visits to exquisite Buddhist temples--bare feet had us jumping over very hot marble tiles--monasteries and pagodas. Photo opportunities abounded and I have posted many of them on Facebook and Instagram. I will attempt to add some to this blog. Now it's time for some rest, reading on the balcony and perhaps attending a few informative lectures about future ports of call. Oh--and then there is the Thai massage at the spa--I think I've earned it!!

New Year Celebration at Swedagon Pagoda in Yangon

Mealtime for Monks in Bago, Myanmar

Next port of call: India, April 23, 2016