Columbo, Sri Lanka, Monday, 03/18/2024

Today we wake and have Sri Lankan food for breakfast. I order a Sri Lankan Omelette and I am told it is spicy. I say, “Bring it on”. They make it and I eat it, and the Maitre Dei is amazed. I don’t mention that it is not too spicy and that all they did was add serrano peppers. Not impressed but I don’t tell them. We have a Tuk Tuk ride (pronounced took took) scheduled to pick us up at 10AM. They come early but they wait for us.

We check out of the hotel and they hold our luggage for us. We get in the Tuk Tuk and embark on a 4 hour tour of the city. Our guide, Mumbasa, tells us to call him ‘Rikki’. Rikki takes us around the city to various sights, including Budda Temples, the shopping district, Parlament buildings and famous landmarks. Our cameras are in their happy place!

Rikki takes us inside an historical government building where we see where leaders used to meet and make decisions. There are even manikins depicting a meeting of leaders. So Elee sits down and signs the guest book as if she’s signing a law!

When we’re in the marketplace, we marvel at the selection of vegetables, foods and spices! If we could only have something like this at home! We would shop here always! The selections of normal and out of the ordinary fruits and vegetables is amazing! I hope some of these photos do it proud! There are even dried fish available!

Then it’s back in the Tuk Tuk and off to another temple that doesn’t fail to amaze! We even see a Golden Budda that claims to have Budda’s actual hair attached to it! Not sure my camera catches this, but I’ll try!

After countless places to photograph and countless kilometers of Tuk Tuk riding in the exciting crowded streets, hearing the horns blast and being able to reach out and touch the vehicles next to us (but we don’t! Keep your hands, arms and cameras inside the vehicle at all times!), we arrive at a restaurant for lunch. As we walk inside, we hear familiar voices teasing us, “Don’t seat them here!” But they don’t mean it as they are some of our shipmate friends just having a bit of light humor!

We sit with a couple ladies from the ship (there are dozens of ship tours doing the same thing as we are doing on our own)

We are served Sri Lankan dishes that we can’t describe but are delicious! Ship food will be bland compared to this! Our guide tries to tell us what the dishes are but we don’t really comprehend them. All we know is that I say I want spicy (and get it) and Elee says she only wants medium spicy but she says she got more spice than she wanted (but she doesn’t complain and scoffs it down!)

Then it is back to our hotel and Rikki waits for us to get our luggage. He then takes us to our ship, but there is a miscalculation and we end up walking most of a mile (with our bags) to actually get to the ship. But we get there, a little worse for wear and check back onto the ship. Home for a while.

We head to a bar and get cool drinks to offset the 37 degree Celcius (100 degrees F) temperatures of the day. We meet old friends again in the Botanical Bar and visit a while before we all agree we need showers after being out in the heat of the day! So we head our separate ways and agree that anyone that wants to go back into town for dinner will meet in the bar at 6PM.

So Elee and I go to our room and I take a nap while Elee showers. Then I take my shower. I feel invigorated! I tell Elee I plan to go into town for dinner. She thinks about it and says she’ll join us. So we all meet in the bar and we head into town to a restaurant someone has spotted called the ‘Lighthouse Gallery’.

Dinner is fabulous (at least to me!) but a couple people claim it is ‘too spicy’. I end up inhaling a friends soup as it is to die for delicious! It seems I am the only one to truly enjoy the spicy foods. But the cold local beer (kept cold by a bucket of ice brought to us) calms the spicy tones just enough and we all enjoy.

Our taxi takes us back to the ship and we resume our normal activities like bar games. I also step out on deck and get a few shots of the “Lotus Tower” that can be seen from the ship as it changes colors! I join a group with a friend and play a card game called ‘Up or Down’. Fun night. I get eliminated halfway through but it is all fun!

Goodnight all!

Trip to Sri Lanka, Sunday, Mar 13, 2024

We wake on our last day in India and have Indian food for breakfast, cooked by our hosts. They are good cooks and the food is amazing, even if we don’t know what it is! Some kind of crepe pancake and vegetable filling. Indian coffee is very rich and tasty!

We have 4-5 hours before our ride to the airport shows up, so we take a walk through the slums (or so it seems) to a park called, “Deer Park”. We pass a lot of vegetable vendors on the way. It is a nice stroll though extensive parklands that many people are enjoying. We eventually come to a lake and stroll along it until we come to an old fort. We find our way to the entrance and decide not to spend our remaining Rupees to get in. We find several places where we can point our cameras through fences and take random shots.

We stroll instead through another slum like area (not ever did we feel threatened!) and take photos of how the people live. We pass by some old ruins of a small castle and water tank collection systems which are interestingly backdrops for models posing! At the end of the road several children were enthralled with us and posed for photos, which they then insisted on seeing in the back of our cameras! After giving each child his or her own ‘high five’, we move on. Well, that was fun!

As we walk away from the children, WHAM! A water balloon hits me from behind! It doesn’t hurt at all, it is just surprising! I turn around and can see no one laughing. smirking, scowling or any other guilty looks. Not even any threatening looks anywhere so I relax. It appears it was just someone having fun with a couple of tourists! In the heat and humidity, it was actually a bit refreshing!

We make our way back towards our AirBNB, but not before stopping to try some local Street Vendor Food. “How do you know what street vendor to buy food from?”, you ask. Well, it’s simple. Look for the vendors that have lines and throngs of local workers in line and it’s a safe bet the food is okay! We find one that actually has its own Tandoori Oven. It’s fun to watch the guy ‘slapping’ the bread down inside the walls of the oven! We don’t get food there because it would take a very long time with the crowd. We walk on and I find another vendor with not so long a line (but we can see the actual cooking of the food, which is another telltale sign) and I buy a Paranta filled Roti wrap bread and it is delicious! Spicy and delicious! Okay, mark that off the bucket list, ‘eating street food in India’!

Back at our AirBNB, we kick back and pack up. Soon, our driver arrives and we are off to the airport. We arrive at the airport with 3 hours to spare and we get through security where they literally empty out our bags and camera gear to inspect. They take my corkscrew that I forgot I had in my bag. I know that’s not allowed. But they also take my TSA corkscrew which every other country allows! Sheesh, what a nightmare to try and pack the bags back!

But we survive security and still have over 2 hours to boarding. We find an Irish Pub and get some pub food. I get a pint of a fairly decent Indian beer and Elee gets a Chenin Blanc wine which turns out to be really good! The ‘Grande Nachos’ that I get are somewhat bland, spice-wise, So I ask for extra salsa and a supply of Jalapenos and it brings it up to par. Finished with that, there is still 45 minutes left, so another beer and glass of wine are in the works!

We walk seemingly forever to the end of the Terminal to find our gate and we board the plane. This time, we are in Row 26 of 28 Rows and we settle in for the 3 hour flight to Columbo, Sri Lanka. Turns out a lot of Passengers from our ship are on the plane, returning from the Ship’s Tour of the Taj Mahal! We even met a few at the Taj yesterday. The flight is uneventful and we arrive in Columbo. Getting through Customs is a breeze and we just walk out.

We arrange for a taxi to our hotel for 6000 Sri Lankan Rupees (different than Indian Rupees), about $20 US Dollars. The ride takes most of an hour and we get to the hotel just short of Midnight. With no aspirations of getting a meal (we did get a meal on the plane), we turn in for the night.

See you in the morning!

The Taj Mahal, Saturday, March 16, 2024

Okay, this was a stressful day! First we awaken at 1AM after only a couple hours sleep. We have a 3 hour ride this morning and we want to arrive at our destination before sunrise. We go outside to wait for our driver about 1:45AM. 2AM comes and there is no driver here. Elee checks her WhatsApp and sees the driver is due at 2:30AM. Whew, that’s a relief! Could have used every extra half hour sleep, but oh well.

2:30AM comes and there is still no driver. 3AM and still no driver. We are being told he is outside of our gated area and can’t get through the gates. But there is a set of gates right here where we stand and they are wide open. What gives? Finally, after many calls to the Tour Office, the driver, Sarinda, shows at 3:30AM, sticking to his story of not being able to get through the gates, as he finishes buttoning his shirt. We get on the road only to have him needing gas. Really prepared I’d say he is. NOT!

But at least we’re on the road. After most of 3 hours on the road, we see sunrise starting to light up the sky and Sarinda says we are still 25 minutes away. This is not good. We wanted to photograph the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Sarinda stops to pick up our guide, Israr, as Sarinda is only the driver. By the time we get in, the ball of the sun is in the sky and sunrise has waned. A bit peeved to say the least, at least we are finally here after trying to get here for years. Okay, 3rd time’s a charm!

The Taj Mahal is everything you have heard and a lot more! It is a magical sight in the early morning light, even if it is not sunrise. With it’s reflecting pools and gardens abounding, it is near impossible to take your eyes (and camera lenses) away from the grandeur! Our cameras drag us all over the place and scoff at us when we try to take them away from our eyes! The gentleman posing in from of the Taj is Israr, our Guide! Israr points out some of the fine detail in the marble walls and inlaid precious stones.

We even get to go inside the Taj. But the signs strictly prohibit photos and there are several armed guards watching like hawks for cameras shooting so we decide it is not in our best interest. Our cameras pout but we console them by convincing them that the best shots are outside! There are several buildings outside the Taj and we do our best to photograph them all. Israr helps us find the good camera angles and even takes a few shots of us! He is a good guide!

Cameras finally satiated, we give them a rest and go to breakfast at an Indian restaurant. Elee has ‘Stuffed Parantha with Yogurt’ and I have ‘Puri Bhaji’. Both are really delicious!

After breakfast, Sarinda and Israr take us to a factory where they cut precious stones by hand and inlay them into marble tabletops. The inlays are representative of some of the details in the marble at the Taj Mahal! Beautiful furniture but way out of our budget! Not to even consider how would we transport them home!

Then we go to the ‘Agra Fort’, itself a huge feat of engineering. Built as a fortress to protect the area, it is expansive. The Taj Mahal seems so far off in the distance from here. We have walked far today.

It is now time for lunch, paid for by the Tour. Again, we go to yet another Indian restaurant and have some more fabulous Indian food!

Now it is time to head back to Delhi, almost a 4 hour drive. Sarinda drops off Israr in Agra and we stop at the Tour Office. They question Elee privately as to what happened with Sarinda in the morning. Elee explains to them Sarinda’s shortcomings picking us up and it is agreed by all parties that Sarinda did not get stuck outside the gates, but likely overslept and missed our pick up time. This is a big deal to us because we missed the ultra valuable photos at sunrise.

We get on the road back to Delhi and it is a quiet ride. Sarinda doesn’t speak English and we don’t speak Hindi. We manage to communicate using Google Translate. Sarinda seems to know he is about to get a bad review. Israr tried backing up Sarinda’s story but that was just one employee to another trying to help him out.

On the highway, we see signs on the backs of many trucks that we have been seeing. They say, “Blow Horn” on “Please Horn”. We don’t get exactly what they mean but we assume it wants us to sound the horn prior to passing them? Also some other fun vehicles! Along with those we see smokestacks that help tell the story of the smog conditions in India as they are severe! Notice the brown skies at the horizon around the Taj Mahal!

Sarinda happily volunteers to bring us to an ATM machine as we need local cash. He finds some and a few of them nix our attempts to withdraw cash. At one machine we are successful and we get half of what we want, but more than enough to pay our rent tonight at our AirBNB. He then finds a wine store for us where we don’t get wine, but we get some hard cider and beer to finish off our evening! Then, back at the AirBNB, we kick back in our room while our hosts cook dinner for us! Homecooked Indian food and all we know is that chicken is involved. We are excited to try it! The kitchen is right out our room door and the place smells fantastic!

True to the odiferous kitchen the meal is fabulous with Roti and another form of toasted bread, Dhal sauce and Chicken in a red sauce that we never find out the name of due to the language barrier. Toss in a plate of white rice! Add some salted cucumber slices and a glass of Indian Beer and dinner is grand!

Time to turn in and get this Blog written! Good night all!

Flight to Delhi, Friday, March 15th

We get up and have breakfast at the hotel. We walk around a little and take some final photos of the area. Then we pack up and our taxi arrives. I forgot to mention yesterday that the septic systems here are like South America, do not flush toilet paper, put it in the trash can!

The Ides of March find us flying from Phuket, Thailand to New Delhi, India. A 2PM flight turns into a 3PM flight and takes 4.5 hours in the air. There is also a 1.5 hour time zone change. Don’t ask me why but we have seen 1/2 hour time zones before so we are no longer surprised. By the time we clear Customs in India, it is 8PM. Our ride ditched us and we get a public taxi to take us to our hotel. This is by far, the craziest traffic we have ever seen and our lives are in our driver’s hands! Lane demarcations mean absolutely nothing here. The most important driving tool here is your horn!

So a crazy 30 minutes later we arrive at our hotel and the ride has cost us 742 Rupees ($8.92 US). Cheapest cab ride ever! And the entertainment factor makes it the most exciting ride ever!

It turns out our hotel is an Air BNB and our hosts are friendly enough. They point out the direction to the local street market a block away and we go in search of snacks before bed. We don’t have time for a sit down meal as we will be getting up at 1AM for our next adventure. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out what it is!

Goodnight now!

Phuket, Thailand, Thursday, 3/14

Today we wake up on the ship in Phuket and have a leisurely breakfast in the buffet. We stop by reception afterwards to pick up our passports (which the ship holds against our desires). They delay us from doing so appropriately as they are using them to get us into Thailand. We go to our room and pack our short term bags for our side trip for the next 4 days. We get a call in our room that our passports are ready to be picked up.

Packing finished, we get our passports and leave the ship. The typical negotiating with the taxi vendors ensues and we pick one that will take us to Nai Yang Beach Resort for $100 US or $3000 Baht (Thailand dollars). Since it is over an hour ride diagonally across the island, it seems reasonable. On the map, the ship is on the lower right and our destination is on the upper left! We arrange with him to take us to an ATM as we don’t want to drain our cash reserves. We commence driving across the island and with a little difficulty finding the correct resort, we eventually get there. Sure glad we aren’t required to read road signs, as evidenced by a couple photos! We do spot a local stop sign because of the shape and color though!

The scenery is beautiful and we are excited to be here. This is my 48th country and Elee’s 45th. We are at a beach resort on the northwest coast of Phuket, Thailand. We are 5 minutes walk to the ocean and to get there we have to be ‘ferried’ across a small canal. We step on the ferry and it rocks in the water. Sure glad it had railings or I would have been in the canal! Once on the ferry (okay, it’s a small raft with railings! LOL), a little man pulls us across with a rope. Fun!

Then we walk on to the ocean, another 2-3 minutes. Beautiful scenic beach views adorned with mountains sloping to the sea and islands standing proud in the water! Looking the other direction, scores of fishing boats float, awaiting tomorrow morning when they will once again seek out the bounty that will get their captains their days wages!

We walk into the mellow surf and keep walking deeper. Approximately 100 yards (think a football field) into the water, we are barely knee deep in the bath water temperature water! This is truly paradise (if you could forget the humidity!). We vow to return and give Thailand some serious notice! We come across a couple dozen tables in the shade of the trees at the edge of the beach adorned with tablecloths and we take seats out of the harsh sun.

A waitress soon spots us and brings menus. Elee orders a cold drink of rum, ice and soda water. I order a cold Thai beer called ‘Chang’. Even though my beer preferences of late lean towards IPA’s, this is a very refreshing Pilsner made locally. And, they delivered it with a 3/8 inch thick rubber ‘coozie’ to keep it cold! And sure enough, the very last sip was ice cold!

So several photos later (to keep the cameras from revolting), we walk an inland path back under the trees with cool island breezes keeping us as cool as the climate will allow. Did I mention the temps today reached 36 degrees Celsius and 85% Humidity, That would be 97 degrees Fahrenheit! We arrive back at our hotel and spend some time in the double pools and arrive at the swim up bar!

The pools are refreshing yet we choose to sit out at a table next to the bar and have our drinks. Refreshed, we retire to our room for a nap in air conditioning. A couple hours later, we dress and go back downstairs for dinner. I order a deep fried soft shell crab dish that is fantastically flavored. Elee orders Sea Bass. All the food is prepared perfectly and we are happy campers.

The remainder of a Chilean Cabernet brought back to the room is the perfect accompaniment to writing this blog! So tomorrow builds more upon this adventure! See you then!

Goodnight!