Onward to Oman

Tuesday April 8

After our 2 exciting days in Mumbai we set sail for Oman. It was great seeing the lights of the city growing smaller and dimmer as we sailed away on more calm seas with a clear sky and a half moon above us.

We really enjoy the days at sea as it gives us a chance to meet other passengers, participate in whatever activities take our fancy or just kick back and rest. Of course there's never a shortage of eating options so we use the stairs and do a few laps of the promenade deck every day. For example, today we've attended a talk about "The Art of Collecting Art", a workshop on using your digital camera, a wine tasting, enquired about the options for independent touring in Oman, relaxed around the pool and met some new people - and all this before 5pm!

Tonight is another formal night so it's time to get the good gear out and glam up before we head off to dinner. It's a busy life on board but somebody has to do it :)

Wednesday April 9

Another busy day on board as we sail towards Muscat, the capital of Oman. As mentioned before security has been tightened up concerning pirate "watch" which has given us a chance to chat to the security people as we do our walk around the promenade deck. It's been a second day of interesting activities, exercise to offset the meals we're enjoying, as well as some relax time around the pool. Of course there is a high quality show put on each night, and tonight's was really good with a comedian/impersonator for some variety.

 

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Two Days in Mumbai

Sunday, April 6 & Monday April 7

What a surprise! After Goa we were not expecting anything terribly different in Mumbai but we were very mistaken. Mumbai is still India so very different to what we are used to but it is so vibrant. The city really pulsates with honking horns, voices everywhere, fabulous colors, crushing crowds, a myriad of smells, huge smiles, cricket being played anywhere there is space (often with a chair for a wicket) and absolute mayhem on the roads but through it all there is a sense of "system" - everything is happening for a purpose.

Cricket in the park

Gateway to India

Gateway to India

We started with a brief overview tour called "The Marvels of Mumbai" and, in complete contrast to our Goa tour, we had a wonderful guide who spoke excellent English and was very well educated. She gave us the history of Mumbai - it's Portugese roots, then handed over to the British and we could see evidence of this in many of the lovely old English style buildings. The main train station where 6 million people go through every day was a fabulous example. We went to the Gateway of India then crossed the road (quite an experience) and went into the magnificent Taj Hotel (where many lost their lives in a terrorist attack several years ago). The Taj was everything you would expect in colonial India but now charges $10 for a coffee or tea.

From there we went to Gandhi's Bombay base - now a museum and memorial to him tracing his life and work in bringing independence to India.

Gandhi's room

Then the most fascinating place - the huge outdoor laundry, the Dhobi Ghat. Indians send all their sheets and tougher laundry to it and girls, only men can work there!! The area is huge and how they can find your individual items is a mystery but they have a 99.9% success rate - amazing. Also amazing was how clean & bright the laundry was and how very white the whites were considering the filthy coloured water & primitive methods being used - maybe we are being hoodwinked by Omo and the likes!

Dhobi Ghat, outdoor laundry

We also spent some time in the Prince Edward Museum. Back on board we were treated to an Indian BBQ followed by a local Bollywood show.

For our 2nd day, we decided to walk to the Colaba area for a bit of shopping - nasty souvenirs, cheap cotton tops and all manner of wooden things. It was very humid so we caught a taxi (bravely) back to the ship. After lunch we ventured out again and hired a taxi for a couple of hours, which only cost about $6! We headed for Marine Drive (known as the Queen's necklace), past parks and Chopaty Beach and onto Malabar Hill, where you get a great view over the bay and there are some lovely gardens to walk around as well. It was also cooler up there with a nice breeze, and after the ride through the traffic in a non air-conditioned taxi the breeze was appreciated.

View from Malabar Hill

Peak hour was underway and despite what appeared chaotic, noisy and crazy driving/riding/walking to us we returned safely and didn't see any accidents, which amazed us for a city of 22 million people. Ducking and weaving is an art form in India!

 

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Goa, India

Saturday, April 5

Goa was different to what we expected in that it was very dry and dusty, but apparently when the wet season starts in June it greens up. However it was our first time in India so we were expecting contrasts, and we certainly experienced lots on the tour we did.

Our first stop was at a local market, which had different buildings for the fresh fruit and veggies, meat and poultry, and fish. The fruit and veggies looked lovely as you can see, but we weren't as keen on the fish market where there's no refrigeration and it's 30C degrees and 99% humidity! BUT there were no flies.

On our way to our refreshment stop we passed lots of contrasting housing, from slums, to very poor looking hovels with pigs, chickens and dogs roaming around (and occasional cow) and children playing in the dirt, to the contrast of brightly coloured old colonial Portugese "mansions" (everything's relative), as well as everything in between.

The 5 star Taj Resort was where we stopped for morning tea, and what a contrast! Before we could enter the lobby we had to get our bags x-rayed and go through a metal detector. Since the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 security is very tight all over India, which is pleasing in that you feel safe but makes you appreciate the freedom with which we travel about in Australia. Goa has some lovely beaches and this resort had its own private beach as well as magnificent manicured gardens.

Apologies for the gap in postings but we had a number of days at sea, and various wi-fi problems in the last few ports. We'll aim to be more regular as we continue on to Mumbai and then the Middle East.

 

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At Sea en route to Goa, India

Friday, April 4

Another relaxing day at sea. The weather has been superb; after early cloud it clears to bright sunshine and this has been the pattern all along.

We started with breakfast in the Lido - a lovely way to start the day. The selection of food is excellent and to sit by the window looking out to sea is very calming. We have noticed that the "pirate watching" has been elevated to permanent security staff on both sides of the ship with bullet-proof vests and glass shield safety helmets at the ready as well as all fire hoses connected and placed to fire on any unwanted visitors. At night certain doors are locked and covered to prevent us seeing out and intruders seeing in - all quite interesting really. We are guessing/hoping that most of it is for insurance purposes although when a small, rusty fishing boat made its way straight for our ship, it had many guests' attention and a certain quiet went over the ship. Thankfully, all was well.

We had our "Indian Immigration" experience on board this morning and what a lot of time was wasted for nothing. Every guest had to line up for at least an hour to present passport & immigration forms to three little Indian men who sat in a line - apparently in order of importance. The first looked at the forms, the second stamped one of the forms and the third initialled the forms. We were then "cleared" to enter Goa, India tomorrow. What a great lurk for these guys who have been on board for a couple of days enjoying ship life!

One of the day's highlights was the "alfresco" appearance of Welsh singer Anthony Stuart Lloyd who had been the show time entertainment a couple of nights ago. He sang beside the pool with many guests standing in the pool while others lazed on sun lounges or at poolside tables. He has the most fantastic deep voice and when he sang Waltzing Matilda (because there is a fairly large compliment of Aussies on board), it really brought the house down.

After such a "hard days work" it was time for a rest before dinner and the next show. What a life!

 

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A Day in Colombo

Thursday April 3

We had pre-booked a ship's shore excursion for our time in Colombo, and we were glad we did as the coach was at the dock waiting for us and it was air conditioned. Travelling along the equator is hot and humid everywhere, even when the ship is in the middle of the Indian Ocean so air conditioning while sight seeing is a nice to have. We had thought of taking a tuk tuk but we just wanted an overview of the city without the heat, humidity, smells and chaotic traffic. They are cute though, but with kamikaze drivers!

We inched through the traffic around the market area, and thought that was all we were going to see because it looked grid locked to us. Our size definitely helped as it was like a massive game of chicken to get anywhere. Once we cleared that we saw some of the city's famous beach esplanade, old colonial buildings, modern office buildings, various churches and temples, beautiful parks and the tiny houses the locals live in. However the locals were a happy lot so there were lots of smiles and waves from them.

Our only stop was at the Independence memorial from 1948, which was quite impressive. Another advantage of being in a coach was being able to see over the security fences and into the gardens surrounding many lovely homes, consulates and embassies. Now that the war with the Tamils in the north is over Colombo is undergoing a lot of new building, restoring of old ones and improving their infrastructure, so I believe it has a lot of potential. People from the ship who ventured into the countryside to see it and visit tea plantations all said it was very beautiful.

 

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Day 2 at Sea en route to Sri Lanka

Wednesday, April 2

Today is our 32nd Wedding Anniversary and we have booked in to a special dinner where the 3 Michelin Star Restaurant "De Librije" comes to Holland America in their premium restaurant "The Pinnacle Grill" so we are really looking forward to that. We are also enjoying winding our clocks back an hour each night. It makes such a difference after fitting in dinner, shows, piano bar, drinks with new friends etc to get back to our cabin and voila - it's an hour earlier.

We love days at sea because they are so relaxing. We started by meeting our Canadian friends for breakfast in the dining room. This was followed by a laze around the pool and some cooling off laps before making our way to lunch. We then attended a lecture on Colombo, Goa and Mumbai - our next ports of call. We would have to say that we were not particularly looking forward to any of these ports but the lecture was terrific and we are now approaching them with a more open mind and even thinking we will enjoy them. (Ha ha we hear you say Brian & Jenny - and we do have to admit that when we received all the Indian Immmigration forms last night, we did think of your "Indian experience")

Noelle also had an interesting encounter in the lift when she ran into Tom & Kay Cook, the owners of her last place of employment, Thomas Cook Boot & Clothing. She had not seen them for 6 years and now everywhere we go we are running into them. It's such a small world.

We have now returned after the most amazing dinner. The Pinnacle Grill on the Rotterdam is absolutely beautiful in an old world style and the service was excellent with all the waiting staff dressed In The De Librije Restaurant uniforms. The food was unbelievable and we experienced all the techniques we have seen on "Master Chef" like the foam, deconstructed dishes, etc. Most of the flavours were so unusual but so intense. We were really blown away by the whole experience. When our coffees arrived, they were accompanied by a gorgeous "Anniversary Cake" courtesy of Holland America but we were so full we had to ask them to keep it for us to have tomorrow. It was truly an anniversary to remember for a long time to come.

 

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Sailing to Sri Lanka

Tuesday April 1

Today is our first day at sea, and gives us a chance to settle in to the variety of things the ship has to offer. Let's start with everybody's favourite, FOOD! The best part is you don't have to shop for it, prepare it or cook it, you just have to turnip (pardon the pun). Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner you have the choice of the full sit down, pick from a (printed) menu, linen tablecloths and napkins, nice crockery, cutlery etc and be waited on, or go to the buffet and help yourself. A lot of guests certainly do that, as well as all the time in between the main meals! We're trying to resist over indulging, but the choc chip cookies keep telling us we can have one as we're using the stairs as much as possible so we continue to fit into our clothes!

Secondly is the entertainment. We rate Holland America very highly in this area, as their singers and dancers are excellent and put on fantastic shows. They also bring in outside entertainers, and so far we've seen the MacDonald Brothers from Scotland (they came 4th in the UK X Factor show), Anthony Stuart Lloyd, a Welsh opera singer who has starred in London's West End and has a magnificent voice, a couple of fantastic dancers who have won world championships in dance contests, and Cheryl Sinclair, a ringer for Whitney & excellent.

Thirdly is the range of things to do, whether it's lying around the pool, attending lectures and workshops on a wide spectrum of topics, art auctions, trivia quizes, working out in the gym, relaxing in the spa, reading a book, movies, chatting to other guests, sleeping , writing blogs, catching up on the laundry etc etc, the list goes on and on! Needless to say we love cruising :)

 

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