Right off the bat Sharm El-Sheikh was a rip off!  Egyptians think tourists are in town to solely get ripped off by them and that is what they tried all day long.  Not all taxis were allowed in the gates of the port area.  So someone paid someone off to be allowed in the gate.  As we were headed out across the pier, I noticed a mother, father and daughter in front of us.  I ran up to them and asked them where they were headed.  We told them we were going to Na'ama Bay and we would share a taxi with them.  They thought that was a good idea so as we approached the taxis, we told them we needed a car for five and they tried to put us in two separate taxis.  We had to stand firm and tell them we wanted only one cab.  They said no, so we said we'd walk outside the gate and find one.  Well, they called us back and told us one cab would be $10 USD each.  Now, we knew the beach was only 3 miles away and after several arguments, we settled on $20 USD for the entire cab, knowing all too well we were still getting ripped off.  

Our cab driver tried to change the price to $25 but I shouted him down and told him that we settled at $20.  I felt like I was in kindergarten in this fight but we were already being financially violated, so enough was enough!  Once he dropped us off, there was the sign showing what the fare should have been.  We calculated that we should have been charged $5 USD.  Total tourist rip off but we got to Na'ama Bay in one piece and had our ducks in a row for the return trip.  I was ready for another fist-to-cuffs encounter! 

We headed down to the beach area and found the public beach.  All the beaches are private and the hotels have them all snapped up with the exception of this one public beach.  We paid two dollars each for the use of a chaise lounge, padded cushion, umbrella and a beach towel.  They issued us one ticket and put the number 2 on it.  

The beach wasn't very wide, probably about 25' across the public area and about 10' to the water.  All the hotels had small fences running the length of their property with a small break at the beach, then a roped off floating fence around the water directly in front of their beach.  Each property had a security guard sitting at the end by the beach and there must have been 9 or ten rows of chairs stretching all the way back to the road with the hotels across the street.  Not too scenic and too touristy looking.  The beach had small pebbles on it with rather large rocks just beyond the entrance to the chilly water.  I took a walk down the beach and as the sun rose in the sky, the clear water got a little better looking in color.  This area is one huge snorkeling/diving area with world renowned coral reefs and the 'Blue Hole' not too far from here.  There are over 1,000 species of fish and over 100 different types of coral.  There was a nice breeze blowing and the sound of the waves were very relaxing.  We got the first row view of lounge chairs and anything towards the middle or back would have been miserable.  We contemplated taking a glass bottom boat ride but decided against it. 

There was a Muslim couple sitting next to us and she was covered from neck to ankle in black clothing and went swimming in every bit of it.  Very odd and weird but whatever!  Other than that, most of the people on the beach were foreigners.  Quite a few Russians in town too!  A whole group of Egyptian men came to swim at the public beach and we saw them taking pictures of these European girls laying out on the beach.  Once they noticed, they turned over and shortly after that, they left.  I noticed none of these men had chairs or towels, so something was going on there, or the locals can swim for free but my guess would be the former.  After soaking up some shady breezes and recovering from Petra the day before, we decided to pack up and start doing some roaming and shopping.  When we handed our towels back in, the guy wanted our ticket.  I thought 'How odd.'  What does he need our ticket back for - here are our towels.  When we handed him the only ticket we had, he asked for the other one.  We told him we only got one.  He took it and put it under the counter and I told him that the other guy had written '2' on it.  As we walked away I told Candice that he was going to resell that ticket and pocket the money and the first guy pocketed the money the first time around for the second ticket.  Corrupt society to the hilt!  But I guess if you can't beat them, you join them.

Shopping in Sham El-Sheikh was peppered with long, continuous but polite "No thank you' s."  I'm glad Candice got broken in with all the other port stops because this one would have caused her a mental breakdown.  Everybody was pushy and wanted you to step into their stores to take a 'free' look.  Nothing was priced and believe it or not Pringles cost the equivalent of seven US dollars.  Needless to say we skipped on those and headed to McDonald's for french fries and a Coke.  We met two nice National Guard guys from Kansas in there and invited them to sit at our table.  They were there to keep the peace and their job was four months away from being done.  Total time would be one year away from home.  McDonald's was their refuge too.  The workers knew them well and they said this was their only day off this month.  We don't pay those guys enough for the work they do!

Now Na'ama Bay is a young tourist's party haven.  The streets were wide and every establishment had outdoor bar areas with chairs, carpets and low tables squared off in sections.  Some had palm trees cut in long lengths with carpet draped over them and cushions to sit on the floor.  I would have liked to stuck around and observe the nightlife but it wasn't meant to be.  

We had several shop owners invite us into their stores to sit down on couches and write about their stores in a guest book.  I'm not too sure what the hell was up about that but I'm sure it was some bogus trap.  We declined this nonsense every time.  The opening question they would ask you is 'Where are you from?'  It's best just not to answer at all.  Then they would say in a stern "Excuse ME  PLEASE, can I ask you a question?"  The answer was no every time and then they would sometimes turn a little ugly.  I have no idea why these people would think you, the tourist, are there to benefit them since it's your time and your vacation.  Lord knows I didn't have time to explain to everyone of these people that we were only in town for the day and there was no way I could sign all their books or do business with everyone!  

Now it looks like the Russian tourists rule this joint.  Lots of restaurants and bars with Russian writing and Russian food.  As far as I could tell, these Egyptians didn't care who they were ripping off.  Everyone was an equal opportunity victim!  We stumbled across one store that had prices on their merchandise and that is where we actually bought something.  While inside a worker came up to me and asked me why Candice was so mad.  I just started laughing and told him that she was just really concentrating on the merchandise.  I called over to Candice and told her that he wanted to know why she was so mad.  She started laughing with me and told him that she just doesn't smile.  Someone once said that Chloe on the show '24' always looks like she is constipated and I sometimes joke with Candice that she looks like her.  I told her I should have just told the guy that she was constipated!  Ha, ha. (Candice - Smiling is hard, when I'm always thinking about something.)

After running the gauntlet of store vendors along the main party streets we decided to head over to the area they call Old Sharm.  We saw six crew members from the ship and I asked if they wanted to share a cab back.  They said okay.  As we approached the taxis they asked for two.  Now I didn't think they were going to dicker the price but eventually they asked how much.  Ten dollars per cab.  Not what it should be but better than twenty, so we climbed in.  Candice and I asked to be dropped off at Old Sharm and the crew went back to the ship.  

Nothing was different down at Old Sham either.  More vendors hawking their wares but we did purchase two items after dickering the price.  As we walked past the bar area, some blonde Russian named Sergay asked if we wanted to have a drink with him and his three buddies.  Once again, we had to decline any and all offers.  Well, right next to him was an Egyptian guy who asked us the same thing.  Now why does he think our answer would be any different?  I know this scam.  These people sit there and invite you to drink with them and then stiff you the bill.  Not only do they stiff you the bill but the bill is inflated by about ten times the real cost.  These two characters looked like they had been drinking all day and I'm sure they had a tab they wanted to dump on some poor soul.  Not us, Jack!

Once again this place was a powder keg of bars with shops surrounding the entire area.  What was neat in this party area was the authentic and rustic party atmosphere.  They had tables and chairs up on the flat mountain sides with tiki torches, chairs, tables, and carpets.  I'm sure it would have felt like you were partying primitively but I would be interested in knowing how many drunks fell off the small mountains and died. I would have been more interested in watching the party crowd in Old Sharm vs. Na'ama Bay area.  It looked a little more wild down here.  Now hookah pipes are all the rage over here but there is just something that I find off-puting about them.  

This area also had vendors that operated as the local's grocery stores, if you could call them that, down the street from the party and shopping places.  Fruit and vegetables were for sale in the store fronts along these dirty streets with some of them looking like back alleys.  It was colorful and plenty of dogs were living down in this area.  I snapped a couple of pictures and soaked up the atmosphere knowing we were about ten minutes from walking back to the safe, welcoming Queen Victoria.  

We met one of our fellow world cruisers that we fondly refer to as Caruso (we don't know his name).  He wanted to hire a taxi back to the ship and we told him that we were walking.  He accepted our offer to walk with us and by the time we got back to the ship he told us that he was thankful that he ran into us since he didn't know the way back.  We told him we were through with the taxis!  

The British family that we shared a taxi into Na'ama Bay told us earlier that they had family that came over to Sharm El-Sheikh for week-long vacations all the time.  They stated that they didn't see any reason to visit this place for a week and that nothing attracted them.  I would have to agree with them.  If you are a big diver or snorkeler, this would be the place to come and check out.  Also if you wanted to party with a bunch of Europeans and Russians, this would be your place.  We on the other hand got the Egyptian shakedown and don't need that experience again but I would like to see this place at night.  It would prove to be a great people-watcher place with an added bonus of drunks to boot!  I can imagine that you had better have your camera ready for all the night action!

Sandy

Tid-bits from Candice - I really didn't think this port was bad. Pushy - yeah, but not much worse than anything else. Sandy thinks I've become desensitized to hawkers. Yeah, growth in my bubble. I've learned to not even say "No thank you." I just say "No." The thank you just gets them mocking you. Quite off-putting. Also, another trick is to where sunglasses. That way you can still browse on the sly, while still saying no. One of the best lines came from Sharm el Sheikh; hawker, "Don't be like the Russians. At least say hi." Well I think I know why the Russians don't say anything to them; they were very impolite. I'm very tired of the line "I'll make you a good deal." "How much is ____?" "I'll make you a good deal." "Okay, how much?" This goes on for way too long, only to find out they want to rip you off. The one and only store with labeled products was the only place I actually bought something. Straightforward, this is what we have, this is how much we want, do you accept or not. 

The day at the beach was nice and lazy after hiking in Petra the day before. Except for the dirty old arab men. The was kind of disturbing, but I kept my clothes on and just stayed under the umbrella for a beach-side nap. Totally worth the two dollars. Very glad we didn't get scarred into buying the "Beach Day" tour from Cunard for $70. They went to the exact same beach we did, just a couple of fences over. We got the better deal! 

crj

Petra was incredible to say the least and Aqaba, Jordan wasn't half as bad as I expected.  Our tour guide, who was a woman, dressed like a westerner and explained that the people in Jordan take education seriously and the girls get one in Jordan.  She gave us the political lowdown and the difference between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, who is their neighbor to the south.  Jordan, the country, came into existence just recently and Aqaba is their only port city.  The border of Israel is just a short ride away.  Aqaba had a McDonalds, a KFC and other western food joints.  The city sits at the base of a huge mountain range and exports natural resources like phosphate and shells.   The area has been settled since 4000 BC and the people were very friendly with smiles and waves right out of the port gates.

On our way to Petra, we saw large land masses called wadis which are expansive valleys created during ancient torrential deluges.  Tall mountains rising in the distance with slopes of greenery scattered down the sides and disappearing into the desert and dry river beds below.  Just awesome sights to see and MASSIVE!  The river Jordan flows just to the west of this area from Mt. Hermon to the Dead Sea.  

Bedouins abound out in the wadis and you can see their black tents set up in the distance with camels and donkeys grazing close by.  They mark their land by piling up rocks to form a small column, which is funny because I didn't think they owned land.  They move about every 4-6 weeks to 'greener' pastures so their goats have something to eat but apparently they lay claim to the land and the right to set up shop again.  The Jordanian government moved quite a few of them into housing a couple of years ago to make life easier on them but there is still a healthy population still roaming about.

Once we got out to Petra there were plenty of nice, new hotels (Movenpick/Crowne Plaza) scattered around the mountainside with the old local shops and small hotels.  Internet signs all around and the economy was booming with tourists.  Once again, there were so many foreigners here that you'd never guess you were in the Middle East.  The only thing that gave it away was the ruins, the camels, and the headscarfs.

Hiking into and around Petra was excellent and one full day is not enough to soak it all in.  We made it all the way out to the furthest point, the Monastery, and by the time we made it back to the Crowne Plaza for lunch at 3 p.m, I had salt and mineral deposits caked around my neck and the back of my neck.  It was a hot day but not too hot and we were lucky enough to have a slight overcast of clouds and a nice breeze blowing.  Even in these conditions, the sweat came out of the body but quickly evaporated.  I thought the grim on my neck was dust and sand that got kicked up by the horse chariots, donkeys and camels but Candice told me I had standing salt on my neck.  

The day I think our tour will be given water on the trip is the day they don't!  I had always taken our own water and then the tours give us bottles of water too, so this day I thought I'd take some apple juice in my bottle just to have a variety.  But that was all we had - no water, but we did buy two warm sodas up in the mountains of Petra from vendors.  We were a dehydrated, grimy mess but we were having fun!  

Now Petra is another treasure trove and you have free-range out there.  We were on the bus with the lecturer from the ship, Christine, so we had two good guides.  Jay, a dance host, had arranged to have a fast-paced people bus all to ourselves.  I heard him on the Lido Deck the day before this trip telling people to put on the running shoes because we were going to be moving through Petra fast.  I waved him over and told him that we would like to be on his bus.  He said he was going to the tour office with all 40 tickets and getting the same bus number.  I rang Candice in the room and told her to bring our tickets up.  We were number 3 and 4 on Jay's list.  

Christine had said you could find some pottery shards today that were original.  Well now, there was plenty of pottery on the footpaths and walkways but it was think and not the thin, painted pottery they were known for back in 1st century.  The Monastery is way in the back of this 20 square-mile city, so once we got up to the road less traveled, I started looking in the side crevices of the path and found two pieces of thin shard with paintings on them.  Christine told me that I probably had some original pottery.  I asked her if I could take it and she said "Yes, they don't seem to be too worried about anything."  So I did!  On the way back down I tried to find the same spot to look for some more but couldn't quite locate it, plus we had to get the move on!

There was only one guard in this entire area and he was posted at the very first building, the Treasury, after you come through the Siq, which is the high walled canyon walls of the mountain that were worn away by wind.  I think there were a few tourist police on horses but they were there for emergency help and not to guard the ruins.  Much of the place was accessible and we even climbed up into the Monastery, which was about 9 feet high.  I got a toe-hold on the base, reached up for this man's hand and Candice pushed me from the bottom.  I thought getting up was bad enough but after investigating the interior room and alter, I realized I had to get down too.   It was like jumping off the high-dive!  It took me a couple of attempts to get brave enough to jump down from a sitting down position.  I picked a spot that didn't have any rocks sticking up out of the sand and jumped hoping I wouldn't break a leg.  My left foot took the brunt of the jump and the ball of my foot was talking for quite some time afterwards.  I thought I'd have problems with it and it felt bruised but nothing developed from it, so I was happy about that.

Aqaba, Jordan and Petra were fantastic and they would be a great base camp area since there is so much to see and do in this area with it being a perfect hop off spot for Israel, the Red Sea and the Jordan River.  Four different countries, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, in such a small area make for great sightseeing.  I felt very safe throughout our entire visit and even the hawkers in Petra had nice manners.  These people actually see their tourists as their bread and butter and seem to be thankful that you are there!

Sandy

Salalah was another port in Oman but it wasn't as pretty as Muscat.  Their turnabouts were planted with flowers, plants, and stonework. One even had nice grass and trees mounded up in a small hill fashion but for the most part the highways were long stretches of wide open desert with houses way off the road.  Salalah was a pretty dry and baron landscape but the Sultan has four palaces in the area, two of which we were able to view, his and his wife's.  That may be the secret to staying married, not only separate beds but separate palaces!  

We purchased a tour from the ship which was listed as Wadi Off Road and we were very grateful once we got past the guarded, safe gates of the port since there were over 300 taxis waiting for their new victims, I mean visitors, waiting outside the gate!  Although there was a sign posted just before you drove out of the port, I don't think any of the shuttle buses were stopping for you to view the list of approved taxi fares.   Lord have Mercy on those people getting mobbed by 300 Arabic drivers!  

Now our tour had come with a warning that if you had a bad back DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR.  Well, we found out that was not to be.  This SUV we climbed into had a roll bar in it, which would have come in handy in Muscat, but we didn't need it today.  Nothing off-road about this trip and we lodged a complaint with the travel department since we expected nothing less than dry river bed runs and a little off road action.  Our roads were paved all the way!  

Even though it wasn't an off road adventure that day we did get to the Palace of the legendary Queen of Sheba, Khor Rouri.  These ancient ruins date back to the 2nd century and it was once the center of the lucrative frankincense trade route.  These trees grow only in Southern Arabia and a small part of northern Africa.   The coastal waterfront had a natural fortress made out of two high mountains with a break in the middle of them that allowed the ocean to flow into this small harbor.  The city sat high on an opposite mountain with a beach area below.  We had total run of the large ruins and they are still excavating today (I think things move a lot slower in these parts of the world).  

One of our first stops was a camel sighting on the beach.  Hundreds of camels were down on the beach and I don't blame them for hanging out there during the day instead of the desert heat.  The people who live up in the mountains bring their camels down to the beach for feeding every day and just like sheep, the camels know their owner's voice.  So when the owners come to retrieve them at the end of the day they follow.  We even saw small caravans of the camels walking back home later in the day.  The sight of all these camels on the beach was nothing but strange and it made for a great photo shoot.   

We also stopped by the old town of Taqah to view the castle and fort, which was high on the hill.  There was a man on our tour who had served in the army and his barracks were in an old building that sat across the street from the castle.  He got a good kick out of the fact that the building was still standing along with the bullet holes in the outside walls from 60 years ago.

We headed up and over the mountains to the Wadi Darbat where herds of goats, camels and donkeys live along the small riverbed.  During the rainy season this place floods and the surrounding vegetation comes to life.  The locals come for the day and weekend to picnic and camp out.  We also visited a natural spring and a bird sanctuary.  While at the natural spring we noticed a rather large sign about poisonous snails and the danger of swimming in the water.  Even though the water was fast flowing through the rock gorge and there were local kids swimming in it, I guess the snails could still get on you.  While walking around I noticed a rather large bone and tried to figure out if that was someone's dinner or the leftovers of a wild animal's body.   I kept walking and found some jaw bones with some teeth still attached and a few more bones.  By the looks of the bones, I guessed it was a wild camel that died - but then again maybe it was someone's dinner.

We were only in Salalah for five hours that day and initially that would seem like enough time to explore this baron land but just like Muscat there are many things to see and do in the area but too spread out to see in one day.  The population is listed as 197,169 but since we drove up the coast and not into the city you could have fooled me.  We passed a Hilton and a handful of other hotels on the way out of the port but they don't really look like a place that you would want to hang out for a week.  Not that the buildings, of what we could see, was hideous but there was such a baron stretch of land and desert that sat between the road and the property that it looked very uninviting.   Neighbors were few and far between too.  

Salalah supposedly has Job's tomb located outside the city to the west too, but I'm going to say that it's probably not since two other places claim his tomb too.  How many Jobs are there and was he real or just a fictional character in the bible?  I ended up buying a bedouin-handmade bowl with camel leather on the bottom with woven straw and thread with a design in it for $24 USD.  Their money is worth three times as much as ours, so it was only eight of their dollars.  My only thought was where in the suitcase is that going to go?  They told me I could use it to milk my goats and then drink the milk right from the bowl.  I'm thinking no for that one.  I didn't buy it for functionality but its uniqueness and beauty.  I wouldn't dare spoil it with milk!  

Sandy

Never in a million years would I ever had envisioned myself celebrating Easter Sunday in an Islamic country and not going to mass but that is how I spent Easter 2010.  Not only that, we accidentally stumbled into the wrong building while trying to find a museum and they tried to convert us to Islam. Within a minute's time Candice figured it out and we made a B-line to the exit where incidentally they wanted you to take free cassettes and books.  Ah, that'd be a no-go!  Mind you we did have Father Gold celebrating mass at 5 p.m. but Dubai is so big, area wise, there was no way to get our hop-on hop-off bus to include our ship as one of their stops.

Two days in Dubai is not enough time to cover such a large area.  The old Dubai Creek area was the historical part of the city and very picturesque.  The first high rise buildings were built in this area starting around 1971, the time the UAE formed.  Years and years ago the creek was actually shallow enough to cross by foot when the tide was low but since then they dug it out and made it into the waterway that it is today.  

With our two day Big Bus ticket that we purchased we got a free one hour Dubai Harbor cruise on a traditional Arabic dhow, which is an old wooden ship that is still used today to bring cargo and goods up from North Africa and other various regions (no container shipping here - good old fashion, ancient sea route merchant trading going on here with original wooden boats).  There were plenty of these old fashion boats unloading their wares dockside.  Everything from cars to tires to floor tiles.  Good old fashion commerce at work!  Both banks of the waterway were busy with activity and tons of these boats operating on both sides of the 'creek.'  

The traffic on the streets around this area was congested and at times stop dead in its tracks to accommodate the shipments off the boats.  The boats were awesome and we sat up top on floor cushions with full English commentary up and down the waterway.  I felt like we were on some cruise along the Nile the way we were lounging around and leaning against small little wooden banisters that lined the top of the boat while Arabian music played in the background.  The weather was perfect; about 78 degrees, cool dry breeze, and sunny!

Once we got done with our harbor cruise we hopped a water taxi back to the other side of the creek.  These ferries were fast and efficient.  The cost was equivalent to thirty three cents.  Good price but Hong Kong had this price beat by 5 cents. It's only 28 cents to ride the Star Ferry.  These ferries only held 20 people but they could deliver goods in record time.  They were dark brown, flat and only had an elevated one foot wooden box that ran through the middle of the boat for a seat.  

Once over to the other side of the creek we walked around the boardwalk, shopped and headed over to see the mosque and the Al Fahidi Fort Museum.  The museum is actually housed in the old fort used to protect the city and dates back to 1800 A.D.  This is the oldest building in Dubai but it has been determined that the area is over 7,000 years old.  They recently uncovered a mango swamp dating that far back while installing sewer lines near Dubai Internet City.  The earliest settlers were pearl fisherman and traded with merchants on the old sea routes.   

We hopped back on the double decker Big Bus and rode over to the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House and Heritage Village.  The house is one of the oldest in the area and was inhabited by the Sheikh's descendants until just recently when the family handed it over to the government.  It has four wings surrounding a large courtyard and had one of the earliest forms of air conditioning ever known.   Sandstone towers were built above the room containing an open roof with burlap stretched in 'v' shapes from the outer four corners to the center.  This allowed the breeze to be caught from all directions and was thus forced downward into the building.  The four wings housed exhibits of money and coins from the area dating back to 1791 and various other artifacts along with aerial pictures of Dubai throughout the last one hundred years.   At one point in time it looked like it was just one big sand bar.  A far cry from today's hustling and bustling city.

The amount of reclaimed land is amazing and they continue to reclaim it today with the Palms and the World.  We transferred buses over to the blue line and headed out to these new developments of Dubai.  The World is only accessible by helicopter, plane or boat.  The Palm has rows and rows of tall condos and houses that are labeled and addressed as frond A, frond B, etc.  The Atlantis Hotel is out on top of the crescent and you drive under a tunnel of water to get over to it.  I wouldn't think there is much land underneath to dig a tunnel but surprisingly it was deep and long.  I'm only thankful I didn't have to figure out the engineering on that project!

The Burj Al Arab is close by and is the only self-proclaimed 7-star hotel in the world but who knows since they don't allow the general public in (unless you spend at least $170 per person on food/tea in their hotel).  It sits out on its own island and has a heliport at the top of the building for guests flying in from the airport.  That's a sure way to beat the traffic, eh!             

We swung by the Ski Dubai and checked the place out.  We were going to ski but the time constraints didn't allow us plus after being in the Rockies this was small potatoes.  Instead we headed over to the Burj Khalifa Dubai, the tallest building in the world.  We had a tour with the ship to visit this building and 'walk in the clouds' but they had to cancel since they had electrical problems.  Just our luck the observation deck was back up and running by the time we arrived in town on Sunday but we didn't know it until I overheard someone on the Lido Deck that night say they went up in the tower.

I found out Wayne and Hazel, a blind couple on the world cruise, had gone up.  Now Wayne hangs out in the casino and the smoking area by the casino bar so I knew just were to find him for all the answers to my questions about this Burj operation.  On the way down I remembered we were in port so the casino wasn't open and feared I wouldn't be able to find him but I turned the corner and there he was sitting all by himself, smoking and enjoying a drink.  I made quick work getting all the pertinent information for the next days visit.  Wayne was a wealth of info and he told me that he talked them into selling him the tickets for half price since he couldn't see anything anyway!  He's my kind of guy!

The second day we headed out to the newer part of Dubai with plans on being at the Dubai Mall which is located right next to the Burj Khalifa at noon since we needed to be back on the ship at 4 p.m.  We stopped out at the beach and some shopping at a hotel before hand.  The weather this day was a little hotter with a little less breeze although the buses were air conditioned very well.  They even have air conditioned bus stop booby-huts for public bus transportation.  I guess you would have to have something like this during the height of their summer months or people would just melt into the pavement.  

The stop we wanted was the last on the blue line and we got out to the building about 12:15 p.m. and got in line for tickets.  Seems the word got out that it was back up and running because we barely got a 2 p.m. ticket and some time slots for the next day and that night were already sold out.  We did a little shopping at the mall which consisted of Godiva Chocolate and Garretts Popcorn from Chicago.  There was a store called Bateel which looked like chocolate candy but it wasn't.  I said I never heard of this one.  Is there one that I'm missing?  I stepped inside only to find out that they sold candy but it was all date-filled or was wrapped in a thick jellied preservative.  They gave us a sample and I asked where they were based.  Saudi Arabia was the answer.  Well that explained everything!  Those people don't know how to have fun nor how to bone up on calories!  I told Candice that candy wasn't candy unless it contained chocolate.  

We were in heaven with our food alone not to mention we would soon be whisked up to the top of the Burj Khalifa.  We reported for duty at ten to two and had to check our bags and go through the x-ray machines.   After walking through some hallways we approached a moving sidewalk that had a video playing along side of the long wall showing the history of the area.  Next we went up an escalator and there were some displays showing the construction and building of the monstrosity along the hallway.  We approached the elevator and boarded.  Once inside the elevator with the doors shut, we were enclosed in something a little brighter than total darkness.  A checkerboard of 18" long by 10" tall television screens surrounding all three sides lit up and started playing video and music.  Pin lighted rows of lights in different colors started going off in a multiple level horizontally.  

Total time in elevator - 1 minute!  We went 124 floors in 1 minute's time!  No movement was perceived at all and the only way you could tell you were going up was the popping in your ears.  It's as if we stepped in a room, waited a minute and walked out but it was 124 floors later.  Awesome high speed elevator!  Not all elevators are created equally.  The doors opened and a flood of light came rushing in - blinding light since it had been so dark.

Once our eyes were able to focus, the view was just fantastic.  You could see for miles and the desert ran out beyond the city limits for quite some distance.  Looking down on every building, street and shopping mall was a sight to behold.  Things are big in Dubai just like they are in Vegas so nothing looked too small except the cars and I don't think you could even see the people from this high.  We could look out and see the 'World' development.  Half the floor was an outdoor observation deck with openings between the windows and the other half was an indoor, full glass floor to ceiling observation area.  Once outside you could look up and still see 36 more floors above you along with the lightening rod.  One hundred and sixty floors in all.  

You could spend as much time as you wanted but after 35 minutes we had to get moving towards our shuttle back to the ship.  As usual we ended up in a supermarket to purchase three six packs of Coke and two cans of Pringles.  Lots of labels that we knew were present in the store!  We decided our diet could live here!  Lots of foreign people visiting this city and they were mostly from western countries so we felt like we were right at home minus the sand.  Very few Dubai women out and about in society and any women we saw working were usually Asian or foreigners.  Most shops had male workers which was something you had to get use to.  

Dubai is all about the shopping!  Huge, beautiful malls everywhere you look.  Souk is the name they use for store/shopping areas and they have dedicated Gold Souks, Silver Souks, Spice Souks, etc.  The Dubai Mall that sits underneath the Burj Khalifa had a three story aquarium where we saw divers feeding the fish and an ice skating rink with a huge TV screen and sound system playing music.  Outside there was a water show that ran at night just like the one in Las Vegas at the Bellagio.  

Dubai is dripping with money, shopping malls and new construction.  If I were a shop-a-holic I think I'd have a panic attack trying to figure out where to start.  Close to the Palm they have a mini-Hong Kong already built and the plans call for it to be twice the size of Hong Kong when they are complete.

After talking with Lee and Joe we found out you need a license to purchase liquor in the grocery stores and the pork section is curtained off like a triple X section in a movie rental store which we thought was quite humorous.  Candice asked if the checkout person handled the pork or not and we all scratched our heads.  But then again, they probably get the foreign women to check you out.  Joe seems to think they are paying off the terrorist to leave the UAE alone since they have never been hit, especially now that they have the tallest building in the world.  Sounds like he grilled the taxi cab drivers pretty good while in the car.  

Dubai was not easy to get around but they are just now opening a new metro system down on the newer section of the city but only the red line is up and running.  Too much distance between the old part of the city and the new part much less too much distance just between the hot spots in the new area.  Too much ground to cover but we did the best we could using the Big Bus Company.  Lots of things to do in and around Dubai but you'd need about a week to do it justice.  Very clean city with flowers, shrubs, trees, and fountains all along the roadside.  You know - Disney nice but over long distances!  They use 2.5 million gallons of water PER DAY and have a large desalinization plant.  The contrast of green and color against the desert colors is just remarkable.   It makes you think the desert is a lush place and Dubai pulls it off with style.  Don't plan on coming to Dubai unless you have plenty of time and a fat wallet for all that shopping.

We docked right by the QE2 which someone had bought and was going to open up as a hotel but they went bust.  So the ship sits still and quite at the pier and looks a little strange and ghostly.   As we got off the ship the first day Candice noticed razor barbwire across the back deck of the boat!  I couldn't help it, I had to snap a couple of pictures!  Queen Victoria looked like some floating prison from the rear! 

We had our pirate drill this morning and the instructions are if you here the alarm followed by the words "Attention, Attention, Security Threat" we are to go the interior hall outside our cabins and hunker down.  A two-page sheet was delivered last night explaining that the ship is taking an internationally approved transit corridor and we will be transiting it under the protection of an International Task Force, including the Royal Navy, assigned to protect merchant vessels from pirate attack by a UN mandate.

Lights out and curtains closed after nightfall I just so happened to be up around 3:15 a.m. when I looked out the window and saw nothing - total darkness.  I went up top to check out the ship.  I walked over to the edge and looked down the length of the ship.  Very eerie and quite with the exception of the sound of the water below.  It felt like I was riding a ghost ship or a boat in the Pirates of the Caribbean.  I kept envisioning a grappling hook come flying over the banister.  Being all alone in the middle of the ocean under the darken sky made me feel a little scared!  We will be under heightened security alert until we get past the Egypt.  They installed sound blasting machines at the back (2) and the front (1) of the boat and they've pushed all the deck chairs during the day to the back of the rails for water hose runs.  Lucky cat is motionless, so all should go well!  Ha, ha!

Sandy

Muscat is the CLEANEST city in the world.  Tons of flowers and plants line the roadways along with green grass.  Quite the oasis in this magnificent area where the tall cliffs of the mountains rose up out of the sea!  Picture worthy anywhere along the coast!  Too bad we had to leave the coastal area for the desert adventure. 

Now Cunard doesn't sell tours into the slums of Mumbai so I was surprised they had a desert dune driving tour on their agenda.  Well worth the dinero we paid.  Someone was even thinking since they took a backup SUV and there were a couple of times I thought we'd personally need it.  I didn't think I'd need a seatbelt just yet but once I saw the speedometer get up to 175 kmh I started digging it out and we weren't even 'out of town.'  

The drive out to the desert was just gorgeous.  Very wide open, dry river beds with nothing but rocks and a little scrub in them.  Off in the distance you could see houses and the occasional scrub bushes covering the ground floor at the base of the mountains.  I would love to see the dry riverbeds during the rainy season!  Everyone gets a plot of land when they turn 18 years of age and they have to keep it for at least two years before they sell, if they are going to sell it.  The government decided what piece of land they will give you.  Seems like things are a little backwards around these parts.  All the lots have a nice, expensive wall around them but the lot sits empty until they can afford to build a house.  In America you build the house first and when you can afford the fence, it goes up.   

We drove about two hours outside Muscat and besides the scenery the only real big thing we saw was a small town that had a camel racing track located right off the road.  All kinds of people attending and the parking lot was full to the brim.  We couldn't see the track, only the grandstands.  

We finally came upon the desert dunes off to our right and just in time.  The drive got a little tiring and you could have almost fell asleep on the drive out but the loud, crazy-arabic music our young driver was playing kept you awake not to mention his crazy-ass driving.  I believe he heard me pray, out loud, to God a couple of times as we were passing cars doing about 90 miles an hour!  "Oh God," escaped my lips more than twice that day!  I envisioned myself having to pull out our medical evacuation insurance policy which we bought pre-trip!  Thank God was watching over all of us that day!

We finally came upon a small town where we saw rather large palm tree oasis' ringing the outskirts of the desert.  Our caravan pulled over in order for all cars to catch up and the drivers switched over to 4-wheel drive.   

The old adage of where the rubber hits the road changed that day for us to when the rubber hits the sand.  The paved road had a definite ending and the desert sand had a definite beginning.  We were well on our way to flying over the sand dunes lining the used valley road out to the 'camp.'  A couple of times it felt like we got air-born and at other times I thought the rear-end of the SUV was going to come all the around!  

We got some great pictures and a small video before our battery ran low on that camera.  The sand was flying and we were in a mad dash with the other vehicles to get to the desert camp.  Switching positions back and forth with the other cars was something right out of the movies, especially since the guy in the next car was filming us as we raced down the valley.  Even though we had seatbelts on our heads and bodies where moving in all directions.  

We had a nice lunch and got pretty close to some wild camels.  Their teeth looked like their toe nails!  Too funny but they smiled for the camera and we snapped their picture!  On the drive back out to civilization we stopped by a Bedouin encampment for some coffee and sweets.  The coffee was like a small expresso and the sweets were made of some honey and apricot mixture.

Driving back to the ship we saw more wild camels and goats and pulled into a hotel out in the middle of nowhere for a restroom break.  It was a decent hotel with a pool but let's just say I wouldn't be staying there for an extended vacation.  We stopped and got gas for .14 a liter but before you get too excited let me tell you that their money is worth almost three times as much as ours.  So it averages out to $1.20 a gallon.

In the town right at the edge of the desert we saw the only Western people (blonde haired mother, father and child) we encounter on the entire trip.  They were sitting in a mechanic's shop having their car worked on.  Not a good picture, heat or no heat, and I wouldn't have wanted to change places with them.  There definitely was a language barrier and their numbers are different.  The 2 is a backwards 7, their 6 is a forward 7, the 5 is a sideways zero with an eight being an arrow up and the seven is a 'v'.  A dot is a zero.  The road signs are in both English and Arabic and that is how we deciphered their number system.  Our driver spoke no English so I couldn't imagine what these poor people with car problems were doing for communication.

There are lots of tucked away places dripping with beauty to see in Muscat but it's probably best to have a local guide with you.  At least they know the lay of the land!  I will probably never get back to this place in my lifetime since it is so far out of the way from anything else but it is a fantastically clean city, modern, new and pleasing to the eye!  No poverty to speak of and every make of luxury car you could imagine running around town.  If you got the time and you're ever in the area it is a must see city and desert!

Sandy

We didn't ride any camels, but they were everywhere.

With Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia leading in the race for best port city, coming out of nowhere is Oman. I honestly was not expecting much, but Muscat delivered. We took a desert dune drive in 4X4 Landcruisers. It was awesome! This is one of my favorite activities we've done so far. It was so different (in a good way), i.e. it wasn't another city with buildings or temples to see. It was one of the very few tours that had an "A" for Activity with an activity disclaimer. Cunard definitely needs to get more of these trips in their tour book.

The day started off waiting for our tour to group up in the Queen's Room. We saw Nora and Morgan and said we would ride with them in the 4X4, the young people car. So the tour group marched out to the pier. We didn't know if we were riding a bus out to the dunes or if the suv's would be there, but we saw fifteen Landcruisers. Sweet, wasn't looking forward to a 2 hour bus ride out to the desert. So Morgan picked number 6 in the caravan. Only to find out that our driver didn't speak English. It would be a provide your own commentary kind of tour. All the other drivers saw the young people car; they were asking who was driving it and if he wanted to trade. We were quite a hot commodity.

After everyone was situated in the suv's, we were off in caravan fashion. At least for a while, number six was to become a caravan of one shortly. It was exciting driving out; it felt like we were going on a mission. Arabic music was playing, very mood-setting. The port gate was the catch in the tour, causing us to be separated from everyone. We pulled over on the side of the road, next to Lu-Lu's Hypermarket. We kept waiting, not seeing any white suv's headed our way. A cell phone was eventually pulled out, conversations had, and then we were on our way. Hopefully to meet back up with the group. The thought did run through my head, "What if a van pulls up, and we're thrown in. News headline: Four American kidnapped in Oman." It was a fleeting feeling. I never felt in danger, but it is better to always be playing out scenarios and to be prepared. "I have a pen in my purse. Weapon?" It worked for Jason Borne. 

We were on our way, driving though the city. Everywhere we looked were car dealerships, not just a section of the drive but the entire drive out of the city. Past the airport and out of the city, I looked to see how fast we were actually traveling. I had noticed that we were riding people's bumpers in traffic, but I never looked at the speedometer. After doing the calculations (10k = 6.2 miles, thank you cross country), I informed everyone that we holding a steady speed of 102 mph. Amid more Arabic shouted phone calls, we finally took an exit, only to go over the pass and get back on the interstate. We only backtracked one exit. Speeding down the two lane highway, we spotted the group. We were happy to see them, and they to see us. They were waiting at a "comfort stop," quite literally a single hole in the floor. It is bad enough for a lot of women to be quick, but remove the western toilet and add a little Cunard attitude, you've got issues. 

Back together, we headed off through the mountains and over wadi crossings (valleys that are dry except in the rainy seasons). Palm trees/little oasisses, long haired shaggy goats, donkeys, and camels were right off the road. It was really scenic. Past the city of Ibra, we started to see sand off to our right. A quick regroup outside the town, and we were off the pavement. There was a warning sign about driving in the desert. Started off with "Dear Tourist," listed some rules and cautionary guidelines, and ended with "Enjoy your trip!"

Driving in the sand was a lot like driving on snow. A lot slipping and sliding, with an occasional fishtail. All quite adventurous. We stayed in caravan formation, until some of the drivers got a little impatient with the slower ones. Then it was no holding back. Landcruisers were passing each other, kicking up sand. Everyone was holding on to the "Oh Crap!" handles. Our driver took us off the main "road" onto some ridges. Pretty sure the car was airborne for a split second. So fun.

The drive out ended at a camp compound, where we had a grilled lunch waiting for us. There was chicken, lamb kebabs, rice, pita bread, olives, hummus, and fruit. A nice spread for being out in the desert; there were even western restrooms, with an "s." There were some camels right outside the gate, too. Sandy took some pictures before lunch. I went out with Nora and Morgan, who had a mountain dew. I think the camel knew what it was; he had Morgan pinned against the wall, nudging the can. It was a priceless sight; Morgan looked like we was facing a firing squad. 

Loading back into the cars, I sat in the middle back seat. Perfect viewing. The music was down from when we entered the desert camp, but our driver turned it up once we hit the dunes. My response, "Perfect! The soundtrack to my death." One song was a really bad megamix of Arabic songs. There was no fade in/fade out, let alone an underlying beat to connect the songs. Other than the megamix, the music really did put a movie soundtrack feel to the trip. My view could have been "Camera one" in an action movie. Think "Blood Diamond," when the group of reporters are attacked and Leo takes the suv off-roading without the use of a steady-cam. Also, the other cars were like the bad guys chasing us. So exhilarating! 

Some of these old women that went on this trip were a riot, in that they didn't want to go fast on the sand. The tour was called "Desert Dune Drive," did they think it would be a Sunday drive? I would have been irate if they wound up in my car. 

After all the fun on the dunes, we started the two hour drive back to the ship. We were slightly late, but that is the beauty of booking a trip from the ship. They won't leave you. Once again, it was surreal rolling into the port caravan-style, like we were some returning from a very important mission. Everyone was out on their balconies waiting for us. It was a great day, A must-do if you ever find yourself around a desert.

crj

We started out going through the streets from the pier to a flower, food market and temple.  The streets were pretty filthy and not a drop of cement for sidewalks any where.  It was a little shocking at first to see the filth and the poor living conditions but the people didn't seem to mind it at all.  As usual there was construction down through the streets which needed to be wrapped up in less than two months due to the rainy season coming.   I'd hate to see this place in the rainy season even without the construction.  The streets had cows sitting on the side of the roads and people would bring them grass and lentil tortillas to eat.

My number one stop on our private Mumbai tour was the slum area which we visited next.  Things were dirty but there seemed to be order in this messy looking area.  Nothing is thrown away; everything is recycled.  The people live in the top part of the buildings and work in the lower floors.   Most of the workers in this area were men but there were a few women.  Most of these people are immigrants and it was mainly the men who came looking for work while leaving their families behind.   To my surprise they had satellite dishes on the roofs too!  Good for them!

We took pictures from the above highway and saw dogs and kids down in the garbage pit which had an open sewer running through the middle.   Believe it or not you couldn't smell it but Candice said she could as she waited in the car (she didn't want to go down into the 'pit' with us).  

We climbed down into the area via a straight stairwell that was about twenty five feet down.  The alley street ran parallel to the sewer we saw from the top but was out of sight due to buildings being on both sides of the alleyway.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  As a matter of fact I found nothing revolting about it.  Yes it was dirty but the people were nice, mild mannered and hard working.  Funniest thing I saw was Oreo plastic wrap covering the ceiling of one business which is funny because I didn't even see Oreo's in the grocery store we visited.  As a matter of fact soda was the only thing we recognized besides some Kellogg cereals in different packaging.   

Our guide told us that some of the designer named goods are made right down here in these slums.  We saw some UK designer jeans being made, cardboard being salvaged, bars of soap being recycled and big steel drums with dents being pounded out, cleaned and repainted.  The people were all too happy for us to step inside and check out their operation.  They were very proud of their work.   We had to take our shoes off in order not to dirty the work area which made me think to myself that my shoes are probably cleaner than their workers feet, so go figure.  

Now we had partnered up with the people we met from Liverpool, Keith and Colette, and took a private tour.  We had and an air conditioned minivan with a woman who spoke excellent English as our guide and a driver who spoke very little.   We felt very safe everywhere we went since we had our guide right by our side.  Without her we wouldn't have been in any danger but I think we would have been hassled by the street vendors even more.  Nineteen million people living in the area and at times it felt like everyone of them was trying to sell us something. 

We next headed over to another part of the slum area and walked through the streets.  We went in the back alleys and saw the clay pots that they had made curing in the short, outdoor ovens.  Somewhat smokey and cramped but the people were fantastic.  Little kids who wanted their pictures taken and then they wanted to see themselves on the camera.  There are so many kids that the school works in shifts.  Older ones go in the morning and the little ones go in the afternoon.  

We headed over to the dobi ghat where they do all the laundry.  Only men work down in the laundry area.  Hotels, manufactures and the wealthier people send their garments and clothes for cleaning.  The trains ran above and along side the entire wash area.  They were filled with people who were hanging out the doors due to them being so crowded.  Our tour guide told us that people loose their lives by falling off all the time.  While we were here I decided to give out my bag of chocolate candy to the beggars and kids.  I had been saving my chocolates that they put on our pillow every night and I was also taking chocolate mints from the dining room so I was loaded with about 3 pounds of chocolate squares.

After getting out for pictures at the wash area, we all got back in the car and cracked the windows about two inches and we handed out the candy from the safety of the inside of the van.  I even had our driver handing it out after giving some to him for his kids.  Now these kids knew the word chocolate and all kinds of hands were reaching inside the car for a piece of it, even the adults.  It felt good to give them a little taste of the sweet life and I could have done this all day.  I took the bags and held them upside down to show them that there was no more.   Once the chocolate was gone one kid started asking for 10 rupees.  After we drove away there were more fingerprints all over the windows than you could imagine which the driver later wiped down at the next stop.  I can just imagine the scene after we left.  Cunard candy wrappers all over the streets!  Ha, ha.  Don't worry, somebody will come along and recycle the paper!

After this we headed over to the Taj Hotel, the one they shot up and started on fire a couple of years ago.  The Gate of India which was completed in 1911 was right across the street.  This was truly a wonderful area that I wished we had more time to just hang out in.  So many vendors coming up to us saying they would print out our picture of us at the gate immediately.  We tried to explain that we didn't need one but it was almost futile.  Lots of little boats in the harbor area and very picturesque.  I only wish we had walked across the street to see the inside of the hotel but the traffic was chaotic with horns honking, vendors trying to sell and lots of people around so instead of being able to think all you found yourself doing was trying to keep an eye on your car and your tour guide.  

Next we visited the gothic style building of the Victoria Train Station and went in to see the train platforms.  This building dates back to 1880's.  Most of these trains travel south of Mumbai with a few heading north.  It is so extensive that the train system is the largest employer in India.   Lots of beautiful Victorian and Gothic buildings in the city.  One sight we did not get over to was the hanging gardens but more interesting than that are the Dokhmas, which are the Towers of Silence, in which cadavers are hung on seven columns for vultures to devour in accord with Parsee tradition.  Parsee is a small religious sect in India and they believe this is the ultimate sacrifice.  It would have been a sight to see but apparently the public is not allowed to see these Towers of Silence which is probably a good thing!  

Our last stop was a shopping area in which textiles were sold amongst the many other items.  Believe it or not our driver dropped us off in the middle of the intersection since there was no place to park.  Now this intersection was an area where four roads converged at the top of the shopping area and everything from hand carts to buses to old taxi cabs from the 50's were trying to maneuver through.  Horn honking was a must for each driver.  It was chaotic but picture perfect so I had whipped the camera out for some wonderful movie taking and captured the sights and sounds of the city.  What an experience; the sun beating down on you, cats walking on the roof of the shops a couple floors up, horns honking non stop, people pushing carts with goods on them and non air conditioned old cabs crowding the streets.  It was almost a sensory over load.   You could actually feel the heartbeat of the city moving all around you.  There is no describing this place.  You really have to experience it yourself.  

One other thing we saw was the lunch box system.  Our guide told us that nobody eats anything cold.  They always eat hot food and nothing is dry; it's always cooked in sauce.  So meals are cooked at home, a delivery guy comes to pick up the lunch box and he takes it to the train station where he puts it on the train for the ride across town.  Once across town another carrier picks it up and delivers it to the person at the office.  Once eaten the container makes its way back to the house it came from.  It's hard to believe that people have full time jobs delivering meals they don't even make but hey, there are plenty of people to put to work over here, so I guess it works for them.      

India was magical for sure and a great adventure in and of itself!  Lots of lovely, resourceful people, lots of chaos and lots to experience with all five senses.   I really don't see myself coming back any time soon but if it was along the way to another destination I wouldn't mind visiting again.  The slums were an eye opener and a far cry from what I had envisioned; not sad or depressing but hopeful, optimistic, and promising.  Given half a chance I think these people could run rings around us.  I'm glad I got to experience it and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Sandy

Bombay Appendix from Candice:

I'm sure Sandy filled you all in on the pertinent information on Bombay, but here are a few little nuggets from me. 

Private tours are totally worth it, especially in a country like India. A little pricey, but considering we would have paid 2/3's of it for a Cunardian tour, we got a better deal. You're only there once (at least that is what I say now, things could change), better do it right. I think I would have been a complete mess without our tour guide. She was like my security blanket; people really didn't mess with us since she was there.

I was a little skeptical about visiting the slums, but they were nothing like I had imagined. The whole area was teeming with activity. It was a little shocking to see people pop-up out of dumpsters, but it was recycling in its purest form. This I can relate to. I recycle aluminum cans only because someone will give me money for them (not for any environmental reasons). This was what the slums circled around, an industry of recycling everything. We saw broken clocks being "cannibalized," the glass, the plastic, and the metal all headed off to different parts of the city. Everywhere you looked people were hauling around bags of accumulated items back to their homes. When they had enough for it to be economical to hire a push cart, they would take it to a recycling center. Sandy must have a little Indian in her.

Sandy almost got wounded by a cow outside a temple. We were taking pictures of them on the sidewalk; they were happy campers eating their grass that people feed them on their way to the temple. Sandy "Take my picture with him." Next you know, the cow is starting to ram its head into Sandy. She jumped out of the way before any real damage was inflicted. But Keith bought some grass to feed him; he was only too happy to take the grass. No photos though.

I loved all the architecture in the fort area, seemed bizarrely like Europe with palm trees. The Victoria Terminus train station was what I was really interested in seeing. It didn't disappoint. We had to cross a couple of very busy streets to get to the terminal; I felt like George Castanza in the Seinfeld episode with the frogger machine. There didn't seem to be a lot of ticket monitoring; everyone just seemed to be getting on the trains and hanging on anywhere they could. There weren't any doors or basically any windows on any of the trains. So no announcements of "Please stand clear of the door while they are shutting," assuming they even had an intercom system, highly unlikely. Outside the station there was a used book stall. This little operation had quite a few good books: Atlas Shrugged and New Moon are the two that stick out the most. Someone over in India has a good taste in reading material.

The Taj Hotel was a surreal sight, after watching the terrorist attacks on television a couple years back. The hotel was beautiful; there was very little damage left from the attacks. The only downside was that this area was where all the tourists go, therefore this is where all the hawkers go to sell their goods. 

crj

Housekeeping. Sorry there haven't been any pictures. Internet and time are hard to come by. We will post a lot of pictures when we get back to the states.

Part I from Candice:

Well, I think "Cochin" is Indian for rip-off. At least that is the way the day started off. Most of the time, money can be exchanged on the ship, no problems. The rate isn't that good, but there isn't a service charge. So it all evens out. This is all fine and good, until we hit those odd ports, like Cochin, where a local bank comes on board to exchange money. These people don't speak english and they don't tell you the exchange rate. You just hand them the money; they hit around on the calculator and give you some rupees. Thank goodness we only got $40 exchanged, because with the rate they gave us it was equivalent to only $30 dollars. Total gip. If I had a little forewarning, I wouldn't have done it. It is frustrating to try and calculate all of this in such little time.

Onward to our "tour" of the harbor. It was basically what our ship sailed past in the morning, except we were on a tiny little boat with benches that faced inward. Stupid. The real kicker was how slow we were going. This infuriated Sandy, which in turn got me all worked up. A lady next to us asked, "Too much togetherness?" "No, frustration. And we deal with it differently." But a positive spin on the "tour" is that we could have spent a lot more on a crappy tour.

The tuktuk was an experience. Sandy's story is below. Before you read it, allow me a defense. I was up for a trip to Fort Kochi, just not an extended excursion. I had a very small list of sights that I wanted to see. Maybe a little shopping. So after I saw St. Francis Church and bought a purse, I was ready to head back, but that was apparently not in the cards. This purse I bought looked good hanging up and was only six dollars. I did see that there was some dirt on it, due to the street vendors basically keeping their items out for so long. I thought "Okay, it is what it is." Plus, Sandy said it can be washed. I'm trying to make a decision, but my anxiety started rearing its head. It was a brash decision, but I bought the purse. Little by little, I realized that I didn't want it and that there were more defects. Great. Sandy said give it to somebody. "I am not giving this to anybody!" So this on top of the never-ending tour was getting frustrating.  Sandy was no help; she encouraged the prolonged tour and ignored my pleas of "Tell him we want to go back to the ship." I sound like negative nancy, but I did enjoy myself. My anxiety level tends to have a limit, probably half the size of Sandy's. 

Later while back on the ship, Sandy was recalling her Saigon rip-off. "I've come to accept my postcards." After a second, I followed with a laughing (slightly hysterical) reply of  "Acceptance is the first step." This set off an episode of laughing, the kind where you couldn't breath. It was a nice way to take the edge of the day off.  

Part II from Sandy:

Cochin, India was very exciting!  After taking a harbor tour with Cunard (our second official purchased tour) we took a tuk tuk ride all the way into Ft. Kochi and this was truly an adventure!  Never mind that the harbor tour seemed to be too laid back and slow going but when we got off the boat, we were given bad information.  We had requested that we be dropped off in Ft. Kochi while on the harbor cruise but the tide was too high and they told us private boats could not drop off at the piers.  So instead of boarding the bus for a two block drive back to the ship, we asked were we go to catch the ferry.  Next jetty down was what we were given.  

We got over to the next jetty via side roads only to find that this ferry went to some island starting with a 'V.'  Not a whole lot of English spoken either at this ticket office and we surely stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the locals.  I almost felt like an animal in a zoo with all the stares but on a lighter note as we boarded our bus there was an open barred window with some young mens faces peering through.  Once I saw them I waved and they were only too excited to be acknowledged.  Also while we were on our harbor cruise there were some young girls on the banks in their school uniforms and they got excited about their visitors too when we waved back at them.  Very friendly people and beautiful faces with big smiles!

Striking out on our own to find the real jetty for the Ft. Kochi ferry we went out towards the end of the peninsula and rounded the corner.  The all too familiar stares with all eyes upon us was a little unsettling but I never thought we were in any danger.  I think we were just an oddity.  We were approached by a tuk tuk driver who was awfully persistent and a little irritating.  He was young and eager to get our business but we thought we needed to take a ferry due to the time of the day and the distance we needed to go.  Once we got over to the other side of the peninsula we found the jetty but there was no ticket window or time schedule.  After an inquiry we found out this one was for port authority workers only.  

Luckily we spotted an information office and Candice went in to get some directions while I tried to hold off the tuk tuk driver that had followed us all the way down the street and an older man who wanted to take us across by his private boat.  Looking back it was quite comical but once we found out the ferry we needed didn't leave until 1:45 p.m. our tuk tuk driver was in business.  He told us it would take 30 minutes to drive over and it would cost us $2 US dollars.  At this point in time I was glad he was as persistent as he was. 

We loaded up in the open air tricycle cab with a motorcycle engine and three hard rubber tires (no air).  Very interesting and fun!  We felt every bump in the road and when we finally got to the bridge it was a real balancing act for him to stay just on one tire track side of the road.  We felt like we were truly doing the amazing race since our driver was going as fast as he could and we looked around and wondered where they would put the camera crew.

The ride was not for the faint of heart!  We hung on the bars on the side and secured our bags so they wouldn't fall out all the while taking movies with the camera.  Our young guy had no qualms about pulling out into on coming traffic to pass big trucks and buses.  We played chicken through an intersection with a big rig and believe it or not we won.  Brake pedals mashing to the floor followed by a couple of quick jumps towards the center, followed by a stall, then another small jump.  I could have leaned out and kissed the fender of the big rig we were so close.  But our cab driver finally took the big jump out and around all the while shouting some obscenity towards the other driver.  We experienced this more than once but this was the closest call.  Shortly after this we saw two accidents within 100 feet of each other.  A brand new car had run up under a bus and smashed the hood and another new car had been hit in the rear panel!  I just kept hanging on waiting for the impact as we wove our way through the streets that at times suddenly became three lanes with us in the middle.  

About 25 minutes into this ride we pulled up to this air conditioned store and our driver insisted that we get out and go in.  He knew we were looking for shopping but we specifically told him we wanted to be dropped off at St. Francis Church.  As usual, he was very persistent that we go in and shop and we realized he was going to get paid for us to walk in.  I told Candice that we'd humor him and go in, make one quick round and come back out, which we did.  We found our driver in the back parking lot getting paid and we climbed in the tuk tuk.  He looked happy as he crossed the lot towards the tuk tuk.  This happened several times during the trip but hey it was a way for him to make a little more money so I didn't really care too much.  Candice was another story.

What I did enjoy about our driver is he was actually a quasi-independent tour guide.  He showed us the Dutch Cemetery which dated back to 1729, the large washing area on the water banks, an elephant over the wall (they were charging you 15 rupees to walk into the courtyard), a 500 year old tree (questionable, but what the hey), the Chinese fishing nets, which we saw on our harbor cruise, the Dutch Palace which didn't look to palace-y and some other small sights.  He took us by a spice shop and some local street vendors, too.  

Candice was calling to go back home to the ship but this atmosphere was right up my alley.  Goats ran around the streets like dogs and cats and in packs.  It was too funny, weird and cute all at the same time.  Trash was thrown on the side of the roads and we saw a couple of people picking through it - one man's garbage is another man's treasure.  Thank God it didn't stink like garbage.  Some nicer hotels were sandwiched across the park area by the water front and we did see a few foreign tourist besides the Cunardians.  Our driver took us down some back alleys that were very interesting and quite empty.  Even though he didn't speak much English he knew all the pertinent words.  I hope he didn't hear or understand Candice complaining to get back to the ship.  I on the other hand was having fun and promised her that we would not be going in any more stores but I still wanted to see the sights he would show us.

Candice was determined that we were driving around in circles and got frustrated with me when I told her we were heading back to the ship but she wasn't convinced until we saw some familiar sights.  I told her that they were probably one way streets.  I don't think she bought it but It was nice to see what their everyday life looked like and it made me appreciate what we have back home.  No smelly foods cooking either.  As a matter of fact I smelled something good cooking and we figured it was due to the spices they were using.  Only a little fishy smell around the boats and fishing nets.  

Cochin is a large port town and most of the commerce is associated with cargo shipping so I'm sure this part of India is wealthier than most areas.   One island was tax free and there was access to the larger part of city by ferry for 2.5 rupees.  I'm thinking that's were I might live if I had to set up shop in Cochin!  In the area there are four or five islands with most of them connected by bridges.  The maps Cunard gave us lacked a total layout of all the islands which caused us to be confused for a little while.  All the islands were flat and everywhere you looked there was a fishing boat somewhere.  

This place is worthy of a visit, but I wouldn't consider an extended or even an overnight stay.  The day was memorable and I'll always remember our pushy little driver just trying to eek out a living.  We ended up paying him five dollars and I think the experience was well worth it!  Candice was relieved to get back to the ship and later at the evening show our cruise director said he saw people coming back on the ship, dropping to their knees and kissing the floor.  I didn't think it was that bad, but it got a good laugh. I can vouch that Candice didn't seem as bad as he described but she was close!  On the other hand, a spa worker for Cunard got in a tuk tuk accident .  It tipped over with him in it going down the road.  We heard he ended up in the ship's hospital per the Chief Purser at dinner that night.  Oops!

Sandy