One Day in Singapore

A one-day port stop is too short, even in a place that is not that exciting!  But, in the vibrant city/state of Singapore, with its bustling shopping mecca of Orchard Road, ubiquitous food stalls, and glitzy new casinos, one day is barely enough to skim the surface.

So, I did the best I could and attempted all three.  First, I strolled along Orchard Road, briefly visiting a few of the (over 20) malls that dot the landscape there.  Its really interesting to see the locals lined up for blocks for a “special anniversary” sales of one of numerous department stores there.  Even though we chuckled when we read the signs that said 10-20% off.  For department stores with such high markups to begin with, it hardly seemed worth standing in line for hours just to get in the front door for the oft chance at a small bargain.  To make matters worse, not many of the customers we saw leaving the place had purchased much.  Apparently, this is a daily occurrence along this shopping street.

The real draw of the malls for me is their food courts.  Unlike most of the ones we have in America, the foods are normally freshly prepared, healthy, and cheap!  Of course, as my pics show, there is also plenty of “interesting” cuisine such as the Pig Organ Soup shop that I saw there.  I sampled several things until I was ready to burst, then decided it was time to go walk some more, even though the humidity soaked my clothes down to my underwear within minutes.

Singapore has recently legalized gambling to attract tourists.  I was told the new (American-owned) Marina Bay Sands casino, with its amazing infinity pool on the 55^th floor was a “must see”.  From the Skypark there, you could see everything in Singapore, its amazing skyline, the bay with all the merchant ships, and the construction of even more along the way.  The actual casino on the ground floor looked pretty much like casinos everywhere, although in typical Singapore fashion, there were interesting nuances. The most interesting is the fact that although tourists can enter the casino for free, local Singaporeans must pay $100 Singapore dollars to enter (about $75 USD).  The government’s goal is to discourage locals from developing gambling addictions and want to protect their people from potential bad habits!  Now, if they could just get them to stop smoking:>>

India pictures (finally)

India, wow!

I have several friends that have been to India.  Funny thing is, most of those either loved, or hated the place.  Those that loved said it was different than anyplace they had ever been, interesting, even fascinating: the people, the music, the art, the food, the religious practices.  Those that hated it said the place was dirtiest place they had ever been.  It was also disturbing to them that the level of poverty there is unparalleled.  There are thousands of children begging on every street corner, with the occasional older lady asking for a handout not far behind.  

Also, the streets are crowded with every type of vehicle known to man, including bicycles, cars, trucks, buses, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, and camel-drawn carts.  And, there are no rules on these streets or highways.  Drivers simply blow their horns to encourage you to get out of their way.  Moreover, cows here are sacred, so they go wherever they want, whenever they want.  They stand on the sidewalks, lay on the roads, and block the entrances of front porches (homes and businesses).  The place is nothing if not chaotic.  But, I couldn't help but find the place like no place else I'd ever been, for all of these reasons.  So, put me down in the "loved it" category.  I spend five days there and I felt like I was in a movie, one that I really did not want to end when it was time to go back to our ship on the final day!!

During my short time there, I went four major places.  I hung out in the southern Indian city of Chennai (formerly "Madras") where we landed in port.  I also went on (another) safari in Ranthambore National Park near the city of Sawai Madhopour (near the desert).  The park is famous for the fact that you can see tigers in the wild (which we did), along with hundreds of different species of birds, crocodiles, more types of deer than I ever knew existed, and wild boars.  The park was beautiful, much different than Kruger in Africa, greener, and more lakes and streams.  We also stayed in a hotel (Hotel Nahar Haveli) at the edge of the park that looked like a castle, were entertained by ethnic musicians, and ate like kings.  I have included some of my favorite animal pictures from the park and the hotel.

I also go to spend a day in the capital of Delhi, with its wide boulevards and grassy parks.  The shopping there was fantastic (and cheap)!  I never had so much fun spending 40 bucks in my life.  I really loved riding the trains there, in spite of the fact that I had heard they were terrible.  But, waiting in the train stations and riding the train to your destination is where you get to not only people-watch, but talk to the locals and meet your fellow passengers.  I really enjoyed the whole "train experience" and vowed to go back again and go by train to see some of the other places there that I didn't make it to this time.

And finally, going to the city of Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal.  At the risk of sounding trite, it was breathtaking.  It was such an amazing sight as you walked through the entry gate house and saw it for the first time: white, bright, and simply beautiful as it reflected the late afternoon sun.  It really did make you stop and say "Wow".  I never dreamed when I first saw a picture of it years ago that I might see it in person one day.  I am really glad I did!  And, I am really glad I made it to India!!

I will definitely go back!

One Day in Ile Maurice

We landed in the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean (near Madagascar) and spent the day there.  The port where we landed was Port Louis.  It is the largest city on the island but most everything was closed because we were there on a Sunday.   Unlike home, many of the ports where we have stopped are basically "closed down" on Sundays.  What a bummer: not much shopping, no museums, even most of the restaurants (and all of the "good" restaurants) were all closed.  I did buy some tea at a local market that is grown in the mountains there.  Since they also grow lots of coconuts and vanilla beans there too, many of the teas are flavored with the local spices and fruits.  I asked the man at the tea shop, which of his local teas were the best, and he said "Here, most people like the vanilla tea".  So, I decided to try both the vanilla and the vanilla/coconut tea.  I really liked the latter the best and am anxious to get home and try making iced tea with it!!  Well, now its on to India.  We land in Chennai this Sunday.  I am finally going to get to see the Taj Mahal !  The pictures below are of the port in St. Louis and some of their downtown and Chinatown areas.