day 70 – at sea

another sea day… we are crossing the bay of bengal… i suppose i can say, now that we’ve passed it, that we already made it safely through pirate waters off the coast of malaysia… i don’t really worry about us and pirates as we are a bit too big and high maintenance of a target for most of ‘em, and well armed with sonic cannons, water cannons, and much more… i think the oil tankers are more the pirate’s thing anyway in this part of the world… we also recently took on additional security personnel with background and expertise in international matters, esp. middle east, as the company keeps safety and security as their chief focus and the vacation aspect of things is a distant second to that priority.  so, for those of my friends who have expressed concern about these things, don’t worry!  i am safer here than anywhere on land, and security is very tight here… believe me!  you can’t come or go without very thorough procedures and there is a large seen and unseen security presence at all times.  the ports we go to are equally vigilant, so it’s multiple layers of security everywhere we go…

tonight’s theme was a repeat of a theme from the first half, “moon and stars.”  the cocktail hour and themed happy hour were both well attended, but many folks hit the hay a little early… going back these couple of hours gives you an extra hour in the day, true, but that creates a long day and one often wakes up earlier the next day, thus ready for bed a little sooner… i strained my voice a little tonight when competing with the rare phenomenon of very loud and noisy people at the bar right behind my bench, and just belted something a little too hard before i was well warmed up, so i took it a little easier the rest of the night and plan on babying myself tomorrow with a lot of tea, fluids, vocal rest and no conversation other than what is necessary… bob will be my bouncer to answer the phone and deflect any visitors or guest conversations… yay, bob!!!

i am getting pretty excited to get to india!  we gotta just get through st. patty’s day tomorrow and the pub crawl around the ship lounges and i’ll be ready for some great tea, some handmade naan (tasty indian flat bread) and some amazing curry!  can’t wait to hit the spice markets and pick up some exotic stuff!  we have been warned that as heartbreaking as the street people and begging children are, if you give anyone anything, they will multiply exponentially, and you will have a clutching, immobilizing horde around you all day… the advice i keep getting is that you have to wear a stone face and not give anything ‘til you are at the port gate on your way back to the ship where they can’t follow if you feel so compelled… that is going to be hard!  i remember in some poorer islands in ’09 traveling where it was like that, though, and it gets kind of scary having your arms grabbed or feeling surrounded… i will probably don my 'shield' of no jewelry, bandana and crappy clothes, sunglasses, and a crew i.d. tag so they know i am staff and not a well-heeled tourist, and try to emotionally steel myself and give change at the port gate on the way back…

we will probably take the pedicab option (super cheap transport, room only for us) straight to the destinations we are visiting and back.  bob can go out in cochin, but does not have a mumbai visa, so i will prob’ly look for a pal to go out with in mumbai in a few days and head straight for the taj hotel where i want to have something made at the tailor’s there… i can’t wait to experience india, to the degree you can in a few days, anyway… so many frequent cruisers have disdained out loud the whole india experience, presumably because of the poor conditions, lack of western modern conveniences in many areas, poor people in the streets, etc., but i like what our travel guide said, and she’s been there many, many times – you can look at it two ways, at what they haven’t got, or at what they have got… i think the latter is a better perspective if you hope to learn anything while traveling!  i am sure there will be many folks who choose to stay on board… that’s cool, i mean, some folks are frail, and some just know they won't enjoy it because they didn't last time... some people simply like an empty ship because it's more peaceful... you like what you like; but since i am not faded or jaded just yet, i would rather see new stuff and have some unique and different experiences, flavors, sights, smells, sounds… what an opportunity!  i am grateful... i am also so grateful for my family back home and can't wait to share these experiences when i come back - i will be bringing souvenirs, stories, pictures and a profound gratitude to be at home with you all and look so forward to enjoying our family times together... ciao for now!  -di