Shwedagon Pagoda

Shwedagon Pagoda

Reclining Buddha

Thilawa is the port town where the ship was docked but is about 30 miles from the town of Rangoon. Depending on traffic conditions, similar to those in India, the ride can take you from 90-minutes to more than 2.5 hours. Our ship excursions move along the streets in a caravan, and are provided the resources of a police escort, to stop cross traffic along the way, and help to clear the roads.

Myanmar is located on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. It borders India and Bangladesh on the north and west, China, Laos and Thailand on the east. King Anawrahta formed the country in the 11^th-century, with Bagan as its capital. The empire collapsed with the invasion of the Mongols 200 years later. King Alaungpaya, on the location of the small town named Dagon, founded Yangon (later Anglicized to Rangoon) in 1755. The country was ruled by the British from 1852 until 1942 when the Japanese occupied the area until 1945. Allies retook the city in 1945 but this would be short lived. On January 4, 1948 the country regained independence from the British Commonwealth. General Ne Win, a military ruler and then a self appointed president, was an isolationist ruler of the country from 1962 until 1988. During this time the country was isolated from the outside world. In 1988 he resigned due to extreme civil unrest. During his rule the infrastructure deteriorated through poor management (corruption) and population growth. In 2011 president Thein Sein came into office and began political and economic reforms that lead to the opening of this long isolated country.

Myanmar is slightly smaller in size than Texas. Rangoon is the largest city with a population estimated at 5.5 million, 86% of which are Buddhist. Under British rule the city was laid out in a grid pattern and by 1900 beautiful colonial buildings and parks filled the city. It was said that the city was on par with London and was known as the garden city of the east. Unfortunately, in 2008 much of the city was heavily damaged by cyclone Nargis, which caused $800 million in damage. Today these old colonial buildings are being restored and many of the great parks and lakes remain.

Burmese is the primary language, with English being the preferred second language to the educated. The country’s main economies include agriculture, rice, sesame, peanuts, cotton, lima beans, chick peas, wood–like teak, copper, tin, tungsten, iron, cement, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, oil, natural gas, garments, jade, ruby, sapphire, emeralds and amethyst.

Throughout its history Myanmar has experienced waves of immigrants which traveled southward along the Ayeyarwady, Chindwin, Salween and Mekong rivers. These diverse ethnic groups came primarily from the Central Asian Plateau (modern day Tibet and China) and are reflected in the wide-ranging ethnic assortment found in Rangoon today. 86% of the local people are Buddhist, 5% Christian, 4% Muslim and there are 56 Jews today.

The local currency is the Myanmar kyat (MMK) pronounced like CHAT and the current exchange rate is approximately 1,265 kyat to the US dollar.

Our tour today was titled “The Best of Rangoon”. The drive into town was an adventure itself. Drivers rarely follow any rules of the road so motorcycles, trucks, cars, rickshaws, and people compete for a space on the roads. The men are mostly dressed in western style shirts with a skirt from the waist down to the floor called a Longyi. Many of the women wear a similar style skirt, although more colorful and possibly adorned with needlepoint. Some of the women also wear loose fitting pants with a loose fitting top. Everywhere you go someone is selling something along the roadside. You see watermelon stands, fruit stands, coffee shops, open air restaurants, pottery, clothing, food items, and so much more.

The first stop (photo stop) was at the Town Hall, built in 1905, across from the Sule Pagoda, at the center of town and a break to stretch your legs. At this stop is also the Queen Victoria garden with a large obelisk honoring the country’s independence. The city center is filled with many buildings remaining from the colonial period, although most of the buildings are in very poor condition and in need of repair and paint. Construction appears to be going on everywhere so they do seem to be improving parts of town. From here we proceeded to the 70-year-old Bogyoke Aung San Market, known as Scott’s Market, to stroll the more than 2,000 stalls. The market stalls are filled with masses of merchandise like jewelry, loose semi-precious stones, fabric, clothing, puppets, lacquer ware, woodcarvings, souvenirs and food stalls around the perimeter. Kent bargained for the perfect souvenir.

By now it was lunchtime and we were taken to a very beautiful hotel called the Shangri-la for a delicious international lunch. The buffet was enormous and included all sorts of local and international dishes from salads, meats, vegetables and desserts. There was something for everyone.

After lunch we went to the National Museum to gain a better insight into the history of Myanmar. The museum is six stories tall and includes items like the 26-foot tall Lion Throne of the last Burmese King. We had little time to explore the museum but our guide took us to see some of the most important items. I would have liked to have more time to explore the museum.

Our next stop was at the Shwedagon Pagoda or Golden Pagoda. Considered one of the wonders of the religious world, this spectacle is believed to be the earliest pagoda of the Gautama Buddha Era, built by King Okkalapa more than 2,500 years ago. Located on the top of Singuttara Hill, and visible from all over town, the gleaming golden stupa soars 326 feet tall. It is topped with more than 6,500 diamonds, rubies and other precious stones. In the tradition of the Buddhist faith, we walked clockwise around the stupa to admire not only the beauty of the golden stupa but the many shrines around it. At the base of the stupa there are hundreds of smaller shrines, some for each day of the week, where you can pray, light a candle, place some flowers, or pour water over the shrines. Some of the shrines are small, while others are large enough to walk into and nearly all of them have Buddha statues standing, sitting or reclining. It is really an incredible site with so much to see, although we did not have enough time to see everything. Maybe we’ll have more time next time.

Our next stop was at the Chauk Htat Gyi Reclining Buddha. This colossal 223-foot- long reclining Buddha statue originally built in 1901 is one of the largest in Myanmar. After being exposed to the elements for years, in 1925 the Buddha was re-built and a roof was built to protect it from the sun and the rain.

No shoes or socks are allowed inside Buddhist temples so we had to check them at the door before entering any of the Buddhist sites.

The entire tour was about nine hours in length. By the time we returned to the ship, we were ready for a shower and a bite to eat. The only entertainment was a movie in the main showroom titled “Victor Frankenstein”. We gave it a miss since we had a busy day planned tomorrow.

This day started out with breakfast in the dining room where they serve most anything you might want to eat. You can get coffee, juice, hot or cold cereal, eggs, bacon, toast, muffins, pastries, omelets, eggs benedict, and more. Sharing a table with other passengers is nice because you get to meet some interesting folks from all over the world, but the service always takes longer. In the Lido upstairs it is self serve so it is much quicker to eat if you are in a hurry. Others prefer to dine in the privacy of their own cabin and will order room service.

The shore excursion team presented tour options for several upcoming ports in Indonesia. We then attended a cake-decorating contest between some of the Rotterdam singers and dancers. Two boys competed against two girls to see who could decorate the best cake with the ingredients given. They had frosting with food coloring options, chocolate sprinkles, fresh fruits, powdered sugar and chopped nuts. The girls created a beautiful cake using fresh fruits while the boys used too many competing items and it was just a bit of a mess.

We watched an afternoon movie based on a true story titled “Beyond Rangoon” with Patricia Arquette and Frances McDormand about a woman who travels to Burma in the 1980’s after the murder of her son and husband. She loses her passport at a political rally and falls in with students fighting for democracy. She ends up traveling through Burma during civil unrest and witnesses many bloody acts of repression by the dictatorship. She finally escapes to Thailand after many harrowing experiences.

Before dinner, Mark walked on the promenade deck, while Kent headed to the gym and sauna. For dinner we shared a table with the Russian classical pianist who has been performing onboard.

The evening show was a variety show featuring Chuck Curry the trumpet player and Adam Westcott the flamenco guitarist.

This morning we attended a lecture by Brian Stoddart on a town on the east coast of India near where we are sailing that was previously called Madras and is now called Chennai. Brian was making the point that small villages with a port, natural resources or a tourist attraction can grow to be a metropolis. Every city has a history and this was just one example.

We dined in the main dining room for lunch, as Mark prefers to be served rather than having to select something from the buffet in the Lido dining room. Mark had a simple salad with a chicken breast, apples, walnuts, cranberries and a vinaigrette dressing. Kent had the ravioli with eggplant and a cream sauce. As the pants begin to tighten we continue to cut back on what we eat, but everything looks so good, it is hard to resist.

In the afternoon we walked before Werner Salinger presented a lecture on Brazil, the world’s 6^th largest economy, which is currently in a recession. Kent attended the afternoon tea where cupcakes were the pastry of the day. Mark painted a lotus flower at the watercolor class.

We, along with Tom, were invited to dinner with our friends Kathy and Carol in the Canaletto restaurant where they serve Italian fare.

The evening’s entertainer was Rustem Hayroudinoff, the Russian concert pianist who performed for us a few nights earlier. Kent and Tom had quite a nice conversation with him at breakfast. He seems to be a very nice person, as well as a talented pianist.

This was a very quiet sea day with few items on the agenda to do. The morning included a presentation by David, the location guide on the upcoming port of Rangoon, Myanmar. The evening was a gala or formal dinner with a special Indian themed dress. They asked guests to wear any sari’s they may have purchased in India to dinner and had a pre-dinner fashion show in the crow’s nest to show them off. About 17 of the men in our group attended the show—only one wore a man’s Indian dress.

Alex and Dennis (from Berlin) and Tom (from London) joined us for dinner in the Dining Room. Kent continued to ask his “getting to know you” questions and all seemed willing to answer. Surf (lobster) and turf (filet mignon) was the most popular menu item.

After dinner, Portia Emare from England performed a variety of familiar tunes by artists like Whitney Houston, Barbara Streisand and Adele.

Hambantota – Mulkirigala Temple Rock

Hambantota – Reclining Buddha

Hambantota – Cave Murals

Hambantota – Mulkirigala Temple Caves

The weather was extremely warm and humid on this day. Sri Lanka has four different climate zones so it is possible to experience very different climates across Sri Lanka. The Hambantota area in located in an arid climate zone.

Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is located to the south and east of the lower tip of India in the Indian Ocean. The island is 5 degrees north of the equator and has a population of 22 million inhabitants. Hambantota is located on the southern coast of Sri Lanka and was partially destroyed in 2004 by an Indian Ocean earthquake and a Tsunami that followed. After the earthquake and tsunami, they began to build a new port to accommodate the 36,000 ships and 4,500 oil tankers that use this route each year. The harbor opened in 2010– although they were not able to dredge the new harbor as deep as they had planned to, due to rock formations.

Hambantota has large salt flats along the coast that attract a large number of shore birds including pelicans and flamingos. The island has several national parks where wildlife–like tigers, elephants, water buffalo, leopards and elephants–can be seen.

Our destination was the Mulkirigala Temple, with its seven painted caves, located about 90 minutes from the port by bus. Our bus was older with poor air conditioning so the ride was not particularly pleasant. The temple is created out of a huge rock formation standing 676 feet tall, and dating back to 130 BC. The origin of the temple is unclear, but it is said that Buddhist monks who had achieved the state of supreme enlightenment, lit a lamp with mustard oil here so that it could last for 5,000 years, until the birth of the next Buddha. Within this rock formation there are seven large cave temples that have been painted with fine murals over the years. It is believed that the current fresco murals were painted in the 1700’s and depict the different stages of a Buddha’s life. Each cave tells a different story. In some of the paintings Portuguese and Dutch uniforms can be seen signifying the advent of the European colonization of Sri Lanka. Also found in the caves are various statues of Buddha, reclining, sitting and standing.

The caves are quite large in size and are every surface of the caves has been painted with very vibrant colors. Each of the caves has a reclining Buddha stretching the longest wall of the cave and made of clay and then painted in bright colors.

The climb to the top of the rock formation is about 550 stone steps with many of them uneven and different sizes, making the climb strenuous. The heat and humidity also added to the difficulty. We spent about two hours at the cave site before heading back to the ship via our old bus. Not long after we left the caves our bus decided that it was also hot and tired and wanted a rest. With no air conditioning working on the bus and a problem with the clutch, we stopped along a beautiful lake. The guide bought everyone fresh coconuts for the water from a roadside stand while we waited for a replacement bus. About 45 minutes passed before a beautiful new bus with great air conditioning arrived to return us to the ship. The guide was apologetic and most of the passengers understood, so all was good.

The countryside here is very beautiful with large bodies of water filled with lotus and water lilies. The fields are filled with lush green rice fields and the homes are fairly well maintained. The homes are mostly made of brick with clay tile roofs or thatched roofs made from coconut palm fronds. We came across some water buffalo roaming the streets; saw some small monkeys, large lizards and many varieties of birds.

We watched the movie titled “Steve Jobs” in the movie theater before dinner. After dinner we attended the Filipino crew show featuring about fifteen members of the crew. They did an excellent job of presenting their country’s folk dances as well as a couple of solo performances of current songs.

Mark’s Watercolors

We headed around the southern tip of India towards the country of Sri Lanka. The weather was a warm 84 degrees and partly cloudy. The warm air from the south is mixing with the cooler air from the north creating a haze in the air.

This morning we attended a lecture by Brian Stoddart on India, where he showed us many photos from the times when the British ruled India. Many British service members preferred to serve their country in India because they often lived in lavish homes and had many servants to look after their every need.

The afternoon lecture by Werner Salinger was on Australia where they have had four Prime Ministers in just two short years. Like many places in the world they are trying to find a balance between China and the United States. Many countries in the world rely on the United States to keep the world’s waterways safe but, at the same time, rely on China for exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. Many nations find this a delicate balancing act to keep both countries happy.

Kent attended an Indian tea in the dining room while Mark attended the watercolor class where he painted a baby elephant.

The Rotterdam singers and dancers put on a show titled “Dance” with a wide variety of dances like Russian folk, Paso Doble, Waltz, Jump Jive, Indian and the Fred and Ginger.

Cochin Fishing Nets

Cochin Highrises

Cochin Shoe Store

Cochin, with about 2,000,000 inhabitants, is located on the west coast of India close to the southern tip. Cochin means small harbor, which it once was. It was once the center of the Indian spice trade, trading black pepper and cardamom. Today, it is known for tourism, information technology and its port. Being close to the equator it has a very tropical climate, little change in temperature and lots of humidity. Fortunately for us the humidity was not as bad as it was yesterday in Mangalore.

We arrived in port a few minutes late and it took a few minutes longer for the local immigration officials to come onboard to process our clearance to go ashore. Local officials required that each passenger present themselves to officials to have their individual passports stamped along with a shore pass. In many countries there is no face-to-face meeting required and the ship is able to clear local immigration without any participation from passengers. Imagine 1,200 passengers, anxious to go ashore, waiting in line to see a local official. It was not a pretty sight and people were getting upset with the process, and people not following the rules that had been established by the ship to expedite this process as quickly as possible.

We took a five-hour bus tour called Panoramic Kochi where we would mostly be riding in the bus and getting an overall view of the city. The bus was superior to the one we had in Mangalore and the air conditioning worked exceptionally well. We explored the new section of town where beautiful new high-rise condominiums have been built along the river and the sea. While some of the buildings are newly constructed and beautifully designed, the surrounding areas are still in need of progress. Old dilapidated lots with trash and unkempt shops and businesses surround this new construction.

We then toured the old area of town, including the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets that represent Kochi’s sea trade. These large nets are lowered into the water for several minutes before being hoisted back out of the water in hopes of catching fish that may be swimming along and are caught up in the nets. They use a platform with a cantilever system to more easily raise and lower the fishing nets. It is believed that Chinese traders brought these huge fishing nets to India from the Court of Kublai Khan.

Also in the old town is St. Francis, the oldest European church in India, built in 1503 by Portuguese friars. Vasco da Gama was buried here in 1524, his remains later repatriated to Lisbon in 1538.

The city of Cochin is located in the state of Kerala and translates as the land of coconuts. The area is covered with coconut palm trees and everywhere we drove we saw people selling coconuts on the roadside. They produce all sorts of products out of the coconuts, including oil for cooking and beauty products. They also use a large amount of coconut milk in their cooking.

Many of the local women were wearing colorful saris or pants with a tunic dress over the top. Some of the younger men were wearing western style clothes but the older men all seemed to prefer a shirt on top and a skirt of sorts rather than trousers. The piece of fabric would be wrapped around the waist and reach to the floor but can also be folded up from the floor and tucked into the waist to create a shorter skirt look. In older times both the men and women would have only worn a lower piece of fabric and would be topless, but this went away after Christianity came to town.

Our guides told us that the people of Kerala are very progressive, well educated and have not more than two children. She said that divorce is more common and that they eat all types of food including beef, which is sacred throughout most of India.

Overall we thought that it was a pleasant city but that it did not have anything particularly noteworthy to see. We passed many temples, shops and homes but nothing stood out as special.

The entertainer on this night was a young man from England, who played flamenco music on the guitar, by the name of Adam Westcott. He was a likeable young man and was an excellent guitar player. Unfortunately his music all sounded similar and while he was playing he had no eye contact or connection with the audience. Quite a few guests left the show before he had finished.

Mangalore Kadri Manjunath Temple

Mangalore Gokarnanath Temple

Mangalore Gokarnanath Temple

Mangalore Cashew Factory

Dating back to the 14th Century, Mangalore is located on the west coast of India on the Arabian Sea and is a major port for exporting coffee and cashews. It was a Persian trading port and was “discovered” by Vasco da Gama in 1498, and the Portuguese officially took over in 1526. In the late 1700’s the East India Company took over the city, but the Sultan of Mysore won it back until the British once again prevailed. A local monarch later defeated them before winning the city back, only to have it burned down by the Arabs. Today the city is both a tourist destination and a busy commercial port and is known as a center of education. The cities population is approximately 625,000.

The weather forecast said that it would be 81 degrees out, but with the humidity it felt much warmer and you sweat like crazy. The air is not very clear but we are not sure if this is from moisture or from pollution or a combination of both.

Our shore excursion took us to Kadri Manjunath Temple dating back to the eleventh century and dedicated to the Lord Shiva. The temples are filled with many individual statues of Shiva within altars, each with a priest present, who is ready and available to offer you a small cup of water to drink, and a dish or cardamom and red dye to place on your forehead in exchange for a small token of your appreciation. Outside there is a large pool of water that resembles a lake that people use to bathe or wash themselves before entering the temple. The temple is not particularly beautiful or grand but many locals wander in and out as we visit. Signs everywhere state there photography is not allowed but our guide says that this is just for the locals and not the tourists. Very strange.

Our next stop was the Gokarnanath Temple that is a much more modern temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and built for the non-Brahmins of Mangalore who were denied entry into Brahmin Temples. Here there are several large buildings each with very elaborate altars that look a bit like something that you would find at Disneyland. There are tigers, cows, half-man, half-tiger creatures depicted in plastic molds or painted with bright colors and gold colored paint.

For a twist of religions we then visited a Christian church called St. Aloysius built in 1900 and featuring a chapel with beautiful frescoes by Italian artist Anthony Moscheni. Moscheni was a monk at the church and thought that the newly constructed church was a bit stark so he spent the next two years and five months painting every inch of the interior himself. He painted the columns to look like marble; he painted bible stories on the ceiling and walls that resemble what you might find in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. On the altar he also painted flat services to look as though they were three-dimensional statues in stone. The church is really quite beautiful and so unlike anything I have seen in India.

Mangalore is where more than half of the world’s cashews are processed so our next stop was at a cashew factory. Here we saw how the cashew nuts are dried in the sun, shelled, roasted, cleaned up and packaged for shipment. Hundreds of women are employed here earning only a few dollars a day to quickly separate the shell from the nut itself and also to remove the thin inner skin similar to what you find on a peanut. This is still done by hand and not machine.

We departed Mangalore for our next port, Cochin, India at 5:00pm. The evening’s entertainment was an internationally acclaimed Russian classical pianist by the name of Rustem Hayroudinoff.

The weather warmed to a high of 79 degrees and we continued to loose time as we head further east. We moved the clocks forward another 30 minutes to be in step with the local time in India and Sri Lanka. We also moved out of the danger area for pirates so there are no longer guards stationed on deck.

Another relaxing day at sea where we attended a lecture with our new location guide David who talked about things to explore on your own in Mangalore and Cochin, India and Hambantota, Sri Lanka.

Brian Stoddart lectured on India and the sport of Cricket while Werner Salinger lectured on the world’s largest Muslim country, Indonesia. Kent attended the Royal Dutch Tea while Mark attended the watercolor class. We then saw the movie “Suffragette” with Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff and Helena Bonham-Carter.

The evening’s entertainer was Portia Emare, a vocalist from London’s West End where she has performed in several Broadway shows. She has a beautiful voice and we enjoyed her show of familiar tunes.