Category: Travel

We had a change in plans today when we heard that our original excursion (to ride elephants at the Koh Samui Elephant Preserve) was going to involve a lot of off-road travel in the back of a pickup truck. We opted to save our spines and instead go for a dip at Chaweng Beach. The Orion anchored offshore and we tendered in aboard local boats. After a 45-minute van ride, we arrived at the beach town of Chaweng. After a bit of confusion with how to rent beach chairs (our excursions manager reminded us beforehand that “English is widely understood but not necessarily widely spoken”), we had a relaxing float in the warm and calm South China Sea with our cruise friends Gary and Chris Terbeek, whom we’ve been with since Athens. We could see the good stupa of the Wat Khao Hua Jook Buddhist temple on a hill in the distance. Smaller Buddhist shrines are almost everywhere you look in Koh...

For those of you who are taking or planning to take cruises, it might be worth your while to stop by Guest Services on the ship and inquire as to whether they offer a tour of the ship’s bridge. They don’t advertise these tours, but they’re often available. Today I got a chance to see the bridge of a latest-generation ocean liner. I went to Deck 6 of the Viking Orion whilst we were in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand, off the east coast of Malaysia. My first impression was how sparse it is! Of course, most things are computer-controlled these days. The Captain leaves the day-to-day driving to his helmsmen. He takes over the controls only when the ship is docking. I wasn’t prepared to see that the Captain uses a trackball and a joystick for fine control of the ship during docking! Of course, he has control over the thrusters and the engines during this process. There are parallel control stations on...

Singapore was high on our bucket list of places to visit someday. I’m happy that we had the opportunity to spend a few hours in this amazing city. Even before we docked, the daybreak sight of myriad ships in the harbor gave us a hint of the level of activity we might expect in the city. When we entered the arrivals hall at the port, I laughed at the sound of numerous immigration agents making a big show out of stamping each passport and entry/exit card multiple times. “Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!” resounded from all over the cavernous room. Our Singaporean guide (Andrew) was of Chinese descent; his grandparents came to the island to work back in the early 1900s. He was a real hoot and was an excellent representative for the country. “We have mandatory military service for two years starting when you are 18. Then every year for the next 10 years, you must report for military training and must stay in good...

We had a lightning tour of Kuala Lumpur (KL, as the locals call it) today. KL came about as a town built around a tin mine, and it blossomed into eventually becoming Malaysia’s capital. KL is inland, about 60 km from Port Klang, where we docked this morning. (I can’t see “Klang” without thinking of Leo McKern in “Help!”) Our first stop of the day was the “Blue Mosque,” formally known as the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque, or the SSAA Mosque. It’s located in Shah Alam, a city between Port Klang and KL. It’s the largest mosque in Malaysia and the second-largest in southeast Asia. The 350-ft. tall dome is the world’s largest dome on a religious building. We then fought our way through the end of rush hour into KL proper. Other than the tropical trees (betel nut, papaya, banana, etc.) that gave away the tropical location of the city — and the fact that people drive on the left...

Today was our first of two ports of call in Malaysia. This was at George Town on the island of Penang. George Town was established by the British East India Company in 1798. The British brought in Chinese and Indian laborers to clear the island. Even today the area retains an interesting mix of ethnic Malays and the descendants of the Indians and Chinese, as well as more than 100 years of British rule. As we left the port, we drove through the old part of town, where citizens came to the “wet market” for a breakfast of noodles and grilled meat. Kek Lok Si Temple Our first top was at the Kek Lok Si Temple, the largest Chinese temple in Southeast Asia. The first temple on the site was started in 1890, and new buildings have been added throughout the ensuing century. The climb to the main pagoda looked pretty steep from the bottom, but fortunately the many staircases were broken up by...

Sri Lankans greet each other with hands pressed together in front of the heart in a prayer-like manner and by saying, “Ayubowan” (ah-you-BOH-anh). This roughly translates as “I wish you good health and a long life,” and it’s used as a greeting and a farewell. We weren’t really sure what to expect from our two days here. Viking's excursions staff forewarned us that Sri Lanka is a poor country, and conditions might not be as good as we had in India. We found the opposite to be the case. Colombo Development is booming in Sri Lanka, particularly in its financial capital, Colombo. The Chinese are pouring money into the country. They’re financing the Lotus Tower, which at 1,150 feet will be the tallest self-supporting structure in south Asia. The not-so-secret goal of the Chinese is to gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean and keep India in check. This comes at a price for Sri Lanka, though. The country wasn’t able to make its...

We docked this morning in Mormugao, a port in the Indian state of Goa. Goa was a Portuguese colony and the last state of India to gain independence from foreign occupation, in 1961. The Portuguese influence still shows strongly in the brightly colored buildings and homes in the area. Today’s excursion took us to the Tropical Spice Plantation, a few kilometers north of the town of Ponda. After three days in one of the most densely-populated cities on the planet, it was a refreshing change to get out into the countryside. We even caught a fleeting glimpse of monkeys in the trees beside the road. Crossing the low bridge over the lakebed to get to the farm was a little unsettling. The bridge planks were rounded halves of trees, covered with burlap and then a layer of rubber. The footing felt a little unsteady! The “tourist” side of the operation is a pathway through a verdant maze of various types of spice plants and...

Our final day in Mumbai took us through some old neighborhoods. Sunday traffic was light, but there were many people out and about. The first walk of the day was through the Khotachi Wadi area, which is a very culturally and religiously diverse area of Mumbai. There are still Christian Indians of Portuguese descent here, living amongst Hindus, Jains, and Zoroastrians. Many families have been living in the same houses for generations. We passed one home where the owner said his family had been living since the 1880s. The Portuguese-influenced houses had carved window frames and balconies. Their courtyards were often brightly decorated. We stopped for refreshment at the 300-year-old James Ferreira bungalow. The owner said that the house had belonged to his grandfather. He fought the city to keep it, and the surrounding area, as a cultural heritage preserve and prevent it from being razed for high-rise apartments. His home and “No Borders” shop demonstrate that all are welcome. Next we went through the upscale Malabar Hill...

Our first day in Mumbai opened with nervous/eager anticipation. We’d heard so many praises—and warnings—about Mumbai that we didn’t really know what to expect. We were fortunate to have Silpa, a middle-aged Indian woman with a fantastic sense of humor, as our guide for the day. We started with a brief drive-by of some of old Bombay’s classic Victorian buildings (the University, the train station, etc.). We then headed to Crawford Market, a fruit and vegetable marketplace that has been here since the late 1800s. Porters stand near the entrance with baskets balanced on their heads. Shoppers hire a porter to carry their purchases as they shop. Silpa explained that with the heat and humidity of Mumbai, food spoils rather quickly, so it’s not unusual for a housewife to go to the market at least once a day for fresh produce. She showed us her mother’s favorite grocer. Photos can’t do justice to the feeling of walking among the very narrow paths in the...

O vast Rondure, swimming in space, Cover'd all over with visible power and beauty, Alternate light and day and the teeming spiritual darkness, Unspeakable high processions of sun and moon and countless stars above, Below, the manifold grass and waters, animals, mountains, trees, With inscrutable purpose, some hidden prophetic intention, Now first it seems my thought begins to span thee… ...The traders, rulers, explorers, Moslems, Venetians, Byzantium, the Arabs, Portuguese, The first travelers famous yet, Marco Polo, Batouta the Moor, Doubts to be solv'd, the map incognita, blanks to be fill'd, The foot of man unstay'd, the hands never at rest, Thyself O soul that will not brook a challenge. —Walt Whitman, Blades of Grass, Book XXVI How different is the voyage of the modern “explorer!” As I write this on my laptop computer, I sit in a plush terrycloth bathrobe on a comfortable bed in an air-conditioned stateroom, while the roll-stabilized mighty ship cuts through the monsoon-stirred waters at 20 knots with barely a creak. I bemoan that the ship’s rolling and pitching...