Mangalore, India

Today is April 20th and it is Heather's 42nd birthday so have a wonderful day, Heather.  We will dock in Mangalore at about noon.  So the morning is at sea.

We were up early and in the pool by 6:25am.  Maybe we should invite the man who removes the netting to dinner in Compass Rose as the pool is scheduled to be opened at 7:30am but because we are up there early, he removes the net early.  We both did one hour of swimming.  While we were swimming, Elda was hiding Easter Eggs.  So when we finished our swim, I collected some eggs but found out later that the egg hunt does not begin until 10am.  So I sort of cheated.

Breakfast in Compass Rose with a Mimosa and Eggs Benedict.  Being Easter and everything, a treat.

The Easter Egg Hunt was a big success.  I won but then again, I had an edge as I watched Elda hide the eggs.  And I helped some others find some eggs.  Not sure what I won but probably Regent points.

They also had someone named as the Easter Bunny.  So you were to ask people, staff, etc if they were the Easter Bunny.  It turned out it was Gami.  And I did not see him in the morning so we did not win that contest.

As we were docking, we saw this bird flying about the ship.  Not sure what kind of bird it is but it was fun to watch.  Notice there are two birds in the picture.

And then one of them took off.  Looks like our eagle but need to figure out which type of bird is in this part of the world.

And of course, we had security from the locals.

India imports teak wood from Indonesia in order to make furniture.

Lunch in La Veranda as we are going out on tour as soon as we arrive.  I only had pizza as nothing floated my boat if you know what I mean.

We gathered for the tour and off we went.

This was one of the worst tours ever.  We could not hear the gal at the front of the bus.

Our first stop was at the Gokarnath Temple.  You needed to remove your shoes to enter the temple.  And the marble was so hot that people were burning their feet.  So I did not go into the temple.

The Temple is beautiful with its sculptures.

The ladies of India wear the sari and they are beautiful with different colors etc.  There were several marriages taking place at the same time at the Temple.

More interesting things to see outside the Temple.  No pictures were allowed inside the Temple.

They decorate the cars to celebrate the weddings.

Next stop was at a cashew factory.  We got to see how they shell and process the cashews.

Most of the process is done by hand.  One can now understand why cashews are so expensive.  This lady is shelling the cashews.

Here they separate the cashew from the brown coating after the shell is removed.

The ladies processing the cashews by hand.  They opened the factory for us as we were here on a Sunday and they are normally closed on Sunday.  So only a few of the workers were around.

Next we visited a private home.

This is the garden in front of the house.  This is the oldest home in the city.  Now the widow is the only one who lives in the home.  They had 5 sons and one daughter.  But only one son is still in the area.

We thought Gretchen would love this room as it is purple in color.

The front of the home.

Another view of the front of the home.

The street outside the home.  Lots of buses and tuk tusk.

If I had the time, I would have bought these purple pants but not time to shop.

And finally we went to St. Aloysius Chapel.  The Chapel was closed when we arrived but finally opened so we could go inside but no pictures were allowed inside.

Quite a large campus.

This is the front of the Chapel.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside.

And because we were a little early getting back to the ship, the guides decided to show us the local beach.  This involved a drive down a long lane and then a turn around and back to the ship.


Back on the ship where we cleaned up and dressed for dinner.

Dinner in Compass Rose and then back to the suite where we sat on the balcony and enjoyed our after dinner drink.

Cochin, India

Saturday April 19th and we are expected to arrive in Cochin around noon.

We got up early and swam for one hour.  Then breakfast in La Veranda.  When our suite was being made up, we headed to Coffee Connection for a while.  We went back to the suite for a bit and then to the Atrium where they were having an auction.  Such fun.  They auctioned off lots of stuff from the staff.  We lost out on having Gami cook lunch for us in Prime 7 but we did win having dinner with two staff members.  Now we have to decide who we want to have dinner with.  Someone who never gets the opportunity to eat in Compass Rose.

Lunch in Compass Rose.  And then we had to go through Indian Immigration.  So we were late getting our nap so I did not sleep.  Worked on my needlepoint here in the suite and Bob went up to take some pictures of the port.  We did not take the tour and thought we could take the shuttle into the city but because of a strong taxi union, no shuttle.

I started to watch "Nebraska" on the TV.  An interesting movie.  Ended up watching the entire movie.  Then we dressed for dinner and headed to Horizon Lounge for cocktails.

Dinner in Compass Rose where I had liver again.   Bob had the local sea bass which was not the best he has ever had.  We shared a dessert and then back to the suite to read and lights out.  A very quiet day.

As we spoke with some of the passengers who went out on the tour, they said it was so hot and they were beat.  Sort of glad we stayed on the ship since we have been here before.

Colombo, Sri Lanka

We arrived here in Colombo, Sri Lanka at around 2 pm on Thursday April 17th.  We were napping when we arrived.  Then I got up and went to needlepoint and Bob went on deck to take some pictures.  We are docked at a container port.  It is interesting to watch how they load and unload these ships.

Then we dressed for dinner.  We had a cocktail in Horizon Lounge before the Indian Dinner.  This was for the Grand passengers, some doing as many as 136 plus days and others only doing 80 some days.   We were sitting with Mal Myers (he has done several world cruises with Regent), Nancy and Dick Pfliger from Minn who spend 6 months on the ship each year and The Captain and his wife Marianna.  He is from Italy and she is from Peru.  The food was interesting.  Not too spicy.  Loved the breads.  And we had a great time speaking with everyone.  Our table was the last to leave the room.

We returned to the suite instead of watching the local dancers.

In the morning we got up early and swam for one hour.  We are doing a tour this morning.  Just an overview of Colombo.  We have never been to Sri Lanka before so will be interesting to see.  The tour is called "Panoramic Colombo".  Not too long.

Bob took some pictures of the port as we docked.

We find the loading and unloading of the container ships very interesting.

We got on the bus and took off for our drive around the city.  This tour was a bus tour only.

This is the sitting Buddha.  

This is at the only stop.

And a garden with fountains.

Bob or Pop Pop thought he found an Easter Basket.

But on closer inspection, this was no ordinary Easter Basket.  Look what popped out!!!

The snake charmers indicate that the fangs have been removed.  But I was not going anywhere close to that snake.

This guy played a flute for the snake while the other fellow sort of just moved side to side.

At one point the snake tried to get loose.  And the fellow caught him by the tail.

We got back on the bus and continued our tour.

This was something we saw along the way.

The drive took us around to the resort area.  Nice big beaches but not sure if the water is swimming ready.

We returned to the ship for a nice lunch and then nap.  Needlepoint in the afternoon and then tea time.

Dinner in Setti Mari.  I had the lamb chops and Bob had a steak.  It was all very good.

Back to the suite to read and lights out.

Sea Days

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15th and 16th found us at sea.  The weather is warm and sunny.  Both days we were up early to swim.  On Wednesday, the water was so sloshy that we only did 30 minutes. It really is a work out trying to keep your head above water.  And lap swimming is impossible.  So those folks who do laps did not get to swim much.

We had needlepoint both in the morning and in the afternoon.

Prime 7 restaurant.

Tuesday night we had dinner in Prime 7.  A nice table for two and Bob ordered a great bottle of wine to go with our bone in rib eyes.  Of course, we could not finish the entire steak but we gave it a good effort.

I had started to watch "August, Osage County" but there is too much screaming between the women that I have given up and went out on the deck with Bob to watch the moon.  Did not see it turn red.  But it was beautiful out at night.

Wednesday they had the T,P,G party which was a tribute to India.  Several of the Indian crew danced some of their local dances for us.  And then we met with Cindy and Stephan (the aerialists) and had dinner with them and Bob, Marilyn, and us in Signatures.  We had to get special permission for the couple to eat in Signatures.  

After dinner we went to the show which was Ray again.  No matter how many times we see him, we always enjoy his show.  He is great.  On our way out of the show, we stopped in the Voyager Lounge where I jitterbugged one dance with Susie.  Boy, am I out of shape.

In the afternoon, we did have a anti pirate drill.  This is where we all have to leave the open decks, balconies, etc and head to the interior of the ship.  We are suppose to lay on the floor and so when I did, I decided to do some exercises while I was down there.

Now it is Thursday and we are canceling our call on Galle, Sri Lanka due to high swells in the ocean.  It is too dangerous to operate the tenders with this much movement of the ocean.  We did swim for 45 minutes this morning but so much water has splashed out of the pool that the lap swimmers cannot swim in the shallow end.  It only comes to your knees now.

Tonight they are having a special dinner for the Grand Travelers.  Last year there were about 500 grand passengers and this year there are only about 50.  Wake up Regent, we want different places to visit.

So the schedule for today has to be revamped.  I will go up to Observation Lounge and see if any needle pointers show up.

Some extra pictures for you to enjoy.

They had a sail away party when we left Bangkok.  I know this is a little late, but better late than never.

The ship goes all out for these parties but only a few passengers attended this one.  I think most of the folks are jet lagged and trying to catch up on some well needed rest.

Some of the cocktails and fruit juices available.

And of course, our buddy Ray.

A very nice spread but it was right before dinner and that night we were eating in Prime 7 so we did not want to spoil our dinner.

And now the famous belt.  It is complete and when I get home will have it made into a belt for Bob.  They mount it on leather.  The one country I did change is China.  On the belt it was the old hammer and sickle from USSR.  They do not use it any longer as Russia is a red, white and blue flag.   So I made it China.  Colors were the same.

I know all of the countries but one.

The green, gold, red flag is not any country I could find.  I wanted to change the colors but left it the way it was printed on the belt. It might be fun for Aiden and Gretchen to try and name the other countries.  Kyrstin and Liz might know them.  Not sure if they teach that in schools any longer.

That is it for now.  Enjoy.

Phuket, Thailand

April 14th found us at anchor in Phuket.  In 2004 Phuket and other nearby areas on Thailand's western coast suffered extensive damage when they were struck by a tsunami caused by an underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean.  The waves destroyed several highly populated areas in the region, killing as many as 5,300 people nationwide.  By November 2005, there is little obvious remaining tsunami damage other than at the most remote beaches, and now the tourist industry has almost fully recovered.

Bob and I had turned in our tour tickets, as we did not want to go on an all day tour.  We were up early to swim for one hour and then breakfast in La Veranda.

We spent a quiet day on the ship.

We were not the only ones here.  This is a star cruise line Libra.  It was able to dock right down town.  As it is based in the area and does these one week cruises, they have first dibs on the dock.

Also at anchor, the beautiful sail boat.  Could not see the name of it to research who owns it.

This is the Oasia.  It was once owned by Cunard and called the Vistafjord.  The ship is about 40 years old.

At anchor next to us was this navy ship.  At first we thought it was the Thailand Navy but on closer look, they are flying the American Flag.  So this is our navy.

Just another view of the ship.

And here you can see the Stars and Stripes.

One of the resorts on the island.  This one looks quite nice.

And this is where the Libra got to dock.

Cocktails in Horizon Lounge and then dinner in Compass Rose.  Bob and I both had the lamb chops which could have been better.  Then back to the suite where I started to watch "August, Osage County".  Will finish it later.