From Bali to Dubai with Fred Olsen cabin, unpack and stretch out in cool and snooze. Wednesday. Leave home just after 8am to head for Glasgow airport to fly out to Bali via Dubai. Somewhat overcast and temperature in single figures and dressed accordingly, I am looking forward to some sunshine and warmer climes.

Flight to Dubai uneventful but some eight hours long. Pleasant meal and attempt to snooze at odd times to help Friday and first tour to see scenic Bali. deal with the four-hour time difference. Bali is Indonesia’s main tourist Dubai airport large and follow others to destination. Tourism makes up about transit lobby and await next flight. Not 80% of its economy. It is renowned for much to do but over an hour passes its highly developed arts, including and we are on our way again. traditional and modern dance, Unfortunately, find a lady sitting in my sculpture, painting, leather and booked seat who had caused another metalworking and music. lady to shift, which meant I originally Bali was inhabited around 2000 BCE sat in wrong seat. In trying to get by Austronesian people who originated people into correct seats, troublesome in Southeast Asia and Oceania, lady refused to move and I eventually through Maritime Southeast Asia. went and sat in her booked seat to Culturally and linguistically, the allow all to settle. Arrive in Bali and find Balinese are closely related to the Fred’s representatives who are people of the Indonesian archipelago, sending people off to stand in different Malaysia, the Philippines and Oceania. areas of the airport, before moving out Stone tools dating from this time have into the sunlight to await appropriate been found near the village of Cekik in bus for transfer. Temperature in the low the island’s west. 30s and first shock to the system. Find me some shade and a bottle of water. Now Thursday and once transfer to Boudicca complete, make way to

1 I visited some rice terraces in the Singapore is an island city-state off mountains and saw some of the southern Malaysia. A global financial central mountain countryside. centre with tropical climate and multicultural population. Its colonial core centres on the Pdang, a cricket field since 1830 and flanked by grand buildings. Raffles Hotel still exists and serves tea and cocktails as it has always done.

Singapore is a wonderful city constantly changing and adding new

On the way to Singapore we crossed features. Only had a short stay, having the equator and had something of a before decided to just walk about and deck party to cekebrate King Neptune. see what I could. If you have never King Neptune and his Royal Entourage been before, go and be amazed by have to pass judgement on those who their gardens, lightshows, cleanliness commit crimes against his Kingdom and order. Do be prepared for their ‘The Deep’. Also, those who are first prices, though, as they are probably timers at crossing the equator are one of the most costly cities in the invited to ‘kiss the fish’ and be pushed world. into the swimming pool. Good fun. Sailing away from Singapore that evening, we head for Phuket in Thailand.

2 Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) is the capital of the Yangoon region and the largest city in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the pupose- built city of Naypyidaw in central Phuket is a rainforested mountainous Myanmar. island in the Andaman Sea and has The financial and business capital is some of Thailand’s most popular still Yangon and we dock at its harbour beaches. Not being a beach fan, I which is abut 20 miles from Yangon decided on a tour to see more ‘local’ itself. It is not possible to get from the places and visit the Sea Gypsy Village. port to the city without some form of The sea gypsies spend most of their arranged transport. It is possible to lives at sea, fishing and living off the arrange a taxi ride in, but you are at sea. They have a small village where their discretion as to the fare for they run a kind of cooperative system coming back. selling their fresh catches to traders and tourists. Their way of life is Almost all the cruise tourists decided changing and it is unknown for how to use the arranged tours which long they can maintain their lifestyle. guaranteed getting somehwere and back before the ship set sail.

Having two days in Yangon gave me a chance to do two tours. The first a general bus trip to see different areas in Phuket and the second to a small village, Thanlyin, to see local houses and the way the villagers live.

Another day at sea and we head for Mayanmar.

3 when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815 and its status as capital was retained when the nation became independent in 1948. In 1978, when administrative functions were moved to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo was designated as the commercial capital.

Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon) is famous for its tea and rubber and is often called the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ due to its shape.

I went on a tour to the central mountain region to visit a tea plantation.

A last look at Myanmar before we set off for our next destination which was Colombo.

Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka and has a long history as a port on ancient trade routes ruled successively by the Portugese, Dutch and British. That heritage is reflected in its Here we saw how the tea was picked architecture, mixing colonial buildings and processed through to packaging, with high-rise buildings and shopping before having tea and cake in the malls. garden of the plantation manager’s Due to its large harbour and its bungalow. strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2000 years ago. It was made the capital of the island

4 Kochi (also known as Cochin) is a city in southwest ’s coastal Kerala state. It was the centre of Indian spice trade for many centuries and was known as Yavanas to Greeks and Romans. It is also well known by Jews, Syrians, Arabs and Chinese since ancient times. It rose to significance as

Next move. Farewell to Sri Lanka and a trading centre after the port Muziris onwards to India where our first port of around Kodungallur (Cranganore) was call was Kochi. destroyed by massive flooding of Periyar in 1341. The earliest On the way we passed the Maldives documented references to Kochi occur islands which are slowly being in books written by Chinese voyager inundated by the rising seas. This Ma Huan during his visit to Kochi in the series of islands have many beautiful 15th century as part of Admiral Zheng beaches and resorts, which it would be He’s treasurer fleet. There are also a pity to lose. refernces to Kochi in accounts written by Italian traveller Niccolo de Conti, who visited Kochi in 1440.

Again, I managed two tours to see Kochi and area by coach during the day and then an evening city-highlights and harbour cruise.

5 Apart from architecture, temples, street Having sailed away at sunset, we were markets and various churches, it was off to for our next stop. fascinating to see the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets which have been used in Kochi for many centuries.

We dock in Murmagao, a deep natural harbour and Goa’s chief port, situated in the eponymous taluka (sub-district They also have their own version of of South Goa), Goa state, India. the White House based on the design When the Portuguese colonised part of of its slightly more famous Goa in the 16th century, they based predecessor. their operations in the central district of Tiswadi, notably in the international emporium ‘City od Goa’ now Old Goa. As threats to their maritime supremacy increased, they built forts on various hillocks, especially along the coast. In 1624, they began to build their fortified town on the headland overlooking

6 Mormugao harbour. The sultans of Bijapour, who had ruled Goa before the Portuguese, did not give up easily. There were several invasions. From the sea came the Dutch, who eventually took over from the Portuguese most of the coastal settlements: the Moluccas, Batticaloa, Trincomali, Galle, Malacca, Mana, Jaffna, Quilon Cochie and Cannamore. From 1640 to 1643, the Dutch tried to capture Mumagoa but were finally driven away.

I again managed two tours.

After a scenic tour of Old Goa and a walk around the old Portuguese centre and a visit to a major Hindu temple, we visited a spice farm.

And so farewell Goa and off for .

The name of Mumbai is derived from Mumba or Maha-Amba, the name of the patron goddess (Kuladevata) Mumbadevi of the native Koli community, and meaning ‘mother’ in the , the mother tongue of the and the official language of Maharshtra. The Koli people originated in Kathiawad

7 and Central . However, other sources disagree. The British knew Mumbai as Bombai which was Portugese for ‘Good Bay’.

I went on a tour called ‘Scenic Mombai’ and saw many of the main attractions including: Victoria Station; Taj Mahal Hotel; The Archway to India; the Hanging Gardens (built over what had been an open reservoir said to have been polluted by human remains from the nearby Farsi Fire Temple Mount where bodies are left to be scavenged by eagles, in this case); the Dhobi Wallah, a very large hand-cleaning clothes service; and other places of interest. Unfortunately, one crew member reported having flu-like symptoms and the authorities decided we had to leave rather than stay another day. Various temperature checks etc having taken place since leaving Singapore meant that more checks were still necessary, then we were cleared for entering Porbandar, our next port. Portbandar is a coastal city in the Indian State of Gujarat and is best known as being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. The champion of peace and father of Indian independence was born here on 2 October 1869, and his former home is

8 a place of pilgrimage for many from India and beyond.

Onshore exploration in and around Porbandar brought to light the remains of a late Harappan settlement dating back to the 14th century BCE. The discovery of ancient jetties along the Porbandar creek signifies the importance of Porbandar as an active So farewell India and onwards to centre of maritime activities. Indian Dubai for my return home. theology views Porbandar as the We arrived in Dubai early Thursday birthplace of Sudama, the friend morning and after breakfast it was off Krishna. to the airport for my flight back to Our berth position was about 1 km Glasgow. Nothing in particular to say from the shore so I only attempted one about Dubai other than sand. Large shore excursion using a shuttle bus. architectural building and a long This unfortunately stopped at a road journey out to the sprawling airport. junction some ??km from the city. As As Captain Mikael Degerlund would the bus was immediately hemmed in always say as his closing remark, “and by trucks? demanding payment for take care of each other.” onward transmission, I decided to Bill Matthew. Sotland RMA. have a short walk to see the rubbish etc lying around and return to the ship. Perhaps an official visit to Gandhi’s birthplace is worth the hassle but I had seen his museum in Mombai where a model of his house is on display and felt content with that. Comments from others about the nature of the city meant I felt happy in the shade on Boudicca, sipping a G&T.

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