Our 6:00am departure today comes so early.  Our guide, Fa, arrives just as we get to the lobby, so we’re on our way quickly.  We failed to pay attention to the weather (it’s been great our entire trip), and it’s raining this morning.

After a twenty-minute drive to the other side of Chiang Mai, we arrive at an intersection with a brightly lit shrine and several food carts.  There are Buddhist monks standing in groups in several places and people are placing food items in gold-colored bowls held by the monks.  They walk here every morning between 5:00am and 7:00am to receive donations and then walk back to the temple to distribute to those in need. The proper procedure is to place the offering of food items in the bowls, then kneel and receive a chanted blessing from the monks in return.  The rain makes it more interesting, combined with our repaired knees that don’t feel that great when kneeling on pavement.  We “soldiered through”, made our donation, and watched them walk back to the temple.  It was raining so hard we didn’t get many pictures.

We continued to drive up the mountain for 20 more minutes.  When we arrived at the small village that serves as the base area for Doi Suthep (the temple), Fa gets our tickets and we board a tram (funicular) to take us to the top.  What a relief!  I had read something about 300 steps to climb, but Fa decided it was too slick for us to take the stairs.  That saved us from wimping out.

This may not be my best look?

At the top, the temple area is beautiful and quiet.  We’re early, and few if any other visitors have arrived yet.  The rain is continuing.  No one may wear shoes in the temple area, so we’re walking around barefoot in the rain. Again, there’s so much beauty. The temple was originally built in 1572. There are lots of monks around doing their monkly duties.  In one of the smaller temples, we went in, trying to keep our heads below the level of the monk (as advised).  As we kneeled (ouch) he sprinkled water on our heads to purify us, and then chanted a prayer.  Normally, the view from the top of the mountain is gorgeous, but rain/fog is not cooperating.

 Not the best day for the panoramic view.

We rode the tram back to the bottom, and began a short drive to another temple near the city.  It’s called the Tunnel Temple.  It’s built into a hill with lots of small rooms branching off the main tunnel for some serious meditation.  Above it all is a shrine built in the Sri Lankan style (as opposed to the Lanna or Bangkok style)

Next stop is a restaurant for breakfast.  We had a chance to try Thai food cooked in the Northern style (different peppers and curries).  It’s slightly different and good.  After breakfast, we’re taken back to the hotel where we caught up on our sleep.

We finally cleaned up and headed out to make a laundry swap.  We picked up our batch from yesterday, and left some more (can’t beat the price, less than $4 for the 2^ndbatch).  We returned to the room, dropped off the laundry and headed out the local night market.  We walked about 10 minutes and began to pass shopkeepers setting up on the sidewalk. We made a few small purchases, but kept walking until we finally reached the big market area.  This market opens every evening at 6:00, closes at 11:00, and is open every day of the week.  Everything “Thai” that anyone could want can be found here.

  How about some fish to feed on the dead skin on your feet and legs?  It’s a “Fish Spa”.

We shopped for a couple of hours before eating dinner in a Thai restaurant in the market.  The food was good and cost about $5.20, including drinks.

  On the way back to the hotel, on the sidewalk.

It’s been a fun evening of hanging out around the locals, the expats, and the tourists. We made our way back to the room to prepare for our long drive tomorrow, even farther north, to Chiang Rai, near the borders with Myanmar and Laos.

Our favorite meal on our most recent cruises has been the breakfast in Blu.  We sleep well and wake up early (body clocks not adjusted yet). Breakfast was indeed great, and an added treat is the view of Mount Stromboli, a big, active, volcano, from our window seat in the restaurant.  Vacation has started!

After breakfast, I headed out to check the game area for table tennis opportunities.  There are two tables, and several good players are already going at it.  After playing a little and walking around the ship, I meet Judy in one of the lounge areas for an official “Cruise Critic Connections” party.  There are snacks, etc. and a great view of the ship’s passage through the Messina Straits.  Italy is to our east (port) and Sicily to the West (starboard).  It’s narrow passage, and there are lots of ships traveling in both directions.  This is one of the spots where the captain earns his pay.  Back in our cabin, we relax and then begin getting ready for our afternoon excursion to Siracusa.

The Straits of Messina

The group (8 of us) meet at 1:45 and we’re able to exit the ship (docked in Catania) quickly, once we were cleared.  We meet our guide/driver, and start driving to Siracusa.  It’s an hour and a half drive, and the guide begins to tell us how tight our itinerary is.  2:00pm is late to disembark a ship and begin touring.  He keeps trying to make the point that there’s little chance to do everything we were promised.  He’s in a tough spot.  He’s in a car with the actual guests.  Whoever defined the itinerary and confirmed prices, etc. is back in the office trying to dodge the blame for promising, but most likely not delivering.

Sure enough, in Siracusa, we had three main destinations, the Roman Ruins Archealogical site, the Duomo (cathedral), and the Church of Santa Lucia (Caravaggio painting).  Due to our late start on the day, and new winter schedules, the Ruins, are closing as we drive up (3:30pm?).  We head on into town where we get the chance to walk around some interesting narrow medieval streets, enroute to the Duomo, and the Caravaggio painting.  Of course, Church of Santa Lucia (painting) is closed on Mondays, and the Duomo is almost ready to close.  We walk through the Duomo, with it’s interesting mix of Roman and Greek architechture.  After the Duomo, our tour options are limited, so we opt to sit in a café along the waterfront, enjoying a light dinner, and the beautiful evening.  It’s warm, we’re off the ship, no wind, and the setting sun makes a beautiful picture.

These are the relics (bones) of Santa Lucia

We make the drive back to Catania.  On our way back, Michelle, our tour organizer, convinced the tour company to refund some of our money, so we got 30 euros refunded.  Back at the ship around 7:30, we freshen up in our cabin and head to dinner.  The traveling and jet lag are beginning to have an effect.  Sleep couldn’t come soon enough.

We have our guide from yesterday, Mohammad, back again today.  Rezya, the Pakistani woman is also with us.  We’re picked up first, then go by to get Rezya at her son’s apartment.  She has a son working in Dubai.

Burj Khalifa in the background

December 2, Sunday, is the National Day of the UAE.  The country is 47 years old, gaining their independence from England in 1969, and signing the unification agreement between the seven different emirates in 1971. As a part of the agreement, the Sheik of Abu Dhabi is the president of the country, and the Sheik of Dubai is the Vice-President and Prime Minister.  The face of Sheik Zayed, the founder of the UAE is everywhere.  This year is also the celebration of 100 years since the birth of Sheik Zayed.  His grandson is the Crown Prince, and the de-facto ruler.  Everyone here seems very proud and satisfied with the rulers and government.  UAE has a population of 9.4 million, with the majority of living in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. 85% of the population are expats/foreign workers.

Sheik Zayed Celebration poster.

Old photo of Dubai from the 50’s

As we drove Monday evening from Abu Dhabi, we passed the de-salination plants along the coast, pulling water out of the Arabian Sea.  Outside of a few small wells, this country and these cities would be nothing.  All their water comes from these plants.  When you look at pictures of Dubai from the 60’s and early 70’s, how did they get to this?  Unbelievable!!!

First mosque built in Dubai

Our first stop is the original mosque built in Dubai.  It’s small, compared to what we’ve seen lately, but important in the history of Dubai. Our second stop is the 225-year old Fort of Al Fahidi.  It houses the Dubai Museum.  Inside the small fort are several homes and rooms built in the traditional style, demonstrating how desert families lived.  Then we’re led down a ramp and there is a huge museum area underneath this small complex. It contains many life-size dioramas of life in the desert and how they survived and thrived.

Replica of boats used by pearl divers, the first main industry/business of Dubai, long before oil.

The rectangular structure on the roof of the small building is a “wind wall”.  Inside is a triangular wall.  When the wind blows across it, the cool air is forced into the building and the hotter (lighter) air is forced out.  “Desert Air-Conditioner”.

After the museum, we make a short walk to the Dubai Creek, the original inland waterway into Dubai. We pass through a souk (market) area. I’ve been through lots of markets during our travels, but these guys were really “good”.  As I tried to turn down one sale, another guy wrapped a turban around my head and had me in his shop in front of a mirror, all while I was saying “No, No, No”.  His price dropped from 10 dirham, to 1 dirham as I walked away.  ($1.00 = 3.66 dirham)  I almost turned around.

We walked to a small dock area with small boats, called “opera”.  We climbed aboard one and it took us across Dubai Creek to the older traditional areas and lots of souks to explore.

Our first stop was the Spice Souk.  Rows and rows of shops selling spices and incense.  There are lots of strong smells, very different from what we’re used to.  The next stop was the Gold Souk, with rows of shops selling gold, silver, diamonds, and other precious stones.  Mohammad tells us most of these shops are legit.  Of course, if needed, I could buy a Rolex or Omega watch cheap down one of the alleys, according to all the guys approaching us.

 Window shopping in the Gold Souk

After the souks, we opted to be dropped off at the Mall of the Emirates.  It’s much smaller, with only 500 stores.  Attached to the mall is Ski Dubai.  Yep!  It’s a huge indoor (obviously) complex with ski hills complete with chairlifts. There are some small ice chutes for toboggans.  This is crazy!  If you can imagine it, around here, they’ll build it.  Another ski area opened in May in another area of Dubai.  There are also plans to build another skyscraper that is 1000 meters tall.  Apparently, somewhere else in the world, a building is about to open that’s slightly taller than the Burj Khalifa.  The emiratis are not about to let themselves be topped.

Ski Dubai

Ski Dubai from the outside

Back at the hotel later, we relax, and then taxi over to the JW Marriott Harbour Hotel in the Marina area for dinner.  I wanted to try and get some pictures of the “Palm of Jumeirah” island complex from the highest point.  Dinner tonight is on the 52^ndfloor in the Observatory Bar & Grill. We have a great view as the sun disappears.  While we’re watching boats and jet skis scurrying around below us, some skydivers drift in, landing on a small runway area nearby.

Google version of the Palm Jumeriah

Actual view of Palm Jumeriah.  The Atlantis Hotel is way out at the end.  To it’s right is the new Atlantis they’re building.

The “Big Eye” of Dubai (ferris wheel) in the setting sun.  It’s still under construction.

The Marina area from our dinner perch on the 52nd floor.

I wasn’t sure when I began planning the Thai segment of our trip if we wanted to even travel to Chiang Rai. It seemed that half of the tours/attractions listed for Chiang Mai involved travel to Chiang Rai for different activities.  Many of them involved visiting temples, others focused on travel to the Golden Triangle (border area of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.  Several of the trips included visiting the local hill tribes. I settled on the temples, figuring the added travel time north to the borders wasn’t worth it, and the hill tribe visit would be “staged” for tourists.

Window decorations at breakfast.

Our guide, Puma, (she’s also the driver) met us at 7:00am and we started north.  She did the best job of establishing the tour specifics of any of our guides the last 5 weeks.  It only took her a couple of minutes to tell us exactly where we were headed, what we would see, and how long each segment would take.  It seems simple, but too many times, we would have appreciated more information, and less guesswork.

Chiang Mai has a population of 1.6 million, and Chiang Rai has 1.3 million.  Out of town just a few miles, the road began to climb into the hills and mountains, and became two lanes, with an occasional passing lane added on short uphill segments.  A long segment of the winding mountain roads was undergoing heavy improvement to straighten it out, requiring lots of dirt movement and bridges.  If you could imagine a two-lane road between DFW & Austin, and the traffic struggles that would involve.  Lots of trucks and tour buses made it even more grinding.

 Construction issues Rice paddies The better section of the road

The halfway stop (90 minutes) was a hot springs area with a market and washrooms.  I was able to dangle my feet for a few minutes in one section.  The locals were boiling eggs in some of the other pools.  In the flatland areas we passed they were growing rice, corn, and many other crops.  40 years ago, Northern Thailand was the center of the poppy/opium market.  The King of Thailand, Rama the 9^th, banned poppies as a crop, and began training the local farmers how to grow coffee. It’s now the biggest crop in Northern Thailand.

 Hot Springs Boiling some eggs.Boiling some legs!

When we reached Chiang Rai shortly after 10am, our first stop was the “White Temple”.  Twenty-two years ago a wealthy businessman began the process of renovating a small ancient temple into a tourist attraction.  He wanted to bring tourism and jobs to the area. The sculptures and designs around the temple try to reflect on the horrors of hell, and people trying to get to heaven.  Inside the temple were painted contemporary pictures of world events while it was being built, including a mural depicting the 9/11 twin towers destruction.  There were two huge eyes painted on the walls, one with the reflection of George W Bush, and the other containing Bin Laden. This isn’t your average Buddhist temple. Since the project began, it has expanded and building is still continuing as the property grows.

 It looks like it snowed Arms reaching up from Hell!

 These are not your usual tree decorations!

Our next stop was the “Blue Temple”.  It was designed and built by one of the team members who helped with the White Temple. It’s not as large as the White Temple……yet…… but it’s expanding as well.

 Working on part of the Blue Temple expansion

 Picture taken thru a globe near the entrance of the Blue Temple.

 They know how to carry out a theme.

 No shoes allowed.

 Even the gong is blue.

To fill out the rainbow, our next visit was the Chinese “Red Temple”.  The color motif red wasn’t obvious.  It seemed to be more a nickname as a nod to “Red China”.  A huge Buddha sat high on hill overlooking the area, and a beautiful temple as well on the property.  These temples have been a wholly different experience from the temples we visited in Bangkok.  They’re much more tourist centric.  Of course with every temple, shoes are left at the door, and women’s pants must come below the knees.  Shoulders cannot be bare.

We ate lunch in a large river resort hotel.  There was a huge buffet with all types of foods, including western.  It was empty as we arrived, but tour group after tour group kept walking in, and it was full before we left.  There was a singer with a beautiful voice, but lacking a sense of pitch.  Ouch.  She had to be related to the owner.

We left Chiang Rai around 1:30 for the drive back to Chiang Mai.  An hour out of town, we exited the main road for a short jaunt to the “Grand Palace”.  It’s another attempt to turn an old temple into a new and shiny place for travelers to stop between the two cities.  It had it’s own modern updates.  One of the sculptures displayed a figure wearing Converse high top shoes.  Another had a cell phone stuffed into his pants. This temple was geared for a younger, hip crowd.  There were bells everywhere, and everyone seemed to be ringing them.  It had something to do with respecting Buddha.

 Check out the cellphone in the waistband of the closest sculpted figure.

Every “hip” temple figure needs a pair of Converse Hi-Tops.

We arrived back at our hotel at 5:30, after a very slow trip through the mountains.  We made it back in time to pick up the laundry we left yesterday, saving us a trip tomorrow morning to get it.

Friday evening rush hour.

After freshening up, we went back out for another visit to the night market.  It’s been fun renewing my bargaining skills.  We made a longer tour tonight.  The street on both sides is full of booths, two and three deep. There are some open pavilions with rows and rows of stuff to buy, and places to eat.  In the morning, the pavilions become “fresh markets” with vegetables and fruits and locals purchasing groceries.

Chiang Mai has been everything I hoped it would be.  It’s calmer than Bangkok, and much different than the southern beach areas of Phuket and Koh Samui we’ve visited previously.  Which do we like the best?  None are better than the other, just different in their own way, and unique destinations.

Early breakfast in Blu! Relaxing atmosphere with great food! We moved into a different time zone overnight, so the clock moved up another hour.  We were 7 hours ahead of Central time.  Now we’re 8 hours ahead.  There will be several more time zone changes during  the cruise, and more still when we head to India and Thailand.

I headed up to the table tennis area to meet someone I played yesterday.  He didn’t make it as scheduled (time change got him).  I killed time wandering around the ship, and went back to the table tennis area for a little tournament.  There were 16 players, from several nationalities.  I got beat in the 2^ndround by the eventual winner.  He was Chinese, but living in Canada.  Games were played to 11 points, but winner must win by two.  I lost 17 to 15.  Thought I had him a couple of times, but couldn’t finish it.

I purposely scheduled our “Inside Access Tour” later in the cruise for a sea day in the middle of several others, figuring we’d need a break today.  For whatever reason, the ship decided the later days wouldn’t work, and moved up the tour to today.  We were badly in need of a rest day to recover from all the travel and yesterday’s excursion, but didn’t want to miss this tour.

A security guard traveled with us the entire tour.  After a security check (wands, etc.) our first stop was the Bridge and Navigation area. A Bridge officer met us and discussed the operation of the bridge and how it was manned, training, etc.

Engineering was next, where all the operations, engines, water production/treatment, electricity, etc. are monitored and controlled.  Very interesting!  So many details to be taken care of.  Lots of monitor screens to keep track of.  An annoying buzzer kept sounding every 3 to 4 minutes.  The engineer would reach over and turn it off.  When someone asked, he said it was there to make sure he wasn’t dozing off.  If it wasn’t turned off, the bridge knew he was not on task.  His shift was four hours on and eight hours off, for the entire cruise.

Lots of monitors in E

Next stop was the environmental area.  Translation – trash!  We observed how they crushed, baled, burned, and recycled everything possible (water included).

Bottles waiting for crushing

Bottles after crushing (this is the “green group”

Loading bottles into the bottle crusher

Fluorescent bulb recycling (worried about mercury)

Cans crushed and bales

Plastic bottles crushed and baled

The laundry was next with all the washing, folding, and pressing for thousands of sheets, towels, table clothes, napkins, etc.

Pressing machine for cloth napkins all the way up to sheets

Towel folding machine

And the finished towels

We walked down “I-95”, the main walkway in the interior of the ship for crew to move about, out of sight of the guests.  We saw the crew mess (cafeteria), and finished our tour in the galley (kitchen).  So many food prep areas and staff organizing and setting up various food items.  It was almost 4:30pm, so the cooking hadn’t cranked up yet.  We really enjoyed the chance to check out so many of the ship’s operations.

After the tour, we relaxed a little, had dinner, and relaxed around the ship before turning in for the night.

We don’t go out till the afternoon, so the morning is spent organizing and resting for our upcoming India tours.  I’m catching up on financial stuff and blog stuff.  I’m a little worried that the things we’ve bought are going to push our luggage weight limits to a point where it gets really expensive.

One of the Ferraris available to rent in front of our hotel.  Tempting!

Atana Hotel entrance

The reception hostesses are dressed to celebrate and honor UAE Emirates National Day coming up this weekend (Dec. 2)  The holiday begins today.

Our “Desert Safari” driver picked us up around 3:30pm.  We’re in a Toyota Land Cruiser, with a roll bar. Traffic was heavy as we head out of town. We drove for about an hour.  Dubai has grown so much it takes a long time to get to the “edge” of town for the desert.

New home construction units are even built with the “wind walls” or ancient desert air-conditioning Ialked about in one of my earlier posts.

Finally getting to the edge of town.

We meet up with the rest of our caravan, 10 matching vehicles, all full of eager tourists.  This company is Desert Adventure Team.  While we wait for everyone to arrive, the drivers let air out of the tires to improve traction in the sand.  (they refilled the tires while we ate later at the camp)

We get started, driving single file, weaving out over the sand dunes, spinning tires and sliding across the desert.  They seem to really like to drive along the crest of a dune, then turn sharply, right about the time you think we’re about to roll over, and then drive down the steep embankment.  One of the cars get “high center”, and we had a blast watching all the other drivers rush over to help.  They tied straps on the car, and pulled it around, trying different directions and techniques, including digging with a shovel, until it finally broke free.

We finished the “dunes” part of the Safari sitting up on a hill watching a beautiful sunset.  As the sun settled, we started up again, driving toward our camp for the evening.

Our camp looks like some type of desert fort built with sand blocks.  Inside are all the fun activities, the food, camel rides, pictures with a falcon, the food, Shisha (water pipes), the food, the belly dancer, the Egyptian Tanoura dancer (he spins for more than 10 minutes, check You Tube), the food, and finally the Fire Dancer.

The food was really good with several salads, Naan bread, and grilled chicken and lamb kebabs.  After dinner, we made the long drive back to the hotel, where we finished preparations for our flight to India tomorro

Our flight to Phuket doesn’t depart until 2:35pm, and the airport is close by.  We enjoyed breakfast, then walked around the hotel grounds.  It’s a large property and very shielded from the nearby neighborhoods.  There’s little audible evidence that traffic is just beyond the trees.  I left Judy in the room getting ready for the day, and went back to the pool area to spend some time writing about yesterday’s Chiang Rai trip.  As long as I have decent internet, I need to get the pictures uploaded.

 Shangri La Hotel

We catch our taxi at noon and are at the airport 20 minutes later.  Check-in is quick and easy.  Of course, our bags are overweight, and we have to pay extra, but again, it’s around $30, instead of $150 like it might be in the US.  As we wait for the plane, it becomes obvious we’re headed to a beach destination.  It’s like a Spring Break crowd, very young, noisy, and headed for a party.

 Mr. Burger, on our way to the airport.

Chiang Mai City Wall.

On board the plane I managed to get seats near the front, and we had room to spread out (no one in the middle seat).  The flight “fun” began as we neared Phuket.  We knew the weather was unsettled, and as we began to descend the ride got bumpy.  This went on for a while, and then we heard the landing gear come down.  Suddenly, the pilot hit the power and we pulled up beginning to climb.  It took about 5 minutes of hard climbing and we popped out of clouds looking at some beautiful ocean/island views below.  Finally the pilot came on and said the thunderstorms were a little strong, but would clear out in 15 minutes, so we’re circling.  Eventually we started down again, the ride got bumpy, lightning and thunder were popping all around us, the landing gear came down, and suddenly we were on the ground.  Applause broke out from the party crowd in the back.

Phuket, as we loop around.

We collected our bags, and walked out into the sea of people with signs looking for fares.  We found contact I booked two months ago, and were lead to a nice SUV for the drive to Khao Lak.  The drive takes about 80 minutes and we pull up the entrance of resort at 7:15pm.  It’s weird to enter a hotel lobby where there aren’t any doors.  It’s all open-air with a nice breeze blowing in.  They load us into a cart along with our luggage, taking us to our room.  Since it’s dark, it seems like a long way.  The guys haul our bags down some the stairs and show us little about the room. As they are departing, Judy shouts, and when I turn, she is pointing at something.  She thinks she saw a lizard scurrying around.  The luggage guys looked around a little bit, but decided to turn the job over to housekeeping who showed up 5 minutes later.

After pulling out some furniture they finally began to point at something down in a cabinet behind the fridge.  They chased it around the walls and up to the ceiling before finally knocking it down with some kind of spray.  It was a fairly large lizard.

Around 11:00pm, Judy received a text message from Shannon announcing their arrival.  We immediately grabbed our shoes, and searched out their bungalow down on the beach.  We had a nice reunion visit out on their deck. Around midnight, flight fatigue began to set in on them.  They’re flight from Sydney was nine hours.  We made breakfast plans and headed back to our room.

We were the first passengers off the ship this morning at 6:50am.  We had a jammed itinerary with lots of distance to cover and many sights to see.  Jumped in the van with our driver and guide and headed to Corinth.  The guide, Michael, immediately began explaining our options for the day, and how we might have to adjust if traffic became an issue. Basically we had several sites to visit, spread out on both side of Athens.  If we were going to see all of it, it would mean reduced time at each of the sites.  Everyone seemed ok with it.  Michelle, our tour organizer again, had warned us it would be a jam-packed day, and we might possibly have to miss lunch to hit everything.

 Our cabin is on the top floor above the big windows

First stop was the Corinth Canal, a narrow and deep canal connecting the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea. It saved a lot of time for ships traveling from Athens and points eastward to Italy.  Apparently, going around the south of Greece in the Roman period, was a dangerous route with reefs and pirates.  The Corinth Canal was a huge improvement for the merchants of the age.

Next stop was the ruins of Ancient Corinth, one of the great Greek city/states that competed with Athens for dominance.  It’s the site of the Temple of Apollo.  It was also the place where the apostle Paul spent a lot time preaching and working to establish Christianity.  We walked through the museum first and then headed out into the ruins to visit the actual ruins.  One interesting point about the difference between Greek art and Roman art was the statues.  Greek statues mostly looked the same (same head/face, etc.)  Roman statues displayed identifiable facial characteristics, so the statues were designed so that the heads could be replaced when a new caesar took control.  See statues below:

 The Acropolis of Corinth on the top of the hill in the distance.

The Temple of Apollo in Corinth

Modern Corinth with Ionian Sea in the background

We took a short break, and then loaded up for the long commute to Cape Sounion.  It’s the site of the Temple of Poseidon.  It’s the southernmost point of Athens, sitting up on a hill overlooking the Aegean Sea.  The wind is really whipping today, making it cooler than expected.  The views are breathtaking.

The Temple of Poseidon

Looking south at the Aegean Sea

Temple of Poseidon in the distance.

Our commute back to the ship is long, and weaves around and up and down along the Greek coast.  It’s very scenic, but could create car-sick issues if we weren’t careful.  Back on the ship, we grabbed a snack and headed to the cabin to rest.  Later, Judy went to the 7:30 evening show, while I began to catch up on my blog writing.  When she got back, we went down to Blu for a wonderful dinner.  At dinner, we met some wonderful guests from the UK and spent lots of time exchanging stories of our various travel experiences.  One of the things we’re finding out is that most of the people we’re meeting have traveled much more than us, and we feel like we’ve travelled quite a bit.  We’re trying to get as many travel tips and future destination ideas as possible.

Had breakfast and finished up our packing with time to spare.  Went downstairs early (8:15 am), and our driver was already waiting. Traffic was light (it’s a holiday), and we were checking in at the Jet Airways desk before 9:00 am.  It always interesting how each country handles their immigration and security.  We went through smoothly and arrived with an hour to kill at our departure gate.

One last of view of Dubai skyline and the Burj Khalifa

It’s a 3 ½ hrs. flight. The seating on the plane was tight. Before we landed, Judy was getting claustrophobic.  As we neared Delhi, the sky began to turn brown.  The weather app indicated there was fog, but it was more smoke/pollution. We found out later that after the recent rice harvest, they burned the fields, and the smoke is still hanging around. I had our eVisa’s ready and immigration was fast.  After we snagged our luggage we walked through customs, and our driver, Laksme, was waiting for us in the meeting area.  This is when the Delhi experience really started.

It was dark when we started out of the airport.  The traffic was reminiscent of Beijing, with cars jammed together and weaving in and out. We turned a corner as we left the airport, and suddenly, we were in what I would call a ghetto.  People were jammed everywhere, cars were honking, and drivers were yelling.  It was stop & go for 45 minutes until we arrived at our hotel.

All the hotel areas are surrounded with tall walls topped with barbed wire.  As we pulled up, there were armed guards, and the driveway was barricaded.  One of the guards checked under our car for bombs, while another guard opened the hood looking for explosives.  To get into the hotel, they ran our bags through a scanner, and we walked through a scanner ourselves.  It’s a great looking hotel, but the security issues were unexpected.

Up in the room, we begin to unpack and get ready for our tour tomorrow.  I’m trying to figure out the exchange rate for the Indian Rupee. $200 is close to INR 13,500. Dinner is close to 4,000 rupees (or $50).  Our phone app is going be a big help.

We woke this morning to light rain.  There’s no wind and everything seems so peaceful.  We walked to the main dining area where breakfast is served, arriving at 8:30.  Shannon and Dom were already there, saving our table.  The buffet is all-encompassing.

Looking off our deck this morning.  So peaceful.

Another pool, closer to food

This looks like a likely place for us to camp out for the next 6 days or so.

We talked and ate until 10:30 when we moved to a small eats/drinks area nearer the beach.  We stayed there, under the roof, until the rain stopped around 1:00, which prompted our move to a line of recliners at a nearby pool.  We’re waiting for Lara to arrive.  She’ll be the final member of our group, and flew from Beijing this morning.  She finds us around 2:00, and the full-on visiting and catching up commences.

 Lara found us.Judy, Shannon, and Lara, the BISS trio

 Looking out west over the resort property from the lobby.  Andaman Sea is beautiful.

Gingerbread House in the lobby.

The rest of the afternoon involved ordering drinks with umbrellas and taking a dip in the pool or the ocean.  We split up around 5:30 to freshen up with plans to meet again at 7:30 for dinner. The food is great, and the conversation is non-stop as Judy, Shannon, and Lara begin continue catching up on each other’s lives.  We headed back to the room at 10:30 with plans to repeat the whole process tomorrow.