[Worldtrippers home] [World Cruise home]
India represents a huge milestone for our Viking world cruise. When the ship announced that we would be sailing around Africa instead of through the Suez Canal, guests were offered the choice of continuing the cruise or disembarking. Some guests have been departing since Singapore. Others will depart in Cape Town, South Africa. But most of the guests who departing have chosen to do so in Cochin, India.
In addition, many other guests are temporarily departing the ship to take a multi-day overland excursion through India to the Taj Mahal. Again, they are departing from Cochin, India. We don’t have any official numbers, but consensus guesses are that 200 guests are permanently departing, while 200 other guests are temporarily departing. As a result, the ship’s guest population has fallen from 880 to fewer than 400.
Gail had the option of taking the off-ship multi-day excursion, but at the last minute she decided not to. This is because Russell has to stay aboard to give lectures and workshops. Gail didn’t want to have a Taj Mahal adventure without Russell. So we are both staying aboard.
With the change of route, our new itinerary has us going to only one port in India, and for one day only. That is today’s port, Cochin.
Cochin (also known as Kochi) is a major port city in the Indian state of Kerala. Getting a visa for India was a logistical nightmare for Gail. If you make a single mistake on the online application, you have to start the entire process over again. This is particularly frustrating when you are using slow maritime internet from aboard ship. (We couldn’t secure our visas before the cruise, because they can only be applied for a few days before you arrive.)
Gail succeeded in securing (and paying for) our visas just before we arrived. Ironically, she then discovered that she didn’t need hers at all. Originally, the procedure was for every guest to go through immigration, whether they were going ashore or not. At the last minute, the revised procedure was that guests not going ashore did not need to go through immigration. Given the oppressive heat and humidity, Gail decided not to go ashore.
On the other hand, Russell was assigned to escort the seven-hour “Local Life on Kerala’s Backwaters” excursion. Kerala’s backwaters are a network of brackish lagoons and canals in southwestern India. This is a maze of waterways that that stretches for 560 miles, fed by 38 rivers. It covers almost half the length of the state of Kerala.
The backwaters are dotted with towns, cities, and people who simply live on boats. It is a fascinating way of life for people who depend on the water for every aspect of their lives. Here is a photo album of what Russell saw.
The excursion returned to the ship about half an hour before we set sail. Russell had enough time to look at the market stalls at the cruise terminal. Knowing that Gail couldn’t leave the ship, Russell took photos and showed them to Gail. Sure enough, Gail fell in love with one of the umbrellas. (Gail is collecting mobiles from around the world.) So Russell ran back out and bought an umbrella. He was one of the last to return to the ship.
Going forward, we will have five sea days on the Indian Ocean before we reach our next port in Mauritius. With the ship currently half full, we are calling this our “private yacht adventure.”
