Foreign Affair Sailing

We slept better our second night in the jungle.  We were tired and getting used to the sounds of the jungle creatures.  During our stay, it rained on and off at times quite heavily.  The hotel had umbrellas available and staff would bring them out to guests if they saw them trapped under one of the many covered sitting areas on the hotel grounds.  We benefited from this on our first night when there was a downpour just as a Thai traditional music and dance performance was ending.  The rains never lasted long during our stay.  Early low lying clouds hung in the cliffs and above the jungle until the sun burned them off.  It was always hot and humid.  Temperatures in the 90s with 110% humidity (and it is winter here).  Our guide tells us it gets much worse during the monsoon and summer seasons.

The jungle never sleeps.  Strange animal noises woke us up periodically during the night.  Nocturnal animal sounds receded as the sun began to rise but were replaced by the sounds of other creatures waking.  Like the early risers, we were at breakfast shortly after the sun began to shine.  The highlights of the day were a visit to Hellfire Pass and a ride on the Death Railway.  Hellfire Pass is a deep railroad cut through solid rock.  It gets its name because work on the cut continued without stop around the clock.  Torches and bonfires were used for lighting while the emaciated men hammered away at the rock.  As a result, the work-site was in appearance and reality a scene from Hell.  Many men died in this pass during its construction.   The Australian and Thai governments maintain a memorial in Hellfire Pass and the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum commemorates the sacrifices of the ANZAC POWs who worked on the railroad's construction.  It was very moving and clearly demonstrated why Hellfire Pass is so named.  The railway constructed during the war was called the Death Railway since as many as 100,000 or even more men died during its construction.  Parts of the railway are still in use.  We were able to ride a portion of the route built during the war.

We joined out Gate 1 Tour group and began the day with a visit to the city market followed by a stop at Wat Pho to see the Reclining Buddha.  We ended the day with shopping at the night market.  Our initial impression of Bangkok was that it is the cleanest city we have come across so far in our travels.  Also, the traffic was less heavy with wider roads, more cars and much fewer motor bikes on the roads.  The people were very friendly and the vendors were docile compared to India and Vietnam.

We left our hotel in New Delhi just before mid-night to catch our 0330 flight on Thai Air to Bangkok.  Yes, a 3:30 a.m. departure would get us to Bangkok at 9 a.m.  We were surprised to see how busy the airport was when we arrived.  We were off to the airport lounge as soon as we checked our bags.  The lounge was the most crowded one we ever encountered.  Apparently, many business travelers fly these very early morning flights.  We couldn't find four lounge chairs together.  Surprisingly, the courtesy buffet still had hot food available.  Dwayne had a small plate of lasagne and red wine.  Carla went light on the food but did have a beer.  No chance to sleep in the lounge while waiting for our flight as it was too busy.  So, we passed our time reading.  Our departure was on schedule.  We flew in a Boeing 787.  A hot meal was served shortly after take-off.  Then it was time to doze off and catch what sleep we could. 

We departed Agra early in the morning for our return to New Delhi where we will catch our flight to Bangkok.  The distance was a little over 200 kilometers (125 miles).  The bus took the best highway we saw in India.  It was a concrete, limited access toll road three lanes wide in either direction.  We made one stop along the way for a quick run to the toilet and to buy some snacks to hold us over until dinner.  The trip took about 5 hours.  Along the way, we were able to observe farmers working in their fields.  Potatoes and millet were being harvested.  Other crops we could identify were wheat, mustard and a variety of vegetables.  In some fields we noticed soil had been removed creating recessed squares where crops were growing.  We learned this was the result of soil being excavated and used to make bricks.  Occasionally, brick kilns could be seen scattered among the fields.

We got to sleep in today.  We boarded the bus at 1030.  The trip from Jaipur to Agra is about 240 kilometers (150 miles).  We made a couple of brief stops along the way and arrived in Agra in the late afternoon.  To travel by Indian public transport bus from Jaipur to Agra will take over 14 hours based on their schedule and many stops along the way.  Also, the public bus is very crowded and not air-conditioned.  We are riding in a Mercedes built, luxury touring bus that even has a toilet.  The drivers here are amazing in what they can do driving these buses.  Watching traffic is half the fun.

We departed the hotel at 0730 to be among the first visitors to the Amber Fort, also known as the Amber Palace.  It was built on the remains of earlier fortifications dating back over 1,000 years.  Several older forts are located within a short distance of the Amber Fort.  The Jaigarh Fort sits atop a hill overlooking the Amber Fort and the two are connected by tunnels and trenches to allow a covered retreat from the Amber Fort to the Jaigarh Fort if necessary.  The forts are immense.  The Jaigarh Fort is over 3 kilometers long and 1 kilometer wide.  Walls run out from the fort along ridge lines and surround much of the hills and valleys.  Inside the walls of the Amber Fort is the oldest surviving palace in India, Kadimi Mahal.  The current Amer Palace dates back to the 16th Century.  Numerous courtyards are found within the fort as a result of continued expansion over the centuries.  Most of the material used in the construction was brick and sandstone.  The forts are truly imposing as they rise from the river's bank to the top of the small mountains lining the river valley.

We were on the bus at 8 o'clock heading to Old Delhi to visit the Jama Masjid, India's largest Muslim mosque built between 1644 and 1656 by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who also is responsible for the construction of the Red Fort in Delhi and the Taj Mahal.  Red sandstone and white marble are hallmarks of this massive mosque.  The tallest minarets are 135 feet tall.  The courtyard can hold 25,000 worshipers.

We slept in but got up in time for breakfast at the hotel.  The omelette was more like a crepe than an thick omelette.  But it still tasted like eggs.  There was no coffee readily available.  So, we drank milk tea - chai.  Some naan to go with the omelette and we were done for breakfast.  Carla tried something that looked a bit like tapioca and said it tasted pretty good.  Hopefully, tomorrow's breakfast will be better at the hotel we move to when we join the Gate 1 tour group.  We checked out just before noon and took a taxi to our Gate 1 hotel, The Park.  It is in an up-scale neighborhood and security was present at the driveway gate, the door and the lobby.  Our bags were scanned just like at the airport and we walked through the metal detectors as well.  Once inside the lobby, it was like any other nicer hotel.  Check in was quick and easy.  Our bags appeared shortly after we entered our room which was a bit better than what we left behind at the Aman Continental.  Within an hour of our arrival, we were off on our way to see more of New Delhi.  The day's adventure was beginning.

We woke up later than ever and headed down for breakfast only to discover the dining room closed just before our arrival.  The time was about 1035.  So, we headed back to our room to call room service.  Our breakfast order arrived soon thereafter.  When we adjusted our time settings from Hanoi to New Delhi, we discovered there was an hour and a half difference in the time zones.  1030 in New Delhi was noon in Hanoi.  That means we didn't get to bed until about 2:30 a.m. Delhi time.  So, we got 8 hours of sleep.  Again, too many time zones.  More confusing, who ever heard of a half hour change in time zones?  We soon discovered India is not like anything we have yet experienced.

We left our hotel at 0815 and arrived in plenty of time to check in for our Malindo Airlines flight to New Delhi.  We were concerned about long lines at security due to the Tet (New Year) holiday; however, it appeared as though there were few people leaving the country as the international terminal did not seem super busy.  The television stations were showing long lines at the domestic terminal just as we experience in the States just before Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Our departure was delayed by more than an hour as the plane we were flying on had not arrived on time.  We were a bit concerned we would miss our connecting flight in Kuala Lumpur due to our late departure.  Upon arriving at Kuala, we were told to hurry to Terminal H so we'd make our connection to New Delhi.  We speed walked to the train station to board the shuttle from Terminal C where we landed to Terminal.H.  The shuttle first took us to Terminal A then reversed course before eventually arriving at Terminal H.  Once again, we speed walked to get to our gate.  There, we discovered our flight was again delayed.  We sat for about a half hour before boarding.  The plane took off over two hours after it was scheduled.  We landed in New Delhi almost 3 hours later than planned.  It was about midnight local time.

For our final full day in Hanoi, we decided to relax and slow down the pace.  Dwayne went down for breakfast at 8:30.  Carla decided to stay in bed and asked Dwayne to bring her something when he came back.  After breakfast, we walked down to the Vietnamese National Museum and discovered it was closed for lunch.  To pass the time, we went for lunch ourselves.  On the way, we bought some pop-up cards for the grand-kids and mailed them at the nearby post office.  We walked down to Hoan Kiem Lake and ate at Pepper Lunch which is a chain of Japanese restaurants.  They were out of the first three items we selected from the menu.  We ended up with soup, chicken, salmon, rice and steamed lettuce with cola to drink.  The food arrived at the table piping hot.  They were out of ice cream.  So, we crossed the street and got some at McDonald's.  We finished out the afternoon at the museum and returned to our hotel where we drank beer on the hotel's rooftop lounge.  Dinner was at Pizza Hut.  Tomorrow, it is off to India.  We are flying Malindo Air.  Hope the plane stays in the air.

We had no internet connection during our journey by train from Moscow to Beijing.  Also, we could not post to this blog while in China since the Chinese government blocked access to our blog site.  What follows are entries to complete our blog but posted at a much later date.  These are edited versions of postings made by Dwayne's brother, Brian, to his website dedicated to this trip.  Brian's site is at the following URL.  https://roundtheworld2018.wordpress.com/2018/01/page/2/