Day 6 Thursday 19 March 2009

Day 6 Thursday 19 March 2009

This morning Deb and I slept in until 6.20am after a very exhausting day yesterday. After our early morning tea, we went up to Deck 12 to have a swim in the enclosed Pavilion Pool, and a relax in the hot tub before breakfast. After breakfast we returned to the cabin – Deb to rest and me to write some more for the blog and label the photos from yesterday. This afternoon we intend to try the Afternoon High Tea in the Queens’ Room, then early dinner and the show “Apassionata” in the Royal Court Theatre followed by a Classical Concert in the Illuminations room.

Yesterday (Day 5, Wednesday 18 March) we arrived in Cochin (Kochi) India at 6.00am – it was very ?smoggy/foggy as our photos will show, and the Queen docked at the container terminal – once more the Queen is too big to dock anywhere else.
It was hot and humid for our first excursion ashore, and we were able to have breakfast from 7.00am instead of the usual 8.00am start. We had been allocated to a tour called “Backwaters Tour” which wasn’t what we had requested, but decided that it would be OK and different.
At 8.30am we had to muster in the Royal Court Theatre where we were allocated to groups and buses. Disembarking involved having a special permit from India stamped by their immigration people, and which had to be carried while ashore, and returned to them when we returned to the ship.
The bus was airconditioned – which was great, as the humidity was nearly 100% and the temperature around 38°C. We had a local guide “Roshin” who talked non-stop for the first hour until one of the passengers asked him to slow down and give us a break as it was somewhat difficult to understand his accent. Tourists don’t seem to go the Kochi very much and I think he was nervous and trying to impress us with his knowledge.
Bus rides in India are interesting to say the least. I had heard that obeying the road rules was not normal practice, and we saw it in action on our 2 hour journey. Traffic is supposed to drive on the left (as in Australia) however, the centre line is there for decoration only. Our driver decided that as he had a schedule to meet, then he could and would drive most of the way on the opposite side of the road and that any other vehicles would get out of his way. “Hair raising” is the best way to describe the experience, Deb and I were glad not to be in the front seats, as the people sitting in them often let out little cries of anguish as we flew allow the road.
It took 2 hours to get to the “Backwaters” – I have no idea what it was called but it was a place where there was a lake with lots of canals running through it. We dismounted from the bus, and were loaded onto a boat. Then spent another 2 hours cruising around the “backwaters”. It was quite interesting to see the village people going about their business, although I felt a bit like I was intruding on their lives. The canal water is used for all their ablutions, and we saw many of the people having a bath, washing their clothes and catching fish, oysters etc. all in the same water. The area is also used as a holiday setting for the people who have money. There were many house boats available to hire – these were made of beautifully woven bamboo walls and roofs, on top of a canoe type of structure. Most unusual, but appeared to be quite comfortable, with airconditioning, wide screen TVs etc. varying in size from one to three bedrooms.
After the cruise concluded, we were shephered back onto our bus for the 2 hour return trip to the ship. Once again, it was a “hair raising” ride but we made it back in one piece, and were glad to return to the Queen. We had been out for 6 hours, with only bottled water provided for refreshments – I was starving, Deb was in too much pain to feel hungry. So I went and ate, Deb returned to our cabin, and I fetched her some fruit to have in the cabin.
Deb rested and I went to the laundry to do some washing before the Queen set sail at 6.30pm – Deb and I went up on deck to watch it leave the mooring – it was fantastic – quite a few little ferries came out to see us off. Nothing like Sydney, but nice just the same.
We went to dinner at 8.30pm, still very tired, had the usual lovely meal – I had cauliflower soup, followed by salad, then a vegetarian dish – cashew Korma, with rice, and vegetables, then a mixed berry with lemon curd desert, and coffee. Not too much damage I think! Deb had something similar. After that we changed our clocks again (every night so far have had to put them back either an hour or half hour) and went to bed. No raging for us I’m afraid.

Going backwards with this blog, is necessary as the brain is having trouble remembering what we have been doing. While most of what we do is the same each day, there are some differences to record.

Tuesday 17 March 2009 St Patrick’s Day
We had our early morning tea, then went to Minnows Pool on Deck 7 for an early morning dip and to do our exercises. I managed to scrape my right arm along some sharp surface and had a 3 inch cut on the forearm – so luckily had some bandaids to cover it with. After the dip we had breakfast, then went out on deck to sit in the breeze and read our books. This didn’t last long as a squall blew up, and it rained on us – not enough to send us inside, but dampened us a bit.
Deb when to a lecture on the QM2 and I went to the internet Connections room to upload the previous blog entry, then we met for lunch and after that went to the Illuminations theatre to see Bettine Clemen’s video “Love Song for the Planet”. We had heard Bettine the evening before in her concert – she is a marvellous Flautist, and very entertaining. After the video, I bought a copy of the DVD and she signed it for me (as well as many others).
After that we had our afternoon rest before dinner in La Piazza – the Italian al la Carte Restaurant on board. Had a lovely meal, then went to the Theatre to see the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers, and the comedian John Evans who was very funny. The shows only last about 45 minutes which is good, as you can go to bed after or on to rage somewhere else on the ship. Being St Patrick’s day they had lots of events to mark the occasion – however Deb and I had not bought any clothes which were green so couldn’t show the “colours”.
There has been an outbreak of a Norovirus on board since Singapore, and therefore the Ship’s crew has gone into preventative mode. All self-service of food and drink has been stopped, and everyone has to be served by the crew. Also they have broadcast on the TV – a report by the ship’s doctor. Everyone is asked to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly, all surfaces are being sprayed with an antiviral spray Virox 5.