We were awake at 4:30 am in Agra as we had an early start for the Delhi airport. There was a very heavy fog so we did not see anything on the trip to the airport and our flight was delayed 2 hours.
In Goa we had a short half hour tour on our way to rejoin the ship. My general impression was of a much tidier city as there was less garbage on the streets. Still saw the dilapidated, dirty buildings and people living in shacks and tents by the side of the road, same small store fronts and carts.
Goa was occupied by the Portuguese from 1510 until 1961. It is the richest state in India and has a 90% literacy rate. There was evidence of the former mining industry that was shut down a few years ago. Goa is known as the land of sun, sea and sand. There are 29 beaches. One of the local products is cashews and a liquor made from cashews.
On Dec. 17 we are in Mangalore, one of the main ports of India. We did not take one of theOceania cruises but went on a private tour, which was interesting! Gary missed today because of a bad cold. The day did not start well when our driver and guide did not show up – the driver had gone to the fish port instead of the cruise port. Once we connected with him we discovered he was alone – no guide, and while he did his best and took us to a couple of temples, his English was not very good so we struggled a little with the communication..
We started out with a drive to the Temple City of Udpui. The main temple is a Krishna temple. We were not allowed to take pictures inside. To tour the temples we first had to remove our shoes, entering the temple we discovered that the men also had to remove their shirts! Inside were people praying, sitting around chatting together and watching us. We approached a holy man who took a small dipper, dipped it in some water which he poured into our right hand, we then put the water to our mouth (we were supposed to take a sip) then move the hand with the remaining water up our face and over our head. This was done at a couple of the temples we entered. There were several temples in the city, collected in a small central area. Each temple had ornate decorations inside and out, each had some holy men and a number of prayer stations, often with a priest who would chant, sometimes with bells ringing. As we exited the first temple we entered an area where some men were cooking or burning incense on a platform. The smoke was so thick our eyes were burning and watering.
Another god honored here is Looftie (??? Not sure how to spell it). The whole time we were there a big bull was standing or lying right in the middle of the square. People would buy a bunch of bananas which he ate skins and all. Reminded me of an Edward’s dog he was so pampered!
Outside there were stalls selling trinkets, flowers to buy for the prayers, alters, statues, jewelry and “stuff”. There were a couple of huge elaborate balloon shaped things in the square, with another under construction. They were on wheels and appeared to be for use in an upcoming festival.
Our trip there and back to Mangalore was a hair-raising ride along highways that were alternately good roads, road under construction and a series of man sized potholes. It was just one big game of chicken at speeds of about 70 kms. The road was busy with trucks, buses, motorcycles, bikes, pedestrians, cars and our van. Most trucks had a sign on the back “sound horn”. It seemed there was some “rules”. One honk means “I am about to pass” Two honks means” move over you are in my way and I am passing whether you like it or not” . A long honk and/ several in rapid succession means “get out of my way or else”. Someone coming toward us flashing their lights means ” you are in my lane, move over because I am not slowing down or turning”. If anyone slowed down a lane everyone would honk and keep honking until the offender either finally could make his turn or pass another vehicle. Some called it organized chaos but I didn’t see any organization at all!
Our second stop was a Shiva temple. It consisted of several golden colored buildings, each with an idol. The walls were covered with carvings of Shiva and other gods. As we left we discovered my New Balance shoes with my orthotics missing, so I had to continue without shoes! We did stop and buy some shoes for me, our guide was surprised as were some local people hanging around. When they found out my shoes were a white color they were less surprised. The largest ladies size in shoes here is 7 – a bit of a problem for me.
Our last stop was the St Aloysius Chapel. Even though it is a catholic church shoes off again, then a museum and off come the shoes. Even at the port as you are about to enter the port building the sign read no feet ware (yes that is how they spelled it) inside. The museum was basic and had skeletons (one of a “today cat”), TVs, a computer etc.
All day kids would come up to us to talk and get their picture taken with us. They were all very outgoing, friendly, good English and curious about where we are from. They would introduce themselves and ask our name then share pictures with us.