Hello From Kochi, India!
Anybody checking this blog over the past week may have noticed that I've been relatively silent. In fact, completely silent. This is not because I don't love you all, but because the boat I'm on has no internet. Sorry! But that's what happens when you're crossing oceans.
So what is my ocean crossing like? Pretty cool. The other passengers are almost entirely my parents age - a few even older, and a few younger, but I am by far the youngest passenger on the boat. Not that it matters much. I have taken it all in stride. First of all, I've started hanging out with some of the crew, who are young and quite energetic. Pretty adventurous really. We had a night out of wild drinking and dancing in Columbo (Sri Lanka) a few days ago, and I got to see the more (shall we say) extreme side of the crew members... When sailors go out drinking, they go out _drinking_. I still remember how and when I got back to the ship, but coordination was seriously compromised at the time. It seems like everybody else was pretty much in the same boat (har har).
I'm taking a positive outlook on my situation with the rest of the passengers. When, in my regular life, would I have the chance to talk to a large number of older yet adventurous people? On this trip, that's when! I'm playing chess with an 88 year old gentleman who has 7 great-grandchildren, and stories of travels in countries all over the world (including such exotic locals as Iran, Congo before it became known as Zaire, and Northern Ontario). I'm spending a lot of time with a Brit from Liverpool who's had his shoes vomited on by John Lennon and was having dinner with Ben Kinglsey when he got his phone call to work on the movie Ghandi. There are obviously many more, with many more stories... I have yet to scratch the surface.
I have so much to tell, but what do I tell now? I only have little time, and I can't fit it all in... I'll have to be random...
Crossing the Bay of Bengal (between Thailand and Sri Lanka/India) was extremely hot, and lacking wind - so the ocean looked very oily. It rolled the boat quite a bit, making me almost seasick until I got used to it. There was only one day of non-sun, and on that day we had a rainstorm of epic proportions. Fortunately, the sea was calm (actually, because of the rain for some reason), so it wasn't that much of an ordeal.
And - the difference between an ordeal and an adventure is attitude. So the rain was fun! Because it was warm - I went up on deck and got myself thoroughly drenched. Everybody thought I was out of my mind, but then they just said "he's the young guy... he's a bit strange to us".
Both Sri Lanka and India a very interesting so far. Chaotic, with everybody rushing at me (or us, if I'm in a group) wanted to take us somewhere in their Rickshaws, sell us something, be a tourguide, or just get free handouts. This is something I find very irritating, because it gets my heart racing, and that's annoying...
But there are other things here that are really cool - people are super friendly, houses and cars and walls and every paintable surface are really colourful, the forests are super green and rich with life (moreso in Sri Lanka than here in India), and it just vibrates here with energy.
It's too bad we're in these countries for such a short time, but the purpose of the trip is the beautiful sailing ship, and that we'll be on for a length of time yet (still about 4 weeks to go!)
Anyway, time to go. Hope all of you a doing well! Thanks to those who have responded to my blog - you all rule!
Anybody checking this blog over the past week may have noticed that I've been relatively silent. In fact, completely silent. This is not because I don't love you all, but because the boat I'm on has no internet. Sorry! But that's what happens when you're crossing oceans.
So what is my ocean crossing like? Pretty cool. The other passengers are almost entirely my parents age - a few even older, and a few younger, but I am by far the youngest passenger on the boat. Not that it matters much. I have taken it all in stride. First of all, I've started hanging out with some of the crew, who are young and quite energetic. Pretty adventurous really. We had a night out of wild drinking and dancing in Columbo (Sri Lanka) a few days ago, and I got to see the more (shall we say) extreme side of the crew members... When sailors go out drinking, they go out _drinking_. I still remember how and when I got back to the ship, but coordination was seriously compromised at the time. It seems like everybody else was pretty much in the same boat (har har).
I'm taking a positive outlook on my situation with the rest of the passengers. When, in my regular life, would I have the chance to talk to a large number of older yet adventurous people? On this trip, that's when! I'm playing chess with an 88 year old gentleman who has 7 great-grandchildren, and stories of travels in countries all over the world (including such exotic locals as Iran, Congo before it became known as Zaire, and Northern Ontario). I'm spending a lot of time with a Brit from Liverpool who's had his shoes vomited on by John Lennon and was having dinner with Ben Kinglsey when he got his phone call to work on the movie Ghandi. There are obviously many more, with many more stories... I have yet to scratch the surface.
I have so much to tell, but what do I tell now? I only have little time, and I can't fit it all in... I'll have to be random...
Crossing the Bay of Bengal (between Thailand and Sri Lanka/India) was extremely hot, and lacking wind - so the ocean looked very oily. It rolled the boat quite a bit, making me almost seasick until I got used to it. There was only one day of non-sun, and on that day we had a rainstorm of epic proportions. Fortunately, the sea was calm (actually, because of the rain for some reason), so it wasn't that much of an ordeal.
And - the difference between an ordeal and an adventure is attitude. So the rain was fun! Because it was warm - I went up on deck and got myself thoroughly drenched. Everybody thought I was out of my mind, but then they just said "he's the young guy... he's a bit strange to us".
Both Sri Lanka and India a very interesting so far. Chaotic, with everybody rushing at me (or us, if I'm in a group) wanted to take us somewhere in their Rickshaws, sell us something, be a tourguide, or just get free handouts. This is something I find very irritating, because it gets my heart racing, and that's annoying...
But there are other things here that are really cool - people are super friendly, houses and cars and walls and every paintable surface are really colourful, the forests are super green and rich with life (moreso in Sri Lanka than here in India), and it just vibrates here with energy.
It's too bad we're in these countries for such a short time, but the purpose of the trip is the beautiful sailing ship, and that we'll be on for a length of time yet (still about 4 weeks to go!)
Anyway, time to go. Hope all of you a doing well! Thanks to those who have responded to my blog - you all rule!
posted by Falko at 12:40 AM
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