Taj Mahal precruise, Mumbai to Bali on Voyager 20 Nov-20 Dec

[WesW]

gf/Kathy, Newlondon/Bill forgot to add (as good friends) we both love indoor spin cycling on board the Voyager :). Seriously speaking in terms of choice regarding military service, Bill (in spite of his Navy choice), Ida, and most Veterans who entered the service in mid sixties to late seventies chose wisely--choosing Duty, Honor, Country coupled with selfless service. We miss the camaraderie dearly, but do find and truly enjoy a sense of digital cruise camaraderie here on cruise critic and enjoy this fellowship/love of cruising first hand when we meet during cruise critic/Regent meet & greets once on board.

[newlondon]

Kathy, He speaks with forked tongue! Watch out!

The sense of serving country and fellow Americans is so part of each of us that we will never disagree. Wes and Ida did it one way and far more dangerous than anything I did. My, at that time, fiance kept me out of the Swift Boat Navy, for which I had orders.

Wes and I, if we never meet in person, will still be friends because of so many shared interests. We hope as he says it will not always be on the computer.

BTW do not ignore Ida. She served as well and although I don't correspond with her she may put the two guys in her rear view mirror for bravery. You'll have to ask Wes for the details, but that is my understanding!

Best,

William Sloan LT USNR

[p010ne]

I have placed a hold for the book from my library; perhaps you can get it free too?

:p I find it interesting that Fatima cook (Husain's neighbor — one-legged, man-crazy and quarrelsome — who sets herself on fire) was renamed from Sita which must be fairly common and reminds me of

the famous movie

!:eek:

[OrpingtonT]

:p I find it interesting that Fatima cook (Husain's neighbor — one-legged, man-crazy and quarrelsome — who sets herself on fire) was renamed from Sita which must be fairly common and reminds me of

the famous movie

!:eek:

 

Thanks for the clip, but "famous"?

[p010ne]

Thanks for the clip, but "famous"?

:rolleyes: Itunes says something about Greatest at least? :p

[freddie]

I am posting this question on both of the very useful recent threads regarding travel in India.

 

As we prepare for a two-week land tour in Rajasthan at the beginning of February, I note that one of our guidebooks (Footprint) makes the following rather surprising statement with respect to Customs & Duty Free: “Valuable personal effects and professional equipment including jewelry, special camera equipment and lenses, laptop computers and sound and video recorders must be declared on a Tour Baggage Re-Export Form (TBRE) in order for them to be taken out of the country. These forms require the equipment’s serial numbers.”

 

That seems a bit extreme even for Indian bureaucracy, which apparently is a “refinement” on the bureaucracy the Indians learned from their British occupiers.

 

In any bureaucratic event, did any of our dedicated CC’ers experience anything of this sort on their visit to India last month? I am guessing that the statement quoted above is obsolete but do not wish to engage in hassles when we land in Delhi and depart from there a couple of weeks later.

 

Comments and suggestions will be most gratefully accepted.

 

Cheers, Fred

[WesW]

Freddie,

 

When we landed in Delhi at the Indira Gandhi International Airport back in late November except for a long wait (30-45 min at 5:45 a.m) to process through customs/immigration, we experienced no issues processing through immigration concerning our personal belongings (laptop, jewelry, cameras). Luggage carts are available free of charge. You will have to fill out an arrival card (given to you on your flight). The arrival cart is fairly basic, name, passport #, et. al., but there are a few questions--related to your luggage (how many checked bags, how many carry-on bags, value of durable goods imported, are u bringing any plants? meat? The immigration officer, once we made it to the desk was courteous/prompt in stamping our arrival cards--again no ? on what personal belongings we were bringing into India. On the other hand, we did not depart through India but returned to the US from Bali.

[WesW]

Hi Reve12/Richards,

 

Hi

 

The excursion in Cochin that got the most rave reviews from fellow pax was tranquil backwaters where for eight hours you explore the tranquil waters and byways of Kerala. However, in Cochin we took (and recommend a similar) Regent's Highlights of Cochin; a half day tour including visits to the Chinese fishing nets, St. Francis church the oldestEuropean church in India, very pleasant visit to the Indo-Portuguese musuem, a nice visit to Jew Town, and Cochin's oldest Syndogogue. Some of

our pix below:

 

Chinese Fishing Nets:

 

 

St. Francis Chrurch:

 

 

Spice Market visit, Indian woman weaving Pashima:

 

 

 

Indian school girls waiting to visit Indo-Portuguese museum

 

[WesW]

In New Mangolore, we took Regent's A Day in the Life of Mangalore. The highlight of this short (3hr) excursions was a very nice visit to a private home (The Belmont House) owned by a prominent portuguese family. The warm widow welcomed every guest as we entered her immaculately kept home, had a nice tour, then enjoyed an ice cold drink, paired with a local music trio playing for us in her serene/beautiful backyard. After our visit to the Belmont house, we went to a local Mangalore market. A few pix:

 

 

 

We also had a strolll through a wonderful food/spice market in Mangalore: