6Apr Sharm El Sheike, Egypt

At the southern tip of Sinai peninsula, Sharm El Sheike is located.
This is the place for middle Eastern rich and famous people hangs.
Unfortunately, we were here only for few hours.
Our ship anchored around 7am and left at 1pm.
Renee and we were going to go to one of the resort hotels in famous Naama Bay and chill out at the pool side.
But, we were convinced by Egyptian taxi driver Ali who is originally from Cairo to keep the taxi for 3 hours.
He was pleasant enough to change our mind.
We were driven to few look out points where crystal clear water and the beautiful beaches are stretched alongside luxury resort hotels.
Huge mosque and big Catholic church were also introduced to us.
There was a giant TV screen inside the church where the Pope was servicing the Easter and we left just before 5000 Muslims were rush in for the special pray in the mosque.
Sadly, we only have one hour left in Naama Bay after that.
It was a lot better than I expected.
Could not believe this place is still in Egypt.
Shops, bars and restaurants are so exotic and unique that it would be so beautifully lit up in the night.
There are hundreds of beach resort hotels bars just stone throw away from the sand and water.
They are all nicely landscaped and decorated.
Surely, I will have to place Sharm El Sheike on my list to come back.

Rennaisance Hotel

Camel ride would be fun!

Big shopping mall where lights will make it look fantastic at night time

Inside the mall where the performances of Arabian Nights will be on every night.

Sorry to miss this as we sailed out at 1 pm :-(

Catholic Church

Mosque

Mosque from the back

A strip of bars and restaurants in Naama bay

Naama bay beach

Naama bay beach

This cute boy might be wondering where is the rabbit in this race?

Old market of Sharm El Sheike

Outdoor cafe overlooking a beautiful bay

5Apr Luxor, Egypt

Our tour bus passed through numerous rugged mountain and hills for an hour.
There isn’t a single grass or tree on sandy rocky mountain ranges.
It was as if we were in a surface of the moon?
Another couple of hours of driving through desert and old country towns that reminds of somewhere Arizona or Wyoming.
Finally, we arrived in Luxor after three hour drive from Safaga where we docked this morning.
It was another big culture shock for me.
People still look like living in their own world with traditional costumes and unique cultures not affected by modern civilization.
I did, however, spot the mobile phones that many people using on the street.
Karnak temple was our first destination of historic Egypt.
Then, whoever has thought I would ever have lunch on the Nile River!
Town of Luxor where Karnak temple is on the east side of the river bank and the Valley of the Kings beyond lush palm trees on the other side of the river.
It was wonderful!
Ah! I must be dreaming!

Karnak Temple in Luxor

Karnak Temple in Luxor

Temple of Luxor

Temple of Luxor

Lunch on the Nile River cruise run by local hotel Sonesta St. George

Egyptian appetizers. Yum.

Valley of the Kings where 63 tombs of ancient Egyptian Pharaos were discovered. No photography is allowed.

Souvenir tiles with paintings found on the walls in some of tombs.

Temple of Hatshepsut on Valley of the Queens

Two Memnons with background of Valley of the Kings

Love to have these golden chairs displayed on a big tourist shop in Luxor

3Apr Sailing into Red Sea from Indian Ocean

I could feel that our ship has been a full speed for the last few days since we left Mumbai.
Pirates from notorious Somalia would be the main reason.
There are six sea days before we arrive in next port Safaga, Egypt.
Captain had sent every passenger on board a letter in response to few concerns.
He wanted to assure us that we are less likely targeted by pirates.
First of all, our ship is too tall from the waterline, and we are sailing fast with over 20 knots of speed.
On top of those, he pointed out few more precautions the ship is taking.
· Our ship is reporting to UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime trade Organisation) in Dubai regularly.
UKMTO co-ordinates all of the coalition warships in the area assigned to anti-piracy operations.
· Our ship is being tracked during the transit and warships will be in our vicinity.
· During the sail of Gulf of Aden, we remain in the IRTC (Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor) and the coalition forces will be tracking us all the way.
· A close radar watch is kept on the ship’s bridge.
· Extra security guards are watching in 24 hours.
· There are two LRADs (Long Range Acoustic Devices) rigged and ready for the emergency use.
· There are charged water hoses on deck three both sides.
And gave us an instruction what to do in case of event of an attempted boarding.
I have noticed that there are continuous barbed wires and water hose guns placed around the deck three on lower promenade.
I was not really worried about the possible pirate attack but it gave me a peace of mind.

As a result of higher speed run, our ship will arrive in Safaga, Egypt earlier.
Instead of arriving in the morning of 5th of April which is scheduled, we will be expected to arrive around 4pm on 4th.
But, we learned later the Berth of Safaga will be ready for us to dock at 11pm on 4th.
Until then, we will have to anchor for more than 6 hours.
At the end of the day, there is not much of change for us at all!

Feel like half the passengers on board have been sick with terrible flu since Mumbai.
Guess who got that, too.
Lucky me! L
This is my fifth day in bed quarantine myself in the cabin.
Thanks to John and Diane for the stronger pain killer pills they got in Mumbai, I have been able to have sound sleep and painless in my every joints.
I know I will be better in few more days as the symptom that I have right now indicates the last stage of my virus infection.
Wishful thinking but I am an optimistic person. ^^

Our ship is already slowing down the speed.
We went through narrow straight in between southwest of Yemen and African country Jibuti not long ago.
Jibuti is a tiny country just north of Somalia.
We are in Red Sea and safe!
To celebrate that, every passenger was offered complementary wine tonight with lovely note;
A night like this with a nautical theme
Calls for a “bell” that will make you all gleam
Pirates away at long last we know
Another good story you now can let go
On this fifth day of our travels at sea
Let’s uncork some wine and have it set free
Celebrate safe passage is what we would like
Enjoy our good life and let sympathy strike
So to good health and fortune we say
Let all those hurdles tonight fade away
Captain Jonathan Mercer
Hotel Manager Henk Mensink
Staff and crew
Written by HMV

Barbed wire around the deck three

Water gun

Indian Formal Night

From left, Rene, Renee, Greg, Woody, Eloise, Susie and Sky

29Mar Mumbai, India

Greg and I started our second day in Mumbai leisurely about 11am.
Temperature is soaring already 33C.
We were almost kidnapped by one taxi driver who would charge only for $1 to the Taj Mahal hotel.
He introduced himself as Raj originally from Punjab.
We were so impressed with Raj with his excellent English and manner for 5 star standards.
Unfortunately, we only wanted to go to the hotel despite of his attempt to change our mind.
He tried hard but nicely to convince us to take a city tour with him or visit souvenir shops he was going to take us to.
We wished we could!
Maybe, next time, Raj!

We have noticed barricaders and check points around the Gateway of India just in front of the hotel.
It probably keeps beggars away from both national and international tourists.
After taking some photos of the hotel and the Gateway of India that was built in 1911 for the visit of King George V, we went to Colaba market again.
I bought a small elephant statue decorated in shiny glass mosaic as a souvenir.
Greg was happy to find a shirt that fits him.
I went back to the same internet café for half an hour for an internet and rang my mother in Sydney to say hello.
All for a dollar!

We decided to check out some of Mumbai’s grandeur architects that we only have seen from taxis in previous visit.
Modern Art Gallery at the huge round-about was the first.
Unfortunately, we could not get the entry as it only accepts Indian rupees.
Credit cards and US dollar bills were the only ones we had here and we usually get away with it.
Mumbai university buildings and High Court building were magnificent as we walked alongside the big sports parks.
It was awesome to face the Victoria Terminus, the railway station.
It is massive and beautiful building!
According to James Cameron, it is St. Pancras mixed of Italian, Oriental, Saracenic, Baroque, Victorian and Gothic.
Going inside the building was even more overwhelmed.
There are so many people in and out of trains over countless platforms.
There are half million people passing through this huge train terminal on a daily basis.
It was as if a group of youngsters would dance on a platform with the song Jay Ho from the movie Slum dog Millionaire.
Aren’t we in Mumbai the epicenter of Bollywood?
It was strange feeling that Greg and I were the only foreign people in this big crowd but nobody seemed to care much about it.
What an experience!
India is truly incredible!

Taj Mahal Hotel

Gateway of India

Muslim Indian lunch at Delhi Darbar restaurant behind the hotel was the best Indian dish so far.

Legal Indian drug people chew and spit out. It is made of beetle nut rolled in sweet tree leave with other herbs and red color. A person who is chewing this would give impression of Dracula with fresh blood around mouth.

Mumbai university building with clock tower

Statue of Queen Victoria on top of the building Victoria Terminus, railway station.

Greg on a platform inside the Victoria terminus.

We were lured by the taxi driver first and got shocked when we saw the vehicle about 10 meters away from the station.
The taxi we returned to the ship with was an absolute bomb.
We were too tired and exhausted by the heat to say no.
It was hilarious that this one is falling apart everywhere without even door handles but actually had a floor to rest our feet.

Local dance group got on board to perform traditional Indian show.