2015 ADVENTURE – PART 5

I can only think of two reasons why the Rotterdam VI would call at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  One, they’re on the way from India to Myanmar.  Two, for people who keep track of such things, they’re one more destination to tick off the list.  An organization called the Travelers Century Club is made up of members that count how many places they’ve visited.  In addition to countries, they count overseas territories, non-contiguous regions, and islands belonging to countries (providing these have a population of more than 100,000 or are in international waters).  They even count as two places those countries that straddle two continents.

So, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Guadeloupe and other overseas possessions are each counted in addition to France.  Alaska, since it’s not joined to the rest of the continental United States, is counted separately, as are Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, etc.  In the third category are islands like Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete and Rhodes.  Surprisingly, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland also fall in this category, which sounds like cheating to me.  In the fourth category are Russia, Turkey and Egypt.  Since parts of each are found on two continents, they can be counted twice, providing of course that you set foot in both parts.  Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin is counted as two places since one part of the island belongs to the Netherlands and the other to France.

Another organization called Most Traveled Persons also counts all of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites on its list.  While this is all very interesting, for now, I’ll stick with the United Nations list of member countries.  By the time this trip is over, Elva and I will have visited 45 countries.  I’m just not sure whether or not to count Columbia, since the only time we set foot there was during an airport layover.

So, back to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  We spent one day in Port Blair, the main town and administrative capital.  More than 570 islands make up the archipelago, many of them uninhabited, others inhabited by indigenous tribes that live off the land and the sea.  We took the shuttle to the main square and set out on foot through the chaos that is India.  We’d been told that the Aberdeen Market was the place to shop and walked past pitiful stalls selling all manner of junk.

A man gave us directions to the Cellular Jail and we walked there in the sweltering heat; it must have hit 40 degrees with the Humidex.  The British took possession of the Andamans in the early 1800s for commercial reasons.  In 1858, they built a prison to hold the most dangerous Indian freedom fighters at out-of-the-way Port Blair.  The Cellular Jail was nicknamed The Indian Alcatraz.  For 80 years, the British imprisoned, tortured, force-fed and hanged men from India who’d fought for their country’s independence.  The watchtower, the cells, the work houses and the gallows together tell a very poignant story.  India became an independent country in 1947, but not before many had given their lives for the cause.

From the traveller’s vantage point, it’s hard to know what to make of India.  Its population of 1.2 billion seems far more than the country is capable of supporting.  Tourism infrastructure is woefully inadequate.  In the four ports we’ve visited thus far, we’ve not found a single tourist information office.  Yet, each state has its own silly inspection procedures for tourists.  In Goa, we were subjected to five separate inspections between leaving and returning to the ship.  And, before being allowed to visit the country, we had to purchase visas at a cost of $150 each!  Sounds to me like a poorly-constructed job creation strategy for low-level public servants…  Not that India is unique in that regard, mind you!

Some places are so different that you want to take a picture of everything you see.  Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is one of those.  The country, closed to the outside world for so many years, began welcoming visitors again in 2005 when the formerly oppressive military regime finally came to its senses.  An election will be held in the fall of this year and people believe things will get better for them.  The renowned freedom fighter and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, is considered a national hero.

Paired up with the Crockers, we began our adventure by hiring a guide, Melvin, who claimed to be a retired police officer and hotelier.  We imagined that he might be Secret Service, paid by government to take us only to places where foreigners are allowed and to keep us out of trouble.  Whatever.  His English was very good, he knew where to take us, and he drove like a madman.  What more could we ask for?  This was our first stop, Myanmar’s answer to the Irving Big Stop!

Fifty-two million people live in Myanmar, including six million in the largest city, Yangon (formerly Rangoon).  It’s just as chaotic as India.  Infrastructure, especially the road system, is terrible by our standards.  Vehicles drive on the right, like we do, but steering wheels are on the right.  Why?  Because a previous military ruler decided on a whim that everyone would drive on the right instead of the left!  There is extreme poverty here, like in India, but people seem more industrious and they’re definitely friendlier, less pushy, and more accommodating.

In the two days we spent there, we visited all the must-sees in and around Yangon: the 1000-year-old Shwemawdaw pagoda; the Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha; the reconstructed Golden Palace in the ancient capital of Bago; the incredible Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon; the National Museum; the Chinatown market; and the city-centre Bogyoke (Scott) Market.  But the highlight for me was the lovingly-tended World War II Cemetery where 27,000 Allied soldiers are buried, including this Canadian, Lieutenant P.I. Lowe, who made the ultimate sacrifice.

By the numbers, the Shwedagon Pagoda dates back to about 600 B.C., is 326 feet tall, and the terrace surrounding it covers 14 acres.  “Shwe” means “gold”.  The top two-thirds of the main pagoda is covered in gold leaf, replaced every five years.  The topmost section of the pagoda, the diamond orb, is 22 inches tall.  It holds 4,351 diamonds with a total weight of 1,800 carats; the apex diamond is a 76-carat monster!  The next section, the umbrella, is 43 feet tall.  It holds 83,850 gems and 1,000 pounds of gold.  At today’s price, the gold in the umbrella alone is worth a cool $25 million!  According to one source, the gold leaf that covers the rest of the structure is worth $2 billion, enough to make Wes Sheridan drool.  The temples where people pray are located on the outside terraces, at the base of the pagoda.  Despite the crowds, they are peaceful and sacred places.

As we sailed away, my thoughts were with the people of Myanmar who have suffered for so long.  New construction in downtown Yangon is financed by outside money.  It’s an encouraging sign that foreign investors have confidence that their investments will be both safe and profitable.  There is great beauty here.  People look you in the eye and smile.  They’re handsome and proud.  I’d like to see this place again in twenty years, in my carbon-fibre wheelchair, of course!  Maybe this guy will have bought a better truck.

Phuket is a tourist mecca; it’s evident as soon as you leave the cruise dock.  There’s money here and everything that goes with it: resorts, shopping malls, jewelry stores, McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Starbucks, Hooters, etc.  Signs advertise elephant safaris, snake shows, ATV excursions, parasailing, jet-ski rentals and, of course, Thai massage.(8)

We’d decided to hire a taxi to drive us around the southern part of the island for the day.  We started with an elephant ride.  Elva and I shared a bench on Pinky the elephant’s back and were guided through the forest on a thirty-minute ride.  It was a nice, relaxing activity and Pinky seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.

From there, we went to Patong, a town on the west coast of the island where one of the more popular beaches is located.  The water is warm and crystal clear, and the beach is beautiful.

After lunch at a Thai restaurant in Phuket Town, we drove up to see the Big Buddha, a 45-metre tall statue made of white marble that stands on a high point of land with spectacular views of the island.  One day cannot do justice to Phuket, but we at least got a taste, maybe enough to make us come back some day.

Our next stop was magnificent Singapore, at once world-class city and sovereign country.  We were told that, before 1819, there was nothing here but a small fishing village.  British colonial administrator, Sir Thomas Sandford Raffles, convinced the local sultan to deed the land to the company he represented, the East India Company.  The British established a major trading post at the southern end of the Malacca Strait.  Today, Singapore is one of the Asian Tigers, a global economic superstar and crossroads of the world.

Imagine that 5.5 million people live on a series of islands one-tenth the size of Prince Edward Island, with an average income almost twice ours and a higher life expectancy.  Singapore has no natural resources: no oil, no fishing, no agriculture, no mining.  NONE!  The country takes cleanliness and order very seriously.  Chewing gum is frowned upon, littering is strictly forbidden, no hugging is allowed, and you’d better not get caught parading in front of your window in the buff!

We only had one day to see the city, so we boarded the hop-on-hop-off bus to get a general idea of the major attractions.  The Rotterdam VI will call here again for a day and a half in a couple of weeks.  Singapore is a world-class city, just as impressive as Dubai, but more refined.  It’s definitely a place to come back to for a one-week visit.

We’re now officially half-way around the world from home and just north of the Equator.