Princess Cruises - Male in the Maldives.

Princess Cruises – Male - Maldives Islands.
Our Walking Tour of Male – the Capital of the Maldives.

We are now heading in a southerly direction back towards the Equator - but before we go back into the Southern Hemisphere we are going to visit the Maldives.

The Sun Princess drops anchor.

The Sun Princess will be dropping her anchor not far from the Capital – Male and then all who wish to go ashore will have to use the ships tender to get to the main island. The Maldives is a republic comprising of 26 coral atolls and 1,190 islands draped along the Indian Ocean like a string of pearls.

Sun rise in the Maldives.

Male is one of the smallest capital cities in the world and the most developed island in the Maldives -  but it has no natural beaches and is protected and bordered by a large sea wall. The outer islands are where most of the tourists choose to head to.  Here tourists can enjoy the white sandy beaches, placid lagoons and diving and snorkelling on the coral reefs – these islands have crystal clear waters which are a haven for beautifully coloured corals and tropical fish. It is said to be a Honeymooners delight and I think that they charge a high price for the privilege of staying on these islands. The day tours organised from the ship out to the islands are very expensive.

Shells from the Islands.

 

Coral - which is found on many of the reefs.

All these islands are being greatly affected by climate change and it is expected that this area will be one of the first island resort areas to disappear as the sea water rises. We were even told that the President has started negotiations with other countries (including Australia) to purchase somewhere suitable to move all the 150,000 residents to if and when this occurs.

Male is the launching place for getting to the other more attractive islands. Boats, water taxis, ferries, launches and sea planes continually leave the port area heading out to the islands.

We are not venturing to any other islands today, we are going to conduct our own walking tour and just see what we can find in Male. The trip to the main port is quick and well organised aboard the ships tender taking only about 10 minutes to complete the journey.

Independence Square Male.

Unfortunately there is not a lot to see on Male. It is a Saturday morning and a lot of places are closed. The streets however are very busy with mainly young men riding about on motor bikes and the footpaths are very narrow and rough in some parts. It is hot and very humid. We walk for about 3 hours visiting Independence Square, the large Friday Mosque and Islamic Centre, Sultan Park, the Old Friday Mosque which was built back in 1656 by Sultan Ibrahim Iskandhar and the former Sultan’s Palace.

The New Friday Mosque.

 

Inside this very large Mosque. It was very impressive.

 

Funny trees in the Sultan's Garden. They are covered in different coloured lights.  Would be very pretty at night.

 

The Old Friday Mosque.

 

The remains of the Old Palace.

Eventually we find the small tourist shopping area where we purchase a few reminders of our visit to the Maldives. We are then more than happy to walk back to the port and catch the tender back to the ship.

Our tender waiting for us at the port in Male.

The Sun Princess tender boat takes us back to the ship.

Princess Cruises - Colombo Sri Lanka.

Princess Cruises - Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Kandy, Temple of the Tooth & Botanical Gardens Day Tour.

Today we are in Sri Lanka (once known as Ceylon) and we are venturing on a 12.5 hour tour, to the north east of the capital of Colombo to the old capital of Kandy about 110 klms away.  Kandy is noted for its temples, halls and palaces of the last Sinhalese kingdom and it is nestled in a steep valley encircled by Sri Lanka‘s longest river, the Mahaweli Ganga at an elevation of 1,600 feet.

We are up at 5.15am to leave on our tour soon after 7am. We have been informed that because of traffic and the condition of the road (narrow and steep) that it normally takes up to 4.5 hours to get to Kandy but to ensure that we return in time for the Sun Princess to leave on time - the Sri Lankan tour company has organised a police escort for all the six buses going on this tour. At this stage, as our procession leaves the port with sirens and horns blasting, I must say that I had my doubts about how this day was going to pan out. As we travel along we literally cause all other traffic to come to a standstill as we have right of way through traffic lights and at roundabouts. Our tour guide jokingly says that they usually save this kind of police escort for visiting international cricketers.

The Rice Fields and Coconut plantations on the way to Kandy.

Our journey takes us through interesting countryside, past small rice paddies, rubber plantations, fruit and vegetable orchards and colourful villages. I do not get the feeling that the people are as keen to greet us as the people in India – but this maybe because of all the noise our procession is making.

The Entrance to the Botanical Gardens.

 

Inside the Gardens.

Our first stop is at the Royal Botanical Gardens which were established in 1821 by the British colonial government and it is home to more than 300 varieties of flowering plants, tropical flora, medicinal herbs and shading palm trees. We had a delightful time strolling around the different parts of the gardens, the highlight was definitely the orchid house.

Inside the Orchid house.

 

There were many lovely plants in the Botanical Gardens.

 

Fruit Stalls Outside the Gardens.

Our next stop was the Royal Palace Complex in the heart of busy Kandy. Here, in this large complex situated next to Kandy Lake is the famous Temple of the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. This is a magnificent Temple and it is said to house the left upper canine of the Lord Buddha. It has been long believed that whoever has possession of this tooth holds governance of the country. The exterior of the temple is not very ornate, but the interior shines with intricate, richly carved inlays of ivory, wood and lacquer. Many Pilgrims visit this Temple every day and place lotus blossoms and brightly coloured water lilies around the main shrine.

The Exterior of the Temple of the Tooth Relic.

 

The Entrance to the Temple of the Tooth Relic.

 

A Carving of an Elephant.

 

Statues in the Gardens of the Temple.

 

The Shrine holding the Tooth Relic. Two giant gold elephants and huge ivory tusks decorate the Shrine.

Buddha inside the Temple.

The flower stalls outside the Temple gate.

After a very late lunch at a lovely hotel we start to head out of Kandy for our long drive back to Colombo but we have one more stop and that is at a Spice Garden. Herbs and Spices are one of Sri Lanka’s great industries. This would have been a very interesting stop but unfortunately it is getting very late and there is not sufficient time to really watch and listen to the talk and demonstration properly. The sun is setting as we leave this stop and we are still over 80 klms from the ship.

The hotel where we had lunch.

 

Tuk tuks race up the road in Kandy.

We now have to travel as fast as we can, behind a police motor bike (with two policemen on board,) with sirens and blue lights flashing and the policeman (with long white gloves on) riding pillion madly waving both hands trying to direct local traffic out of the way and a red police car with his lights and sirens also going. The bus driver has his hand on the bus horn most of the time as he swerves and passes other vehicles trying to keep up with the police. It is an exciting but very dangerous ride and after two plus hours (and one hour after the ship was due to sail) when we eventually get back to the port it is a great relief to be in one piece. Needless to say I have very mixed feelings about this tour – what we saw was great but it was far too long on the bus and the ride was not enjoyable at all – in fact it was very scary.

 

 

Princess Cruises - Day Tour Chennai India.

Chennai India- Day Tour to the Monuments at Mahabalipuram.

It is hard to explain why I feel so excited about a visit to our next port of call. For years I have heard about India – its temples, the vast number of people (1.5billion) who call India home, the happy disposition of these people, the school children, the wonderful array of foods, the traffic, its poverty, the wonderful colours of the saris worn by the women and the sacred cows that walk the streets and today I am actually going to see all these things plus more for myself.

Chennai, once known as Madras, is the fourth largest city in India and overlooks the Bay of Bengal in South-eastern India. It has many monuments from the time of British rule and is home to major Hindu temples. It is a bustling city full of cars, buses, tuk tuks, bikes and people going about their daily tasks everywhere. There is a sense of order amongst the chaos, as everyone seems to be able to dodge and weave around one another.

We were told that there is no social welfare in India - so people have to find something to do to generate at least a small income to survive. You therefore see people on the side of the roads doing every small business imaginable from sweeping, cutting keys, selling fish, mending a bike, sewing on an old sewing machine, digging a hole, fixing the road, operating small food stalls, selling fruit, selling corn they have cooked in a single pot, opening coconuts, making flower lays etc. – I found it just amazing and absolutely fascinating and even more incredible is that it did not matter how mundane  their task, most smiled, waved and looked really pleased to see you and to be acknowledged by you. All the people I saw looked clean both in their personal hygiene as well as the clothes they were wearing. All women were wearing beautifully coloured saris or colourful tops with matching long pants and flowing scarves – they looked so pretty and meticulously presented.

 The ships tour we have chosen to do will take us through parts of the city centre and then out of the city for a 1.5 hour drive to the UNESCO World Heritage Site - Monuments at Mahabalipuram.

Chennai has the second longest urban beach in the world known as Sandy Marina Beach and we are taken for a drive along this vast stretch beach. The sand is so wide that in most parts you cannot actually see the water. Unfortunately there is rubbish everywhere and the few bins around are overflowing. There are lots of food vans all the way along the beach and people sleeping in the parks along the road. Down the far end of Marina is an extremely poor area where many families are living on the beach in small shanties made of plastic, tin and tree branches. It was just so sad to see such poverty. Along the road there are women (dressed in their saris) selling (and fanning) small quantities of very small fish. You really do wonder who would come and buy them. There were over 10,000 people killed on this beach when the tsunami hit India on Boxing Day 2004.

Sandy Marina Beach.

 

Here, so many people live in poverty on the beach.

 

Selling the very few fish they catch each day to survive. No sign of any refrigeration only the woman fanning the fish.

 

Birds fly above and scavenge for scraps.

 

One of the many small fishing boats along this beach

 

One of the better looking dwellings.

People operating small businesses along the road. This picture was taken from the bus.

 

A lady threading flowers and selling fruit on the road side.

 

Our drive eventually takes us out of the city and into the more rural areas. Our scenic meander takes us through the Tamil Nadu state passing by rubber and coconut plantations and through many busy smaller towns, to the 7^th century village of Mahabalipuram. Here we view the incredible “Five Rathas” temples that have been carved from a single piece of granite. This is a very large complex with a very interesting history and lots to see. There is a large carved statue of an elephant and one of a lion as well as other monuments which feature Buddhist designs.

The Five Rathas Temple.

 

Another part of the temple complex. All were carved out of one very large granite bolder.

 

Me at the Five Rathas Temple.

 

Allan with the large carved elephant .

 Next we go to see the ancient site of Arjuna’s Penance. Here a giant 88 foot long stone panel with carvings known as base-reliefs, tells the story of the flow of the Ganges down from the Himalaya Mountains along with a collection of animal fables. There are two large elephant carvings surrounded by baby elephants, monkeys, deer, lions and lots of small Buddas. Next to here is a grassed park area with large boulders sitting precariously on top of the ridge. They look very much like the Devils Marbles in Aust. This park is full of Indian tourists all dressed in their finest clothes enjoying a special day at these sacred temples. They look colourful and beautiful.

Part of the carved panel at the Arjuna's Penance.

 

Street stalls at the temples.

 

Very Large Elephants on the carved panel.

 

Elderly Indian ladies dressed in their bright coloured saris.

Pretty scenery in the park.

 

One of the large boulders in the park.

 We then go to a very impressive 8^th century temple known as the Shore Temple which is on the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It was built during the reign of King Narsimha- Varman II and it is in the shape of a pyramid-structure made up of five layers. It is in a magnificent position on a point and from this site you get views out along to beaches on both sides.

There were many meticulously presented school girls visiting the Shore Temple at the same time we were there. They were all dressed exactly the same in their uniform and their long black hair was plated and then tied up in white ribbons.

Carved statues of cows surround the Shore Temple.

A view of the beach near the temple.

Our picturesque drive back is full of wonderful sites and as we enter Chennai again, we are just in time to see the thousands of school children come out from school. They all look beautiful in their beautifully presented school uniforms – coloured shorts or skirts and white shirts. The girls have their hair braided and tired up in ribbons. They all look the same – no difference between the well off and the poor. They love seeing a bus full of westerners passing by. They wave and gesture for us to take their photos and of cause I have to oblige.

Typical street scene along a busy road. This picture also has a sacred cow in it.

I watched this girl carry the metal container down to get water. As it is filling she carries the green plastic one back home.

All the school children we saw were excited to see us and all gave us a big wave.

 

These ladies are selling cold drinks. This is a well established business.

I consider our day in India to have been fantastic – I have loved every moment of it. We saw many sad things and a lot of rubbish piled up everywhere, but we also saw a lot of wonderful sites and many happy and smiling faces and what appeared to be contented people. I would have no hesitation in returning to India and doing a longer tour of this fascinating country.

 

O