Watching the Glacier calving was a thrilling experience, the sound was like thunder and the crash into the ocean actually rocked our boat. Again we escaped rain and were able to see the stunning beautiful of the park with very little heavy clouds and fog, something that apparently is very rare. I put all the photos in and if you load them in sequence you will get the picture, kind of cool actually.

Another day with no rain…but threating! One of the highlights of this trip for me was going to be the White Pass train trip. And it was not disappointing as the climb to Fraser BC Canada from Skagway was very interesting.

It is difficult to imagine the hardships the prospectors endured trying to get to the gold fields in the Klondike. Thousands climbed the trail to the pass to get a chance to be a winner in the gold fields only to arrive there to discover that most of the land was already claimed, probably years before they planned their trip.   On top of that the Canadian government insisted that no one arrived without provisions for a whole year, roughly 2000 lbs. of supplies. So many ended up working for other miners or finding nefarious ways to cash in on the fever: swindlers, prostitutes, gamblers etc. all made more money than almost all of the prospectors. Very, very few hit the mother lode.

The pictures of the train trip and the bus trip back fills out the story.

Slowly creeping through the inlet towards Juneau gave us a chance to really absorbed the beauty of the North West Coast of Alaska. The water was completely flat almost like a mirror with the exception of the wake the boat made as it inched between the two rugged coastlines leaving a tapestry of asymmetrical ripples and, together with the light of the rising sun, made a very memorable experience.

First impressions: clean, very clean but of course very reliant on the cruising trade as the down town appeared to be almost completely devoted to the tourists off the ships. I guess next to fishing, some mining and logging, that is a critical element of the economy.

We wondered around, had lunch and an Alaska Beer, of course, then headed back to the ship. On the way we decided to take the Tram up to Mt. Roberts, which was a good decision as it gave us the opportunity to take a little hike and stretch our legs. Nice view from there and as a bonus we saw a couple of goats but I should mention the only reason we knew they were goats was because a fellow travel had a pair of binoculars.

Back to the ship and a nice evening before the sail to Skagway.

Beautiful day like I said before but it is disappointing that we went on the outside, the inside passage would have been much more interesting albeit slower.

As you can see it is sun bathing weather!

Well I must admit this is something we don’t usually like doing…cruising. It is designed for old people, oh, wait a minute maybe we are ??? can’t even say it out loud but it rhymes with mold.
So we are currently in the open ocean, beautiful and sunny on our back deck. Not much to see but when there is I will take a picture and post it.

And so it comes to end, 4 1/2 weeks of India by road, train, and plane. The group started at 10 strong but Maggie, Jim and Joan left us at Goa. We enjoyed the time we spent with them and hated to see them leave, they were with us for 3 weeks although it seemed much shorter. I am sure, or at least I hope, we will see them again on some other great adventure.

What a pleasure to spend this month with Norm , Terry and Steve. For sure we were friends at Overwaitea but for me and Berniece the reconnection was indeed a pleasure. And of course our good friend Barb, who started talking about going to India with us years ago, (the most photographed person in our group, everyone seemed to want a picture of the tall blond from Calliwood : a Subash word,  a Canadian star from Canada), and her friend Carol both fit right in as we knew they would. As a group many laughs: at each other, for each other and with each other! Loved those happy hours!
Subash our main guide must have been hand picked because our experience would have been nothing close to what we had were it not for his great efforts! His infectious laugh, philosophical approach to life and his uncanny ability to sense and seize the spontaneous opportunities that popped up as we worked our way down the west coast of India made us all look forward to everyday with anticipation. It is obvious he loved his job.

We have seen temples of every description, stayed in Castles, Palaces, 3 star 4 star and 5 star hotels and hey, even a house boat. Had cold showers, hot showers and many in between!  Our trip took us on numerous back roads, not often travelled by tourists, which gave us a chance to see the many sides of this country, from jam packed cities to quiet remote farming communities. Surprises seemed to happen frequently thanks to Subash, like joining a wedding by simply asking and subsequently being invited to eat with the attendants or, as we enjoyed a cool evening walk in a local village by our hotel, accepting an invitation from a village family for a coffee who not only shared a coffee with us but also proudly displayed the pictures of a recent engagement of a household member; such a personal event that we could not help but be deeply touched by their openness and desire to share something so intimate with us.

We learned of the many gods worshipped by the Hindu, Brahma, Vishnu and Sheba, and the hundreds of thousands of addition deities . The stories told of the gods were repeated at every temple by the local guides until even those of us who paid little attention, or perhaps were not as interested, knew some of the main stories by the end of our trip.

The Temples were magnificent; such attention to detail by craftsmen long ago but surprisingly we see that stone carving art still being practiced in Chennai. We observed the many materials that were used, some locally available but often imported from miles away at a cost unimaginable. The wealth of the kings during the many dynasties simply could not be overlooked. The vastness of the palace and temple structures including the surrounding forts built in ancient times were only trumped by, in some cases,  the outrageous effort to completely destroy all of it by the conquers during the many religious struggles that transpired over the centuries. History that westerns, I believe, would have little comprehension without a visit like ours.

We were deeply moved by the Hindu devotion at Varanasi to the important traditions associated with the Ganges, from the bathing to the cremations. It is a wish of every Hindu to visit the Ganges at Varanasi once in their lifetime to feel the water on their bodies and attend the religious ceremonies that have been going daily for centuries and, if they can accumulate enough money during their lifetime, to be cremated there and have their ashes put into the Ganges. We learned about the beginning of the Buddhist religion, an variation  of the Hindu religion, and that Buddha is considered by every Hindu to be the 9th reincarnation of the god Vishnu. All of this combined with the importance of the other religions, Muslim and Christianity gave us an insight that without which we would have left with much less understanding of the Indian culture.

We witness a historic political economical event, the demonetization of the 500 and 1000 Rupee notes. A surprise move by prime minster Modi. We struggled to make use of the worthless currency we had bought prior to arriving in India but soon devised our own strategy to make certain that none of our group were left holding worthless Rupee. Finally we were able to get into a bank after three weeks when the lineups were reasonable to exchange some of our old currency but unfortunately by that time the rules had changed dramatically and we could only exchange half of what was originally allowed, just 2000 Rupee each, $39.00 Canadian, $30 US!. We also experienced the finger marking that every voting Indian receives after casting their ballot in an election. Old Rupee cash exchange is only allowed once per person and the index finger is marked to ensure they don’t try again. Subsequently a person must deposit old Rupee in a legitimate bank account and withdraw the new money from there. This applied to everyone, no exceptions not even tourists but luckily, by helping each other,  we worked our way through it and by the 4th week we had depleted all of our collective old Rupee to a point that we had to use ATM machines to extract, get this, a maximum amount of 2000 Rupee per session!   We sensed the frustration of many small merchants who lost sales because of the lack of small bills but must acknowledge that it appears as though a good part of the population is in favor with what Modi is trying to do, which is to stop the financing of the terrorists in Pakistan with underground Indian money. A once in a lifetime event and we were accidentally immersed in it!
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The camel carts, cows, goats, sheep, brahma carts, motorbikes, bikes, pedestrians, tuktucs, cars, buses, trucks, all share the roads, freeways, and streets simultaneously in a manner that seems like complete chaos but truly there is a kind of rhythm and harmony that  makes it work in spite of appearances.
This is India! And it is the India we came all this way to see!

So for me the best part was the people we were so fortunate to be with and the wonderful people we met and observed in India ! Hey, in some cases we were considered to be celebrities! Well not all of us, mostly Steve and Barb! But the kindness, curiosity, and the welcoming spirit throughout India from the big cities to the small farming communities,  and of course everything in between,  is what we take away and will cherish for the rest of our lives!
To that end and this being the last posting on this trip it will be pictures of the many people we have met along the way and those we spent such a great time with. Please enjoy!

We continue by road to Alappuzha (Alleppey), known as the “Venice of the East”, situated on Vembanad Lake, the longest in India. A maze of canals and a network of bridges give this busy commercial town its descriptive sobriquet. Alleppey is known for its coir, the retted fibre of the coconut husk and for black pepper. Today we board our houseboat for a very special Kerala delight — a slow boat through its forests and palm-shaded canals. We take a leisurely cruise on the beautiful backwaters, enjoying the magnificent scenery along the waterways and stopping to admire what history and religion have left along the way.

Bangalore is called the Garden City for it’s delicate blossoms and greenery that impart a unique beauty to this lovely city. The weather is the city’s best feature, with pleasant summers and bearable winters. Bangalore, which literally means the ‘town of baked beans’, was founded by Kempe Gowda, a chieftain of the Vijayanagar Empire, around the 16th century. He built four towers in four directions to specify its boundaries. On arrival we tour Bangalore, visiting the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens, which has a variety of old trees, fountains, lotus pools, terraces and an assortment of tropical herbs and subtropical herbs. We also see the government buildings.

The history of European involvement in Kochi, from the early sixteenth century onwards, is dominated by the aggression of, successively, the Portuguese, Dutch and British, competing in their desire to control the port and its lucrative spice trade. From 1800, the state of Cochin was part of the British Madras Presidency; from 1812 until Independence in 1947, its administration was made the responsibility of a series of diwans, or financial ministers. In the 1920s, the British expanded the port to make it suitable for modern ocean-going ships; extensive dredging created Willingdon Island, between Ernakulam and Fort Cochin. On arrival we have a tour of Kochi, including: Chinese fishing Nets — A legacy of one of the earliest visitors to the Malabar coast, these nets are unmistakable as one enters the harbour. Records show that they were first erected between AD 1350 and 1450. Constructed out of Teak wood and Bamboo poles, they work on the principle of balance. The best place to watch is from Vasco Da Gama square, a narrow promenade that parallels the beach with little stalls that serve fresh seafood, tender coconuts and so on. Santa Cruz Basilica: Built by the Portuguese, the church was elevated to a Cathedral by the Pope Paul IV in 1558. Spared by the Dutch conqueror of Cochin who destroyed many Catholic buildings in 1663, it later fell into the hands of the British who demolished it when they took over Cochin in 1795. For almost 100 years there was no church on the site, until the Bishop Dom Gomez Vereira commissioned a new building in 1887.

our trip is winding down but we still see a lot of interesting things.

This morning we travel to Mysore, arriving around midday. In the afternoon we explore Mysore, famous for its silk and sandalwood, as well as its numerous palaces, well laid out boulevards and beautiful parks. The Maharaja’s Palace is the most impressive of Mysore’s ochre-coloured buildings — a modern edifice built in 1897, where the oriental decorative imagination runs wild. One of the largest palaces in India, it is a gigantic synthesis of Hindu and Muslim styles. The royal family’s private chambers, including the impressive Durbar Hall, are open to the public. The Marriage Hall has life-like paintings of the Dassera procession and in the museum is the ruler’s golden elephant throne, used during festivities. Chamundi Hill lies 10 km from Mysore and is named after Chanduswari, the consort of Lord Shiva and the patron goddess of the royal family of Mysore. On the way up is a colossal figure of Nandi, carved out of a single rock in 1659. The view from the top of the hill is superb.

Wealth beyond imagination is very visible in the Mysore Palace. We were not allowed to take photographs inside but as you can see from the outside it is a grand place. The Kings chair is solid gold weighing in at 750 kilos! Apparently the Maharaja owned a gold miner for instance the meeting room of the ministers was covered 80 kilogram of gold leaf, much like

my living room back home.

Belur and Halebid were both capitals of The Medieval Hoysala kings who built the exquisitely carved temples in the 12th & 13th centuries. Belur is famous for it Hoysala architecture; its Temple of Lord Channakeshava is embellished with carving which has few equals in the world. It took 103 years to complete and you can see why. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank: elephants, episodes from the epics, and sensuous dancers. Halebid was the seat of Hoysala Kingdom; its great Hoyaleswara Temple was built in the typical Hoysala style. The temple, dating back to the 12th century, is astounding for its wealth of sculptural details. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of gods and goddesses, animals, birds and dancing girls. Yet no two facets of the temple arethe same. This magnificent temple — guarded by a Nandi Bull — was never completed, despite 86 years of labour.

The trip was long, bathroom facilities not that great:

This was the women’s washroom…sit room…what ever!