Blogging, I’m blogging (to the tune of ‘Jammin”, obviously!). Probably my last missive.  From the Med – somewhere north of Algeria, apparently.  We have been able to see land, in fact, most of the day. I waved, although I doubt anyway saw me! On our way to Lisbon, which is our last stop before home.

Yesterday was Tunisia. We moored at La Goulette, which, I’m told by those who spent the day there, was disappointing, although I can’t comment cos everyone’s taste is different and it takes a pretty poor place to disappoint me!

We hired a taxi, driven by Ahmad.  Not the eldest son, because the first-born son is always named Muhamad, but with four children, two sons and two daughters.  They are only allowed one wife here, even though other Muslim countries allow up to four.  They also have completely equal pay here for men and women, which is also much better enforced than similar laws in the UK.  His eldest daughter is eighteen and pig-headed! He yelled at her down the phone in Arabic while he was driving us around. Some things are universal and demanding daughters are the same the world over!

We went first to Carthage, site of the great city built by the Phoenicians that warred with the Roman Empire for decades (the Punic Wars). Hannibal was from Carthage and set off across the Alps with his elephants to attack Rome, but the snow killed most of the soldiers and the elephants and by the time he got there, he was easily swatted aside. We saw massive Roman villas (the remains of), the theatre and the amphitheatre (one is semi-circular, the other is oval, in case you were about to ask)(the first for plays and the second for gladiators and lions and stuff)(and for those about to get clever, the circus was elsewhere and we didn’t get to it)(which was where they did chariot racing). We saw the basements and pillars of the extremely large Roman baths and the view over the ocean was breathtaking. We ate lunch at the best hotel in Tunisia, apparently, which was delicious, although the portions were so huge, I only managed to eat about a third of the cous cous they placed in front of me! The cheapest room is about £180 a night, in case you were wondering.

Then we went to the Bardo museum, where they have collected the most extraordinary collection of Roman mosaics, the largest collection in the world, most of which were almost complete. They were breathtaking. We then went to the Medina, the old town part of Tunis, which is a warren of small, covered streets. The tiny shops belie the huge houses behind them, with beautiful architecture and tiles and amazing rooftop terrace views across the city. Then back to the ship. It was hot and sunny and a thoroughly enjoyable day.

I can’t believe it’s all nearly over already. It doesn’t feel like the best part of three months. It feels like the blink of an eye. Of course, I’ll be glad to get off of this bucket of bolts, sorry, ship, which has been a miserable place to be for large chunks of this trip. Some people are staying on, as it is going up the Amazon next. THAT would be nice. But not on this ship. No way. Never ever ever again! It’s never met a wavelet it didn’t stop and say hello to and it bounces around like a cork. I’ll be glad to get off, which is something I’ve never said before. But then again, I’ve never traveled on this particular ship before either…

All in all, an interesting voyage. Frustrating, quite often, particularly with regard to places we wanted to see but couldn’t because they were shut. But almost all the ports were enjoyable and the majority of the sea days were good too. I think I’ve enjoyed myself despite the problems we encountered. They merely marred, rather than ruined, the holiday. But now it’s time to go back to the real world. And catch up on three months of junk mail, bills and telly. Has anyone recorded Top Gear for me, by any chance?!

Blogging, I’m blogging (to the tune of ‘Jammin’, obviously!). Probably my last or penultimate at best missive. From the Med. Somewhere north of Algeria. Apparently. We have been able to see land, in fact, most of the day. I waved, although I doubt anyone saw me! On our way to Lisbon, which is our last stop before home. 

Yesterday was Tunisia. We moored at La Goulette, which I’m told by those who spent the day there, was disappointing, although I can’t comment cos everyone’s taste is different and it takes a pretty poor place to disappoint me! We hired a taxi, driven by Ahmad. Not the eldest son, because the first-born son is always named Muhamad, but with four children, two sons and two daughters. They are only allowed one wife here, even though 96% of the population is Muslim. They also have completely equal pay here for men and women. Much better enforced than in the UK, in fact. His eldest daughter is eighteen and pig-headed! He yelled at her down the phone in Arabic while he was driving us around! Some things are universal and demanding daughters are the same the world over!

We went first to Carthage, site of the great city built by the Phoenicians that warred with the Roman Empire for decades (the Punic Wars). Hannibal was from Carthage and set off across the Alps with his elephants to attack Rome, but the snow killed most of the soldiers and the elephants and by the time he got there, he was easily swatted aside. We saw massive Roman villas (the remains of), the theatre and the amphitheatre (one is semi-circular, the other is oval, in case you were about to ask)(the first for plays and the second for gladiators and lions and stuff)(and for those about to get clever, the circus was elsewhere and we didn’t get to it)(which was where they did chariot racing). We saw the basements and pillars of the extremely large Roman baths and the view over the ocean was breathtaking. We ate lunch at the best hotel in Tunisia, apparently, which was delicious, although the portions were so huge, I only managed to eat about a third of the cous cous they placed in front of me! The cheapest room is about £180 a night, in case you were wondering.

Then we went to the Bardo museum, where they have collected the most extraordinary collection of Roman mosaics, the largest collection in the world, most of which were almost complete. They were breathtaking. We then went to the Medina, the old town part of Tunis, which is a warren of small, covered streets. The tiny shops belie the huge houses behind them, with beautiful architecture and tiles and amazing rooftop terrace views across the city. Then back to the ship. It was hot and sunny and a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Today was the last Luncheon. It was the Gold Tier Round the World lunch, I think, which means the truly steadfast, who have been on the whole way round. It was very enjoyable and I had a good laugh. The pre-lunch drinks started at 12 and we finally left the dining room at just before 4. I may have made some new friends.

I’m mostly packed now. I calculated shampoo and stuff quite well, so there won’t be much to take home, although I had to buy moisturiser and cotton wool on the way round, so I’ve got leftovers of those. And I overestimated the deoderant again. Oh well, better to have too much than too little!

I can’t believe it’s all nearly over already. It doesn’t feel like the best part of three months. It feels like the blink of an eye. Although, by contrast, Christmas on board seems a VERY long time ago… how confusing! I can’t decide whether I’m excited to be going home or not. I’d like to get a job, and a place to live. I’d like to see my friends, especially the nearly half dozen who have produced babies while I’ve been away! I’ve made some friends I’d like to keep in touch with, including, I’d like to think, Richard Digance and David Barby (although I don’t know how they feel about it!). But I don’t want to be cold. I LIKE warm places, deserts and so on. I don’t want to go back to snow and slush and ice and rain and wind and rubbish like that! I know I’m a naturally warm person, but I suspect that I’ve rather lost my immunity over the past few months!

Of course, I’ll be glad to get off of this bucket of bolts, sorry, ship, which has been a miserable place to be for large chunks of this trip. It’s better now, and some of the more stroppy crew are gone, but we’re getting off now! Some people are staying on, as it is going up the Amazon next. THAT would be nice. But not on this ship. No way. Never ever ever again! It’s never met a wavelet it didn’t say hello to and it bounces around like a cork. I’ll be glad to get off, which is something I’ve never said before. But then again, I’ve never traveled on this particular ship before either…

All in all, an interesting voyage. Frustrating, quite often, particularly with regard to places we wanted to see but couldn’t because they were shut. But almost all the ports were enjoyable and the majority of the sea days were good too. I think I’ve enjoyed myself despite the problems we encountered. They merely marred, rather than ruined, the holiday. But now it’s time to go back to the real world. And catch up on three months of junk mail, bills and telly. Has anyone recorded Top Gear for me, by any chance?!

 

Luxor and Karnak were cool.  I think the Temple at Karnak would have been way more awe-inspiring but for the following:

a) completely built around, so it’s down a side street

b) unbelievable crowds, all with guides shouting in various languages

c) screaming kids (why would you take them there?!)

d) a small child with an electronic game that played tinny music constantly

e) not enough time to stand and appreciate

f) lots of people talking very loudly who had absoloutely no respect for the fact that it was supposed to be a house of worship. Granted, a ruined house of worship of a now-defunct religion, but still, please?

Valley of the Kings was good, except for:
a) too many stairs!
b) guards screaming at us about not taking photos, grabbing you wherever and whenever they felt like it
c) standing with my dad and hearing him being told that his wife isn’t allowed to take pictures either.

Dad is astonished at how annoyed that made me, being mistaken for his wife. I find it offensive. Am I wrong?! I think it’s a bleeding cheek to make an assumption like that.

Didn’t go down into Tut’s tomb but dad did and said that, although the colours were amazing, and looked like the paint was still wet, we missed very little. There were only a few inches of paintings. He felt a little swindled at having paid so much just for that one tomb (which cost more than the other three put together), but as it was all included in our tour price, it wasn’t that big a deal.

The next day, in Safaga, a shopkeeper asked my dad how many camels he wanted for me! Egypt is great! I’ve now been propositioned four times! (Oh, no, hang on, three times, the other one was in Oman)

Petra was amazing. I walked down into the Siq but the uneven surface made me dizzy so i had to sit down for half an hour at the Treasury to stop the world spinning. Wandered a bit, not very far. Some people went miles, but I saw what I came to see. (The Siq is the gorge leading to the city and the first building you see is the Treasury. They were used in Indiana Jones and I’ve wanted to see them ever since I first saw the film.) Dad wished he had come when he was ten years younger, so that he could have done and seen more.

Yesterday was Sharm el Sheikh and I went to St Catherine’s Monastery. Saw the Burning Bush and the well where Moses supposedly met Zipporah (i think that was his wife’s name, anyway) and the Church was beautiful.

Interestingly, we had Aaron’s tomb pointed out to us twice: once in Jordan and once in Egypt… hmmmmmmmmmm…

The second of three sea days.  Which are becoming worryingly hard to come by.  We have several port days back to back coming up, with 14-hour tours at each.  So by the time we enter the Med, I shall be absolutely cream crackered.  Therefore, today, while I still have the time and the energy, I packed two suitcases.  Which leaves one case plus the holdall and vanity case left to do nearer the end.  I’ve tried to arrange things so that the things I need when I get back will all be in one case.  Not sure how successful I’ve been, but, hey. *shrug*

Mumbai was surprisingly enjoyable. Apparently because we arrived on the Muslim festival of Ashura so people weren’t about and there were no crowds or traffic. Did you know there’s a beach in the centre of Mumbai?! No, neither did I! We did a bus tour of the city with photo stops and traditional dancing demo, which was cool. I imagined Indian dancing was going to be as slow and delicate as Thai dancing, for example. It isn’t! There are some slow dances but most are very bouncy and energetic with jumping and drumming and running and stuff. Very enjoyable. They did dances from most Indian states and the differences in costumes and styles of dancing were very interesting to note. Pootled around a few shops and ended up with tea in the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Very pleasant. Although why the hotel was having a Swiss Food Festival, I have no idea. Is Switzerland renowned for its cuisine?!

That was the end of the third leg of the cruise. 300 people got off and 300 got on. And most of the crew seems to have changed too! Now we are on the fourth and final leg. The home stretch. With an AWFUL lot to cram into the remaining time.

Oman was brill. The desert was just as wonderful as the other deserts I have been to. I LOVE deserts. The welcome by the people of Salalah was warm and friendly and helpful and the way we were treated was fabulous. It did take a day or so for my vertebrae and neck to recover from the four by four trip over the dunes and rocks afterwards, but it was a very enjoyable day. Saw the lost city of Ubar, which was pretty amazing. It was buried by the sands and only found by accident by satellite images. Finding toilet roll available in a mud hut, open to the sky, non-flushing toilet in the middle of the desert was also pretty surprising. As was the fact that the toilet had an attendant! Seriously. Slap bang in the middle of the desert. Three hours west from Salalah. Look it up if you don’t believe me. It’s called The Empty Quarter. Trust me. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

The parents had a slightly less fun time as they went into town and, of course, being a Muslim country, we contrived to arrive on a Friday, so everything was shut. The cruise company are IDIOTS. The level of stupidity of the person who planned this itinerary is breathtaking. We did a calculation and found that almost HALF of our stops have been closed, due to Sundays, Fridays and local and national and religious holidays. For goodness’ sake. HALF. Do we get half our money back? I’m guessing not…?! This is only my personal opinion, of course. For what it’s worth. I’m not complaining here, that would be futile. But it is exasperating and annoying all the same. How would you feel?!