India Is A Go, Varanasi Is Not
Note: If you have not read my perevious post, read that before this one.
Well, we got word tonight at the logistical pre-port meeting that we will still be going to India, which I assumed we still would. The only difference is that there were a number of overnight trips that were scheduled to visit a number of cities including Varanasi, the city that was bombed today. Apparently more bombs went off later in the day, and that pretty much sealed the fate for the trips going there. I am on one of those trips. My trip is the Dehli/Varanasi/Agra trip. Our itinerary has been altered, and we will not be going to Varanasi, but we will be extending our stay in Dehli before traveling to Agra. I am deeply upset about this. There were two things I wanted to see the most on this voyage. One of them is Cambodia, which I will visit when we port in Vietnam, and the other is to visit the River Ganges in Varanasi. I will not be able to do it, and I am extremely saddened by this. But, I must roll with the punches and understand and commend SAS with taking the utmost consideration when it comes to our safety. Besides that, Varanasi is currently closed off to everyone including tourists until this bomb stuff is sorted out. In the end, I will still get to see a great site, the Taj Mahal in Agra. While it is not nearly as important to me as seeing the religious ceremonies, the ritual bathing, and the sheer amazement of the River Ganges, I believe that it will still be a good trip. I mean, I am going to be in India; that in itself is awesome. So, it is now 10pm here and we dock in India at 8am, which is in 10 hours. Even though we hit a major bump in the road, I can’t wait to get there…
Well, we got word tonight at the logistical pre-port meeting that we will still be going to India, which I assumed we still would. The only difference is that there were a number of overnight trips that were scheduled to visit a number of cities including Varanasi, the city that was bombed today. Apparently more bombs went off later in the day, and that pretty much sealed the fate for the trips going there. I am on one of those trips. My trip is the Dehli/Varanasi/Agra trip. Our itinerary has been altered, and we will not be going to Varanasi, but we will be extending our stay in Dehli before traveling to Agra. I am deeply upset about this. There were two things I wanted to see the most on this voyage. One of them is Cambodia, which I will visit when we port in Vietnam, and the other is to visit the River Ganges in Varanasi. I will not be able to do it, and I am extremely saddened by this. But, I must roll with the punches and understand and commend SAS with taking the utmost consideration when it comes to our safety. Besides that, Varanasi is currently closed off to everyone including tourists until this bomb stuff is sorted out. In the end, I will still get to see a great site, the Taj Mahal in Agra. While it is not nearly as important to me as seeing the religious ceremonies, the ritual bathing, and the sheer amazement of the River Ganges, I believe that it will still be a good trip. I mean, I am going to be in India; that in itself is awesome. So, it is now 10pm here and we dock in India at 8am, which is in 10 hours. Even though we hit a major bump in the road, I can’t wait to get there…
posted by Mike Gilbert at 11:52 AM
1 Comments:
Hey- just wanted to thank you for keeping such an awesome blog. :-) This is coming from a F05 SASer who is going through some serious SAS withdrawl. I am living vicariously though you all :-) ( i swear i'm not a stalker...) Anyways, just thought I'd leave a comment because I know I loved when people left comments for me on my journal. No matter how random they were. Enjoy India (it's kind of inevitable) and the rest of your voyage. :-)
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