#747 Exploring Yangon by Train

We love train trips! So we decided to explore Yangon, Myanmar by rail.

We met our train at the Yangon Central Railway Station, the largest station in Myanmar.

Using the ticket booth map, our excellent guide described the Yangon Circular Railway. It's the local commuter line, a 28-mile loop with 39 stations.

At 200 Kyats each, our tickets cost about 13 cents.

We rode in one of the newer train cars from China.

The rules: No smoking, littering, or public displays of affection.

We rode the west side of the loop from the central station and jumped off at a stop near a local fruit market where bananas were unloaded and young Buddhist monks stepped gingerly across the tracks.

Yours in riding the rails,
Kelly

#746 Renovating Myanmar

We first visited Yangon, Myanmar in 2006. We returned twelve years later.

In 2006, the gleaming Shwedagon Pagoda brightened a dark sky.

In 2018, the Schwedagon Pagoda, under renovation and covered in form-fitting bamboo scaffolding, still brightened a dark sky.

In 2006, the massive reclining Buddha had pink feet.

In 2018, the massive reclining Buddha, under renovation and covered in form-fitting bamboo scaffolding, had black feet.

In 2006, the clock tower was in serious need of renovation.

In 2018, the clock tower renovation was complete.

Yours in appreciating Myanmar's renovations,
Kelly

#745 A Day With Makers In India

India has a long tradition of skilled craftspeople making functional items with their own hands. We visited a village outside Kochi to learn more about their amazing skills.

Weavers make cotton fabric they sell to the government for schoolchildren's uniforms.

We boarded a shikara boat and headed into the backwaters.

There we met a toddy tapper. He climbs palm trees to collect the sap, makes a natural brew, and sells it to local toddy shops.

Fish farmers demonstrated catching their crop with handmade nets.

Local chefs made a traditional lunch, served to us on a banana leaf.

We saw palm fronds, in the hands of experts, woven into panels traditionally used in home construction.

Coconut husks, processed and expertly spun, make strong natural rope.

Locally harvested reeds are dried and woven into beautifully crafted smooth mats.

Our day with makers ended with milk-makers at a dairy farm where chopped local forage is the input and site-produced bio-gas fuels the operation.

Yours in appreciating those who make,

Kelly

#744 Indian Seagull

As our ship sailed into the Kochi harbor, the bright yellow sign at the Hotel Seagull caught my eye and I snapped a picture.

That picture was the start of a wonderful relationship.

Hotel Seagull

On day 2 of our stay in Kochi, a dinner group formed around the idea of eating at the Seagull's waterfront restaurant. Our mode of transit: the chaotic tuktuk.

Tuktuk driver, Me, Abby

We were all smiles after devouring our Seagull meal.

Our excellent host that night was Rajesh.

Abby, Rajesh, Bob

When I showed Rajesh the photo of his yellow sign, he raved and asked me to email the photo.

On day 4, another dinner group formed around the idea of revisiting the Seagull.

Mariah, Tom, Judy, Bob, Kelly, Marni, Mary, Abby

When we arrived, Rajesh's big smile let me know something was up. He motioned me to follow him, away from the restaurant hubbub, behind the scenes, and into an office toward a large desk. There amid the clutter, a color copy of my Seagull photo was under glass, on display.

Pointing, Rajesh exclaimed, "Your photo! Your photo!" as my photographic pride skyrocketed.

Yours in photo connections,
Kelly    

#743 On Safari

On the farm where I grew up in Missouri, one of my jobs was searching our 80 acres to check the livestock, i.e. cattle. At Botlierskop Game Reserve in South Africa, we spent three days exploring 7,500 acres to check the livestock, i.e. not cattle.

Rhino, not cattle!

Each day in the early morning and late afternoon, we set out from the lodge with our Semester at Sea friends on game drives in search of animals.

We found all the animals.

Bontebok

Impala

Buffalo

Hippo

Giraffe

Elephant

Lion

Yours in South Africa,
Kelly

#742 Thanksgiving food art

Food art is fun.

We don't do a lot of cooking so our holiday meal contributions typically tend toward the inconsequential side dishes.  

Thanksgiving is fun because we like to try our hand at making a turkey without turning on the oven.  This relish tray is one of my favorites.

This cracker, cheese, and sausage platter was fun too.  I especially like the tomato wattle.

Lately, we've been offered two creative suggestions for future Thanksgiving food art. 

Thanks go to Megan for this colorful fruity turkey idea.

And thanks go to the crew of the MS World Odyssey for this funky idea!

Yours in planning for Thanksgiving 2019,
Mary

#741 The Mysterious Zero Zero Buoy

Latitude zero, longitude zero is a point in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ghana where the Equator and Prime Meridian cross.

We've been lucky to visit this spot on the Spring 2011 and Fall 2013 voyages with Semester at Sea.

Before both visits to the 0,0 spot, we heard stories about a buoy anchored there. Both times upon arrival we didn't see a buoy. After each visit, we were shown photos allegedly taken from the ship of the elusive 0,0 buoy. Often the photos were accompanied by doubt-inducing commentary.

So as we approached 0,0 on this Fall 2018 voyage, we were excited to find this note on our cabin door: 

"The Captain invites you to the bridge for the 0,0 crossing at 13:20. Deck 8 forward."

Believe me, we were on time for this appointment! Upon arrival Captain Kostas, binoculars-in-hand, tells us he's looking ahead to spot the buoy.

And in just a few minutes, we spot the buoy!

It's real! There's a buoy at 0,0. I was so excited my hair stood on end.

Then so many questions come to mind. Who decided to put a buoy at 0,0 and why? How does it stay at 0,0 where the ocean is over 16,000 feet deep?

Making good use of satellite internet, I learn the buoy is part of the PIRATA (great acronym!) array deployed by a consortium of countries (including the US government agency NOAA) to collect data.

That answers the 'who' and the 'why'. But what keeps the buoy at 0,0 given the depth? One widely-held theory: the buoy is fitted with GPS and motors its way back to 0,0 if it floats too far away.

So I emailed NOAA asking about the 'how'. NOAA's reply came quick and strong with diagrams and deployment photos.

Yes, the 0,0 buoy is anchored to the ocean floor. This cartoonish drawing makes it seem simple. It's not. A more complex drawing followed with details.

At the bottom lie over 2 tons of anchor weights made from recycled rail car wheels.

It takes a big ship to deploy the assembly.

Once the sensors are installed, deployment is complete.

Yours in thanking Captain Kostas and NOAA for bringing the zero zero buoy up close and personal,
Kelly