Category: General Globe Trotting

MORE MALAYSIA. AND SHARK FOOD TOO.

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DAY 29, DATELINE KUALA LUMPUR – Asia Modern: young and beautiful with high-rise luxury malls, sophisticated metro, crowded bazaar, dreamy colonial architecture and fabulous food.

The place is decked out for Chinese New Year with red lanterns everywhere. The other twin towers

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Muslim kids – and tons of men streaming to mosques with prayer rugs under their arms for Friday prayers

Do they really mean shark?

Stew note: Burger Villa, Burger King, Burger Shark? Shack? Who knows if it is seafood special or not. Surely you tried it, Kiki? Did it taste fishy?

Videos from the streets of Cochin, India. Going Ape. Italian icon daily part of Indian life. Buckle up.

Apes and Vespacars have been being made in Italy for decades. But not rare to see any kind of “old” apes in India. They call them tuk-tuks bee-cause of the sound?

DATELINE, THE APE-FILLED STREETS OF COCHIN, INDIA. – Apes and Vespacars have been being made in Italy for decades. The ultimate is the Ape Calessino which is sometimes found picking up passengers at the train stations or beach side ports of call. It is based on older 1980’s version of Piaggio’s Ape. Its rare to see one. But not rare to see any kind of “old” apes in India. They call them tuk-tuks bee-cause of the sound? Regardless, India got the concession to build this model of ape/tuk-tuk years ago and i think we heard they’ve been turning out 600 a day for years over there to meet the demand and keep the streets abuzzing. (Ape means “bee” in Italian. Because of the sound. Vespa? Wasp.

Ape at speed:

Ape, Kiki asked the driver to slow down to shoot his buddy’s ape coming up on them.

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Incredible India. Dance Video.

DAY 25 DATELINE, COCHIN, INDIA- We disembarked to music and bare-chested men and assorted gods and goddesses dancing, had a harrowing ride (is there any other kind in India?) in a tuk-tuk and saw beautiful Hindu temples.

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Many Vreeland/Italy connections here: the tuk-tuks are like your Italian Ape, right? Your cousin Max Holden who stayed with us in Panicale, was my Cochin travel consultant. And our Panicale buddy Diletta Cuccinetti did a yoga retreat here!

A big thrill just now: watching the little pilot boat speed alongside to let two Cochin pilots disembark. They did it by ladder as the huge QM2 powered out into the Indian Ocean. It looked harrowing but they were sharp in their white Bermudas!

Stew note: We’ll get to the crazy good Ape videos in the next blog!

Back off, Blackbeard

suezsoundbarrier1Day 9 Transiting the Suez Canal – If pirates get too close this sound gun shatters their ear drums. So there.

Kiki

Stew note: Yike. Don’t mess with Queen Mary. Guess she can make really loud noises. Hope they’ve got that aimed the right direction. But if any of the pirates have teen agers or have traveled with a band, they are probably use to this level of sound. Can’t believe Kiki’s left the Mediterranean behind already and is on the whole other side of Africa.

Props for Diarmuid

propsfordairmuidDay 9 Port Said, Egypt – At midnight we enter the Suez Canal. Soon after we’ll be in pirate waters and will darken the ship for security during night travel. Another kind of security: spare propellers. Aren’t they beautiful?

Stew note:

Those are high art, deserve to be displayed as sculptures for sure.

Kiki, people are writing, saying they are loving trying to keep up with you as you glide further and further around the globe.

the world will note and long remember. As will you. What a fine fine time you are having. thank you for sharing a taste of it with us landlubbers.

Next time you go all formal with the Midge polka dot dress, send her snap? She will live ship-board vicariously thru you and that little black party dress.

Ciao, ciao,

stew