3/23/2018 0 Comments Myanmar and India (and MAURITIUS)I can honestly say these two ports were the ones I had the least and most expectations for, respectively. Before seeing the itinerary for this voyage, I had not even heard of Myanmar. I briefly knew of Burma, but I could not point it out to you on a map or probably get relatively close to where it is, nor did I have any clue that MynamarMyanmar and Burma those were the same places. I was trying to not get my hopes up because we had only been fed “third-world, poverty, civil war…”. The dynamic before entering this port was interesting because it seemed everyone had mixed feelings on whether or not we should be visiting. On the contrast for India, it was a country I was most excited about before the trip. So many places to see such as Delhi, the Taj Mahal, and so much culture you hear about even on the other side of the world. To put it bluntly though: I was terrified to travel in India. The only stories I could focus on were the ones of violence and crime, especially to women. All the advice I had heard (and yes, it was a little dramatic in my head) was to make sure to be inside by 7 p.m. at night and do not go outside without boys. I could not wrap my head around this difference in culture and honestly it had me so paranoid to even leave the ship.
Regardless of my mixed feelings beforehand, these ended up being two of my favorite ports! The friendliness I received in both the countries could have opened the hearts of even the most closed off people. Myanmar and India are beautiful places filled with beautiful people, and while bad and unsafe things may happen there, I have to stop and realize that those things happen at home too. Everyone I met in these ports was so excited to have us there and welcomed us with the utmost generosity and respect. While we worked so hard to learn from and experience their cultures, they equally tried to accept us and make us feel at home. Sometimes I even felt like the local friends I made tried to protect us “foreigners” from the harsh things that do go on in their countries. For example: on the first day in India, we met three extremely kind tuk-tuk drivers who took us around the city and gave us a tour we did not even know to ask for. On multiple occasions, when we were approached by possibly questionable men or when they felt like we would be uncomfortable in a situation, they would stick up for us and protect us like we were lifelong friends. It was such a stark contrast from how I was expecting to be treated in India, so you could say that I was moved to say the least. Also, Myanmar is a country that is relatively new to tourism, as they opened their borders to it approximately 10 years ago. Every local I interacted with was so ecstatic that we were visiting and couldn’t wait to practice their English on us. It was adorable and made me feel so comfortable, I could cry thinking about it. On the other hand, India and the United States have a very long relationship and most everything there was in English as if it was the first language. As I travelled throughout the states of India and observed their democratic government, I realized that we have many more similarities than differences (except their country is much more colorful that the U.S.- we should really step it up). Now for Mauritius!!! One could say that I peaked on this day, LOL, but really it was the absolute best time of my life. We started off the day seeing the gorgeous sunrise and lush green coast. I had low expectations because I was on a field class today for Oceanography (Each class on the voyage has one day in port assigned to a field class, basically like a field trip that the teacher designs for the course). My professor lives on the Cayman Islands, so she said this was quite similar! We got to snorkel and view the coral and marine life from glass-bottom boats, and we had an amazing buffet lunch at the Dinarobin resort, which saved my 12 day stretch at sea with no service because they had super-fast wifi :) We finished the day relaxing in the infinity pool and enjoying some pina coladas while watching the sunrise. New life goal: to make it back to Mauritius!
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AuthorCourtney Golman Archives
September 2022
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