Disaster Averted

I taught all day yesterday and flew all night so I was a little tired when I got to Amsterdam.  I went to the transfer area to get my boarding card for Warsaw.  I went through passport control and security.  I only had about 45 minutes until my flight.  I was debating whether to get some Lindor chocolate. On the one had they are yummy and cheaper here than in India.  On the other hand I am fat and need to say no to chocolate!!

Fortunately in this case I lacked the willpower to say no to the chocolate.  When I went to pay for it, I realized my wallet was gone!!!  Did I lose it at Security?  Did it fall out of my bag on the plane?  As I started heading back to security, I remembered that I had it at the transfer kiosks when I got my boarding card.  I told security what had happened and they took me to passport control.  They were worried about how soon my flight was and since my passport had already been stamped, they had to get a security officer to take me to look for it because I was no longer allowed to roam the airport on my own.

Patrice was a very nice lady and took me to the transfer kiosks.  No wallet.  They asked what it looked like.  I told them it was garbage- literally - it was made of recycled milk cartons. The nice ladies there looked around and went to the nearby desks to check.  No wallet.  They felt terrible for me - they helped me dig through my backpack to make sure I didn't put it in there instead of my purse.  I tried to stay calm as Patrice walked me back.  I had an emergency $20 bill in my backpack, but I wasn't sure that was going to be enough to get me to my hotel once i got to Warsaw.   I didn't know if the hotel would let me check in if I had to credit card to verify.  I figured this was the modern version of survival of the fittest.  I was about to head to Poland with no cash and no credit cards. I had my passports and boarding card so I figured I could get on the flight and have that time to figure out a plan.

As we were running through the airport Patrice saw an information booth and suggested we stop there.  She rattled off my predicament in Dutch and the lady at the counter bent over and pulled out a plastic bag that had my wallet!!!!!  Patrice jumped for joy and hugged me!  I opened it and my Indian debit card, American credit card, US dollars, Euros, and rupees were all in there!!  My driver's license was not in there.  She said it is routine for the police to take it when there is a lost wallet.  Patrice and I went to a police counter - no license.  We went to the next one and she rattled off the information and I heard the (very handsome) Dutch police man said "Bobbi Jo - Texas??" Patrice and I both squealed and jumped for joy!  We took it and ran through the airport.  She breezed me through passport control.  They made me go through security again but they did it quick and the whole lot of them were cheering me on and having Patrice recount how we found my walled WITH ALL MY MONEY STILL IN IT!  She escorted me all the way to my gate and hugged me.   She was seriously an angel.

I travel through many airports and I will have to say that the people working at the Amsterdam airport at the nicest people ever!!!!

Imagine, if I wouldn't have gone to pay for the chocolate, I probably would not have noticed until I got to Warsaw that it was gone and I would have been up a creek!!

Moral of the story - Being a chocolate addict has its benefits.  and God is Good!

Dhobi Ghat

I finally got to go to the Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai where they do a ton of laundry!  5000 people work here - it used to be 10,000 people, but electric washers have contributed to people losing their jobs.  About 90% of the workers are men and 10% are women - some are couples with children.  They come from all over India to work 18 hour days for 200-300 rupees a day ($100 a month)  and go home to see their families once a year. 

This is a space that 20 men share.  the tin boxes are where they keep their personal belongings and the sleep in the top in shifts. 

Each cubicle is owned by a boss and there are 5-10 employees for each box.  some one picks up the laundry, someone soaks it and gets out stains, someone washes, some one dries, and someone delivers the laundry. 

Most of the laundry is from hotels, hospitals, the railway lines, and factories that make new clothes.  The factories pre-wash the clothes before importing them to the US, UK, etc.  The said the people that work here are very well dressed although they are very poor because they take the clothes.  She said the companies treat it as an expected, acceptable loss.  If they send 10,000 pieces to be washed, they expect to get 8500 back.  

After the tour, we took the train to Churchgate station and saw the dabbawallas delivering lunches.  If you have never seen a documentary on dabbawallas, then you should! 

and I think this is the funniest sign I have seen in Mumbai!

Last days of the cruise

Our last stop was Split, Croatia.  It was a nice city and the people were glad that Game of Thrones stopped filming there.  It puts a real damper on their tours - things are closed off and tourists aren't allowed to take pictures of major sites.  They were filming earlier in the summer and now they are in Dubrovnik and things were closed off when we were there.  I went to change some USD into Kuna and the letters next to the American flag were SAD. The initials for how to say United States of America in Croatia and SAD - like USA.  For some reason I found this HILARIOUS!!

Two women came up to me and asked if I was Irish - this happens to me all the time!  I think some of it is the freckles, but several people say I sound Irish.  I didn't know the Irish had a Texas drawl and said "y'all".  They were from Ireland and we talked about my summers in Dublin and Galway.  After the tour, I went home and napped and read - seriously the best way to spend a vacation.  many of the older people I meet are shocked I travel alone and say I'm "brave" but cruises are easy!  It would be much hard to trek through Cambodia on my own!

On Saturday, the ship docked in Venice and I booked a tour so I could see some of it before they took me to the airport.  The Irish women found me and wished me well on my journey home :)

I was wearing my Goofy challenge long sleeved t shirt because Venice was chilly and this woman asked me what year I did it.  She had done it several times!  Once was enough for me! (you run a half marathon (13.1 miles) on Sat and a full marathon (26.2 miles) on sunday.  I talked to her and her husband for quite a bit - this woman is my hero.  She ran her first marathon at 50! and runs 15-18 a year!  She has done all the major marathons - Berlin, London, Dublin, Belfast, Bucharest, Vienna, Athens, NYC, Chicago.  She picks the race and her husband follows along for vacation.  Last summer she did the Camino in Spain.  All 500 miles of it in 33 days.  wow.  I can only dream of the things she has done.  They were fun to talk to and I want to be her when I grow up!!

Venice was lovely.  It got warmer and was a bright, sunny day.  we toured St. Mark's Square and saw the Bridge of Sighs and other landmarks.

When I went back to the meeting point for the boat to take us back to our luggage, a man asked me about Mumbai (he had heard me talking to the other couple) He and his wife run a NGO in Kenya called Organics for Orphans and they teach people how to grow their own food.  many poor people there depend on aid donations which is a "white diet" bread, rice, etc.  They help them create sustainable gardens and they eat the food and sell some to earn money to go to school.  They work with a lot of HIV people and their immune systems improve greatly after eating real vegetables and fruits.  He was a preacher for many years and now they run a business that funds their NGO work.  They were from the Toronto area and I was impressed they were Canadian missionaries - they are rare.  On the boat ride back, I sat with both couples and they talked about the Salvation Army. The Canadian couple now attend Salvation Army churches in Kenya since they aren't running their own church anymore. The other man was from Scotland and his grandfather was high up in the Salvation Army and he has pictures of him with William Booth (the founder).  So it was really cool to hear their stories and conversations about the Salvation Army.  I meet a lot of people traveling on my own that I might not meet if I was busy talking to friends!

day 4 Kusadasi and Ephesus

We arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey early in the morning.  I chose to go on an excursion to Ephesus.  My tour guide today was a thousand times better than my guide in Athens was yesterday.  He was very knowledgeable and loved talking about Turkey.  He had started being a tour guide in college to pay for expenses, but loved it so much, he stuck with it even after getting two degrees.  He asked people where they were from – a lot from Australia, UK, and Canada.  Apparently people were reluctant to say they were from the US and he said “My country is 95% Muslims, but we are bad Muslims because we like to drink”  He went on  about how they weren’t the kind of Muslims that you see on the news and they aren’t a threat to US citizens.  I thought it was kind of weird – I’ve been to Turkey 4 times and love it – I don’t feel the need to hide the fact I am American like I might in some other countries.  Apparently Turkey makes other people nervous and it was nice that he was trying to endear his country to other people.  He was really funny and gave us a lot of insight into Turkish history and culture. 

He said there are 4 Ephesus’s and we saw all of them.   Only 10% of the area has been excavated.  Everyone sees the same things, but he went out of order on the tour to try to spare us some of the crowds.  After the day I had yesterday, I’m glad he did.  We went to St. John’s Basilica first – He was originally entombed there, but later moved to the Vatican. When Jesus was crucified he told John to take care of Mary like his own mother so he took her to Ephesus and they lived there for a long time.  They lived there until she died (or assumed to heaven – Catholics don’t believe she died.)

baptistry

We went to Mary’s house which was basically a small chapel.  It is a major pilgrimage spot for Catholics and three popes have been there to confirm it is indeed Mary’s house.  History fascinates me.  They said that for centuries people celebrated a holy person every year – they had forgotten who, but knew they were worth celebrating.  It was on the feast day of Mary’s assumption which was a clue that this was indeed her house.

We went on to visit the city part of Ephesus which was typical Roman ruins – evidence of shops, baths, houses.  We saw the grand theater where Paul preached to thousands.  It is amazing how centuries collide – Sting held a concert there in 1991 in the same theater that Paul spoke!  The vibrations from the loud speaker causes some of the ruins to fall. No one was hurt thank goodness, but they stopped having loud rock concerts there.  They still have other concerts there, but no loud speakers J

Theater where Paul spoke to the Ephesians

They took us to eat a traditional Turkish meal.  It was this brand new tourist attraction with shops, cultural shows, and a huge buffet dining area to accommodate bus loads of tourists.  There was tons of meat!  Pork, lamb, chicken, veal, and turkey – yum!  And of course baklava which I love.

On our way back to the ship we stopped at a rug shop for then to give a demonstration.  This was a my fourth time in turkey and my fourth time at a rug store. I have always wanted one, but of course I don’t have thousands of dollars for a rug or room for a huge one.  They have wool/cotton ones and silk ones.  Small silk ones cost as much as big wool ones.  Turkish rugs are double knotted and are practically impossible to destroy unless you cut it.  They last for generations and actually gain value the more they are walked on  - walking tightens the knots and makes them stronger. The older they are, the more they are worth.  They showed a woman weaving a rug and talked about how long it would take to make one.  The skill is passed down from mothers, you can’t go to a university or somewhere to learn how to do it.  I finally decided to pull the trigger and buy a rug – a SMALL, WOOL one J  I forgot to take a picture of it before they wrapped it up for me to take home – I will post a picture later. 

I decided to go to the main dining area for dinner and was hoping to sit with others, but hey didn’t sit me with anyone so I ate dinner alone.  I was in line waiting for dinner to open and there were several pairs of old ladies – I should have asked them if I could sit with them, I guess I just assumed the server would sit us together.  This one lady seemed like a hoot. She was talking to a stranger telling her how her husband died a few months before her 50^th anniversary.  She wanted to take his ashes to Italy but didn’t know where to put them.  She was sitting in the Sistine Chapel and it was crowded and it just felt right so she pulled his ashes out of her purse and just left the bag under a bench in the chapel!  Ha!!  I wonder if people knew what they were when they found the ashes.  She seemed fun!! 

Tomorrow is a sea day!  Reading, walking and napping!