Saturday, January 26

Saturday, January 26, 2008
This morning I was finally able to get a run in on a treadmill in the hotel’s exercise room. I did not follow the Indian practice of removing my shoes before working out. It felt so good to finally get some aerobic exercise—followed by a shower—a great day already.

After breakfast at the hotel we were taken to the beach by some Rotarians. It was a highlight for us, and so refreshing to be outside in the fresh air, without having many, many people wanting to talk to us, and take our photo. We went out in a boat—where it was 2 km deep a short ways out from the shore. We also walked along the beach, Rishikonda Beach, and sipped some coconut juice (not our favorite)—some of the local young boys trying to sell us shells were happy to finish our coconut juice for us! The water was very pleasant and we noticed that some Indians were swimming—in their clothes. Dani was interested in going in, and after two of our Rotarian hosts went in (fully dressed) Dani decided to join them. She said it was terrific—not at all cold however it was quite salty. The cows were not swimming with them, but they had been in early for their dip.

After drying off a little bit we headed back to the vehicle to return to the hotel, along the way we pulled off the side of the road to watch a nearby parasailer, it was a little difficult to see him since we were all in the vehicle, but suddenly he dropped on top of our vehicle—YIKES! He was not hurt, but he left a very large dent in the top of the vehicle—talk about an up close and personal experience. Yet another thing we all never seen before in our lives!

At the hotel we changed and headed over to the conference for more photos, visiting, and of course food. This time we discovered that there was ice cream—and it was NOT spicy or hot. One waiter we were especially fond of took care of us, always quietly noticing whether or not we had chairs, and plenty of water. The Indian practice seems to be having a small amount of water after eating—whereas we are all used to having water with our meal, and with Indian cuisine, we find that we prefer having a lot of water with our meal to cool our steamy pallets.

Some Rotarians, including Kamal, offered to show us the port that is used for large amounts of commercial shipping, and take a tour of a submarine, that was used in an Indian war in 1971. The submarine has been turned into a museum with tours led by military men who had served on that vessel. There was a charge to tour the submarine and an additional charge if you wanted to take any photos inside.

Kamal, offered to take us to see a large monument of Shiva, the destroyer God of the Hindu religion and his wife Parvati. They were very large statues located at the top of a hill, called Kailasagiri, overlooking the city that we could access via cable cars, or as they call it here in India, via ropeway. Many other Indians were there to see Shiva, a small temple for Shiva, and the beautiful gardens. One of the reasons there were so many visitors to the monument was perhaps because it was a national holiday, India’s Republic Day, celebrating the ratification of their constitution 59 years ago.

The view on the hill was gorgeous—we could see the Bay of Bengal, and the city, from up above where we were surprised to see so many trees that we had not noticed while on the ground. Our timing was perfect because we arrived to the top while it was still daylight, but after walking around, seeing the monuments, and enjoying some popcorn and pop, it was dark and the city lights were out in full glory. What an enjoyable day getting to see the sights of Visakhapatnam.

After going back to the hotel Molly and I ventured out to purchase a larger suitcase with working wheels. It was a new experience with all the haggling that Molly typically only does at garage sales—not stores. Fortunately there were a number of stores selling luggage next to each other so our business was sought after—we felt that we received a fair price—at half their starting price.

We then changed and headed to the conference for—yes more food, visiting, photos, and business card exchanging. The evening entertainment was a disco which they really wanted us to take part in. We were all tired but did feel obligated to join in. Tom was the disco King, and boldly ventured onto the stage. We decided to join him for a little, but we did not dance very long—we were the only women, and many of the men were overly enthusiastic about dancing with us. We finally formed a train and danced off the stage. We were very ready to go back to our beds at our hotel—our last night before heading by overnight train to the next city.