Day 109: Mangalore, India … Commemorating ANZAC Day

Tuesday, 25 April 2017
At Sea — Arabian Sea … En Route to Goa

Stats @ Ship’s Time 8:45p (IST) … UTC 3:15p (25 April)
Temp: 85.3F (29.6C)
Position: 13.40.30N / 74.20.28E

Keep trying.  Stay humble.  Trust your instincts.  Most importantly, act.
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
~ Yogi Berra ~~

It really is not in our nature to not explore a new-to-us port.  But after skipping a day in Myanmar, we decided to also skip sightseeing when Insignia docked in Mangalore, India today.  The decision, in both cases, was made easy because we know we will be returning to both places next year on a cruise that will take us from Cape Town to Singapore.  In any event, we thought we might visit a few attractions in town after we got some errands completed, but it was so hot that we decided not to wear ourselves out since we have a busy day of sightseeing planned for tomorrow.

Anzac Day Memorial Service …

There was a bonus to our decision to not do a tour today.  Since we were in no hurry to disembark the ship, we were able to attend the Anzac Day Memorial Service that was conducted on the pool deck.  This is one of the most important national occasions in Australia and New Zealand.  It marks the anniversary of the landing of the ANZAC [Australia New Zealand Army Corps] in Gelibolu — or in English, Gallipoli — during WWI.

These forces were automatically put on the side of the British Commonwealth when Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1914.  On the orders of the Commonwealth, ANZAC troops were then sent to Gallipoli with orders to capture the Dardanelles so that the Allied navies could pass through.  They fought long and hard, and paid dearly for it … thousands of lives were lost during the campaign that lasted eight months.  The day is commemorated annually not just by Australians and New Zealanders, but by Turks as well.

Mehmetçİğe Saygı Anıtı (Respect for Mehmetçİk Monument) on the Anzac Cove Loop.

The inspiration for the monument came from a speech given by the (then)
Australian Governor General, Lord Richard Casey, when he visited
Çanakkale in 1967. Casey, who served at Gallipoli as a lieutenant, told
of how in the heat of the battle, a Turkish soldier carried a wounded
British soldier from his trench over to the Allied trench only meters
away and, leaving him with his comrades, returned to his own lines.

Today’s service was presided over by our cruise director, Ray Carr.  There were very few people in attendance for the sunrise service … which was unfortunate.  Nonetheless the memorial was very nicely done.  After Ray’s opening statement, a lone trumpeter — from the ship’s orchestra — played the “Last Post” … a bugle call that is sounded not only at military funerals to indicate that a soldier has gone to his final rest, but also at commemorative services like the one held today.  This was followed by a minute of silence.  A short group prayer came next and was followed by The Ode …

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Then Ray read Atatürk’s very moving letter to the mothers of the ANZAC Forces …

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives.  You are now living in the soil of a friendly country, therefore rest in peace.  There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets where they lie side by side here in this country of ours.  You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are at peace.  After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.

Lone Pine Cemetery where many-an ANZAC soldier now rests in the bosom of Turkey.
The name of the cemetery is derived from the lone pine tree that was observed
when the ANZAC forces came up here after the landing on 25 April 1915.

No one likes to glorify war, but to commemorate this event today was appropriate.

For those interested, I have two online galleries with photos from the Gelibolu Peninsula where the Battle of Gallipoli was waged … gallery 1 and gallery 2.

Getting On With Our Day …

After the service, Mui and I went to breakfast at the Terrace Café.  The ship was pulling into its berth even as we sat down to our meal.  This being our second port in India, the delay clearing Insignia was minimal.  We were off the ship shortly before 9:00a.  I don’t know if the tours were already gone when we went off, but the gangway was clear.  Following the plant-lined red carpet that signaled our welcome to Mangalore, we found the terminal and were on the first shuttle (complimentary) into town.

Traffic, as we’ve come to expect in this part of the world, was stop-and-go.  The 6-mile (10 km) drive to the town center took about 20-30 minutes.  I didn’t really time it, but we were at the mall — the shuttle drop-off and pick-up point — before the stores opened at 10:00a.  No matter — we were not interested in shopping anyway.

The first order of business for us was to get some Indian Rupees for our upcoming tours.  In November 2016, India suddenly declared its 500 and 1,000 notes null and void, and subsequently issued new 500 and 2,000 notes.  Since we wanted to make sure we weren’t given any worthless 500 INR bills, we decided it would be safer getting money out of an ATM than going to a currency exchange place.  We found one ATM in the mall, but it looked like the ones placed in gas stations and other public places.  Unsure of how secure the machine was, we decided to wander around and find a bank.

It was hot out on the street, and there was no real shelter from the brutal sun, but we persevered.  The first two ATMs we found would not accept our card, but the bank manager directed us to ICICI Bank nearby, assuring us that our cards would be good there.  Sure enough … the machines gave us cash — with a very helpful policeman inside helping us through the various screens … some of which were advertisements for bank products.  ATMs in India currently restrict daily withdrawals to 10,000 INR, so we each used our card and also went to a second bank — Vijaya — to get the balance we would need for our upcoming three days of sightseeing.

Next on our agenda was to find high speed internet to get some travel arrangements taken care of.  We were directed to an internet café … it was closed.  We were directed to another internet café that was little more than a hole in the wall with computer stations … but it had no wifi and no way of connecting our own devices.  That wasn’t going to work since I needed my own laptop to get work done.  Back to the mall we went, hoping there would be a café or similar place where we could get internet in return for a couple of drinks.  Nope … no can do.

Just as we were about to give up and return to the ship, we spied the shuttle bus representative who had told us he would be at the mall to answer questions all day long.  We described to him what we were looking for and asked if there might be a high end hotel where we might be able to get our internet needs met.  He directed us to the Ocean Pearl — a ¼-mile (400m) walk from the mall.  And there we hit the jackpot.

At the Ocean Pearl, we approached the front desk with our request.  They said it was possible, but that we’d have to pay 100 INR for the privilege.  That’s a whopping USD $1.56 for unlimited high-speed internet … with two user codes no less.  Sign us up!  After paying for our codes, we went upstairs to the Jade Bar.  The place was deserted — it was mid-morning after all.  We ordered a couple of beverages — out of courtesy — and made ourselves comfortable.  The barkeep even turned down the volume of the TV when Mui said he needed to make a phone call, and gave us a bowl of peanuts to go with our beverages.  All with the accompanying smile we’ve come to expect from our interactions with the people of India.

We spent the next 3-4 hours using the internet.  First we went through some touring arrangements that fell through recently.  By the time I was ready to move onto travel arrangements for 2018, I had replacement tours in place for all but Jerusalem … we’ll deal with that one later.  After calling mom to check in, we decided to return to the mall to catch the 3:00p shuttle back to the ship.  We wrapped up our day having dinner with some Kiwi friends who have been aboard since Miami.

Tomorrow is our third port of call in India … and it promises to be a busy one … and a hot one.

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