Day #276 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…OK, here goes…17 days and counting!!!…A frustrating Christmas Day…

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This was our favorite photo of the day, a giant Billy Goat with quite the beard and defined facial markings.

Today’s photos are from this date in 2016 while staying in Penguin, Tasmania, Australia. For more details and photos, please click here.

Yep, we’ve started the countdown until we leave India. In 17 days, on January 12, 2021, we’ll hopefully be on our way. The only scenario that could prevent us from going to South Africa, as planned, will be that President Cyril Ramphosa decides to close the borders once again due to the new strain of Covid-19.

On a drive through the countryside in Penguin, Tasmania, the ocean can be seen in the distance.

From this site, the following was posted:

“Scientists and officials have warned the country’s 56 million people that the new variant, referred to as 501.V2, carries a heavier viral load and appears to be more prevalent among the young. “It is still very early, but at this stage, the preliminary data suggest the virus that is now dominating in the second wave is spreading faster than the first wave,” Prof Salim Abdool Karim, the chairman of the government’s ministerial advisory committee (MAC), said.”

Over the next few weeks, Cyril will announce any changes necessary regarding this update. We continue to hold our breath, awaiting any news, striving to stay upbeat and hopeful. At this point, it’s been incredibly challenging to do so. Christmas Day was undoubtedly a memorable day in this hotel, but not in a good way.

Cattle are curious when humans pass by.

I’d considered not mentioning what transpired yesterday in an attempt to remain upbeat. But, after what happened and our goals of being “transparent” in our experiences, good and bad, we decided we’d share our highly disappointing Christmas Day.

Many of our readers have kindly written to us, espousing our determined attitude and resilience in bearing the brunt of this situation. We appreciate all those thoughtful comments. But, we are no different than many of you when managing a challenging situation. We “buckle up” and make the best of it. Thankfully, our loving relationship with one another and generally good demeanor have been instrumental in getting us through this.

Cute countryside signs.

We’ve often reminded ourselves how fortunate we’ve been that we are staying safe from the virus and have comfortable surroundings. However, lacking in space, and no matter what, we’ve been able to remain calm and composed. This acceptance served us well until yesterday, Christmas Day.

The morning started OK. Then, as the day continued, we encountered several guests in the corridors, talking loudly to one another, spewing spittle as they spoke, talking on cell phones, pacing in the halls, not wearing masks. Regardless of them being on the phone or in conversation, we kindly asked them to put on a show or return to their rooms.

Cattle on a hill.

Our comments were of no avail. We stayed back from them, by no less than five meters, 16 feet in each case, except once when I was carefully rounding a corner, and three unmasked individuals ran right into me. I couldn’t help but raise my voice, “You must wear a mask in the hotel!” They ignored me. I bolted in the other direction.

This scenario continued throughout the day. I finally gave up and discontinued my last walk for the day. Twice, I notified the front desk to hear once again their apologies and statements that have told every guest to wear a mask in all public areas. The guests don’t care for their well-being or care to follow the hotel’s government-mandated requirements,

Once back in our room, all was fine for the next few hours. Later on, as we settled in, watching the new Netflix period series, Bridgerton, a delightful bit of mindless drivel, we were conscientious of excessive noises spewing from the corridors. People were yelling and talking loudly while outside of their rooms. Why not go into the room and make noise? Since it was daytime, and we weren’t leaving our room, we didn’t make a fuss.

Highland Breed cattle. See this link for details on this breed.

By 9:00, we settled in bed, continuing to watch another episode of the series. We were well aware that the door to the suite next to us was banging every minute or so during this time. Each time someone on the floor opened or closed a door, that partially opened door slammed so loud it startled us each time. Whoever was in that room engaged the deadbolt, leaving the door ajar. The air pressure in the hallway causes this.

No less than 20 times in the past months, we had reported this issue to the housekeeping manager when the staff was cleaning the large suite, going in and out, not wanting to use their keys to enter each time. All they had to do was push the door open with the deadbolt engaged with the door ajar but not locked. Each time we complained, within a half-hour, someone came and locked the door properly.

At times, this happened at night when we were trying to sleep. On occasions, guests were leaving the door in this state when they snuck into the stairwell to smoke (not allowed) or go back and forth between rooms where their friends or family members were located. This happened several times after 1:00 or 2:00 am, and as late as 4:30 am, at which point, we had to call the front desk, again complaining.

This annoyed male approached the fence when we stopped for photos.

During the next few hours, people were going in and out of that room, slamming the door each time and often leaving the deadbolt engaged for the big jolt in our room. We must have fallen asleep five or six times to be startled awake after we’d reported this.

As it turned out, the staff was having a party in that suite next door, unbeknownst to management, since we were told (after calling again) that no guests had booked that room. After reporting it a short time later, the door banging finally stopped, and the noise died down, but not entirely.

The only time a guest should be awakened during the night in a hotel would be in the event of a fire or other type such an emergency. But, the worst of it was yet to come when at 11:30 pm, during one of those times we were attempting to doze off, our doorbell rang. Tom bolted out of bed, opened the door with the chain engaged, and handed a letter stating the restaurant could only service 50% occupancy at any given time due to Covid-19. Tom lost it.

Although this one mooed at us, they didn’t bother to get up.

I won’t write what he said. But the question remains in our minds today, why didn’t he place the letter under the door (it fits) or on the little table outside of our room?

Finally, at around 1:00 am, when I was falling asleep, I heard the dreadful sound of a phone vibrating in the room next door, loudly and repeatedly every 20 minutes throughout the night. The head of the beds in our room and the room next door abut one another, and once again, whoever was in that room, didn’t turn off their “notifications.”  They’d have to be passed out not to hear the noise!

This morning, my FitBit indicated I’d slept one hour and 56 minutes. I’m exhausted. This morning, after speaking to my son Greg’s family in Minnesota, I decided to see how I’d do walking the corridors in my current state. No way! I did 1.5 miles, 2.4 km, and gave up, dragging too much to continue through the day.

The countryside in Tasmania certainly reminded us of New Zealand, where we stayed for three months in 2016.

However, during the 1.5 miles, I saw no less than six guests without masks, with as many wearing masks, and heard a woman “coughing up a lung.” No way was it safe to walk the corridors today. I gave up.

Tom is watching football on his laptop using his earbuds. I’ll spend the remainder of the day working on the corrections on our site with Nat Geo Wild on the TV in the background. It’s comforting to see wildlife in Africa and other parts of the world, so hopeful that soon we’ll be face to face. So hopeful, in 17 days.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 26, 2019:

During the cocktail hour before dinner on Christmas Day in 2018, Tom and Kathy posted last year on this date. For more, please click here.

Day #275 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Merry Christmas to all…

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Christmas tree in the lobby of our hotel in Mumbai.

Today’s photos from today, December 25, 2020, were taken by Tom in the hotel lobby in Mumbai.

I wish I could say it feels like Christmas Day today, but it does not. This morning, Tom, after hearing “Merry Christmas” from a passing couple (wearing masks, yeah!) in the corridors as he did his walk he took the lift downstairs to the lobby to find a Christmas tree and other decorations, resulting in today’s photos.

At some point today, well-masked and gloved, I will head down there also to see the decorations. Perhaps, this will precipitate a glimmer of holiday spirit. The lack of feeling “Christmasy” doesn’t negate the fact we are well aware and profoundly moved by this particular time of the year and its meaning for us, celebrations or not.

Firstly, we both want to thank the unbelievable number of readers that sent us warm wishes from all over the world. We attempted to reply to each one, but as we tried to do so, we began to realize it would take days to respond to every one of those particular messages personally.

Instead, we extend our heartfelt appreciation for how you, our dear readers, brought light and hope into our hearts during Tom’s birthday on December 23, Christmas Eve, and now Christmas Day here in India. The outpouring of encouraging and loving messages made this time very special for us.

Gingerbread houses in the hotel lobby.

Surely, it’s one of many heartwarming perks we’ve gleaned from sitting here, day after day, writing to YOU, regardless of how boring and mundane our content, especially during in this confinement, day after day, month after month, as we anxiously await the prospect of getting out of here soon in a mere 18 days.

Again, yesterday, we considered our prospects of a backup plan if the flight to Johannesburg is canceled last minute. Tom tends to be more optimistic and assumes we’ll make it, whereby I always prefer to have a Plan B in place, just in case.

I guess at this point. We can’t conclusively state what we’ll do at the Mumbai International Airport in the middle of the night if we’re denied boarding our booked flight a second time, which would repeat the situation on March 20, 2020. In researching online, there are so many varying restrictions and regulations due to Covid-19. Based on our ongoing research, many of the previously mentioned options we’d considered don’t appear to make as much sense as they did weeks ago.

In any case, we have scheduled a lab tech to come to our hotel on January 10, 2021, to perform the Covid-19 tests for both of us, with results available online and printable within eight hours. Not only does Emirates Airlines require the tests, but also it is required to enter most countries.

Here, in our posts, we contemplated several Plan B options. However, in the future, we have to see how it all rolls out as time nears. I’m sure if the flight is canceled between now and then, we’ll be notified. The worst-case scenario is that it will be canceled while we’re already at the airport in the middle of the night.

More decorations in the hotel lobby.

Anyway, back to Christmas. Hum…each time I look at the homepage on my phone and see “December 25, 2020,” I’m reminded of how most of us throughout the world are anxious for this dreadful year to come to an end. But, what will the New Year bring? Will sufficient numbers be vaccinated to reach a state of herd immunity eventually?

In many countries, such as South Africa, it is expected that only 10% of the entire population of 58 million will be able to receive the vaccine due to a lack of financial resources and infrastructure to accomplish a loftier and more reasonable goal. We can only wait and see how it all rolls out.

In any case, we wish every one of our readers who celebrate a very Merry Christmas, filled with hope, love, and prayers for the future. For those who do not, we wish you, along with the remainder of the world’s citizens, a safer, healthier, and more promising future in years to come.

Stay healthy.

Photo from one year ago today, December 25, 2019:

Tom and brother-in-law Gene. Note Tom: always using his hands when he tells a story. We didn’t include photos of other family members when they preferred not to publish their photos online. No problem. For more, please click here.

Day #273 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Happy birthday to my resilient, cheerful husband!!!…

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In this photo, taken at Aamazing River View in November 2018, on Saturday night with friends, I cut off the top of his “tall” fluffy hair but I like this photo of my guy, Tom.

Today’s photos are from Tom’s birthday party in Marloth Park on this date in 2018. For details, please click here.

Happy birthday to my dear husband Tom. I’m sorry it’s so uneventful with no special meal, no drinks, no cake, and no presents. But the biggest gift of all has been the resilience both he and I have shared over the past nine months, in this monotonous hotel room, making the very best of a peculiar situation, day after day.

Beautiful platters of snacks that Rita and Gerhard prepared, along with a huge amount of decorations.

This morning Tom started rattling off all the countries where he spent his birthday over these past years of world travel. Here’s the list:

2012 – Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

2013 – Marloth Park, South Africa

2014 – Pahoa, Big Island, Hawaii, USA

2015 – Pacific Harbour, Viti Levi, Fiji

2016 – Penguin, Tasmania, Australia

2017 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

2018 – Marloth Park, South Africa

2019 – Apache Junction, Arizona, USA

2020 – Mumbai, India

The outdoor table, set for 10.

This morning, much to our delight, dear friends Rita and Gerhard called us from the US to wish Tom a happy birthday. It was the two of them that hosted the surprise birthday party for Tom in Marloth Park in 2018, as shown in today’s photos. It was fabulous to hear their voices and share our mutual memories of life in Marloth Park.

What great memories! We have had so many wonderful times over the past years with new friends throughout the world. Surely, we’ve been blessed and are very grateful, especially when we recall experiences we’ve had during the holidays and birthdays, including ours and that of our newly made friends.

Our hosts, Rita and Gerhard, couldn’t have done anything more to make this a spectacular birthday for Tom and a celebration for all of us. Our heartfelt love and thanks to them both.

On Facebook today, birthday wishes for Tom are pouring in and we can’t wait to begin reading them all soon. During this challenging time, these heartfelt wishes mean all the more to him and also to me.

Not intended to be over-mushy, overly-gushy, I can’t help but add that these past months, however challenging, and often boring have not been as awful as one may think, Tom has been a rock for me, as well as being an endless source of laughter and entertainment. There are countless days and nights we’ve laughed so hard we cried, along with endless conversations about our situation, past exquisite memories, and dreams for the future.

Danie and Louise. We can’t wait to see them soon!

Although at times, we stayed quiet for several hours in a day in our own little world (literally), we rarely, if ever, felt a sense of disharmony. Staying on an even keel for each other and for our own mental health and well-being has been our goal each and every new day. And, this dear readers, we’ve done well. No, there’s nothing special about either of us. We just were determined.

As the days and nights blended into each other, we tackled one at a time, focusing on the goal in mind…to come out of this trying lockdown as the loving and caring couple as when going in. Today, on Tom’s birthday, I thank him for his part in helping to keep me on an even keel while maintaining himself in a state of a consistently even disposition.  When one member of a couple accomplishes this, it’s easy for the other to follow suit.

A few weeks earlier, Kathy and Rita nonchalantly asked Tom, “What’s your favorite meal?”  He replied, “Meat, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and green beans.  Well, look here! All his favorites and more, steamed cauliflower, potato salad, Greek salad, and spinach salad. What a fantastic meal!

So, happy 68th birthday, my love. Keep walking, keep talking, and keeping smiling. There will be many more birthdays to come, hopefully under less confining circumstances. You are dearly loved.

The bright light behind us wasn’t the best vantage point in taking this photo. From left to right: Don, Kathye me, Tom, Danie, Gerhard with Louise and Rita in front.

I’m cutting this post short today. Let’s get this party started!!!

Happy holidays to all!

Photo from one year ago today, December 23, 2019:

Rita and Gerhard gave Tom a birthday party in 2018. In this photo, Jandre, Danie, Kathy, Tom, me, Rita, Louise and Gerhard on the veranda overlooking the Crocodile River at Tom’s birthday party last year. We had a memorable time! For more details, please click here.

Day #274 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Part 3…Christmas wishes…Chanukah wishes (belated)…Kwanzaa wishes…Boxing day wishes!…

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On the last night of the Maharajas Express, we were all assisted in dressing in traditional Indian attire.

Today’s photos are from the post on March 18, 2020, as we recapped some of the time we spent in India prior to the lockdown. For more on this date, please click here.

Reading the post from March 18, 2020, made us cringe when realizing it was two days later, when our booked middle-of-the-night flight to South Africa, for which we were turned away at the airport at the last minute, required that we return to the hotel from whence we’d come, only to close a few days later. This resulted in our search for a hotel that was allowed to stay open during the lockdown. Subsequently, that scenario brought us to this hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport.

We never imagined we’d see the Taj Mahal. And yet, that morning in the haze and pollution, it lay before our eyes in its full splendor.

This is no typical Courtyard by Marriott one finds in cities throughout the US and other countries, often with few floors and fewer amenities than many larger hotels. This hotel is comparable to a regular Marriott with outstanding decor, many levels, and great amenities. There’s nothing budget-like here.

Amid all the issues over foods we don’t eat, noise, inconsistencies in food preparation, and the endless stream of mask-less guests, overall it’s as good of an experience as we could have expected under these challenging circumstances. Never once was any request we made dismissed or not regarded with the highest esteem.

Exquisite decor in ancient palaces and temples.

The cleaning, room service delivery, and management staff have excelled in every way. We’ve been treated with the utmost respect, kindness, and consideration for which we are very grateful.

Fortunately, booking the continuation of our stay, month after month enabled us to get the best possible pricing, allowing us to easily afford this long hotel stay, unlike any stay in the past. Most recently, the prices for about a six-week period dropped to as low as US $50 a night, INR 3697, per night, the lowest we’ve paid anywhere in the world.

The locals doing their laundry in Lake Pichola but no laundry soaps are allowed. Fishing and private boats are not allowed on the lake in Udaipur.

Being able to use our accumulated “stamps” from Hotels.com on our site, also provided us with many “free” nights when 10 stamps result in one “free night” of comparable value. Of course, these low rates reduce the value of the “free night” credits for future bookings, using the accumulated stamps.

The food situation surely has been the most challenging during this stay. With my ultra low carb way of eating and Tom’s picky taste buds, we had no choice but to order meals outside the realm of our desires and tastes. In the interim, eating a diet of increased carb consumption each day, more than I was used to. The red Indian sauces and excess amounts of vegetables, often greasy and overcooked, caused my health to go downhill.

Several castles are located in or near the man-made lakes in Udaipur.

Tom had no options other than eating chicken pasta with a creamy white sauce every night resulting in a weight gain. I hadn’t gained during that period, but my weight was up considerably from my usual, which had crept upwards while recovering from open-heart surgery.

Many of the medications I’d been taking after the surgery (none of which I still take or need) left me sleeping half the day and grossly inactive, rapidly gaining weight. A year later, I was up 25 pounds, 11.3 kg, and my blood sugar was high, bordering on familial Type 2 diabetes, which only exacerbates cardiovascular disease and blood pressure.

A snake charmer, an expected event in India.

Chronic pain returned making walking the corridors all the more difficult, although I never missed a day. A few months ago, I stopped eating those high carb sauces and vegetables, reducing my blood sugar to a low normal range, and have been able to totally stop taking medications for hypertension, with my blood pressure now at 100/60 without drugs.

As of this morning, I have lost the extra 25 pounds, 11.3 kg, and now fit in all of my old clothing. Thus, when we pack soon, I will be able to donate all the clothes I’d purchased in larger sizes, while in the US a year ago. Whew! So, in that respect, being in lockdown forced me to research ways in which I could reduce my blood pressure and blood sugar, which subsequently resulted in weight loss with relative ease. What a wonderful Christmas gift to myself!

The fantastic chef on the train, John Stone, who assured all of my meals would be perfect and they were..

Tom has lost a portion of the weight he needs to lose as a result of eating that high carb pasta, but surely will do so within the next two months, especially after we get to South Africa when we can prepare our own meals. Hopefully, if all goes as planned, we’ll be leaving  India in 21 days (three weeks from today), arriving in 22 days. We wait with bated breath!

For those who celebrate, we wish you a Merry Christmas and New Year!

Photo from one year ago today, December 22, 2019:

Photo of the beautiful Crocodile River taken from Marloth Park on this date in 2013. For more, please click here.

Day #262 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…No masks!…More from South America in 2017…

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Adult and baby pelicans atop a fishing net.

Today’s photos are a continuation of our visit to Arica, Chile, while on a back-to-back cruise (two-15 day cruises) to South  America on this date in 2017. For more photos, please click here.

Sure, I complain about this every few days, guests in the hotel refusing to wear a face mask in the corridors and public areas. Our dilemma? Do we stop walking in the corridors and spend 16 hours a day sitting in a chair and eight hours in bed? Not our ideal healthy scenario over the next month until we depart this hotel and depart India on January 12th?

A scene of Arica, Chile, from our cabin’s veranda.

I suppose if I didn’t have heart disease, I’d bite the bullet and stay in the room, figuring once we’re out of here, I can make up for it. But, I’ve found walking to be highly beneficial to my well-being, blood pressure, blood sugar, and hopefully my arteries. I don’t dare reverse the stamina I’ve built over the past almost nine months in this hotel, having to start all over again when we arrive in South Africa.

Last night, on Facebook, I read that a leopard with its leg in a snare was wandering the roads in Marloth Park. That could easily deter walking in the bush. The rangers are searching for the injured animal, and once they do, they’ll dart it and take it to the local animal rehab until they are well enough to be returned to the wild.

A boulevard scene in Arica, Chile.

These situations are not uncommon in the bush, so walking on dirt roads may be limited at times. Instead, I’ll have to stick to the grounds of our bush house or even, if necessary, walk indoors if, at any given time, it’s not safe to walk outdoors. It’s not easy to walk five miles inside a house, but it can be done.

In the Orange house in 2019, after heart surgery and before my legs became infected, I walked a route I’d created in the house once every 30 minutes throughout the day to accomplish 1000s of steps. Of course, once I’m busy cooking and “keeping house,” getting in more steps will be considerably more manageable.

Arica was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

In Marloth Park, we will have extra services, limiting the amount of housework we’ll do each day to include: daily cleaning, pool services, laundry services, linen change once a week, shopping in Komatipoort. Can you believe Louise will shop for us if we prefer to stay away from the busy village of Komatipoort?

There won’t be many steps taken by us doing laundry. We prefer to put our clothes in the washer and then leave them for Zeff and Vusi (the cleaners) to hang them outdoors. That way, we control our whites, colors, and the delicate items being washed in the kitchen’s washing machine.

Dining in the open mall area.

It’s not safe to walk outdoors here either. It would require going into the lift twice an hour, down and then back up, which surely is a hotbed of germs with all these guests going in and out all day without wearing masks. Also, there is nowhere to walk once outdoors, but in the parking lot or the parking ramp. The streets of Mumbai are so jammed with vehicles, making walking on the side of the road with no sidewalks dangerous and foolhardy.

So, I guess we have to deal with the endless stream of guests in the corridors not wearing masks, avoiding them as much as possible. I take no shame in literally turning on my heels and bolting in the other direction when they refuse to put on a mask which happens 50% of the time when I ask them to “Please put on your face mask.”

A colorful fishing boat.

If this face mask situation weren’t such a stressful ordeal, waiting out the next 34 days would be a breeze. And, then, if they don’t, running the other way, Perhaps, I’m getting more exercise by my fast turns and escape from non-mask wearers! Alas, this is our fate for now, and we continue to deal with it as best we can, asking guest after guest to “Please put on your face mask.”

Have a good day, everyone. This, too, shall pass (at least we keep telling ourselves).

Photo from one year ago today, December 10, 2019:

The compact unit/living room had everything we needed for the seven weeks in Apache Junction, Arizona, when we lived in a park model where Tom’s sisters and brothers-in-law spend the cold Minnesota winters. For more photos, please click here.

Day #260 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…The time can’t come soon enough…

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We were with friends Lisa and Barry, enjoying one last night together on the ship in a private sitting in the wine room.

Today’s photos are from a South American cruise in 2017, again with friends Lisa and Barry, as we shared an exquisite evening dining in the “wine room” as their guests. The food and wine were “over the top.” For more on the post, please click here.

No doubt, we have a little apprehension about traveling for almost two days when we depart India on January 12th. At this point, we have no idea how comprehensive the precautions will be at the Mumbai airport in the middle of the night, the four-hour layover in Dubai, the airport, hotel, and taxi in Johannesburg, and the fight on the smaller plane for the arrival in Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger airport, eventually picking up the rental car, for the hour-long drive to Marloth Park.

The wine room was filled with rows and rows of exceptional wines.

We can only hope and pray we arrive in Marloth Park on the 13th without having contracted Covid-19. It’s a little scary. We’ve read they have been taking extra precautions with the first two flights on Emirates Airlines, but we still have to deal with everything in between.

On our own, we’ll be taking several precautions, wearing masks, face shields, rubber gloves, and using hand sanitizer. We’ll change our gloves frequently. We may decide we won’t eat on the flights to avoid touching the trays. Also, we don’t plan to drink many liquids during the flight to avoid using the bathroom. I’m sure over the next few weeks. We’ll come up with more precautions as we continue to research.

That night, Tom was having a great time, dining in the private “wine room” in the Tuscan Grill with Lisa and Barry.

As for the time between now and January 12th? Hum… challenging. This morning, a note slipped under our door notifying us of a big party at the hotel tonight and to be prepared for noise until midnight. Also, with the party imminent, our entire floor appears to be booked.

While walking this morning, we encountered no less than a dozen guests, half wearing face masks and the others not. In each case, as soon as I could see a guest without a mask, I stopped dead in my tracks to stare at them. If they don’t put on a mask or return to their room to do so, I shout out, every single time, “Please put on a face mask!” Most comply. If they don’t, I turn around and head the other way.

An antipasto board was served to each couple.

At times, I’ve returned to our room when a dozen guests or more are waiting for the lifts, half or more of whom aren’t wearing masks and are yelling and talking loudly. No way will either of us get close to such individuals or groups. Often, guests leave their rooms to visit a guest in another room. Even in those cases, I tell them to put on a mask.

At this point, I don’t care what people “think” of this crazy woman walking the corridors all day, telling people to wear masks. The hotel has described to every guest that masks must be worn when outside their rooms. When we report a lack of compliance to the managers, they also are frustrated and don’t know what more they can do when they’ve explained the mandatory mask policy to every guest at check-in, including providing them with a printed notice of COVID-19 precautions and requirements.

It is one of the great wines we enjoyed last night.

After a party like tonight, we wonder if the staff will become infected when guests refuse to wear masks at parties, weddings, and celebrations. At this point, we no longer go downstairs to pay the bill. We ask them to bring the bill and portable credit card machine to us.

When processing the bill outside our room door, we wear a mask and gloves, don’t touch anything but the printed copy and our credit card, along with two new plastic room keys, which we sanitize after we’re done. When food is brought to our room twice a day, we don’t allow the server to enter the room. Tom handles the one tray and stainless steel-covered plates of food. We rewash our hands after touching the steel covers and tray.

Tom’s minestrone.

This morning, somehow, the kitchen forgot to bring our breakfast order. An hour and a half later, they called and asked why we hadn’t ordered. We had. Finally, 90 minutes after our breakfast arrived. We don’t know how this happened, other than the fact that so many guests are here and dining in the dining room and the staff was busy.

The room next door to us has a phone’s notification vibration occurring every 10 to 15 minutes. It wakes us up each time it goes off. Hopefully, by tonight the guest(s) will be considerate enough to turn off the notifications on their phones. At least 25 times after 11:00 pm, we’ve had to call the front desk asking them to tell the guest to turn off the notifications. The walls are paper-thin. Right now, after 1:00 pm, we can hear people yelling in the corridors. I hesitate to go out for my next scheduled walk. Oh, dear.

My filet mignon, cooked rare, was exceptional.

Thanks for listening to me whine again. The time can’t come soon enough. I keep reminding myself, day after day, how much time is left, which is 36 days. I can’t wait for a big steak, a glass of dry red wine, a big bag of pellets, and the blissful companionship of our human and animal friends.

Tom’s ribeye steak was also cooked to perfection.
Tom’s dessert of homemade doughnuts, cherries, and vanilla ice cream.

We hope all of you are holding up well amid the ongoing madness of COVID-19. When will it all end?

Photo from one year ago today, December 8, 2019:

In Marloth Park on this day in 2013, this male zebra stood under the carport for quite some time, watching over the other males. For more photos from one year ago, please click here.

Day #259 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Tom’s Irish Cream recipe…Do we miss the holidays?…

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Tom and I and Lisa and Barry, our new friends. They visited us in Ireland in 2019, and we are close in touch.

Today’s photos are from a South American cruise in 2017 where we met friends Lisa and Barry, as shown in the above photo. Today’s also included is Tom’s Irish Cream Recipe which we’d posted on this date, with the holidays on the horizon. For more, please click here.

As the holiday season approaches, we thought it would make sense to post Tom’s Irish Cream recipe today rather than wait until closer to Christmas, allowing plenty of time for those who may consider giving this as a gift for co-workers, family members, and friends.

Here are our comments and the recipe from that 2017 post, although we’d posted this recipe on posts from other years.

“Each year at Christmas time, we receive many requests for Tom’s Irish Cream recipe, which is comparable to Bailey’s Irish Cream, without all the chemicals and artificial ingredients used in commercial production. 

For those who may want to give bottles of this delicious concoction, glass bottles of this holiday beverage make perfect gifts, generally costing around US $12, INR 921, per bottle. 

Bottles with corks can be purchased at any winemaking store or home good stores at TJ Maxx, where they usually carry very decorative glass bottles.  Tom made about 150 bottles each year that we gave to friends and family, including a non-alcoholic version.

Boat in the harbor in Arica, Chile.

Some years we saved wine bottles as we used them, washing them in the dishwasher and storing them in bottle boxes from any liquor store. This avoided the cost of the bottles.  In those cases, we only had to buy the corks.

Now that some wineries use screw-top caps, avid wine drinkers of those varieties can save those bottles and caps for future use as long as they’re sterilized in the dishwasher or hot water before filling them with the mix.

Also, using our home printer’s label-making feature, we made labels to ensure all recipients were made aware that the product needed to be refrigerated and kept only for 30 days.

The stick-on label would read something like this often with a decorative photo of your choice, which could be a photo of you and your family.

Image result for holly jpg
 Lyman’s Irish Cream
From our home to yours…
Have a happy holiday season!
Please keep this product
refrigerated and stored for
no more than 30 days.

Tom Lyman’s Irish Cream (Comparable to Bailey’s Irish Cream)1 can sweeten condensed milk

1 pint half & half or natural whipping cream

Three pasteurized eggs (important for safety)

1/8 teaspoon coconut extract

One tablespoon chocolate syrup

1 cup Irish Whiskey or other bourbon or whiskey

Blend all ingredients in a blender for 2 minutes, then add 1 cup whiskey, measuring into the empty can of sweetened condensed milk to remove every last drop of the creamy sweetened condensed milk.

Blend for another 30 seconds. Pour into a glass bottle using a funnel with a tight-fitting cork.

Keeps refrigerated for 30 days.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding the preparation of this recipe. We’re happy to assist! Enjoy!

After many years of making these bottles, we stopped making them in 2011, our last Christmas in Minnesota. The cost for such large and continuing-to-grow numbers of recipients became prohibitive.

Although neither of us drank it, we always kept several bottles to share with guests visiting during the holiday season. It was always a welcomed addition to a cup of fresh French pressed coffee.”

Each year we made dozens of bottles to distribute to family and friends in the weeks before Christmas. Tom handled the blender and filled the bottles while I made the labels, rinsed and dried the bottles’ exterior, and placed the labels when dry. Fortunately, we had an extra refrigerator in our basement where we kept them fresh as we distributed them.

It was one of many traditions we had over the holidays, many with family members and friends. Do we miss all of that? It would be impossible not to miss the memorable events with family and friends. But, when we decided to travel the world in 2012, we left that all behind and embraced our new life.

Dinner for one of our tablemates on the cruise, who ordered the roasted duck.

Again, comparable to the Christmas and New Year’s we spent in a hotel in Buenos Aires in 2018, awaiting our upcoming cruise to Antarctica, Tom’s birthday on December 23, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day will be spent in this hotel room, uneventful, without ceremony, while we watch the days tick down to departing India on January 12, 2021.

That will be in 37 days.

Be safe, be healthy, and begin enjoying the holiday season (for those who celebrate), although it will be different this year for all of us worldwide.

Photo from one year ago today, December 7, 2019:

Photo from 2016. Penguin statues were everywhere in the adorable town of Penguin, Tasmania. For more about the year-ago post, please click here.

Day #250 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Our 2013 hotel criteria…Has it changed?…

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Out for a drive in Maui, we stopped to walk along the beach.

Today’s photos are from the post on this date in 2014 while we stayed at Maalaea Beach, Maui. For more photos and details, please click here.

As the long days and nights continue in this long-term confinement, we tend to dream about places we’ve visited in the past and places we’d like to see in the future. Have our criteria changed much over the years? From this post on November 11, 2013, we had outlined our measures for staying in hotel rooms throughout the world.

Maui has one beautiful beach after another.

Now, on day #250 of living in a hotel room, we thought it would be interesting to see if our criteria have changed in the past seven years since we originally uploaded this post. Here they are:

  • Free WiFi
  • Laundry options in the room or the building
  • A sofa in the room (it’s tough to sit on the bed typing on my laptop for hours posting photos and writing)
  • Convenient location: to our next destination (when possible), for sightseeing (if time allows), and for local modes of transportation for dining out, grocery shopping, etc. (Not applicable now).
  • Kitchenette or full kitchen for more extended stays (Not applicable now)
  • Reasonable cost (in most cities, a decent hotel room will run from US $175, INR 12941, to US $200, 14790, per night or more with city taxes and fees. (Prices have increased in the past seven years from this original amount as mentioned)
  • Air conditioning (we seldom, if ever, will travel in cold climates)
  • A safe in the room
  • Good view. For us, this is important. If we’re to pay US $200 a night, we want a good, if not great view. (Not applicable now)
  • Great reviews from recent guests for a 4.0 rating or higher. Tom will read from 30 to 50 recent reviews to satisfy our objectives.
    Many beaches are left in a natural state, with vegetation growing along the shoreline.

Newly added to this list based on our past and recent experiences include:

  • Complimentary breakfast
  • Complimentary coffee and tea
  • Complimentary bottled water
  • Comfortable bed
  • Sufficient plug-ins for our equipment
    The colors in these hills look more like a painting than real life.

At this point, we feel we’ve had enough hotel experience to last us a lifetime but, not knowing when we can depart Mumbai, staying put in this hotel provides us with the fulfillment of most of the above criteria. In the future, if and when we’re able to travel in the future freely, these same criteria will be applicable and to our standards.

For the time being, we had booked this hotel room until January 3, 2021, when by luck, we checked for future pricing and found, on our site at Hotels.com to discover this hotel was selling rooms for US $50, INR 3698 per night for the bulk of December and US $57, INR 4215 per night for the balance of December, all the way to January 3, 2021. We couldn’t get these prices booked quickly enough.

In a matter of minutes, the clouds began to disperse for a better view of the mountaintop. Notice the buildings at the top of the mountain.

Now, we continue to watch prices to extend our reservations further as needed as we wait this out. As always, especially lately, we’ll play it by ear.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, November 28, 2019:

Upon arriving in Mombasa on Thanksgiving Day in 2013, we took this photo from the ferry as another ferry took off. Notice the crowds. For more photos from that day in 2013,  please click here. For more of the year-ago post, please click here.

Day #249 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…A great memory from 2016…A good Thanksgiving after all…

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It had been a long time since I’d done a seminar, but in my career in my old life, I had done many.

Today’s photos are from this date in 2016 while sailing on Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas on the circumnavigation of the Australian continent when we were asked to do two seminars about our world travels. For more on that story, please click here.

Four years ago, we were asked to conduct a seminar on world travel on a cruise ship? We did the first seminar on this date in 2016 and a few days later did a second seminar when asked by the ship activity director to do another when there were many requests from passengers who’d missed it.

Tom chimed in on several occasions and did a fabulous job. Fluffy hair, that day! I love him anyway!

Of course, we were pleased and flattered. We both enjoyed meeting all the people that flocked around us for the remainder of the cruise, asking question after question. We are so grateful for every one of you! I have no doubt many of those participants are still following us now, four years later.

After we’d done the seminars, we spent some time inquiring about the possibility of conducting such workshops on future cruises, but the compensation offered was not worth it to us. Many speakers on cruises think they are getting quite a perk to speak on their favorite topic and return repeatedly.

Note our talk scheduled at 11:15 am on the ship activities program.

For us, it wasn’t a worthwhile undertaking. The cruise line pays only for transportation to a specific port of call and the time spent on the ship. Once the “talks” are completed, the speaker(s) are dropped off at the next port of call to “fly away.” This didn’t work for us at all. It simply wasn’t worth it.

Of course, all the days and nights socializing with many Australians and a handful of Americans, including two couples with whom we spent most “happy hours” and many dinners. However, we thoroughly enjoyed those two experiences on that 33-night cruise. It was a fantastic cruise that we’ll never forget, among others.

I love the look on Tom’s face in this shot.

Now, with COVID-19 raging worldwide, the prospects of cruising again anytime soon are limited. A few days ago, we posted a story about enthusiastic cruise passengers volunteering for “test” cruises to see how a cruise line will handle COVID-19 breakouts during a cruise. Here is the link to that post, entitled “Ten reasons to avoid test cruises.”

As for yesterday’s Thanksgiving, we made it through with ease and nary a moment of disappointment. We heard from so many family members, friends, and readers. It proved to be a busy day while we responded to everyone. We couldn’t have felt more loved with the many good wishes and concern for our well-being during our peculiar situation.

Tom managed the video presentation while I talked. We were (we are) a good team.

Did we miss the Thanksgiving dinner? Not at all. I had my usual chicken dinner (tonight is salmon night), and Tom had only breakfast and some bananas he’d saved for later. We now refer to his daily bananas as “banana cream pie,” making our mouths water at the prospect of any pie at this point. However, I’ve only eaten low-carb/gluten-free pies in the past many years.

Now, with my drastically reduced carb regime and my lowest morning fasting blood sugar reading this morning of 82 mg/dl, 4.6 mmol/L, in 20 years, I continue to be ecstatic over my recent health improvements. For the first time in 20 years, this morning, I didn’t take any blood pressure medication. Of course, if it rises over time, I will revert to small doses of the drug to keep it in check. Time will tell. In the interim, I will proceed with the utmost caution, checking it several times a day.

There were over 100 people in attendance at our first seminar, with many more at the second, a few days later.

Subsequently, in the future, I doubt I will be eating any of those “low carb” modified desserts that may raise blood sugar/blood pressure as I continue to strive to maintain these good numbers well into the future. Eliminating such sweet treats may add many good years to my life.

Today? Another low-key day. In the evenings, we’ve been watching a fantastic show with many seasons and episodes, streaming on Hulu, ‘This is Us.” In the past, we’d considered streaming this popular show but never got to it until now. If you haven’t seen it, we highly recommend it. Any recommendations you may have for Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu, please send them our way!

Happy day to all, and again, thank you for all the warm and heartfelt wishes over the holiday!

Photo from one year ago today, November 27, 2019:

About 8 inches of snow fell in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, staying with friends Karen and Rich. For more photos, please click here.

Day #247 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Crucial COVID-19 treatment information…

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Stunning homes along the channel as we sailed out to sea from Fort Lauderdale.

Today’s photos are from this date in 2017 as we were sailing out to sea on Celebrity Infinity from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a partial circumnavigation of South America, ending in Buenos Aires, where we stayed for one month in a hotel, awaiting an upcoming cruise to Antarctica. For the story from that date, please click here.

A while back, we voted as to whether we should include COVID-19 news and treatments that we may discover along the way. The results of that vote were 51% against, 49% for. Subsequently, we have diligently stayed away from controversies and conspiracy theories revolving around the pandemic.

Cargo ship at the port.

Today’s comments do not consist of a controversy or a conspiracy. It is a simple medical fact…sugar is not an essential nutrient and is particularly harmful to seriously ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients. If only one of our readers or a loved one benefited from this information, this post would be well worth any backlash or negative comments we may receive from naysayers.

Unless one has been living under a rock for the past ten years, the dangers of consuming sugar have been reiterated repeatedly. Again, sugar is not an essential nutrient. If we never finished any sugar in our lives, we’d never be missing a single nutrient vital for life.

Bridge in Fort Lauderdale.

As we all know, sugar (and high-carb foods that convert to sugar in our bodies upon consumption) is highly detrimental to diabetes or those with metabolic syndrome. Most recently, as I’ve strictly reduced my carb consumption and watched my blood sugar and blood pressure dramatically reduce to a point where I’ve been able to stop two 20-year medications, it has been evident to me, which I shared in this post a few days ago.

After spending no less than two hours a day researching ways in which I can improve my cardiovascular health, I discovered two things of the major causes of cardiovascular disease: Smoking (I was an occasional smoker in my youth) and sugar (in my case, the consumption of too many carbs/sugar in my diet from a lifetime of eating a low fat, high carb diet). It took 30 to 40 years for my cardiovascular disease to manifest.

People were waving to ships as they made their way out to sea.

So, this morning a podcast popped up on my phone from Dr. Robert Cywes, a highly reputable surgeon who’s become involved in saving lives through diet, which is known as the “Carb Addiction Doctor,” entitled, The Absolute Evidence, The Truth About Cardiovascular Disease, Sugar or Fat by Robert Cywes. The content of this podcast is found here:

Well, what does the above topic have to do with COVID-19? A lot. As Dr. Cywes explains, hospitalized COVID-19 patients who become unable to eat due to being intubated or too sick to eat are given IVs containing GLUCOSE, PURE SUGAR.

View of houses on the channel.

If you or a family member are pre-diabetic, diabetic, or suffering from a metabolic disease (and many other conditions), this massive dose of sugar can send the patient into a state of high blood sugar/diabetes, requiring treatment with insulin which only exacerbates the virus to the point that may contribute to death. Why do we keep hearing about poor outcomes/death for diabetics and patients with other comorbidities? Many are being pumped full of sugar, only increasing their risk of death.

No, I am not a medical professional, nor do I profess to know more than the average person. When I had open-heart surgery in 2019 in South Africa, I made sure it was stated in bold type on my chart that no IV was to contain glucose. But, it’s not rocket science to figure out that massive infusions of sugar are detrimental to many patients, and the sugar is not needed. There are simple, non-glucose alternatives if fluids are required, containing healthy fats and protein, or a short-term treatment; plain saline is generally safe.

So, there it is, folks. Listen to the above podcast. Do your own research. Talk to your doctor. Tell the hospital staff if you or a loved one are hospitalized. Save a life.

That’s all I have to say.

Photo from one year ago today, November 25, 2019:

When we didn’t have any new photos to share, here is a six-year ago photo we posted in 2019.  This view from the second-floor balcony at Whalers Village in Kaanapali Beach was breathtaking. For more photos from this post, please click here.