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Thread: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

  1. #21
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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    I was pretty lucky with my time at sea having been with a few different companies who all had their own runs, Manchester Liners up the St Lawrence to Montreal. Anchor Line, India,West Africa, and tramping around the globe, Lambert Bros bulkers wherever there happened to be a huge pile of some kind of ****/dirt, but favourite trips were down to Aussie and New Zealand on the Blue Star reefers. 4 weeks down, 6/8 weeks on the coast loading frozen lamb (by nets not loaders) and 4 weeks homeward. An absolute ball, time to pull a couple of units, do plenty sightseeing, and party every night with the (more than willing) local ladies, can even remember getting (unofficially) married to a maori girl in a ‘haka’ ceremony in Napier who was ringbolting round the coast with me.
    Dislikes were the Persian Gulf, was in Bandar Shahpur on the Halifax Star when Iraqi planes started bombing the harbour, old man decided enough was enough and we, along with 2 other ships, slipped the ropes at night and did a runner, never my favourite run.
    Other great runs were the South American ports, Santos, Rio, Itajai, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and 1000 miles up the Amazon on Booth line (BSSM) ships to Manaus.
    Biggest regret is never getting to Japan, though Anchor Line did run there

    Davy G

  2. #22
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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    Rodders, you never got to Bombay, oh man see what you missed.
    Flew in some years back, the approach is over the largest collection of tin roofs any where in the world, it goes on forever.
    But we could not get of, the international terminal had a fire in it so as transit passengers we had to sit on board for three hours.
    The doors were left open, no air conditioning.
    There are about 3 trillion flies in India, about 2 trillion found their way on board carer of the open doors.
    Return journey the terminal was open, pity about that.
    Go to the dunny, well having seen it decided to hang on.
    Bodies all over the floor, some there for as long as a week waiting for connecting flights.

    The smell of the place was unique, no where any where in the world smells like that, a mixture of curry, s***, cows and burning bodies, the crematoriums go 24/7 all year long.
    Never got to see the Ganges, pity it may have had a different smell.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    Quote Originally Posted by happy daze john in oz View Post
    Never got to see the Ganges, pity it may have had a different smell.
    It isn't!, it wasn't!
    Last edited by Ivan Cloherty; 6th March 2023 at 10:31 AM.

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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    I have visited more than I care to count, some that I visited on board ship and to say the least was not impressed with, I then went 0n to work ashore in. Others I ended up visiting not by choice but because my work/ship went there and at the end of the day a job is a job. Somebody posted that they hated Hong Kong/Singapore in the 60's-70s for me they were the best years that I had there. somebody else posted that they enjoyed the west coast of Africa I have spent time on ships in Namibia, Angola, Nigeria, the Ivory coast, Senegal, Liberia and Mauretania and they were not enjoyable places for me. I have taken jobs shoreside in both Angola and Nigeria and remain even more unimpressed. I just consider myself very lucky/fortunate to have had the chance to visit so many places and to be able to have an opinion. I like many, get asked what is my favorite country that I have visited or indeed least favorite, my usual reply is the places that I like /dislike are not necessarily what others like/dislike you need to go and visit to make your own opinion. There are still countries that I visit and end up disappointed with because they have changed beyond recognition and Hong Kong/Singapore are a prime example. I am still able to travel and visit old and new places which I am doing at the moment. I still believe that if the next port of call is not to my liking, the one just over the horizon will be. I have had that optimistic outlook for well over 50 years now and long may it be so.

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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    I've been to plenty of places I liked visiting, and enjoyed being there, but wouldn't like to live there.

  6. #26
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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    Johnno.

    Re. Ganges: You may not have seen it, but you sure must have smelled it, just add the odd floating cow or two. It's so thick with garbage and poop, I'm sure you could walk on it, that's if you could hold your breath.

    The Taj Mahal looked like a diamond in a bucket of puke. The other not so charming thing is every local you come in contact with has his hand out for baksheesh, there could be six or seven tugging at your sleeve and pushing each other to get a sleeve and follow you down the street for blocks, and they don't take no for an answer. A fellow yank told me what to do. he had to keep coming back on business. He told me to come in with loads of pennies (U.S. one cent piece), go out with heaps in your pocket and when the mob starts their baksheesh crap, throw a small hand full back way over your shoulder, so the coins scatter, then speed it up while the bastards fight each other scrambling and fighting each other for the coins. Cruel, but sounds effective.

    Cheers, Rodney.
    Rodney David Richard Mills
    R602188 Gravesend


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  8. #27
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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    The other "crappy" country I HAD to visit was in the Emirates in 1978. This is not the Emirates of today, luxury hotels and high-rise buildings, this was the worst side of the Arabian Nights. I was working in Iran. The company wanted a market study of the Emirates to consider expanding its remote-site industrial catering activity. I drew the short straw.

    The place Sharjah, the last of a miserable trip traveling to the seven emirates.* I was royally*pissed, standing on a bridge leaning on the cement railings, staring*at the miserable town of Sharjah and feeling sorry for myself. The last of a truly punishing trip.

    An Arab stopped, lifted his thoub, (the long white gown the men wear) climbed backwards onto the bridge railing, right next to me, and took a dump. Got down and walked away, no cleaning himself, (not that it would have made me feel better if he had).* It all happened in a matter of seconds.

    Yuck, Rodney
    Rodney David Richard Mills
    R602188 Gravesend


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  10. #28
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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    #27, Rodney, Some would say ''Bad Luck Old Chap'' Here in Scotland we say ''Lucky White Heather''..... Will leave my dinner now till later

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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    Denis #13 re let's all have another trip together.

    Count me out, I'd get stuck in the galley again, feeding all you lot, while y'all buggered ashore and left me with the dishes,

    Cheers, Rodney
    Rodney David Richard Mills
    R602188 Gravesend


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    Default Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea

    Quote Originally Posted by Rodney Mills View Post
    The other "crappy" country I HAD to visit was in the Emirates in 1978. This is not the Emirates of today, luxury hotels and high-rise buildings, this was the worst side of the Arabian Nights. I was working in Iran. The company wanted a market study of the Emirates to consider expanding its remote-site industrial catering activity. I drew the short straw.

    :
    Rodney I was living in Sharjah at that time, with my office in Dubai, to me it was heaven, as I had previously had nearly four years in Pakistan! Yep no skyscrapers and few paved roads and no paved road to Abu Dhabi, about 10 miles out of each town the rest was hard sand, after a sand storm you waited for the Bedouin truck drivers to blaze a trail again, often had to drive to Muscat and that was a journey and half. I think 1978 was the year of the floods in Sharjah, woke up one morning and there was water as far as the eye could see, where I lived in Sharjah was below sea level, my small twin daughters were delighted as it was the biggest swimming pool they had ever seen, when the water eventually disappeared we had acres of pink flowers spring out of the sand but within 48 hours they had all disappeared.

    I preferred the UAE as it was then to what it is now, very little corruption and you could do business on a handshake or a signature on the back of a cigarette packet, but whatever you do, don't lose that cigarette packet.

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