The Cruise: Superstar Libra - Part III

Preparation:

Lets put together the two bored kids and the two bored professionals with a home maker and a doctor, mix the additives in the form of lovely weather, a beautiful and luxurious ship, funny crew & funnier co-passengers and voila! See the fun!

Beginning from the the hot morning at the Jaipur airport till the humid afternoon in Mumbai, when we disembarked from the ship; the trip was full of adventure and exaggerated emotions! Fights between the Kids (that includes anybody who is 20+ but less than 40!) kids and grown-ups and grown-ups themselves!

Getting off the aircraft, everybody re-affirmed their hatred for the Tinseltown Mumbai....

"The weather sucks!"

"Its too crowded!"

"Its dirty and soooo old!"

and

"WHAT THE FUCK! the markets are also closed today!"

chanted everybody and prayed for better times on the ship! after wasting a lot of time trying to shop for swim-suits and knick-knacks, turns taking bath, spending too much time in the bath-tub and generally messing up the beautiful bathroom in that beautiful hotel room... we headed for the Mumbai port.

Mumbai port : Unlike the ports shown in the movies which are mobbed with gangsters... this one looked like a poor cousin of an airport. People were checking in, making goofy faces while being photographed and getting awe-struck with the huge ship which they were about to embark.

Teen Deviyan (Me, P and S) were disappointed, there seemed to be nobody who looked like a hunk, seemed that 80% of the ship's population comprised of Gujjus and honey-mooners. Shanks looked bored to tears and my Mausi & Mausaji looked harassed with our tantrums.

Inside The Ship: There awaited a Las Vegas show-girl... scantily dressed, wearing plumes of feathers and a French guy with azure eyes... our hopes floated and soared the sight of cute looking oriental crew. The ship was beautiful and i dont think i need to describe how comfortable it was and what all amenities were there. From comfortable bunk beds to lofty loungers on the deck; from basketball court to the running track; from the spa to the swimming pools and jacuzzi, from the library to the top-less dancing shows; from free food made by the chefs of 'The Taj' to the horrendously expensive bars; from discotheque to casino, everything spoke of opulence and comfort. You name it and you get it (for a price of course!) So where is the fun?

Fun was not in the comfort it was the people around! the Old Uncle who danced every night in the discotheque and won almost every freaking contest, the lusty chef we befriended the first day who was always busy looking at the wrong places at the wrong time (I have a photograph to prove that!) Fun was 'ooh-aahing' for Matthew who looked amazing dressed as a man as well as a woman! Fun was flirting with the crew and sharing the photos of their family members and children. Fun was sneaking away to the deck during late nights to lie down under the star-studded sky and talk about nothing at all. Fun was trying to find signals on your phone, so that you can speak to a temporarily estranged boy-friend and waiting for his calls. fun was the banana-boat ride in the beautiful waters around the islands of Lakshadweep, swimming, looking for the loo on the deserted island, beaches of Goa, shopping and last but not the least getting into senseless quarrels with each-other...

What we did not like of course, was sea-sickness (The pills makes one sleepy, I lost an entire day because of the fucking sea-sickness pills!), getting sand in all the wrong places, getting caught doing things you're not supposed to do, first time swimming in a swimming pool full of sea water and paying the outrageous bills.

We disembarked the ship on the 4th day, happier, rejuvenated and with a skin shade which was ten thousand timer darker than our original skin! The most noteworthy accomplishment of the voyage, we were more close and at peace with each other!