SINDBAD THE SAILOR !

Me: "Whale you be my Valentine?" She: "Dolphinitely.”

So here’s an insider’s tour (Navigating Officer – Sushant Singh Bhatia a.k.a The Hippie Shippy), to take you through the labyrinth (his Ship – his Valentine) while on a voyage from Japan to Indonesia.

Welcome aboard!

10 REASONS WHY BEING AT SEA, IS INDEED HAVING A ‘WHALE’ OF A TIME !

1. WE GET PAID TO SEE THE WORLD !

Yes indeed! What’s on a Landlubber’s ‘Bucketlist’ is on our ‘Done and Dusted and Dumped’ List.
PS : Mars and Moon are probably the only two places on our Bucketlist :P

(landlubber - a person who is permanently ashore / at land)

Sushant @PGE Arena , Gdansk, Poland (Euro Final Soccer Stadium)

2. GEOGRAPHY ON OUR FINGER TIPS !

Be it a passage through the Adriatic Sea or Torres Straits. Or for that matter, even the complicated Magellan Straits, globetrotters we indeed are!
Shippy wives too, become well-versed, and the flipping of time zones and datelines soon becomes a part and parcel of their lives.
So the next time your son misses a Geography lesson at school, you know whom to approach.

3. WE HAVE ALL TIME TO STAND AND STARE !

Yes, navigators do get paid for looking out of the window. We're the privileged ones to get the world’s most unadulterated wind and the most scintillating sunsets.
*Shaamein malang si, Raatein surang si , Khaanabadoshiyon pe, hi jaane kyun, Ilaahi mera jee aaye aaye…..* plays in the head!

Sheer Bliss !

4. THESE POPEYES NEED NO SPINACH !

Needless to say, this ain’t a place for sissies. With gales storms and typhoons coupled with rolling /pitching of the ship, being an everyday phenomenon, it’s only a place for the tough lads. After All, it’s not for nothing that they associate the phrase ‘being at sea’ when you are ill at ease, isn’t it?

This man needs no introduction!

5. A HOME AWAY FROM HOME !

Be it your first Birthday away from home, or your Girlfriend’s for that matter, a supportive crew, will always find means to cheer you up. After all, a family that works together, stays together.

The feeling of ‘Oneness’ fostered on board is indeed unparalleled!

The Captain and his 'Arsenal'

6. A GRAND FAMILY FAIR !

Unlike popular belief, that life at sea is dull and drab, most companies now permit Officers to carry their families on board. So come Summer Vacations and the ship gets ready for the pandemonium to arrive on board. Barbeque parties and Karaoke Nights become an every day affair.
Now, how many kids can boast of having spent their vacations on a ship!

And after all, when you have your family on board, who needs a reason to party? 

Delicacies for an ‘On Board Party’

7. CONNOISSEURS OF CUISINES, WE ALL ARE!

Being Nomads, we undoubtedly have opportunity of tasting the best of world’s cuisines. So be it a Kaiten Sushi with Wasabi or a Polish Sernik, we surely ‘have’ the best of both words.

Not forgetting the wonderful Galley Staff (Chief Cook and a Steward) that never fails to amaze us, with their ‘ Finger Licking good’ delicacies. interesting fact is that since Biryani is a fixed meal on a ship, for a Sunday Lunch, mariners count their weeks remaining to be home, in terms of Biryanis.

Now, the next time you hear, “I have four more Biryanis to go!”, from a mariner, you know just exactly what they're talking about.

'Kaiten Sushi' - Sushi on the conveyor belt !

8. MEN IN UNIFORM – NEED I SAY MORE!

It is an undeniable fact that girls swoon over men in uniform. The pride and responsibility associated with the same, is what adds to the ‘charisma’ of this profession.

Men on a mission !

9. RICHIE RICH AND NO DENYING THAT!

With handsome salaries, comparable to the best in the world, they are every landlubber’s envy. And

being tax free too (Yes…rub your eyes!) , adds ‘Mirchi to their Misery’!

Needs no caption...

10. BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME !

A Family Reunion after a stint at sea, is probably the best day in a mariner’s life.

Afterall, seeing the ‘The Paltan’ (the long queue) waiting to catch a glimpse of you at the

airport, makes all the sacrifices we make worthwhile, at the end of the day.

“If you are brave enough to say a ‘Goodbye’,
Life will surely reward you with a new Hello!”
- Paulo Coehlo

Ahoy! The Sea beckons me.

- Sushant Singh Bhatia / ‘The Hippie Shippy’

Shipping with Pride.