position at 7:30 am: N8 33.30 latitude E97 55.26 longitude
(Andaman Sea, about 560 miles SE of Yangon, Myanmar, our next port)
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,194 miles
Today between 8:30am and 10am we have to report to the Horizon Lounge for a compulsory body temperature check again. This one is for Myanmar. Debbie is still running a slight fever, so we are working out the optimal timing for her to take a dose of Tylenol. Since it is Sunday, we will probably go to Compass Rose for breakfast and eat later than we usually do. There is another time change tonight, 30 minutes this time. That should be it for a few days since we will be docked near Yangon for 3 days.
We got to the temperature check about 15 minutes after they opened. There was a signifcant line as they only had one thermometer working with two failures. People were opting not to wait. We stayed in line until after 9, and by the time we got through it, they had two working thermometers and things were moving faster. Our temperatures were both in the normal range, we think, they report the temps in Celsius.
Went back to the cabin and it was not ready so we got some stuff out and went to find chairs in a public space. We wound up by the jigsaw puzzle. There continued to be a long line at the Tour Desk today. Not sure if we mentioned it before, but when we got our tour tickets envelope for this segment we were missing a tour. Debbie went down and got the order form from the desk when it was closed and our tour was still listed for sale. So, she went down yesterday morning after breakfast when the Tour Desk opened at 9am and got in line as #20. She was gone for more than 30 minutes. The people at the Tour Desk did not know what had happened to our tickets the first time around, but they printed another set and checked Debbie's hardcopy of our tours confirmation email against their records and everything seemed to be in order. Debbie heard a lot of upset people in line while she waited for her turn. Most of them were newcomers who had not been informed that Phuket had been dropped from the itinerary until they arrived on the ship. There was also a line because 3 new tours had been added given the extra time that we will be in Myanmar now. We left our tours as they were. We are expected to dock an hour or so outside Yangon tomorrow at 4pm. Roger said in his tour talk today that we will only be about 16 miles from town, but that road conditions and traffic would make it at least an hour drive each way. RSSC is offering a complimentary shuttle bus service from the pier to Traders Hotel (Shangri-La) for the 3 days that we will be here. We will probably just consider that whole day as a sea day. We are booked on a full day tour the next day and a morning tour for the following morning. The ship is scheduled to sail that afternoon. Then 3 sea days crossing the Bay of Bengal. We hope for continued smooth sailing. The Andaman Sea has been calm and beautiful as we remember it and hope the Bay of Bengal/Indian Ocean we will be smooth as glass as we remember it.
We had lunch in Compass Rose as well as breakfast. There was a fish BBQ on the Pool Deck, but we are still off outdoor dining for a while. For breakfast, Clay had Swedish-style pancakes. Debbie had an omelet. For lunch, Clay had the fisherman's platter and Debbie had a roast beef sandwich. Tonight is Formal and we will probably have dinner in Compass Rose too. Clay continued his seafood theme at dinner and had fried soft-shelled crabs and salmon. (The crab was miniscule comapred to the Singapore crab!) Debbie had pasta and chicken. Clay had his very favorite dessert, the Tartuffo Bianco. This, in case we have not raved about it previously, is white chocolate on white chocolate. A frozen ball of white chocolate ice cream around a frozen ball of white chocolate topped with whipped cream and white chocolate shavings. Debbie had a second serving of the palate cleanser, Champagne Sorbet.
Today has been a day of rest for us and we both hope to get a good night's sleep and wake up feeling a lot better in the morning, so we will be up for our 10 hours to Bago the next day.
