Cochin photos
position at 7:00am: N9 56.41 latitude E76 08.40 longitude
(about 9 miles S of Cochin, India, where we are schedule to dock around 8:00 am)
temperature: 81F, 95% humidity, hazy
distance since FLL: 26,529 miles
The tour description for today.
================================
Cochin and its Backwaters
Duration: 4½ Hours.
Walking.
A trading port since at least Roman times, Cochin, or Kochi as it is now called, is on the main route between Europe and China. With a relaxed seaport lifestyle, it has changed little over the centuries. Experience the bustle of commerce in and about the city's godowns (warehouses) and open courtyards heaped with betel nut, ginger, peppercorns and hanks of coir (coconut husks). The air is filled with the scent of exotic spices and the shouts of vendors pushing heavy carts. It is easy to forget that you are in the 20th century.
Most of Kochi's historic buildings are in Fort Cochin, constructed by Portugal's Alfonzo de Albuquerque in 1500. Albuquerque arrived with half a dozen ships bearing settlers and five friars, and built the first European church in India, St. Francis Church. The large, graceful Chinese fishing nets that line the shore of Fort Cochin are probably the single most familiar image of Kerala. They are said to have been introduced by traders from the court of Kublai Khan. They cantilever over the harbor, and operate by a system of weights and levers. The nets, on wooden frames, are raised periodically to check the catch.
It is a short and pleasant walk along green and leafy streets to a typical English village green. In one corner stands the church of St. Francis, its simple style enhanced by the handsome floor tiles that line the main aisle. On the same square, and in striking contrast, is the flamboyant décor of the 20th century Santa Cruz Cathedral - in an Indo-Romano-Rococo style.
The plain, squat walls that surround the two-story Mattancherry, or Dutch Palace, do not offer a particularly appealing invitation, but you will be delighted once inside. Its wooden interior is decorated with a remarkable series of murals. There is also an interesting collection of Dutch maps of old Kochi, coronation robes belonging to the maharaja's, royal palanquins, weapons and furniture.
Next visit the Pardesi Synagogue, a tiny but delightful structure built in 1568. Its eclectic décor includes a floor paved with hand-painted blue and white Cantonese porcelain tiles, no two alike, and a glass, oil-burning chandelier from Belgium. One tradition states that the first Jews settled near Kochi in 587 BC, after fleeing the occupation of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The earliest concrete evidence of their presence is a copper inscription dated AD 388. Whatever the truth of their arrival, they became and remain respected members of Keralan society.
Embark on a small boat for an idyllic trip through the majestic forests and palm-shaded backwaters of the city. On our cruise, we will enjoy the magnificent scenery and stop to admire, from the comfort of our boat, what history and religion have left in many towns and villages along the way. The cruise will take us to Fort Cochin and Old Cochin on the Southern Peninsula and around the islands, such as Vypeen, Vallarpadam and Willingdon famous for their coir cooperatives. At the end of the cruise your boat will return you directly to the pier and your ship.
Please note: Sunscreen, sunglasses, hats and insect repellant are recommended. The synagogue is the place of worship for the entire Jewish community of Kerala. Therefore any visitors to the synagogue should be modestly dressed. Admission will be denied to men and women wearing short pants/skirts or sleeveless t-shirts/blouses. Bare shoulders and mid-riffs are not permitted and should be covered with shawls.
Program Pricing
Adult: $39.00.
================================
We were up early in anticipation of our 8am Compass Rose breakfast and 8:50am meeting on the dock for the tour described above. Clay walked and it was hot and humid. The sail in was scenic if a bit foggy. We were the first ones in Compass Rose. At 8:20am one of the headwaiters came to tell us that they were having the same problem this morning as last morning, but that he had corrected it. He left. Clay asked how long we would wait. They did not bring his breakfast to him first this morning. If one was going hungry today, both were. At 8:40am, our breakfasts were delivered. No fewer than 4 people came by to ask how Debbie liked it. Well, it was not a repeater, so no worries there. Someone in the kitchen must have a picture in their head of French Toast and the picture must demand that it be at least 3 inches thick and gummy. No thin crispy French Toast allowed. So, it was 4 pieces of white bread with the crusts cut off with cream cheese spread between as requested and then overly soaked through in egg mixture and cooked, maybe in the oven without browning. After she got some maple syrup, she ate most of it and Clay ate about half of his breakfast and we raced for the buses.
The ship was docking just before we went to breakfast. Capt. Dag sailed up between two piers and sat in the center for a while. Then he did his 180 degree turn to prepare for his speedy departure and we docked on the port side.
We walked right off the ship after waiting in only about a 6 person line. There were at least 8 buses lined up outside for our tour. We got on bus 7 with the ship's rabbi. He was very excited about the visit to the Jewish area and synagogue and we went straight there. Nothing was open yet. It was Sunday so a lot of businesses were closed as well as the church we would visit had a service going on. The people selling souvenirs were out in force, but the guide asked us to stay together and kept changing the times and places that we would be doing things, so you could not really stop and shop because if you were not watching, he and the group would disappear. He did take us to 2 forced shopping places, one in Jew Town called the Spice Market which was an air conditioned shop and another 2-story building that was a shop with bathrooms. Unfortunately, we did not see anything we wanted to buy in those 2 places and all the things that we did want to buy we were rushed past to stand and wait for the group to all appear to go somewhere else. We are really not cut out for this group tour stuff. Cochin sounds much more interesting than it was. It is really hard to see history. You have to be able to stand and study the details and the design and the architecture and have someone explain the significance to you. We could not do that. Everything we did see on the land portion was extremely crowded and you could not see much except the other tourists. And, you really had to watch them. Debbie took a sharp blow from some guy's elbow to her cheekbone and was glad it missed her glasses. She was watching and tried to step around this guy, but... The guide gave some scant historical background about sites we would visit, but once there, he would waver about the order or the time or he was rounding up and counting heads. Also, we seemed to be not the only group in town, everywhere we went we kept running into the same large group of Indian tourists including on the boat sightseeing. So, there were at least 60 Voyagers and maybe 45-50 Indian tourists sharing small historic spaces with us at every turn. Debbie did manage to buy a small painting on silk and a peacock feather fan only because each time a vendor stuck with her to make the sale as she stuck with the group. Debbie did just fine on the small boat but it was not really a backwater trip. We just went in a big circle around where the ship had sailed in and around the ship itself. We did travel briefly under a bridge that the ship could not have sailed under but we had seen down those same waterways to and past the bridges from Voyager. There we did see some small fishing boats but we did not really see much scenic or much of how people were living on the water.
RSSC is not providing any shuttle buses during our time in India. Roger explained that it is because there is a very strong taxi drivers union here. He said that the last time they managed to arrange for shuttle service in India that the taxi drivers committed some acts of sabotage and created blockades. So, RSSC has bowed to the disruption and will no longer offer shuttle service in India. That said, Roger, as well several passengers who have been here before, also report that the taxi drivers are pretty uniformly dishonest and worse. For this reason, we decided to do this tour today when we had originally planned to go it alone. Frankly, it would have been hard for a dishonest cabbie to take us worse for the $78 we spent today, and we could have avoided the long boat ride to see nothing but what we had seen from the ship and the ship. Oh, well. Live and learn.
We were back on the ship at little before 2pm in time to have lunch at LaVeranda. Debbie had pasta and Clay had a sandwich. There was an ice cream social for the sail away at 3:30pm but we went out to check the ice creams being served about 3pm (before the social) and it was only chocolate and vanilla. It was very hot and humid and sunny on the Pool Deck so we decided to skip it.
We sailed away a little after the scheduled time of 3:30pm. Since we were docked on our side, we could just step out on the balcony to wave goodbye. There were several families on the dock waving goodbye. There are quite a few Indian people working on the ship. All of the butlers are Indian. So, several of them have plans to visit family or have family aboard during our time here just as the Filippinos did in Manila.
Debbie did a full slate of exercise classes this afternoon. Jacquie was back but she was not at full speed. She has some light work days now though while we have all shore days for a while.
Tonight was Informal again. We ate at Compass Rose. Clay swears the portions are getting bigger all the time. He might be right. We have seen some unusually large portions in the past few days and if he is correct then that is just evil.
Cochin photos
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Day 80 - Saturday March 18 at sea day 3
Sea Day 3 photos
position at 8:00am: N6 0.56 latitude E79 55.12 longitude
(about 390 miles SE of Cochin, India, our next port on Mar 19)
temperature: 80F, 96% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 26,134 miles
The seas were calm again overnight and the ship made its turns to avoid the collision course with Sri Lanka that we had been maintaining. Overnight, we skirted by very close to the south of Sri Lanka and it was still visible off the starboard side this morning. We are in very busy shipping channels now, so there have been lots of other boats and ships to be seen. Clay had some intestinal distress overnight and continues to suffer this morning. Debbie is fine, so it is not clear what this is in reaction to.
Today is the much anticipated special-ordered stuffed french toast for Debbie. It is Saturday and our last sea day in this series of sea days. Debbie has been desperately longing for a familiar dish and this one is so simple. We spoke to Patrick's 2nd in charge of the Compass Rose about this at lunchtime on Thursday (Martin) and he took notes about how to prepare the dish. He agreed it was very simple and all the ingredients are always in the kitchen and it is no more involved than preparing their regular french toast which is always available and it would not be a problem. Just give our suite number to any waiter on Saturday morning and it would be served. (The dish as ordered was to use 2 pieces of the white sliced bread that is served for morning toast and lunch sandwiches. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on each. Stick the 2 cream cheese sides together and carry on as if making regular french toast. Soak it in the same egg mix, and fry it, etc. Serve hot with maple syrup. Regulars here may remember how we both dislike the regular french toast served onboard. They use a special egg bread with golden raisins in it that is sliced very thickly and it is always served gooey in the center. It is more like a pudding or a custard without the obligatory crispness of the fried edges that we desire.) This was to be a special treat and celebration today for Debbie. This weekend marks the 2/3 milestone for our World Cruise, but tomorrow begins our time in India.
Well, you knew it could NOT go that painlessly, if at all, and it didn't. We arrived at Compass Rose minutes after 8am when it opened. There were only about a dozen people in there when we arrived and fewer than 2 dozen when we left an hour later, so it wasn't too busy today. We told our waiter about the special order for Debbie and then ordered the rest of what we wanted today. We got our juices and Debbie's bowl of raspberries and her cappuchino. Then, we heard as well as everyone else sitting between the 2 waiter's stations, about what was going on with the special french toast. Everyone's service suffered while the debate went on and on with every possible person working in the dining room involved. You would have thought she had ordered something gold-plated flown in from half-way around the world and delivered in the middle of the ocean from the carrying on that happened. Of course, she did not ever get her dish, just a huge serving a public humiliation while others waited for their normal food and listened and watched the 3 stooges act surrounding the "special french toast" fiasco. Live and learn. Clay got his breakfast after about a half-hour. This was after being asked if he would like it sent back to the kitchen while we waited for Debbie's. NO. It should not have been any harder to do this than to custom cook fried eggs to order for him. He ate his while Debbie continued to wait. Two of the headwaiters made special trips to the kitchen to scare out the "special order french toast". By 8:40am there was a regular meeting at our waiter's station with both headwaiters and a person from the kitchen involved as well. They were all studying what had finally arrived. They finally decided to bring it over although the consensus among them was that it was probably not what she had ordered. Big surprise. At 8:45am, they brought her a plate with 2 extra double-wide pieces of the french toast and a side ball of cream cheese. They explained that there was cream cheese in the middle now, but it was if she wanted extra. No one brought any cream cheese. Clay immediately complained that this was not what was ordered. Debbie shushed him, because it was pointless. It had been apparent for a good 30 minutes that it would not be what she ordered and now she had 15 minutes to get to exercise class and the moment had passed. Let it go. A headwaiter came over. What was wrong? If only we had placed the order in advance, we would not have had this kind of problem that we had caused this morning. Well, he was informed that instead of the very simple order which we placed on THURSDAY. We had gotten an extra gummy serving of already-fried french toast with a ball of cream cheese slapped in the center and we had waited 2 days and 45 minutes for it. He reiterated what we had ordered and that this was not it and was not in fact very appetizing-looking and that we had waited far too long for it, BUT that if we would wait he would take this away and bring what she asked for. NO. She told him she wanted to go to exercise class in 12 minutes now and if he could just get her some maple syrup she would eat it as is and be on her way. More discussion and debate at the waitstation. Finally, an assistant waiter gets the syrup and the headwaiter brings it over and pours it. He offers to replace the dish again. NO. It was not edible. So after trying a few bites from different sections, she gave it up and we headed out for her class and for Clay to get his computer while waiting to get back in the cabin. The headwaiter was talking to the man who had taken the order on Thursday as we walked out. The British guy who always wears white and had taken and understood and written down our order on Thursday fled as we approached. The headwaiter stopped us and apologized again. Debbie told him to forget about it, she had. It was over. He would not let it go. He wrote the directions down again about how to make it, commented on how simple it was and insisted again that they be given a 2nd chance tomorrow. Debbie refused again. He said, no, it is too simple. We must be allowed. Tomorrow. Debbie asked him again to just let it go, but Clay said, it is Sunday. We will come back and try again tomorrow. Debbie agreed and we left. Debbie pointed out to Clay that he did not have to skip breakfast today and that we have to be on a tour at 9am on Sunday. We would not make it in time now. We would never try for a big breakfast on an early tour day normally. She pointed out that she would have to spend 6 hours in Cochin on an empty stomach now, because they wanted redemption, and she did not care about it anymore. Clay said, too late, you're having it now. Geez.
We went by the cabin and Mishiel had not been there in the hour and 20 minutes we had been gone. Clay got his computer and found a vacant chair in the library area. Debbie headed out to the restroom and class. When she arrived there was a sign on the door stating that classes were cancelled today due to illness. Jacquie is sick? She taught all through her bout with the sore throat/chest cold. No one that was milling about seemed to know what was wrong or have any idea when classes might resume. Oh, well. Debbie was able to catch the 9am Vords of Visdom. The captain said that there is a lot of activity in this area. He said ships as well as dolphins, whales, flying fish and sea turtles and we should keep a half-an-eye on the ocean all day no matter what else we did. We did see flying fish and jellyfish as well as land and lots of boats and ships when we went up top to check things out before breakfast this morning. During the time she sat in CR waiting and staring out the window, Debbie saw something big and odd out the window and could not imagine what it was if not a whale. Clay thought she was imagining Moby Dick, but maybe it was a whale in light of the Captain's comments. Clay watched for a while from the balcony but did not see anything new.
They were having a 50% off sale of Radisson and harp logo merchandise at the boutique today, so we went by. They only had t-shirts out. Very few had Radisson on them and many did not even have a harp logo. Clay bought one with a fish and the words Seven Seas Voyager on it for $8.
Today they are having a Fruehschoppen on the Pool Deck for lunch. We enjoyed this special grilled sausages lunch the last time they had it. They also had special big pretzels and a keg of Warsteiner on tap. Today they say the are having spatzle and Kassler in Bread Dough. We may have to eat outside at lunch again today.
Back from lunch and we did go to the Pool Deck. We walked out on the starboard side where they usually have the buffet set up and got in the line. Debbie went ahead to scout things out. She came back shaking her head and told Clay to go ahead and she would try to find a table in the shade on the other, non-smoking side. She said it was a seafood extravaganza and it was. They did have 2 kinds of brats but all the rest was seafood. They had hot seafood, seafood stew, cold seafood, caviar, foie gras seared to order at a separate station. As Debbie walked around the other side, she found a little short section of buffet line right around the port corner. There she filled a plate. They had beef goulash, spatzle, big pretzels, potato salad, sauerkraut (hot and cold), and some weird little fried cake-like things, that even after eating we could not identify. Debbie first thought it was a potato pancake. But, there was no potato. It was kind of sweet tasting and definitely made with white bread flour. It had some onions and green herbs in it as well as little pieces of bacon. It was sharing a chaving dish with a pan of hot sauerkraut with ham. Clay went back up to check it out and asked Antonio, one of the headwaiters, what it was. Antonio said it was a potato and pumpkin pancake. Sorry, Antonio, but no it wasn't. Potato and pumpkin are 2 of the things we know were not it there. It was good but it is still a mystery.
This afternoon we gave each other haircuts again out on the balcony. The seas have gotten rougher this afternoon. After we turned towards the north past Sri Lanka we got a 50 to 60 kmh steady headwind. We seem to have some swells now as well as lots of whitecaps showing some of the choppiness. We napped and watched TV some. We saw parts of Roger's comments on India and we saw parts of the recorded talent show from last night.
It is Formal tonight and we have not decided where to eat yet. They are serving an American BBQ on the Pool Deck tonight from 6:30pm to 8:30pm to the first 30 people who are seated. We do not know what the difference is between European BBQ and American BBQ. We will probably not find out. Clay is arguing for not dressing up but Debbie has liked to go to the Seven Seas Society parties to learn who has most days and what is news. Though the last time we went, no one spoke to us. Gudrun usually hosts this and she was off the ship for a few days for a family emergency and was not onboard for the party. The captain did not come either and they showed the video with the people with the most days, but there was no speaker and no news. Clay is using that as an argument against going tonight. Debbie points out that Gudrun is back onboard now. We'll see.
We did go to the SSS cocktail party. Some people had bumped up over 400 to 500 nights and some from 500 to 600 nights and one guy showed up in the over 500 night category that we had never seen before so he must have just boarded on this segment. We left after 30 minutes without any ship's personnel speaking. The bulk of people did not show up en masse in CR until 7:15pm, so maybe someone spoke after we left. We did not overhear any conversation at dinner about it if so and are guessing that no big news was announced in there this evening. After the Captain made the announcement in there about dropping Phuket weeks before any other mention of it was made on the ship, we always want to get the newest news at the SSS parties now. But, guess the new big itinerary change of dropping Tripoli has already been publicized. Dinner tonight was a French dinner. So, onion soup and escargot. They also had Sevruga caviar, which has been the caviar that they have served for the last several times it has been available. Prior to that it was beluga, not that we eat it, but for those following who might be interested. Clay had his best meal yet. He ordered the Salade Nicoise and got it this time (last time he ordered it, he got mixed greens with no comment). He ordered the herb-crusted rack of lamb and got 3 bones which is a much bigger serving than usual off the degustation menu. It was the best meal he has had for all the cruise.
The only surprise on our bed tonight was a small white box tied with a black satin ribbon on each of our pillows. No time change tonight! Hooray! The boxes contained 2 dark chocolate-covered flat toffee wafers. Clay ate one box full.
Sea Day 3 photos
position at 8:00am: N6 0.56 latitude E79 55.12 longitude
(about 390 miles SE of Cochin, India, our next port on Mar 19)
temperature: 80F, 96% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 26,134 miles
The seas were calm again overnight and the ship made its turns to avoid the collision course with Sri Lanka that we had been maintaining. Overnight, we skirted by very close to the south of Sri Lanka and it was still visible off the starboard side this morning. We are in very busy shipping channels now, so there have been lots of other boats and ships to be seen. Clay had some intestinal distress overnight and continues to suffer this morning. Debbie is fine, so it is not clear what this is in reaction to.
Today is the much anticipated special-ordered stuffed french toast for Debbie. It is Saturday and our last sea day in this series of sea days. Debbie has been desperately longing for a familiar dish and this one is so simple. We spoke to Patrick's 2nd in charge of the Compass Rose about this at lunchtime on Thursday (Martin) and he took notes about how to prepare the dish. He agreed it was very simple and all the ingredients are always in the kitchen and it is no more involved than preparing their regular french toast which is always available and it would not be a problem. Just give our suite number to any waiter on Saturday morning and it would be served. (The dish as ordered was to use 2 pieces of the white sliced bread that is served for morning toast and lunch sandwiches. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on each. Stick the 2 cream cheese sides together and carry on as if making regular french toast. Soak it in the same egg mix, and fry it, etc. Serve hot with maple syrup. Regulars here may remember how we both dislike the regular french toast served onboard. They use a special egg bread with golden raisins in it that is sliced very thickly and it is always served gooey in the center. It is more like a pudding or a custard without the obligatory crispness of the fried edges that we desire.) This was to be a special treat and celebration today for Debbie. This weekend marks the 2/3 milestone for our World Cruise, but tomorrow begins our time in India.
Well, you knew it could NOT go that painlessly, if at all, and it didn't. We arrived at Compass Rose minutes after 8am when it opened. There were only about a dozen people in there when we arrived and fewer than 2 dozen when we left an hour later, so it wasn't too busy today. We told our waiter about the special order for Debbie and then ordered the rest of what we wanted today. We got our juices and Debbie's bowl of raspberries and her cappuchino. Then, we heard as well as everyone else sitting between the 2 waiter's stations, about what was going on with the special french toast. Everyone's service suffered while the debate went on and on with every possible person working in the dining room involved. You would have thought she had ordered something gold-plated flown in from half-way around the world and delivered in the middle of the ocean from the carrying on that happened. Of course, she did not ever get her dish, just a huge serving a public humiliation while others waited for their normal food and listened and watched the 3 stooges act surrounding the "special french toast" fiasco. Live and learn. Clay got his breakfast after about a half-hour. This was after being asked if he would like it sent back to the kitchen while we waited for Debbie's. NO. It should not have been any harder to do this than to custom cook fried eggs to order for him. He ate his while Debbie continued to wait. Two of the headwaiters made special trips to the kitchen to scare out the "special order french toast". By 8:40am there was a regular meeting at our waiter's station with both headwaiters and a person from the kitchen involved as well. They were all studying what had finally arrived. They finally decided to bring it over although the consensus among them was that it was probably not what she had ordered. Big surprise. At 8:45am, they brought her a plate with 2 extra double-wide pieces of the french toast and a side ball of cream cheese. They explained that there was cream cheese in the middle now, but it was if she wanted extra. No one brought any cream cheese. Clay immediately complained that this was not what was ordered. Debbie shushed him, because it was pointless. It had been apparent for a good 30 minutes that it would not be what she ordered and now she had 15 minutes to get to exercise class and the moment had passed. Let it go. A headwaiter came over. What was wrong? If only we had placed the order in advance, we would not have had this kind of problem that we had caused this morning. Well, he was informed that instead of the very simple order which we placed on THURSDAY. We had gotten an extra gummy serving of already-fried french toast with a ball of cream cheese slapped in the center and we had waited 2 days and 45 minutes for it. He reiterated what we had ordered and that this was not it and was not in fact very appetizing-looking and that we had waited far too long for it, BUT that if we would wait he would take this away and bring what she asked for. NO. She told him she wanted to go to exercise class in 12 minutes now and if he could just get her some maple syrup she would eat it as is and be on her way. More discussion and debate at the waitstation. Finally, an assistant waiter gets the syrup and the headwaiter brings it over and pours it. He offers to replace the dish again. NO. It was not edible. So after trying a few bites from different sections, she gave it up and we headed out for her class and for Clay to get his computer while waiting to get back in the cabin. The headwaiter was talking to the man who had taken the order on Thursday as we walked out. The British guy who always wears white and had taken and understood and written down our order on Thursday fled as we approached. The headwaiter stopped us and apologized again. Debbie told him to forget about it, she had. It was over. He would not let it go. He wrote the directions down again about how to make it, commented on how simple it was and insisted again that they be given a 2nd chance tomorrow. Debbie refused again. He said, no, it is too simple. We must be allowed. Tomorrow. Debbie asked him again to just let it go, but Clay said, it is Sunday. We will come back and try again tomorrow. Debbie agreed and we left. Debbie pointed out to Clay that he did not have to skip breakfast today and that we have to be on a tour at 9am on Sunday. We would not make it in time now. We would never try for a big breakfast on an early tour day normally. She pointed out that she would have to spend 6 hours in Cochin on an empty stomach now, because they wanted redemption, and she did not care about it anymore. Clay said, too late, you're having it now. Geez.
We went by the cabin and Mishiel had not been there in the hour and 20 minutes we had been gone. Clay got his computer and found a vacant chair in the library area. Debbie headed out to the restroom and class. When she arrived there was a sign on the door stating that classes were cancelled today due to illness. Jacquie is sick? She taught all through her bout with the sore throat/chest cold. No one that was milling about seemed to know what was wrong or have any idea when classes might resume. Oh, well. Debbie was able to catch the 9am Vords of Visdom. The captain said that there is a lot of activity in this area. He said ships as well as dolphins, whales, flying fish and sea turtles and we should keep a half-an-eye on the ocean all day no matter what else we did. We did see flying fish and jellyfish as well as land and lots of boats and ships when we went up top to check things out before breakfast this morning. During the time she sat in CR waiting and staring out the window, Debbie saw something big and odd out the window and could not imagine what it was if not a whale. Clay thought she was imagining Moby Dick, but maybe it was a whale in light of the Captain's comments. Clay watched for a while from the balcony but did not see anything new.
They were having a 50% off sale of Radisson and harp logo merchandise at the boutique today, so we went by. They only had t-shirts out. Very few had Radisson on them and many did not even have a harp logo. Clay bought one with a fish and the words Seven Seas Voyager on it for $8.
Today they are having a Fruehschoppen on the Pool Deck for lunch. We enjoyed this special grilled sausages lunch the last time they had it. They also had special big pretzels and a keg of Warsteiner on tap. Today they say the are having spatzle and Kassler in Bread Dough. We may have to eat outside at lunch again today.
Back from lunch and we did go to the Pool Deck. We walked out on the starboard side where they usually have the buffet set up and got in the line. Debbie went ahead to scout things out. She came back shaking her head and told Clay to go ahead and she would try to find a table in the shade on the other, non-smoking side. She said it was a seafood extravaganza and it was. They did have 2 kinds of brats but all the rest was seafood. They had hot seafood, seafood stew, cold seafood, caviar, foie gras seared to order at a separate station. As Debbie walked around the other side, she found a little short section of buffet line right around the port corner. There she filled a plate. They had beef goulash, spatzle, big pretzels, potato salad, sauerkraut (hot and cold), and some weird little fried cake-like things, that even after eating we could not identify. Debbie first thought it was a potato pancake. But, there was no potato. It was kind of sweet tasting and definitely made with white bread flour. It had some onions and green herbs in it as well as little pieces of bacon. It was sharing a chaving dish with a pan of hot sauerkraut with ham. Clay went back up to check it out and asked Antonio, one of the headwaiters, what it was. Antonio said it was a potato and pumpkin pancake. Sorry, Antonio, but no it wasn't. Potato and pumpkin are 2 of the things we know were not it there. It was good but it is still a mystery.
This afternoon we gave each other haircuts again out on the balcony. The seas have gotten rougher this afternoon. After we turned towards the north past Sri Lanka we got a 50 to 60 kmh steady headwind. We seem to have some swells now as well as lots of whitecaps showing some of the choppiness. We napped and watched TV some. We saw parts of Roger's comments on India and we saw parts of the recorded talent show from last night.
It is Formal tonight and we have not decided where to eat yet. They are serving an American BBQ on the Pool Deck tonight from 6:30pm to 8:30pm to the first 30 people who are seated. We do not know what the difference is between European BBQ and American BBQ. We will probably not find out. Clay is arguing for not dressing up but Debbie has liked to go to the Seven Seas Society parties to learn who has most days and what is news. Though the last time we went, no one spoke to us. Gudrun usually hosts this and she was off the ship for a few days for a family emergency and was not onboard for the party. The captain did not come either and they showed the video with the people with the most days, but there was no speaker and no news. Clay is using that as an argument against going tonight. Debbie points out that Gudrun is back onboard now. We'll see.
We did go to the SSS cocktail party. Some people had bumped up over 400 to 500 nights and some from 500 to 600 nights and one guy showed up in the over 500 night category that we had never seen before so he must have just boarded on this segment. We left after 30 minutes without any ship's personnel speaking. The bulk of people did not show up en masse in CR until 7:15pm, so maybe someone spoke after we left. We did not overhear any conversation at dinner about it if so and are guessing that no big news was announced in there this evening. After the Captain made the announcement in there about dropping Phuket weeks before any other mention of it was made on the ship, we always want to get the newest news at the SSS parties now. But, guess the new big itinerary change of dropping Tripoli has already been publicized. Dinner tonight was a French dinner. So, onion soup and escargot. They also had Sevruga caviar, which has been the caviar that they have served for the last several times it has been available. Prior to that it was beluga, not that we eat it, but for those following who might be interested. Clay had his best meal yet. He ordered the Salade Nicoise and got it this time (last time he ordered it, he got mixed greens with no comment). He ordered the herb-crusted rack of lamb and got 3 bones which is a much bigger serving than usual off the degustation menu. It was the best meal he has had for all the cruise.
The only surprise on our bed tonight was a small white box tied with a black satin ribbon on each of our pillows. No time change tonight! Hooray! The boxes contained 2 dark chocolate-covered flat toffee wafers. Clay ate one box full.
Sea Day 3 photos
Day 79 - Friday March 17 at sea day 2
Sea Day 2 photos
position at 8:00am: N9 10.01 latitude E85 48.45 longitude
(about 920 miles E of Cochin, India, our next port on Mar 19)
temperature: 82F, 84% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 25,656 miles
The Bay of Bengal has been calm. It was pleasant on deck this morning with a slight breeze that moderated the warm humid feeling that hung about. Breakfast at LaVeranda and they had chocolate croissants as expected. Debbie took two and asked the worker behind the counter if it would be possible to get a bowl of raspberries or strawberries. He told her "it does not look good for raspberries." She laughed and said she would be happy with strawberries. He held up a finger and then opened a refrigerator below the counter and offered her blueberries and strawberries. Uh, no blueberries. He said not to worry, go sit down and I will bring you just strawberries. He did. Debbie did her exercise classes both morning and afternoon. Aerobic fat burner, abs/backs and buns on the fitball and total body toning. It was the day of 1000 power squats. Debbie was in pain by day's end. On deck 11 at lunch, they served curry and tandoori dishes. Since we were eating at Latitudes with their new Taj Mahal menu this evening, we opted to eat lunch in Compass Rose. Debbie had chicken fingers in sauce and rice and Clay ate the veal schnitzel sandwich. We both had the peanut butter ice cream and Debbie had hot fudge on hers.
After lunch, we watched a DVD movie, The Village. We ordered a bowl of popcorn and Clay got a bowl of peanuts too. It meant that we skipped napping. After the last set of 100 power squats Debbie came back to the cabin and per Jacquie's advice took a long hot bath. Unfortunately, the rusty colored water that we have suffered since leaving Myanmar remains. They drained the pool and scrubbed down the brown sides on the first sea evening. Debbie also did laundry that night and all our whites are now champagne-colored. She figured the brown water wouldn't hurt her and made her bubble bath and soaked in it. She left the nasty mess in the drained tub because she just figured that was not something she would be responsible for this time out. Clay saw it as he was dressing for dinner and she could hear him in the bathroom swearing to himself. When he came out and asked her what the hell she had done in the tub, she was already laughing. She reminded him about the water and he said he hadn't realized it was that bad and he couldn't believe she got in a brown tub of water. Hey, people pay big money for that kind of exotic treatment and so did we!
Tonight was Informal again and our Taj Mahal dinner reservation at 7:30pm. Latitudes had been transformed into India. As Linette, an Indian waitress said "you can smell India" and indeed you could. We were welcomed by Abigail with what she said was a traditional welcome. She waved a tray with a flame in front of our faces in a circle and then put a red dot on each of our foreheads. She assured us they would wash right off and they did. Linette said the room was decorated like for a big wedding and that the dishes were the type of things that would be served on a special occassion, too. They had cinammon sticks on the tables and a small bowl burning some kind of oil on each table. Whatever it was, we both had completely stuffed sinuses by the end of the meal. We were unable to get a menu to take with us and hopefully the photo will be clear enough to show what was served at the meal. Everything was very spicy. We eat at Indian restaurants at home and like most Indian food, though we do have our favorites. We like some of the dishes more than others here, or maybe some were just better than others. The fried spicy lamb meatball and the fried spicy potato balls served as appetizers for example should have been served hot and were not very tasty cold (room temperature) though the royal shrimp served with them was very good and very hot and fresh. We both loved the Mulligatawny soup, which Linette proudly told us is the national soup of Indian. The main dish in the foil packet is a chicken breast with a sweetish sauce and raisins. We were both looking forward to dessert and were not disappointed. Clay got his kulfi and Debbie got her gulab jamon. The whole thing was a nice change of pace.
After dinner was the talent show at 9:30pm. We did not have to wait long after dinner to be seated for this. It was interesting. There were about 8 passengers that performed. Most sang. The rabbi for the cruise was first up playing harmonica. He did 2 songs and was very good. He said he started playing at the age of 5. Oddly, 3 of the performers read aloud from works they had written in Dana Logan's writing workshops onboard. One read a poem about his visit to the Hanoi Hilton and then sang just like Willie Nelson. One read a story about meeting his wife on a bus on St. Patrick's Day and one read something that we have apparently blocked. Dr. Lloyd Tinkle, our premier resident character for this and apparently several successive World Cruises, played the Sheik again with his harem and played Arabic-style jazz on the piano. He is an absolute gas. He said that Jamie had agreed to be his eunuch and you could tell that was an unscripted line. Jamie recovered nicely after the roars of laughter and said, when I grow old I want to be Dr. Lloyd Tinkle. We got out of the show about 11:30pm.
The real news for the day was waiting for us in our cabin when we returned from our dinner at Latitudes. There were several envelopes. One contained an itinerary for our Agra trip out of Mumbai. We will post that in a future entry. Another contained an entry card required to go ashore in Mumbai where we each have to have a face-to-face meeting with customs officials before the ship can be cleared in Mumbai. We had to sign the cards and return them to the reception desk tomorrow. The accompanying letter and info in the newsletter sound like we are required to have cards like this at each port. In Goa, we must present a photo ID and receive an entry card from an official at the bottom of the gangway. And, also the same thing but without the photo ID in Cochin. There was also a Seven Seas Society invitation for a Saturday evening cocktail party. And lastly, and most interestingly, there was a letter from the Captain telling us that we would not be going to Tripoli, Libya next segment. This was the BIG NEWS. He stated that he had just been informed that Libya would not grant visas for us to enter their country. He said after looking at other possibilities he had decided to substitute Kusadasi, Turkey. It is sort of a disappointment not to go to Libya. But, it is also not totally unexpected since several cruises on other lines last year were unable to get visas for Americans to visit Libya. It probably would have been more of a surprise to learn that we were actually going to keep Tripoli on the schedule. While Kusadasi is a great port as it allows you to visit Ephesus which is a world-class site, we were there in 1999 as part of a Instanbul-Athens cruise, so are not sure it is worth visiting twice. We will wait to see what else the tour desk offers here. The letter states that the original itinerary resumes after Siracusa, Sicily. The other disappointment was in the itinerary for the Agra trip. This is a very expensive side trip, $1995 each for one night. After all the time wasted in handling air travel complications and standing around waiting that we did for the Angkor Wat trip, we had been waiting and hoping this would not be a repeat of that experience. And after all, it is only one flight each way and by chartered air, so we had high hopes for making the most of this very expensive couple of days. The flights themselves are only 2 hours, but the first day is an almost complete loss. We will not really have any time for sightseeing in either Mumbai or Agra during that day. We are scheduled to dock at 8am, and are to meet in the Constellation Theater at 11am for an 11:30am transfer to the airport for a flight at 1:45pm. Lunch will be served on the privately chartered jet plane. We are scheduled to land at 3:45pm and go directly to the Taj Mahal with arrival at the hotel at 6:30pm for 7:30pm dinner. The hotel is still the Oberoi Amarvilas, so that is some good news. The original material had stated that another hotel was a possibility (one supposes it still is!). There is no entertainment or anything planned for the evening other than the buffet of Indian & Continental dishes served in the Ballroom. We have the option of leaving the next morning at 5:45am for a sunrise return visit to the Taj Mahal, which we plan to do. Back to the hotel at 6:30am for a buffet breakfast in the Bellevue Restaurant, which faces the Taj Mahal. Then at 8:30am, until buffet lunch is served at 11:30am, there are 4 choices for additional optional tours if you do not want to just stay at the hotel. The choices are Agra Fort, Itmad-ud-Daulah, Fatehpur Sikri and shopping at Kohinoor. We have eliminated Kohinoor shopping and Fatehpur Sikri. We eliminated Fatehpur Sikri because the guidebooks say that it is an hour's drive one way and to allow at least 3 hours there. Since this is only a 3 hour window of opportunity, we will chose one of the 2 closer and smaller sites, but have not decided which one yet. There are merits to both and we would really like to do all 4 but it is just not possible on this visit. Oh, also we were offered, before dinner, the chance to upgrade to Business Class Air seating for $99 each roundtrip. We let the window close on that opportunity.
Thus ends St. Patrick's Day at sea.
Sea Day 2 photos
position at 8:00am: N9 10.01 latitude E85 48.45 longitude
(about 920 miles E of Cochin, India, our next port on Mar 19)
temperature: 82F, 84% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 25,656 miles
The Bay of Bengal has been calm. It was pleasant on deck this morning with a slight breeze that moderated the warm humid feeling that hung about. Breakfast at LaVeranda and they had chocolate croissants as expected. Debbie took two and asked the worker behind the counter if it would be possible to get a bowl of raspberries or strawberries. He told her "it does not look good for raspberries." She laughed and said she would be happy with strawberries. He held up a finger and then opened a refrigerator below the counter and offered her blueberries and strawberries. Uh, no blueberries. He said not to worry, go sit down and I will bring you just strawberries. He did. Debbie did her exercise classes both morning and afternoon. Aerobic fat burner, abs/backs and buns on the fitball and total body toning. It was the day of 1000 power squats. Debbie was in pain by day's end. On deck 11 at lunch, they served curry and tandoori dishes. Since we were eating at Latitudes with their new Taj Mahal menu this evening, we opted to eat lunch in Compass Rose. Debbie had chicken fingers in sauce and rice and Clay ate the veal schnitzel sandwich. We both had the peanut butter ice cream and Debbie had hot fudge on hers.
After lunch, we watched a DVD movie, The Village. We ordered a bowl of popcorn and Clay got a bowl of peanuts too. It meant that we skipped napping. After the last set of 100 power squats Debbie came back to the cabin and per Jacquie's advice took a long hot bath. Unfortunately, the rusty colored water that we have suffered since leaving Myanmar remains. They drained the pool and scrubbed down the brown sides on the first sea evening. Debbie also did laundry that night and all our whites are now champagne-colored. She figured the brown water wouldn't hurt her and made her bubble bath and soaked in it. She left the nasty mess in the drained tub because she just figured that was not something she would be responsible for this time out. Clay saw it as he was dressing for dinner and she could hear him in the bathroom swearing to himself. When he came out and asked her what the hell she had done in the tub, she was already laughing. She reminded him about the water and he said he hadn't realized it was that bad and he couldn't believe she got in a brown tub of water. Hey, people pay big money for that kind of exotic treatment and so did we!
Tonight was Informal again and our Taj Mahal dinner reservation at 7:30pm. Latitudes had been transformed into India. As Linette, an Indian waitress said "you can smell India" and indeed you could. We were welcomed by Abigail with what she said was a traditional welcome. She waved a tray with a flame in front of our faces in a circle and then put a red dot on each of our foreheads. She assured us they would wash right off and they did. Linette said the room was decorated like for a big wedding and that the dishes were the type of things that would be served on a special occassion, too. They had cinammon sticks on the tables and a small bowl burning some kind of oil on each table. Whatever it was, we both had completely stuffed sinuses by the end of the meal. We were unable to get a menu to take with us and hopefully the photo will be clear enough to show what was served at the meal. Everything was very spicy. We eat at Indian restaurants at home and like most Indian food, though we do have our favorites. We like some of the dishes more than others here, or maybe some were just better than others. The fried spicy lamb meatball and the fried spicy potato balls served as appetizers for example should have been served hot and were not very tasty cold (room temperature) though the royal shrimp served with them was very good and very hot and fresh. We both loved the Mulligatawny soup, which Linette proudly told us is the national soup of Indian. The main dish in the foil packet is a chicken breast with a sweetish sauce and raisins. We were both looking forward to dessert and were not disappointed. Clay got his kulfi and Debbie got her gulab jamon. The whole thing was a nice change of pace.
After dinner was the talent show at 9:30pm. We did not have to wait long after dinner to be seated for this. It was interesting. There were about 8 passengers that performed. Most sang. The rabbi for the cruise was first up playing harmonica. He did 2 songs and was very good. He said he started playing at the age of 5. Oddly, 3 of the performers read aloud from works they had written in Dana Logan's writing workshops onboard. One read a poem about his visit to the Hanoi Hilton and then sang just like Willie Nelson. One read a story about meeting his wife on a bus on St. Patrick's Day and one read something that we have apparently blocked. Dr. Lloyd Tinkle, our premier resident character for this and apparently several successive World Cruises, played the Sheik again with his harem and played Arabic-style jazz on the piano. He is an absolute gas. He said that Jamie had agreed to be his eunuch and you could tell that was an unscripted line. Jamie recovered nicely after the roars of laughter and said, when I grow old I want to be Dr. Lloyd Tinkle. We got out of the show about 11:30pm.
The real news for the day was waiting for us in our cabin when we returned from our dinner at Latitudes. There were several envelopes. One contained an itinerary for our Agra trip out of Mumbai. We will post that in a future entry. Another contained an entry card required to go ashore in Mumbai where we each have to have a face-to-face meeting with customs officials before the ship can be cleared in Mumbai. We had to sign the cards and return them to the reception desk tomorrow. The accompanying letter and info in the newsletter sound like we are required to have cards like this at each port. In Goa, we must present a photo ID and receive an entry card from an official at the bottom of the gangway. And, also the same thing but without the photo ID in Cochin. There was also a Seven Seas Society invitation for a Saturday evening cocktail party. And lastly, and most interestingly, there was a letter from the Captain telling us that we would not be going to Tripoli, Libya next segment. This was the BIG NEWS. He stated that he had just been informed that Libya would not grant visas for us to enter their country. He said after looking at other possibilities he had decided to substitute Kusadasi, Turkey. It is sort of a disappointment not to go to Libya. But, it is also not totally unexpected since several cruises on other lines last year were unable to get visas for Americans to visit Libya. It probably would have been more of a surprise to learn that we were actually going to keep Tripoli on the schedule. While Kusadasi is a great port as it allows you to visit Ephesus which is a world-class site, we were there in 1999 as part of a Instanbul-Athens cruise, so are not sure it is worth visiting twice. We will wait to see what else the tour desk offers here. The letter states that the original itinerary resumes after Siracusa, Sicily. The other disappointment was in the itinerary for the Agra trip. This is a very expensive side trip, $1995 each for one night. After all the time wasted in handling air travel complications and standing around waiting that we did for the Angkor Wat trip, we had been waiting and hoping this would not be a repeat of that experience. And after all, it is only one flight each way and by chartered air, so we had high hopes for making the most of this very expensive couple of days. The flights themselves are only 2 hours, but the first day is an almost complete loss. We will not really have any time for sightseeing in either Mumbai or Agra during that day. We are scheduled to dock at 8am, and are to meet in the Constellation Theater at 11am for an 11:30am transfer to the airport for a flight at 1:45pm. Lunch will be served on the privately chartered jet plane. We are scheduled to land at 3:45pm and go directly to the Taj Mahal with arrival at the hotel at 6:30pm for 7:30pm dinner. The hotel is still the Oberoi Amarvilas, so that is some good news. The original material had stated that another hotel was a possibility (one supposes it still is!). There is no entertainment or anything planned for the evening other than the buffet of Indian & Continental dishes served in the Ballroom. We have the option of leaving the next morning at 5:45am for a sunrise return visit to the Taj Mahal, which we plan to do. Back to the hotel at 6:30am for a buffet breakfast in the Bellevue Restaurant, which faces the Taj Mahal. Then at 8:30am, until buffet lunch is served at 11:30am, there are 4 choices for additional optional tours if you do not want to just stay at the hotel. The choices are Agra Fort, Itmad-ud-Daulah, Fatehpur Sikri and shopping at Kohinoor. We have eliminated Kohinoor shopping and Fatehpur Sikri. We eliminated Fatehpur Sikri because the guidebooks say that it is an hour's drive one way and to allow at least 3 hours there. Since this is only a 3 hour window of opportunity, we will chose one of the 2 closer and smaller sites, but have not decided which one yet. There are merits to both and we would really like to do all 4 but it is just not possible on this visit. Oh, also we were offered, before dinner, the chance to upgrade to Business Class Air seating for $99 each roundtrip. We let the window close on that opportunity.
Thus ends St. Patrick's Day at sea.
Sea Day 2 photos
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Day 78 - Thursday March 16 at sea day 1
Sea Day photos
position at 8:00am: N13 44.530 latitude E92 06.51 longitude
(about 1340 miles E of Cochin, India, our next port on Mar 19)
temperature: 80F, 94% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 25,126 miles
We are in the Bay of Bengal in the north Indian Ocean. This ocean is living up to our expectations of calm seas and good weather. We moved the clocks ahead 1/2 hour last night and this lead to an early start for people this morning. At 5:45am, there were about 10 people walking on deck 12. We had breakfast in LaVeranda a little later than normal because of getting caught up with posting this journal and the pictures! Clay had his usual 2 eggs over easy, etc. Debbie had a bad banana with room service breakfast and has not gotten over it yet. So, she did not want to eat her usual oatmeal with banana today. She had a box of Honey Smacks and then 2 pieces of wheat toast with peanut butter.
Debbie went to Low Impact Aerobics and Butt Busters this morning. It was her first day back at a full aerobics class since she got sick and she really sweated it out. But, she did OK and did not have too much trouble or start coughing, so maybe it is mostly behind her now. The class was very crowded this morning, so a lot of fitness folks must have gotten on this segment in Singapore, but she had not met them yet because she had been out sick.
This is the first of 3 sea days between Rangoon (Yangon) and Cochin (Kochi). We will use it to get caught up and back into the lazy sea day mode.
At lunch today, they were serving TexMex on the Pool Deck, so we ate up there instead of Compass Rose. It was not that bad weather-wise as the temperature was only 84, but the sun was very bright and hot. We ate in the shade which made it pleasant enough to be outside. After lunch, we did stop by Compass Rose so Debbie could make a special breakfast request. She wants stuffed french toast on Staurday, the 2/3's mark of our cruise. It is almost over!
Debbie napped this afternoon after lunch. She got up in time for Pilates Mat at 3:30pm and planned to stay until 5:15pm through Fitness Fusion (Pilates & Yoga) but started having a stomach ache in the first class and decided it was too risky to stay in there for the second class. She came back and had Maalox and then Tagamet and felt better by dinner time.
About 4:30pm, Jamie made an announcement that they were going to stop the ship and turn into the sunset and open deck 6 forward at 5:30pm this evening for a sunset party. So, about 5:45pm we went to deck 6 forward to go to the area that is normally marked crew only. Debbie had been up there once before at night in the southern hemisphere to see the Southern Cross. Clay did not go that time, so this is probably his last chance to see this area of the ship. There are 2 replacement propellers out there. Tonight is Informal and we went ahead and dressed before heading out since the evening dress code takes effect at 6pm. There was a crowd there, and the cocktails were flowing. We both had Cokes to drink. We chatted with the captain about the green concoction he was drinking. He said he had never had a drink that color before, and did not know what it was. (Maybe the bar crew is practicing up for St. Paddy's day.) It was difficult to get a good spot to actually take pictures from this front area because of the crowds. They had the frontmost pointed area set up with a musical duo so there was no flow. You could only enter and exit from the starboard side and then you could just go so far and turn around and come back, so people were kind of jammed up. So, we ended up watching the final sunset from deck 12. It was not a perfect sunset as the sun was obscured by clouds before it sank beneath the ocean.
For some reason, only Compass Rose and Signatures are open tonight. Tomorrow Latitudes reopens as Taj Mahal dinner. We have still not seen a menu for that, so we will know what they are serving after we have eaten it tomorrow night. They are serving a European BBQ dinner on the Pool Deck for the first 30 people to be seated. We have not done one of these and after the al fresco dinners in Cambodian we are not likely to anytime soon. Besides, what is a European BBQ?
Debbie did laundry this evening after dinner. The laundries on both deck 6 and 7 were empty when we checked them on the way back to the cabin after dinner. She had the place to herself again with the exception of the guy who cleans the laundry rooms every evening. They have their routine down to stay out of each other's way. Debbie hopes that this laundry pattern holds true for the rest of the cruise. It should, not many people are willing to give up their evenings for laundry.
Sea Day photos
position at 8:00am: N13 44.530 latitude E92 06.51 longitude
(about 1340 miles E of Cochin, India, our next port on Mar 19)
temperature: 80F, 94% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 25,126 miles
We are in the Bay of Bengal in the north Indian Ocean. This ocean is living up to our expectations of calm seas and good weather. We moved the clocks ahead 1/2 hour last night and this lead to an early start for people this morning. At 5:45am, there were about 10 people walking on deck 12. We had breakfast in LaVeranda a little later than normal because of getting caught up with posting this journal and the pictures! Clay had his usual 2 eggs over easy, etc. Debbie had a bad banana with room service breakfast and has not gotten over it yet. So, she did not want to eat her usual oatmeal with banana today. She had a box of Honey Smacks and then 2 pieces of wheat toast with peanut butter.
Debbie went to Low Impact Aerobics and Butt Busters this morning. It was her first day back at a full aerobics class since she got sick and she really sweated it out. But, she did OK and did not have too much trouble or start coughing, so maybe it is mostly behind her now. The class was very crowded this morning, so a lot of fitness folks must have gotten on this segment in Singapore, but she had not met them yet because she had been out sick.
This is the first of 3 sea days between Rangoon (Yangon) and Cochin (Kochi). We will use it to get caught up and back into the lazy sea day mode.
At lunch today, they were serving TexMex on the Pool Deck, so we ate up there instead of Compass Rose. It was not that bad weather-wise as the temperature was only 84, but the sun was very bright and hot. We ate in the shade which made it pleasant enough to be outside. After lunch, we did stop by Compass Rose so Debbie could make a special breakfast request. She wants stuffed french toast on Staurday, the 2/3's mark of our cruise. It is almost over!
Debbie napped this afternoon after lunch. She got up in time for Pilates Mat at 3:30pm and planned to stay until 5:15pm through Fitness Fusion (Pilates & Yoga) but started having a stomach ache in the first class and decided it was too risky to stay in there for the second class. She came back and had Maalox and then Tagamet and felt better by dinner time.
About 4:30pm, Jamie made an announcement that they were going to stop the ship and turn into the sunset and open deck 6 forward at 5:30pm this evening for a sunset party. So, about 5:45pm we went to deck 6 forward to go to the area that is normally marked crew only. Debbie had been up there once before at night in the southern hemisphere to see the Southern Cross. Clay did not go that time, so this is probably his last chance to see this area of the ship. There are 2 replacement propellers out there. Tonight is Informal and we went ahead and dressed before heading out since the evening dress code takes effect at 6pm. There was a crowd there, and the cocktails were flowing. We both had Cokes to drink. We chatted with the captain about the green concoction he was drinking. He said he had never had a drink that color before, and did not know what it was. (Maybe the bar crew is practicing up for St. Paddy's day.) It was difficult to get a good spot to actually take pictures from this front area because of the crowds. They had the frontmost pointed area set up with a musical duo so there was no flow. You could only enter and exit from the starboard side and then you could just go so far and turn around and come back, so people were kind of jammed up. So, we ended up watching the final sunset from deck 12. It was not a perfect sunset as the sun was obscured by clouds before it sank beneath the ocean.
For some reason, only Compass Rose and Signatures are open tonight. Tomorrow Latitudes reopens as Taj Mahal dinner. We have still not seen a menu for that, so we will know what they are serving after we have eaten it tomorrow night. They are serving a European BBQ dinner on the Pool Deck for the first 30 people to be seated. We have not done one of these and after the al fresco dinners in Cambodian we are not likely to anytime soon. Besides, what is a European BBQ?
Debbie did laundry this evening after dinner. The laundries on both deck 6 and 7 were empty when we checked them on the way back to the cabin after dinner. She had the place to herself again with the exception of the guy who cleans the laundry rooms every evening. They have their routine down to stay out of each other's way. Debbie hopes that this laundry pattern holds true for the rest of the cruise. It should, not many people are willing to give up their evenings for laundry.
Sea Day photos
Day 77 - Wednesday March 15 Yangon
Yangon photos
position at 7:30 am: N16 39.430 latitude E96 15.080 longitude, Yangon, Myanmar
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,652 miles
Here is the description of the tour we are taking today:
==========================================
Yangon and Shwedagon Pagoda
Duration: 5 Hours.
Walking.
Price $55 pp
Religious observances still dictate that one must remove their shoes and socks prior to entering the Shwedagon Pagoda. Your visit to this famous shrine will be timed to best avoid the congestion that can sometimes occur, due to the many pilgrims visiting. Following the visit to the pagoda, you will see how the many influences in Yangon combine to make it a most interesting city. The Portuguese, French and British were uninvited guests and did not fail to make their statements by way of architecture, some of which can be seen at the Bogyoke Aung San Park. Following the park, you will visit the Karaweik Hall which features a concrete replica of the Royal Barge, used to transport the Burmese Royal Family through the intricate river system of the country. Peering into the Royal Lake you can see a splendid reflection of the Shwedagon Pagoda. The Maha Bandoola Park is the next stop, where you will have the opportunity to view the Independence monument and the nearby Supreme Court of Burma.
A visit to the National Museum will showcase the tremendous Lion Throne of the last Burmese king. The museum also has a fine collection of weaponry and armor, all of which is bejeweled in local rubies, sapphires and diamonds.
There will be time for shopping at the conclusion of your Yangon sightseeing. Burmese lacquer ware is of exceptional quality. The woven shan bags are of particular interest and there are bargains to be had in teak carvings, dolls and wicker items. The quality of precious stones cannot be guaranteed, and it is suggested to buy only from a reputable, state-run dealer.
Please note: Cotton clothing and a light wrap for the evenings during the cool season are recommended. Do not wear shorts, inappropriate wear or sleeveless blouses when visiting temples. Footwear must be removed before entering a temple. The use of credit cards may be limited; therefore please bring US Dollars to pay for any incidental items.
==========================================
We were up early to catch breakfast in La Veranda at 6:30am so we could be on the dock at 6:50am for our 7am tour. We made it and were on bus 3 of 3 buses. We again had a police escort, but today the policeman would stay with us through the whole tour until we returned to the ship right at noon. All three buses stayed in a group through the Yangon traffic. The escort allowed us to stay on schedule. Almost without exception, the other drivers on the road obeyed the escort signal to give way.
Our first stop was the Shwedagon Pagoda. We got there around 8am in the morning. This turned out to be a good time to be there as the temperature was only in the mid 80's and the sun had not heated up the marble pavers in the courtyard surrounding the main temple, so we could walk around barefooted without burning our feet. We had heard stories on the ship from prople who were there in the afternoon the day before and they told a different story of not being able to walk on the marble. (Of course, we had the same problem yesterday at midday in the pagoda courtyard in Bago. Avoid the dark colored tiles!) Today when we left the pagoda and returned to our shoes, Debbie ducked into the ladies room because Clay had yelled too late and she had stepped in a fresh puddle of urine. They had some foot level faucets in a trough by the wall and Debbie stepped in and turned one on. No sooner had she turned around to stick a foot under the water, than a woman appeared and started washing her feet! Amazing! Then the woman turned off the faucet and put down a towel and towelled her feet dry. Debbie gratefully produced a dollar bill and thanked her, happy to slide clean feet back into her shoes. Clay stayed out by the cabinet with the shoes and the staff at the "foreign guests" foyer produced plastic chairs and disposable wet clothes for washing feet before putting shoes back on. This was a very nice touch and was much appreciated.
We took an elevator up to the height of the courtyard and then walked through a covered entrance to enter the courtyard and see the huge golden dome towering above us. There are numerous side buildings along the four sides of the huge dome. Our guide took us on a walk around all four quadrants around the dome. The whole complex was probably as large as the Royal Place in Bangkok, and was just as impressive. There was lots of gold gleaming in the sun. Along each side of the dome was a marble courtyard that held temples of all sizes and types, but each had something notable in them. We spent about an hour or so walking around the dome and looking at the surrounding altars and temples. She pointed out all the planetary posts and representative animal statues.
Next we went to an artificial lake, Royal Lake, that had a reconstruction of a royal barge on it. The barge was huge, and we were offered a orange drink inside an air conditioned hall in it. The main reason for visiting the lake is that you can see the gold dome of the Shwedagon Pagoda reflected in it, but the buses drove by the best picture site, so we had to walk back maybe 300-400 yards to take the pictures. Asta, from the Tour Desk, was with us and pointed out to the guides that they needed to stop the buses there on the way back. So we all reboarded the buses a few minutes early to go back for photos, but once again the buses blew by without stopping. The reason given was that the motorcycle cop did not stop, so the buses had to stay with him. Good thing that Clay walked back in the beginning.
Next we stopped at the National Musem to see the Lion Throne. We spent about 20 minutes there. Finally, we were driven to Scott's Market and turned loose for about 45 minutes to walk around and shop. We did. But we were happy that most of what we wanted to buy here, we had bought yesterday, because this place was huge and just went on and on and it was divided into fabrics, shoes, jewelry, etc. and it would have been difficult in 30 minutes or so to get your bearings and find what you were looking for here. While we were there, the power went out in the market. But some enterprising stalls had portable generators that they just cranked up. We left the inside and continued our shopping on the outer stalls to avoid CO poisoning. :)
Right at 11am, we boarded the buses for the trip back to the ship and got back right at noon. The local tour company had strung ribbons from the rails of the ship, so that we when pulled away, the rolls of ribbons would unfurl. It was a nice touch. They had a farewell ceremony for us at 12:30pm, but then we did not leave, so they had to stand there in the blazing sun waiting for us to leave. During this time another general appeared and his delegation and the Captain welcomed them onto the ship as the gangway was about to be removed. The gangway stayed in place until they left the ship and during the farewell ceremony and then the general and his delegation and all the local military uniformed men that had been onboard for the duration of our stay left the ship and the gangway was removed. There are really big tides here and you could watch it swooshing in against the river's current. The tide came in just about 1:00pm and we pulled away shortly thereafter.
We had lunch in Compass Rose and then took naps in the afternoon. It was a busy time here with early mornings and late nights. Debbie got up in time for 2 afternoon classes. Tighten and Tone Upper Body followed by Tighten and Tone Lower Body. Tonight was Informal and we went to Compass Rose because they had lasagna on the menu. Debbie loved that lasagna last time it was served and had been waiting for it to appear again. Disappointment. Tomorrow they are have a Tex-Mex buffet on the Pool Deck and they must have made extra ground beef filling because that was what was between the noodles, served on top of a plate with tomato sauce on one side of the plate and bechamel sauce on the other side of the plate. It was actually really bad and more than just a disappointment. Oh, well, it is not like we couldn't afford to skip a few meals.
We went to bed early. Even earlier, if you count that the clocks moved back another half hour at bedtime tonight. We have 3 lovely sea days to rest up for the next big burst of activity in India. We love cruising the Indian Ocean. Debbie says it is her favorite ocean. That we she thinks of cruising, this is what she is imagining. It is funny because on Voyager Today, Jamie said the exact same thing, that it is his favorite ocean and the perfect cruising. Too bad there are not more cruises here.
Some catching up. The virus/cold that has been burning its way through the ship is not slowing down. Many of the new arrivals have gotten it now and it seems to either be mutating or a new strain has developed/arrived because many people that were sick with it already have gotten sick a second time. A lot of people have said that the Doctor has prescribed Cipro for them and that is a new twist because when this first started, the medical office was advising that it was just a virus and to rest and wait to recover. Debbie is feeling much better and Clay's has settled into his chest and he is still fighting it. On the other hand, the ankle is lots better and he is walking a regular morning schedule now.
In other news, Jamie announced a couple of days ago that there would be a talent show on the 17th, Friday, St. Patrick's Day. We have seen a few people practicing for it and we look forward to going tomorrow. Yesterday, we saw that they have decorated Latitudes for the Taj Mahal dinners and we have our reservations for tomorrow night also. In our cabin today they delivered the latest segment's Guest Directory. There are 604 guests listed for this segment.
Yangon photos
position at 7:30 am: N16 39.430 latitude E96 15.080 longitude, Yangon, Myanmar
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,652 miles
Here is the description of the tour we are taking today:
==========================================
Yangon and Shwedagon Pagoda
Duration: 5 Hours.
Walking.
Price $55 pp
Religious observances still dictate that one must remove their shoes and socks prior to entering the Shwedagon Pagoda. Your visit to this famous shrine will be timed to best avoid the congestion that can sometimes occur, due to the many pilgrims visiting. Following the visit to the pagoda, you will see how the many influences in Yangon combine to make it a most interesting city. The Portuguese, French and British were uninvited guests and did not fail to make their statements by way of architecture, some of which can be seen at the Bogyoke Aung San Park. Following the park, you will visit the Karaweik Hall which features a concrete replica of the Royal Barge, used to transport the Burmese Royal Family through the intricate river system of the country. Peering into the Royal Lake you can see a splendid reflection of the Shwedagon Pagoda. The Maha Bandoola Park is the next stop, where you will have the opportunity to view the Independence monument and the nearby Supreme Court of Burma.
A visit to the National Museum will showcase the tremendous Lion Throne of the last Burmese king. The museum also has a fine collection of weaponry and armor, all of which is bejeweled in local rubies, sapphires and diamonds.
There will be time for shopping at the conclusion of your Yangon sightseeing. Burmese lacquer ware is of exceptional quality. The woven shan bags are of particular interest and there are bargains to be had in teak carvings, dolls and wicker items. The quality of precious stones cannot be guaranteed, and it is suggested to buy only from a reputable, state-run dealer.
Please note: Cotton clothing and a light wrap for the evenings during the cool season are recommended. Do not wear shorts, inappropriate wear or sleeveless blouses when visiting temples. Footwear must be removed before entering a temple. The use of credit cards may be limited; therefore please bring US Dollars to pay for any incidental items.
==========================================
We were up early to catch breakfast in La Veranda at 6:30am so we could be on the dock at 6:50am for our 7am tour. We made it and were on bus 3 of 3 buses. We again had a police escort, but today the policeman would stay with us through the whole tour until we returned to the ship right at noon. All three buses stayed in a group through the Yangon traffic. The escort allowed us to stay on schedule. Almost without exception, the other drivers on the road obeyed the escort signal to give way.
Our first stop was the Shwedagon Pagoda. We got there around 8am in the morning. This turned out to be a good time to be there as the temperature was only in the mid 80's and the sun had not heated up the marble pavers in the courtyard surrounding the main temple, so we could walk around barefooted without burning our feet. We had heard stories on the ship from prople who were there in the afternoon the day before and they told a different story of not being able to walk on the marble. (Of course, we had the same problem yesterday at midday in the pagoda courtyard in Bago. Avoid the dark colored tiles!) Today when we left the pagoda and returned to our shoes, Debbie ducked into the ladies room because Clay had yelled too late and she had stepped in a fresh puddle of urine. They had some foot level faucets in a trough by the wall and Debbie stepped in and turned one on. No sooner had she turned around to stick a foot under the water, than a woman appeared and started washing her feet! Amazing! Then the woman turned off the faucet and put down a towel and towelled her feet dry. Debbie gratefully produced a dollar bill and thanked her, happy to slide clean feet back into her shoes. Clay stayed out by the cabinet with the shoes and the staff at the "foreign guests" foyer produced plastic chairs and disposable wet clothes for washing feet before putting shoes back on. This was a very nice touch and was much appreciated.
We took an elevator up to the height of the courtyard and then walked through a covered entrance to enter the courtyard and see the huge golden dome towering above us. There are numerous side buildings along the four sides of the huge dome. Our guide took us on a walk around all four quadrants around the dome. The whole complex was probably as large as the Royal Place in Bangkok, and was just as impressive. There was lots of gold gleaming in the sun. Along each side of the dome was a marble courtyard that held temples of all sizes and types, but each had something notable in them. We spent about an hour or so walking around the dome and looking at the surrounding altars and temples. She pointed out all the planetary posts and representative animal statues.
Next we went to an artificial lake, Royal Lake, that had a reconstruction of a royal barge on it. The barge was huge, and we were offered a orange drink inside an air conditioned hall in it. The main reason for visiting the lake is that you can see the gold dome of the Shwedagon Pagoda reflected in it, but the buses drove by the best picture site, so we had to walk back maybe 300-400 yards to take the pictures. Asta, from the Tour Desk, was with us and pointed out to the guides that they needed to stop the buses there on the way back. So we all reboarded the buses a few minutes early to go back for photos, but once again the buses blew by without stopping. The reason given was that the motorcycle cop did not stop, so the buses had to stay with him. Good thing that Clay walked back in the beginning.
Next we stopped at the National Musem to see the Lion Throne. We spent about 20 minutes there. Finally, we were driven to Scott's Market and turned loose for about 45 minutes to walk around and shop. We did. But we were happy that most of what we wanted to buy here, we had bought yesterday, because this place was huge and just went on and on and it was divided into fabrics, shoes, jewelry, etc. and it would have been difficult in 30 minutes or so to get your bearings and find what you were looking for here. While we were there, the power went out in the market. But some enterprising stalls had portable generators that they just cranked up. We left the inside and continued our shopping on the outer stalls to avoid CO poisoning. :)
Right at 11am, we boarded the buses for the trip back to the ship and got back right at noon. The local tour company had strung ribbons from the rails of the ship, so that we when pulled away, the rolls of ribbons would unfurl. It was a nice touch. They had a farewell ceremony for us at 12:30pm, but then we did not leave, so they had to stand there in the blazing sun waiting for us to leave. During this time another general appeared and his delegation and the Captain welcomed them onto the ship as the gangway was about to be removed. The gangway stayed in place until they left the ship and during the farewell ceremony and then the general and his delegation and all the local military uniformed men that had been onboard for the duration of our stay left the ship and the gangway was removed. There are really big tides here and you could watch it swooshing in against the river's current. The tide came in just about 1:00pm and we pulled away shortly thereafter.
We had lunch in Compass Rose and then took naps in the afternoon. It was a busy time here with early mornings and late nights. Debbie got up in time for 2 afternoon classes. Tighten and Tone Upper Body followed by Tighten and Tone Lower Body. Tonight was Informal and we went to Compass Rose because they had lasagna on the menu. Debbie loved that lasagna last time it was served and had been waiting for it to appear again. Disappointment. Tomorrow they are have a Tex-Mex buffet on the Pool Deck and they must have made extra ground beef filling because that was what was between the noodles, served on top of a plate with tomato sauce on one side of the plate and bechamel sauce on the other side of the plate. It was actually really bad and more than just a disappointment. Oh, well, it is not like we couldn't afford to skip a few meals.
We went to bed early. Even earlier, if you count that the clocks moved back another half hour at bedtime tonight. We have 3 lovely sea days to rest up for the next big burst of activity in India. We love cruising the Indian Ocean. Debbie says it is her favorite ocean. That we she thinks of cruising, this is what she is imagining. It is funny because on Voyager Today, Jamie said the exact same thing, that it is his favorite ocean and the perfect cruising. Too bad there are not more cruises here.
Some catching up. The virus/cold that has been burning its way through the ship is not slowing down. Many of the new arrivals have gotten it now and it seems to either be mutating or a new strain has developed/arrived because many people that were sick with it already have gotten sick a second time. A lot of people have said that the Doctor has prescribed Cipro for them and that is a new twist because when this first started, the medical office was advising that it was just a virus and to rest and wait to recover. Debbie is feeling much better and Clay's has settled into his chest and he is still fighting it. On the other hand, the ankle is lots better and he is walking a regular morning schedule now.
In other news, Jamie announced a couple of days ago that there would be a talent show on the 17th, Friday, St. Patrick's Day. We have seen a few people practicing for it and we look forward to going tomorrow. Yesterday, we saw that they have decorated Latitudes for the Taj Mahal dinners and we have our reservations for tomorrow night also. In our cabin today they delivered the latest segment's Guest Directory. There are 604 guests listed for this segment.
Yangon photos
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Day 76 - Tuesday March 14 Yangon (Rangoon)
Bago photos
position at 7:30am: N16 39.430 latitude E96 15.080 longitude
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,652 miles
Here is the description of the tour we are taking today:
========================
8 hours
Seated, Wheelchair.
Price $89 pp
Located fifty miles from Yangon, Bago was the ancient seaport capital of Burma (now Myanmar) and is still today, a storehouse of Burmese culture. King Byinnya, who transferred his Talaing capital from Martaban, established the city in 1369. Its golden age was from 1385 to 1635, when it was capital of the Mon kingdom of Lower Burma, whose rulers included King Byinnya-U, Queen Shinsawbu and King Dhammazedi (who were all instrumental in the construction and gilding of Rangoon's, Shwedagon Pagoda). The next 150 years saw a gradual decline in its importance and by 1795, Bago had a population of less than 6,000. King Bodawpaya undertook some restoration work in Bago at the end of the 18th century. But by then the city was already losing its commercial raison d'être; in the early 1800s, the Bago River had changed its course, cutting the city off from the sea, finally sealing its fate.
En route to Bago, at Htaukkyan, the War Cemetery stands memorial to the 27,000 allied servicemen who died in World War II; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission beautifully maintains it. Set back from the road a little further along you will notice the Naga-Yone monument that has 8 planetary posts with their guardian birds and animals, and an unusual Buddha image, which is circled by a cobra. One final spectacle you may notice as you pass along the road to Bago is the Shwenyaungbin (Golden Banyan Tree). This ancient tree is reputed, in local lore, to be the home of nats (the guardian spirits of the highway). Passers-by often stop to make offerings,and take their new cars out there to be blessed.
Built in 1476 by King Dhammazedi, on the outskirts of Bago, the Kyaik Pun Pagoda is a remarkable structure that sits on a tributary of the Bago River. On each of the four sides is a 90 foot tall Buddha, representing the four historic Buddhas: Gautama, Konagamana, Kakusandha and Kassapa. The Buddha on the west face was damaged in the 1930 earthquake. There is a short walk from the coach to view the pagoda.
Then proceed to Kyatkhatwine Monastery, the biggest monastery in lower Myanmar. Here, the monks spend their last meal of the day in total silence. You may be able to observe the long line of monks and novices file out of the monastery. The golden dome of the magnificent soaring Shwemawdaw Pagoda can be seen as you approach Bago. The pagoda of the Great Golden God, is one of the most venerated and impressive monuments in Southeast Asia. Its origins date back a thousand years when two merchants built it to shelter some hair relics of Buddha. The pagoda was severely damaged by earthquakes in 1912 and 1917 and completely destroyed by another earthquake in 1930. It was finally rebuilt between 1952 and 1954 in a slightly different style than the original. It has a new diamond-studded 'umbrella' and a stupa covered with 1 1/2 tons of gold. The stairways leading to the pagoda are guarded by huge white chinthes (temple lions), each containing a sitting Buddha in its mouth. There are 8 planetary prayer posts and a small museum of ancient Buddha images of stone and bronze, rescued from the original pagoda after the 1930 quake.
A Burmese lunch will be served at the Hanthawaddy restaurant in Bago.
You will also enjoy the sights and sounds of the picturesque market that brims with local produce and handicrafts under its thatched roofs. Flower sellers and vegetable vendors vie for business alongside betel nut merchants. It is truly a photographer's delight.
Bago is probably most famous for its huge, reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha, said to depict the Gautama Buddha on the eve of his attaining nirvana. The Buddha measures some 165 feet in length and 48 feet in height. Built by King Migadippa in 994 AD, it fell into disrepair until King Dhammazedi restored the image five centuries later. With the destruction of Bago in 1757, the Buddha was abandoned and continued to lay undisturbed for 125 years. The British, during construction of the Rangoon-Bago railway in 1881, rediscovered it. An open pavilion, built in 1906, serves as cover to protect the statue from the elements.
Please note: Cotton clothing and a light wrap for the evenings during the cool season are recommended. Do not wear shorts, inappropriate wear or sleeveless blouses when visiting temples. Footwear must be removed before entering a temple. The use of credit cards may be limited; therefore, please bring US Dollars to pay for any incidental items.
========================
Our tour tickets said to be on the dock at 7:20am, but the earliest full breakfast place (LaVeranda) opens at 7am. So, we are having breakfast delivered to the room in the 6:30am to 7am checkbox on the breakfast room service order form. With our limited experience, this means breakfast will be delivered at 6:30am so we set the alarm for 6am. The breakfast was delived at 6:15am. We both just got juice, fruit and cereal.
We were on the dock about 7:15am and loaded into bus 2. We left the dock in a bus convoy with a police escort. The escort was a motorcycle cop who rode in front of the first bus and waved oncoming traffic to the side to allow us to go down the middle of the rode. Even with this escort, we probably averaged 20 mph due to the state of the roads. But it was a good gesture. What motorbikes were to Vietnam, bicycles are to Myanmar. They are everywhere. We also saw a lot of oxcarts and pony wagons. What jeepneys were to Manila, here they had modified pickup trucks that were used as buses. There were 2 benches down each side of the covered, open-air bed and then people crammed into the middle and on the top and hung off the back. Debbie asked the guide what people pay to ride those "buses." He told her about 100 to 300 kyats. He told here that would be about 10 to 30 US cents. He asked her how much a bus ride would cost in the USA. She told him that it varies, but in her experience you could get most places in most US cities by bus for 35 cents to $1.50. on average. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depends on the city and the distance of your trip. He was amazed. She told him, yeah, and you would never be in the open-air like that, or packed together like that, or hanging on to the outside. He laughed and told her the fare is the same, no matter where you are in or on the truck. The trip took us close to Yangon and then to Bago. It was about 50 miles away. At most of our stops, we were set upon by kids selling postcards, fans, etc. Not in the overwhelming numbers that we have seen elsewhere, but there were usually 3 or 4 whenever we alighted the bus. The city of Yangon is very busy and crowded. Roads leading into Yangon were also crowded with people. But in the coutryside, the crowds thinned out quickly. There was poverty in Yangon, but the countryside seemed much poorer. This is the least developed country that we have ever visited. The roads while designed as wide and divided highways were not in the best of repair. We saw roadwork going on and it was unimaginable. People in mostly barefeet in the hot sun, working with rocks. The rocks started large delivered by truckloads to the sides of the road. The large stones were laid first, then medium size, then small and then powdery. The people were breaking the rocks into the various sizes and hand sorting and sieving them to the approriate sizes at each stage of road work. Then a heavy roller would go over everything. They were handcarrying the rocks or in buckets on sticks. After the heavy roller, they were melting asphalt (tar) over fires by the roadside and 2 men would carry a big bucketful over to the area being paved (in barefeet!) and it would be dispersed into something like large watering cans where other men would sprinkle it over the level surface. We even saw a group painting the stripes down the middle of the road. They had a wooden template and a bucket of paint and some brushes. They would walk along, place the template and paint, then pick up the template and walk a bit further. This road work was going on all over everywhere that we drove so we were able to observe all phases of it though not all in one place. One other item of interest here is that our buses had the driver on the right but they also drove on the right. It was confusing. We observed cars with steering wheels on both sides. Our guide said that originally because of the British that they drove on the left, but that sometime after independence (we think he said something like 1983?) the government declared that all driving would be on the right. So, you might imagine that people are still a little confused.
One of the first things our guide did was to give everyone a bag of sunflower seeds. Clay tried to eat a few but they were just too much trouble without sufficient reward, so they were quickly set aside for another day. Our first stop was about 1 hour into the trip at a WWII cemetery and Memorial named Htaukkyan.
It is where about 6000 WWII soldiers are buried, and a memorial to 23000 soldiers who lost their lives in Burma but whose bodies were never found. It is a very somber place but quite beautiful nonetheless. It is quite well maintained. We were there about 20 minutes or so.
One of the first things you notice is what looks like dirt smeared on the faces of the people. They said it is made from the bark of a tree that grows in Burma and it is ground on a particular kind of stone and mixed with water for a paste and is used as sunscreen and as a beauty aid. Mostly, the women and children wear it on their faces during the day and they said that they wear it all over their bodies at night. (Perhaps it works as in insect repellent as well because they would not need a full body sunscreen to sleep?) They pronounced it as something like "thinaka." We are not sure of the spelling, though there were plenty of young women thrusting small jars of it in our faces everytime we got off the bus. We declined to purchase any.
We next went to a local market. Here the guide turned us loose and said to be back in 20 minutes. He then told us that anyone who wanted a restroom to follow a particular lady. He told the rest of us to go into the market at a certain location, go straight untl you had to turn and then turn left, followed by another left to get out. Well, this market had anything gross that you would want to see (except bathrooms). It turned out that the lady leading people to a bathroom could not find one. (The guide, later, bribed a restaurant to let a few people use a single 'squatter' toilet and 3 urinals all in the same room.) The market was definitely for the locals. We did not see any handicrafts there. It was a subsistance and survival type of market. I do not think anyone on our bus bought anything. Check out the pictures to see why. We did once visit a more grim market in Zanzibar, but it was no where near as crowded as this one. It was a sobering experience.
Our next stop was Kyatkhatwine Monastery. Here we saw 1100 monks file into a dining hall for their noon meal. They were silent but the crowds were not. I think our ship had 7 busloads watching this process. There was also a busload or 2 of Japanese from somewhere. Now our ship's people was bad enough, but this busload of Japanese was even worse behaving. They would do things like break through the line of 1100 monks to change sides of the line every now or then. It was appalling. Our crowd's behavior was better though a lot of them could not stop talking long enough to give the monks procession the attention they deserved. There were maybe 6 or 8 huge caudrons of rice with a couple of people dishing rice out of each cauldron. As the monks went by with their bowls, the rice dishers put a generous serving of rice into each bowl. This particular part of the tour was not a real highlight. There were just too many people around making it a circus instead of a silent dinner procession. All the boys and many of the girls must spend part of their lives as monks or nuns. The boys become novices for a week or so as the family can afford to be without them from about 8 to 12 and anytime up to 20. After 20, they must spend 3 months (if possible) as monks before they are allowed to marry. They shave their heads, and wear the robes and live by the rules of the monastery that they chose or that they are admitted to. The boys do this during the summer school vacation. We arrived at the beginning of the school vacation, so we saw a lot of young Buddhist novices.
It should be probably be noted here about the requirement that footwear be removed to visit Burmese religious sites. They mean barefeet. No shoes, no socks, no slippers. Barefeet. This was emphasized in the literature and in Roger's tour talks. At this first stop at the monastery, people balked. After the first stop more people balked. A good half of the people on our bus, never got off except for the cemetery, the market, and for lunch. What part of barefeet did they misunderstand? And who in their right mind would pay to sit in a hot bus for 8 hours? They mostly did not even look out the windows, when we would come back to the bus, they would have the curtains pulled to keep the sun out and the temperature down, but it was still hot in there and with nothing to see but each other. It defies logic. Now in the defense of some of the people who tried the barefeet and did not do it again. It was bad. These were not closed, indoor facilities like we walked in without shoes in Thailand for example. These were open-air, in many cases, in open sun and the floors were filthy and usually very hot. The first time we left our shoes on the bus because it dropped us right at the door, but when we left the bus had moved and we had to walk about 50 yards down a hot, hot, hot blacktop street in the noon sun. It would have raised blisters on the flesh of your soles if they had not been caked with nastiness. How is this possible, you may wonder. Well, for example, what were the wet spots? Dogs and small children and old men were milling at all these sites and, well, it was bodily fluids. It was bad. But, this is their culture and we only had a few days here, so we were not going to let squeamishness stop us from our visits. We carried on but it was bad. It was actually incomprehensible, you gild everything in sight and only allow barefeet out of respect and then you let the floors go in that condition. Where is the respect in that in any culture?
Our next stop was the Shwemawdaw Pagoda which was the main reason we went to Bago. The Pagoda had a huge golden dome in the center. Around this center ediface were many different temples and shrines holding many different Bhuddas. The sheer number of them was overwhelming, and this does not even consider the 1.5 tons of gold they use to gold leaf the domes every few years. We were barefooted for this visit (as we also were for the Monastery visit). As noted above, this was traumatic for most people on our buses. But the tour information was very clear that you would be required to remove shoes and socks and walk around barefooted on this particular tour. It was an overwhelming site. Only 8 people out of the 33 on the bus got out and some of them only wanted to use the toilets.
Our next stop was the Hanthawaddy restaurant for a Burmese lunch. This turned out well and even Debbie found things she could eat. The meal started with what looked like flat corn puffs, but tasted like shrimp. Debbie skipped these. This was followed by lentil soup which was good and very mild flavored. Next came three types of curry, shrimp, pork and fish along with steamed rice. Debbie ate the rice, pork curry and some vegetables. Clay tried a little of everything. They served a local beer, called Mynamar Lager (made with Grerman technology). The beer came in a large bottle, maybe 1.5 lt., and was good. Debbie had a Coke. We skipped the dessert of fruit to use the restroom and do a little shopping before we left. Both Clay and Debbie got longyis. These are a skirt-type bottom that is the common clothing here in Myanmar. It is an oversized tube of cloth worn as a skirt that is tied differently for men and women. We had gotten tying lessons first thing on the bus from our guide who was wearing one.
After lunch, we made a few stops that were not described in the tour description. The first was to a 'nats' festival. Everyone on the bus (except Debbie) thought the guide was saying nuts festival, and were expecting to go see some nuts. But, we pulled up to another temple instead. There, a show was being put on that celebrated the 'naturals" or nats. It meant another barefooted walk so several people again opted out and just stayed on the bus. Here we saw a dance performance put on by men dressed to the nines as women. There were also shops leading up to the level in the temple where the performance was going on.
The next stop was a Mon weaving village. This was a village of straw, teak and bamboo huts that all had residents that spun and wove cloth. This was not a 'show' village. People actually lived and worked in minimal straw huts. In the bottom area under elevated first floors, most of the huts had looms under there where women were weaving cloth. The live stock was close by as were the kids. It could have easily have been from 100 or 200 years ago. There were no modern conveniences around. We saw no sign of any plumbing or any kind of cables.
Our guide told us that there is one hydro-electric plant at the lake near Mandalay. He said they mostly have electricity in Yangon, vs. the rest of the country and that it is only reliable during the rainy season. The rest of the year it is on and off sporadically.
The third stop was to a Cherroot factory. It was just a larger than normal wooden house, in a village of wooden houses on a dirt road, set back off the paved road. There was running water and wiring in this village. Here we saw maybe 50-80 young women handrolling local Cherroots (sort small cigars). They used a local leaf, and in it they put a mixture of tobacco, wood chips, tumeric and chicory. They were larger than a cigarette but smaller than most cigars. You could buy 100 of them for a $1. They handed out samples, and the people who smoked them gave them mixed reviews. One woman did buy 100 of them for her cigar loving sons. That was the only sale we saw. There was a little snafu at this Cherroot factory. There were 2 buses going to this factory and they let us off on the main road and we walked maybe 100 yards (with our shoes on) down a couple of very small side streets where the buses could not go. When it was time to leave the first bus guide (without the knowledge of the other guide) told everyone to wait and the buses would come pick us up. Then the other guide (our guide) just left and started walking back the way we came. About 2/3 of the people that got off the bus, including us, so about 6 people, followed our guide back to the bus. When we got there, he counted and wanted to know where the rest of the people were. As we waited, a couple of the people who were waiting for the buses at the factory came up all upset about being told one thing and having to do another. The guide went back to the factory and rounded up the rest of our bus.
After the Cherroots, we went to a big reclining Bhudda. This one is billed as being 15 feet longer than the one we saw in Bangkok at Wat Po. Well, it may be longer, but it was no where as glitzy as the one at Wat Po. (We also did not think it was even as large, much less larger.) The Wat Po Lying Bhudda was gold leaf and you could walk around him and see a back side. This one was not gold and you could not 'do the back'. Along the back was a wall in bas-relief of a story of cross-loved. It was also written there in English. The story on this reclining Bhudda is that it is over 1000 years old, but was 'lost' for many centuries. It was discovered by a engineer in the late 1800's who was working on the Burma Railroad for the British.
The last stop of the day was at a pagoda with 4 huge (50 foot) Bhuddas sitting back to back facing outward. These Bhuddas were also from ancient times. One of them was destroyed completely in a 1930 earthquake, but was reconstructed. This new Bhudda has a 'Burmese' face (oval) and the other three Bhuddas have a more square face like the Mon people who originally built these Bhuddas. We walked around this pagoda on a dirt road and did not enter the area of it, so we all kept our shoes on and a few more people came out.
We got back to the ship about 6pm. The tour was long and good. Tonight is Country Club Casual. We went up to LaVeranda which has returned to its original Mediterranean Bistro and Italian Steakhouse menus. Clay wanted the Paella that was the featured dish. He did not think it was great. Debbie had steak but did not have much of an appetite, maybe from all the heat today, and skipped appetizers and dessert. We set a record for earliest out of dinner yet. We were out by 7:30pm and we wanted to go to the show this evening. They are having a local cultural show in the Constellation Theatre at 9:30pm. Debbie set the alarm for 9:10pm and we took a nap. We made it to the show and we enjoyed it very much. They had a little orchestra with a zylophone-type instrument, some drums and cymbals and a special oboe with 6 reeds. They also had some dancers and singers and made a lot of costume changes. The dances were very similar to those from Bali and Thailand and Cambodia. It lasted about an hour and we really enjoyed it and were glad that we had the opportunity to see it. We had a time change notice for our tour tomorrow saying it was leaving at 7am instead of 7:30am. There are some really huge tides up this river, you would think by the change in level that you would be able to actually hear it flush in and out! So, instead of the originally scheduled 4pm sailing, we are scheduled to sail when the tide rises sometime around 1pm and all aboard is 12:30pm to sail as soon as possible. Looks like it will be another busy day tomorrow. At least LaVeranda will open at 6:30am tomorrow.
Bago photos
position at 7:30am: N16 39.430 latitude E96 15.080 longitude
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,652 miles
Here is the description of the tour we are taking today:
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8 hours
Seated, Wheelchair.
Price $89 pp
Located fifty miles from Yangon, Bago was the ancient seaport capital of Burma (now Myanmar) and is still today, a storehouse of Burmese culture. King Byinnya, who transferred his Talaing capital from Martaban, established the city in 1369. Its golden age was from 1385 to 1635, when it was capital of the Mon kingdom of Lower Burma, whose rulers included King Byinnya-U, Queen Shinsawbu and King Dhammazedi (who were all instrumental in the construction and gilding of Rangoon's, Shwedagon Pagoda). The next 150 years saw a gradual decline in its importance and by 1795, Bago had a population of less than 6,000. King Bodawpaya undertook some restoration work in Bago at the end of the 18th century. But by then the city was already losing its commercial raison d'être; in the early 1800s, the Bago River had changed its course, cutting the city off from the sea, finally sealing its fate.
En route to Bago, at Htaukkyan, the War Cemetery stands memorial to the 27,000 allied servicemen who died in World War II; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission beautifully maintains it. Set back from the road a little further along you will notice the Naga-Yone monument that has 8 planetary posts with their guardian birds and animals, and an unusual Buddha image, which is circled by a cobra. One final spectacle you may notice as you pass along the road to Bago is the Shwenyaungbin (Golden Banyan Tree). This ancient tree is reputed, in local lore, to be the home of nats (the guardian spirits of the highway). Passers-by often stop to make offerings,and take their new cars out there to be blessed.
Built in 1476 by King Dhammazedi, on the outskirts of Bago, the Kyaik Pun Pagoda is a remarkable structure that sits on a tributary of the Bago River. On each of the four sides is a 90 foot tall Buddha, representing the four historic Buddhas: Gautama, Konagamana, Kakusandha and Kassapa. The Buddha on the west face was damaged in the 1930 earthquake. There is a short walk from the coach to view the pagoda.
Then proceed to Kyatkhatwine Monastery, the biggest monastery in lower Myanmar. Here, the monks spend their last meal of the day in total silence. You may be able to observe the long line of monks and novices file out of the monastery. The golden dome of the magnificent soaring Shwemawdaw Pagoda can be seen as you approach Bago. The pagoda of the Great Golden God, is one of the most venerated and impressive monuments in Southeast Asia. Its origins date back a thousand years when two merchants built it to shelter some hair relics of Buddha. The pagoda was severely damaged by earthquakes in 1912 and 1917 and completely destroyed by another earthquake in 1930. It was finally rebuilt between 1952 and 1954 in a slightly different style than the original. It has a new diamond-studded 'umbrella' and a stupa covered with 1 1/2 tons of gold. The stairways leading to the pagoda are guarded by huge white chinthes (temple lions), each containing a sitting Buddha in its mouth. There are 8 planetary prayer posts and a small museum of ancient Buddha images of stone and bronze, rescued from the original pagoda after the 1930 quake.
A Burmese lunch will be served at the Hanthawaddy restaurant in Bago.
You will also enjoy the sights and sounds of the picturesque market that brims with local produce and handicrafts under its thatched roofs. Flower sellers and vegetable vendors vie for business alongside betel nut merchants. It is truly a photographer's delight.
Bago is probably most famous for its huge, reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha, said to depict the Gautama Buddha on the eve of his attaining nirvana. The Buddha measures some 165 feet in length and 48 feet in height. Built by King Migadippa in 994 AD, it fell into disrepair until King Dhammazedi restored the image five centuries later. With the destruction of Bago in 1757, the Buddha was abandoned and continued to lay undisturbed for 125 years. The British, during construction of the Rangoon-Bago railway in 1881, rediscovered it. An open pavilion, built in 1906, serves as cover to protect the statue from the elements.
Please note: Cotton clothing and a light wrap for the evenings during the cool season are recommended. Do not wear shorts, inappropriate wear or sleeveless blouses when visiting temples. Footwear must be removed before entering a temple. The use of credit cards may be limited; therefore, please bring US Dollars to pay for any incidental items.
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Our tour tickets said to be on the dock at 7:20am, but the earliest full breakfast place (LaVeranda) opens at 7am. So, we are having breakfast delivered to the room in the 6:30am to 7am checkbox on the breakfast room service order form. With our limited experience, this means breakfast will be delivered at 6:30am so we set the alarm for 6am. The breakfast was delived at 6:15am. We both just got juice, fruit and cereal.
We were on the dock about 7:15am and loaded into bus 2. We left the dock in a bus convoy with a police escort. The escort was a motorcycle cop who rode in front of the first bus and waved oncoming traffic to the side to allow us to go down the middle of the rode. Even with this escort, we probably averaged 20 mph due to the state of the roads. But it was a good gesture. What motorbikes were to Vietnam, bicycles are to Myanmar. They are everywhere. We also saw a lot of oxcarts and pony wagons. What jeepneys were to Manila, here they had modified pickup trucks that were used as buses. There were 2 benches down each side of the covered, open-air bed and then people crammed into the middle and on the top and hung off the back. Debbie asked the guide what people pay to ride those "buses." He told her about 100 to 300 kyats. He told here that would be about 10 to 30 US cents. He asked her how much a bus ride would cost in the USA. She told him that it varies, but in her experience you could get most places in most US cities by bus for 35 cents to $1.50. on average. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depends on the city and the distance of your trip. He was amazed. She told him, yeah, and you would never be in the open-air like that, or packed together like that, or hanging on to the outside. He laughed and told her the fare is the same, no matter where you are in or on the truck. The trip took us close to Yangon and then to Bago. It was about 50 miles away. At most of our stops, we were set upon by kids selling postcards, fans, etc. Not in the overwhelming numbers that we have seen elsewhere, but there were usually 3 or 4 whenever we alighted the bus. The city of Yangon is very busy and crowded. Roads leading into Yangon were also crowded with people. But in the coutryside, the crowds thinned out quickly. There was poverty in Yangon, but the countryside seemed much poorer. This is the least developed country that we have ever visited. The roads while designed as wide and divided highways were not in the best of repair. We saw roadwork going on and it was unimaginable. People in mostly barefeet in the hot sun, working with rocks. The rocks started large delivered by truckloads to the sides of the road. The large stones were laid first, then medium size, then small and then powdery. The people were breaking the rocks into the various sizes and hand sorting and sieving them to the approriate sizes at each stage of road work. Then a heavy roller would go over everything. They were handcarrying the rocks or in buckets on sticks. After the heavy roller, they were melting asphalt (tar) over fires by the roadside and 2 men would carry a big bucketful over to the area being paved (in barefeet!) and it would be dispersed into something like large watering cans where other men would sprinkle it over the level surface. We even saw a group painting the stripes down the middle of the road. They had a wooden template and a bucket of paint and some brushes. They would walk along, place the template and paint, then pick up the template and walk a bit further. This road work was going on all over everywhere that we drove so we were able to observe all phases of it though not all in one place. One other item of interest here is that our buses had the driver on the right but they also drove on the right. It was confusing. We observed cars with steering wheels on both sides. Our guide said that originally because of the British that they drove on the left, but that sometime after independence (we think he said something like 1983?) the government declared that all driving would be on the right. So, you might imagine that people are still a little confused.
One of the first things our guide did was to give everyone a bag of sunflower seeds. Clay tried to eat a few but they were just too much trouble without sufficient reward, so they were quickly set aside for another day. Our first stop was about 1 hour into the trip at a WWII cemetery and Memorial named Htaukkyan.
It is where about 6000 WWII soldiers are buried, and a memorial to 23000 soldiers who lost their lives in Burma but whose bodies were never found. It is a very somber place but quite beautiful nonetheless. It is quite well maintained. We were there about 20 minutes or so.
One of the first things you notice is what looks like dirt smeared on the faces of the people. They said it is made from the bark of a tree that grows in Burma and it is ground on a particular kind of stone and mixed with water for a paste and is used as sunscreen and as a beauty aid. Mostly, the women and children wear it on their faces during the day and they said that they wear it all over their bodies at night. (Perhaps it works as in insect repellent as well because they would not need a full body sunscreen to sleep?) They pronounced it as something like "thinaka." We are not sure of the spelling, though there were plenty of young women thrusting small jars of it in our faces everytime we got off the bus. We declined to purchase any.
We next went to a local market. Here the guide turned us loose and said to be back in 20 minutes. He then told us that anyone who wanted a restroom to follow a particular lady. He told the rest of us to go into the market at a certain location, go straight untl you had to turn and then turn left, followed by another left to get out. Well, this market had anything gross that you would want to see (except bathrooms). It turned out that the lady leading people to a bathroom could not find one. (The guide, later, bribed a restaurant to let a few people use a single 'squatter' toilet and 3 urinals all in the same room.) The market was definitely for the locals. We did not see any handicrafts there. It was a subsistance and survival type of market. I do not think anyone on our bus bought anything. Check out the pictures to see why. We did once visit a more grim market in Zanzibar, but it was no where near as crowded as this one. It was a sobering experience.
Our next stop was Kyatkhatwine Monastery. Here we saw 1100 monks file into a dining hall for their noon meal. They were silent but the crowds were not. I think our ship had 7 busloads watching this process. There was also a busload or 2 of Japanese from somewhere. Now our ship's people was bad enough, but this busload of Japanese was even worse behaving. They would do things like break through the line of 1100 monks to change sides of the line every now or then. It was appalling. Our crowd's behavior was better though a lot of them could not stop talking long enough to give the monks procession the attention they deserved. There were maybe 6 or 8 huge caudrons of rice with a couple of people dishing rice out of each cauldron. As the monks went by with their bowls, the rice dishers put a generous serving of rice into each bowl. This particular part of the tour was not a real highlight. There were just too many people around making it a circus instead of a silent dinner procession. All the boys and many of the girls must spend part of their lives as monks or nuns. The boys become novices for a week or so as the family can afford to be without them from about 8 to 12 and anytime up to 20. After 20, they must spend 3 months (if possible) as monks before they are allowed to marry. They shave their heads, and wear the robes and live by the rules of the monastery that they chose or that they are admitted to. The boys do this during the summer school vacation. We arrived at the beginning of the school vacation, so we saw a lot of young Buddhist novices.
It should be probably be noted here about the requirement that footwear be removed to visit Burmese religious sites. They mean barefeet. No shoes, no socks, no slippers. Barefeet. This was emphasized in the literature and in Roger's tour talks. At this first stop at the monastery, people balked. After the first stop more people balked. A good half of the people on our bus, never got off except for the cemetery, the market, and for lunch. What part of barefeet did they misunderstand? And who in their right mind would pay to sit in a hot bus for 8 hours? They mostly did not even look out the windows, when we would come back to the bus, they would have the curtains pulled to keep the sun out and the temperature down, but it was still hot in there and with nothing to see but each other. It defies logic. Now in the defense of some of the people who tried the barefeet and did not do it again. It was bad. These were not closed, indoor facilities like we walked in without shoes in Thailand for example. These were open-air, in many cases, in open sun and the floors were filthy and usually very hot. The first time we left our shoes on the bus because it dropped us right at the door, but when we left the bus had moved and we had to walk about 50 yards down a hot, hot, hot blacktop street in the noon sun. It would have raised blisters on the flesh of your soles if they had not been caked with nastiness. How is this possible, you may wonder. Well, for example, what were the wet spots? Dogs and small children and old men were milling at all these sites and, well, it was bodily fluids. It was bad. But, this is their culture and we only had a few days here, so we were not going to let squeamishness stop us from our visits. We carried on but it was bad. It was actually incomprehensible, you gild everything in sight and only allow barefeet out of respect and then you let the floors go in that condition. Where is the respect in that in any culture?
Our next stop was the Shwemawdaw Pagoda which was the main reason we went to Bago. The Pagoda had a huge golden dome in the center. Around this center ediface were many different temples and shrines holding many different Bhuddas. The sheer number of them was overwhelming, and this does not even consider the 1.5 tons of gold they use to gold leaf the domes every few years. We were barefooted for this visit (as we also were for the Monastery visit). As noted above, this was traumatic for most people on our buses. But the tour information was very clear that you would be required to remove shoes and socks and walk around barefooted on this particular tour. It was an overwhelming site. Only 8 people out of the 33 on the bus got out and some of them only wanted to use the toilets.
Our next stop was the Hanthawaddy restaurant for a Burmese lunch. This turned out well and even Debbie found things she could eat. The meal started with what looked like flat corn puffs, but tasted like shrimp. Debbie skipped these. This was followed by lentil soup which was good and very mild flavored. Next came three types of curry, shrimp, pork and fish along with steamed rice. Debbie ate the rice, pork curry and some vegetables. Clay tried a little of everything. They served a local beer, called Mynamar Lager (made with Grerman technology). The beer came in a large bottle, maybe 1.5 lt., and was good. Debbie had a Coke. We skipped the dessert of fruit to use the restroom and do a little shopping before we left. Both Clay and Debbie got longyis. These are a skirt-type bottom that is the common clothing here in Myanmar. It is an oversized tube of cloth worn as a skirt that is tied differently for men and women. We had gotten tying lessons first thing on the bus from our guide who was wearing one.
After lunch, we made a few stops that were not described in the tour description. The first was to a 'nats' festival. Everyone on the bus (except Debbie) thought the guide was saying nuts festival, and were expecting to go see some nuts. But, we pulled up to another temple instead. There, a show was being put on that celebrated the 'naturals" or nats. It meant another barefooted walk so several people again opted out and just stayed on the bus. Here we saw a dance performance put on by men dressed to the nines as women. There were also shops leading up to the level in the temple where the performance was going on.
The next stop was a Mon weaving village. This was a village of straw, teak and bamboo huts that all had residents that spun and wove cloth. This was not a 'show' village. People actually lived and worked in minimal straw huts. In the bottom area under elevated first floors, most of the huts had looms under there where women were weaving cloth. The live stock was close by as were the kids. It could have easily have been from 100 or 200 years ago. There were no modern conveniences around. We saw no sign of any plumbing or any kind of cables.
Our guide told us that there is one hydro-electric plant at the lake near Mandalay. He said they mostly have electricity in Yangon, vs. the rest of the country and that it is only reliable during the rainy season. The rest of the year it is on and off sporadically.
The third stop was to a Cherroot factory. It was just a larger than normal wooden house, in a village of wooden houses on a dirt road, set back off the paved road. There was running water and wiring in this village. Here we saw maybe 50-80 young women handrolling local Cherroots (sort small cigars). They used a local leaf, and in it they put a mixture of tobacco, wood chips, tumeric and chicory. They were larger than a cigarette but smaller than most cigars. You could buy 100 of them for a $1. They handed out samples, and the people who smoked them gave them mixed reviews. One woman did buy 100 of them for her cigar loving sons. That was the only sale we saw. There was a little snafu at this Cherroot factory. There were 2 buses going to this factory and they let us off on the main road and we walked maybe 100 yards (with our shoes on) down a couple of very small side streets where the buses could not go. When it was time to leave the first bus guide (without the knowledge of the other guide) told everyone to wait and the buses would come pick us up. Then the other guide (our guide) just left and started walking back the way we came. About 2/3 of the people that got off the bus, including us, so about 6 people, followed our guide back to the bus. When we got there, he counted and wanted to know where the rest of the people were. As we waited, a couple of the people who were waiting for the buses at the factory came up all upset about being told one thing and having to do another. The guide went back to the factory and rounded up the rest of our bus.
After the Cherroots, we went to a big reclining Bhudda. This one is billed as being 15 feet longer than the one we saw in Bangkok at Wat Po. Well, it may be longer, but it was no where as glitzy as the one at Wat Po. (We also did not think it was even as large, much less larger.) The Wat Po Lying Bhudda was gold leaf and you could walk around him and see a back side. This one was not gold and you could not 'do the back'. Along the back was a wall in bas-relief of a story of cross-loved. It was also written there in English. The story on this reclining Bhudda is that it is over 1000 years old, but was 'lost' for many centuries. It was discovered by a engineer in the late 1800's who was working on the Burma Railroad for the British.
The last stop of the day was at a pagoda with 4 huge (50 foot) Bhuddas sitting back to back facing outward. These Bhuddas were also from ancient times. One of them was destroyed completely in a 1930 earthquake, but was reconstructed. This new Bhudda has a 'Burmese' face (oval) and the other three Bhuddas have a more square face like the Mon people who originally built these Bhuddas. We walked around this pagoda on a dirt road and did not enter the area of it, so we all kept our shoes on and a few more people came out.
We got back to the ship about 6pm. The tour was long and good. Tonight is Country Club Casual. We went up to LaVeranda which has returned to its original Mediterranean Bistro and Italian Steakhouse menus. Clay wanted the Paella that was the featured dish. He did not think it was great. Debbie had steak but did not have much of an appetite, maybe from all the heat today, and skipped appetizers and dessert. We set a record for earliest out of dinner yet. We were out by 7:30pm and we wanted to go to the show this evening. They are having a local cultural show in the Constellation Theatre at 9:30pm. Debbie set the alarm for 9:10pm and we took a nap. We made it to the show and we enjoyed it very much. They had a little orchestra with a zylophone-type instrument, some drums and cymbals and a special oboe with 6 reeds. They also had some dancers and singers and made a lot of costume changes. The dances were very similar to those from Bali and Thailand and Cambodia. It lasted about an hour and we really enjoyed it and were glad that we had the opportunity to see it. We had a time change notice for our tour tomorrow saying it was leaving at 7am instead of 7:30am. There are some really huge tides up this river, you would think by the change in level that you would be able to actually hear it flush in and out! So, instead of the originally scheduled 4pm sailing, we are scheduled to sail when the tide rises sometime around 1pm and all aboard is 12:30pm to sail as soon as possible. Looks like it will be another busy day tomorrow. At least LaVeranda will open at 6:30am tomorrow.
Bago photos
Monday, March 13, 2006
Day 75 - Monday March 13 at Sea, dock at Yangon @ 4 pm
Myanmar Day 1 photos
position at 7:30 am: N8 33.30 latitude E97 55.26 longitude
(Andaman Sea, about 115 miles S of Yangon, Myanmar, our next port)
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,652 miles
The sea is a little rougher this morning and the ship has a little (but not a lot of movement). There is about a 15-20 mph headwind and this is causing the motion probably. We are making about 15 knots, sort of treading water, to get to our appointed time at 4pm in the Yangon River.
It was nice on deck this morning, temperature around 80. But, very humid and the sun is bright. Since we gained a half hour, some people were out early.
We went up to LaVeranda for breakfast this morning because we expected chocolate croissants today and there they were. Debbie had two chocolate croissants with some very hard earned raspberries. She dressed for exercise this morning because the 9am class is circuit training (like Curves) and everyone can work at their own pace. Clay joked that she was going in planning to be the slacker. She said she would just do what she could. While we ate breakfast, we saw long lines of small boats going off into the distance as far as you could see. Once we got much closer to a set of them and it looked like only some were boats. The rest looked like rickety floating stick platforms. It looked like some kind of spread out floating fishing village. We will get the camera and hope to sail near some more to get pictures.
Debbie made it through circuit training and abs/backs/butts on the fitball and felt much better afterwards. She did take it pretty easy though. There were lots of new people in classes today that are new this segment. They were unhappy to hear that there was a cold/virus going around the ship. Debbie doesn't have a fever any longer though and is not coughing, so she did not feel like she would be infectious.
It is still smooth sailing. We are in the Gulf of Martaban now just before lunch. The water has turned brown and so has the air! There is not a cloud in the sky and the sun is merciless, but you have to look directly overhead to see it or the blue of the sky, everything else is close and brown. It is actually pretty creepy. It must be pollution, but we are still a couple of hours from entering the Irawaddy River to sail up near Yangon. We have just slowed down to only 4 knots and are just rocking side to side with the current and from the angle of the sun seem to have made a turn. There is nothing in front of us or near us. We thought maybe we were slowing to pick up a pilot but we don't see anything. Jamie announced on Voyager Today on TV that we would be picking up clearance officials with the pilot a few hours before we expect to dock at 4pm and hope to be cleared by 5pm when they have night tours starting. There is an ice cream sail-in social scheduled on the Pool Deck from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. We will see about going to that, the air is really hard to breathe on the balcony with our cold-compromised respiratory states right now, so we may not go. We are now down to .75 knots speed, so we are obviously standing still and waiting for something. We just dropped the anchor. We sitting still in a brown world. The Captain just came over the speakers in our cabins and confirmed that we have dropped anchor and expect to get the pilot (who he says is in a small white boat barely visible through the mist on the starboard side) at 1:45pm. Now he doesn't expect to dock before 5pm. Clearance will still take as long as it takes. We probably did the right thing just considering this a sea day and not worrying about getting ashore today. It is 6 past noon, so we will go to Compass Rose for lunch now. Back from lunch. We are still sitting still at anchor. We went up top and walked around and tried to take some pictures to show how brown everything is from the water to the sky, with almost no horizon visible, but don't know whether it is the kind of thing that photographs. This seems like a good afternoon for a nap.
At the mouth of the river through the brown haze were barely visible smokestacks, so it appears that there is some heavy industry here. The air did clear as we went up the river. We did sail upriver on schedule and arrived at the dock about 4:15pm. The Captain did his signature 180 degree turn to slide sideways into the pier for a quick getaway on departure and we are docked on the port side. We were cleared by 5pm. We welcomed aboard an older man in a wheelchair who Capt. Dag went down to greet and received flowers from, then about 30 men in everything from white uniforms, green uniforms and some in longyis (long wraparound skirts) as well as 2 women with the man in the wheelchair. At 5pm Jamie announced that everything had happened on an accelerated schedule and that some evening tours were departing immediately. Some were departing at 6pm and that Compass Rose had opened at 5pm to serve dinner to those people. Jamie announced that the complimentary shuttles into Yangon this evening would start running at 5:30pm. By 10 of 6 the older man in the wheelchair and most of his entourage had left the ship. The dinner tour buses had left and the cocktail buses were not far behind as well as a couple of the shuttle buses had departed. It looks like it will be a quiet evening onboard.
We ate in Compass Rose. It was pretty quiet. We had both Albert and Adorable serving us as there were not enough tables to keep them both busy. It seems a lot of people are out on tour this evening, and others have taken the shuttle into town.
Myanmar Day 1 photos
position at 7:30 am: N8 33.30 latitude E97 55.26 longitude
(Andaman Sea, about 115 miles S of Yangon, Myanmar, our next port)
temperature: 82F, 94% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 24,652 miles
The sea is a little rougher this morning and the ship has a little (but not a lot of movement). There is about a 15-20 mph headwind and this is causing the motion probably. We are making about 15 knots, sort of treading water, to get to our appointed time at 4pm in the Yangon River.
It was nice on deck this morning, temperature around 80. But, very humid and the sun is bright. Since we gained a half hour, some people were out early.
We went up to LaVeranda for breakfast this morning because we expected chocolate croissants today and there they were. Debbie had two chocolate croissants with some very hard earned raspberries. She dressed for exercise this morning because the 9am class is circuit training (like Curves) and everyone can work at their own pace. Clay joked that she was going in planning to be the slacker. She said she would just do what she could. While we ate breakfast, we saw long lines of small boats going off into the distance as far as you could see. Once we got much closer to a set of them and it looked like only some were boats. The rest looked like rickety floating stick platforms. It looked like some kind of spread out floating fishing village. We will get the camera and hope to sail near some more to get pictures.
Debbie made it through circuit training and abs/backs/butts on the fitball and felt much better afterwards. She did take it pretty easy though. There were lots of new people in classes today that are new this segment. They were unhappy to hear that there was a cold/virus going around the ship. Debbie doesn't have a fever any longer though and is not coughing, so she did not feel like she would be infectious.
It is still smooth sailing. We are in the Gulf of Martaban now just before lunch. The water has turned brown and so has the air! There is not a cloud in the sky and the sun is merciless, but you have to look directly overhead to see it or the blue of the sky, everything else is close and brown. It is actually pretty creepy. It must be pollution, but we are still a couple of hours from entering the Irawaddy River to sail up near Yangon. We have just slowed down to only 4 knots and are just rocking side to side with the current and from the angle of the sun seem to have made a turn. There is nothing in front of us or near us. We thought maybe we were slowing to pick up a pilot but we don't see anything. Jamie announced on Voyager Today on TV that we would be picking up clearance officials with the pilot a few hours before we expect to dock at 4pm and hope to be cleared by 5pm when they have night tours starting. There is an ice cream sail-in social scheduled on the Pool Deck from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. We will see about going to that, the air is really hard to breathe on the balcony with our cold-compromised respiratory states right now, so we may not go. We are now down to .75 knots speed, so we are obviously standing still and waiting for something. We just dropped the anchor. We sitting still in a brown world. The Captain just came over the speakers in our cabins and confirmed that we have dropped anchor and expect to get the pilot (who he says is in a small white boat barely visible through the mist on the starboard side) at 1:45pm. Now he doesn't expect to dock before 5pm. Clearance will still take as long as it takes. We probably did the right thing just considering this a sea day and not worrying about getting ashore today. It is 6 past noon, so we will go to Compass Rose for lunch now. Back from lunch. We are still sitting still at anchor. We went up top and walked around and tried to take some pictures to show how brown everything is from the water to the sky, with almost no horizon visible, but don't know whether it is the kind of thing that photographs. This seems like a good afternoon for a nap.
At the mouth of the river through the brown haze were barely visible smokestacks, so it appears that there is some heavy industry here. The air did clear as we went up the river. We did sail upriver on schedule and arrived at the dock about 4:15pm. The Captain did his signature 180 degree turn to slide sideways into the pier for a quick getaway on departure and we are docked on the port side. We were cleared by 5pm. We welcomed aboard an older man in a wheelchair who Capt. Dag went down to greet and received flowers from, then about 30 men in everything from white uniforms, green uniforms and some in longyis (long wraparound skirts) as well as 2 women with the man in the wheelchair. At 5pm Jamie announced that everything had happened on an accelerated schedule and that some evening tours were departing immediately. Some were departing at 6pm and that Compass Rose had opened at 5pm to serve dinner to those people. Jamie announced that the complimentary shuttles into Yangon this evening would start running at 5:30pm. By 10 of 6 the older man in the wheelchair and most of his entourage had left the ship. The dinner tour buses had left and the cocktail buses were not far behind as well as a couple of the shuttle buses had departed. It looks like it will be a quiet evening onboard.
We ate in Compass Rose. It was pretty quiet. We had both Albert and Adorable serving us as there were not enough tables to keep them both busy. It seems a lot of people are out on tour this evening, and others have taken the shuttle into town.
Myanmar Day 1 photos
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Day 74 - Sunday March 12 at Sea
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.
Menus from March 8 to 12
Menus from March 8 to 12
Click the link above to view menus. A note here about viewing the photo files of text. Doubleclick on the first image and on the next screen you can use the magnifying glass to enlarge it so you can read it. Then you can use the arrows to scroll through the rest of the menus.
Here are the five most recent menus to just give a flavor of what is being served now.
Note: On the dessert menu for March 10, it says they will show a bigscreen movie, "Rent." We did not mention this before in the journal just because we forgot about it, but that movie was not shown. Jamie announced that the "Rent" DVD, among others, was withheld by the authorities and was not delivered to the ship in Singapore. He said he hoped to get them at a later port. Since we did not go to the movie, we are not sure what was shown, but think it was "Walk the Line."
Click the link above to view menus. A note here about viewing the photo files of text. Doubleclick on the first image and on the next screen you can use the magnifying glass to enlarge it so you can read it. Then you can use the arrows to scroll through the rest of the menus.
Here are the five most recent menus to just give a flavor of what is being served now.
Note: On the dessert menu for March 10, it says they will show a bigscreen movie, "Rent." We did not mention this before in the journal just because we forgot about it, but that movie was not shown. Jamie announced that the "Rent" DVD, among others, was withheld by the authorities and was not delivered to the ship in Singapore. He said he hoped to get them at a later port. Since we did not go to the movie, we are not sure what was shown, but think it was "Walk the Line."
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Day 73 - Saturday March 11 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
Georgetown photos
position at 7:30 am: N4 17.04 latitude E100 17.26 longitude
(Straits of Malacca, about 80 miles S of Georgetown Malaysia, our next port)
temperature: 80F, 97% humidity, showers
distance since FLL: 23,838 miles
Clay got up early and did his 4 miles on deck just before it started to rain around 6:30am. The rain cleared deck 12 for about 15 minutes, but it remained warm and muggy.
Clay is ending his bout with runny nose and cough, but Debbie is still fighting a fever and sore throat. We ate in Compass Rose for breakfast, and then spent an hour or so reading up on Georgetown and Penang where we would be stopping in the afternoon. Then Debbie took a nap to rest up and Clay worked on copying pictures from laptop to CD's. We are now at CD#19 as far as pictures we have taken.
We went to lunch around 12:15pm and while we were in Compass Rose, we could see us getting closer to Georgetown during lunch. After lunch, Clay went up on deck 12 to take some pictures of our final approach. We were docked at Swettenham Pier on the port side by 1:15pm, only 15 minutes after our scheduled docking time. It took an additional 30-40 minutes to get the gangway in place and for the ship to be cleared. On the way off the ship, we saw the Captain and Staff Captain dressed in civies get in trishaws and head out. We were on a shuttle bus to the E&O Hotel (Eastern and Oriental) shortly after 2pm and at hotel just before 2:30pm. The only Frommer's 3 star attraction in town was the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. Tze was the 'Chinese Rockefeller' and built a multi-conglomerate fortune in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He had five homes in the Orient: Penang, China, Singapore, Shanghai, and ???. But Penang was where he hung his hat. In the guide book, we saw you could get a tour at 3 in the afternoon. This house was only a block or so from the E&O, so we were in good shape to catch the 3pm tour.
The house was impressive (not in the Biltmore House nature of extravagant mansions). It was the design and attention to detail and traditional feng shui aspects of the house that made it interesting. The tour took about 1.5 hours and it was long on feng shui details, but was good if you stuck it out. There was only one other ship person there, and he did not stick, leaving about 45 miniutes into the tour.
The hour plus tour took a big chunk out of our time in Penang. The all-aboard time was 6:30pm as the Captain announced we were leaving an hour early so we could make our Myanmar time slot. It was about 4:45pm when we left the house. They had t-shirts so we both got one.:) We intended to just walk back toward the ship. Though the shuttle bus took a full 15 minutes to get to where we were dropped, it took a round about route and we thought there should not be a problem just walking back to the ship seeing what we could see on the way. Well, as we came out of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, there was a bevy of trishaws that we walked by. One of them followed us up the street and said he would take us back to the ship for 10 ringets, a little over 2 USD. We looked at each other and saw the sweat running off each other, and said what the hell. So, we packed ourselves into the one trishaw and off we went. It took him about 10-15 minutes to peddle us back to the ship. It was fun. But this got us back to the ship shortly after 5. So, we walked back down the street to take a few pictures. Then we wandered around in a 3-4 block area just looking around. Every thing seemed to have closed down at 5pm so we saw very little except closed shops and stores. We finally got back to the ship around 5:45pm. As we got back, we saw the Captain and Staff Captain pull back in in trishaws. Not sure what they had been doing for 4 hours out in the trishaws???
We had dinner in Compass Rose and were back in the room by 7:30pm. There was a time change this evening, so this made the effective time only 6:30pm. So, Debbie decided it would be a good evening to do the laundry. And it was. Deck 8 had 2 empty washer and dryers.
Georgetown photos
position at 7:30 am: N4 17.04 latitude E100 17.26 longitude
(Straits of Malacca, about 80 miles S of Georgetown Malaysia, our next port)
temperature: 80F, 97% humidity, showers
distance since FLL: 23,838 miles
Clay got up early and did his 4 miles on deck just before it started to rain around 6:30am. The rain cleared deck 12 for about 15 minutes, but it remained warm and muggy.
Clay is ending his bout with runny nose and cough, but Debbie is still fighting a fever and sore throat. We ate in Compass Rose for breakfast, and then spent an hour or so reading up on Georgetown and Penang where we would be stopping in the afternoon. Then Debbie took a nap to rest up and Clay worked on copying pictures from laptop to CD's. We are now at CD#19 as far as pictures we have taken.
We went to lunch around 12:15pm and while we were in Compass Rose, we could see us getting closer to Georgetown during lunch. After lunch, Clay went up on deck 12 to take some pictures of our final approach. We were docked at Swettenham Pier on the port side by 1:15pm, only 15 minutes after our scheduled docking time. It took an additional 30-40 minutes to get the gangway in place and for the ship to be cleared. On the way off the ship, we saw the Captain and Staff Captain dressed in civies get in trishaws and head out. We were on a shuttle bus to the E&O Hotel (Eastern and Oriental) shortly after 2pm and at hotel just before 2:30pm. The only Frommer's 3 star attraction in town was the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. Tze was the 'Chinese Rockefeller' and built a multi-conglomerate fortune in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He had five homes in the Orient: Penang, China, Singapore, Shanghai, and ???. But Penang was where he hung his hat. In the guide book, we saw you could get a tour at 3 in the afternoon. This house was only a block or so from the E&O, so we were in good shape to catch the 3pm tour.
The house was impressive (not in the Biltmore House nature of extravagant mansions). It was the design and attention to detail and traditional feng shui aspects of the house that made it interesting. The tour took about 1.5 hours and it was long on feng shui details, but was good if you stuck it out. There was only one other ship person there, and he did not stick, leaving about 45 miniutes into the tour.
The hour plus tour took a big chunk out of our time in Penang. The all-aboard time was 6:30pm as the Captain announced we were leaving an hour early so we could make our Myanmar time slot. It was about 4:45pm when we left the house. They had t-shirts so we both got one.:) We intended to just walk back toward the ship. Though the shuttle bus took a full 15 minutes to get to where we were dropped, it took a round about route and we thought there should not be a problem just walking back to the ship seeing what we could see on the way. Well, as we came out of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, there was a bevy of trishaws that we walked by. One of them followed us up the street and said he would take us back to the ship for 10 ringets, a little over 2 USD. We looked at each other and saw the sweat running off each other, and said what the hell. So, we packed ourselves into the one trishaw and off we went. It took him about 10-15 minutes to peddle us back to the ship. It was fun. But this got us back to the ship shortly after 5. So, we walked back down the street to take a few pictures. Then we wandered around in a 3-4 block area just looking around. Every thing seemed to have closed down at 5pm so we saw very little except closed shops and stores. We finally got back to the ship around 5:45pm. As we got back, we saw the Captain and Staff Captain pull back in in trishaws. Not sure what they had been doing for 4 hours out in the trishaws???
We had dinner in Compass Rose and were back in the room by 7:30pm. There was a time change this evening, so this made the effective time only 6:30pm. So, Debbie decided it would be a good evening to do the laundry. And it was. Deck 8 had 2 empty washer and dryers.
Georgetown photos
Friday, March 10, 2006
Day 72 - Friday March 10 - Singapore
Singapore Day 2 photos
position at 7:30 am: N1 15.44 latitude E103 49.07 longitude
(Gulf of Thailand, about 75 miles NE of Singapore, our next port)
temperature: 80F, 95% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 23,424 miles
Today, our goal is to visit the Singapore Zoo. There are special events at the zoo throughout the day and we wanted to do some of them. For example, you can have Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife for S$18 pp. It is done between 9-10am and we wanted to do this. Their website mentions reservations, so Debbie emailed them a couple of days ago to check on this. We did not receive any response. But early this morning, Clay checked our AOL spam folder for another email he was expecting, and in the spam folder was a response. It said yes, you needed to make reservations two days in advance. This upset Debbie because it looked like we would not be doing breakfast with the Orangutans. She did try on the 8th to make this reservation and provided all the info needed in her first email, except a local telephone number which we did not have anyway. Her backup plan was just to be there when the doors opened and take our chances. We went to the Night Safari Zoo last time we were here and wanted to see the regular Zoo this time. So, we headed out early anyway, leaving the ship just before 7am. They even had chocolate croissants at the Coffee Corner on the way out. At that time of morning, there were no lines to leave the ship and there were no lines at passport control so we easily got past that bottleneck. We took the MRT from HarbourFront up to Dhoby Ghaut, where we changed to the red line and continued up to Ang Mo Kio where we caught bus 138 which took us directly to the zoo. Going out, we sort of had a worst case experience, just missing each connection and having to wait for the next one to come around. With the MRT, that was like 5-7 minutes, but with the bus it was 20 minutes. Anyway, an hour and 45 minutes later we walked into the zoo, bought our S$19pp which includes both entry and unlimited use of their tram inside the zoo. We got there only 8 minutes after they opened the gates. We then went directly to the Jungle Breakfast restaurant and were able to get in as we were about the 4th people in line. But later, the restaurant was full, and they may have turned some people away. After paying for the breakfast, they gave us a sticker and told us to walk over to the amphitheatre where they would soon be bathing elephants, and then come back to have breakfast. This we did, and sure enough, we saw another elephant poop in his bathing water. This one was a grownup though not a baby who might not know better. Debbie got to feed them too. Then we went back for the breakfast. The food itself was not memorable, but they did have some sweet steamed dim sum buns and fried eggs and omelets. They did bring out some animals that live at the Zoo. You could go up and have you picture taken with a python, or with a mother and baby orangutan! It was great fun.
After breakfast, we went to two more shows, Wonders of the wild, and Elephants Painting. You could do shows all day long, but we had a time limit as the ship had all aboard posted as 3pm and sailing at 3:30pm. The original schedule was for sailing at 4pm and we had thought we would have more time here. The guidebooks say to allow at least an hour to get from downtown to the Zoo and we had found that it actually took longer to get around than expected. The reply to Debbie's email had confirmed that we had the fastest way to get there from a guidebook and it had taken us a lot longer. Since we were doing public transportation and we needed to build in a margin, we did not want to play it too close. We wanted to be on the way back before 1pm. (Since the elephant rides did not begin until 1pm that did not happen.) It was after 11am when we left the last show we would see and caught the tram for a loop around the entire zoo, just to see what we could see from the tram. If we had more time, it was a good Zoo to walk in as the terrain was not too hilly and the animals were all in the open and seemed to be readily visible and pretty active. We even heard monkeys making Tarzan sounds. They wound wind up by puffing up their necks bigger and bigger and then let loose with some really loud hoots. They were swinging around it trees right over our heads. That was a first, have never seen that in a zoo before. The white tigers were up and moving, same with white rhinos and in general all the animals seemed active. By the restaurant they had the coolest bathrooms with a wall of falling water on one side. As we were walking about this morning though Debbie kept lagging and she had to suck all the hard candies she carries in her purse to keep from gagging from the swelling in her throat. Her eyes were burning and her knees started aching and she thought she had a fever.
By 12:30pm, we were out in front of the Zoo to catch the 138 bus back to the MRT station and reverse our route home. It was about 2pm when we walked into the terminal building. We strolled through the parts of the mall where we had not been, looking for a pharmacy and bought something for a sore throat for Debbie. We assume that she has now come down with whatever it is going around the ship. We were trying to spend the last of our S$s and each had a New Zealand Hokey Pokey ice cream and bought some more photo paper. It was 2:30pm when we walked through passport control for the last time, also with only a minimal line. But on the way through the gangway building, we encountered a whole ship load of people that had just landed, Star Cruises, SuperStar Virgo. Since there is only one passport control area, we suspect the lines just got much longer.
Back on ship, Debbie found she had a fever of 100.2 and she took ibuprofen and one of the lozenges and took a nap trying to throw off the sore throat. The raw throat and the gag reflex it is causing made all of that difficult. The first try on swallowing the ibuprofen caused her to vomit the ice cream. Clay never had a fever when he had this bug. Clay went up and ate a Cuban sandwich on deck 11, and then watched the sail away from our balcony. It is very hot in the sunshine, and we cruised though a haze to get out of the harbour. The waters of the Straits of Malacca are calm and we hope for many more days of smooth sailing. Singapore is just a very easy city to visit. We wish that we had had more time here. It was a very quick turnaround, about 24 hours. We sailed at 3:30pm and the new passengers did not get in their cabins until about 30 minutes before. The boat drill for them happened about 2 hours after sailing.
Tonight is Casual and we have reservations for TGIFridays. Don't know if we posted it before but, we got a letter a day or two ago from Laurens, the F&B Manager that said TGIFridays was being extended to the 12th and we could come again. We saw him about the same time checking out the sign they recently hung above the Latitudes entrance for TGIFridays. Some other changes as well, they now have tortilla chips for the tortilla soup. They no long have the juggling bartender and in his prominent, front and center place they had a screen hanging from the ceiling that they were projecting a DVD of NFL bloopers on. Clay got a burger this time and said that if Fridays at home served fries this bad they would be out of business. Debbie did manage to get out of bed and changed to eat dinner, but did not have much appetite and things all tasted funny. She had the cheddar broccoli soup instead of the Southwestern Tortilla this time around, but got the same Jack Daniels chicken and it was the same as she remembered it. We both repeated our desserts, sundae and cheesecake. This time the waitress who on our last visit here had warned us about the virus that has been going around insisted that Debbie also have hot green tea. She said she was very sick with this virus before and that only green tea had helped her, so Debbie drank some hot green tea too.
The letter about TGIFridays also said that there would only be 3 nights of Indochine menu back at Latitudes before it converts to a Taj Mahal dinner. We have reservations for that on 3/17. We will post more about that as it becomes available.
On this segment, we have been told that about 200 people left in Singapore. Many more than that must have joined us because all sources state that this segment is booked to the gills. There is not a bed left vacant. Today being what it has been we have not noticed whether there are more people or not. There were more empty tables than full ones in Latitudes/TGIFridays while we were there from about 7:30pm to 8:40pm.
When we got back to the room, Debbie tried to take more pills and some cough syrup, but again the swollen throat and cough produced a gag reflex and she vomited it all up. We will just try to get some sleep and try again whenever she wakes up. This really sucks, she has managed not to throw up from seasickness for 72 days and now this is causing it! Clay is feeling better but still has a productive cough. As for the fall-injured ankle, he is back to normal walking, but the injured ankle still swells up to twice the size of the other. No idea when that might stop happening.
Tomorrow we expect to be in Penang, Georgetown, Malaysia for the afternoon only. So, we hope to take it easy there. Unless things look better for Debbie, easy may mean napping on the ship! We have never been to Penang before and would hate to miss it but it is only an afternoon there anyway. We'll just have to wait and see how it works out. The next day is a sea day and we really need a good calm one.
Oh, other news. We made it on TV. We were asked if we were on the next segment and if we were could we be filmed on the top deck during the sail in to Hong Kong. Every segment they have made a little video of clips of things and people and played it on TV. Sometimes we have caught it and sometimes not. A woman came up to Debbie in exercise class yesterday morning and said that she saw her on the TV. She did not know which channel. We surfed until we found it and sure enough we are in the opening shots. Our brief moment of fame.
Singapore Day 2 photos
position at 7:30 am: N1 15.44 latitude E103 49.07 longitude
(Gulf of Thailand, about 75 miles NE of Singapore, our next port)
temperature: 80F, 95% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 23,424 miles
Today, our goal is to visit the Singapore Zoo. There are special events at the zoo throughout the day and we wanted to do some of them. For example, you can have Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife for S$18 pp. It is done between 9-10am and we wanted to do this. Their website mentions reservations, so Debbie emailed them a couple of days ago to check on this. We did not receive any response. But early this morning, Clay checked our AOL spam folder for another email he was expecting, and in the spam folder was a response. It said yes, you needed to make reservations two days in advance. This upset Debbie because it looked like we would not be doing breakfast with the Orangutans. She did try on the 8th to make this reservation and provided all the info needed in her first email, except a local telephone number which we did not have anyway. Her backup plan was just to be there when the doors opened and take our chances. We went to the Night Safari Zoo last time we were here and wanted to see the regular Zoo this time. So, we headed out early anyway, leaving the ship just before 7am. They even had chocolate croissants at the Coffee Corner on the way out. At that time of morning, there were no lines to leave the ship and there were no lines at passport control so we easily got past that bottleneck. We took the MRT from HarbourFront up to Dhoby Ghaut, where we changed to the red line and continued up to Ang Mo Kio where we caught bus 138 which took us directly to the zoo. Going out, we sort of had a worst case experience, just missing each connection and having to wait for the next one to come around. With the MRT, that was like 5-7 minutes, but with the bus it was 20 minutes. Anyway, an hour and 45 minutes later we walked into the zoo, bought our S$19pp which includes both entry and unlimited use of their tram inside the zoo. We got there only 8 minutes after they opened the gates. We then went directly to the Jungle Breakfast restaurant and were able to get in as we were about the 4th people in line. But later, the restaurant was full, and they may have turned some people away. After paying for the breakfast, they gave us a sticker and told us to walk over to the amphitheatre where they would soon be bathing elephants, and then come back to have breakfast. This we did, and sure enough, we saw another elephant poop in his bathing water. This one was a grownup though not a baby who might not know better. Debbie got to feed them too. Then we went back for the breakfast. The food itself was not memorable, but they did have some sweet steamed dim sum buns and fried eggs and omelets. They did bring out some animals that live at the Zoo. You could go up and have you picture taken with a python, or with a mother and baby orangutan! It was great fun.
After breakfast, we went to two more shows, Wonders of the wild, and Elephants Painting. You could do shows all day long, but we had a time limit as the ship had all aboard posted as 3pm and sailing at 3:30pm. The original schedule was for sailing at 4pm and we had thought we would have more time here. The guidebooks say to allow at least an hour to get from downtown to the Zoo and we had found that it actually took longer to get around than expected. The reply to Debbie's email had confirmed that we had the fastest way to get there from a guidebook and it had taken us a lot longer. Since we were doing public transportation and we needed to build in a margin, we did not want to play it too close. We wanted to be on the way back before 1pm. (Since the elephant rides did not begin until 1pm that did not happen.) It was after 11am when we left the last show we would see and caught the tram for a loop around the entire zoo, just to see what we could see from the tram. If we had more time, it was a good Zoo to walk in as the terrain was not too hilly and the animals were all in the open and seemed to be readily visible and pretty active. We even heard monkeys making Tarzan sounds. They wound wind up by puffing up their necks bigger and bigger and then let loose with some really loud hoots. They were swinging around it trees right over our heads. That was a first, have never seen that in a zoo before. The white tigers were up and moving, same with white rhinos and in general all the animals seemed active. By the restaurant they had the coolest bathrooms with a wall of falling water on one side. As we were walking about this morning though Debbie kept lagging and she had to suck all the hard candies she carries in her purse to keep from gagging from the swelling in her throat. Her eyes were burning and her knees started aching and she thought she had a fever.
By 12:30pm, we were out in front of the Zoo to catch the 138 bus back to the MRT station and reverse our route home. It was about 2pm when we walked into the terminal building. We strolled through the parts of the mall where we had not been, looking for a pharmacy and bought something for a sore throat for Debbie. We assume that she has now come down with whatever it is going around the ship. We were trying to spend the last of our S$s and each had a New Zealand Hokey Pokey ice cream and bought some more photo paper. It was 2:30pm when we walked through passport control for the last time, also with only a minimal line. But on the way through the gangway building, we encountered a whole ship load of people that had just landed, Star Cruises, SuperStar Virgo. Since there is only one passport control area, we suspect the lines just got much longer.
Back on ship, Debbie found she had a fever of 100.2 and she took ibuprofen and one of the lozenges and took a nap trying to throw off the sore throat. The raw throat and the gag reflex it is causing made all of that difficult. The first try on swallowing the ibuprofen caused her to vomit the ice cream. Clay never had a fever when he had this bug. Clay went up and ate a Cuban sandwich on deck 11, and then watched the sail away from our balcony. It is very hot in the sunshine, and we cruised though a haze to get out of the harbour. The waters of the Straits of Malacca are calm and we hope for many more days of smooth sailing. Singapore is just a very easy city to visit. We wish that we had had more time here. It was a very quick turnaround, about 24 hours. We sailed at 3:30pm and the new passengers did not get in their cabins until about 30 minutes before. The boat drill for them happened about 2 hours after sailing.
Tonight is Casual and we have reservations for TGIFridays. Don't know if we posted it before but, we got a letter a day or two ago from Laurens, the F&B Manager that said TGIFridays was being extended to the 12th and we could come again. We saw him about the same time checking out the sign they recently hung above the Latitudes entrance for TGIFridays. Some other changes as well, they now have tortilla chips for the tortilla soup. They no long have the juggling bartender and in his prominent, front and center place they had a screen hanging from the ceiling that they were projecting a DVD of NFL bloopers on. Clay got a burger this time and said that if Fridays at home served fries this bad they would be out of business. Debbie did manage to get out of bed and changed to eat dinner, but did not have much appetite and things all tasted funny. She had the cheddar broccoli soup instead of the Southwestern Tortilla this time around, but got the same Jack Daniels chicken and it was the same as she remembered it. We both repeated our desserts, sundae and cheesecake. This time the waitress who on our last visit here had warned us about the virus that has been going around insisted that Debbie also have hot green tea. She said she was very sick with this virus before and that only green tea had helped her, so Debbie drank some hot green tea too.
The letter about TGIFridays also said that there would only be 3 nights of Indochine menu back at Latitudes before it converts to a Taj Mahal dinner. We have reservations for that on 3/17. We will post more about that as it becomes available.
On this segment, we have been told that about 200 people left in Singapore. Many more than that must have joined us because all sources state that this segment is booked to the gills. There is not a bed left vacant. Today being what it has been we have not noticed whether there are more people or not. There were more empty tables than full ones in Latitudes/TGIFridays while we were there from about 7:30pm to 8:40pm.
When we got back to the room, Debbie tried to take more pills and some cough syrup, but again the swollen throat and cough produced a gag reflex and she vomited it all up. We will just try to get some sleep and try again whenever she wakes up. This really sucks, she has managed not to throw up from seasickness for 72 days and now this is causing it! Clay is feeling better but still has a productive cough. As for the fall-injured ankle, he is back to normal walking, but the injured ankle still swells up to twice the size of the other. No idea when that might stop happening.
Tomorrow we expect to be in Penang, Georgetown, Malaysia for the afternoon only. So, we hope to take it easy there. Unless things look better for Debbie, easy may mean napping on the ship! We have never been to Penang before and would hate to miss it but it is only an afternoon there anyway. We'll just have to wait and see how it works out. The next day is a sea day and we really need a good calm one.
Oh, other news. We made it on TV. We were asked if we were on the next segment and if we were could we be filmed on the top deck during the sail in to Hong Kong. Every segment they have made a little video of clips of things and people and played it on TV. Sometimes we have caught it and sometimes not. A woman came up to Debbie in exercise class yesterday morning and said that she saw her on the TV. She did not know which channel. We surfed until we found it and sure enough we are in the opening shots. Our brief moment of fame.
Singapore Day 2 photos
Day 71 - Thursday March 9 - at sea morning Singapore afternoon
Singapore photos
position at 7:30 am: N1 56.59 latitude E104 27.186 longitude
(Gulf of Thailand, about 75 miles NE of Singapore, our next port)
temperature: 80F, 95% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 23,424 miles
Sunrise was after 7am this morning, so it was dark up on deck for Clay's morning walk. There was not as much breeze as yesterday, so the 80F was not quite as pleasant. But the Bay of Thailand continues to be very calm, making it a very good night for sleeping.
In the morning, Debbie went to an aerobics class followed by Fusion Fitness. Debbie started coughing in aerobics and by the middle of Fusion Fitness was feeling pain in her left ear and that side of her throat. Uh-oh. Clay went to a port talk on Singapore. We were in Singapore for 3 days in 2001 so we have done a lot of the tourist things like visit Sentosa Island, the Night Safari, seen the Orchid Gardens and drank a Singapore Sling at Raffles, so we are playing this visit a little loose. We plan to take it easy.
We were docked and able to leave the ship by 1:15pm, only 15 minutes after the scheduled time. BUT, Singapore has new custom/immigration regulations that require you to wait in a passport line every time you leave the ship. They also require that you have a filled-out immigration form to be stamped and submitted each time. Well, when you have a whole boat load people trying to get through passport control at the same time, then there is a wait involved. Of course, we got in the line with the most meticulous paper pusher around. It was another 20 minutes to get through the passport line even though our line only had about 10 people ahead of us. We were clocking things to plan our day out tomorrow.
Our goal for our first afternoon and evening in Singapore was to catch the MRT (rapid transit) up to a ChinaTown, and there get a CityBuzz bus. There is an MRT stop (HarbourFront, NE1) in the Cruise Terminal (which is a large shopping mall like Hong Kong, but not as big), so catching the MRT was simple. On the way out of the cruise terminal, we stopped at an ATM and got some Singapore $'s as USD are not used here. The ATM only gave S$50 notes, so Clay made the sacrifice and ate a cone of imported New Zealand Hokey Pokey ice cream to break a S$50. The cost was about S$1.30 up to China Town. You buy your tickets through machines in the stations. There is a S$1 deposit that you pay on the physical card that serves as your ticket. You can your S$1 back through a ticket machine after you exit the subway at your destination station. (For our research for tomorrow, we have to go much further to get to the Zoo. As far as CityBuzz goes, this is a hop off/on bus service that serves most of the central city district and the tourist sights you might want to see there. For S$5, you can ride for a day. The service has 3 loops that you can take. The buses operate from 10am to 10pm and they come around about every 15-20 minutes, so they make a very good way to inexpensively see a lot of territory at your leisure. You identify the stops by a CityBuzz bee logo on the bus stop signs. The buses are double deckers.
So, one hour after walking off the ship, around 2:30pm, we were on the C2 (blue) CityBuzz loop that takes you to stops like ChinaTown, Parliament House, Convention Center, Esplanade and Sri Mariamman Temple. We next switched to the red line (C3) and took it around places like Little India, Thieves Market, Raffles Hotel and the Esplanade. (The Esplanade is on all the routes so you can use that stop to change lines). After doing the complete green loop, it was a little after 4:30pm so we decided to walk through the Esplanade Center (recently built performing arts complex, sort of like the Sydney Opera House, but it has a mall attached to it.) We spent about an hour shopping, and looking at the food in the hawker stands outside the Esplanade. We also watched a few minutes of a hip-hop performance rehearsal. It was a hoot as it was outside and you could see the Merlion statue spitting water behind the stage. We opted not to eat here as the food hawkers were outside, and it was a little too hot and humid to eat outside. So, around 5;30pm we caught the remaining and longest route green/C1 City Buzz loop and took it up to Clarks Quay, where we did some more shopping (looking) and checked out some restaurants there as well. One of the things that Clay did not do on his previous stop in Singapore was to eat a local dish of chili crabs. So, when we saw a restaurant serving them (with a 15% discount for eating before 6:30pm), we thought we might as well give it a try. Now, Clay is used to eating blue crabs, the kind that takes a dozen or so, just to fill a modest appetite. So, he tried to order one crab cooked in black pepper and one crab BBQ style. Well, the server immediately started shaking his head that we did not want to do that. Well, we should have known as the crab was priced by the gram, S$20 per 400g, that these were no ordinary blue crabs. So, Clay just had one crab (that weighed 1.8kg and cost S$75). It is not every day that Clay eats a 40$US crab. He admits it was good, and the pictures show that it was definitely messy (which is one measure that Clay uses to determine what's good). Debbie ordered a beef nonya hot plate dish that was served in a curry sauce. That was hot and spicy as well. Needless to say, it was a memorable dinner. Everyone got religion when we saw that crab plate being delivered, Debbie and a woman at the next table, both said Oh my God and a little girl jumped out of her chair and exclaimed, Holy Cow! This was at the Quayside Seafood restaurant and it was still outdoor dining, but it had cool air piped in under the tent-like structure it occupied and there was a breeze off the river. This Clarke Quay area has all been totally refurbished and the work is still ongoing. They had a whole city block area covered with high translucent screening with giant A/C units pumping in cool air. There were fountains and after dark there were changing lights overhead on the screening. It is a very pretty and pleasant area.
After dinner, we walked around Clarke Quay just looking around. One thing we saw was a reverse bungee jumping ride. We saw 3 girls about 15 or so be strapped into an open top basket attached to bungee lines at two points. The girls had removed their shoes and were also asked to remove their watches and any other jewelry they had on. After some painful waiting as the bungee wound out and taut, the ride operator flipped a switch and in about one-half second, that basket was slingshotted up to an height of about 60-80 feet in the air. There they spun around and wobbled up and down for about 2 or 3 minutes. The first move up would have caused heart attacks in ordinary humans. From the looks on their faces, we were lucky we didn't get vomited on.
We finally reversed our tracks, taking the CityBuzz up to ChinaTown, and then the MRT back to HarbourFront to be back on the ship before 10pm. On the way through the mall, we stopped at a grocery store to check out things. Debbie saw Pringles in strange flavors and Clay thought the beer was expensive. A single hot can of beer in this grocery store was more than 2US$.
It was a good, full first afternoon in Singapore. It was an easy way to just see alot and to see how much has changed since we were here last.
Singapore photos
position at 7:30 am: N1 56.59 latitude E104 27.186 longitude
(Gulf of Thailand, about 75 miles NE of Singapore, our next port)
temperature: 80F, 95% humidity, partly cloudy
distance since FLL: 23,424 miles
Sunrise was after 7am this morning, so it was dark up on deck for Clay's morning walk. There was not as much breeze as yesterday, so the 80F was not quite as pleasant. But the Bay of Thailand continues to be very calm, making it a very good night for sleeping.
In the morning, Debbie went to an aerobics class followed by Fusion Fitness. Debbie started coughing in aerobics and by the middle of Fusion Fitness was feeling pain in her left ear and that side of her throat. Uh-oh. Clay went to a port talk on Singapore. We were in Singapore for 3 days in 2001 so we have done a lot of the tourist things like visit Sentosa Island, the Night Safari, seen the Orchid Gardens and drank a Singapore Sling at Raffles, so we are playing this visit a little loose. We plan to take it easy.
We were docked and able to leave the ship by 1:15pm, only 15 minutes after the scheduled time. BUT, Singapore has new custom/immigration regulations that require you to wait in a passport line every time you leave the ship. They also require that you have a filled-out immigration form to be stamped and submitted each time. Well, when you have a whole boat load people trying to get through passport control at the same time, then there is a wait involved. Of course, we got in the line with the most meticulous paper pusher around. It was another 20 minutes to get through the passport line even though our line only had about 10 people ahead of us. We were clocking things to plan our day out tomorrow.
Our goal for our first afternoon and evening in Singapore was to catch the MRT (rapid transit) up to a ChinaTown, and there get a CityBuzz bus. There is an MRT stop (HarbourFront, NE1) in the Cruise Terminal (which is a large shopping mall like Hong Kong, but not as big), so catching the MRT was simple. On the way out of the cruise terminal, we stopped at an ATM and got some Singapore $'s as USD are not used here. The ATM only gave S$50 notes, so Clay made the sacrifice and ate a cone of imported New Zealand Hokey Pokey ice cream to break a S$50. The cost was about S$1.30 up to China Town. You buy your tickets through machines in the stations. There is a S$1 deposit that you pay on the physical card that serves as your ticket. You can your S$1 back through a ticket machine after you exit the subway at your destination station. (For our research for tomorrow, we have to go much further to get to the Zoo. As far as CityBuzz goes, this is a hop off/on bus service that serves most of the central city district and the tourist sights you might want to see there. For S$5, you can ride for a day. The service has 3 loops that you can take. The buses operate from 10am to 10pm and they come around about every 15-20 minutes, so they make a very good way to inexpensively see a lot of territory at your leisure. You identify the stops by a CityBuzz bee logo on the bus stop signs. The buses are double deckers.
So, one hour after walking off the ship, around 2:30pm, we were on the C2 (blue) CityBuzz loop that takes you to stops like ChinaTown, Parliament House, Convention Center, Esplanade and Sri Mariamman Temple. We next switched to the red line (C3) and took it around places like Little India, Thieves Market, Raffles Hotel and the Esplanade. (The Esplanade is on all the routes so you can use that stop to change lines). After doing the complete green loop, it was a little after 4:30pm so we decided to walk through the Esplanade Center (recently built performing arts complex, sort of like the Sydney Opera House, but it has a mall attached to it.) We spent about an hour shopping, and looking at the food in the hawker stands outside the Esplanade. We also watched a few minutes of a hip-hop performance rehearsal. It was a hoot as it was outside and you could see the Merlion statue spitting water behind the stage. We opted not to eat here as the food hawkers were outside, and it was a little too hot and humid to eat outside. So, around 5;30pm we caught the remaining and longest route green/C1 City Buzz loop and took it up to Clarks Quay, where we did some more shopping (looking) and checked out some restaurants there as well. One of the things that Clay did not do on his previous stop in Singapore was to eat a local dish of chili crabs. So, when we saw a restaurant serving them (with a 15% discount for eating before 6:30pm), we thought we might as well give it a try. Now, Clay is used to eating blue crabs, the kind that takes a dozen or so, just to fill a modest appetite. So, he tried to order one crab cooked in black pepper and one crab BBQ style. Well, the server immediately started shaking his head that we did not want to do that. Well, we should have known as the crab was priced by the gram, S$20 per 400g, that these were no ordinary blue crabs. So, Clay just had one crab (that weighed 1.8kg and cost S$75). It is not every day that Clay eats a 40$US crab. He admits it was good, and the pictures show that it was definitely messy (which is one measure that Clay uses to determine what's good). Debbie ordered a beef nonya hot plate dish that was served in a curry sauce. That was hot and spicy as well. Needless to say, it was a memorable dinner. Everyone got religion when we saw that crab plate being delivered, Debbie and a woman at the next table, both said Oh my God and a little girl jumped out of her chair and exclaimed, Holy Cow! This was at the Quayside Seafood restaurant and it was still outdoor dining, but it had cool air piped in under the tent-like structure it occupied and there was a breeze off the river. This Clarke Quay area has all been totally refurbished and the work is still ongoing. They had a whole city block area covered with high translucent screening with giant A/C units pumping in cool air. There were fountains and after dark there were changing lights overhead on the screening. It is a very pretty and pleasant area.
After dinner, we walked around Clarke Quay just looking around. One thing we saw was a reverse bungee jumping ride. We saw 3 girls about 15 or so be strapped into an open top basket attached to bungee lines at two points. The girls had removed their shoes and were also asked to remove their watches and any other jewelry they had on. After some painful waiting as the bungee wound out and taut, the ride operator flipped a switch and in about one-half second, that basket was slingshotted up to an height of about 60-80 feet in the air. There they spun around and wobbled up and down for about 2 or 3 minutes. The first move up would have caused heart attacks in ordinary humans. From the looks on their faces, we were lucky we didn't get vomited on.
We finally reversed our tracks, taking the CityBuzz up to ChinaTown, and then the MRT back to HarbourFront to be back on the ship before 10pm. On the way through the mall, we stopped at a grocery store to check out things. Debbie saw Pringles in strange flavors and Clay thought the beer was expensive. A single hot can of beer in this grocery store was more than 2US$.
It was a good, full first afternoon in Singapore. It was an easy way to just see alot and to see how much has changed since we were here last.
Singapore photos
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