John and Diane's Amazing Adventure - Part II

[Kween Karen]

But, when you cross the International Date Line, you'll gain a whole day!

How do they deal with that? (Shades of "Groundhog's Day" - will you repeat everything you did the day before? LOL)

Nancy

 

It was such a strange feelling...crossing that Dateline. One way we just "skipped" a day....on the way back we lived the same day twice....no...they didn't repeat activities or menues! LOL

 

It felt strange when I was writing my blog. I posted one entry on the day I did NOT have.....then I posted two different days with the same date. Just an odd feeling.

[Johnny B]

March 17 – Day 71

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

At Sea

 

When we left off, Larry Hagman was scheduled to be the entertainer for the evening, and, indeed, he was. His show was entertaining, but in a different way. It was a collection of video clips from his “Dallas” days, as he sat and talked about them. Then there was a series of out-takes which were incredibly funny. I’m sure that someone put all of this together for him, and then he just got to sit and talk, but I guess when I’m 78, if people come to listen to me for 45 minutes (and pay me for it), I’d be happy.

 

The presentation was called “Confessions: Part I” and it dwelt on his “Dallas” career, his 25,000 square foot house in Ojai, California, and his liver transplant. There was no mention of the negative press he received before the transplant because of his drinking problem. Today at 11:00 he’ll present “Confession: Part II” and that will include his “I Dream of Genie” career. I’ll be there.

 

One of the most interesting bits of information that he shared was that he had been married for 55 years – an incredibly long time for someone from Hollywood, especially with his boyhood. When he was 5, his parents divorced and he was sent to California (from Texas) to live with his grandmother. When his grandmother died, he moved back with his mother and stepfather, which he says was an incredible disaster. Then there was boarding school . . . basically, it sounded like a truly terrible childhood. He says he only became close to his mother after his stepfather died.

 

Anyway, good ol’ Larry is coming to our table to join us for dinner tonight, so I should have more info tomorrow.

 

Another group that we enjoyed is called “Operatic Interludes,” and they are a group of four: a tenor, a baritone, a mezzo soprano and a coloratura soprano. They sing individual songs from various operas, and while John’s not wild about it, I really enjoy the music. Duane, the tenor, is a very funny Aussie who sings in the laundry room down the hall from us. It’s great getting an individual concert as we walk down the hall. He’s going to join us for dinner tomorrow night.

 

Las t night was Martha and Bob’s 30th anniversary party in the Crow’s Nest. This is Martha’s tenth world cruise, and although she always talks about Bob, no one has ever seen him, so we’ve taken to calling him “Imaginary Bob.” She brings her daughter Hannah along for a few segments from time to time, but no Bob. This year, however, Bob has shown up! He embarked in Bombay and is staying on until Hong Kong. He’s a great guy, rather quiet, and it’s nice to know that there really IS a Bob.

 

Now it’s time to go to Mr. Hagman’s second talk. I’d better be able to discuss it intelligently with him tonight!

[MMDown Under]

I'm so enjoying sharing your cruise - thanks so much.

 

The small Portuguese enclaves, such as Goa, scattered around SEAsia, have always fascinated me.

 

From Answers.com -

 

"The Portuguese Asian Empire, known as the Estado da India, extended over the entire Indian Ocean littoral and well beyond it into the South China Sea. The Portuguese arrived in Asian waters in 1498 and established a series of islands and enclaves connected by maritime links to each other and to Goa, its administrative and religious center and largest city. This string of outposts and cities stretched from Mozambique Island, north along the African coast to Mombasa, farther north to Hormuz and Muscat, east to Diu and Daman in modern Gujarat, south to Bombay Island, Goa, Cochin, most of coastal Sri Lanka, across the Indian Ocean to Malacca, and beyond to Timor and Macau. Macau was the second city in this system.

 

Function and Interaction

 

These critical outposts were positioned to maximize Portuguese control of Indian Ocean trade and direct it to areas for taxation. The idea was to tax the ancient and well-established Indian Ocean trade in goods such as rice, cotton textiles, horses, silks, and spices via a system of Portuguese-issued passes, called cartazes. Because the system depended on maritime strength to enforce it, it was only partially successful at best and only during its first century, from around 1520 to 1620."

[Johnny B]

March 18 – Day 72

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

Well, in case you were interested, Larry Hagman is a hoot! He came and joined us for dinner last night, telling us that he had checked around to be sure he’d have a good time. I think he did. We talked a little about his career and about cruises he’s taken. Some of us admitted that we hadn’t really watched “Dallas,” but he certainly didn’t care. One thing that we discovered about him is that, in the right circumstances, he’s got a mouth like a sailor! He cork-forked with us between dinner and dessert (making the expected rude remarks about the name), and I think he’s the only guest we’ve had this cruise who gave up before he got one of the blasted forks into the flower bowl. Before we all left the table, he gave us “Republic of Texas” $10,000 bills which he signed. He is probably the least “celebrity-like” celebrity we’ve ever had at the table.

 

Today we arrived at Port Kelang (or Klang) Malaysia, the port for Kuala Lumpur. Usually the port is quite close to the city, but in this case it’s 60 miles away. We were told that a round trip taxi would cost about $80, so we were glad we’d signed up for a tour with our “Specialists.” We headed into the city at 8:30, stopping first at the King’s Palace for picture taking opportunities. Malaysia has an interesting system of government. They have a parliament, and each of the 12 states has a hereditary sultan. Once every five years, one of the sultans is elected by the others to be king, a position he holds until the next king is elected in another five years. It’s a remarkably form of government and unique in the world.

 

The city itself is beautiful, and we’d really like to come back and stay several days. It is tropical, and beautiful flowers and trees abound. The city is also quite modern, with skyscrapers including the twin Petronas Towers, which were the world’s tallest buildings from 1998 until 2004, at 1,483 feet. We stopped in the city market, which is an enclosed, air-conditioned area with shops selling everything from pashminas to carved wooden giraffes. It was fun to wander around in it, but then we continued to Independence Square, a huge grassy area which was established by the English in 1885 as a cricket field. The ceremony giving independence from England was celebrated here in 1957. On one side of the square is the Tudor-style cricket club, and on the other is a wonderfully ornate pink brick building a full city block long which originally held the English colonial offices, but now houses the city government. In the middle of the square is the tallest free-standing flagpole in the world, at 100 meters, with the Malaysian flag flying atop it. You’d recognize it immediately; it looks just like an American flag (after which it was designed), but it has a crescent and star instead of our 50 stars.

 

Lunch was at the Chinese restaurant of a large downtown hotel. We sat at tables for ten with a “lazy susan” device in the middle. They just kept bringing the food: platters with roast duck, fried rice, beef and scallions, sweet and sour shrimp, a dumpling dish (we think – it might have been tofu),fried fish, and most interesting, a chicken and mushroom dish cooked inside of a huge yam. It looked for all the world like a bird’s nest, and it was quite edible. Dessert was slices of watermelon, papaya and honeydew melon, and it was a perfect finish.

 

After a quick stop to take pictures of the “twin towers,” we headed to what, for John and me, is our least favorite part of any tour: the “educational” visit to the pewter factory. It was really a lovely place, and they do have the world’s largest (do you see a pattern here?) beer mug outside, but it’s basically just another shopping stop for overpriced goods, which most people don’t buy. It seems that every tour, whether by the ship or by our “specialists,” includes one of these places and, whether it’s true or not, most passengers believe that there’s a kickback somewhere. Personally, we would rather have taken the time to see more historical or cultural things in KL, or even just had time to wander down the main street of “Chinatown.” Oh well, such is the way of the world.

 

All-aboard is 5:30 and sailaway is at 6:00, heading for Singapore tomorrow (and the next day). We don’t know yet what we’re going to do there, but it should be fun.

[Johnny B]

March 19 – Day 73

Singapore

 

We have just spent the day in the world’s cleanest city! The entire situation is a little 1984-ish, what with Singapore’s laws being what they are. Yesterday, we received a notice saying that Singapore Customs regulations prohibit the following from being taken ashore: chewing gum, chewing tobacco, gun-shaped cigarette lighters, obscene articles and videos, and reproductions of copyrighted materials. I understand the last few, but chewing gum? I guess that’s why the place is so clean. We walked about a zillion miles in the city today, and we saw almost nothing on the sidewalks or streets. I swear, you could eat off those streets. The passport checks are also the strictest we’ve seen at any port so far.

 

Singapore really is a beautiful city. It is in the tropics, so the trees and flowers are just beautiful. However, it is also the financial/trading/shipping center of Southeast Asia, with the high rises to match. The area in the outskirts of the city, however, is lush and well-cared for, with some houses that most people would kill for. Downtown, there’s something for everyone. If you’re a shopper, Singapore is heaven. There are more incredibly high-end malls here than any place I’ve ever seen. As we drove down the main shopping street, I saw three Emporio Armani stores in two blocks. Conspicuous consumption anyone?

 

We began this morning with a “hop on, hop –off” tour. We’ve found it’s a good way to familiarize ourselves with a city. Another advantage is that the ticket is good for two days, so tomorrow we can get around the city too. We saw all kinds of things, including elegant apartments with a pole sticking out the window. Why? It’s to hang the wet laundry out to dry. It looks rather festive and colorfully flag-like, actually. One place we drove past was the Singapore Botanical Garden, so we decided to go back.

 

Lunch was near Clarke Quay (pronounced “key”), a colorful, restaurant-filled area along part of the river. Like everything else here, it’s sparkling clean and beautiful. We found “Mulligan’s,” an Irish pub, which almost reached out and grabbed us. We decided to share two starters and then share a main course, but we learned from our time in India to order the starters and begin eating them before ordering a main. That was really smart, because by the time we were halfway through the satay sticks and the best fried calamari I think I’ve ever had, we knew that there would be no main course. Of course a pint of beer for John and a pint of Strongbow cider for me somehow cinched the deal. Oh, it was a lovely lunch.

 

Afterwards we hopped on the bus again and this time disembarked at the Botanical Garden. It is hundreds of acres in size, with shops, cafes, an open-air performing arts stage with a leaf-like roof, and some of the most beautiful tropical plants we’ve seen. What we headed for, though, was the amazing orchid gardens. Although the park itself is free, there is a charge for the orchids, although there is a quite nice senior discount. What we found was over 800 varieties of orchids – all sizes, all colors, and some that even had scent. It was well worth the trip.

 

Tonight we’re going to go back into the city, but don’t know what we’ll do yet. I let you know tomorrow.

[emckeeve]

Wasn't there something several years ago about an American teenager getting caned in Singapore because of chewing gum? I have a vague memory about it.

[2bout2c]

Wasn't there something several years ago about an American teenager getting caned in Singapore because of chewing gum? I have a vague memory about it.

The American teenager I remember being caned was because he "keyed" a car.

[Fairport]

You can't chew gum, but you can hang your laundry over the street. Yikes.

[wander]

Yes, the teenager keyed a car.

 

Knowing what cars cost in Singapore at that time, I can understand it being considered serious, although I do not agree with the specific punishment. We were visiting Singapore several months after the accident and at that time cars, due to some strange rules, cost more the DOUBLE what the same car would cost in the US. First one had to purchase a permit to buy a car. The permit cost as much as the car. Then you had to pay for the car once you got it.

 

On top of this, a car could not be driven after a certain number of years. After that a new replacement must be purchased. Thus, you do not see junky cars there. ALSO, at that time at least, if you car was damaged (visible damage) you could not drive it but rather had to have it towed from the scene of the accident to a repair shop.

[cccole]

The variety of orchids must have been spectacular. I am sooooo jealous.

 

We had an opportunity to visit Singapore shortly after the "caning" incident and I refused. Our children were 3, 5, and 7 and I was so afraid that they would do something wrong and either they or my husband or I would be held accountable. We visited Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia instead.

 

Thank you for taking us along on your voyage. It is absolutely fantastic. I could almost taste the food in India, chicken tikka masala is one of our favorites. Cherie

[Johnny B]

March 20 – Day 74

Singapore

 

Rain, rain go away! Yesterday, there were two huge cloudbursts, during both of which we were well under cover eating lunch. Last evening, it rained again as we were leaving the ship, but by the time we got to Clarke Quay, it had stopped and was about 85 degrees and quite balmy. After a little walking, we had dinner at Indochine, a lovely Vietnamese restaurant sitting by the water. Our table sat right on the water and it was truly beautiful. There were lights everywhere and little Chinese junks (with passengers) went up and down the river. There were even several lighted kites being flown across the river. It was just magical.

 

Today, however, there were no intermittent showers; it just rained and rained all day long. We took the subway to Little India and walked around. I felt like I was the only woman there without a sari. We saw a large covered market and, considering the weather, decided that it was an excellent option. When we walked through, we found out that it really WAS a market. We walked through the fish section and then the meat section and then the produce section – it was truly for locals. Upstairs there were tailors and clothing shops, with incredibly inexpensive things. I could have bought a dress for $7.00 or a sari for $15.00. Unfortunately I’m not much of a shopper, and I keep asking myself, “What would I do with this at home?” When the answer is “I have no idea?” I skip the purchase. Another dissuasion from buying is the sheer cost of things here. Things, overall, are incredibly expensive, particularly those things that the government wants to discourage. For example, alcohol is really expensive, primarily to make residents less likely to abuse it. Our beers yesterday were $10.00 each, and that was during “Happy Hour.” Casinos are free for foreign passport holders, but Singaporeans must pay $100 entrance fee, to discourage gambling. I guess it works.

 

After Little India, we headed to Chinatown (which is a peculiar name, as 80% of Singapore’s population is Chinese). There was a pedestrian street of little shops, and again they were the best buys we saw anywhere. We bought our daughter a small piece of jewelry and some really pretty small, embroidered purses, but that was it. When I really needed a sit-down, we happened upon China Point, a good-sized mall with a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. It turned out to be our lunch stop, too.

 

At that point we decided it was time to return to the ship, so we headed back to the MRT (subway). We’ve been on subways in many parts of the world, but this one is the best. Like everything else in Singapore, it’s immaculate. The operations are almost all mechanized and easy to use, and I never saw anyone get on a subway car before everyone who wanted to had disembarked. People actually give up seats for the elderly and handicapped. Restroom facilities are available, clean and free in every station, and there are telephones if you need to use one. The tickets or day passes are in the same form as hotel keys, and there is a deposit on each one so as to avoid having people litter with them. It really works, too. As you can see, I can’t recommend the system enough.

 

So that is Singapore. We loved it and, with Kuala Lumpur, look forward to returning without the limitation of a ship’s short stay. I think we might make a trip including those two and Thailand, since we’ve never been there – shocking, isn’t it? Tomorrow is our first sea day in four days, and I cannot wait! I get to catch up on movies and napping and get ready for Cambodia the day after.

[Johnny B]

March 21 – Day 75 (only 40 to go!)

At Sea en route to Cambodia

 

Two years ago, the Amsterdam’s world cruise involved a full ship and 1250 passengers. We like small to medium-sized ships, so that number was perfect. Over a thousand of them were doing the full WC, so we had four months to make lots of new friends. This year, however, we sailed with only 900 passengers, 600 of whom are taking the full WC. At seemingly every port, people get on and get off, especially in Buenos Aires, Cape Town, and Mumbai. Usually it would be more getting off than on. In BA, 240 got off and only 100 got on.

 

Yesterday, however, all hell broke loose. Four hundred new passengers, most of them Aussies, boarded in Singapore and the ship is now up over 1100 people. Most of them are only on for the 9-day segment from Singapore to Hong Kong. This has caused several noticeable results. First, the average age is now about 20 years younger, and while we were probably in the youngest 10% in 2008, now I feel older than dirt. Second, there are now actual children on board. Since Ft. Lauderdale, we’ve had the delightful Jasmine, a well-mannered four-year-old traveling with her Afghanistan-widowed mother. Now, however, they seem to be everywhere! They seem to be pleasant children, but it’s just so different.

 

Third, the alcohol consumption on the ship has at least doubled. Because of the rain, last night’s sailaway was in the Crow’s Nest, which was chock full of Aussie accents. I’m sure there was more alcohol sold during sailaway than during any single day since we sailed on January 6. We were supposed to set sail at 5:00, but it was delayed over an hour. Our friend Rhonda, herself an Aussie, said that she thought it was to increase the profits in the bar, since the crowd tends to thin out when we actually sail. If that was the thinking behind it, it sure worked! There were about five servers, instead of the usual two, and they were kept hopping.

 

Fourth, the casino is now humming with activity. When we finished trivia today (tying for five days in a row and losing in the tie-break), we noticed that one of the blackjack tables not only was full of players, but there was a large group of people standing around it watching.

 

So, things will be different for the next 9 days. Some WC passengers are resentful because of the great deals that these segment folks were offered: about $80 a day per person plus airfare. However, to be fair, every $160 per cabin per day is money that HAL wouldn’t have had if they had been empty. I guess it will be quite a bit livelier for the next several days.

[Johnny B]

March 22 – Day 76

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

 

We spent four days in Cambodia two years ago, staying in Siem Reap and visiting Angkor Wat. It was spectacular, but what impressed me even more were the people. A kinder, gentler group you will never meet. After the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, it is incredible that they are not tearing each other apart, but they are incredibly pleasant and they work hard to improve their lot in the world. One of the things I like is their greeting, for hello, goodbye, thank you or you’re welcome. It involves putting the palms together in front of the chest and slightly nodding the head (you’re trying it, aren’t you?). We hadn’t been here 15 minutes before we got right back into the groove of returning the greeting.

 

We had decided that we wanted to go to the beach, since we had heard that there are some beautiful ones here. The ship had a beach visit to Sokha Beach Resort which they described as “one of the most beautiful beaches in Cambodia.” That it was. However, instead of paying the $92 for the ship’s tour, we took the free ship shuttle into the middle of town, spent some time at the market, and then took a tuk-tuk out to the resort for $4.00 (for both of us). Tuk-tuks are a staple of southeast Asian countries; they are either one or two passenger seats (each for two people) attached to a motorcycle. They are plentiful and cheap as well as fun to ride in.

 

Ten or fifteen minutes took us to Sokha Beach Resort, and it was wonderful. We paid $6.00 each for a day’s resort privileges, including a huge, fluffy turquoise towel. The beach was white and clean and the sea water must have been about 85 or 87 degrees (F). I’m a real “cold wimp” and I could walk right in and enjoy it. The pool, however, was what I absolutely loved. It was freeform and huge, probably covering 1/4 acre, with a wading pool attached, a pretty little white bridge crossing part of it, an infinity edge, and, the best part, a swim-up bar with lots of barstools. The water was again in the mid to high 80’s, and it was just cool enough to cool off from the heat but warm enough that there was no shock at all when entering. It was my idea of a little piece of heaven.

 

We had asked our tuk-tuk driver to come back in three hours for us, so we just lazed around the pool. We met a few friends from the ship who had come on the HAL tour and were disgusted at what they had to pay. Several other friends, including most of our tablemates, eventually showed up and we all tended to cluster around the swim-up bar. Some of them were actually having Long Island iced tea at 10:30 in the morning, but that wasn’t for me. It was wonderful, though, just hanging out in the water and chatting.

 

Finally 1:00 drew near, so we threw our clothes on over our now-dry swimsuits and headed out front. Our driver was there, as promised and, after turning down the tour of the area, we headed back to the market in the middle of town. The market itself was interesting, but it was definitely a local market, like the Chinese market in Singapore. Most of it was used for food stalls, and some of the smells were incredibly “ripe.” What finally drove me out was the smell of something like 5-day old chicken. It was either get out or lose my breakfast!

 

Back at the ship we chatted with some friends who had taken the tour of the entire area, including the fishing village. We also spoke with friends who returned today from their trip to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Their guide was Sam, whom we met two years ago. Since that time, his project called “Sam Brothers” has built an additional several hundred deep water wells, which often make the difference between life and death in small villages. Rotary clubs around the world have contributed as did Michael Crichton, the well-known author, who visited the area before his recent death and funded the building of approximately one hundred wells. There is even a “Bus #1 Well” which our tour bus contributed on our trip in 2008.

 

We both find Cambodia fascinating and will no doubt return one day.

[candbgirl]

I remember when your bus contributed to the Well Project. Thanks for your reports. I love reading them each day.

[Johnny B]

March 24 – Day 78

Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon)

 

If you think you’ve seen motorcycles, you ain’t seen nothin’ until you’ve tried to drive through Ho Chi Minh City, which we all grew up calling Saigon. This is a city of 10 million people, and it also has three million motorcycles.. At one point, I think all of them were aimed at our tour bus.

 

We drove the 70 kilometers from the port, Phu My, to HCMC in about two hours, fighting cars, trucks, bicycles, and motorcycles, motorcycles, motorcycles. We had been here two years ago, and were struck by the number of new, modern buildings that weren’t here then. As we drove into the middle of the city, still called “Saigon” by the locals (with HCMC referring to the entire metropolitan area), we could see that its French provincial beauty was still what it was two years ago.

 

Our first stop was at the building called, in different times, Gia Long Palace, the Presidential Palace, the Reunification Palace, and now The Revolutionary Museum. It was bombed in 1962 and then rebuilt, and its architecture is definitely 1960’s concrete modern. The rooms inside are lovely though, including a banquet room, a cabinet room, and others. Downstairs, two basements hold the museum displays, including maps of Viet Nam through the years and photos from its history, including some that were quite difficult to look at from what the Vietnamese call “The American War.” One of the highlights of our visit was a student “field trip,” when about 200 uniformed kids descended, many trying their English on us. They’d say “Hello,” and we’d respond, and then ask “How are you?” to which they would answer “Fine, thank you.” They were probably about fourth or fifth graders, and just way too cute.

 

We continued on to an activity we really, really tried to get out of: the water puppet show. We couldn’t, though, and that was a good thing, because it was incredibly entertaining, with fish jumping, fishermen netting, and the occasional cat trying to catch a duck. The show only lasted 20 minutes and everyone else seemed to like it too.

 

From there we drove to the dead center of town, the Cathedral and the beautiful pink French-designed post office, which is one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve seen, with a high arched ceiling and seemingly acres under roof. Lunch was around the corner at Maxim’s, which apparently was originally related to the Paris Maxim’s, but now it’s just a very high-end Vietnamese restaurant, which fed us very well.

 

Our last stop was one of those which we really don’t like. It was a lacquer ware factory, where they lead an “educational” tour of how lacquer ware is made, which then, of course, leads right into the sales room. And, shockingly, the prices on the items were all in dollars! How convenient. The punch line, however, is that we did buy something. I told John that if we’re going to complain, we can’t buy things, but that vase was really quite beautiful (and it was his idea).

 

Another two hours and we were back at the ship, where there was a “last chance” tent set up with all kinds of goodies, including (ugggh!) jars with some kind of liquor and a really ugly venomous snake. That’s the LAST thing I’d ever buy. Passengers had been warned that they’d better be on time, because we had to sail with the tide which, we all know, “waits for no man.”

 

Saigon is quite a beautiful, semi-tropical city, and we saw that the country is building itself into quite a modern nation. There were a lot of mixed feelings about the country on our tour today, as there are in Vietnam about America, but the Vietnamese are looking to the future.

[Johnny B]

March 25 – Day 79

At Sea en route to Halong Bay

 

John decided that, due to a cool weather forecast tomorrow in Halong Bay, today would be his last day to soak up the sun next to the aft pool, his favorite spot. After breakfast, we walked out back and, indeed, it was warm and wonderful. So, after breakfast and showers, he headed out to compete with Jeff as tannest person on the Amsterdam.

 

While he was gone, I did laundry – which means sorting it, putting it in a bag, and giving it to our cabin steward to send off to the laundry downstairs, deep in the bowels of the ship. I do love having a laundry package and feel so smug whenever I see someone coming out of the nearby laundry room with a full basket of clean clothes. Afterwards I read until it was time to go to my cooking class.

 

Our current guest chef is Paulette Mitchell, author of several cookbooks, including some on 15-minute meals. She is blonde, attractive, and entirely too thin for a chef. I’d like to dislike her, but she’s bubbly and personable and fun to cook with. Today’s cooking class focused on quick and easy Asian dishes, so we made Asian Shrimp Soup with Bok Choy, Cashew Chicken Stir Fry, and, my favorite, Fresh Rice Paper Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce. I really enjoy Asian food, and I’ll eat spring rolls in any way shape or form. They can be fried, giving me a bit of guilt, or they can be fresh, making me feel much more virtuous about eating them. One group carefully cut carrots, cucumber, green onions and avocado into matchstick pieces and cooked cellophane noodles. Then we each got two round rice paper spring rolls, wet them, filled them, and rolled them into little bits of heaven. The peanut sauce had chili paste to make it spicy and dark sesame oil to make it even more delicious. Usually, we make everything and then eat in the Pinnacle, but Paulette said that the spring rolls are best eaten fresh, so we just wrapped, dipped and chowed down. The soup and stir fry were saved for the Pinnacle.

 

When I got back to our room, John hadn’t eaten, so the two of us headed up to the Lido for him to get lunch and me to get iced tea. While we were talking with Horace and Bunny about his Air Force experiences living in Saigon during the war, we noticed huge black clouds approaching. The glass Lido roof was wide open, and suddenly huge gusts of wind started knocking everything about below. I’ve never seen the stewards have to move so fast, grabbing music stands (from our lunch performance), beach towels, and lunch dishes while someone else very quickly moved to close the roof. It had no sooner closed than the rain came pouring down. That was at 1:30, and now, at 4:30, we’re in the middle of the worst weather since the Falklands. The winds are high at gale force 10, the sea is rough, with waves at 14 feet, and there is a notice on the TV which warns us that “high winds make outside decks dangerous.” In addition, the foghorn just keeps on bleating. The interesting part of all this is that there was absolutely no notice of it. The captain, in his regular daily report at 12:45 said not a word about any storm approaching. Oh well, it’s here and we get to deal with it. John’s just glad that he got a few hours in the sun this morning.

 

Tonight is formal, with a theme of “Celebration.” We’re not quite sure exactly what that means, but we’ll get out the finery and go dance up a storm. Tomorrow is Halong Bay, with its beautiful caves and a great market, so I hope this storm is over with by then.

[Johnny B]

March 26 – Day 80

Halong Bay

 

Saigon, Danang, Hue, Hanoi: most of these names are familiar from the evening news during the 60’s, but I had never heard mention of Halong Bay. However, it was an important place during the war because of its port facilities. The city is only four hours from Hanoi by car, so it was bombed regularly. Also, many of the waterways among the beautiful rock formations were mined, and apparently some of those mines remain. I hope we don’t find out the hard way.

 

Two years ago we were here and took sampans (I think that’s what they’re called) about an hour away to the huge and beautiful Thien Cung caves. The day was warm, the boats were undercrowded, and we enjoyed that day as much as any on the whole cruise. This year, however, the sky is overcast and 550 people (yikes!) have signed up for this tour, so I don’t think the boats will be quite as comfortable.

 

After a half-empty dining room last night, due to the roughness of the seas, we arrived in Halong Bay this morning. Because of delays in clearing the ship by the local authorities, no one could leave on the tenders until after 10:00. One wonderful advantage of our new four-star status is that we don’t have to get tender tickets and then wait for our number to be called. We just head on down to the gangway, show them our key card (with the magical four stars on it) and jump onto a tender.

 

The market is right next to the pier where the tenders dock, so we wasted no time in doing a little shopping. The stalls had pretty much the same thing, but Viet Nam is such an inexpensive country that everything is a bargain. We bought some gifts for the kids, my favorite being the collapsing giraffe. We also went into the little “supermarket” and found 50 cent Diet Coke, so bought a few of those as well as some chocolate – you know, the necessities of life.

 

After walking about two miles (really) along the main road and the beach, we met up with our friends Ellen, Barbie, and Esther for lunch. Susie told us that two years ago she found the world’s best pizza here, but it sure wasn’t at the restaurant where we ate. It was OK pizza, along with egg rolls, samosas, and marinated olives. At least it was filling, and I’m sure will tide us over until dinner.

 

Then it was time to come back to the ship, so we headed for the end of the pier again. The wind had picked up, and the guys manning the departure area were really cold in their short-sleeved shirts. We hopped into the tender, said goodbye to Halong Bay, and headed back to the ship.

[Paul123]

March 26 – Day 80

Halong Bay

 

Saigon, Danang, Hue, Hanoi: most of these names are familiar from the evening news during the 60’s, but I had never heard mention of Halong Bay. However, it was an important place during the war because of its port facilities. The city is only four hours from Hanoi by car, so it was bombed regularly. Also, many of the waterways among the beautiful rock formations were mined, and apparently some of those mines remain. I hope we don’t find out the hard way.

 

Two years ago we were here and took sampans (I think that’s what they’re called) about an hour away to the huge and beautiful Thien Cung caves. The day was warm, the boats were undercrowded, and we enjoyed that day as much as any on the whole cruise. This year, however, the sky is overcast and 550 people (yikes!) have signed up for this tour, so I don’t think the boats will be quite as comfortable.

 

After a half-empty dining room last night, due to the roughness of the seas, we arrived in Halong Bay this morning. Because of delays in clearing the ship by the local authorities, no one could leave on the tenders until after 10:00. One wonderful advantage of our new four-star status is that we don’t have to get tender tickets and then wait for our number to be called. We just head on down to the gangway, show them our key card (with the magical four stars on it) and jump onto a tender.

 

The market is right next to the pier where the tenders dock, so we wasted no time in doing a little shopping. The stalls had pretty much the same thing, but Viet Nam is such an inexpensive country that everything is a bargain. We bought some gifts for the kids, my favorite being the collapsing giraffe. We also went into the little “supermarket” and found 50 cent Diet Coke, so bought a few of those as well as some chocolate – you know, the necessities of life.

 

After walking about two miles (really) along the main road and the beach, we met up with our friends Ellen, Barbie, and Esther for lunch. Susie told us that two years ago she found the world’s best pizza here, but it sure wasn’t at the restaurant where we ate. It was OK pizza, along with egg rolls, samosas, and marinated olives. At least it was filling, and I’m sure will tide us over until dinner.

 

Then it was time to come back to the ship, so we headed for the end of the pier again. The wind had picked up, and the guys manning the departure area were really cold in their short-sleeved shirts. We hopped into the tender, said goodbye to Halong Bay, and headed back to the ship.

 

I'm just back from the Prinsendam's Grand Voyage which was excellent although the ship is not a patch on the dear Amsterdam. That being said I have read the last few pages of your blog and find it absolutely wonderful. Well done and enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[cruz chic]

I've loved reading every minute of this. Thx so much.

[Johnny B]

March 28 – Day 82

Palm Sunday

Hong Kong

 

I’ve written several times about sailaways, because they’re a lot of fun. However, there are only a few ports in the world worthy of early rising for sail-in. There’s Sydney, New York, and today, Hong Kong. We were up at 6:00 for the narrated sail-in, and it was spectacular. There are beautiful high-rise buildings, Star ferries, Chinese junks going out for the day’s fishing, and then we sail right through Victoria Harbour, between the end of Kowloon peninsula and Hong Kong Island. Our port is in as good a location as possible, right next to the Star Ferry terminal and a half block away from the Peninsula Hotel.

The dock is also part of a huge (and I mean huge) mall with about three floors and enough expensive stores to choke a horse. I saw a nice looking golf shirt in a shop called “Shark and something,” and when I looked at the tag it was 2030 Hong Kong dollars, or almost $300 US. Whew! The diamonds in the jewelry stores alone would buy us a suite on world cruises for the rest of our lives. What recession?

 

Hong Kong is a required port on every world cruise. In fact, when the itinerary was chosen for 2012 (down the east coast of South America, Antarctica, South Pacific, NZ, Australia, and so on) Hong Kong had inadvertently been left out, so the company announced that there would be some changes made so that it would be included. We have two full days here, which gives people time to sightsee, have clothes custom-made (yes, they can do it in two days), and just wander around enjoying the city.

 

* * * * * *

 

We began our day by wandering up and down Nathan Road, looking for things that were the same or different from last time we were here two years ago. It’s pretty much the same, but there is construction everywhere, and the high rises just keep getting higher. We wandered into the Peninsula Hotel, the venerable “Old Lady” of Hong Kong. It’s still as elegant (and expensive) as ever, and if you’ve never had afternoon tea in the lobby, be sure you do it when you’re here.

 

As we came out of a new mall, we ran into our friends Alan and Sandra who told us they were waiting for the bus to Stanley Market, where we had planned to go. We thought the only bus to Stanley left from the Island, requiring a trip across the harbor on a Star Ferry, but there really is one from this side (Kowloon), so we all hopped on the double decker at $1.00 apiece and rode through the tunnel, across Hong Kong Island and then continued on the “E-Ride” (do you remember those?) around sharp corners and up and down hills to Stanley Market. What a place! The first time we were here, for the Handover in 1997, we went to Stanley Market, thinking it was just a tourist sight. I’m not much of a shopper, but by the time we were done there we had to buy another suitcase to hold our purchases. I had found birthday presents, Christmas presents, and things that were just plain fun. It’s a great place to buy silk clothes, including gowns and even men’s boxers, toys, children’s clothing, jewelry (if that really is jade), cashmere scarves, and all kinds of things. If you’re a dedicated shopper, this is really the place for you – at bargain prices.

 

There’s a huge variety of places to eat at the market. You can find a noodle house and have lunch for about $3.00 or go to the waterfront/beach area and have a pretty good lunch for about $20.00 each. We chose the latter, but then wished we had eaten somewhere more traditional (and cheaper). After a last walk through the market, we found the return bus and headed back to Kowloon and the ship.

 

Somehow, John’s picked up a nasty cold, cough and sore throat, so it was nap time in the afternoon. Tonight there’s a group of our friends going to “Ned Kelly’s Last Stand,” a great pub with a jazz band that starts playing at 9:00. Larry, the ship’s saxaphonist, sits in when he’s in town, so it’s fun to go, eat hamburgers or fish and chips, drink beer and listen to the band. We decided to skip it, however, partly because of John’s cold, and partly because we aren’t even packed for our trip yet. We did sit up on the deck tonight and watch the light show on Hong Kong Island. They use the lighting of the high-rise buildings and do all kinds of fancy things with it, including having green laser lights come off the top of several.

 

Tomorrow we have a half day in Hong Kong, and then our “Specialists” group takes off for Guilin to cruise the Li River and then Xian, to see the terra cotta warriors. We will then rejoin the ship in Shanghai. It’s exciting just writing about it, and we really can’t wait.

[Put Me On A Boat]

Do you remember the bus number for Stanley Market from Kowloon and where you got it?

Also, are you doing the world cruise on the Amsterdam in 2011?

Thanks.

[SwissMyst]

They we cross the South Atlantic, heading to Namibia and South Africa, where we'll go to a game preserve for four days to celebrate John's birthday. After Africa, we continue to Mauritius, Seychelles, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan, Russia, and then across the North Pacific to Vancouver, Seattle, and Los Angeles, where we'll disembark.

 

.

 

I gather we crossed paths in Port Louis, Mauritius - we were on the MV Discovery three days in port while you came in on the Amsterdam. It was wonderful seeing a HAL ship so far away from home. BTW, you guys got our good tender dock taken away from us the day you were in port, and we had to crawl down ladders to jump unassisted on to the water taxi that went to downtown.

 

Our ship was full of stalwart Brits who took this in stride with nary a complaint. Somehow I could not quite see a ship full of American passengers be so accommodating to this. Nor were they when those water taxi guys started cramming everyone back on to their boats. Some of the Amsterdam passengers balked and staged a sit in rather than move to the back of the boat. Again, the stalwart Brits got in line and did what needed to be done.

 

I look forward to reading more of your report, particularly the editions from our similar ports and how the Amsterdam had to deal with all the Indian Ocean pirate constraints. We just got back from our 42 day jaunt from Hong Kong to Capetown.

 

It was fun to see the Amsterdam!

[SwissMyst]

February 24 – Day 50

 

“Oh, it will be OK.” Famous last words. When we were about a third of the way up the block, I heard something and turned around to see a big guy with his arm around John’s neck, forcing him to the ground. I started beating on him, but there were two or three of them, and when they tried to take John’s wallet out of his front pocket, I slammed the side of my hand down on his wrist. Then they tried to grab my purse, but I pulled back, and then, for some unknown reason, they took off, leaving us with purse and wallet, no injuries, and time to reflect on the stupid things I/we had done. You’re always told to hand over what people want, because you don’t know if they’re armed. Well, we didn’t even think about that and that wasn’t very smart. Even though it turned out OK (as OK as possible under the circumstances), it really taught us a few lessons. I also realized, much later, that my necklace was missing, but they’re welcome to it. Amazingly, I had held onto the bag with the gifts for the kids, too.

 

Ouch, I got robbed in South Africa too two blocks from our Capetown departure hotel while on the MV Discovery ship, crossing paths with your ship.

 

A young man came up to me on a busy street in the middle of the afternoon and just forcibly yanked a small gold chain off my neck, bruising me in the process. It all happened so fast. This was after being assured they had controlled crime in Capetown, unlike most of the other badly degraded cities and that the staff at the hotel cruise desk told me it was safe to walk to the shopping area from the hotel a few blocks away.

 

South Africa is so lovely and so troubled and is the magnet for all the unsolvable ills of the entire continent. So much to love there; so much to fear. I wish them the best for the World Cup - they are trying so hard to welcome the world and rebrand their country for all the depth and potential it has. But just be forewarned, the problems and culture clashes are so deep one has to operate on different rule when visiting here. The modernity is seductive. The realities are painful and intractable.

[SwissMyst]

March 3 – Day 57

Port Louis, Mauritius

 

We are officially half done with our 114-day world cruise. If you want to commiserate with us, please feel free to pick up a tissue for your tears. No? Somehow, I didn’t think so.

 

As I’ve mentioned, we often have guests for dinner at our 11-person table, but some are more memorable than others. Last night was one of those nights. We hosted George Geary, the guest chef, and his friend Neil. George is, as a stereotypical chef, a big guy. He is tall, quite rotund, and has a big personality. He is also one of the funniest men I’ve ever met. He will make fun, in good way, of anyone or anything. He and Shawn, the Pinnacle chef, are always at each other and one time, during a demonstration, ended up calling each other “Pumpkin” and “Precious.” Two guys less likely to be called that were never born. We taught the guys “cork forking,” and they were both successful, Neil early on and George after about three dozen tries.

 

This morning we docked at 7:00 AM at Mauritius, another island in the Indian Ocean, also about 400 miles off the coast of Africa. It’s a larger island than Reunion, and the city of Port Louis, although not the largest city, is much larger than any city on Reunion.

We walked the two miles from the ship to the waterfront, which they have improved with a large pedestrian area, including shops, restaurants, and cinemas. Before we explored the new areas, we spent time in the market area, where there were aisles and aisles of fruits, vegetables and meats downstairs and many other products upstairs. Our friends George and Neil saw a sign over a meat section that said they sold “non-cat chicken.” Yuck! We wandered into several shops, and when we had had our fill, it was time to get out of the city.

 

We found a taxi driver and told him we wanted to to go Pamplemousse (grapefruit in French), a beautiful botanical park several miles out of the city. The driver told us he would take us there, wait for us to wander through, and then drive us back to the port. The place really is fantastic. There are all kinds of trees, including kapok trees with enormous trunks and banyan trees with enough vines hanging from them to even please Tarzan. The highlight, though, are the lily ponds. There is one large area where they have beautiful lilies in a pond, but the wonder is the pond where the lily pads are anywhere from four to six feet across – really!

 

After we convinced our taxi driver that no, we didn’t want to go shopping at his brother-in-law’s shop or continue our tour to another lovely site, we went back to the waterfront area where we had lunch at a restaurant on the water. I had a chicken sandwich on a baguette, and I DID wonder about that non-cat chicken.

 

When it was time to return to the ship, we discovered, thanks to another passenger, that there was a water taxi for $2.00, which would take us directly across the harbor to the ship. What a treat. We both love being on the water, whether the ship is large or small.

We also saw about three dozen Chinese fishing vessels, complete with crew and long lines of wet laundry, hanging out to dry.

 

Sailaway was an hour later tonight, and now we look forward to four wonderful sea days before arriving at the Maldives. We’re really glad we’re going there, since the oceans are rising and the area will, eventually, be no more.

 

Boo, hoo. :o Nary a mention of our little ship sharing the port with you. Our MV Discovery was in port the same day with you and we enjoyed seeing our favorite other cruise line show up and help us feel at home, half way around the world. Weren't those Chinese fishing boats incredible. Some very strange goings on there when our little water taxi would drop off their sailors. We had three days in Port Luis and found much to like there including the Dodo museum, the lovely Company Gardens park down town and a wonderful outdoor courtyard French cafe Le Vieux Consiel where we dined two days in a row for lunch because it was so good.

 

Like you, we munched as many croissants in Reunion as we could find - even in shabby little Le Port. Fabulous.

 

Well, talk about two ships passing in the night - it was fun to see the Amsterdam.

 

One question. Our passage from Mauritius to Capetown going the opposite direction from you, was hampered by rough seas which left us quite green and unhappy. Our ship was smaller (650) and much older with probably little "stabilization" so these two weeks on the waters really did us in cruising wise.

 

Did you have the same high seas on this Mozambique Channel area or does a ship like the Amsterdam weather these waters much better than this smaller older ship?

 

Our route was Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, Richards Bay (South Africa) Durban, Port Elizabeth, Capetown. Rough seas for two solid weeks. Groan.

[SwissMyst]

March 9 – Day 63

At Sea en route to Bombay

 

The awkward part of the situation was that we HAD seen him when his lecture was televised, and although he knew a great deal about his subject, he just dithered through his talk and, if I’d been in the room, I would have been sound asleep within ten minutes.

 

Exploration speakers run the gamut. Almost all are incredibly knowledgeable, but their ability as public speakers varies enormously. Ambassador Walker, former representative of the United States to three Africa countries, was an an example of an incredibly knowledgeable and lively speaker whose talks were well attended. Another speaker was our ice captain, Patrick, who had a dry sense of humor and kept us well informed about what we would see in Antarctica and the significance of it.

 

HAL has speakers who are appropriate to the area and knowledgeable in their fields. If their presentations are poorly attended, especially if numbers go way down in subsequent presentations, that speaker is probably not invited back, Since HAL has many ships, and often speakers move from one ship to another, they do not want to be uninvited on other cruises. That’s why the speaker was trying to drum up attendees for his talks. By the way, we skipped them.

 

Our superb MV Discovery lecturer from the Maldives was an Austrailan marine biologist who had lived there for the past 17 years doing intense research in this area and actually was relatively unconcerned about any rising water levels.

 

He found coral to be self-repairing and over time rises to any new ocean levels and claimed all they would do in the Maldives would be add a foot or so cement to their floor levels and carry on since the main island is so densely populated now that there is scarcely and unpaved square inch.

 

The natural history of all the Indian Ocean islands was fascinating. The active volcano still on Reunion was the original source of all the Maldives as the continents drifted apart eons ago and this drift left a chain of islands across this part of the world. On the other hand, the Seychelles are granite islands left over from that same continental pull apart that severed India from Africa.

 

Interesting to learn you could not go to the Seychelles about the same time we were there - we had three stops on three different islands over two days in the Seychelles with no problems other than in this entire Indian Ocean area the ship had to institute Coalition Forces pirate watch and controls that included wrapping the back end of the ship in barb wire, making the fire hoses ready and extra watch duties for the crew, along with closed portholes, curtains closed requirements in the non-port hole rooms and restricted deck activities from dusk to dawn.