Dave’s Trip To, Around and Into Australia, Sept. 26 – Nov. 23, 2016

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 2, Benoa, Bali (Cont.)

 

 

Our approach to Benoa was in bright sunlight, and we passed a beachfront on the way in:

 

 

 

 

We were welcomed to Benoa port by signs and a concert on instruments resembling xylophones:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had booked the ship’s Royal Temple, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot Pagoda tour. We boarded our buses just after 11 and set out on the 1-1/4 hour drive to our first stop. We drove through Benoa and into and through the larger city of Denpasar. The streets were lined with little shops and restaurants, plus some larger stores. They were mostly narrow streets, with a lot of traffic, including a great number of smaller motorcycles. Our guide told us that the motorcycles and scooters were a very popular means of transport. Here is a shot down one street:

 

 

 

 

Our guide explained that the religion practiced in Bali was predominantly Hindu, with Muslims, Buddhist and others. There were a good many Hindu temples along the route, as most houses had private temples, such as this one, although some were much more elaborate:

 

 

 

 

 

There were also village temples, and statues of Hindu deities in some of the roundabouts. We drove through Denpasar and then out into more open country, with rice paddies and fields growing other crops to our first stop, the Tanan Ayun temple, a former Royal temple built in the 1600s.

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 2, Benoa, Bali (Cont.)

 

 

At the temple, our guide explained that Hindu were built on three levels, with the inner level devoted to contemplation. We would visit the first two levels, and could see and photograph the third, but we would not enter.

 

Here are some photos of the temple grounds:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a shot of the towers in the inner level of the temple:

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide explained that people left offerings at the temples, typically with something colored red, something black and something white, as well as other things such as food or drink or something signifying what the donor wished to be blessed. These usually were placed in little trays made of palm leaves. Our guide also explained that, once the offering was made, that accomplished the act – what happened to the physical offering after that did not matter. That explained why no one was concerned when some scrawny feral cats were eating some of the offerings. But it also meant I could take a photo of some typical offerings without giving offense:

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 2, Benoa, Bali (Cont.)

 

 

After the Royal Temple, we drove a short way to the Alas Ketadon monkey forest. Our guide said the name meant, roughly, royal forest and so he surmised it was once royal land. There is a temple there, as well as some forest, but we remained primarily in the paved area at the front of the forest.

 

Here is a shot of the entrance:

 

 

 

 

We had been warned that the macaques would steal your eyeglasses or earrings if you weren’t careful, but there were some guides that held small rods and would fend off any monkeys they thought were planning to purloin something. The guides also were shopkeepers and would gladly sell you things after you had seen the monkeys. Our main tour guide said purchasing something was not required, but if you do, you should never pay the first asking price, but should bargain to get a better price.

 

Here are some shots of the monkeys:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Including a shot of the main eyeglass stealer, according to the forest guide:

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back to the bus, I felt I was being watched by more than the shop-keepers, and spotted this sentry on the roof:

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 2, Benoa, Bali (Cont.)

 

 

We next went to the Tanah Lot Pagoda, a temple complex on the seafront. Our guide said Tanah Lot meant sea and land, which was apt, as the main temple was on a rock joined to the headland by a natural causeway that was awash sometimes.

 

 

We got off the bus and walked about 100 meters past some shops:

 

 

 

 

At the end, we first looked at and got photos of one temple, which our guide called the Hole-in-the-Wall temple. The reason for him calling it that became obvious as we got near:

 

 

 

 

He said we could not enter – because of recent fatal accidents on the cliff face, the authorities had closed off part of the complex.

 

 

We then walked a short way to viewpoints where we could photograph the Tanah Lot temple. It had rained a lot en route to the temple, and there were still some showers and clouds, so the photos are not bright and sunny, but I found the setting among crashing waves to be beautiful even in the shady conditions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 2, Benoa, Bali (Cont.)

 

 

We boarded the buses again for a short ride to the nearby Pan-Pacific Hotel for refreshments. We were greeted by musicians playing instruments similar to the ones in Benoa port:

 

 

 

 

The Pan-Pacific is a very posh hotel, with great views. It has an Arnold Palmer designed golf course, and is obviously a popular resort. We were shown to a lower level reception area where we were offered snacks and cold drinks such as iced tea, iced coffee or ice water:

 

 

 

 

 

We could sit inside, or go out on the terrace for the views. The snacks were banana dumplings with sugar sauce, small spring rolls with sweet-peppery sauce, tuna finger sandwiches, and chicken satay sticks. There were also cinnamon scones with whipped cream and jam. Here is a photo of some snacks:

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we had some time to walk the hotel grounds, where I got a photo back to the terrace:

 

 

 

 

And a final shot of Tanah Lot from the fringe of the golf course:

 

 

 

 

 

We then had a ride back to the ship onf1-1/2 hours through heavy rush hour traffic, but the ride was worth it for the sights we had seen.

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 3, at sea

 

 

 

Today is the first of three at-sea days as we transit from Bali to Geraldton, Western Australia. Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 3, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Hi Dave,

Really enjoying reading about your trip with your lovely wife, enjoy your pictures and menus. Will be on the Maasdam in Feb., our first ever cruise with Holland, so really love looking at pictures of the ship. We always eat at the buffet on our cruises, thought I would ask you how you enjoyed your meal there last night. Thanks again for your interesting report on your cruise and enjoy the rest of the trip.

Debbie

 

 

Debbie,

 

We enjoyed the meal in the Lido. Although they had the pork tenderloin from the MDR menu, they also had pork leg, barbeque chicken and other choices not on the MDR menu, but some MDR dishes were not available such as the chicken Kiev. There was a choose-your-ingredients salad bar – not a serve yourself anymore, alas, but you told a server what and how much of whatever items you wanted. Starters were different: grilled zucchini and mushrooms with tzatziki; mozzarella and tomato with balsamic vinegar (which ruins the dish), and some others. The desserts were much the same as the MDR. Servers would get you tea, water, juices, etc. Bartenders circulated if you wanted to buy alcoholic or canned/bottled soft drinks.

 

There are people I know who regularly eat dinner in the Lido – it is faster, you choose what you want when, and you are free to wear casual Lido clothing. This last one used to be a big draw when HAL still had formal nights, and it is still important to some now who don’t want to wear Gala dress. One person on this cruise refuses to wear long pants, and eats all his meals in the Lido.

 

All told, we prefer to eat in the dining room when we can, but we can see the point of regular Lido dining.

 

 

Dave

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love the pictures.

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 3, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

We spoke with many of our Indonesian crew members today, and they all reported having a wonderful time yesterday. Many had family members come aboard and they were proud to show what they did on the ship. Others went ashore to spend time with family. The CD mentioned on his midday remarks that they ship had hosted events for those who came aboard, and he expressed thanks to those who freed up their Indonesian stewards to spend time with their family members.

 

Many of the Filipino members of the staff we spoke to (i.e., the bar staff in our case) spent their time ashore either at the local beaches, or in the Benoa terminal using the free wi-fi.

 

Today, we spent the morning and early afternoon the same way you in North America did in the evening/night – we watched Game 7 of the World Series. The TVs in the bars were showing the game, and it was broadcast on channel 33 in the staterooms. When the rain delay came in extra innings, it was about noon aboard ship, and there was a huge run on the Lido for a quick lunch. Cleveland fans were crushed with the final score, and the Cubs fans were elated. Those, like us, whose teams had been eliminated long ago, were enthralled by the game; most of us in the non-aligned bloc rooted for the Cubs.

 

We later went to happy hour in the Crow’s Nest and then into the MDR for dinner. Here are the MDR dinner and dessert menus:

 

 

 

 

We both had the Derby Soup for starter, and it was a very good creamy chicken broth with rice and dumplings. For main dish, DW had the orecchiette, while I chose the always-available salmon; I couldn’t face the pork chop three times running on this basic menu. For dessert, DW had the pavlova and I had Rocky Road ice cream. I keep looking for something different, but rarely finding it – it seems that they have a couple dozen basic menus and ring a few changes now and then on each run. I still have not seen old favorites – green pea soup, mac and cheese with ham, hutsput mit klapstuks (pot roast with hodge-podge), etc. But at least they have added some dishes people actually like, such as fried chicken. You know, I think they should ask the question on their end-of-cruise questionnaire, “what did we not serve that you would have liked?” I bet we would see changes to the menu.

 

Enough cranky-guy ranting; we are certainly not fading away from lack of eating. (But I would still like to have the green pea soup).

 

More later,

Dave

Edited November 3, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[debut]

Thanks Dave for the Lido info. I doubt if anyone would call you a cranky old guy! The lido sounds good, we are elite on Princess and always eat there. Wishing you and your wife the best, would love to meet both of you one day on a cruise.

Debbie

 

Carry on with your good reporting!

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 4, at sea

 

 

Another day at sea, and the weather is getting a bit cooler – it is 24C/75F this morning. We don’t have much planned for today, but it looks like good conditions for sitting on the balcony for a while, and then later changing to Gala attire.

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 4, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[bluesplayer]

WHAT???? No pea soup?? Breaking this Dutch girls heart!!!

[RetiredMustang]

(Note: The Photobucket site went under maintenance yesterday evening my time and is still that way, which is why my images all appear to be little "x" boxes.)

 

 

 

Nov. 4, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

We spent a lazy day at sea. We had to go collect our passport and present ourselves to Australian immigration authorities today, but that was relatively painless and over quickly. They officials must have embarked in Bali, and probably spent yesterday clearing the crew. Today they cleared the passengers. I hope they get a chance to lie in the sun tomorrow, a final at-sea day before pulling into Geraldton on Sunday, Nov. 6.

 

 

There were a couple of issues today:

 

1. The On Location guide showed no happy hours at all today. We did not notice until lunchtime, but others apparently had, and had flooded the front desk with enquiries. There was much lamentation, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Bottom line – a print screw-up; there were the usual happy hours in the Ocean Bar and Crow’s Nest.

 

2. We have been sailing pretty much south since leaving Bali, and the winds today were from the south, which meant they went straight toward the bow, over the ship and aft over the wake. Someone on board decided to light off the incinerator today, with predictable results. The smoke and ash went aft and descended onto the aft Lido and Seaview pool decks, and into the pool. The ship had to clear that area and clean up the decks, drain and clean the pool, etc. I wouldn’t think someone would light off an incinerator without permission of the officer of the watch, so either he had permission or went on his own. I believe the captain probably had a word or two with either or both, and it might not have been pleasant.

 

We were not on the aft deck, but heard about if from someone who was. We went to lunch, where Leo advised us as to what the On Location said, or more accurately, did not say, about happy hour, and then went to reclaim our passports and present ourselves to authorities. The we enjoyed the weather and the clear blue seas from our balcony until time to don the Gala gear and go to the Crow’s Nest, where there was indeed happy hour.

 

Then we went into the Gala dinner, which featured the primo menu, with lobster tails. The Photobucket site has been down for maintenance for a while, so I have re-typed the combined dinner/dessert menu:

 

 

Appetizers

- Marinated Maui Golden Pineapple Spears: strawberry and rum sauce

- Bay Scallop Cocktail: cucumber salad, tomato cilantro salsa

- Escargots Bourguignon: herb garlic butter, Burgundy wine, French bread

 

Soups and Salad

- Cream of Onions Soup: Spanish, Vidalia, red and white onions, scallions

- Italian Wedding Soup: vegetables, pasta, miniature meatballs

- Huli Huli Chicken Caesar Salad: grilled pineapple and ginger marinated chicken breast, served over classic Caesar salad

 

Entrees

- Broiled Lobster Tail: scalloped potato, baby carrots, asparagus, baby corn

- Duck Breast a L’Orange: Grand Marnier sauce, braised red cabbage, snow peas, carrots, William potato

- Madeira Glazed Beef Tenderloin: broccoli florets, roasted cherry tomato, savory potato pie

- Osso Bucco Milanese: white wine, tomato sauce, lemon garlic finish, mushroom risotto

- Baked Manicotti: creamy tomato sauce, roasted corn, bell peppers, cilantro, basil, olives, jalapeno peppers, fontina cheese

- Wild Mushroom Strudel: forest mushroom, spinach, feta cheese, phyllo dough, Thai red curry sauce

 

Desserts

- Grand Marnier Soufflé: warm vanilla sauce

- Chocolate Decadence Cake: with berries compote

- Key Lime Pudding: dried fruit compote

- Wild Berry Mousse Cake No Sugar Added: vanilla sponge

 

 

DW had the pineapple for starter, while I had the Italian wedding soup. For main, I had the lobster tail and DW had the beef tenderloin. For dessert, we both had the Grand Marnier soufflé.

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

(Note: It seems Photobucket has finally fixed the glitch it found. I went to their Facebook page, and there were a lot of corporate clients who were NOT happy. But it seems to be working now, so I will resume the blog where I left off.)

 

 

Nov. 5, at sea

 

 

Another day at sea before visiting Geraldton tomorrow. Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 5, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 5, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Today was another relaxing day at sea, with beautiful weather to enjoy. We went to the deck sale on the Lido at 10 a.m., and I bought a couple of T-shirts on sale. We spent time on the balcony enjoying the weather and sea, read books, and generally relaxed (except for the occasional check to see if Photobucket got its stuff together, and trying to remember how to post photos from the CC Photo Gallery.)

 

During his message from the bridge, the Captain confirmed that would be mooring in the Geraldton commercial port instead of tendering tomorrow, due to expected swells and seas that would have made tendering difficult or impossible. It means a shuttle ride through the commercial port to get to walkable areas of town, but that beats a difficult tender ride.

 

This afternoon, we had a very pleasant tea with fellow CC’ers and then had drinks before going in to dinner. Here are the MDR dinner and dessert menus:

 

 

 

 

We both had the cannellini and sausage soup for starter, and the chicken for main dish. We also both had the chocolate delight for dessert.

 

 

More later,

Dave

Edited November 5, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[Karennella]

I hope you enjoy Geraldton, but it is a shame that you did get to see anything of the Kimberley. Maybe Broome is not a suitable port for large ships. That region is amazing if you ever want to return.

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 6, Geraldton

 

 

Today we dock at Geraldton, Western Australia. We have booked a tour that will take us pretty much all day, to Kalbarri National Park. From what we have heard, it will be like visiting some of the U.S. National Parks in Utah, such as Arches or Canyonlands – rock formations and sand plains, quite a bit different from the tropical Cairns and Darwin.

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 6, Geraldton (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 6, Geraldton (Cont.)

 

 

Oops, I forgot to post the Explorer pages about Geraldton:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 6, Geraldton (Cont.)

 

 

We sailed toward Geraldton after dawn this morning, and we saw several whales off our balcony. One breached, and others showed their flippers, like they were doing the side-stroke, and others showed their backs, but none showed their tail flukes. We are not experts by any means, but we have seen humpbacks up close off the Dominican Republic and off Sitka, Alaska, and these looked like humpbacks to us. We heard later that this is a migration route for the humpbacks from winter grounds north of here to summer around Antarctica, where the food is abundant.

 

We docked at the commercial port in Geraldton at about 8 a.m. Our tour was called about 9 a.m. It lasted seven hours, and we got back in time to shower and get ready for early fixed dinner. So, I have not had time to sort photos and impressions, and so once again, I will defer describing a shore excursion until early morning my time.

 

We went in to dinner at 5:30, and enjoyed our meal. While we were dining, the Officer of the Watch announced that the bridge team had seen whales breaching off the starboard side. Lots of diners immediately rushed to the starboard side windows. Out table face aft, and we just waited, because we knew we would pass the whales, and they would be astern shortly. Our patience was rewarded when we saw a whale close aboard, breaching. He/she breached twice again before we passed too far from him/her to see much detail.

 

Here are the MDR dinner and dessert menus:

 

 

 

 

DW had the squash curry soup while I had the Soto Ayam. I ordered nasi goreng for main, but unfortunately it was not an option, and nothing else appealed, so I ordered the always-available steak, with a baked potato. DW did the same, but with rice. For dessert, she had the chocolate fudge sundae and I had the Black Forest Cake.

 

 

More later,

Dave

[kandj05]

Congrats on making it :)

 

Nice to see a picture of the author of this fabulous thread :)

I second this!

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Forums mobile app

[RetiredMustang]

Nov. 6, Geraldton (Cont.)

 

 

We were docked in the Geraldton commercial port, which was closed to foot traffic because of rails and other hazards. There were fee shuttle buses taking passengers to and from the port gate, where it was a 10-minute walk to town, and where there was a stop for the ho-ho bus for those who wanted to buy a ticket.

 

The tour buses were able also to come to the ship, so we walked off the gangway and right onto our tour buses. Our tour to Kalbarri National Park filled two large buses and one smaller one.

 

We drove north out of Geraldton and through some vegetables farms into what our guide said was wheat country. We passed many fields of wheat either just coming into harvest time, or just harvested. There were also a few farms with sheep. It reminded us a bit of California outside the cities, or perhaps the central Dakotas – rolling brown hills dotted with trees and bushes. Here is a typical shot:

 

 

 

 

We drove through a town called Northampton and a couple of small villages before turning off the main highway towards a lookout where we could see views of the Murchison River, have a restroom break and a bit of what our guide called morning tea (although there was no tea involved).

 

Our tour was originally to have gone at staggered times due to tenders, but since we docked, we all arrived at about the same time. So, while the first large bus went on, the second one (ours) and the small one stopped a bit short in some typical but pretty scrubland that I presumed was dominant in the whole region but that the farmers had cleared for their fields. In the National Park, it was still in its natural state. The land is pretty dry, but it supports a good variety of plant life. I had gotten the impression that it was more arid in the area. Here are photos of the scrub, and of some of the passengers taking a walk through it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, it was our turn to go to the lookout while the first bus had their snack. Most of us first used the restrooms, rustic ones. By that point, we had been on the bus or walking the scrub for almost two hours, so plan for that if you take this tour. We then walked the short path, about 100 meters, down to the lookout platform over the Hawk Head gorge on the Murchison:

 

 

 

 

And then we returned to the picnic shelter for our al fresco snack of orange juice and quite excellent homemade pound cake:

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave