Forgap & Rumor, Singapore-Sydney, Feb. 2-20, 2018--LIVE!

[Hambagahle]

The Captain in that photo looks like John McNeil to me too ...

 

What a shame Borodudur was rained out - or spoilt by rain? I was there with my father and Indonesia step mother in 1975 on a glorious sunny morning. It is huge and so awe-inspiring.

 

The photos are great! And much appreciated...and Rich - I had no idea that our "Roll Call" was the first place you posted!

[Travelcat2]

Great photo, Gilly! I'm envious now that our Essential Semarang Docking Kit was minus the makeshift bridge. It was straight into the drink for us after we stepped off the last box!

 

Jackie, that's not Massimo! Massimo himself just confirmed that (BTW, I extended your and Dennis' greetings and he said he looks forward to seeing you again very soon.)

 

Massimo can't confirm the officer on the right is Captain O'Neill, as he never sailed with him. He thinks, like I do, that the officer on the left may be then Staff Captain Felice. Obviously, more investigation is needed and I may have to go directly to Captain Felice. Stay tuned for the scoop. . .

 

Rich

 

Okay - I think that the person was mis-identified (is that a word?) because of the glasses. Captain McDreamy (oops - Captain McNeil) is taller than the person in the photo and Massimo wears glasses and looks about the same. Looking forward to learning just who that was.

 

Dennis and I were discussing your cruise at Happy Hour and can't wait until you get to Komodo Island to see photos and your impressions. When we were there (December - not February 4 years ago) it was incredibly hot and unfortunately, we took the wrong route back to the ship which caused us another 1/2 hour of walking in the intense heat. Hopefully your sense of direction is better than ours!

 

IMO, the best part of the cruise is yet to come!

[forgap]

We had booked a private tour to Borobudur but we knew our timetable was tight and the stars had to align in order to get there and back and avoid watching the ship leave without us! We arrived in Semarang on time, just as a driving squall arrived with us. We watched from the casino as the gangplank was lowered, the impossible to navigate angle was assessed, and 10 configurations were tried before hitting the one that wouldn’t cause passengers to tumble like bowling pins after a strike. It reminded me of one of those puzzle games from the TV show Survivor.

 

This took about an hour as we faced the realization that our tour to Borobudur didn’t look good. We texted our guide and decided on a city tour instead. This was the best decision as the roads were flooded, traffic was horrible, the car was small and we were damp and cold from the all too efficient air conditioning.

 

Semarang is a huge city but, unlike Jakarta, there is still evidence of Javanese architecture along with more modern buildings. There are a series of tree lined canals and you can imagine what a jewel it might become with the right leadership.

 

Our first stop was the Mesjid Agung Jawa Tengah mosque.

This is the largest mosque in the city and has an interesting museum in the towers. The Javanese prince who spread Islam in the region lived with and dressed like the common people in order to spread the word. He also used story telling and puppets which meshed with local traditions so he gained many devoted followers.

We went on to a railway museum in a beautiful Dutch colonial building. We posed for pictures with local tourists and, as we left, the guards wanted to pose with us as well. The Indonesian people as really very charming!

 

The next stop was the Sam Poo Kong temple complex. This is the oldest Chinese Buddhist temple in Indonesia.

 

It was now dark and we were all bushed. We assured our guide, Agus, that he had done a fine job but we wanted to call it a day. He insisted on one last drive by through Kota Lama, the orignal Dutch colonial part of the city dating to the 1700’s. It looked very charming with antique shops, museums, a theater, and coffee shops.

 

 

The skies opened as we returned to the ship. The wind was brisk, our big Regent umbrellas turned inside out, and the dock was flooded as we trudged through the port thoroughly wet and disheveled. A hot shower and a cold cocktail was all we needed!

 

 

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[Mr Rumor]

Jean and Jackie, the officer in question in Gilly’s photo is indeed Captain O’Neil. The officer with the resemblance to Captain Felice is former Regent GM Ralph de Klijn. CC Gudrun made the IDs, and she is positive, having sailed with each.

 

What says Regent Greek deck buffet better than a multicolored Greek salad?

 

These are the hands of Pascal, Chartreuse chef de cuisine, crafting a lamb “Greek burrito” at our deck lunch.

 

I chose a little bit of this and a little bit of that (with seconds). All good!

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Wish that we had been there as I love Captain McNeil. Very surprised to see him in uniform after his retirement.

 

The Greek salad looks amazing!

[liptastic]

Mr Rumour, thanks for confirming it was indeed Captain John McNeil..

Really enjoying this joint blog, thanks. Jean.

[Gilly]

Sorry for being asleep whilst most of the conversation continued!!

 

Yes, that's Capt John McNeill, who together with all the senior staff welcomed us back on board Voyager as the last excursion home after a long day to Borobudur. Jennifer, I think you made a wise decision on balance - whilst it was a shame to miss out on seeing what remains a favourite UNESCO site for us, I doubt that you would have enjoyed the anxious journey back if time was short. Traffic was horrendous, but safe in the knowledge that Voyager wouldn't go without us, we were rather more relaxed.

[JAG2003]

I'm not GIlly but that is Massimo!

Actually it most certainly is Captain John! He was a great Captain.

[Mr Rumor]

Life of the (Block) Party. . . CD Ray, natch.

 

A harmonica performance? We were leery, so we parked towards the rear of the Constellation Theater for an easy getaway. But one song into Aiden and Evelyn’s set we knew we were in for a treat. In fact they got a standing O.

 

Tomorrow, Bali. We’re set for our eight-hour “Colors of Bali” excursion, the “Very Special Indonesian Buffet Dinner” in La Veranda and a music and dance performance by a 30-member local troupe. Looks like we’ll be on an all-day Bali High!

 

 

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Edited February 6, 2018 by Mr Rumor

[Travelcat2]

Love the photo of Ray.

 

Just caught my "photo mistake". I didn't see the caption that indicated that the photo was from 2012. Now it makes sense.

 

Anxious to hear about your Indonesian buffet dinner as we will be doing a 3 night pre-cruise next month and it includes a couple of dinners. If you remember the name of the restaurant, please let us know. Also interested in how spicy the food is - given that Indonesian food is very spicy and Regent customers tend to not like things prepared in that manner (I love spicy food). Just received our Indonesian Rupiah. It is hard to wrap my head around 50,000 Rupiah's being worth about $3.69.

[Pamela1]

Mr Rumor & Forgap.

 

Thank you very much for the wonderful thread and the accurate information you have provided.

 

Pam.

[Mr Rumor]

Well, hello Bali! It has been too long (44 years)!

 

 

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[Mr Rumor]

I'd say we got our money's worth with "Colors of Bali" ($159 upcharge) on a beautiful, mostly sunny day. Highlights of the eight-hour excursion for us were the Barong dance performance in Singapadu Village (I liked the open-air setting and especially the "stadium" type seating giving each audience member a good view) and our visit to the Batuan Hindu Temple. Other stops were at the ancient Court of Justice in Kerthagosa and a "wood carving demonstration," which was really a shopping stop at Iketutalon Woodcarver Balinese Art Shop featuring several carvers by the front door trying to look busy. Lunch was in Ubud at Bebe Bengil ("The Original Crispy Duck Since 1990"), a sprawling restaurant on lushly landscaped grounds. We were impressed that Regent had let our guide know that Ginny was a vegetarian. So while the rest of us dined on the house specialty DW was served fried rice topped by a skewer of mock meats and a cute little pretend shrimp.

 

Regarding our guide, Kesawa was a delight with a lot to share about Balinese life and faith (while Indonesia as a whole is 90% Muslim, Bali remains 80% Hindu, which Kesawa attributes to the "magic power of the island"). Among his musings:

 

On the easygoing nature of the Balinese: "If there's a motorbike accident and somebody breaks a finger, we go 'Well, you didn't break an arm.' And if someone breaks an arm, we go, 'We'll you didn't break a leg.' But if you break your head, we say, 'OK, that's the handwriting--you're gonna die.'"

 

On the man's changing role in Balinese society: "My father was the real king of the house. I'm not a king. If I say that, my wife would say 'Well then I'm a queen, so now what?'"

 

I thought I was prepared for Bali to look very different from the Bali I experienced that one unforgettable afternoon and evening in 1974. But I was still surprised. For example, regarding Ubud, where we had lunch, I recalled a peaceful one-road kind of village populated by woodcarving studios. Today, Ubud bustles with international cafes and shops, the occasional resort, and stretches of bumper to bumper traffic. The woodcarvers have moved to nearby Mas.

 

But at least one thing as remained the same in Bali all these years: no high rises. Kesawa: "No one can build higher than a coconut tree!"

 

But

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited February 7, 2018 by Mr Rumor

[Mr Rumor]

The Barong Dance we attended was performed in an open air theater with stadium style seating.

 

Faces from the play.

 

 

 

And here’s Barong. The mythological animal is said to represent good spirits. Barong is in an eternal fight with Rangda, representing evil.

 

 

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[Hambagahle]

These posts are wonderful Rich - bring back so many memories. Selamat jalan as you leave wonderful Indonesia for your next port! (We are travelling too, today...flying home to Switzerland after a month playing golf in Florida!) Gerry

[Mudhen]

How beautiful! Loving those pictures! Thanks for taking us along!

Linda and John

[forgap]

We returned to the ship at 8:30 pm after a packed day of sightseeing. In the morning we went on a tour “The Arts & Crafts of Bali” which was a dressed up shopping trip. We stopped at shops specializing in silver, wood carving, bamboo, painting, and Batik. Bali has districts that specialize in these Arts and the number of stores and the amount of inventory was astounding.

 

We returned to the ship at about 2:00 pm, wolfed down some lunch then off again to the Bali Bird Park for a tour, a bird show, dinner, and, the real highlight, the Kecak dance. More on that tomorrow.

 

Of course, our first stop was at the same silver shop that we went to in the morning. This wasn’t really a hardship as I bought a beautiful ring and wanted to look at the goods one more time! The bird park was not too far away and it was spectacular with some birds caged and others roaming free. Most of the birds were indigenous Indonesia and Malaysia and they were absolutely stunning.

 

 

We had dinner in an open air pavilion of Indonesian specialties with a very entertaining bird show before we bellied up to the buffet.

 

I promise I’ll download pictures and post more tomorrow. We have an early wake up for a 7:30 am excursion to see rice terraces ans the Ulan Dani temple.

 

 

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[nigelc]

Fantastic postings and pictures - thank you for sharing your adventures, enjoying it very much.

[Mudhen]

Fantastic postings and pictures - thank you for sharing your adventures, enjoying it very much.

 

Ditto the above....can't really add anything else. nigelc said it all! Thank you!

[Travelcat2]

Obviously I'm loving the photos (and lovely commentary) and can't wait to arrive in Bali next month. We will also visit the 1,000 year old Batuan Temple but will be visiting three different villages - Kemenuh (known for artwork and wooden carvings) and Celuk Village (primary center for goldsmiths and silversmiths) and Penglipuran Culture Village (don't known what they are known for).

 

What has the weather been like in Bali so far?

[Mr Rumor]

The bird we viewed up-close yesterday on the grounds of the restaurant in Ubud was stunning, too, in his own special way.

 

Jackie, this will be your and Dennis’ photo op at Batuan Temple:

 

Except for the exact moment we walked off the ship yesterday—cue the sudden rustling of rain gear—yesterday was mostly sunny, and, of course warm.

 

Rich

 

 

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[Mr Rumor]

Busy hands in Bali (Kerthagosa Court of Justice and the Iketutalon art shop):

 

 

 

 

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[Johnthesailor]

TC2,

The trip has been fantastic, you are going to love it again. But, since your thermal sensitivity is more acute than mine, bring your cooling gear. It has been hot and humid. The AC in our bus was not working properly and that got a bit tough. The shops we stopped at had A/C and that was welcome. We are having a good time. Joseph (Superman) at the pool bar will take the time to mix you a drink to your liking.

 

Best,

John

[Mr Rumor]

Back on the ship, our Indonesian buffet (whole roast suckling pig, satays and lots of salads) was accompanied by this sunset:

 

And then for a nightcap a local troupe of 40 treated us to our second Barong Dance of the day. Interestingly, the story line was different from the morning Barong, leading me to believe there must be multiple variations on the Barong good-versus-evil theme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

TC2,

The trip has been fantastic, you are going to love it again. But, since your thermal sensitivity is more acute than mine, bring your cooling gear. It has been hot and humid. The AC in our bus was not working properly and that got a bit tough. The shops we stopped at had A/C and that was welcome. We are having a good time. Joseph (Superman) at the pool bar will take the time to mix you a drink to your liking.

 

Best,

John

 

Thanks John. I do have my "new" Embr Wave wrist band and a new ice cube holder that will travel with me.

 

Speaking of heat, when we were in Komodo Island it was 114 degrees and it was well over 100 in Darwin but this was in December rather than February. Hopefully it will be cooler for all of you. We visited the Australia Zoo (of Steve Erwin fame) - the best zoo we have visited in our lives -- many animals and birds free - not in cages (well, the birds were in an enclosure the size of a large park). The kangaroos were so hot that they laid on their back with their feet in the air (great photo opportunity). We gently petted them in their open air environment. Also petted a sweet Koala.

 

Jackie