OK, it's really Feb. 28 for all of you, but we are showing Thursday, March 1 here in our elevators…so that's today.
A lot to go over since I last updated this blog, so this one will just be writing, then I'll add photos on another page to follow.
Perth and Fremantle were our very favorite of our Australia ports. All of them were wonderful places to visit with so much to see…and made easy with their transportation system (free). Lots of beautiful gardens everywhere. The coast, where I went, was lovely, though the "local" I spoke to said she wouldn't swim there…too many sharks, etc. It didn't seem to be bothering many folks!
Once we left Perth and Fremantle we had 3 sea days that were pretty calm…nothing like we had had before. Somehow the days went by quickly with knitting, readying, learning, visiting, and of course…eating. One day was Gala Night, so we got dressed up in our finest…only MY photo will appear here, since our excellent portraits won't be given to us, along with every photo taken of us during this cruise, until the end. We bought a package that included every photo taken given to us on a thumb drive at the end.
Now the fun port…Bali! Wow…we were lucky to spend 2 days there. First, I must say that many of our stewards on this ship are from Bali (or next door Java), so they are allowed to have their families visit them on the ship for a few hours. To do that, we all asked for no service to our cabins for 2 days, although, as usual, they seemed to find time to do it anyway…that's just how they are. We missed seeing their families since we were off the ship by 8 AM and didn't return until 7 or so the first day. We, and another couple, met up with Suweca, our guide and took off to various temples and rice fields that first day. Wow…what amazing views. We found there are over 20,000 Hindu temples (Bali is 97% Hindu) on Bali and we only saw 4 that first day. Families have their own temples in their family compound, which we could just glimpse over the tops of their walls. Beautiful architecture. We visited two batik factories and were able to watch as they carefully placed the wax on the designs…quite labor-intensive for the most intricate designs. We had such limited time in the shops I wasn't able to make any choices…so I made none. It was like our Yarn Crawl in Perth…too much sensory overload!
By the time we ended the day, we were thoroughly exhausted…by the heat and humidity, and all we saw. A quick light dinner and shower, and then to bed…pickup was to be at 7 AM the next morning!
Wed. morning (Feb. 27) Suweca met us and took us right away to one of my favorite places…the Bat Cave Temple. Yes, it's a temple at the mouth of a bat cave…with the bats fully in evidence. It's the one temple where we had to don their sarongs since we were entering the highest temple (previously we had only entered 2 of the three levels of temple) and there was a ceremony going on. The quick explanation of this temple, was that it was the entrance to the cave that went into the volcano of Mount Agung, their holy mountain. The ocean is nearby and their ancestors' spirits are going from the ocean (where their cremated remains are) into the volcano and on to heaven. It's a bit more complicated than that, but it's all I can translate here. We also visited 2 palace gardens…each different from the other, but equally beautiful. We were the first ones at one garden, so had the view (for a few minutes) to ourselves. It was hot and humid and I began to not feel well…fortunately we had a lunch stop next which was picturesque, but I only ate fried rice and coke. With me not feeling great, and it hot, and all of us tired, Suweca picked up on it and decided to eliminate the next two temples (they all are lovely, but do begin to look similar) and get us back to the ship…as it was, it was after 4 when we returned….just enough time to do some quick shopping at the market stalls outside the ship…Chris got a nice shirt (cheap, but will be fine for the next few weeks), and I got the same batik print my friend had bought the first day in the batik shop…mine was $5 less! :-) We didn't stay long, since it was one of those kinds of markets where they grab you physically and try to take you to buy their pearls, watches, jewelry, batiks, etc. and don't take "no" for an answer. Instead of browsing more (when we might have bought more) we just escaped! Yes, Bali is beautiful, but not initially…in Denpasar and around the towns, it's incredibly crowded with motorbikes and cars. It took over an hour to get from the port to the other side of the city…all the while dodging motorbikes and cars. Our guide was a great driver and did it all with ease. (Our friends who had set this tour up had had Suweca last year on a visit to Bali, so had reserved him for this time. We will reserve him for our visit next year, if it looks like we will take the cruise next year.) On the second day we were out in the country more (it was visiting the NE part of Bali) where there were small villages and rice fields everywhere. It was more the scenery I liked…no crowds, few tourists, etc. The country is poor, but the people are delightful. Our dollar went a long way…$100 per day for Chris and me to take this tour which included lunch and all entrance fees, the car, guide, and everything! The only extra was beer and Cokes. I felt terrible when I had to keep declining to buy sarongs everywhere…our guide said to not feel badly about it.
By Wed. night I was definitely ill…whether it was something I ate that first day, or whether I was due to get it from someone on the ship or whatever, I am still (as of today) cabin-bound and not eating much. I'm calling it the "Get Rid of Extra Cruise Pounds Illness"…and welcome it! (HA!) We will be half way tomorrow which is our third sea day after Bali, en route to the Philippines.
The first sea day (yesterday) the Captain held a "Pirate Attack Drill"…we are sailing now in "pirate waters" where they try to attack ships for their "stuff"…not money or people. We have water and sound canons at the ready, and were given directions as to what to do immediately upon being given the signal we are under attack and what the captain will be doing with the ship when that happens. Suffice it to say, nobody will get away with anything from this ship…we can deal with them quite nicely. It was quite comforting to hear what this ship is capable of doing!
Tomorrow everyone on the ship has to have their temperature taken before we get to Puerto Princesa (the Philippines)…That's the first time that particular requirement has risen. In Australia they are VERY clear on your visa as to how long you can stay and what will happen if you overstay…and don't even think about bringing food off the ship…instant $400 fine! (And yet some folks still did it!…but got fined…they have sniffer dogs.) I'm not sure what will happen to those who fail the temp test tomorrow, but will probably not be allowed off the ship…I'm fine. No temp. And..we aren't planning to get off the ship…not much in this port.
Almost half way now…hard to believe we'll be counting down from here on to the end of the cruise. I'm glad we've taken it and are enjoying many of the ports we've not seen before. Since Hobart, they've all been new to us and we are looking forward to Singapore, Hong Kong, Viet Nam, Thailand, and of course seeing Angkor Wat! So many good ones to come!
The next post will have photos from Bali in no particular order probably…just some representative ones.
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