We left the ship at 8 AM once we arrived in Phu My, Viet Nam and headed to the airport about 2 hours away. The drive took us through Saigon which was as busy as everyone had said. The airport was, as usual with so many airports nowadays, very busy...took us 2 hours to check in, go through immigration and passport check, then security check which was one of those where they check everything...cameras, Ipads, phones, watches, shoes off, jackets off, belts off, etc....since Chris and I always set off the alarms we always have to go through the body pat, too....so we got to the gate as the plane was loading, so no time for snacks or drinks...it was now 12:15. (Hey, we're on a cruise and used to being fed every 4 hours!) The ride was short, only 45 minutes, so we were met at the very nice Siem Reap airport by our guide and driver for the 3 days, Pech and Lao. They transported us to the magnificent old Raffles Hotel where we immediately were served an excellent lunch...3 courses...I only ate the wonderful mango salad course. We then quickly went to our rooms to gather our things for the afternoon's tour of Ta Prohm, one of the top 3 temples to see (this is the Temple of Doom one)...loaded up the bus and off we went. It was nice to do this temple at the end of the day when most tourists are gone...indeed we were the last ones through, so it was very nice. Our guide, Pech, was outstanding. We were happy to have this basic introduction to the area, as well as to sample the heat and humidity so we would be prepared for the next day. We had only an hour once we returned to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes before they drove us (there were 13 of us) to a nearby restaurant that was beautiful...Chantery Tree. Again, too much food, and some of which I didn't care for, but those that like the real Asian food, said it was excellent. It was certainly presented beautifully. We managed to stay awake for an hour back in our room to take advantage of some good wifi to download books and movies, but our 6 am wake up call would come quickly.
The hotel breakfast buffet was one of the best I've had...but our 8 am van arrived on time, so off we went for one of the busiest days of my life. We saw Angkor Wat first thing...the famous temple one sees every time Cambodia is mentioned. HUGE complex with lots of stairs, but I powered through knowing it would be worth it. Following that, we had lunch in a nearby restaurant (again, too much food!), after which we visited 2 more temples. We were late returning to our hotel, so had only 45 minutes to shower and change before our dinner and show on the terrace at the hotel. Wonderful local dancers (Aspara dancers) and lovely food, but the heat and humidity had taken their toll...we were all exhausted...so quickly to bed before another 6 am wake up call. Our final day, another excellent breakfast buffet before we were off to another temple, followed by a drive north to a rural area where our group of 13 had funded a well/pump for a small village to provide easy, clean water to the locals. We visited the nearby school where all the students were very busy with their studies...not a sound from any of the classes (no, they did not know we were coming!)...at the door of the 1st grade class, a small girl stood longingly at the door. She had a sibling in the class and she really wanted to join it, but she was too young for school yet. School is from 1-12 grades for free other than the cost of uniforms. The classrooms were simple with very few resources that i saw...few books, etc. These are the children of the families that will benefit from the well we helped provide. They used to have to bring their water from a nearby pond about 1/4 mile down the road.
After seeing the well, it was back to the hotel to check out and have lunch...again too much food, so we left it early to finish packing. One more temple before the trip to the airport. At least this airport was easier to get around in...and...it had a DQ!!!! (And a Burger King!) So, we were able to grab a snack before our 2-hour flight to Singapore to meet the ship. By the time we reached the ship it was after 11 PM, so our cabin was very much welcomed...quick shower and to bed!
Alas, the food or "bug" has gotten Chris, so the next day in Singapore and yesterday (Sea Day) and today he's laid low. We had no plans for Phuket, so we are enjoying an empty ship and getting some work done on the many, many photos and videos we took in Siem Reap.
Our thoughts on Siem Reap: Cambodia is a very poor country. The murders of the whole intellectual class by Pol Pot destroyed those that could have built up the country, so it still flounders with rampant corruption. People have a very poor standard of living, but they are trying hard and are appreciative of any help. Once outside Siem Reap, they are just now beginning to bring in electricity, but even that will only run one light bulb and perhaps a small refrigerator. Most people get around on motorbikes, cars are prohibitively expensive. Houses are on stilts with the living area the shaded area below (with hammocks everywhere) and the upper level room is for sleeping. The few cows we saw are used as beast of burden in the rice paddies, etc. Never for milk. They were just skin and bones. In the city of Siem Reap there were stalls after stalls selling fruits and vegetables, gasoline (in recycled liter bottles), and a few extras...not much. They shop for their food supplies every day. The heat was definitely some of the worst I've experienced because of the humidity and our activity level. We went through bottles and bottles of water each day. My research had shown that sweatbands would be good and they were...we wore them under our hats, and also had buffs that were made of that "snap to make cold" fabric...they were nice. Long pants, long-sleeve shirts were needed too. The mosquitoes weren't bad at all since they are still in their dry season, but we still saw a few, so we did use Picaridin on our exposed necks, hands, and faces. This was a Bucket List item for us and we're happy we were able to do it now while I still can. The steps were a challenge, but I knew I had plenty of days after to recover, which I am doing now. The temple complexes are absolutely amazing considering they are over 1000 years old and were pretty much built within 50 years of each other. Amazing art work on the walls. I'll be posting the photos separately in a few days. We have an all-day tour coming up in Sri Lanka, so I know we won't have time to find internet there.
We're now docket in Phuket, Thailand with beautiful small islands surrounding us. It's a perfect day...warm, but not hot in the shade. I'm taking advantage of it by sitting on the Promenade Deck watching sailboats, longboats, fishing boats, etc. go by. Beautiful! They are busy maintaining all our verandahs so our verandah can't be used today...they have all the doors open to them so they can put the final coat of paint on the areas that had had the rust taken off, primed,and now painted.
Sri Lanka, then the Seychelles as we make our way towards Africa...still a lot to see.
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Friday, March 9, 2018
Feb. 28 to March 9: Sea Days, The Philippines, and Hong Kong...Catch Up!
March 10: It's been awhile since I was able to update the blog…sorry. It's been busy! 
I also came down with a GI bug after Bali, so my Sea Days were Cabin-Bound…not too sick, but just didn't want to be out and possibly infecting the ship. Once we were in Puerto Princesa, the Philippines, the weather was hot, humid, and rainy, so I had no incentive to go ashore…nor did Chris. We remained on the ship. Another Sea Day after Puerto Princesa until we reached Manila where we were docked for 2 days. Many of the ship personnel come from the Philippines, so this was an opportunity for them to have family and friends come on board the ship, so we had 1200 people visit each day! We took a tour the first day that went out of Manila to Tagatay, which is a resort area at a higher elevation, so it's a bit cooler. The drive was interesting…we needed a police escort for our bus the whole way due to Manila's DREADFUL traffic! It was awful…I've never seen so many modes of transportation…mostly at a standstill. The resort we arrived at was a lovely place overlooking a lake with the "worlds smallest volcano" at it's center…really a volcano within a volcano. However, the overwhelming feeling the entire tour was one of seeing endless poverty…the worst we've seen…in amongst the new high-rises and casinos being built. Everyone felt the same way after our various days ashore…hopefully the new buildings that the Chinese are putting up will increase the employment, but the local guides said they doubted it.
The other thing that struck us was the abundance of Tuk Tuks and "Jeepneys" that provided cheap transportation for the locals…and anyone else daring to ride in them. The Jeepneys were all different…totally customized by the owners and very cheap to ride short distances. In addition there were horse and buggies in areas.
Tagatay with the volcano within the volcano...
After a hot day touring, we stayed on the ship for the second day and enjoyed meeting some of the family and friends of our stewards. Our wine steward's father had been a pastry chef of this same ship!
Another Sea Day before we arrived in Hong Kong on a drizzly, cold morning…alas, no great fanfare of entering Victoria Harbor with the rain…most of us watched it from the windows in the Lido at breakfast. We had a tour of Hong Kong planned for the day so we met, as scheduled at 8:15 in the forward theater…2 hours later, the ship had still not been "cleared" by authorities, so we asked and were allowed to exchange our tickets for the same tour the next day (yesterday)…great move, since it rained all that first day, but yesterday was brilliant sun all day, so we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the highlights of Hong Kong. I'll post those photos separately. Hong Kong is a beautiful "vertical" city…not much empty space, so people live in teeny apartments in huge mega-story buildings. From our guide's information, most families seem to live in less square feet than we had in our motorhome! We enjoyed the day with a great guide (he herded cats well)…saw highlights of the city via a bus, the tram to Victoria Peak, a sampan ride through Aberdeen, the old fishing village (nothing there anymore…big disappointment…just mega yachts), and an hour to shop in Stanley Market (success!) We made it back to the ship to find 2 pieces of carryon luggage that are quite nice and a size that is perfect for our upcoming 2-night trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. (It will also hold some of the other items we have been given by the captain and crew and travel agency: a windbreaker, messenger bag, tulip vase, monopoly game (geared to our cruise), metal credit card holder, assorted hats, travel electric adapter, etc…I've lost track of some of the items! All of it we need to ship home!)
Three of our friends left the ship in Hong Kong (as did several crew) but we keep meeting others…latest was finding another full-time RVer this morning…very nice…and was showing an interest in hearing about why we chose our Sun City in Georgetown, TX…they are trying to find a place to land in!
Now to get ready today and tomorrow for our trip to Siem Reap the next day…a two-hour drive to Saigon's airport , hour flight, then our hectic 2-day trip begins!
More later with photos of Hong Kong.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
March 1, 2018: Sea Days after Perth to Bali and beyond...
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.
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.
Thursday, February 22, 2018
February 22: Fremantle and Perth...Fantastic!
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