STRAITS OF MALACCA TO INDIAN OCEAN

SINGAPORE TO MALAYSIA - Posted MARCH 30, 2008

From our days in Washington DC, we remember the planned city of Reston, Virginia with houses, schools, businesses, parks, and everything you need for a complete living environment. Well, the Republic of Singapore is such a place, except on the scale of a major city of over 4 million people. We arrived at the dock on March 18th in the “City of Lions,” where we were greeted by two dancing “lions.” Our delightful guide, Elsie, showed us her sparkling clean and progressive island-city-state with infectious enthusiasm. We saw hundreds of impressive skyscrapers, a new convention center under construction with at least 40 building cranes, Little India, Chinatown, the Orchid and Ginger Gardens (gorgeous) and floated down the river to a delicious lunch at Cable Quay. We also toured the Housing Development Authority which subsidizes housing for all citizens who want to own their own condominiums. They had a display of the housing evolution from 1950 to the present which successfully lifted Singapore citizens out of slums into modern buildings, creating a contented and productive society. We ended our second visit to Singapore like our first one in 2000--with a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar at the famous Raffles Hotel.

Proceeding north through the Straits of Malacca, we docked on March 19th at the Port of Kelang, Malaysia, and embarked upon a 2-hour van ride into Kuala Lumpur-- a surprisingly small city of 500,000 people. Malaysia, like Singapore, is cosmopolitan, open, and tolerant of all religions and cultures which coexist peacefully. We visited the Palace of the Sultan (appointed by the people’s elected representatives) and happened to be there when his motorcade drove through the gates, as well as during the changing of the guards on horseback. We then toured a war memorial park with a monument created by the same artist who did the Iwo Jima memorial in Arlington Cemetery. Kuala Lumpur is home to the Petronas Towers—the tallest twin towers in the world, each 88 stories high. The first six floors of the towers comprise a very upscale shopping galleria where we shopped and had a delicious Malaysian lunch at the chaotic food court with a few thousand other people. At the end of the day, we stopped by the Royal Selanger pewter factory, trying our skill at hand-hammering drinking cups (they did not hire us on the spot), and browsed through the inevitable gift shop full of beautiful things. Don had to settle for a picture of the giant beer stein (15 feet tall) in the courtyard since, thankfully, it wasn’t for sale (shipping costs would have been a bit outrageous).

March 20th dawned with a beautiful sunrise as we sailed into the container port of Penang Island, Malaysia. (Some of the rickshaw drivers were still snoozing)! Our wonderful guide, Marco, drove us in his van through the main town of George Town with its charming colonial-style buildings harking back to the 19th century British era. Then we were off to the Wat Chayamankalaram Temple to view the 108-foot-long reclining Buddha, one of the largest in the world. Out in the countryside, we visited a beach, the Butterfly Farm, and a local fruit stand where Marco showed us unusual local produce like jack fruit and (smelly) duren. He also explained that if you eat a whole raw nutmeg before it is dried you’ll die!! We did buy some DRIED nutmeg and nutmeg oil. After lunch at a lovely resort, we proceeded to a Snake Temple where Susan volunteered for the classic boa-snake-around-your-neck picture.

After three container ports in a row, we dubbed the Queen Victoria the “Container Queen.” But we are always glad to get back to the “mother ship” (so named after tendering out to various ports in the smaller lifeboats) where we continue to enjoy elegant dinners accompanied by harpist or string quartet music.

SOUTH CHINA SEAS

THE FAR EAST :
TORRES STRAITS TO SINGAPORE - Posted MARCH 17, 2008 from the South China Sea
Leaving Australia, we sailed northwest through the islands of Indonesia, a nation which has the fourth highest population in the world (what are the top three and the fifth?). Then we headed north to Hong Kong and returned in a southwest direction, rounding Vietnam and Cambodia and up to Thailand. We are now headed southeast to Singapore.

March 6th found us at the port of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia—a former British colony on the northwest side of the island of Borneo. We saw Mt. Kinabalu standing above the clouds at sunrise as we sailed into the harbor. Over 13,400 feet, it is the tallest mountain in Borneo. We were pleasantly surprised to find things there more modern than we expected, but still having a distinct Malaysian flavor. It was only a few days before their national elections so there were campaign signs all along the streets. We took a boat to two different National Marine Park islands where we did some snorkeling, had some beach time, and a beautiful Malaysian feast on the beach. We then motored over to another island to hike through the rainforest. The weather was hot and humid, and the exotic Asian culture started to emerge with unusual wildlife, different religion, culture, and architecture.

On March 9th we sailed into Hong Kong harbor and embarked on a walking tour of the city. Our pre-arranged guide, Marco, escorted us from our port in Kawloon (tip of the Chinese mainland) via ferry to the island of Hong Kong (after coffee time at the very elegant Peninsula Hotel). On foot, we wove through a maze of fantastic skyscrapers, walkways, and subways in the downtown area. It was Sunday, the day that all of the private housekeepers and domestic help have off. Each Sunday, thousands and thousands of Indonesian women set up camp with their friends on shady sidewalks, building plazas and subway corridors. Each group of friends defines their space with blankets or cardboard boxes, and they sit around having the best time socializing, eating, playing games, doing manicures/pedicures, and enjoying their day off with friends. It was really a sight to behold.

Hong Kong is home to a booming economy and many clever innovations. One obvious example is the new skyscrapers which have an open-air floor every twenty or thirty stories so wind can flow through the building, making the structure more stable in typhoons. These floors look similar to the others, except that there is no glass in the windows. Building space is at a premium (over 15,000 people per square mile) so they are currently reclaiming land at the edge of the harbor to create more building space. We walked through some of the old town areas and small side streets, then proceeded up to Mt. Victoria and did a three-kilometer hike around the circumference at the top which provided great views of the city. Hong Kong passed back under Chinese sovereignty in 1997 but it still operates economically much as it did under British rule. China has a slogan “one country, two government systems” (actually there is a third, fourth and perhaps more with Tibet, Taiwan, etc., singing off a different government song sheet. We were joined by Marco’s charming wife, Alice for a truly fabulous Chinese lunch at Hunan Garden. In the late afternoon, we caught a local ferry to Lammi Island for a seafood dinner at the famous Rainbow Restaurant. There we picked out our fish for dinner (while the fish were obliviously swimming in their tanks). Fresher fish we have never had.

On March 11th we docked at an isolated container port in Chan May, Vietnam. Fortunately we got a driver who took us and the Bridges to DaNang and the traditional historic town of Hoi An, more than an hour away. Vietnam is still a third-world country; however it has experienced great economic progress in the past several years. It is now trying to establish some major (expensive) resorts in the China Beach and DaNang area. Our driver was smart, friendly, and great fun to be with. We are glad he encouraged us to go to Hoi An instead of Hue since we had a superior day compared to others on the ship. We walked the quaint side streets and enjoyed some of the best shopping bargains of the trip (silk products especially). The only reminder of the war was a few American helicopter hangers rusting away in silence along the road.

On March 13th we docked at a container port two hours outside of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). The only way to see anything was to take the ship’s bus ($79 person) into the city for a walking tour on your own. We saw the American Embassy, Rex Hotel, Notre Dame Cathedral (built in the French colonial period) and Reunification Center (former palace and grounds). We also went to the War Remnants museum which was, of course, created by the Hanoi government and very one-sided in its treatment of the war. Outdoor exhibits displayed old US tanks, planes and helicopters and indoor exhibits were mainly photographs showing terrible war atrocities perpetuated on the Vietamese by the US. In fact, the exhibit stated several times that the US goal was ethnic genocide to wipe out the Vietnamese culture and race. Amazingly, the Vietnamese on the street seem to like, not hate, Americans and were very friendly.


March 15th found us again at the major commercial container port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, two hours outside of Bangkok. There we were picked up by our friend Peter Fedderson whom we had not seen in 10 years. We met Peter in Scottsdale where he lived for three years, although most of his career with Continental Grain Company (after leaving his homeland in Germany) was spent in Bangkok. We had a delightful day catching up with Peter and his lovely, charming friend, Daraluk. We visited the beach resort of Pattaya, had lunch at Peter’s Yacht Club, and visited his beach house before returning to the ship.

March 16th was a beach, hiking and touring day in Ko Samui, Thailand—a small resort island on the east coast of the country. Here a local taxi driver took us around the island to see the Big Bhudda. We hiked white sand beaches and up to a high waterfall in the mountains. Marilyn also found some great shops selling perfect-for-Arizona sundresses at $8 apiece! After spending two days at Thai beach resorts, we could easily see how the huge Christmas Day tsunami disaster at Phuket on the west coast a few years ago was so devastating.

Well the bad news is the ship food continues to be excellent and the food police really come after you if you miss a meal. We are continuing to enjoy the balcony on our “private yacht”, but also miss all of our friends at home. Time is really going quickly now with only six weeks to go and lots of exciting and exotic ports coming up—Singapore tomorrow. Stay tuned!!

Largest Countries by Population
1. China 1,321,852,000
2. India 1,129,866,000
3. United States 301,140,000
4. Indonesia 234,694,000
5. Brazil 190,011,000

DOWN UNDER

NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA - Posted MARCH 1, 2008 from the Torres Straits

We are half way around the world now and really beginning to settle in. They are going to have to do some major prying with crowbars to get us off this floating utopia in April!

We have always loved days at sea and we have settled into a bit of a routine:
6:00—Approximate, depending upon when the pre-dawn sky off the balcony wakes us for Sunrise.
7:00 – Breakfast delivered to our room. Dining on the balcony while reading our daily devotionals—the Bible (Don is trying to keep up with his men’s Bible study at home by reading Genesis) and “The Intellectual Devotional” which has a reading for every day of the year about a topic in seven categories—History, Literature, Visual Arts, Science, Music, Philosophy, and Religion. Many of the included subjects (one page each) are relevant to this trip around the world. This morning we just read the part devoted to the Taj Mahal which we will be visiting in a few weeks. In fact, we are becoming so smart about so many things, we manage to stump our nightly tablemates on a regular basis with our trivia questions.
10:00—Attend the first morning lecture if interested ( today was former astronaut Wally Cunningham)
11:00—Attend the second morning lecture (today was by a very entertaining Oxford University professor about eating insects with crunchy samples to try!)
12:00—Lunch in the Britannia Restaurant—forced to eat a four-course meal again!
2:00—Don and Larry play duplicate bridge; Marilyn gets some personal time to go to the afternoon classical concert, see a movie, read a book, etc.
4:00—Relax and check the official calendar to see if it’s a “formal, semi-formal, or elegant casual” night so you can decide what in your wardrobe you can still fit into for whatever category it is—major stress! Basically every night is what most of the world would call a dress-up night—when it’s “elegant casual,” men don’t have to wear a tie, just a jacket
5:00—Cocktail hour—sometimes in friends’ cabins, or official parties given by the Captain for various passengers (i.e., full world cruise, frequent Cunard travelers, etc.)
6:00—Seven-course meal in the Britannia Restaurant.
8:30—Evening entertainment in the Royal Court Theatre.
9:45—Evening Ball in the Queen’s Room (honestly we haven’t made many of these because we’re exhausted by then!)

Clearly, it’s a tough life. But for days in port, we really have to be organized ahead of time to make the most of our time ashore. We usually put in quite a bit of effort booking our own arrangements via the internet versus going on the ship’s pre-arranged excursions.
We have had an unusually large number of cloudy and rainy days at sea, but fortunately most port days have been very good weather. In spite of the prevalence of clouds around the ship, however, we have managed to see some beautiful sunsets with both the green flash and the even rarer blue flash phenomena.

We sailed into the impressive city of Auckland, New Zealand in the early morning of February 15. Many small boats welcomed us outside the harbor and escorted us into dock in spite of being 5:00 AM in the morning. We discovered through email correspondence with Betty Christian of Pitcairn Island that she would be in Auckland visiting her daughter and new grandson. It was great to spend the day with Betty, her daughter, Darlene, and three-week-old Caleb. Unfortunately, we missed Tom Christian who had just returned to Pitcairn a couple of weeks earlier.

The next day in Napier, thousands of people lined the dock and the hillside welcoming the Queen Victoria. It even included a formation fly by with 5 vintage aircraft. The Queen was the largest ship ever to visit Napier and it made an amazing 180 degree turn in a tight harbor. We had a great wine tour visiting five vineyanrds in the Hawkes Bay region. Returning back to Napier, we got to visit shortly with Raelene Christian and her husband, Steve. Now we have met three of Tom & Betty’s four daughters. Besides the arrival of the Queen Victoria, the city was celebrating their annual Art Deco festival with hundreds of antique cars and everyone wearing early 1900’s vintage clothing.

Sunday, February 17 found us in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. We visited the National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, and then walked the town looking for a restaurant or pub open on Sunday in the CBD (central business district). After more than an hour, we eventually finally found The Black Harp Irish Pub which provided the energy needed for the long walk back to the ship.

After three more days at sea, we arrived in Melbourne, Australia on February 21. Test your Aussie knowledge. (No worries, Mate!)

What is a Roobar?
What is a Smash Shop?
What is a Pokie Machine
What percent of Australians vote?

During our voyage, we met a lovely couple from Melbourne who suggested that we call the limousine service they regularly use to arrange a tour of the Yarra Valley wine region (is there a pattern here?). Our driver, Alberto, met us at the dock in a red Mercedes van and whisked us, Jane and Dennis Fennessey, and some new friends from Boston, Chuck and Susan Bridges off to explore five vineyards. We had a perfect, sunny day (after a string of rainy days according to the locals), saw some beautiful countryside, tasted some great Shiraz, had an elegant lunch at Chandon, and even had time to do some shopping at the famous Victorian Market. During the course of the day, we discovered that the Bridges and Don had all graduated from Denison University, a small college in Granville, Ohio. Also Susan and Jane discovered that they had pledged to the same sorority, and Dennis and Don the same fraternity. Our group had a lot more in common than just the love of good wine! Later that night before we sailed out of Melbourne Bay, the city saluted the Queen Victoria’s visit with fantastic fireworks and fanfare.

Two days later, on Saturday, Feburary 23, we sailed into spectacular Sydney harbor about 5:00 AM. We were surprised to see over 75 private boats waiting to escort us into this world-famous harbor--through the famous South and North Heads (cliffs), past the Opera House and to our dock beside the Harbour Bridge. We hopped the local train and bus and went to beautiful Bondi Beach. It was a perfect day with great surf, big waves, fine sand and a multitude of young people. Larry, Don and Dennis braved the monster waves and got a lot of thrills from surviving the pounding the ocean gave them. That evening we, the Fennesseys and Christine dined at the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar—delicious seafood and world-class view of Sydney Harbour. Then we attended Verdi’s “Masked Ball” at the Sydney Opera House which was a very special experience for us opera fans. Our cabin balcony on the ship overlooked the Opera House and we certainly savored those once-in-a-lifetime views for the two days and night we were berthed there.

On Sunday, the Fennesseys and Christine sadly had to disembark the ship as their segment was only from LA to Sydney. Christine desperately wanted to extend her cruise but found out not only was the ship sold out, there were 500 people ahead of her on the waiting list! So we helped our friends settle into their Sydney hotels, then all of us took a ferry to Darling Harbour for lunch which gave us great views of the Queen Victoria in Sydney Harbour. The sail away from Sydney that evening was definitely historic and will be one of the most memorable events of the entire cruise. Both the Queen Victoria and The Queen Elizabeth 2 were in Sydney for the weekend. The two ships did an elaborate “Whistle Salute” as we passed Fort Denison in the harbor with thousands of people lined up along the shore to see the last time these two ships would be together. There were 12 helicopters in the sky, a flotilla of over 500 private yachts and sailboats, and fireboats spewing huge fountains of water leading the back out to sea. The QE2 is completing her last world cruise (29th) and will retire as a floating resort in Dubai.

In Brisbane it poured down rain most of the day but we still had a great day. Our friend, Rob Thomas, met us at the dock and drove us down the Australian Gold Coast. We had lunch at a scenic winery near Mount Tamborine, then did some essential shopping and got a quick overview of the city. Rob visited us in Scottsdale when he was touring the US with The Christians from Pitcairn Island in 2005.

Our final port in Australia was Port Douglas situated along the 1250-mile-long Great Barrier Reef. We went on a dive/snorkeling boat which motored out one and a half hours before we got to our first of three snorkeling sites—Castle Rock, Stonehenge, and the edge of the reef. We have done quite a bit of good snorkeling around the world, but this experience was absolutely the best ever. We just couldn’t believe the brilliant colors of the myriad kinds of coral and fish. We even swam with some sharks and held sea cucumbers in our hands! We all wore “diving skins” with hoods and gloves to protect us from jelly fish although we didn’t see any of those. We celebrated an unforgettable day by polishing off a two-liter box of Australian wine while waiting for the tender craft to get us back to our ship (remember there were eight of us working on it)!

Answers to the above Australian questions:

Roo Bar – A special front bumper on your car to bounce Kangaroos off if you hit one.
Smash Shop – An auto body repair shop.
Pokie – A Poker machine in certain lunch stops.
Virtually 100% of Australians vote since there is a $70 fine if you do not!

PS1: We are now sailing on a major cruise ship where the Americans are a minority. In fact we are outnumbered by the Australians 1st and English 2nd!

PS2: Best wines: Sauvignon Blanc = Clifton Road 2007 from Hawkes Bay New Zealand
Shiraz = Cat Amongst The Pigeons – Nine Lives 2006