Male, Maldives

Three sea days after Penang, Malaysia, we have arrived in Male, Maldives, the capital of the country, and are just straddling the equator in the heart of the Indian Ocean. The island is flat and fully built with a diameter of 1 square mile. The average elevation of the Maldives is 4 feet 2 inches above sea level.  The highest point in the Maldives is 7 feet 7 inches above sea level.  120,000 people live on this island. 100 % are Islamic.  All other religions are banned, punishable. Everything is imported. I was amazed to see it, amazed to see the airport, and wondered how a tiny, flat sliver of land can exist in the middle of this vast ocean.

Surprise & Delight

David and I were reading/watching TV when Captain Dag made an all ship announcement. He only does this in the morning or in special circumstances so, of course, everyone on the ship listens. "Good Afternoon!" he said "It is such a lovely day today, the ocean is calm, and the sun is setting. I don't know when we will have a more beautiful day! I would like to invite everyone to come to deck 6, bow, for a Sundowner Party. We will have some music and drinks. I invite you all to come around 5:30 with the sun to set approximately 5:50. Hope to see you there." Captain Dag calls his trademark ideas "Surprise & Delights".

Bagan part 3....Just the Temples

Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) part 2

If asked which of the two places I enjoyed the most this week, Angkor Wat or Bagan, I would definately say Bagan.  Less famous, but the impact it left will never be forgotton.  With thousands of temples spread across the land, it just seems like a very long time ago, something very important was happening here. It is rather sandy and dusty where ever you go.  There is an eerie feeling in the air. The real beauty comes early in the morning at sunrise or later, at sunset where you watch the sun play with the color and shadows of these beauties.  If the weather cooperated and the wind calmed, we would have taken a balloon ride:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgDJyHn3BDY  Someday, come here. 

Our first stop while in Bagan was to Nyaung-Oo's bustling market.  As soon as we got out of the van, maybe even before, we were swamped with people wanting us to buy things from them.

Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) part 1

 

 We chose to sign up for back to back overland tours which are offered to all World Cruisers. This allows you to get off the ship, visit more intensly areas of interest, then get back on the ship at a port at a later date. This had us off the ship for a week. We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap, Cambodia for 2 days; Siem Reap to Bangkok for 16 hours; Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar for an overnight; Yangon to Bagan for an overnight; Bagan back to Yangon for an overnight; and finallyYangon to Kuala Lumpur to meet up with the ship. Packing/ hotels/ visas/ passports/ immigration/ airplanes/ vans/ buses/ tour guides/ tours/ hotels/ restaurants.

16 Hours

We arrived at the Bangkok Airport on Saturday around noon. We were taken straight to the Shangri'La Hotel to meet up with the rest of the ship guests for an overnight in this vibrant city. We knew ahead of time that mass demonstrations were expected during our time there. On the way to the hotel some streets were closed off and traffic was at a standstill. From what we witnessed, everything was peaceful. From our balcony we were able to watch a parade of protestors pass by honking their horns and waving flags. Many boaters also flew red flags in support. This lasted a few hours. David was worried when

Just One More Temple.....

From Ho Chi Minh City we flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Thankfully all arrangements were pre made so we zipped through immigration. It was rather exciting to set foot in Cambodia. We arrived at night and stayed at Grand Hotel d Angkor. Our buffet dinner was one of the best. The selection was amazing.  Our room was lovely. They had the most amazing pool I have ever seen. I took a swim before calling it a night.

Saigon...Ho Chi? a day in the city

Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, has a population of about 8 million people and is the largest city in Vietnam. There are at least 4 million motorbikes on the road, and I am guessing it was doubled the day we were there!

Sunrise to Ho Chi Minh City

Captain Dag suggested we get up early this morning as the sail in to Ho Chi Minh City is something to see. We were up before dawn and perched ourselves on the balcony. We ordered breakfast in so we could relax and have breakfast on the balcony while the day was new and a warm that was welcoming rather then the awful hot we have had lately. As tired as we were, watching this sliver of pale pink sunshine start from a pinpoint to a full blown 'can't look at it' power ball of sunshine was a sight to experience. All sunsets and sunrises and yes, rainbows, amaze me with their power and beauty. I have about 100 photos of this sunrise. Can't bring myself to erase any of them...:) My camera needed two batteries. It was peaceful and quiet as we sailed in. The sky was pink and orange and blue. Boats sailed passed us sometimes quite near, sometimes a speck, just a black outline. We passed rice farms, islands, barges and busy fishermen. This was a definite highlight, so much natural beauty before sailing into a port. When we started to see (through the smog there appeared an outline of buildings) Ho Chi Minh City, it was like sailing from a "relaxed and beautiful pick me up I am So happy to be alive momen"'.....to the city shock of polluted water, garbage, smog, traffic and 8 million people. And the tour begins......

Good Morning! Nha Trang

How could I resist saying 'GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!' when I am here.... ? With all the fighting and protests in the 60's & 70's who would guess Vietnam would become a tourist haven? My first impression of Nha Trang was that it was a sweet sleepy touristy beach resort town. The beaches are lovely. This image came to a quick halt once the bus got moving and the motorcyles started zipping around us like we were standing still.  We stopped at our first destination, Long don Pagoda, under construcion again.  We side stepped the sand and dirt and made our way through throngs of people selling stuff.  My, my... did anyone mention it was hot and humid in this part of the world during this time of year? We are back in the oven once again with people selling fans and whistles. Here, they get to know you and ask you questions. My vendor knew Obama when I said Chicago. She was like glue and became my personal tour guide while at this stop. They ask you to leave your shoes when you enter the temple then charge a dollar to get them back. I felt bad and guilty not buying the postcards and the paintings and the fans and the whistles. I understand their dependence on this kind of sale but I also feel upset that they come at you with such a fierceness that it wears you out. I could not get back on the bus fast enough. Traffic here is crazy. Everyone has a pedibike, a motocycle, a car or a bike and they whiz past you at the speed of light. We saw some very interesting things being carried by motorcycle. We visited a market where the guide took us to her company's store. We also visited a silk embroidery shop. They were painting with silk threads. Everyone looked busy but I wondered if it was 'real' or for show. I have been burned before and was leery about the reality of this shop. The number of these paintings for sale was amazing. If I were doing this sort of thing, my work area would be messy. Here, the skeins were arranged nicely by the side, looking as if no thread was pulled.....so I wondered. Everywhere we drove, people were sitting at tables on the curb, talking, eating, and passing time. We did see a bride and groom and she was lovely. Not a lot to report here. Lots for sale, how much you want to pay...... but nothing caught our interest. Ho Chi Minh tomorrow!

The Faces of Halong Bay

This begins our third leg of the World Cruise. We have two segments left. Rumor is that ship numbers will be down with each segment. This is a long time for anyone to be on a ship and the economy is not helpful here. We just heard that some of the crew is being let go early, in Cape Town rather then let them finish with us in Ft Lauderdale. This has to be tough on the people whose contracts are not being adhered to. Don't know how Regent will be handling that part. Our numbers on the ship are about 480 passengers with a capacity of 700.

We have had some really great speakers so far, Cathy Rigby being one, Charles Duke, astronaut, another. Now we have Mort Dean, ABC news correspondent. He has given a talk about Vietnam back in the 70's that just makes you cry. We have 2-3 lectures a day. Bridge continues for me. David dropped out.... Crafts, reading, computer, trivia help pass the days. The cruise is going by so quickly for us.  Ports this cruise have been intense. In two days we get off the ship for a week to travel on land. We will visit Angkor Wat and The Temples of Myanmar both in a week.  Amazing. We are heading South which means the weather is rapidly warming up and bringing with it the good 'ol humidity. Oh, we did slightly tag that 'ol star ferry ship. We have a scar, but are safe to continue onward. We we not sure if the ferry was trying to out run us then panicked and did a u-turn under our bow or, we have also heard that some believe if you cross as close as possible under the bow of a ship and make it, it erases all evil spirits in your life. Pick one. The Captain did one hell of a manuver or two to graze him and not run him down.

One thing I find I am noticing more and more with my camera are the children....:),.... the families....    funny thing for me, right?  :)  So upon leaving Halong Bay, I thought the children and the families deserved a page of their own.  It can make you smile or make you cry.

Bay of Descending Dragons & Floating Villages

Today is Sunday.  When we woke up, we were docked along an industrial dock in Hong Gai,Vietnam.  Hong Gai is in the North East region of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. Who would have ever guessed in a million years we would visit Vietnam ? Some on board have elected to take an 11 hour trip to Hanoi. We opted to spend time relaxing on a Junk boat in a bay which happens to be a UNESCO world heritage site.  Why travel anywhere else when a marvelous part of the world is right here? Halong Bay. It is currently nominated to be one of seven natural wonders of the world. This bay is famous for its 1,969 islands mostly made up of dolomite and limestone which were formed between 300 and 500 million years ago. These look like mountain peaks and rocks sprouting out all over the bay. The story is that many years ago a dragon plunged into the Gulf of Tonkin and created all the little islets by lashing his tail. You could spend days exploring the caves and grottos. We joined a group of people on a large Junk for about 4 hours slowly cruising this quiet bay watching life go by. The day was misty and a fog had settled in depriving us of its real beauty. But what we saw was eerie smooth water wrapped in clouds and mist with black rocks peaking up out of the waters. It was as if we were blindly following the black silhouettes of other Junks into the dense fog and off the ends of the earth. You could hear a pin drop for most of this trip. Three times, small merchant boats piled with colorful goods (or sparse goods) would pull aside and the children would try to climb into our windows to sell us pearls, bananas or apples. They always sent the youngest. We explored the bay, docked on one island to explore its caves,climbed thousands of steps into and out of this large lit up cave, and sailed some more in awe as we saw colorful floating villages along the way. These floating rafts have homes on them, homes with hammocks, gardens, animals, just like on land. It was so interesting to get a small glimpse of this unusual lifestyle.

Hong Kong- Fabulous Shopping!

News Alert!! As we were leaving Hong Kong, we heard the ships horn blare and then the ship made some rumbling sounds and started to turn, but away from the channel out. For a while I thought Medical Emergency! We are headed back to port. Then we saw police boats headed our way. The Captain came on the loud speaker and announced the ship has dropped anchor and we are going to be here a while. Well, Captn' Dag says "I DID NOT Hit That Ferry" and some people are saying otherwise. It has been 3 hours and we are at a stand still as photos are being taked and a report is being filed..... One cruiser noted in jest...What would we do if they took Captn' Dag off the ship in handcuffs?" So How was Hong Kong, you ask?

Zhujiajiao, China.....River Town..3/5/10

About an hour North of Shanghai we visited a unique ancient village built during the Ming Dynasty, 1571.  It is called River Town. It was great to get out of the city and see the country.  On the way there, our guide told us that the governement builds the best homes near the expressways so people traveling on them would have a better perception of China.  He said if you ventured further in, it  is not so nice.  Everytime I wanted to take a picture of a really old  farmhouse along the expressway, all of a sudden a fence would pop up blocking my view...."verrrry curious" I said to myself.  It was a very cold blustery day, but at  least the rain held off.  In River Town we visited a 200 year old pharmacy still making its herbal potions and medicines. It sells snake oil which I momentarily thought of buying.   We saw an old post office that is a museum now with the old postal boats out back on the river.  We had a boat ride through the city.  We met a few adorable children...as always.  One boy had a big smile and yelled "Hello!  How are you?" and I said back, "Hello, I am fine.  Thank you.  It is a lovely cold day today, isn't it?"  and he just looked at me speechless.  His Dad answered with a smile, "Yes, it is".  :)  We had some free time here but it was way too cold to really enjoy it.  The streets were narrow stone paved paths.  No cars.  The houses were whitewashed and had black-tiled roofs.  Every store sold the same thing.  About half the stores were making pig legs?  Didn't smell that great.  Everything was washed in the river...clothes, mops, dishes, food.....you name it..... :)  ewwwww .... I felt that if the boat we were riding in went over the water would kill us.  Clothes were hung on the balconies and in the windows to dry.  It is a city still thriving and in use today.  The children, as always...are so sweet when they are young.  They are dressed brightly and always a smile and a wave 'Hello".

Shanghai....amazing architecture in the city

It was a a grey, rainy, foggy, ice cold to-the-bone day with fierce winds whipping white caps through our sea. Definately "a sweatshirt/pant while drinking bullion to warm your hands with its steam "day.
As we headed straight North on the China Sea, we turned into the Huanaguo River. For six hours we were entertained with a parade of ships coming into and out of the Shanghai port with all manner of goods.  It was interesting to watch all sizes and manner of ships and  barges pass us. Some ships were close to our ship you felt you could reach out and touch them.  Others were a few sea blocks away. People would wave "HELL-O!" to us.  We were all in shock as the temperature in the last few days dropped 60 degrees on us. With that drop, we got the rain and the fog. We certainly weren't ready for this.

Upon docking,  60 immigration officers climbed aboard to 'inspect' us all.  This, mind you, was in addition to spot checking us for days to see if anyone had a temperature. We were told this whole process would take 3-4 hours to process us through.  We all knew it would be a long night. Everyone, passenger and crew,  had to meet one by one, face to face with an inspection officer, with passport in hand.  I was looked up to down as the passport pages were thunbed through, back and forth, a few times.  I must fit some profile. The inspector needed to type into her computer a bit ,...looked me up and down again...typed some more....wait a bit....finally she gave me an OK without a smile at all.  She then stamped a big red mark on my passport and let me go...whew.....

I loved visiting Shanghai. I loved driving through the city, seeing the new, getting glimpses of the old. This is a city of change. The old is being bulldozed daily as they make way for the shiny new foreign designed skyscrapers. We were told that Shanghai has built 14,000 new skyscrapers in the last 15 years. So it looks new and clean. There is very little of the old left.  The city is alive with construction right now as it ready's itself for Expo in 2 months. Shifts are working around the clock 7 days a week. With a population of 20 million, there are no shortage of laborers. The city itself, as it is now, is certainly a beautiful place to visit and see.

Our choices of tours left us moving at a whirl wind pace for the 3 nights we were docked. We drove through the French Area with its beautiful French inspired buildings and trees. We were all over the Bund. We had lunch in a revolving TV tower, much like the Space Needle in Seattle. We visited CHINA TOWN in China which seemed a bit odd to me. It was here I found Starbucks and a new Chicago mug to bring back home. :) I had my picture taken a few times with families. I guess we were the novelty. People living in the country love to go home with a picture so they can brag they met a foreigner while in the city. That was fun.

The first night we were invited to an International Fashion Show. After the show, we were bused to the Bund where Regent put on a fireworks display for us. We all froze but enjoyed the beauty of the city all lit up at night. The second night we went to an amazing Chinese acrobatic show which I thought out did any Cirque I have seen. We packed a lot into our two days. It was a rainy bitter two days.

Manila....Coming Home

We arrived in Manila 3 hours late due to technical problems with the ship last night.  Our ship was at a virtual crawl during the night while 'things were fixed'.    I heard rumor that there was talk about heading straight to Hong Kong.....skipping all ports from here to there...but so far, so good.  The band-aid is holding firm.  What is really great about this port is that the majority of the crew members are from the Philippines.  We are coming "home"!  By getting to know the crew, we passengers were adopted into their families. We had the honor of bringing them all home.  The anticipation and excitement had been in the air for a few days now.   When we docked everyone was out on their balcony. The decks were filled with the crew in their white or grey uniforms.  We lost 200 crew/staff here as the 8 month contracts were up. We  have aquired 200 new smiling faces as a result.  The rest, that stay onboard, got time to visit their families and friends.  Because we all were drawn in, this port was an emotional high at docking.  I felt I too was meeting up with family   I was in tears .  Everyone was pointing and waving.  When disembarking, we witnessed hundreds of people running , hugging, kissing.  Litttle ones were runing into a mommys' arms.  Husbands and wives were reuniting.  One of our waiters was glowing when he realized his 18 month old remembered him. 

Because we arrived late, we were not able to go on the tour David was looking forward to, Corregador.  Instead, we booked Charms of Old Manila, one of the worst tours we have been on to date.  We saw a San Augistin Church dating back to 1571, an old fort, Rizal Park,  had a snack no one wanted, and hit a souvenir shop.  People were ready to lynch the tour guide, were impatient, complained all the way, some left in a taxi mid way and one kept a whole bus waiting an additional 35 minutes while she shopped. You know, the ususal ship tour.

My impression of Manila??????  Like my favorite brother-in-law so beautifuly described...."Manila? big laugh... good luck with the traffic going anywhere!"  And was he right...Thanks Andy!  Hence, all my pictures are of TRAFFIC...everywhere.  It is a mess going anywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy2x-3Juy-g
What I will remember mostly about Manila, besides traffic is the people and the family ties.  I too would wait on that pier for 2 hours knowing that my husband and I were still together.... and I would want to feel that for as long as I could, until he sailed away. We stood on the balcony and then on the deck 5 for a good 90 minutes waiting for the ship to sail.  Once again, families stayed on the pier until the ship was out of site  Our waiters were moving back and forth between waving good bye and their ship duties. Cell phones were their mode communication.  We just wanted to stay on deck, stay with them in spirit, until the last minute.  There was a  high school band on the pier. Balloons were set off into the night. Our ship played a tune and the band answered.  Everyone was dancing and moving to the music. When the ship played this song, everyone went wild!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpN8JFhIQGI (Coming home Manila) It just went on and on until we had to leave.  With our waiter, we blew kisses and waved good bye to his two daughters and his wife.  Our waiters had a smile, but their eyes gave them away. As we pulled out, the pier was no longer in site, we place our order.....and we all pretended it was life on board as usual.

Brunei - Relaxed and Charming

Brunei is the tiniest country in the world.

For some reason I was really looking forward to seeing Brunei. It just seemed so 'out there' to me, a place few have visited, something different. Brunei is one of the richest countries in the world thanks to someone sticking a spear in the dirt and discovering oil just laying under the surface of the soil. It is the size of Delaware, 50 miles from the equator, and has 400,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom are Islamic. It is 80% rainforest. The forest, everywhere is dense, thick and green. Very pretty. It is ruled by the 67 year old Sultan who's worth today is around 10 billion, down from 40 billion in recent years. He pulls in about, Oh, 140 million a day, from his gas and oil production. He is a bit on the extravagant side, living in a newly built 2,000,000 square foot marble $400 million Palace of Light. In this palace are 1800 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 10 elevators, 5 swimming pools, a garage for 110 cars. Why so large? you may ask. Well, he currently has 2 wives and 11 children. Most of his children are grown and gone but there are still those 1,000 servants hanging around. I can only imagine the family gatherings. Instead of a car for his daughters coming of age gift, he purchased and furnished a full size airbus for her private use, well, for her and a few close friends. We did see the top of his palace from the bus. It reminded me of Cinderella's castle where you drive for miles through some lush gardens and then have to be actually IN the park before you can see the castle itself.

Back to Brunei, it was a nice clean place to come visit and I would even come back, unless the Sultan reads my blog. The people here maintain a high standard of living due to the generosity of their Sultan. Everything related to education, books etc is provided by the government. Free health care, even if that means having to leave the country for this care, provided. The Sultan provides a 50 year interest free mortgages for all. The largest Mosque in the world is here, complete with 24 carat guilded domes, a gift to the people from their Sultan. The price tag to build this mosque is never discussed as this is impolite. Beaches with restrooms, toilets, BBQ grills, free parking as well as plentiful parks and free rides in all amusement parks are provided. Did I say NO tax? Gas price, lowest in the world. No crime here. No alcohol here. Banned. Women cover yourselves. The Sultan rules, everything and everyone and even 'decides' salary levels. There is no criticism of government here.

We had a boat ride in a old wooden boat to the water village, Kampong Ayer, or Venice of the East. There are 4,200 structures including homes, shops, restaurants, schools, hospital and a firehouse built on stilts. They sit on the BruneiI River. I took way too many pictures. We were told people want to live here. Most were fisherman and craftsmen. We visited one home. It looks like a slum from the outside but was quite modern on the inside, including plumbing, air conditioning, satellite TV and the Internet.

We had lunch buffet style at a local restaurant which truly delighted me and all my senses., I had a roll with butter and tried a few things. There was nothing written to tell you what you were eating. Maybe that was a good thing. Heavy vegetarian but meat, chicken, fish, squid and all sorts of interesting colors, textures, and shape. Spicy and jell-o-ey. One of my table mates asked if it was a maggot in her dish, but we all thought naaa..... Another adventurous eater ate something that looked like melted cellophane. He could not get it in his chopsticks or on his spoon to get it to the sauce. When he tasted it, he was not keen on it.....We later found out it was a dish unique to Borneo, ambuyat, a paste made from sago (Meghan??) ....translated tree bark. Yummm It was a staple in WWII we were told later.

Singapore: Shop till you drop

My first impression of Singapore was not my last.   It took me a while to adjust to being in a huge, imposing, lively city.  I was expecting to be able to 'walk' the city, like in Sydney, or at least pieces of it.  But from where we were docked, it was just impossible.  It is definately not easily seen in the short time we were here.  This city is HUGE and very spread out.  Our first day, we ventured out on our own to the massive malls and shopping areas and took in a movie. Every store imaginable snaked out in every direction at street level, high rise, and going several stories underground.  We walked forever and ventured up and own escalators galore.  It seemed to me that a person could live underground and never see the light of day for years.  On our first day, I took one picture, about 'shoes'.    I went back to the ship exhausted.

Our second day was the Wow day.  I saw a different side of the city on a tour.  I was impressed.  We toured Thian Hock Keng Temple,.  We enjoyed a Bum boat ride, kinda like small world, or a Chicago boat tour....:)  Fun.  We went to Raffles Hotel.  Right now there is a lot of construction going on all over the city.  I never realized that Singapore has so much reclaimed land.  The city buildings were amazing pieces of art all by themselves.  I especially loved the new building going up that looks like someone put a ship on top of it.  When finsihed it will be a convention center, hotel and casino.   Singapore exudes wealth right now.  I love how they preserve and incorporate the old with the new. I ended up enjoying the city and would love to go back someday and take more time seeing it.  Again the heat and humidity took its toll.  It was a good thing we went to Raffles and had that Singapore sling.  :)  (Invented here) Actually, we loved the idea of having been there,  but the drink was not very good.  Maybe its because we were on a tour or maybe it is because it is premixed now??  It was disappointing,  but the hotel is lovely.