Saturday March 19, 2011 AT SEA Hong Kong
We woke up to pouring rain and grey skies - we actually felt very lucky that Friday was mostly dry since that was the day we had to wander Hong Kong and so being dry was a bonus, especially since the forecast had not been so great! We stayed at the Kowloon Hotel - right across the street from the world famous Peninsula Hotel. So on Saturday morning after a lovely buffet breakfast we headed over to the Peninsula - it is so colonial and oh so expensive - absolutely filled with the rich and famous (or those who kidded themselves that they were!). The rain was heavy and so we used an umbrella wherever we went - as a result every store of the hotel that we went into are prepared for those wet umbrellas! Needless to say - since most floors are marble - they have someone standing at every entrance and they grab you (literally) as you walk in and give you a plastic tube to put your umbrella in so that it does not drip onto the floor! Some hotels (like our Kowloon Hotel) have a machine - that automatically wraps your umbrella with plastic - kind of like a condom! Anyway - after a walk through the stores at the Peninsula hotel - we ran back across the street to the Kowloon Hotel, picked up our bags and took the taxi to the Ocean Terminal (at Harbour City) where the Seabourn Pride was supposed to be docked. It cost just $5 and there was the Pride - with staff waiting with umbrellas to keep us dry as we boarded the ship. Our 3 bags were given by the taxi driver to the longshoreman and we received a small piece of paper saying that we had handed over 3 pieces of luggage.
We walked up the gangway and were greeted at the top by the staff all wearing white gloves - we were taken into the Magellan Lounge where we were handed fruit punch quickly followed by a glass of champagne (much more to Terry’s liking!) Then we were processed by Hong Kong immigration (you are not allowed to get back off the ship once they have processed you) and then by the ship staff to register us on to the Seabourn Pride. The Magellan lounge is just 50 feet down the corridor from our cabin 219 - so we were soon in the cabin and using the facilities. The suite is a balcony cabin (this means the floor to ceiling windows open with a railing outside - but the balcony is 12” wide so not a full balcony, more of a French Balcony.
I just heard a noise, looked around and it is Terry snoring on the couch! I am trying to get the journal done so that we can email before we leave Da Nang in Vietnam this evening. The sail away party on the deck is at 5:45 tonight - it’s currently 2:45 pm!
So when we went into the suite we were impressed with the size of the suite and we actually have a walk in closet! Our suite steward Charne (from Johannesburg South Africa) arrived with a glass of champagne each and a small appetizer - very nice. We also have a chilled bottle of champagne on our coffee table with a welcome aboard notice from Captain Sean Whalley originally from Devon UK. There was no luggage in the suite ..... yet!
After a quick freshen up and review of the ship layout and facilities available we headed out to explore the ship - this didn’t take long! There are 2 restaurants, The Restaurant on the 3rd floor and the Verandah on the 7th floor (called Restaurant 2 in the evening!) This has both inside and deck dining at the very back of the ship. The swimming pool is tiny with no space for suncots - there are sun cots further back on deck 6 along with two jacuzzi hot tubs, and also up on deck 7 between the engine stacks - yes, pretty noisy up there! On deck 6 there is the Sky Bar - a lovely outside bar where Nelson is the bar manager - most of the crew are from Europe. Apparently most of the kitchen staff are from India or Philippines.
Back in the suite our hanging suitcase arrived along with one bag (Terry rescued this from being delivered to another suite) . Shortly after the phone rang - security looking for Terry to look at something they had seen when they scanned the bag - turned out to be a pair of scissors we use to cut his hair - the security manager thought the scissors were very large on the scanner but realised they were just a normal size when taken out of the bag! There were 3 other clients there at the same time - each with a travel iron (not allowed on cruise ships) that was being taken away until the end of the cruise - the good news was that Terry’s bag was soon delivered to the cabin.
At 4:15pm we had our life jacket drill and then we readied ourselves to leave - in the pouring rain! We were all around the Sky Bar and getting slowly soaked - everyone trying hard to back under the roof of the Sky Bar and stay dry (did not happen!) Hong Kong and its’ myriad of high rises were all in the grey clouds. We sailed past the Queen Mary 2 in the harbour - not really sure what she was doing there and why she was anchored?
At the Sky Bar we met a nice couple from Melbourne - turned out they were in the cabin next to ours - Jackie and Paul. We had a lovely dinner in the main restaurant and were more than ready for bed afterwards.
Sunday March 20, 2011 - AT SEA Hong Kong south to HAINAN, HALONG BAY
This was a pretty uneventful day - it was grey and the China Sea was active enough to put a roll on the ship. The haze and marine layer was very thick - so we could see nothing - not even when we came through the Hainan Straits south of China where we had visited Hainan Island back in 2005.
We had breakfast in the main restaurant - very nice, but at breakfast we always prefer to select what we want, and eat fairly sharpish - waiting 20 to 30 minutes for the meal to be served is not how we prefer to start the day. Lunch was on the Verandah - very enjoyable . Food is great, staff are excellent. It was cool on the deck so we didn’t lounge around very much. We did have cocktails at the Sky Bar before getting dressed for our first formal night. We met Jackie and Mike from London in the Magellan Lounge before dinner - a lovely couple. After dinner we met them again to watch the incredible magician Bret Sherwood - he was very good even though I am not a lover of Magic Shows. For dinner we sat with Sara the onboard cruise sales person (from Sweden) - there were 12 of us so too big a table to talk to everyone but good company and good food. We had lobster (someone saw it come on the Seabourn Pride marked Live Lobster from Canada) - but 5 folks at our table sent it back to the kitchen saying it was too salty. Jackie and Paul had arranged for the 6 of us to sit together - but they knew Sara form the last cruise and Sara had arranged a table for the 6 of us and some others.
The passenger list has a large group of 65 Belgians, and many Australians - a few USA folks and we haven’t met any other Canadians yet. Terry did a grand job of contacting the folks in our Ensemble group and delivering welcome letters to them, ensuring everything was as it should be for their cabins, and advising them of the cocktail party we would be hosting for them on Thursday March 24. Terry had to introduce himself to the Bar manager to arrange the cocktail party, and speak to the purser - all went well.
Monday March 21, 2011 The Essence of Hanoi, HALONG BAY Port of Cai Lan
Terry and I were up at 6am on the deck for the entry into Vietnam at the Cai Lan port. The mist was still down on the water, it was raining lightly and incredibly difficult to see anything! We spoke to the Vietnam pilot on deck who assured us that this was very difficult - there are boats (tiny and huge) everywhere and manouvering the Seabourn Pride into it’s dock was a slow and steady job. Captain Sean came out and told us the radar picked up everything - even some of the small bouys when the water was as calm as this. The windscreen wipers were working away on the bridge! Eventually we docked without sinking any small boats on the way in!
This was going to be a long day for us - we had signed up for a shore excursion which started at 7:30 am and returned 11 hours later after a 3 1/2 hour trip each way from Cai Lan port to Hanoi. This was a great day but very long! The transportation was all by 8 passenger vans. We joined 6 others from USA (Richard and Mary from our Ensemble group, June and Ray from Arizona and Ronnie and ?). We all got along well and survived the trip. Survive is the name of the game - nearly everyone rides a motorbike or scooter in Vietnam -there are thousands of them all over the roads - driving both sides and switching sides when they think it appropriate based on where they are going or what the vehicle traffic is doing (or they think it may be doing!). Our driver for the day - Michael - deserved a medal for getting us to Hanoi and back again in one piece!
They grow rice in Vietnam - two crops a year, millions and millions of tonnes of it - there are green rice paddies everywhere that you look. The country looks prosperous and there are good looking homes and new homes in progress everywhere. Our tour guide “little brother” (he is the youngest in the family) assured us that since the embargo was removed by the USA in 1991 (or 1999) Vietnam has thrived. I was amazed to find out that there are 87 million population in Vietnam and the country is 2000 km from North to South - this is a long skinny country with a lot of people living here. There is lots of foreign investment from many countries. The average monthly income may be around $30 to $50 per month or less depending on where in the country you are and doing what job.
Halfway to Hanoi we stopped at a large store where young Vietnamese were embroidering by hand (so fast and so precise) and this warehouse sold everything - the most beautiful silk clothes in many designs, lacquer plates and such, jewellry (they mine emeralds, sapphires, rubies, etc here), food, textiles - and all wonderful quality and reasonable prices. Outside they had huge marble statues - just amazing and they would ship anywhere! They also had large clean Western style toilets which of course were fabulous as far as we were concerned!
We arrived in Hanoi around 11am - the last half hour in truly busy traffic and we knew we were in a city! Bikes and scooters everywhere and lots of buses. First stop was the huge mausoleum where Ho Chi Minh is interred (Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam) and in front every Sep 2nd there is a major celebration with thousands upon thousands of Vietnamese who come here to celebrate Vietnam Independence Day. Little Brother had taught us lots about Vietnam along the way - especially about the religion of Vietnam - by far the majority is the old people - they respect their elders and history and a mix of Taoism, Buddhism and the old culture. They do also have Catholics and Protestants and Muslims in much smaller numbers. In general they like flexibility - and that doesn’t matter whether they are driving on the roads or their religion! As far as the Vietnam War with USA in the 60’s they say that many people were not impacted by the war - that some villages were removed from where the fighting and bombing took place. Their history states that Ho Chi Minh had travelled extensively and was trying to help Vietnam get out from under the French - they hated being ruled by the French. So Ho Chi Minh approached both UK and USA to help Vietnam get out from under the French and become independent. This approach was ignored by USA and UK due to relations between France and the UK / USA and ultimately USA attacked Vietnam because Vietnam turned to support from Russia and Cuba when the USA ignored their plea for assistance.
We did visit the Hanoi Hilton (the prison) during the day - and again, the Vietnamese say they were treated much worse by the French, than the Vietnamese treated the USA soldiers and pilots during the Vietnamese war. It’s a pretty depressing place for sure right in the middle of Hanoi. We also visited the Temples where we were lucky enough to come upon a large number of University Graduates - all the beautiful girls were dressed in traditional Vietnamese outfits (long silk pants with long silk top which is slit up to their waste - unbelievably beautiful) - they were so excited and happy to have photos taken. At Turtle Lake we saw the 200 year old turtle that had died (and been stuffed) - turtles are hugely important in Vietnamese culture for their strength and wisdom. There is another very old turtle still in the lake and even though their culture says they should not disturb the turtles, they have agreed to catch it and treat it since apparently the scientists and veterinarians say it is very sick.
We had a wonderful top end Vietnamese lunch at the Lye Club restaurant including crab and asparagus soup, banana blossom salad with chestnut meat and prawns, grilled beef in bamboo pike - yes - a delightful lunch!
After lunch we walked through the streets and were simply enraptured at all the local scenes - all the folks were very friendly - they spoke to us and no problem taking photos. There is no doubt with a little more time we would all have been buying but we were kept moving along! We didn’t get to see the water puppets which are a North Vietnamese specialty - but we passed the theatre where lots of tourists were heading in for the show. All too soon we were back in the van heading back to the port of Cai Lan. We arrived back around 7pm after a bumpy ride in the back of the van - very tired and ready to be back at the ship! It had been a great day and we knew a lot more about Vietnam, it’s culture, country and people than we did 11 hours before!
After a quick shower and cocktail at the Sky Bar - we headed down to the Restaurant for dinner and then back to the cabin where we crashed! Never did a soft bed feel so comfortable and we were in port until 7am next day so we would sleep well!
Tuesday March 22, 2011 AT SEA HALONG Bay to Da Nang, Vietnam
Fortunately when we awoke the weather was much better than it had been the morning before when we arrived - so as we left the port we were treated royally to all the beautiful sights of Halong Bay - truly stunning. Hundreds of sandstone islands - layer upon layer of islands, all different shades of blue and grey going back through the mist - we were on deck for breakfast as we left, and then moved up to the top deck to enjoy the views - photo after photo after photo. Everyone was in awe and throughly enjoyed the cruise. Captain Sean even took a detour and went through to the side of the main channel so that we could enjoy being up close and personal. The small boats are actively charging about all intent on where they are going, and there were many junks heading back into the islands - we were reminded of the dreadful accident about 3 weeks ago where a junk with overnight passengers on had tipped over during the night and nearly everyone had drowned. The government has since then prevented any junk staying overnight with passengers in Halong Bay.
Around 11am we came out of the bay and on to the open China Sea. Immediately there was chop on the water and a strong wind. Within about 1 hour there were lots of white caps. We lay on sun cots on the top deck (even got some wind burn) it was warm as long as you stayed down below the railings - if you sat up or stood up the wind was horrendous! By 2 pm it was getting very cold, the cloud cover had moved in. Terry and I were the last on deck and the ship was rolling quite well (enough for folks to become sea sick) so we moved down to the cabin and had a lovely quiet afternoon reading a good book. We decided to forgo dinner in the restaurant and ordered a small pizza for room service. We were in bed and well asleep by 9 pm - well at least I was - I think Terry enjoyed his glass of wine and cheese plate long after I crashed! There were pretty big swells all night long with a shudder and jolt every now and then as we hit a big swell. Nearly every passenger on the ship came aboard with a suitcase full of clothes prepared for the high temperatures and humidity - we have all been caught short by the rain, wind and cold and are wearing the one sweatshirt of polar fleece that some of us were lucky enough to bring along! Needless to say I was awake by 2:30am, so managed to finish my paperback book during the night!
Wednesday March 23, 2011 Da Nang Central Vietnam
- Hoa Chau and Ancient Hoi An
We ate breakfast on the verandah this morning and were on our bus by 8:05am ready for our 5 1/2 hour tour. Today we were on a large bus - the roads a little easier than they were when we went to Hanoi so the use of a large passenger bus worked well. Our tour guide (lady) Huong Duong talked slowly and quite well - but we had to listen much harder than with Little Brother on Monday - his English was excellent.
This turned out to be a very interesting tour. First we went to a local family gathering centre (where all families with the same last name gather and discuss, including Vietnamese from other ares in Vietnam if they travel through the area). This was followed by a walk through the local market - this was a tiny centre - the total market was about 30 feet long and the ladies were very welcoming and generous letting us take photos. Afterwards we visited a local school at Hoa Chau with about 30 children - tiny - who had learned to count 1 through 10 in English - the cutest little kids you could imagine! The tour guide gives the school a small amount of money each time she takes a group of tourists along so it works well for the tourists and the school.
Then we drove along to the historical town of Hoi An - this is a very ancient town right on the coast - it used to be the major trading centre for central Vietnam with many countries in the world back 500 years ago. It was a very interesting village to walk through although now a major tourist destination. Every building was a restaurant or store with beautiful silks, clothes, shoes and jewellry for sale. The Vietnamese were smiling, polite and not aggressive at all - a real pleasure to visit. On the river there were maybe 50 brightly painted boats - everyone wanting to take you for a ride, very earnestly trying to make a few dollars. We were there for about 2 1/2 hours and enjoyed every moment. It started to rain about 5 minutes before we were due to get back on the bus to return back to the ship so the timing was good.
On the way back we toured past China Beach (where the USA GI’s all went for R&R during the Vietnam War) - this is a very long beach around the bay, and the waves were really crashing in while we drove past - on the other side of the road were the disused aircraft hangars from the Vietnam War. What is amazing is that China Beach (it got its’ name during the Vietnam War) has become a huge resort development area. There is mile after mile, and development after development of huge projects and resorts all being built - we really aren’t sure who the clients are all going to be - including names such as Hyatt. Also on the beach we passed the basket boats which are completely circular that the local fisherman use to fish in the shallows along China Beach. At the end of the beach is a huge 57 meter tall female buddha - but I have to admit I didn’t really understand the story of the female buddha but it sure is large standing on the hills overlooking the beach!
So it’s now 4:20pm and I very quickly hope to get this off in an email to you before we leave port since then I will have no internet! Please excuse all spelling mistakes etc - no time for me to proof it through for spelling mistakes or to make sure it makes sense!
It is currently pouring with rain - again! There is no way we will have a sail away at the Sky Bar tonight! I will write again when I can. We are at sea tomorrow heading south to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) and we have another busy day! Write if you can - with luck we will have email in Ho Chi Minh.
Well we went to Restaurant 2 on deck 7 (which is the Verandah restaurant for breakfast and lunch every day) but the weather was very wet and windy so we ate inside and had a “Tastings” menu - very fancy and beautifully presented. The ship was rolling so much our chairs were actually sliding across the floor at times! I managed to eat 1 half of a 1” bun and that lasted me for the entire dinner - there was no way I could eat, my stomach refused! So we had a pleasant chat - Rich (originally from Hong Kong, now a dentist living in Chicago) and Mary are a lovely couple and we really enjoy them. They are both real “foodies” and Rich will eat anything that anyone doesn’t want that is special. After dinner it was straight to our suite - we are on deck 5 and pretty much mid ship, so our suite is much more comfortable in these rolling seas!
Thursday March 24, 2011 AT SEA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
Today was all day at sea on the South China Sea - the Vietnamese we have spoken to (there is no love lost between Vietnam and China) would prefer that the south China Sea was named something like South Asia Sea! Anyway - we were awake early and had coffee, hot chocolate and pastries delivered to the cabin around 6:30 am. There is a door bell for each suite - so the waiter arrives and rings the bell, we let him in and he sets up a lovely table in out sitting area with white tablecloth, napkins, china and silverware - all for coffee and cookies - very nicely done!
We took the Bridge Tour at 11 am and very interesting as each ship that is on the radar they can click on and get the name,statistics, where it is going to and from and what time it will arrive along with how fast it is going! Needless to say with a very wet and rough day at sea - the biggest item on everyone’s agenda is eating! During the day we spent some time in the suite and watched a movie, read a little and before we knew it, it was cocktail hour!
This afternoon at 6:45 pm we hosted the cocktail party for our Ensemble group. This was set up for us by Mohammed (Mo Mo) the Bar Manager in the Card room next to the Magellan Lounge. We also had Alistair Cowan (from Llandidloes Wales) playing classical guitar, and Miguel the Bartender, Frederick the Waiter (with canapes of shrimp and caviar). It was a very pleasant get together with just Rich, Mary, Lou and Janie coming along to join us for an hour. Captain Sean Walley from Crediton Devon also came along and we all enjoyed his stories. Sean was also in the Falklands and in fact fathered a daughter now 10 years old who still lives in the Falklands, so he spends his free time between Devon and the Falklands.
We as usual went to Restaurant 2 for the French Bistro menu. Eddie the Restaurant Manager is always so welcoming and saves us a spot every night (there are very few tables especially when they can’t use the outdoor verandah). In Restaurant 2 most nights are Resort Casual where no jacket is required for the men. In the main restaurant on deck 3 most nights are Elegantly Casual which means jackets are required for the men. There are 2 formal nights this cruise (during 14 nights) when they are black tie affairs. The French menu was excellent, we had escargot, lobster bisque and provencal grilled lamb chops. Every night they serve your preference of wine, but they also offer wines specifically to go with the meal being presented - the choices have always been excellent. At 10 pm we went to Showtime in the Magellan Lounge and watched the Cruise Director Matt Brown who has a great voice, along with Heather Kreuzman the Assistant Cruise Director - they both have excellent experience and truly put on a top notch show. Heather us the official voice (singer) of the USA and Canadian national anthems at one of the hockey centres in the States.
Friday March 26, 2011 HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON)
This morning was the day to get up early and enjoy the views as we cruised into Saigon along the Saigon River. It takes nearly 5 hours from the China Sea entering the river before you reach the port in Saigon - the pilot comes on board in the dark at the entrance to the river at 5:30 am and by 6 am we were on deck watching the approach from up front outside on the deck. It was warm and humid and incredibly interesting. There were huge ships on the river along the way loaded with containers, and or whatever along with tiny boats being paddled by a man or woman with only a bamboo stick. The time flew by! We passed a dock a long way out of Ho Chi Minh City (1 1/2 hours by road) and saw the Diamond Princess docked. We are lucky on the Seabourn Pride, because it is smaller so it could sail right into downtown Saigon!
We docked at approximately 9:45 am and were welcomed by about 12 Vietnamese ladies, all wearing traditional dress (the long tunic with slits to the waist with silk pants underneath) and the triangular hat - and carrying lots of multi coloured balloons - when the ship was finally tied up and the gangway lowered on to the dock - they all lined up together and let all the balloons loose as a welcome and then greeted every passenger as you descended on to the dock.
The Pride runs a shuttle (at no charge) at every destination that will take you into the town or city. We were scheduled to depart at 12 noon to take our Ensemble clients on a tour through Saigon including lunch at a top notch restaurant (Le Beaujoulais serving both French and Vietnamese dishes). We all were wanting some time to visit Saigon so we took the first shuttle into town at 10:30 (about 10 minutes ride) and spent an hour taking a first look at Saigon.
The city has a wonderful exciting feel and look to it - very busy (traffic is a nightmare with the thousands of motor bikes and scooters of course). It was a thriving city before the Vietnam War which ended when the Vietcong successfully took over Saigon - Saigon was then renamed to Ho Chi Minh City but which everyone still calls it Saigon. It is today thriving again with lots of foreign investment and new high rises, this has all been since the USA trade embargos were removed in the 90’s. So it is a communist country still but lots of freedom from a capitalist perspective - but no Vietnamese is allowed to play in a casino here (although they staff the casinos) and certain websites are blocked by the government.
Walking across any street is an exhilerating experience - if I didn’t mention it before - you walk slowly across in front of the thousands of bikes and scooters and you walk slowly and at the same pace and every driver whisks behind or in front of you! If you stop or suddenly run or speed up you will be hit since the drivers are all gauging their path past you based on you walking consistently at the same pace! There are a few tourist police around dressed in green uniforms who will whistle the traffic to stop and let you cross but there are many times and streets you need to cross with no tourist police around.
We were looking for a tailor shop to get clothes made - we first went to the Orchid Silk recommended by the girls in the Spa on the Pride - we didn’t really get a good feel about that tailor, so we went back to the “shopping street” and walked into Phuong Tam Silk tailor and June Couche (Arizona) found a beautiful red silk and black silk and was measured for a traditional Vietnamese outfit. I ordered a black and white animal print sleeveless top, and a black silk top with hand beading - their clothes were beautifully tailored. Rhonda Hoddinott (from Australia) was having many outfits made and said she would pick up all of our outfits the next day Saturday at 2pm. The Pride was set to depart at 4pm the next day and we were scheduled for a full day tour on the Mekong Delta.
So then we caught a taxi back to the Pride to meet our tour guide for the Saigon City tour. The taxi driver spoke no English but we had brought with us a paper from the Purser on the pride with Vietnamese instructions for getting back to the ship. We needed to agree on the price first but since I don’t speak any Vietnamese and he spoke no English I just held five fingers up and he nodded his head, so $5 it was! However - when we got back to the pier he dropped us off on the opposite side of the street which was a hugely busy street in and out of Saigon with a barrier in the middle with big red and white stripes on it obviously meant to say “do not cross here!” So we looked for a break (which means there is actually some space between the bikes) and walked slowly across and made it safely but probably shortened our lives by a year or two from the stress!
It was at this point as I looked for my Pride passenger card and Vietnam Landing Card that I realised I no longer had it! We had been warned about pick pockets in Saigon and I had no idea whether I had lost it or had it stolen from out of my shorts pocket! Well, the Vietnamese booth that had been set up by our ship had a Vietnamese Customs and Immigration Officer in it. As we walked up he just waved us through (so far so good), the Pride Security Officer checked my face against the picture on file and waved me through. I went to the Pursers office and told them I had lost my card - they said the Purser was off the ship so they would be able to do nothing for me until the evening. So ...... as it happened I had an extra photo card for the Pride (due to a mix up when we boarded) so we headed back off the ship but the Pride Security Officer did not want to let me off the ship - he said that the Vietnamese Customs Officer was now checking as passengers got off the ship not when they were getting on. I convinced him that I would take my chance and come back if the Vietnamese Customs and Immigration Official would not let me through. So we walked up to the both and just kept going with no problems at all. Later that afternoon I found both of my cards where I had put them away for safe keeping in our back pack that we had taken with us when we went into the city! So I hadn’t lost them at all - Thank Goodness.
So off we went to tour Saigon with Rich and Mary from Chicago - the only two from the group who had decided to take the Ensemble Experience (the Ensemble clients could choose to take the tour or each get a shipboard credit of $150). The traffic was a nightmare - we finally arrived at the Beaujoulais Restaurant around 1pm and sat down for our fixed menu Vietnamese lunch. The restaurant was lovely and we were welcomed on arrival by the Manager, there was a banner outside “Warmly Welcome Ensemble World Explorers”. The meal was amazing - simply the best Vietnamese food we experienced in Vietnam - Lotus Salad, Seafood Spring Rolls, Fried Calamari, Flambe Beef in Coconut - actually served in a fresh coconut, alcohol poured over it and the whole thing set alight right at the table, Hot and Sour Soup with Seafood, Steamed Fish with onion, Stir Fried Vegetables and completed with an array of fruit - it was fabulous and as I mentioned before Rich finished everything that the rest of us could not!
Then we were off for the tour with our Vietnamese guide Ken who works freelance but today was working as our guide with the government owned Saigon Tourist Travel Service - it was trying to rain a little but mostly holding off. First stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral with every brick and stone imported from France. It’s a smaller duplicate of the Notre Dame in Paris. Right next to the Notre Dame is the Post Office which looks like a train station inside with a huge arched glass ceiling - we even managed to send a couple of postcards from here which may never arrive since we didn’t have anyone’s correct address with us! By now it was spritzing a little so we started wearing ponchos which of course are dreadfully hot but at least kept the camera dry. Next stop was the Repatriation Palace where replicas of the tanks are out front - the tanks which broke through the gates when the Vietcong invaded and South Vietnam came under Communist rule. Today the entire building has been maintained pretty much as it was and is very impressive. Inside were the incredible large reception halls and offices (and bedrooms) where Presidents 1 through 4 had their offices - President 2 left for the UK (I think) President 3 reigned for 1 month, and President 4 for 3 days before the Viet Cong arrived. The lacquered walls are an amazing work of art - probably 50 feet wide by 25 feet high. I hated the carved elephant tusks and the 3 elephant feet used as bowls. The basement consists of many rooms - each with the very old fashioned (in todays’ world) kinds of telephone communications and teletype equipment used during the war.
We then moved on to the War Remnant Museum - this is very well organised and documented - obviously all from the Vietnam perspective versus the USA perspective that we are used to in North America. We had limited time - so we went through the photography section - all the amazing photos and writings are from the 134 international journalists who were killed during the Vietnam War - suffice it to say if you only went to 1 room in the museum this would be it. The real life photos are very disturbing and break your heart - and if you read the captions about how often the photo was taken and then after the journalist had taken the photo and as he turned away the Vietnamese would be shot. We did then go into the Agent Orange room - the photos of the Vietnamese born after their parents were exposed to agent orange chemical warfare - every dreadful scenario you can not image - these poor babies, children and adults who look like monsters - so distorted or no limbs, some kept in cages - I lasted less than 5 minutes before I had to leave.
Our last stop was at the Ben Thanh covered market in the centre of Saigon - the outside ring of stalls are government controlled and fixed price. Every stall inside is private and you have to bargain for everything. The fabrics are amazing. The shoes are small! Nothing bigger than a size 9 and only 1 pair in size 9 (Terry thought that was great!). We spent 1 hour there and could have spent three days - so much fun, such lovely people - they all desperately want to sell you something but are not aggressive and do not hassle you other than to say - what are you looking for? I bought 2 hair clips at $11 each and the young girl assistant practically danced her way back into the stall because she had sold something. The deeper you go into the market the smaller the aisles (maybe 12” wide, with owners and children sleeping on the floor). But by now we were exhausted and gladly headed back to the Pride - we were tired, hot, sticky and ready for a G & T at the Sky Bar overlooking the skyline of Saigon which looks like every major city in the world from a distance - the newest tower is amazing and sort of looks like a shark fin with a semi circle platform sticking out about 100 floors up - this is the helicopter landing pad!
After a welcome (and much needed shower and change) dinner was at Restaurant 2 outside on the verandah - Vietnamese menu, it was very good but not as good as lunch at Le Beaujoulais. We had spring shrimp rolls, seafood and spring onion salad, sweet onion duck breast, finished off with lemon grass and lime parfait, banana foam and gingered mango salsa with coconut ice cream - are your taste buds salivating yet?
An early night again - we passed up on Motown music in The Club, and “the American” movie with popcorn in the Magellan Lounge. There was even “A Cultural Evening in Saigon” shore excursion on a boat on the Saigon river including dinner, music and dancing - but we had enjoyed more than enough of a full day to feel very satisfied when we hit the sack!
Saturday March 26, 2011 HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON)
Our tour today was the “Journey on the Mekong ” which would take place on the Mekong River Delta - an area which encompasses 5,000 sq km - just a huge area. Japan somewhat recently helped Vietnam build a bridge from Saigon to the delta at a cost of 10 million $ per mile - one of the most expensive bridges in the world due to the difficulty of the wet areas they were building on. Our tour left at 7:30 am so the verandah opened early so we could all enjoy breakfast before we left - the staff is excellent on the Pride - they are so responsive and nothing is too much trouble. So after breakfast we all were loaded into our vans (6 to 8 in a van) with an English speaking tour guide (ours was Tuon or “Tony”) and Mr Tang the driver - Terry and I did have a chuckle about Tang and Tuon I must admit! The drive out of the city was its’ usual nail biting experience and very slow - there is nothing I can say that can prepare you for this - just imagine organised chaos at its’ worst - and then the actual drive would then be 10 times worse than what you can imagine! How the drivers get you to and from your destination in one piece and by the allotted time schedule is a miracle! First it was the conjested traffic of the downtown area, and then once we hit the new elevated freeway, the driver drove at breakneck speed passing everything that was in front of him. Everyone drives in the left lane. As soon as they can get partway past, then they cut back into the lane - no idea how they don’t clip the car they just passed! At one point as we were looking out the front window we could see a van like ours passing in the left lane a large lorry that was in the right lane and a big bus passing us and the lorry on the right shoulder (there were cement guardrails both left and right to allow for 2 lanes of traffic and a narrow shoulder for motorbikes!) I am sure it was only the three vehicles breathing in (and our prayers) that allowed all 3 to pass safely.
After a harrowing 2 hour journey we arrived at the Mekong River Delta and boarded a river boat - just the 5 of us from our van. There was Al (from Oregon), Rich and Mary and us. Al had cancer of the knee 12 months ago and had it replaced so he is very unsure of himself and not very stable. Getting on and off the boat at all our stops was slow and required quite a bit of assistance for him. He is here on his 40th wedding anniversary - but his wife is at home in Portland - she did not want to come along. He is staying on the ship until Rome - the Pride arrives in Rome sometime in May!
As we headed out on the river it was simply amazing - there is so much boat traffic, all shapes and sizes going in every direction. There is a River Market - each boat has a piece of bamboo off the end of the boat with something tied to it signifying what the boat is selling - it could be pineapples, mangoes, melons, sugar cane etc. These boats are selling to the wholesalers what the farmers bring to them, so the first stop in the selling chain. Our first stop was at a small boat with a Vietnamese lady in traditional costume where we were each give a fresh coconut with a straw containing very sweet and fresh coconut water.
Next stop (after a thousand photos) we pulled in to the river bank and disembarked into a farmers’ house and artisan market. This was truly a very special stop. We first saw coconut - it was squeezed for milk, ground for shredded coconut, made into candy, the husk used for fuel for the fire. Afterwards we saw the salt which is brought in by sack from the ocean - the salt is very dirty - so here it is boiled for 4 hours and becomes crystal white - then packaged up in small packages and sold. Sea salt at its’ best! Then it was rice - tossed into baking hot black sand from the river to become popped rice (so hot over the fire), rice was also mashed and made into paper thin (and thinner) rice cakes, mixed with oil and sugar to make noodle cakes - and these were all being cut up and packaged by the local Vietnamese sitting at tables and sent to the markets for sale - truly fascinating and amazing. We were then given jasmine Tea and a sample of every type of product that they made there - everyone tasting delicious! There was even an artist painting - his work was wonderful and several different styles - Rich and Mary bought a couple of canvases and they were rolled up to take home.
Almost forgot to mention the large jars filled with cobra and other poisonous snakes and rice wine. We got to sample that wine too! The things you do to be a gratious guest in a foreign country.
The we were back on to the boat and off to a historical home for tea and fruit in the cool garden (yes, we were sweaty and sticky!). This very impressive and regal home was owned by a Vietnamese who worked for the French government (before they were thrown out) and he collected taxes from all the local Vietnamese farmers - who eventually rebelled and took a lot of his possessions away after the French government were thrown out. However, the third Grandson still owns this place (he looks old) and is obviously still making a mint by offering meals and refreshments to tourists - there were at least a hundred tourists there while we were there, but the gardens were very large with lots of trees and eating areas so it felt like there only 10 or 20 tourists around! We walked around the property, out through the back gate to walk around the neighbourhood and back to the boat - and the many uses of the river and canals was explained - from the fish farm, the water for the fruit orchards, the fertile soil as they dug out the pond for the fish farm and used the soil as fertiliser for the fruit trees - not a thing is wasted.
Back on the boat we headed for our last stop to a restaurant for Vietnamese lunch - the best was the sticky rice deep fried into huge hollow balls which are called Dragon Eggs - they are probably 9 to 12” around. This was followed by a whole deep fried Elephant fish, spring rolls and steamed shrimp with coconut, fried noodles with vegetables, mushrooms with minced meat hot pot , and fruits. This was all served by a young Vietnamese girl in traditional dress - she spoke no English but didn’t need to! Of course we thirstily drank a cold 333 Vietnamese beer, diet coke or water to quench our thirst!
By now it was 1 pm and time to head back with Mr Tang to Saigon - the Pride was leaving Saigon at 4 pm, everyone had to be back on board by 3:30 pm so a definite schedule to keep to. The trip back was at least as exhilerating as the trip out - if not more so - traffic here is unbelievable! Lots of horns as each van, car, or large truck or bus tells the folks in front to get out of the way! But we arrived back at the pier safely (yes we did use seat belts) and we were back on the ship and ready to enjoy the leisurely cruise back down the Saigon River out to the China Sea. It was dark by the time we reached the open ocean - the sail away was accompanied with music by “Acoustic Jive” and best of all it didn’t rain!
We had dinner at Restaurant 2 with Jackie and Mike Bunyan from Enfield (London) UK, a truly nice couple that we have had several laughs with over the past few days. They are wholesale suppliers to the construction business and have told us how bad things are in UK now after the economy cratering two years ago. Dinner was an Indian menu - the best course being a wonderful curry with multiple chutneys. We sat on the outside verandah and as we hit the open sea it became very windy and Jackie and I had to remember to take the hair out of our mouths before we put in the next mouthful of food! Jackie had been suffering the last two days with a migraine - so she was off to bed after dinner to get some rest - and we were right behind her - sounded like a great idea! In our cabin, Charne our cabin stewardess (from Johannesburg South Africa) had covered the bedspread with fresh orchids - along with our nightly chocolate on our pillows - lovely!
Sunday March 27, 2011 AT SEA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
Woke up at 2 am dreaming about work - maybe it was the curry last night?! Managed eventually to get back to sleep, and we had coffee and pastries delivered by Waiter Kevin (also from Johannesburg) around 7am. Watched TV and learned of the government in Canada and the new election - more tax payer money to be wasted.
Later after a very light breakfast on the verandah, June and I picked up our new garments which Rhonda Hoddinott (Australia) had so kindly picked up for us yesterday from Phuong Tam Silk in Saigon while we were on the Mekong Delta River cruise. Everything for all of us turned out lovely (I still have one piece to be mailed - to take an extra 2 weeks due to the hand stitching of all the beads). Meanwhile - Terry went to the Service Club get together at 10am - it turns out that Lt Colonel Keith Frampton (from Melbourne) is also a Rotary member - we had enjoyed dinner with he and his wife Molly one evening - a lovely older couple who we have promised to have dinner with another evening before the end of the cruise. Also, there was a gentleman from a Swiss Rotary Club - Dr Hans Von Werra at the Service Organisation meeting - Terry thought the three of them had a great meeting - each telling of their club’s project work (not just raising money) in places like Ethiopia and Borneo. Terry was interested to hear the others voice their frustration in not being able to get matching grant funding from Rotary International for a variety of reasons given by RI despite clearly well funded and planned efforts. In each case the clubs carried on and found funding from other clubs and did the work anyway.
So it’s currently 4pm (where has the time gone to?). I will try to see if there is any access to the internet by satellite. Otherwise I have lots to do before the evening comes along!
Monday March 28, 2011 KO KOOD, THAILAND- Caviar in the Surf
This was to be a wonderful day on the beach. Every Seabourn cruise has a “Caviar and Champagne in the Surf” day on a beach and all the staff on the Pride agree that this beach on Ko Kood Island in Thailand is the best, so lush and tropical. By around 7 am we were dropping anchor the skies were cloudy but it was warm and we could see blue patches of sky on the horizon. When we went to breakfast - the staff were very busy loading everything into a tender which was lowered to be level with the top deck - tons of stuff, coolers filled with food and beverages, cases of drinks, boxes of food, umbrellas, silverware, china - you name it - a huge amount of work. There were good swells and the tenders were already lowered into the water were bouncing around and on the shore we could see the waves breaking and the small boats having some trouble getting docked at the small pier. The transfer to Ko Kood for the clients was set for 11am and everyone was to get on board the small boats from the Marina at the back of the ship. Well - we were sitting on the top deck talking with Jackie and Mike waiting for the announcement to go to Ko Kood and meanwhile enjoying the fresh air and views. Captain Sean Whalley came on the speaker at about 10:50 and advised us that they were very sorry but we would not be going to Ko Kood! The water was too rough and it was too dangerous - for both clients and crew! We were hugely disappointed but not really surprised - after watching how the boats were bouncing around it - trying to get in and out of the small boats would be a nightmare. Everyone had been waiting for this island day and considered this the highlight of the trip, so a huge disappointment but safety comes first - the poor staff then had to load all of the supplies back on to the Pride, and at the same time, they now had to prepare lunch for everyone - they worked their buns off and did an amazing job.
As soon as the Captain made the announcement we just put down our towels and prepared to relax on deck for the rest of the day. Meanwhile (wish we had a movie running) everyone came running on to the deck from the Magellan Lounge where they had been waiting to load on the tenders to Ko Kood, and racing to grab their sun cot on deck for the day! It was so funny to watch. So we had a relaxing day and we did have quite a few sunny breaks during the day, but sitting anchored off Ko Kood looking at the island and not being able to get ashore was like holding up candy in front of a kid and not letting them have it!
That evening we dined in Restaurant 2 with a Thai menu - Starters: Popia Pad Thai Egg Roll filled with crabmeat, mint and mango coulis, or chicken & beef satay, peanut sauce, pickle vegetable. Soup/Salad: Tom Ka Gai Chicken coconut soup or Thai vegetable & glass noodles salad, Lime Coriander sauce. Mains: Lemon grass shrimp, green curry sauce, basil rice, or Spicy beef stir-fry, green beans & peppercorn, rice noodles. Desserts: Coconut & corn vanilla custard served with lemon biscuit berry compote or banana crumble, cinnamon sauce, vanilla ice cream. Yes - it was a wonderful menu!
Afterwards we had a short walk around deck for fresh air then off to bed - what a hard day - we were asleep in minutes!
You do have to make reservations to dine in Restaurant 2 at the back of deck 6 - it is quite small and so only about maybe 40 passengers can dine there each evening - not usually a problem since most folks appear to prefer the main dining room down on deck 3. We like Restaurant 2 - Eddie the Maitre’D from Prague is excellent and we often have Gael from Alsace Lorraine as our waiter - he is wonderful - he knows the food so well and loves to explain every detail to you.
Tuesday March 29, 2011 BANGKOK, THAILAND
This morning we took on the pilot early for our cruise down the Chau Phraya River into downtown Bangkok at the Klongtoey Port. This is not as interesting as the Saigon River in Vietnam but interesting in its’ own way. Another wide river with lots of boat traffic on - a huge number of the huge rice barges being pulled 3 or 4 together by a small boat which you would not think is strong or big enough to pull it! The banks are very flat with mostly green vegetation until we were closer to Bangkok when we started to see lots of homes along the water.
We were docked by 7:30am and those taking shore excursions were gone by 8 am. We had been to Bangkok and Thailand a couple of times before so we were just going to do our own thing in Bangkok. The first shuttle which is free with Seabourn ( a huge luxury bus) was at 9:30 and we were in downtown by 10am and dropped at the Central World. This is a huge top end shopping centre - the same as can be found in every large city in the world and so of no interest to us. We headed down the street to Pratunum Market and found a small fabric store where I bought some wonderful satin prints and looked at the Thai Silk so I could go away and think about what I would return to buy the next day since we were going to be docked overnight in Bangkok, not leaving until 5pm the following day.
It was a very full day and we wandered around the garment manufacturing area, we took the Sky Train (easy to use and very reasonable and clean) for about 15 to 25 baht each trip - which is around 50 to 75 cents per person per trip for the areas we went to. We walked over to the Jim Thompson Thai House on Soi Kasemsan 2 which we thoroughly enjoyed. Jim Thompson was born in Delaware in 1906, a practising architect prior to World War II eventually sent to Asia with the USA Army and later sent to Bangkok as a military officer who fell in love with Thailand. The hand weaving of slk, a long neglected cottage industry, captured his interest and he devoted himself to reviving the craft - and took yards of Thai silk back to Vogue in New York and that’s how the love of Thai Silk grew throughout the world. The house we toured was his house and he combined 6 traditional Thai houses (at least 2 centuries old) to make one large home for himself using traditional Thai building customs.
Jim Thompson disappeared on March 26 1967 while visiting the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia - he went for a walk in the jungle and never returned. Today he has silk stores all over Thailand with beautiful top quality silks, clothes, bags, tshirts etc - lovely designs and prints. The entrance fee to tour the house is 100 baht (about $4 each). Of course we encountered the typical Tuk Tuk drivers along the way - a tuk tuk is a small 2 passenger vehicle powered by a motorbike. We had 2 drivers tell us Jim Thompson house was closed due to a Buddhist holiday - they tell you this so that you will take a ride with them to somewhere else! Fortunately we have been in Bangkok several times and know most of the ruses from the local touts and tuk tuk drivers!
By 4:30pm we were tired after being on our feet for 8 hours. Our original plan was to stay downtown, go for dinner and visit the infamous night markets at Pat pong. The revised plan was to take the Sky Train back to the central World Plaza and take the shuttle back to the Pride! The traffic in Bangkok is always a nightmare - but once we were settled in the shuttle we relaxed until we were back at the dock. The ship was very quiet that evening - many passengers still in town, some off on a river cruise with dinner and dancing. Did I mention the weather? It was cold! The average at this time of the year is 38 to 39C - two days ago it dropped to 16 degrees overnight and a high of 22C in the day which felt much colder due to the wind! Everyone we spoke to said it had never been this cold in Bangkok before. The passengers on the river cruise froze! Jackie said she sat on the floor on the boat next to the side of the boat trying to hide from the wind since the boat was open sided! I think this shore excursion was about $169 each and Jackie said she couldn’t believe how much they had paid to freeze for the evening!
Wednesday March 30, 2011 BANGKOK, THAILAND
We were just off to breakfast at 8am when we ran into Rich and Mary - they had arranged to go into Bangkok to a silk warehouse at 8:30 am (one of those deals where the silk warehouse sends along taxi to pick you up at the ship then drop you back at the ship afterwards). We decided to go along with them and then stay in Bangkok afterwards. We raced along for a very fast cup of coffee and croissant then joined Rich and Mary. Meanwhile Roland and June came along and decided to join the party as well - so all 6 of us headed off. The silk warehouse was a bust - it was really a large tailor shop with lots of silks for having custom clothes made on site and about 8 East Indian tailors waiting for us. We decided this was absolutely not what we wanted - so we left and had the taxi driver drop us off at the Indra Regent Hotel.
We then took the group to the local store we had found the day before - everyone was thrilled and we all bought silk - lots of it - and the shop owner who spoke pretty good English was thrilled! Then Rich and Mary headed back to the ship by taxi for an afternoon shore excursion while the 4 of us continued on through the garment district. Terry and I love this area - seeing local Bangkok life - from the fanciest Mardi Gras type of costumes being sewn to the wholesale selling of Thai Silk shirts and every little accessory you can imagine! June and Roland were thrilled and enjoyed every moment - Roland does not like shopping normally but said he had never enjoyed a day so much - even to seeing some of the local boy girls buying fancy costumes in the centre!
The last shuttle back to the ship was at 3:30pm but we caught the 2:30pm and were very tired. The traffic was at a stand still but we had no problems. Many of the passengers later in the day went through major stress when they were in their own taxis trying to get back to the Pride by the allotted time and they were stopped in traffic without moving for 30 minutes! But of course the shuttle and the shore excursions were all caught in the same traffic so everyone was on board in time for the 4:45 pm champagne sail away down the Chau Phraya River into the Gulf of Thailand for our last 2 days at sea cruising south into Singapore.
Thursday March 31, 2011 AT SEA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
Surprise! Even though the forecast for the next 2 days has been pretty wet we woke up to dry skies - in fact the skies weren’t even as dark grey as they have been many days! We headed up to the Verandah for breakfast (our meals have gotten smaller every day and are now quite conservative!) It was humid but lovely to sit on the very back of the ship on deck 7 and watch the world go by - always fishing ships on the coast - no doubt mostly squid boats. We joined Mike and Jackie on the top Sky Deck and settled in to relax in the warm with a book although we spent more time talking than reading! Today is Jackie’s Birthday so we shared a glass of champagne to toast her. She received lots of texts from her family back in the UK - it costs them only 25p (about 40 cents) per text meanwhile those of us from North America can get no reception at all! We started to see blue patches of sky and by about 11 am it was sunny and hot - we had to stand up to cool off with the breeze from over the railings. Our deck boys were excellent - they came around during the morning with glass cleaner and sun lotion. then iced water or fruit punch. water spray to cool off, and later with iced fruit on a stick - chunks of pineapple and melon that had been frozen and were on a stick!
The deck was very busy by 11 am and around 1 pm we took a break and went down to the Verandah for lunch on the back deck outside - very glad of the shade and breeze. Then it was back under blue skies on the top deck - there were various games on the deck including golf putting through various coke cans, the mood being relaxed and everyone enjoying the good weather. Around 3 pm we headed back to the cabin where we were presented with our bill for the cruise - oh such a joy! But the bill was mostly shore excursions - the Seabourn Line pricing includes all gratuities and beverages so the only charges are shopping and spa services on board plus shore excursions. We also decided to take advantage of making a deposit (half price) for a future cruise (not assigned at this point) which can be cancelled for a full refund at any time within the next 2 years or assigned to a cruise that we choose (we haven’t chosen one yet) and when you choose the cruise you get 5% discount for being a previous Seabourn client plus an additional 5% discount for booking a future cruise while on board. Then it was time to start some preliminary packing and get ready for evening dinner with Jackie and Mike.
6:45pm was the Captain Sean Whalley’s Farewell Gala in the Magellan Lounge with caviar and champagne with Roland, June, Rich, Mary, Mike and Jackie - everyone looking very special in tux and lovely dresses and a nice glow from the sun, followed by cocktails in the Constellation Lounge where we were joined by Karen and Craig from Melbourne, and Elaine and Terry from UK - then we were off for dinner at our reserved table for Jackie’s Birthday. It was a wonderful dinner (main course Beef Wellington) and we closed the restaurant down then off to the Sky Bar for 15 minutes for a night cap which apparently they were closing at 11:30pm for a staff party - and we were so ready to collapse ourselves by then!
Friday April 1, 2011 AT SEA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
Yeah - its not grey and rainy! Lots of clouds but I can see blue patches so maybe we are going to have another wonderful day! The drapes are blackout drapes in each cabin so those who like to stay up late and sleep late each day can do so at their leisure leaving the DO NOT DISTURB on their door - it also means that when you wake up you need to open the drapes to get the daylight into the cabin. There are fishing boats in the area - it makes you realise just how many fishing boats there are. Every morning the first thing we do is turn on the TV to find out what is going on in Libya and Japan after the tsunami and nuclear meltdown (and the United Nations back tracking!). Usually on vacation we make a point of not turning on the TV but this time there is so much happening in the world and BBC World does a good job of keeping us current.
We had a wonderful day - the sun came out full force and stayed out all day for us to play in the pool and on the deck - in spite of the crew warning us that they expected rain sometime during the afternoon. We had a late light breakfast on the back deck - it was 10am before we arrived for breakfast because we had been updating the journal! We sat outside in the humid warmth and loved it - the first day we had eaten outside without the wind blowing! Then it was off to the Sky Deck where we stayed for the rest of the day - Jackie and Mike had saved a couple of sun cots for us and we loaded up with #10 spray suntan oil (yuk!). We had brought it by mistake - thought it was lotion - from London Drugs on our way to the airport but that’s another story!
We loved the ice cold face cloths that the staff brought around for us - and we made several trips into the small swimming pool to cool off - it was very very hot! The water surged from one end to the other and it is a rectangle with a depth of 6 foot 3 inches everywhere so you just hang out and stay cool! For lunch we had cheeseburger (a treat!) so we didn’t have to get dressed to go inside although they had the “Signature Seabourn Lunch” in the main restaurant downstairs on deck 3. Late afternoon after our several swims we sat in the hot tub for about an hour - the water was cool (not hot) and in the shade - it was more comfortable than being on the deck in the hot sun! Yet again we enjoyed frozen fresh fruit cubes on a skewer, and even champagne sorbet - the waiters bring this around with a tiny spoon to eat/drink when it is hot - lovely!
We showered and changed in time to come back up and watch a beautiful sunset form the Sky Bar before we headed down to Restaurant 2 and sat outside for dinner - tonight was “Steak House” and we had a wonderful last dinner with the staff who had done such a wonderful job of looking after us for the last 14 nights all the way from Hong Kong - we even gave Eddie a Canadian Rockies calendar! At one time he had a girl friend from Prince George and he loves hockey - he knows more about Vancouver Canucks than we do (which isn’t much) he assured us that even though the Canucks are number 1 in the league they will fade and die in the Stanley Cup just like they always do!
After a night cap in the Sky Bar we went back to the cabin for an early evening since our disembark time was 8:30 am next morning. Our bags had to be outside by midnight - and somehow we always leave too much to pack the morning we get off the ship (all the bits and pieces) - this time was no different!
Saturday April 2, 2011 SINGAPORE arrive 7am
Well - it had arrived - we were docked before 7am and that meant we would soon be disembarking! When the alarm went off at 6am we were both fast asleep - funny how that always happens on the days when you HAVE to get up! We looked outside and it was absolutely pouring (and I mean pouring) with rain! We had ordered coffee to the suite for 7am - thank goodness - since by the time we were up, showered and dressed it was almost time to go! A last flurry as the great folks we had met on the ship hustled by to ensure we had all exchanged addresses (emails being the name of the day). The Pride printed and distributed a list of everyone’s names and town where they live on about Day 4 of the cruise which was really nice (you could opt out should you prefer) so you could write notes in the booklet next to names.
Our suitcase tags were Yellow 5 scheduled to disembark at 8:30am and at 8:28am they called yellow 5 over the ship speaker. Time to go! We had docked at the shipping industrial commercial port not the cruise ship terminal. So we boarded the free shuttle to the cruise ship terminal where we cleared immigration ( very fast) and then picked up our suitcases and headed for a taxi. We were stopped by a taxi driver offering to take 4 of us for $60 but we had been told the taxi would only be $10 for 2 so we declined. They also told us that we could rent a limo for $60 with no wait line like at the taxi stand. When we got there after quite a long walk through the terminal, there were taxis waiting and no lines, so by 9 am we were in our hotel (Fairmont Singapore next to Raffles) and the taxi was only $7.50 SIG (about $6Cdn). The Singapore taxi drivers apparently do not expect tips but the fares are low so we gave him a tip anyway.
We had a beautiful room - 22nd floor with fantastic view over the city and all the high rises, it has a lounge chair (the long ones where you keep your feet up - can’t remember what they are called - chaise lounge?) and free internet since we belong to the President’s Club. The doormen and bellman appear to be East Indian descent and all wear Colonial dress. They are incredibly polite and talked to us while we were waiting during the checkin process advising where to go and how to get there.
By 11am we were settled in and changed - maps in hand ready to depart! We caught the HIPPO day tours sightseeing which we caught outside the hotel - we had to cross the street to the bus stop, but walked up to the crosswalks since you get fines in Singapore for either chewing gum or jay walking! The double decker red bus open air on top had just left the bus stop but was halted at the traffic lights - I walked up to the door and the driver let us in (Terry was amazed but happy to get right on the bus) - the temperature was 31 degrees Celcius and very humid! On top (where everyone wanted to be) the photo opportunities were fabulous but it was also hot. Some of the buses during the day had the back half of the top deck covered so that’s where we sometimes sat and we always kept our hats on even though it made us hotter!
They have 3 routes : city centre, heritage, and original. It cost $23 for 1 day but by adding another $10 we got the pass for 48 hours and that then included riding on the Hippo Cruise boats. So you can hop on and hop off as much as you like. By doing both the City Centre and Heritage routes you cover all the routes so of course during the course of the day we did both. Also included is a 45 minute cruise on the Singapore River from the Clarke Quay so of course we hopped off the bus to do that. We had 30 minutes to wait to so went into Hooters on the Quay (the first Hooters we have ever been into - we were the first customers of the day but it filled rapidly - all families with small children looking for a shady spot and a wide variety of food). Terry had an ice cold Tiger Beer which cost $12.80 SIG including taxes - we had been warned that alcohol is very expensive in Singapore and they were correct!
The boat trip took us down the river into the harbour and it is no wonder we were having a hard time getting our bearings since the last time we were there - Singapore has filled so much of the harbour and bay and built on it that the island is way bigger than last time we came (at least 10 years ago) and huge buildings where we cruised last time! The Fullerton Hotel is as stately as ever on the river and was used as a hospital during World War II. Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World War II. Singapore was originally called Lion City by Malaysia and at the mouth of the river there is a statue of a lion. Now that the city has grown out into the water this statue is currently inside a boutique hotel called the Merlion Hotel - unbelievable!
Sir Raffles is the founder of Singapore and surprisingly enough we found out that he spent no more than 8 months in his entire life in Singapore - and there is even a bronze statue of him in the City as the founder of Singapore! There is the famous Raffles hotel (where the Singapore Sling originated), Raffles Way and Raffles City shopping centre all in the area where we are staying. Singapore is a very modern City and growing at a very fast pace - a small island connected to Malaysia by a causeway - I think the entire island is only about 26 by 14 miles total 268 sq miles with a population of just under 4.5 million - main nationalities being Singapore, Indian, Chinese and other. Here is a great link to read if you are interested
During our bus tours you could not help but be mesmerised by the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino on the waterfront (which used to be in the water!). This hotel and casino is 3 structures 57 storeys high with 2600 hotel rooms!!!!!! On the very top there is the Sky Park which looks like a ship or surf board from one tower to the other with lots hanging out in free space! It costs $20 to ride to the top or $17 for a senior 65 and older (Terry - ha ha!!). With much trepidation on my part we went up - you are there in seconds and a very smooth ride (and no glass windows in the elevator I am glad to say). The views are simply unbelievable and amazing - I was so scared I just hugged the inside wall and could not go out to the glass so Terry was photographer - all I could think about was engineering disaster, and the fact that most of the time I was standing on thin air!!!! We did go into the bar and restaurant (Tiger beer was $18 here for a glass but we ended up not partaking since no one appeared to serve us and I felt my time limit for walking on thin air was declining rapidly!). We walked along the surf board (in thin air) to the other end which is home to the hotel and there is a park with lovely trees (57 stories up) and a jacuzzi tub with a glass wall looking out into thin air! If that is not enough - on the other side of the surf board in thin air is a very long swimming pool - and get this - it is an infinity pool where you can lean on the infinity edge and look out! We took our photos and descended 57 floors and I was never so happy to get my feet back on the ground! The inside of each tower is hollow so all rooms and balconies look down to the ground floor - it truly is an engineering marvel.
During our bus tours we had seen several advertisements for The Lion King - started here on March 31. So we managed to pick up 2 tickets (highest floor at the back!) so we are looking forward to seeing the fabulous Lion King on Sunday night - our last night in Singapore. We made it back on our Hippo bus to the SunTec depo for the bus from where it is only 3 blocks to the Fairmont. We walked back to the Fairmont all underground past the food stalls - thousands of Singaporeans eating all the dishes they love - including other facilities such as Starbucks (lots here) and 7 Eleven store. We stopped at 3:30 in the Prego pasta and Pizza restaurant for a quick bite (our first meal for the day) - Terry ordered Calzone Pizza at $28 and was shell shocked when this little piece of pastry folded in half with rubber cheese and provolone ham appeared - we laughed so much because he couldn’t chew the cheese enough to swallow! I had ordered a portion of lasagna and we planned to share and thought we had ordered too much food! The bottle of water was $14 but that’s life in Singapore!
We enjoyed a very welcome shower and change - the humidity here means you are soaked all day long - and then we were back to the SunTec centre for 6pm to pick up the Monster Rhino Bus for the evening! This was an additional $39 and would take us to the Safari Park (at the Singapore Zoo) including admittance for the Night Safari! The ride was lovely - and the island scenery amazing - what a beautiful rain forest and tropical island this is - beautiful for sure. This evening at the Zoo was an experience - thousands of hot sweaty adults and children! We started with the show in the amphitheatre - cerval cat, owls, hyena, sloth, and the best - a huge python!! However - they do this panic thing saying they have lost Fred (I can’t remember the actual name they used) and they keep asking everyone to check under their seats - huge screams when some guests find a cockroach in their lunch box - but eventually they pull out a 20 feet long python from under the seats in the middle of the audience!!! It took 4 attendants to pick it up and carry it to the centre stage - lots of laughs and a few heart attacks I think as well. After the show we boarded the tram (all painted in jungle motif) for a ride around the night park and saw lots of animals from Asia and Africa with a guide explaining about them all - the foliage comes very close to the side of the tram and it was really well done - animals included elephants with a 1 week old baby ellie, giraffe, lions, tiger, rhino, hippo, tapir, deer, bongo, bearded pigs, etc etc.
Afterwards it was the fire show with flame eating and antics from a group of about 7 young Asians. It was quite hilarious seeing Asians dressed as African warriors. Then back to the bus by 9:45pm - driver said he would leave at 9:50 pm sharp, regardless of who was there and who wasn’t - well there were many empty seats but he left right on time! A fast drive home, back to the hotel (for another shower) and crash in bed!
Sunday April 3, 2011 SINGAPORE
It’s now 11:30 am - time to get back out to explore. The journal is up to date and we are ready for Singapore and the humidity again! The weather forecast is for rain but right now it’s sunny and very warm!
