PULAU LINTANG, INDONESIA OCT 12-13, 2012

PULAU LINTANG, Anambas Archipelago

ORION II SINGAPORE TO SOUTH CHINA SEA

ORION EXPEDITION CRUISES   - The Path Less Travelled

FRIDAY Oct 12 - Sat Oct 13, 2012  Embarking in SINGAPORE

WHO OWNS ALL THIS LUGGAGE?

So our shuttle arrived just 10 minutes late at 2:40pm (just after we started to worry and had the Concierge make a phone call to Limousine Cabs to ensure they were on their way!)  All the luggage was  piled into the new and clean 19 passenger bus - enough luggage that we had just 13 seats left to sit on!  First stop was the Cruise Ship Terminal - a fancy building that was looking pretty deserted!  No-one around so Terry and the driver took a quick walk inside and determined that we should be at the Singapore Cruise Centre next to the Harbourfront Centre Building.

Another 15 minutes and we arrived at the correct building and were delighted to see folks around wearing ORION tshirts - always a good sign that you are at the correct location!  We soon unloaded the bags and suitcases and they were taken away by the porters, and after a couple of escalators, moving sidewalks, and long hallways we were welcomed onto the ORION II.  It was sitting in the harbour next to a massive Star cruise ships and it looked tiny!

CHEERS TO A SUCCESSFUL CRUISE

We were soon onboard, although we did have to wait for awhile to checkin - we were kept waiting in the main reception area and checked in one cabin at a time.  So we missed the champagne and appetizers being served in the lounge, and just managed to throw our bags into the cabin, start (but not finish) unpacking - then head into the lounge to section A, B, C or D with our life jackets ready for the emergency drill. It tool quite a long time but was well done and comprehensive - we even had to walk out on to the deck afterwards in crocodile formation (1 hand on the shoulder of the person in front) towards the life boat that we would be getting on to should there be a real emergency while on board the ORION II.

LIFEBOAT DRILL & SNORKEL GEAR

After the drill the ORION II was ready to leave Singapore so we headed upstairs to the 6th deck at the front of the ship (this small deck also has a jacuzzi on it which is kept as  cool water when in tropical climes) and toasted each other while watching the hundreds of freighters in the Singapore Harbour as we departed and watched the lights on the shore of the country of Singapore, which is also an island, pass by.  We said Goodbye to Singapore with a glass of champagne in our hands and were soon meeting and greeting other passengers on the ship, we et several repeat clients - for some this was their 8th cruise on ORION.

OUR CABIN #345

Dinner was downstairs on the 2nd deck in the Restaurant (very aptly named) - you are seated as you arrive at the next table or at a table of the size you would like if you have arranged to have dinner with other folks.  This can be a nice way to meet and learn about the other passengers on the cruise - the largest table seating 6 passengers.   The dining room staff are all from the Philippines with big smiles and a great sense of serving you well and keeping everyone happy.  Teddy and Eric were two of our servers and looked after us very well. Terry and I purchased a wine package of wine - 5 bottles for $150 AU from a wine list given to us.

The food was excellent, we were very impressed.  Each night they serve a gusto menu with 5 courses and small portions so that you can fully enjoy each each course.  In addition they also have other options for those preferring a more standard fare of fish and meat with side dishes.  The evening just flew by and  with dinner not starting until 7:30pm by the time we finished dinner we headed for our cabin and very comfortable beds!  We were soon sleeping like babies and the gentle rocking motion gave us a very good night's sleep!  A wonderful start to our first cruise onboard ORION II.

SATURDAY Oct 13, 2012 South China Sea to PULAU LINTANG, Anambas Archipelago North East of Singapore

How exciting - our first morning on the ORION II - such calm waters last night so a solid sleep for about 5 hours, waking before 4am and still very dark outside.  So I continued reading my WHITETHORN book by Bryce Courtenay (A Novel of Africa) which saw me reading it all through Kenya in September, and I'm still not finished, but such a good story and so many facts, which of course I find fascinating, set mainly in South Africa starting in World War II and continuing with some Kenya and Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe history thrown in as well.

OUR FIRST ZODIAC RIDE & WET LANDING

By 6am we were dressed and up into the lounge on deck 4 where coffee and continental breakfast are served from 7am, then the main breakfast starts at 7:30.  The latte I had was awesome and that's it for my coffee of the day!  A quick walk around the deck confirmed what we were told last night - the air conditioned ship means that your camera will steam up when you first go outside into the humidity - so give it a little while to defog!  The South China Sea was like glass - you could see the fish swimming along with their dorsal fins skimming through the surface.  There were all sorts of small islands, several layers deep at different heights, not far away - a few of the thousands of islands in Indonesia.

OUR DESERTED BEACH

All of the group of 13 emerged one by one, and each had a good sleep with I think everyone in bed before 10pm last night.   Carrie and Linda laughed heartily as they told of the balloons and huge Anniversary Congratulations in their cabin 339 last night when they went to bed - it was meant for Clark (who at the last minute was unable to come) and Linda's wedding anniversary, but some confusion meant it had been Congratulations to Carrie and Linda!! In two single beds!  Breakfast was served outdoors in the Outdoor Cafe under blue canvas umbrellas and pagodas on the aft of deck 5 - lovely fresh fruit, cereals, eggs to order, cooked hot items, salmon, pastries, croissants - all tasting wonderful as we gazed out across the calm seas sitting with Suz and Pete Laurie.

By 8:30am we were dropping anchor and the crew was getting ready to head out in a zodiac scout boat to assess local conditions and check out the landing for our snorkelling and beach trip today on the small island of Pulau Lintang .  At 9am with excitement running high we picked up our zodiac life vest (much smaller and easier to  wear than the emergency life jacket which is good for 6 days floating in the ocean)  and headed into the Lounge for the Zodiac Briefing - this is truly an Expedition ship and cruise with shore excursions being "wet landings" and instructions required, and given, as to what this means.

DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?

The briefing was informative and fun - the Aussies on the Expedition crew led by Max McGuire, have a great sense of humour - and then we were all issued excellent quality snorkels, masks and fins (not flippers as Max said) ready for our snorkelling. Wearing our lightweight safety vests (issued specifically for the trips on the Zodiacs) we were soon loaded into the Zodiac (5 passengers sitting each side on the rubber air chambers) and we were off to the beach - which was in a protected bay and just beautiful with amazing rock cliff formations on the side.  The water was calm even though all of the islands on the other side of the bay were in the mist and haze and looked quite dark.

Carrie was the first into the water and said she felt like she was on the cover of a travel magazine it was so beautiful.  The staff had already unloaded towels and water and we were soon snorkelling.  The reef was very healthy with beautiful corals (hard and soft) and lots of fish - parrot fish, clown fish in anemones, damsel, butterfly, Queen angel - it was truly beautiful snorkelling.  Best of all there was essentially no current so we could all hang about with faces downward enjoying everything we saw with no fear of drifting off to places unknown!  (ORION does offer high visibility yellow jackets for anyone who feels more comfortable wearing one). 

SINGAPORE TO BALI   - VIA BORNEO

Carrie was back at the beach before us and was met by a waiter who walked into the water bringing her a margarita in a martini glass!  By the time we exited many folks had already returned to the ORION and it was just starting to rain a little - but we enjoyed our margarita and amazing guacamole and tortilla chips on the beach!  Then it was back to the ORION for lunch which was served in The Restaurant down on the 2nd floor - a change of plans since it was meant to be on the back deck but Clinton the Maitre'D was concerned that the rain might reach the ship - it never did!  It was a buffet with all sorts of Indonesian dishes but I had a green salad with a wonderful mix of fresh greens and cheese and crackers (followed by tiny servings of bread and butter pudding, blueberry torte and chocolate ice cream!).

By 2pm we were back over to the beach on Lintang Island and it was a simply amazing afternoon.  The skies turned completely blue, it was a low tide, the water was like glass - absolutely picture perfect.  Only about half the number of folks came out who had been there in the morning so they missed an even better experience!  We went by zodiac from the beach out into the middle of the bay and slid into the water over the reef which was pristine and because of the low tide we were so close to all the healthy hard and soft corals, every colour you could think of: yellow, pink, green, blue, beige - amazing!  In addition there were so many fish. many of which we have not sen since we were avid scuba divers more than 10 years ago - again there was no current so we just hung out in our own personal aquarium.  Michelle popped her head at one point and said very little - her eyes as round as saucers "Unbelievable, I am so stoked!".  It truly was a wonderful hour and a half of looking into the world of fish and corals, watching the busy life underwater - even to a cleaning station with the tiny wrasse busy cleaning all over the parrot fish stopping by!  The wrasse even swim inside the gills of the much larger fish, cleaning the parasites - the wrasse get their nutrition and the larger fish stay healthy and happy. 

When we were ready, we had an easy swim back to the zodiac where a set of ladders is down into the water for easy access - unfortunately at this point Terry swam into a jelly fish and ended up with red welts all across his chest and arms - he said it felt like an electric shock zapped him!  Back at the beach he doused himself with cold water and even though the welts looked red, swollen and blistery - they didn't sting and within a few hours had completely disappeared. The clouds had all been burned off, the lighting was awesome and we spent a beautiful hour taking photos and just absorbing the beautiful location - there were less than 10 of us left to enjoy the beach on this uninhabited island. 

I was about to say pristine beach, but I can't say that since the garbage issue in Indonesia and all of Asia is only slowly being addressed.  Plastic is the problem that was created, and not resolved, in the 20th century.  Plastic floats around all the waters in the world and Asia is no different - so much of it washes up on the beaches and this island has its' fair share at one end of the island.  ORION is very conservation minded and they are always picking up bags of garbage wherever they go, but there is no recycling program in most of Asia and until that is addressed this garbage issue will not go away.  One thing ORION does is issue everyone a metal insulated drinking water bottle and very strongly encourages each passenger to use this for the cruise (there are large chilled water bottles all over the ship to refill your own bottle).

SAILAWAY FROM SINGAPORE

Even Max (the Expedition Leader) came into the water to cool off at the end of the afternoon - threw his walkie talkie back onto the beach and said I agree - this is too amazing for words - I have never seen such perfect conditions" and he agreed to mutiny with us, but of course, there were so many excellent reasons to head back to the ship, so we were all aboard on the last zodiac heading off the beach and back to the ORION II.  While on the beach we did have a fly over by a plane - looked like a military plane of some sort heading over to check out ORION II - it returned a few minutes later and then went on its' way.  There used to be huge amounts of piracy in the South China Seas, but that has dropped off a lot in the last few years with all the countries' navies working together.

Back on board the last zodiac was hoisted to the roof and before we had showered the ORION II had its' anchor up and we were on our way heading further North East for  our next stop - the RIAU archipelago in the province of Kepri, or Kepulauan, Indonesia located between mainland Malaysia and Borneo.   The official language is RIAU and the RIAU Islands are considered the birthplace of the modern Malay language, and is the official standard for Malay as agreed upon by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.  RIAU is in the heart of the Malay World which stretches from Eastern Sumatra to to Borneo.

CAPTAIN'S DINNER

Back on board we first had a wonderful slide show in the 3rd floor lounge recapping the days' events presented by the Expedition Staff - they work so hard every day these brawny Australians, and using computer technology to quickly put together an entertaining (such a dry sense of humour and so many laughs and chuckles by all of us) and informative slide show including many photos of the clients and what they did that day, along with useful information about where we had been and what we had seen.  Then they follow with a presentation about the next day's schedule and what we should expect to see and do, what we should take along with us, what we should be wearing, and whether the zodiac landings were expected to be dry or wet (feet and legs in the water off the zodiacs). 

BREAKFAST ON THE BACK DECK

It was the Captains' dinner and so at 645pm we were all invited into the Lounge for champagne (or wine) and a few appetizers.  Captain Vincent from Brittany France greeted us all (born in 1976) and we sat in a group at the back of the lounge and enjoyed catching up with each other for 45 minutes until we headed down to dinner in the Restaurant - a grand dinner , we all sat at 1 table (well 3 tables put together) and had a splendid meal.  Everyone was dressed in their finest, which is still quite casual on the ORION and enjoyed a lovely 5 course dinner.  Every night there is a 5 course dinner (small portions so that you can enjoy every course) or alternative selections (you can mix and match between the set and alternative should you wish).  This was the end of our first full day on the ORION II - we have already made some new friends, the crew and Expedition staff are familiar already on a first name basis and look after us like their own family - we are going to have an awesome cruise!

By the end of dinner most of us immediately went to bed and were asleep in minutes, although we did find out next morning that Carrie had persuaded a few to head to the lounge where they enjoyed Canadian Glenn (from Quebec) playing the piano - he is apparently very flexible and played a bit of everything and the girls danced the night away.