March 22, 2013  Sea Day

This morning’s Good Morning Amsterdam shows guest was Char, the future cruise consultant, who books future cruises for guests onboard. Her desk is busy most everyday with folks booking their next cruise or making sure that they are booked on next year’s world cruise in the cabin they want.

Robert Schrire’s lecture was titled: The Future-Doom or Gloom, where he discussed if humankind has a future in a world of terrorism, the rise of China, and climate change. With the increase in population in many parts of the world, pollution and the lack of water, what lies ahead? Will we have wars over water rather than land? Will countries like China demand a larger role in the world?

For lunch we met up with some of our fellow travelers from San Diego in the dining room to catch up and see how everyone was doing. We shared stories about our favorite things and what we were looking forward to.

There were two movies on this day with Hitchcock in the movie theater and Lincoln playing in the evening on the big screen in the Queens Lounge. This was a formal night dinner with Prom Night as the theme. The dining room was adorned in hot pink and blue drapes, streamers, napkins and flowers. After dinner there was a dance in the Crow’s Nest Bar for those who wanted to dance. The bar was decorated extensively in pink and blue streamers, balloons and fabric. As part of the party they awarded one couple prom king and queen.

March 21, 2013  Phuket, Thailand

Hindu Temple

Inside the Temple

Phuket is Thailand’s largest, most populous and most visited island. Phuket is an island of 503 square miles and produces cashews, rice, rubber, cacao, pineapple, and coconuts. The culture has a combination of Chinese and Portuguese influences. The island suffered much destruction in the 2004 tsunami that hit its west coast, but has since been rebuilt.

Our tour took us on a scenic ride along the coastline and through the city to the island’s most famous temple, Wat Chalong, dedicated to two revered monks. The temple is known for its gold leaf covered statue of Luang Pho Chaem. At the beginning of the 20^th century when Chinese invaders invaded Phuket for its valuable tin mines, Luang Pho cared for the injured at great personal risk. The temple is located on a very large parcel with several other very ornate brightly colored temples.  One temple houses a relic of Buddah.

Then we were off to the cultural center for a show of cultural dances and customs. It included a wedding ceremony, stick dance, folk dances and a martial arts performance. The costumes and props they used were colorful and festive.

Lunch was at a very large Thai restaurant that went on forever. Many banquet rooms were outdoors with roofs and fans while others were indoors with air conditioning. Unfortunately we were in an outdoor dining room with the heat reaching near 100 degrees. The food was served buffet style with a salad bar, dim sum, sushi, hot dishes, fruits and desserts. The food was good and included a variety of things that we had not seen before.

Before heading back to the ship they took us to what was billed as the largest jewelry store in the world. It was an enormous warehouse with one glass case of jewelry after another. You were also able to see the jewelers making the jewelry. Most of the jewelry was over the top glitzy with lots of bling.

As usual when we leave a port we attend the sail away party on the rear deck of the ship where they serve appetizers and offer drink specials. With the weather as hot as it has been, the turn out at the sail away parties has been light.

The night’s entertainment was a show called Atlantic Crossing performed by the new cast of the Amsterdam singers and dancers that came onboard in Hong Kong. The show featured British music from the past 50 years.

March 20, 2013  Porto Malai, Langkawi, Malaysia

Gorgeous Flowering Tree

Cattle Crossing

Langkawi is the main island of the Langkawi group located in the Strait of Malacca, Peninsular Malaysia, but you already knew that. Langkawi is only about 18 miles in length and 10 miles wide. The highest point is on Raya Mountain where it rises to 2,887 feet. Most of the island’s residents are engaged in fishing but they also cultivate coconuts, rice and run rubber plantations. The name Langkawi comes from two Malay words “helang” meaning “eagle” and “kawi” meaning “auburn” and the eagle is the symbol of the island.

Our tour took us to Gunung Mat Cincang Mountain where we took a cable car to the top station at the summit over 2,500 feet up. From here we could see 360 degrees around the island including many of the 99 islands that makeup Malaysia. The cable car ride is a very steep incline with few support columns but the ride is extremely smooth and eerily quiet as you climb high above the treetops. If the skies were clearer we would have been able to see Thailand in the distance but it was over 90 degrees and very humid and the skies were not clear.

We saw wild monkeys and water buffalo along the roadsides wandering at will. We stopped at a man made harbor for photos of the bay and surrounding mountains. The island homes are rustic looking, scattered throughout the island, mostly along the water’s edge.

We visited the Rice Garden, one of Langkawi’s eco-tourism attractions, where we visited a museum showing all aspects of rice cultivation. The museum featured not only photos and cultivation implements but it also had the actual rice fields with people tending to the cultivation of the rice.

The town near the port called Pantai Cenang, was a resort style town with beautiful white sand beaches, small resort style hotels and lodges and a main street filled with eating establishments and souvenir shops. Due to the extremely warm weather most of the businesses appeared to stay open until midnight when it was cooler and the tourists could come out to eat and shop. We joined Jenn for an Indian lunch in town and then some shopping.

Before leaving port we had a local Malay Kompang Dance Show onboard. They performed a variety of regional cultural dances in festive colored outfits. The show was similar to several of the other shows we have seen in other Asian countries.

The nightly entertainment was a variety show featuring the last two performers, Clare Langan the Flautist and Kenny Smiles the Welsh comedian.

March 19, 2013  Sea Day

We had a new Exploration Speaker today by the name of Joe Daley who had lived in Singapore in the 1960’s. Joe was a businessman who has lived in more than 20 countries working for large corporations, mostly maritime business related. He was more of a storyteller using slides from his life experiences and showing the differences between then and now.

Robert Schrires lecture today was titled Our Changing World, where he discusses how the world has become confusing, as change has accelerated. He looked at the demographics, political and economic forces, which will determine our future.

The night’s entertainer was a flautist by the name of Clare Langan. We have seen Clare on a previous cruise but she has high energy and put on a wonderful show.

March 18, 2013  Singapore, Republic of Singapore

Hotel and Casino

Arab Town

Orchid Gardens

We took a city highlights tour with our travel agency’s private tour, which was a bus with only nine of us. Our first stop was the National Orchid Garden where they have over 60,000 orchid plants on display. The garden is immaculately maintained by over 100 gardeners, who tend to every inch of the garden. This is the largest orchid display in the world.

Our next stop was Arab Street to see the gold-domed Sultan Mosque. The area is filled with fabric shops with any imaginable fabric you can think of for sale. Middle Eastern restaurants line the streets, along with a variety of gift shops selling local Asian wares. Most of the buildings in this area are from the colonial period when shop owners had businesses on the ground level and lived on the second floor (shop houses). Today they do not allow people to live on the upper floor due to the risk of fire spreading from one unit to the adjoining units.

We then drove by the Raffles Hotel, St. Andrew’s Cathedral and City Hall on our way to the waterfront where we visited the Merlion. The Merlion is half fish and half lion and is the symbol of Singapore. From here you can also see a recently built hotel and casino complex consisting of three 50-story towers with a giant ship shaped structure connecting them at the top. The top floor features an infinity pool, gardens, restaurants and bars and has wonderful views over the city and bay.  Some of our fellow travelers had meals there and some even stayed overnight.

Next we visited Chinatown where we saw the exterior of the Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple with its ornate multi-colored exterior of elaborate figurines of gods and goddesses. The narrow streets are filled with eating establishments and all kinds of shopping from clothing to handicrafts.

Lastly we drove to the top of Mt. Faber, the highest point in the city, where we had a panoramic view out over the city and bay. Mt. Faber is a lush parkland area with a wonderful park at the top.

After lunch onboard the ship, Kent worked on emails at a local hotel, while Mark walked a couple of miles across a covered boardwalk in the heat to the island of Sentosa. Sentosa is a cross between Las Vegas and Disney World. The island is packed with hotels and casinos, parks, rides, restaurants, Universal Studios, a cultural center and more. You can elect to pay one dollar to wander the island or select from a variety of packages to enjoy several or all of the 17 different adventure options.

Overall, Singapore appears to be a very prosperous community with clean streets, well-maintained buildings and is very tourist friendly. The public transportation appears efficient and well maintained. Every subway station is connected to a shopping mall of one sort or another. Many of the shopping malls are so large that it is very easy to get lost in them. They have everything from designer shops to handicrafts.

March 17, 2013  Sea Day/Singapore, Republic of Singapore

Kent and our Student Wei

St. Patrick’s day was celebrated with a morning party in the Queen’s lounge. It was a festive occasion with many guests having brought special hats, clothes and festive attire. The orchestra and cruise staff were decked out in green sequined jackets with tails. Music, games, trivia and Irish jigs filled the morning. Those who participated could win bottles of champagne and prizes.

Robert Schrire’s lecture was titled: Why Tyrants Survive? He gave insight into how tyrants win power and lose power and weather or not tyranny has a future in the modern world. His conclusion was that while tyrants still survive, the list is growing shorter with information in the modern world.

By 2:00pm we had arrived pier-side in the city of Singapore. Singapore is an island country and the smallest country in Southeast Asia, located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Singapore was the site of several ancient port cities and a possession of several empires in its history before the United Kingdom colonized it in the early 19^th century. The Japanese occupied it during World War II before a merger established it as part of Malaysia. When Singapore acquired independence, having few natural resources, it was socio-politically volatile and economically undeveloped. Foreign investment and rapid government-led industrialization grew an economy which relies on exports of electronics and manufacturing, primarily crude oil refining. Singapore has the second busiest port in the world… second only to Shanghai. It has the highest standard of living in Asia and 83% of the population lives in housing built by the government. More than half use the efficient public transportation system daily maintaining low pollution levels.

We met up with Wei, one of our students from San Diego State, who we met when he was 20 and he is now 27. Wei is from Malaysia but has been working in Singapore for a headhunter employment agency. He recently quit his job and will be returning to Malaysia for a better paying job with better benefits. We enjoyed catching up with him and his life over dinner at a Peking duck restaurant.

Wei then took us to meet Jackie, a friend of his who studied at SDSU as well, and is from Brunei where her family owns beauty salons. We had a variety of desserts at a nearby shopping center.  Our next stop by public transportation was the Night Safari, the world’s first wildlife park, built to be viewed at night. Set on 98 acres of dense forest, the park–through subtle lighting–allows guests to view 1,000 nocturnal animals of 100 species in vast natural habitats. You can either take an open-air tram around the park or walk along many footpaths to view the animals. They have a fire eating show as well as a show featuring a variety of the park’s animals. It is a very beautiful park and we were able to see a wide variety of animals including Cape buffalo, African bongo, blue sheep, striped hyena, golden jackal, rhinoceros, otters, snakes, giraffes, deer and more.

It was a late night with us not returning to the ship until around midnight.

March 16, 2013  Sea Day

Good Morning Amsterdam’s guests this morning were the dance hosts Mike and Judy from Wales. They are an older couple that has been married for 43 years and teach the guests a variety of dances. Most sea days they have dance lessons in the Queens Lounge and all of the lessons are free.

Guest lecturer Robert Schrire’s lecture this day was titled: The Elephant and the Dragon where he discussed how China and India are neighbors but also rivals. India will soon surpass China in population but China has been soaring over the last twenty years when it comes to productivity and raising the living standards for millions of its people. Most economists, including those in China, do not believe that China’s growth is sustainable, while India’s is moving slowly but steadily upward.

For the first time this trip we are traveling east rather than north and had to change our clocks forward, meaning that we lost an hour today. Rather than losing the hour in the night the ship turns the clocks forward at two in the afternoon so that we lose an hour of daytime activities instead.

We saw the 2012 version of the Academy Award nominated movie Anna Karenina in the Wajang movie theater today. The film is set in late 19^th century Russian society where aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The cast includes Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

The variety show this evening was a variety show with pianist Van-Anh Nguyen and singer-comedian Jonathan Clark.

White Buddha

Nha Trang Beach

March 15, 2013  Nha Trang, Vietnam

Nha Trang is the capital of Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, and is well know for its pristine beaches and excellent scuba diving. They have over 600 hotels that cater to guests from all over the world, with over 20% of the tourists coming from Russia. Most of the local development has been in recent years through government and private investment, including five star hotels with rooms renting for as much as $7,000 per night.

Our tour took us to the Po Nagar Cham Towers, one of the few remaining testaments to the ancient Cham civilization. The towers were built between the 7^th and 12^th centuries when Hindus worshipped here. Today, Vietnamese Buddhists come to Po Nagar to pray and make offerings. The main tower is dedicated to revered Po Ino Nagar, wife of Prince Bac Hai and the Shiva’s only known female incarnation. The view from here out over the Xom Bong Bridge and the abundant, colorful red and blue fishing boats in the Nha Trang Harbor was beautiful.

Our next stop was Long Son Pagoda founded in the late 19^th century and has been rebuilt several times. It is currently home to less than ten monks. The entrance and roofs are elaborately decorated with mosaic dragons made of glass and ceramic tile. Here we climbed 152 steps to visit a giant 78 foot tall white Buddha seated on a lotus blossom. Here you could see views out over the city as well as the surrounding cemetery with its many niches for people’s ashes to be buried. Many people only have the ashes here for a few years before they are removed and scattered at sea. At this site there is also an extremely large reclining Buddha, which was an interesting pose that we are not used to seeing.

The Dam Market with its two stories of shops was our next stop. Here we saw outdoor vendors selling fruits and vegetables as well as other perishable items. However inside the market was reserved for more permanent shops of fabrics, clothing, souvenir items, jewelry and more.

We then visited an embroidery shop where we saw a demonstration of this local handicraft. Many young women are employed here ten hours a day, six days a week to create the beautiful detailed embroidery. They embroider many items like handkerchiefs, scarves, robes, art you hang on the wall and clothing. The prices are quite reasonable given the amount of time it takes to create just one piece of embroidery.  Some of the young women are already wearing glasses as a result of the work they do.

After returning to the ship from our tour we took the ship’s shuttle service, along with our friend, Jenn, back into town to have lunch. The bus dropped us off at a hotel just across the street from the main beach so we found a restaurant right on the sandy beach for lunch. It was very warm and humid but there was a nice breeze, which made the afternoon a pleasant one. Lunch was very reasonable at about $9.00 a person, including a soft drink or fresh squeezed juice. We tried things like fresh grilled fish and chips, sweet and sour fish with rice, chicken with peppers and chili’s. Fresh juices like watermelon or coconut juice ran $2.00 a glass.

Shopping was plentiful pier-side as there was a plethora of vendors who had set up large booths of merchandise right next to the ship. Folks were buying everything from clothing and souvenirs to suitcases to get things home.

A local group of dancers and musicians performed a lovely afternoon show in the Queen’s lounge before we sailed away. The show included several unique instruments as well as several local dances in festive, colorful, cultural dress.

The evening’s entertainer was a gentleman by the name of Jonathan Clark who has been performing a show for the last six months at the Rivera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He does a bit of a variety show including comedy, singing in his own voice and vocal impressions of many famous singers like Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett and Tom Jones.

March 14, 2013  Sea Day

There is a new guest lecturer on board by the name of Robert Schrire who is from South Africa and is a leading political analyst. He has taught at many universities including Princeton and John Hopkins. He has a doctorate from the University of California, and has authored 13 books on social issues and world politics. His lecture this day was titled: The Most Unlikely Democracy-India where he discussed how India has many qualities that make it an unlikely democracy. It has caste conflicts, religious differences, poverty and illiteracy, yet it remains a vibrant democracy. He is a very interesting speaker who does not use notes but has a great understanding about his subject.

In the afternoon Adrian Cooper presented a lecture on: Natural Wonders of South East Asia where he spoke about a variety of habitats and species of animals found in the region. He had some wonderful slides of exotic and unusual animals found in the forests and under the sea.

It was a formal dinner night with the theme of Oriental, which brought out many guests dressed in beautiful embroidered silk jackets and dresse.  Many folks had either purchased on this trip, or a previous one, brightly colored and festive outfits. The dining room was dressed in red Chinese lanterns, red and gold fabric, with the wait staff dressed in local silk jackets and hats.

Tonight’s entertainment was a Vietnamese young woman, Van-Anh Nguyen, from Australia who played the piano.  She played several classical pieces and some of her original compositions.

Junk Bay Cemetery

March 13, 2013  Hong Kong, China  Day Three

Our third day in Hong Kong was a short one as the all-aboard time was 3:00PM. Immigration requirements are very strict and we needed to have two hours for the local officials to clear the ship prior to our sailing at 5:00PM.

We met up with our friend, Jenn, this morning to visit the Junk Bay Cemetery, Hollywood Road and spots in between. We took the subway about 30 minutes to a suburb where the cemetery was located. We came out of the subway station and found the sign pointing the direction to the cemetery but we were unable to find the path leading to the cemetery. We asked many locals who claimed not to know where it was or did not speak English. It took us nearly an hour to find someone to lead us in the correct direction and to find the path to the cemetery. The path ended up being a very wide concrete pedestrian only path which took us on a 20 minute hike up hill, in the heat and humidity, to finally reach the enormous cemetery. An entire vast hillside is terraced with row after row of graves, each one just like the one next to it. It was fascinating to see but somewhat disappointing that the individual headstones were all the same. It was also disappointing to find out once we reached the cemetery that we should have tried to find a cab which would have saved us the uphill climb and getting lost. Our friend, Jenn, tired before we reached the cemetery so we went ahead without her and came back an hour or so later to pick her up.

Next we headed to Hong Kong Island and Hollywood Road, which is known for its antiques shops. Kent was disappointed because it was not how he had remembered it in the past. The once junky looking shops with tons of old trinkets have been replaced with very high-end shops with high prices.

We then wound our way down hill towards the Star Ferry, stopping for a snack before crossing the harbor on the ferry back to Kowloon and the ship. As we sailed out or Hong Kong, many of the guests were out on deck to enjoy the view and Barbara’s commentary about what we were seeing as we left the harbor. It was an enjoyable three days but not near long enough to see everything that Hong Kong has to offer.

The entertainment was Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello, finalists on So You Think You Can Dance show. They have also performed as guests on Dancing with the Stars. They are in extraordinary shape and their dancing was crisp, fast and the best dancers we have had perform onboard so far.

Accidents, Landings and Deaths—We have had another death on board (two so far that we are aware of).  An elderly gentleman went to his cabin to rest after a walk and died in his sleep.  One of our acquaintances fell while at the Victoria Peak Observatory and broke her ankle.  There have been some other accidents, as you might expect with us “older folks.” Additionally many guests (eight we know of) have decided to fly home for health reasons or in some cases have been sent home by the ship.  These incidents are called “landings.”