January 29, 2019 - Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia - Tuesday, Day 23

January 29, 2019 - Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia - Tuesday, Day 23

We have left the Straight of Malacca and spent much of the night cruising alone in open waters. Our destination, Georgetown, is on the Malaysian island of Penang. This is a small island off the west coast of the Malaysia Peninsula. While it is small it is nonetheless home to millions of people.

We arrived on schedule shortly before lunch. Alice and I went out on deck 6 to take our customary arrival pictures from the ship. As we walked around we met a couple who boarded in Perth as we did. In fact we met them at the welcoming cocktail party. 

We discussed plans for the day and agreed to share a taxi for a tour around the island. We met after lunch and went ashore together. As usual there were many hawkers for taxi tours. A rep with a good map of the island explained where the driver would take us and confirmed a price of $15 per person for a 4 hour tour. We would visit the prominent sights and ride out of the city to view the countryside.

We walked out with the driver. His English was poor but the rep had given him instructions for our route in his language. He seemed willing enough to take us where the rep had told us we would go. He brought his cab and the 4 of us hopped in. 3 in the back and 1 in the front. We would trade places along the way.

Our first stop was a local Clan Temple. Then we drove through town to a major Buddhist Temple. This was high on a hill with the central pagoda even higher up the hill. We took the funicular up to the top. The views of the city were quite nice. We decided we did not need to take the time necessary to ascend Penang Hill where the view is only slightly better and the crowds are considerably larger. The gold ornamentation and the large number of Buddha statues here puts many a cathedral to shame. Within the temple grounds are many shops selling materials for worship in many forms. Incense, candles and fruit predominate. They do a very good business as this is considered a very holy sight. They are also preparing for Chinese New Year.

Back in the taxi we started our drive out of the city. After riding for almost an hour past residential high rise after residential high rise we asked the driver to show us where we were on the map. We had driven well out of the city and there was no sign of open land. In the distance were the mountains covered in trees, but it would take too long to get there. The city had expanded and consumed all of the close by countryside. The opulence of these apartment and condo buildings was impressive, but at the same time disappointing. We would never get out of the city.

We let the driver know by pointing to his map that we wanted to visit the floating mosque and the area with the street art. He drove to a road near the sea and soon we were at the mosque. The entire mosque is built on concrete pilings/stilts over the water. Now the tide was out and we could see sand, but when the tide comes in the high water makes the mosque “float”. It is beautiful.

Then we drove right next to the sea toward city center. At one point we could see a large plot of sand with cranes on it. This was land being reclaimed by moving sand ashore and compacting it. This is very like what we saw China doing in Sri Lanka last year. With the language barrier we could not learn who was responsible here. This will be new high rises for upscale housing.

Eventually we arrived at a busy neighborhood in the city center. The driver parked and pointed to where the street art could be found. He would wait while we struggled to find the art. This consists of paintings on building walls that have scenes painted in 2d with real objects fastened to the wall as part of the scene. One example was a bike rider and scenery in paint and a real bicycle fastened with him riding it. We only found this through asking other people on the street. It was quite a way from the place our driver dropped us off. Traffic was awful so we understood why stopped where he did.

Back in the taxi we headed toward the port. We arrived 4 hours and 15 minutes after we had departed. We paid the driver $30 per couple and reimbursed him another $6 per couple for parking and entrance fees.

While the savings were significant compared to a ship’s tour, the experience was less than we had hoped for. What we learned is that we will only accept drivers with good English skills. Now that we understand the vastness of the city sprawl we would definitely stay in the city center if we visit again.

A nice city with a not so bad experience, but not great by any stretch.

January 28, 2019 - Malacca, Malaysia - Monday, Day 22

I have just completed my 3 mile walk around the deck of Maasdam and am writing this at 5:30 on Thursday morning January 31. This is the first sea day since this 20 day voyage #2 began. We have been busy and this is the farthest behind I have been since boarding on January 6. We will have 3 sea days in a row before we reach our first port in Sri Lanka

January 28, 2019 - Malacca, Malaysia - Monday, Day 22

We cruised all night through the Straight of Malacca. This is the narrow body of water between Indonesia and Malaysia. It is one of the busiest navigable waterways in the world. Ships are required to observe a traffic separation pattern imposed by the authorities. While that does not provide the right of way, it does assign a course to shipping. Vessels then negotiate passing patterns among themselves. This works fine, and we arrived in the city of Malacca on schedule. 

What a delight this day turned out to be. This is a tender port and we are using a combination of ship’s tenders and local vessels for the 30 minute ride into the city. 

The ship’s lecturer had nicely described the points of interest and mentioned a tourist information center. We planed to go directly there from the tender pier. First we had to navigate through the hoard of pedicab drivers pleading for our business. Their pedicabs were all brightly decorated. I look forward to the day I will be able to upload pictures to this blog.

There were no signs directing us to the info office. We joined a lot of people heading towards what appeared to be the city center. We ended up in a park without a clue where we were relative to anything. I remembered that I had downloaded some city maps to my iPhone many months ago in preparation. Was Malacca one of them? YES!

I opened the map and there we were. A blinking dot in the middle of the park. At the far end of the park and up a block was the info center. Our walk to it led past many museums and a trail along the river that divides the city. We walked over to the trail and took some pictures of the river and bridges. Then we got to the information office. 

The gentleman provided a map and indicated on it the sights that Alice had organized for this visit. We were off and running. Between his map and my iPhone we had no trouble making our way around. 

As it turned out this office was very well placed in the heart of the city. Across the traffic circle was the landmark, Victoria Fountain. Chinatown was over a bridge to the left. It was very attractive, but we decided to do it later. It turned out that later will have to be another visit. The Bucket List never seems to get shorter. 

After the fountain we parted with about $12 for a nice casual dress for Alice at one of the surrounding stalls. From there it was over to the old city hall and then up St. Paul’s Hill. At the top of the hill we had beautiful views of the city. The remains of old St. Paul’s Church were here with many ancient and interesting grave stones. 

As we descended the backside of the hill we walked through the old Dutch cemetery before walking the ruins of the old Portuguese Fort. Back at sea level we found a public restroom in a very nice shopping mall. Then we walked back to museum row. 

We were looking for the kite museum, but discovered that it was actually part way up St. Paul Hill. We decided that going up the hill once in a day was enough. As much as I would like to learn about Malaysian kite culture we decided it would have to keep until another time along with a visit to Chinatown.

We walked through the park again and crossed the street where there was less traffic. On our way into town this morning we had watched a crew installing a full height glass wall on a third floor balcony of a building facing the park. Now the glass installation was complete and a man was painting the front of the building. Next to the high lift for the basket he was working from was a man supervising. As we approached he seemed pleased that we were interested. He explained that he was the building owner. He was converting it to a hotel. The balcony where the glass was just installed was going to be used to project his sign and advertising on the interior wall. This way he would avoid having to buy permits and paying a tax to have an outside sign. Clever! He was very proud of himself and his property. We wished him well as we turned toward the tender pier. He encouraged us to stay with him when we come back to Malacca.

Our tender ride back to Maasdam was on a ship’s tender. It was quick and comfortable. Onboard we dressed for Mass and then dinner. This is our first Gala Night for this cruise. This new group of passengers dressed more formally than the first cruise passengers. There were many more jackets and ties on men. The women’s wear was also more upscale. Dinner was excellent. Service was great.

Tomorrow we dock at Penang Island, Malaysia.  Tonight we retired early in preparation for tomorrow. But first we reviewed our day and marveled at what a fine experience it was. The city was clean and nicely laid out. The people were very friendly and helpful. The architecture was very interesting. We had a grand time.

January 27, 2019 - Singapore - Sunday, Day 21

January 27, 2019 - Singapore - Sunday, Day 21

We had an early breakfast in the dining room and headed off for another busy day in Singapore. As is often the case our indulging in the activities of the places we visited yesterday caused us to defer some things to today.

We rode the MRT to Little India. Here we visited another temple before wandering the shops. We cannot believe the number of stores selling gold jewelry. It is beautiful, but we are not informed enough to know what is real and what is a good price. We just admired things.

Now the MRT took us to a stop near Arab Town. Our lecturer had mentioned a street, Haji Lane. It has paintings on the walls of building, funky shops. good crafts and eating/drinking places. It sounded like fun so we put it on our list.

While the MRT does a fine job of getting us places, the MRT map is less than useful in providing orientation when you come out of the station. It also does not put landmarks where they really are relative to other structures. So when we exited the station I looked over the map, threw a dart and chose a direction. Whew, I was right. We came to a majestic building with a sculpture garden several flights above the sidewalk . This was Parkview. It had me second guessing because on the map the building across the street was not the hospital that was actually there. After admiring the garden and strolling through the open lobby of this office building we marched on in search of Haji Lane.

Soon I saw Bali Lane and thought perhaps I had misread Bali as Haji on the map because there was no Bali Lane on the map. Not to worry, the next block was Haji Lane. Unreal.

Haji Lane did live up to the description Bret gave in his lecture. We enjoyed its difference. It was alive with people ad mid day on a Sunday. Impressive.

At the end of Haji we took a cross street the led to Arab Street. We spent a lot of time on Arab Street last year. It is lined with fabric and carpet stores. there are many beautiful things to see. Last year the vendors were rather aggressive. Today they were pleasantly passive. We actually enjoyed our stroll here. 

At the end of the block we went to visit the large mosque. Because it was Sunday it was closed to visitors. After a quick perusal of the neighboring stalls, we made our way back to the MRT. Again we had spent more time than expected. Our diversion to Parkview accounted for this. When we come back on February 15th we will visit the old city, the Merlon and Clarke Quay. For now we went straight back to the ship. As we eft the subway we stopped at the MRT ticket office to turn in our transit cards for $20.

We were in our cabin by 3:00. We showered and prepared for the safety drill at 4:00. All passengers are required to attend the drill even those, like us, who have already been through it. 

We opted to follow the announcements to the letter this time. We remained in the cabin until the emergency blast and the instruction to now proceed to the lifeboat station. When we got there we are among the last to arrive. Nobody pays attention to the plan.

At 5:00 Mass was celebrated. There were far more people there for this Sunday Mis than we ever had on last voyage. We will see if this is just because it is Sunday.

Later at the Mariners cocktail party we talked with a couple from the Netherlands. They had been frustrated at the disorganized check-in procedure. They had to delay boarding because the ship was not in o time and there was no seating in the departures hall. 

We were late, they were told, due to bad weather. That was true however it was not rough seas but strong winds that delayed us. On our last sea day headed toward Singapore we needed to make an average speed of 20 knots. Maasdam’s top speed is 22 knots so ordinarily this would not be a problem. However we experienced 20 knot winds head on. This reduced our maximum speed to 17 to 18 knots. Losing 2 knots for over 20 hours made us 2 hours late.

After church we went straight to dinner. The dining room was louder than usual. We attribute that to new arrivals greeting each other and settling in. 

We went to our regular table. Soon a waiter approached and introduced himself. He had just boarded and would be our waiter. He worked at earning our names and like and dislikes. He is OK, but he is no Sinar. Sinar and Noer have been reassigned to a less busy area to compensate for the time they spent in our very busy section. We hope our new waiter Eko will measure up. Our new wine steward, Allan had been nicely briefed by Yvette, and had our bottle of wine ready for us. He is very personable. We had seen Yvette in the Lido earlier and she said she had come down last night to introduce us to Allan, but because we stayed out late we missed each other. She is such a sweetheart. We will miss her too.

January 26, 2019 - Singapore - Saturday, Day 20

January 26, 2019 - Singapore - Saturday, Day 20

This is a bittersweet day. It marks the end of our first voyage on this great journey. By way of explanation, we are booked on 2 Collectors Voyages. Each of these consists of two 20 day cruises. So as far as Holland America is concerned we are on 4 voyages. But it also returns us to beautiful Singapore. We will be saying goodby to some new friends we made. Soon we will be making new friends as embarkation for voyage 2 begins. Best of all we will be getting to enjoy Singapore.

After a peaceful breakfast in the dining room, we gathered our passports, landing documents and day bag to venture into Singapore. On our way off the ship we met Diane and Allen returning. They explained that the line to pass through immigration was extremely long so they would remain onboard for a while and leave later. We carried on. Indeed the line was very long, but surprisingly we were through it in just 20 minutes. It was 10:05.

After immigration and customs we found ourselves in a large shopping mall. This is a very convenient location. We were able to find maps and the MRT (subway) station. It was just downstairs. There we purchased 2 day passes that are good for the subway, buses and light rail. The pass costs $16 with an additional $10 refundable deposit for the card. We would be able to use public transit to go anywhere in the city until departure tomorrow. After our last ride we can return the cards for our refund at the same ticket office under the mall.

We had planned our visit last night. We rode to Chinatown first. There we visited two 2 temples. The largest was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Praying was taking place with 5 monks leading the chanting. This was almost trance-like and very soothing. One monk tapped a drum, another played symbols and a third  tapped a chime.  While this was going on visitors are allowed to circulate around the main worship area to observe the service and to visit the many “chapels” around the perimeter. The statuary and rich ornamentation were exquisite.

From this Temple we made our way to the Chinatown tourist information center. We were looking for a map when a kind lady offered to help us. Before we were finished she sold us discounted tickets for the attractions at Gardens by The Bay, our next planned stop, and told us that the food court upstairs was every bit as good as the one the ship’s port guide had told us about. It was lunchtime so we went upstairs.

This was our first exposure to a Hawkers Court. It was an enormous area with numerous aisles of small food shops and tables everywhere. This was where you got safe street food. The procedure is to pick a stall that prepares the kind of dish you want, order your food and take the beeper they give you to any table you can find.

We were looking for a dish called Penang Laksa. Lily and Denny, whom we met at breakfast one day, used to live in Malaysia. They told us we must try this dish because it is spicy and I like Sambal. After asking at a stall where we might find this, we were directed to a place that had another kind of Laksa on the menu. A man sitting in front of it asked what we were looking for. He turned out to be the owner. He explained that this was not Penang Laksa, but he would take us to a Penang stand. He led us a long way past many stands with several turns to the Penang place. It turned out that they did not prepare Laksa. He lefts to return to his place. We were now on our own.

As we followed him to the Penang stand I had noticed a Thai stand. We went there and I placed an order for Thai curry chicken and rice for $4.50 Singapore. Less than $3 US. Lily had told us that Hawker food was cheap and better than restaurant food. I took the beeper to the table Alice had found. It was not pristine, but it was cleaner than most and not too far from the Thai stand. After a short time the beeper buzzed and I went for our food. The portion was huge. No problem sharing it. And boy it was good! Our thanks to the Lily end Denny and the lady at the tourist office.

After Walking through more of Chinatown on our way to the MRT, we marveled at how large this place was and how many vendors do business here. It was wall to wall people from all around the world.

The MRT took us to Bayside. This is where the beautiful hotel featured in the movie Crazy Rich Asians is located. It is also an access point for Gardens By the Bay. First we did the Super Tree Walk. These steel trees are more than 6 stories high, covered with growing plants and connected by a a walkway suspended from them 650 feet above the ground. This provides terrific view of the gardens, the city and the stunning Marina Bay Sands hotel.

Now we walked to The Cloud Forest. This is a large dome housing a 7 story rain forest. We used our tickets purchased in Chinatown for entry. It was overwhelming. The rain forest rises in the enter of the dome with a waterfall cascading from on high to the base level. The spray is refreshing. A walkway leads past many species of plants, and eventually to elevators that whisk you to the top. Here a suspended walk leads around the greenery. We spent almost 2 hours here. There is so much to see and do that a book could be written about this.

We had planned to visit The Flower Dome. This is a second dome with an admission fee. The tickets we had purchased are good for 6 months. Because we had other things to do we opted to defer visiting now until our return to Singapore at the end of voyage 2 in 20 days. This gave us time to grab something to eat before attending Garden Rhapsody at 7:45. This is a spectacular lighting of the Supertrees accompanied by music. This month’s performance is Opera in the Gardens. It was fantastic. The sound system is phenomenal. The lighting is breathtaking, and the synchronization of the lights and music is spectacular. All this is and it is free.

We left Gardens By the Bay, and headed to Marina Bay. Our walk took us through the hotel lobby and across abridge to the promenade outside the Shoppes, a mall. At 9:00 a fountain and light show would take place. We had seen some of this from a boat ride on a previous visit. We were anxious to see the whole show. We had worked our way up to the railing for front row viewing. After standing for 45 minutes the show began. The speakers were directly in front of us. They were loud with some distortion. The fountain display started. It was very nice, but the light display on the fountain mist left much to be desired. Because we were not straight in front of the main fountain we could not see any detail in the images. This was a real disappointment. Some time ago we attended a similar presentation at fountains in Lima. Those images were super even from off center.

As we walked toward the MRT for our return to Maasdam we agreed that having seen Rhapsody in the Gardens first led to the disappointment at Marina Bay.

The subway ride home was quick. We were in our cabin at 10:30. A trip up to the Lido to see what they offered produced ice cream and lemonade to end our busy and satisfying day. 

Tomorrow e will see who has come aboard to join our second voyage.

Sleep came fast.

January 25, 2019 - Sea Day - Friday, Day 19

January 25, 2019 - Sea Day - Friday, Day 19

Gala night last night was very nice. It is traditional to have Gala Night on the last port day. This allows for packing on the next day which is a sea day. 

The dining room was crowded, and most passengers were finely dressed. The menu featured Surf and Turf together with many alternatives. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. 

Today we had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. Then Alice went to a computer class. I picked up our passports which we will need to carry with us in Singapore on Saturday and Sunday. 

Alice met me in the showroom at 10:00 for a letter on what to do in Singapore. We learned that we will dock at the Harbor Terminal where we docked at in2016. This is a far better location than last year’s at Marina Bay. Bret talked bout the use of the transit pass, senior discounts for various admissions, the evening light shows, tipping and many sights to see. We are organizing our to do list. We recognize that we are fortunate because we will be retuning here on February 15 and March 7. We will be able to fill in the gaps then.

We are really enjoying this day. We had a delightful lunch with a couple from Sydney seated at the table next to us. They are originally from Denmark. They travel extensively and we had much to talk about. At one point they broke away from travel talk to apologize but they felt they had to comment on our political situation. They offered sympathy for how embarrassing it must be for Americans to lose so much face in the world. They said they never used to pay a lot of attention to US politics. Now it invades their lives. They cannot wait until this administration ends.

In our 500 plus days of cruising this is the first cruise on which anyone has commented on US politics in any way. This was not the first couple to do so. Several Australians and New Zealanders have also commented to us. They all apologize and close saying “So sad”.

After lunch we went to the cabin. I worked on updating the blog. Alice is managing the pictures she has taken. It is so nice not to have to make any choices as to what to do. The schedule of events is very sparse because most passengers will be leaving tomorrow, and are busy packing. It will be 61 days before we have to face that.

We are blessed.

January 24, 2019 - Semarang, Java, Indonesia - Thursday, Day 19

January 24, 2019 - Semarang, Java, Indonesia - Thursday, Day 19

Today we are in Semarang. This is our last port in Indonesia on this leg. It is the port that provides for tours to Borobudur, a Buddhist temple built in the 9th century. Over half of the passengers took tours to see this. We did not because we had toured there in 2016.

Instead we opted for the tour, Semarang Sights. This took us out of the city first to a Chinese Temple. Then we visited a traditional style hill resort.  

This old complex was set in beautiful gardens. We enjoyed a traditional snack. The old art works and the antique implements were interesting. Another building housed the museum. here there were many artifacts salvaged from ancient shipwrecks. As we returned ahead of the others we were approached by three vendors selling various goods. We were interest in full figured puppets with articulated hands and rotating heads. These were like the puppets used in the show in Surabaya. After the appropriate dickering we purchased a pair of these, a man and a woman of royalty, for 1/3 of the original asking price. We may have overpaid a bit, but if we did, we do not mind contributing a little more to a needy local man.

Next was the necessary visit to a Batik center. 

This was nice because it provided more depth to the explanation of the process. The retail shop was full of garments and fabric cuttings. I looked at the shirts, but did not find anything. Alice found some fabric she was interested in, but it was clear from the pricing that this Batik was either printed or block stamped. Neither of these is the traditional hand created process. When Alice asked to see traditional fabrics, she was shown 1 piece that was being worked on by a lady at the front door. It was not finished. There were a few more days work to be done on it. This was the only traditional piece in the whole shop. Clearly there is a limited market for this and the profits on the non-traditional fabrics accounts for the broad selection of them. We managed to leave empty handed.

All of these places were 45 to 60 minutes apart through congested towns and over winding and hilly roads. Now it was time to return to the port. Our driver took us through the city. It is very clean. It has an impressive skyline and all of the people we came in contact with were very friendly.

Back onboard we prepared for dinner and went to Mass. We bid fond farewell to our fellow church goers who are living in Singapore on Saturday.

At dinner our waiter, Sinar, was all smiles. He is by nature a happy fellow, but today was beaming because he had gotten to bring his family aboard for a visit. They had come buy bus from their town 3 hours away.

After dinner our room steward, Seger, was able to show us pictures of his family. They had come to see the ship and they live close enough that he was even able to go home for a visit.

We can’t help but feel that under their happy countenance is a bit of heartache as they will not see their families again for many months. We thank them for all they do for us.

January 23, 2019 - Surabaya, Java - Wednesday, Day 18

January 23, 2019 - Surabaya, Indonesia - Wednesday, Day 18

We just did a 4 mile walk in Surabaya, Java. We left the terminal and after a false start through the parking lot made our way to the main drag. We had gotten a map from the tourist desk in the terminal and decided to walk to a mosque, the Arab Quarters and a traditional market. The map did not have a lot of detail for the street names, but seemed straight forward enough.  we saw a group of passengers walking ahead of us and felt good that we had a somewhat common goal.

To the left of the road was a wall that kept us out of the industrial area. We were not sure what was on the other side, but we could see smoke stacks and stacks of cargo containers. We started on a sidewalk, but soon it ran out, and we were in the street dodging motor bikes approaching from behind. After half an hour we caught up to the others and looked at the map. We agreed that our route seemed to be correct. Trudging on we soon came to a large roundabout. Straight ahead was city center. The mosque seemed to be to the left. 

We went left and soon found ourselves facing oncoming traffic as we walked in the curb lane. No sidewalks here. After questioning a few locals it was decided that Alice and I were the only ones headed to the mosque. The rest were going to Chinatown. At the next intersection they turned right and we turned left. Soon we were on a bridge over the river that ran through the industrial area behind the wall. Across the bridge was a very large complex that builds ships and submarines. We walked past it, and some time later we spied a dome in the distance ahead and to the right. There was a police hut at the next roundabout. We pointed to the symbol for the mosque and pointed toward the dome. He nodded yes and we walked on. 

We got to the dome and entered the courtyard. While taking pictures from the outside a security guard came up to us in gestures and broken English no pictures. This was a Muslim school. We tried to find out where the mosque was and he tried to tell us. We followed his directions. At the next intersection we pulled out our map. While we were trying to locate the street we were on, a young man stopped his motor bike. In much better English he offered to help. He did direct us to our goal, but was not exactly sure how far it was. When we got to a certain landmark we were to stop and ask anyone mosque? mosque? They would surely tell us.

We did not have to do that. As we followed his directions, we soon saw the tower of the mosque. In fact we could hear the start of the call to prayer. Soon we were across the street from it. What a disappointment it was. We took some pictures, but did not cross over to it. Instead we took a side street with a stream in a gully down the middle. This looked like the street on the map that would get us to the traditional market. A block later we were passing in front of vendors’ stalls. We kept goin until we found a lane that went off to the side.

Going down the lane we saw families in front of humble dwellings. Kids were playing in the street. A couple of large trucks blocked the road as they dumped huge stones in front of a building under construction. We reversed our path and went beyond our starting point. As we rounded a corner the street was filled with motor bikes and kids in uniforms running toward them. School had just let out. 

We were once again besieged by people wanting us to take their pictures or take selfies with us. The children got so excited. We were surrounded by exuberant kids and moms. When all the pictures were taken and we started walking away the kids started grabbing our hands and pressing them to their foreheads for good luck. All of this took place without any English spoken.

Back on the street with the stream we walked back to the market area. We turned in to the traditional market. Again this was a warehouse like structure filled with stalls, narrow aisles and dirt floors. No mud. As we walked we saw a lot of meet and fish besides the usual fresh fruits and vegetables.It was clear toe the women selling these that we were not there to buy, but they gladly welcomed us and all showed off their wares. The produce was so artfully displayed that it would seem a shame to spoil it by selling any of it. Smiles and pictures were the only price we paid for this rewarding experience. this market was much nicer and the ladies were much kinder than we experienced yesterday in Surabaya.

We were tired of walking so we took a taxi back to the port. Our 4 mile, 15 minute took us past sights I did not remember seeing on our walk. This may have been because the wall we had walked past was so high. This ride cost us  a whopping 30,000 Rupiahs. That was $2.50 and worth every penny. 

We got out of the taxi and walked a few minutes to the terminal entrance. As soon as we passed through security and sat down to try the free internet a ”monsoon “ rain hit. We could not see across the street. Thank goodness we opted for a taxi. We would still have been over an hour away by foot. As it was, we had walked a little over 4 miles.

We later learned from passengers who had ridden out to the shopping mall that their return rides were detoured by flooded streets and fallen trees. The trees were being cleared by men wielding machetes not chain saws.

January 22, 2019 - Probolinggo, Java, Indonesia - Tuesday, Day 17

January 22, 2019 - Probolinggo, Java, Indonesia - Tuesday, Day 17

We arrived at Probolinggo under overcast skies. This is a tender port, and because of the length of the ride in to the pier the tour departures are scheduled rather early. We are to be at the meeting point, the showroom, at 7:45. That means we should get there by 7:30. After another early breakfast in the Lido we arrived on time. 

I really miss the relaxed atmosphere of breakfast in the dining room. The service is great and the selection is diverse enough to satisfy every taste. The buffet in the Lido also has a broad selection but it does not offer the vegetable frittata that I have  become addicted to, and the waiting in line takes away some of the joy. I avoid the breads and stick to cheese and pickled herring.

We received our tour stickers and took a seat. About an hour later our number was called. This was much later than anticipated. At the tender, boarding was proceeding nicely, but when they got to us they boarded Alice, and told me I would have to take the next tender. This was unacceptable on 2 counts. They should not split a couple and I had to be on this tender to make it to the tour bus. It was about 30 minutes ship to shore and they would not hold the bus that long. 

After hearing my explanation the crew moved some people closer to each other and I got the last seat. The ride traversed open water for about 10 minutes before entering a long and narrow canal. This sheltered ride took 15 minutes. we passed many, many colorful fishing boats of all sizes tied to the shore on either side of the canal. The tide was out and many of the larger boats were resting on the muddy bottom. Most were designed to remain upright, but many rested on the sides of their rounded hulls.

We were almost the first to board the coach because we the last to board the tender. Our guide got us settled and under way. His narrative was comprehensive and good. he offered the compulsory disclaimer that this was the rainy season as he passed out plastic ponchos. It was not raining and it might not, but we were ready.

Our first stop was at the Chinese temple. 150 years old, it contained many unique artifacts from early days that are still used in religious ceremonies. 

Upon leaving we each boarded a pedicab. This would be our transportation while in the area of the town center. It was important to remember the number on our pedicab in order to return to the same driver.

Our first stop was the Red Church. This metal structure was erected here by the Dutch after having it built in Europe and then deconstructed for shipment to be permanently constructed here. The Dutch used this for over 100 years during their control of the region. The construction is corrugated steel with a very high girdered roof. Its design is quite plain. its longevity is impressive.  

After a stop at the City Square we rode to the Probolinggo Museum. We bid our pedicab drivers farewell.

Here we viewed historical transportation vehicles before gathering in a small square to see a performance by local dancers and enjoy a local snack. The dancing was traditional and very energetic. The costuming was elaborate and colorful. The energy required made this an activity for the younger generation and they were up to the task. 

There was also a shadow puppet show presented by a young man of about 16. It was gratifying to see this cultural tradition being passed on to and accepted by the young. This boy was very good. Alice and I remembered a professional puppet show we attended 3 years ago. It was not much better than this show.

We boarded our coach and proceeded to a traditional market. It was explained the the modern market (stores and shops) had fixed prices. The traditional market is a large building with dirt floors housing many individual vendors. A lot of them sold the same things. Prices here were negotiable. vendors were patronized based on their quality and prices.

We left the street through a very narrow and dark hallway that took us behind the modern stores and shops into a large dark warehouse type structure. The floor was dirt and muddy in spots due to a recent rain. Taking pictures was difficult because of the poor lighting, but the vendors were anxious to have pictures taken. We walked down only a few aisles before our guide took us back to the street.

On the coach we drove through neighborhoods, commercial districts and resorts before returning to the canal and the tenders. This was an interesting visit. We were spared the rain, but the wind had really picked up.

In the canal the colorful fishing boats were now afloat. The tide was in. Alice and I were again among the last to board the tender. The ride to the ship was quite a bit rougher than the ride in. The sheltered canal was fine, but the open water was much more turbulent than before. We made it aboard without experiencing the spray flowing through the open front hatch of the tender. We had lunch in the Lido and relaxed in our cabin before dinner. 

On the way to dinner the captain made an announcement that all passengers were safely aboard, and he was maneuvering the ship to create a lee for the last 2 tenders to be taken aboard.

From our table at an aft window we could see the 2 tenders plowing through very high waves. Some of these were crashing over the tops of the tenders. They came closer and then dropped back as the captain drove the thrusters to turn the ship broadside to the wind. The wind had gotten so much stronger and the waves had gotten so much higher that this was a daunting task. We could hear and feel the power of the thrusters beneath us. It took over an hour, almost our whole dinner, for the tenders to be brought aboard.

As we finished our desserts the ship really started rolling left to right . We watched the waiters maintaining their footing with care. Finally we were done and stood to leave. We moved slowly at first, learning to gauge the pace of the rolling. We had gone just a short way when a very strong wave hit. We almost tumbled, but caught ourselves. A stack of dinners on a tray that had just been brought out from the kitchen fell to the floor from the workstation. The bottle of Sambal that our waiter had removed from our table, my Sambal, also fell to the floor and rolled past 4 tables to stop at my feet. I picked it up and walked to return it to Sinar, our waiter. We all had a good chuckle about how it knew where to go. Poor Sinar had to clean up the fallen dinners, and get replacements. Everyone understood the dilemma.

What a day. What an evening!

January 21, 2019 - Celukan Bawang, Bali, Indonesia - Monday, Day 16

January 21, 2019 - Celukan Bawang, Bali - Monday, Day 16

We docked at the pier in this northern port on Bali shortly before 8:00. We have visited Bali three times before. Those visits were all to the port of Benoa on the south side of the island. That area is highly populated and extremely commercial. It is home to many resorts and horrendous traffic. We were looking forward to a different experience here in the north.  We got it.

We had booked a shore excursion titled Munduk Highlands. I left the showroom at 8:15 ahead of schedule by 15 minutes. As the coach left the port our guide Putri introduced herself. She is a native of northern Bali and clearly loves her region. As the day wore on she would tear us a lot about her culture and its history. We would also learn about her.

Our first stop was the library in the city of Singaraja. This small and ancient library is home to manuscripts of all sorts written in the local language with hand drawn  pictures on dried palm leaves. These had been processed and looked and felt like thin boards of wood. These manuscripts are stored in woods boxes with hand carved covers and descriptive catalogs on the box ends. M any are over 400 years old and they are still legible. We were allowed to hold and inspect these beautiful documents.

Now our drive through the mountains began. We took a two lane road that was in very good condition and wound its way over multiple switchbacks as it rose higher and higher in the mountains. Our objective was Ulun Danu Temple. This public temple is an open air worship pace situated on the shore of a mountain lake.Its setting is beautiful. the gardens and grounds are exquisite, and the architecture is inspiring. What more could we want. Well just in case, there is a Buddhist Temple, a Hindu Temple and a Mosque on the grounds. Al religions live in harmony in Indonesia. Tourists are not allowed to set foot on the actual worship spaces, but we could walk all around them and view them through the open walls. This eliminated the need for head, shoulder and knee coverings for the ladies. We had ample time to enjoy the atmosphere here.

After visiting a local market and learning more about local fruits and vegetables, Putri explained the cooking and eating practices. The markets open at 5:00 AM. The women cook once a day usually between 6:30 and 8:00 before going to work. So, they hedge to the market everyday to purchase the fresh things they need for their menu. There is no refrigeration in the market, so everything is fresh daily. If perishables are not sold by about 1:00 the vendors cook what is left. At home the women check the food remaining after the mid day meal. If there is not enough left for the evening meal they go to the market and buy some of the prepared foods.

It is not a custom for the family to eat together. They just go into the kitchen and help themselves whenever they get hungry.

Putri also explained that the houses we had been seeing along the road were actually compounds shared by multiple family units. Children live with their parents until marriage. Then the wives of sons move into the family compound. Sons live with their parents and raise their families in the same compound. Daughters move to their husband’s family compound after the wedding. In Putri’s compound there are  6 family units totaling 42 people. Each group does its own cooking and keeps it food separate from the others

One benefit of this arrangement is that the in-laws care for the children so that the wives can go to work. All live together in harmony.

Most men are fisherman. But many have started to be trained to work on cruise ships. They find this hard work because it requires them to be away from family for such extended periods of time. However, the pay is much greater than what they would earn in Bali that they can work for 10 or 15 years and return home wealthy and able to start their own businesses.

Putri’s husband is a fisherman. She has been working in the tourist industry for 18 years. She learned English in school, but perfected it on her own. She did an admirable job. She is an excellent communicator. While she works during the tourist season, Putri’s mother-in-law cares for her 3 children. She has a 7 year old daughter, a  5 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. Putri will not accept work assignments in the south because she would be away from home too long.

Now it was time for our lunch. We drove to a former resort with a golf course. The hotel building and dining room were set way back  off the main road in what we would call the jungle. Once again we found ourselves in a beautiful setting. The buffet lunch was substantial and very tasty. Afterward we enjoyed an opportunity to photograph the ground before boarding the coach.

We headed back to the ship. It would take about 2 hours. On the way we made a planned stop at an overlook where we could view twin lakes in the mountains. It was very impressive to see these large fresh water bodies at this altitude. They further accented the splendor of the scenery we passed through.

Back at the ship Putri bid us a very sincere farewell. Alice and I are in agreement that of all the guides we have experienced on our many tour Putri was the greatest. We will think of her often. we already have. What a marvelous 8 hours this was.

January 20, 2019 - Sea Day - Sunday, Day 15

January 20, 2019 - Sea Day - Sunday, Day 15

Today is a sea day on our way to Bali. 

This morning we enjoyed the presentation of Mariners' Medallions. This event occurs on every cruise. It provides an opportunity for Holland America to honor its loyal cruisers with medallions in celebration of the actual cruising days that they have spent on Holland America ships. It also treats the mariners who have already received medallions to free wine and cocktails followed by a special luncheon,

The medallions are given as follows:

Bronze - 100 days

Silver - 300 days 

Gold - 500 days

Platinum - 700 days

We received our Gold Medallion on our last cruise so we went to celebrate the new awardees and partake in one of the few free beverage events available. The luncheon was also very good.

At the awards ceremony the one  couple onboard who are members of the President’s Club were introduced. They are the Smiths with 1,700 days. You may recall from an earlier post that James and I were summoned at the Port in Fremantle to appear before security because our wives had packed scissors that exceeded the allowable size. We survived that without confiscation, and had a good time chatting. This is our close brush with Holland America royalty. We have not seen each other since.

In the afternoon we enjoyed lectures on the upcoming shore excursions and on the history, culture and things to do in the ports ahead of us.

After another fine dinner with a new and interesting couple sitting at the table next to us, we skipped the mentalist entertainer and enjoyed a movie on a DVD in our cabin.

Since we have an early tour tour scheduled on Monday in Bali we retired early.

January 19, 2019 - Makasar, Sulawesi Indonesia - Saturday, Day 14

January 19, 2019 - Ujung Padang, Sulawesi, Indonesia - Saturday, Day 14

Sulawesi is an Indonesian Island North of Komodo. Indonesia consists of over 17,000 islands. Only about 13,000 of these are visible at high tide.

But first a Flashback to Komodo Island. I must apologize for my post of yesterday because first I did not really explain the Komodo Dragon and second I did not properly the text before posting it. The word completion of this program left some strange text.

Th Komodo Dragon is not a dragon. It is the world’s largest lizard. It is a Monitor Lizard that grows to be 10 to 14 feet long. It lives to be 50 to 60 years old because it has no predators on the  island once it reaches maturity.  It can weigh up to 150 pounds, but that starts to decline after it reaches age 40. 

We were told that it is a combination of bacteria in the saliva that inflicts death on its prey. After bitten the prey is doomed to death. The Komodo then dines casually. Komodo only eat once or twice a month, but these meals are large. They feast on Timor deer, wild boar, goats, water buffalo and small animals. Their jaws expand wide enough to allow them to swallow a whole goat. It might take a week to digest this. They are capable of running at speeds of 10 to 12 miles per hour. My current walking pace has been 3.5 miles per hour. No contest. Thank goodness for the ranger with the forked stick.

Now back to Sulawesi. The port is known as Ujung Padang, but the city is Makasar. This was Maasdam’s first time stopping here. Local officials provided a celebratory greeting with the presentation to our captain and hotel director of models of vessels used in local transport. A performance of traditional music and dance by a local group followed. 

When the dock cleared we went on the City Highlights tour.  This gave us a good overview of what is here. We visited a very large and nice market. We saw a lot of fresh produce, spices, grains and fish. We did not notice any fresh meats other than the live chickens for sale. Our last stop was Fort Rotterdam. This Dutch stronghold dates bake to the 1600’s and commemorates the long era of Dutch rule. We returned to the ship grateful for the exposure to local history and customs that our guide provided.

After a quick lunch we returned to shore to walk on our own. Leaving the port required walking past many stacked containers Some of these would be loaded onto cargo ships. Others had recently come off of ships and were awaiting overland distribution. The first street beyond the port was the nightlife district. As this was mid day it was quite.

We walked away from the water on one of the busier streets. Shops and vendors lined both sides of the street. There were no sidewalks as we know them. We walked with the others in the street. The challenge was to avoid the constant flow of motor bikes. This is the primary form of transportation although there were plenty of pedicabs for the tourists. We walked on.

After contending with this buy area for a while we noticed what appeared to be a narrow alley. It looked very clean and we ventured it down it. This took us into a “neighborhood.” There were gangways that went off the alley into nice courtyards with apartments all around them. Back here were windows and doorways that we did not see from the main street. Laundry was hanging, children were playing and watchful moms were keeping their eyes on us. 

Suddenly we were being surrounded by kids and moms calling hello and welcoming us. We were something special here. We were white. They were not. We had ventured into a place where few if any tourists do. These people were friendly and excited to see us. They asked us to photograph them and in turn they excitedly photographed us. Our languages were different, but our respect and curiosity overcame that. We all waved and bowed to each other as Alice and i left. How great was this!

We walked on and avoided the main streets as much as possible. We did this first because traffic was heavy and the streets had gotten narrower. This made motor bike dodgem a more serious game. Second we found that every time we ventured off the beaten path we became the rock stars. 

In one lane children, mother and grandmother all wanted to pose with us for pictures. While we were doing this we were being watched by 2 men resting on the second floor of a building being demolished. When we finished with the family, these guys called down to us and flashed peace signs Then they started pointing at us and to themselves. It was their turn to be photographed. One man even swung his sledge hammer into a wall to demonstrate what they were doing. There were more peace signs and smiles as we walked on.

This happened time and again as we walked for about 2 hours. Finally we decided to head back to the ship. As we walked along the busy road fronting the harbor, we passed a courtyard at what looked like a school. 

Earlier we had passed a Muslim boys’ school when students were leaving. They surrounded us and tried their English out. They wanted to know where we were from. At the name Chicago several of them called out Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. What recognition.

With that experience in mind we looked into the courtyard. Indeed it was a school and several young children were at play. Seated at a table was a young teacher. She paused her preparation of drinks for the kids, and invited us in. In broken English she confirmed that it was a school and invited us to take pictures. When Alice produced her camera we were once again surrounded by screaming and jubilant children. Having taken pictures and shown them to the teacher and children, we bid farewell and forged on.

We were about a block from the entrance to the port when we took a short cut through a parking area to avoid the heavy traffic on the street. This was under a building and as we turned the corner we saw a gallery just above with vendors. We went up the stairs and wound our way through these small stalls. Soon we were at an entrance to a store of some sort. We had walked past this place when we came out of the port, but because it was set back from the street and under a darkened overhead we did not even know it was here. Our tour guide had not mentioned it, but it was clearly a very important shopping are. It was three stories of shop after shop with people everywhere.

We took the escalator up to the third floor and worked our way around it before coming down. Most stalls held clothing. The women’s wear was stunning and reasonably priced. Other goods were also available. Some electronics, cigarettes, snacks, shirts and on and on. We were overwhelmed and ready to leave, when we turned a corner. We were greeted by another young lady who practiced her English with us.  She was a mom with her four daughters and her mother. We took the obligatory pictures and showed them to them to nods of approval.  we bid farewell and returned to Maasdam.

Wow! Another day of experiences to confirm why we so love to travel.

January 18, 2019 - Komodo Island - Friday, Day 13

January 18, 2019 - Komodo Island, Indonesia - Friday, Day 13

At 5:00 I got up and headed to the Crows Nest to work on yesterday’s blog. That was a bust because the sun was just rising and we were cruising into the Slawi Bay, bay at Komodo Island where we would anchor for the day. I logged off of the internet and went up to the bow on deck 13. This deck has viewing unobstructed by glass as the top deck on other ships has. it was perfect for taking pictures during our slow sail to the anchorage. I was able to take many pictures as we made our way slowly in. Eventually I heard the anchor chain ride out. It was 6:30, time to return to the stateroom and prepare for early breakfast. Our tour gathers at 8:15 for our 8:30 departure by tender for our excursion ashore. Passengers were allowed ashore only if they had booked a ship’s tour or had booked a private tour.

At the dock our group was met by 3 men, a park ranger, a guide from the tour company used by Holland America and a local from the nearby town. The ranger carried a seven foot long stick that was forked at one end.  He explained the rules to us, and told us that his stick would be used to fend off the dragons if necessary. The ranger would lead our group on the trail for our 3 kilometer trek. The guide, Visi, would walk in the middle of the group and provide a narration and answer questions. the local man would bring up the rear and keep us together. The local was also a hawker for the souvenir stands we would visit at the end of the tour.

Visi explained that the females made nests about 3 feet high by 3 feet around. or they might simply take over the large nests built on the ground by birds. She would lay 15 to 30 eggs. These would hatch in September or October after 9 months gestation.  Hatchlings would climb an old palm tree and live in a bowl at the top. This afforded protection from their dominant predator, the eagle. The hatchlings lived on insects and small animals. They would come town from the tree to eat, but they had to be careful to avoid mature Komodos because these might eat them.even their mothers might do them in.

AS we walked along it started to rain. I decided to tough it out with out putting on my rain poncho. Alice decided to don hers. I helped her get it on  while thinking that the rain would stop about the time she was covered. My guess turned out to be about 2 minutes early. Now she was walking in inbreathing plastic in the sun. We tried arranging the poncho to provide some relief to no avail. Soon I had the poncho once again rolled up into the bag I carried.

After a long walk and hearing all sorts of things about Komodos, we located one. It was up a hill just beyond the point where our trail turned to head back. We had to negotiate a steep trail up the hillside  with exposed roots and loose gravel. At the top we viewed a moderate sized dragon laying in the tall grass. The ranger kept us 15 feet away from it. 

Now we defended the hill and returned to our trail as we headed toward a waiting hole. On the way our guide showed us a very large mound. It was a bird’s nest that had been appropriated by a Komodo years ago. When we got to the watering hole  there were 6 dragons there at first. They were all laying quietly around the hole. The ranger marked a line in the soil that was to keep us at a safe distance. Behind us there was some activity and a juvenile dragon come walking toward us. The ranger used his prod to redirect this kid. It was thought to be about 2.5 years old and was an agile 2.5 footer. It had come down from its tree to get some water.

Looking back toward the hole one animal at the bottom of a stack of three decided it wanted out. The disruption of the pile led to much hissing and growling and a confrontation between the mover and the sleepers. Our keep clear line was moved farther back. The juvenile ran back to the woods and the big boys ended up just growling and glaring at each other. Walt Disney could not have offered a bette display.

We moved on to the souvenir stalls after bidding the ranger and our guides farewell. We had been told prices were negotiable, but found little room for price reductions. Our best offers were repeatedly rejected. That was OK. Carved dragons, bowls and boxes were the staple. Every stall had the same goods. The bowls looked alike and seemed to be made of plastic not shells. Alice and I decided that our pictures and memories would be enough for us.

 I put away my money and we headed away from the market. Children swarmed around us, pressing against us as they tried yet again to have us buy anything. Finally some adult called off the kids and we escaped. This was  the mot unnerving experience we have ever had in a market anyplace in the world.

Once onboard we hung up our sweat soaked clothes and showered before dressing for lunch in the Lido. Lunch was good. Our conversation with the couple from Christchurch sitting next to us was better. We had a good time.

Now Alice is working on her pictures in the stateroom. I am sitting in the too warm Crows Nest completing this blog post. The sun has been beating on the ship and the A/C is not keeping up in the public areas. Thankfully our cabin is comfortable. I will return there as soon as I publish this post.