At last we have arrived in (almost) familiar territory. I am writing this on Wednesday, the day after our visit to Singapore. Singapore saw the departure of all but 147 passengers and the embarkation of some 450, mainly Australians. We are presently sailing fairly close to the Malaysian coast on our way to Ko Samui (Thailand). We see magnificent beaches stretching for miles, as well as some colourful local fishing boats on a pretty calm sea. But first things first and I'll revert back to the Bay of Bengal a few days ago.
The sea on the way to Kuala Lumpur became a little more "interesting" with medium swells causing the ship to roll a bit, but nothing untoward. We were very lucky that the typhoon well up the Bay, which killed many on India, did not affect us. We observed that disasters of one sort or another seem to strike after we have left, except of course the typhoon which struck Vietnam yesterday (but that was further north than where we are headed on Saturday).
As I mentioned earlier, they have been stealing a few hours from us and on Sunday morning we were woken by the Cruise Director's " happy campers" announcement on the PA. That meant that we'd slept in until 9.00 but that didn't matter as we had another brunch to attend, so went upstairs for a snackfast:-) On the subject of our Cruise Director, I'd have to say that he is the most useless and ineffectual we've come across. He is English, an ex actor cum part time singer, 5 foot little, with clothes far too big for him. His assistant is 6 foot 3 slim, blonde, young Canadian woman. They are solo different SNF clearly they don't get on and always look uncomfortable with each other. On previous cruises the CD & Assistant usually bounce off each other, but hey, who needs a CD "If it isn't in the Patter, it doesn't matter" (The Patter is the daily programme published each evening).
Now back to last Sunday. The sea was much calmer as we entered a straight between Malaysia & Indonesia and although the clouds looked heavy further north, the day was pleasantly warm. Recently the temperature has stayed in the high 20s, which surprised us, given that we are getting closer to the equator. But not complaining. Monday dawned cloudy and warm with the odd spit of rain. We had a really early trip booked, which left at 7.30, so we were up just after 5.30 and on deck having breakfast at the buffet by 6.00, as we tied up to the wharf at Port Kalang. The port is about an hour away from KL, but mainly motorway (tolled in many places) and in good condition. Apparently it was built with American money, or by the Americans. There is a lot of development going on out of town and many thousands of new apartments going up. Apparently they are aiming to clear they slums, although we didn't see much evidence of substandard housing.
The history of the country was explained and although they do not particularly like the previous colonial powers, they certainly enriched the area. Much was made of how Malaysia was broke and on much need of aid and how the Commonwealth Games helped restore prestige, however we later visited the King's new palace, built only in 2011 at a cost of tens of millions. The new King was only installed last year - they are elected/appointed every 5 years by the Sultans of the 13 states, so I guess they'll do it all again in another 3 or 4 years.
Our city tour was a photo stop only, although we did go to the National Museum (which was excellent) and a walk through the old city, where KL was founded. This latter stop was most interesting, as KL was founded at the confluence of 2 rivers, which looked more like sewers. However in the old days the ships sailed up and this was a major trading area. Behind this was where the English established their centre, with 4 story brick building - massive, cricket ground, pavilion, pub & church built opposite! Apparently "old" KL was built in timber, but a major fire destroyed much of the city, so it was directed that new buildings must be brick "just like home" even to the extent that all the plans had to be approved in UK and the approval for the Government buildings took 3 years and required amendment to the roof - to support the weight of 3 foot of snow!!!
Saw the Blue Mosque the largest in Malaysia, holds over 25,000 worshipers, railway stations (old & new). Apparently the British didn't want the original to fall to the Japanese, so ordered it bombed. Oops the maps were not so good & GPS not around, so they bombed the Museum instead! Also photographed the twin towers, which glittered in the sunlight. Interestingly one tower was built by the Japanese and the other Korean, both with Indian finance - truly international. A really good trip, but pleased to be back in air conditioned comfort. Our final night with our good friends as they disembark. A bit sad.
Singapore looked threatening and sure enough the heavens opened as they always do when we are in town. We were determined to get ashore and went through the process of collecting our passports, entry exit forms etc. As this was the end of a cruise we had to sign off with our old cruise cards and use new ones when we got back. Fortunately Singapore has a new cruise terminal, so we didn't get wet, but there was a long queue for taxis with all the disembarking passengers. We took a taxi into town and got on the Hop on bus. The rain had pretty well stopped but the seats were wet so we used our raincoats. Jumped off at the Botanical Gardens. It was getting very hot and muggy by then, but after a cup of coffee we headed off and had a lovely wander as it was pretty quiet in the mid morning. Also did the orchid garden, which was amazing - nothing like ours though.
Decided that it was time to go and headed for the exit and our next bus. Unfortunately we were lost, well not lost but in the wrong place. I had assumed that where we came in was at the end of the gardens - no, it was in the middle, so another trek was called for. I kept convincing myself that this was good for our health after all the food and drink. Boy it was hot and very humid by then. The bus eventually came and we went back to Sunteck Mall. We toyed with the idea of taking another route, but worked out that there was nothing else we really wanted to see and we'd had a very good trip on the yellow line. Also, time was potentially an issue. So we wandered the Mall and found a Subway place and had a great sandwich & drink, so we were set to get back to the ship.
Haha, we were right by the taxi rank and thought that it would be easy, no, first driver did not understand "cruise ship terminal" neither did the second, but thankfully the third one did and he was very chatty. Made it back and through all the processes without a hitch. I realise that I omitted to mention that Tuesday was a public holiday (Muslim holiday I believe), so the traffic was very quiet and the city closed, apart from the Malls. Similarly in KL most people had talked the Monday off to make a long weekend, so in neither city did we experience the vibrancy or congestion. However, construction still goes ahead in Singapore despite a holiday. Amazing how they are still reclaiming and building, particularly around the new Marina area, which is where we were docked.
For unknown reasons, the refuelling of the ship was delayed and therefore we did not set sail until about 7.30 so we were treated to a magnificent sight of Singapore by lights. We sat on the deck after dinner and watched us sail out past all the anchored tankers etc. which appeared out of the dark, with just navigation lights yo show where they sat. We were also amazed at the air traffic coming and going. I am sure that at least some of our new-found friends were on board, heading home at the end of their exciting holiday. We are truly not counting down the remaining 20 days!
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