Ko Samui

Another great port and good weather, just 28 degrees.  Ko Samui is a tender port and we had another early day, so watched our arrival to anchorage from the back of the ship while having breakfast.  Our meeting point was on the lounge and I was a little dismayed to see that there were about 100 of us "Green 6s".  However we boarded the tender (which holds 120 as a tender & 150 as as lifeboat) in calm waters and made landfall in about 15 minutes.  Numerous buses were waiting along with over a dozen 4WDs.  Now these were proper vehicles with big wheels, tyres and big suspension. They were also modern and the seats on the tray comfortable.  We had 8 to each vehicle and now became Group 3 for the excursion. Our little Thai guide was Vivian too!

So very quickly this convoy took off through the village and out into the jungle/bush. Most of the roaring is concrete, so 4WDs were a bit of a gimmick, and unfortunately the cause of a couple of people having accidents with the steps up.  The villages are typically Thai (or any Asian country) and being on an open vehicle, allowed one to experience the smells as well as the sights.

We reached our destination, which was a wild life park, where we were to complete our triride (that's a new word for 3 animal rides) by riding an elephant.  Our group was reformed to one of 24 to achieve this, as we were the first 3 vehicles in the convoy.  This was a good number and enabled us to be loaded on the waiting elephants quickly.  3 or 4 of our group elected not to go, but most did. We also paid the 300 Baht for a photo!

Two people ride together behind the Mahout (or elephant master).  Our elephant was 40 years old and as they live to 100, had plenty of life in him. Our Mahout had inherited him from his father.  Thankfully we had a seatbelt on as our ride was quite extensive over a 15/20 minute period. I thought that we'd just go along the path, but no, off into the jungle along rocky paths and worst of all down towards the water. Going up is easy, but going down felt as though you were about too be thrown off. The Mahout however sits sidesaddle and controls the elephant by his ears (the elephant's, not the Mahout's!).

After our ride we were taken to a Thai cooking demonstration and while sitting there there was this loud growling sound - looked over the back & here are 2 quite unhappy Sumatrian tigers. We never found out why they were there, as they were not part of the show - but magnificent animals.  Anyway, on with the show, which was the elephant show. They bought out 3 elephants, a baby about 2, another one probably 8 and an older one.  All 3 were interacting with the audience, posing for photos, bring stroked and most importantly, taking the money for the Mahout's - cute.

The main show had all 3 with hula hoops on their trunks, standing on 2 legs, playing soccer against a Kiwi (elephant won) and providing elephant massage.  All entertaining. It was then on to the monkey who collects coconuts from the top of the tree. The monkeys spend over a year to be trained for this task, so they are very valuable to their owners.  This completed our visit and we were off again, this time to visit a "remote" waterfall. Still on concrete road we arrived in a large carpark, with all the usual stalls lining the track to the waterfall. Our guide apologised that due to the lack of monsoon (hey, they are getting it further up in Asia), there was a mere trickle.  All very interesting but by now it was midday and the humidity was rising. Overall it was one of the best trips we've done and everyone we've spoken to agrees.

The dynamics of the ship have changed considerably and unfortunately we do not seem to be able to establish a dinner table group. The night before last we reached 6, with the addition of another Australian couple from Macedonia. George however does not like cruising or socialising and turned up on formal night in a polo shirt.  He apparently refused to go on any excursions and neither of them turned up last night, nor did Elaine from Cairns, so it was very quiet with just Diane from the Gold Coast for company. I assured Meg our waiter that we'd showered, but he said not to worry - which I am not!!  It is noticeable that many other tables are only partially full, with lots choosing to dine in the buffet. I suppose that it does make Anytime Dining a bit more attractive in some ways.

Not that our dining arrangements are hindering our ongoing enjoyment and we still bump into many of the passengers from the first segment who have similar habits to ours - which reminds me that we are almost due for our regular 11.00 coffee.  Yes, on deck watching the water go by.  We are in the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand and reach Ho Chi Minh tomorrow.  What surprises us is the number of small fishing boats, out so far from land. Just hope that the weather holds, as it is becoming quite blustery but with smooth seas.

On with the next sector

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!

Colombo

Wednesday 9th
Apparently it rained a monsoon rain last night about the time I was posting my last entry.  An advantage of our cabin is that we are sheltered from rain, wind & sun to a certain extent, so we had no idea.  This morning was overcast, but was perfect on the deck.  Anyway, when we woke this morning it was as if we had broken down, as we were barely moving.  We were overtaken by everything in sight.  I reckon that our little boat would go faster.  We've been doing just 8 knots all day and with a following sea we were wallowing a little.  The thing is that the distance between Cochin & Colombo is not that great, but we are not scheduled to arrive until tomorrow, so we must fill in the hours somehow (a bit like the 14 hours for the Cook Strait crossing in February!).

Pleased to report that we are out of the pirate zone and all the fire hoses etc. have been put away.  However sitting at breakfast this morning a little boat with 7 people on board came racing up to us waving madly.  They were locals and were showing off their catch (undersized anyone?).  We would have been at least 10 miles out to sea - not a lifejacket in sight.  We were also passed by a gas ship and numerous container ships.  As I look out the cabin window the sun is about to set, so it once again must be time to eat.  Don't know how we will survive when we get home.

Thursday 10th
We sat outside port for about half an hour and the ship rolled quite a bit - enough to throw a large bottle of water off our writing desk. However it didn't last long and we were soon in port and calm waters. The port is huge and is a main container hub.  It was interesting just watching the operation of all the straddle cranes and how quickly the ships were unloaded/loaded.  It was also the first port that had a welcoming performance by local dancers & drummers.

Disembarkation was so simple here with none of the bureaucracy we have experienced in India. Our trip today was to their tea plantations and involved a 2 hour drive into the country.  There were 3 small buses (17 in each) and we took off in convoy with a police escort.  The police car had 3 policemen in it and away we went with flashing lights and siren all the way. It was just as well we had an escort as otherwise we'd probably still be stuck in traffic.  The city was full of police, both normal and traffic as well as armed soldiers on every corner.  We later found out that there was a big Buddhist festival or something happening and the President was attending. It seems that although their "troubles" are over and the various religious groups co-exist, there are still worries about the Tamils/Muslims from the north.

Colombo doesn't really stop, just the buildings get smaller as we drove south. We continued through a number of villages, where the populations varied from 100,000 to 20,000 - some village!  Having said that, each village had a particular focus, such as timber, plumbing (thousands of handbasins & toilet bowls lined up) or electrical goods.  Eventually we came through areas growing rice & coconuts and then finally up a bit higher, tea & rubber.  We saw plenty of cows wandering the streets as well as water buffalo in the paddies, but no elephants!!   The roads were generally good, certainly compared with India they are wider and generally well maintained. There were large sections being realigned and resealed and clearly the Government has a high focus on modernisation.  Having a police escort certainly helped, but being in the first bus behind the police car was a bit reminiscent of Mumbai - it seems that a siren will automatically give you and the following vehicles safe passage even over one way bridges and in the face of heavy vehicles.

After 2 hours we reached the tea plantation and wound our way up the road to the production plant.  We were amazed how labour intensive the production from the raw leaf was.  Although there is machinery for drying and crushing the leaves, each leaf (well bundle pot leaves) are handled dozens of times, mainly by tiny Sri Lankan women.  All they do at the factory is to produce a local tea which is immediately sold to the tea brokers, who ship it overseas in most cases. It was funny that when we had our cup of tea at the conclusion of the visit it was good old Dilmah teabags.  Made us feel at home.

It was hot, dusty & claustrophobic in the factory, so Vivian wanted to get out into the fresh air. Well, it was certainly fresh.  It was also very, very wet.  An absolute downpour had arrived and we must have had half an inch in 5 minutes.  The water was overflowing everywhere and the tour crew struggled to find umbrellas to enable the various buses to be loaded. We were really lucky as our bus was the last and by then the rain had stopped.  Down the road to the actual plantation and a cup of tea, sandwich & butter cake. All very nice. Although it was not raining, most sought shelter in the small concrete building adjacent.  It wasn't until later that I noticed the sign along the lines "No 3 toilet" by the open door.  Now they could have done with those toilet bowls we saw on the side of the road (if you get my drift!).

Once again it seemed to be mainly women picking the tea.  They only pick the bud and tender new growth about 5 cm long.  Now that is not very much, but they each must pick 20kg per day - no wonder there is an incentive to throw in some bigger heavier leaves.  For that work there are paid less than $2.  The work is undoubtedly tiring and repetitive, as the tea is generally planted on slopes, shaded by other trees.  All in all it was a very interesting experience and gave us a good insight into the area.

On our return journey we found that the traffic was even heavier, particularly in the outer villages, as school finishes about 1.00 - 1.30 and there were thousands of children of all ages in their bright white uniforms all around and waiting for buses etc.  Education is very important in Sri Lanka and literacy is in the mid 90s.  It was great to see that the government has the right focus.  As we approached the outskirts of Colombo, our guide suggested we may wish to buy tea - so we all pull up at this upmarket jewellery store (undoubtedly owned by someone's uncle) to have a comfort stop and shop. We elected to stay on the bus as the ship was only 10 minutes away!  Following this stop, some passengers wanted to be dropped off at a Mall, and this was OK as it was just a pull over on the road.  Next someone said they wanted to go to the markets, and ever obliging, we went off on a wild ride through downtown Colombo.  When the guide suggested we wait for them to do shopping before returning to the ship there was a minor revolt.  As it was we were an hour late in getting back to the ship.  Oh, and we had not had lunch!  As if we needed it, but had a sandwich & a drink. 

Vivian thought she wanted to go back into town to go to the markets, but I was unenthusiastic.  Feedback from those who did go was that we made the right decision & that it was as chaotic as Mumbai & the hawkers from Cochin combined.  Went to the movies tonight - White House Down. Plenty of bodies and lots of laughs.  In fact considering where the US is today, could almost be a true story about to happen.  Back at sea in the Bay of Bengal and 3 more sea days ahead.  Look forward to some well deserved r&r.  Oh, they are stealing another half an hour tonight and an hour each of the following 2 nights :-)

Farewell to India

Tuesday 8th October
Surprisingly the weather is a little cooler down here, which is a bit surprising given that we are heading down towards the equator.  There were actually some spits of rain last night, just enough to make the outside loungers wet, so we couldn't sit outside after dinner.  This morning as we approached the port of Cochin, the weather looked perfect and as we were watching, a large pod of dolphins swam by, right beside the ship.  Yesterday it was a group of whales, off the coast of Goa.  The ship almost tipped over with everyone rushing to the starboard side - no that is an exaggeration!  There was an announcement from the bridge but by the time people went out we had gone well past.

Cochin is made up of many islands, linked by canals and we once again were docked in a commercial dock area on Willingdon Island.  While the main modern city area is to our east, the centre of interest is the old city on Vypeen Island to the west.  We elected to take the ship's tour, which took us down through the port area and across the bridge and up to the old town, which has roots back to 6 BC, when it was settled by Jews - we visited "Jew Town" which now has just 8 Jewish individuals from 5 families.  We also visited the Synagogue, built in the mid 1500s.

However, back to the beginning.  There was almost no one at the breakfast dining room, so we had excellent service (as always) and a satisfying breakfast, as we knew that our tour did not include lunch and that we would not be back until 2.30.  Our official time to get through immigration (how come you have to go through immigration twice, when you haven't left the country?) was 9.00, but we found that following the crowd, we could get through at 8.30.  As we later found out, this strategy did not actually help.  We boarded our bus just after 8.30, but still had to wait until just about 9.30 until we left port.  While the bus was air-conditioned, it had seen another life about 50 years ago!  It was filthy, but then so was the whole of the area.  Our guide was good, so no real complaints.  Our trip to the old city was not quite as hair raising as Mumbai, but was "interesting". The trucks are all multicoloured and look very cheerful while the buses are drab and over overcrowded.

The scenery was quite reminiscent of Bali or Thailand, with narrow streets, unkempt grounds, small stalls etc.  The Portuguese & Dutch had a great influence before the British and all 3 have left their mark on the area.  We visited the Dutch Palace & Jewish quarter.  A lot less than a quarter, but it provided a comfort stop and a nice air conditioned "spice market", which is actually one shop used by the tour company.  There were many other stores and markets along the way but this was not a shopping trip!  Forgot to mention, just like Bali, surrounded by street hawkers from the moment you step off the bus.  They even followed us up the steps to the Palace.  Very interesting looking at the history of the area and the local Royalty.  Cochin is very English in many ways and a large majority of the population speak English and similarly a large number work overseas.

Next stop was the Fort and what is now the naval base.  This was- formerly British and there is a noticeable difference in the houses/mansions now occupied by wealthy foreigners.  In this area we visited St Francis Church, which is the first church in India, built by the Portuguese in 1510.  The original wooden church was destroyed by fire and a new one erected in the 1700s - originally a Catholic, then Dutch Reformed and finally Anglican (1804), which reflects the changes in governance.  Just down the road are the fishing nets - 14th century Chinese still in use today - we actually saw them bring up fish and the adjacent fish market offers "you buy, we cook" No thanks

Moving on we pulled into the luxurious Brunton Hotel, which is an old hotel of the era, although not quite the Taj.  Here was an opportunity to have a drink of anything (free).  Vivian had coffee & I elected to have a Kingfisher beer.  The beer was premium and only sold in this province for some reason (probably taxes).  Anyway, it went down a treat.  Following this, onto a less than luxury launch for a cruise around the lake which surrounds the islands.  It was extremely good and a slow cruise with a cloudy sky and temperature in the early 30s, with a gentle breeze was all one could ask for to complete our whirlwind tour of India.

We left Cochin just after 5.00 and are currently headed down the bottom of India and on to Sri Lanka, with a well-earned sea day tomorrow.  Really we have been so lucky all of our holiday to have had great weather, just missing the Monsoon, although I should not tempt fate I know.  Sad to think that this time next week we will be pulling out of Singapore with a whole bunch of new passengers.  Just hope that they are a great as the ones we have got to know on this leg.  Certainly going to miss Margaret & Norman, particularly his party tricks!

Mumbai

Another early start today as we berthed just before 7.00 and we had to present ourselves and our passports to the Indian authorities on board before we could disembark. The process was painless and we soon found ourselves on the dockside with our Aussie friends Margaret & Norman.  A free shuttle took us to the Green Gates, where we were surrounded by anxious cab drivers of all sorts.  After a bit of haggling we agreed $US40 for 4 hours.  Off we went to visit the main sights of this town of 20 million people.  Incredible.

Fortunately it was a Sunday morning and the streets were relatively quiet.  Our taxi was an air conditioned SUV and was comfortable with leather seats.  I know why.  We quickly established that there are no road rules in Mumbai after driving on both/either side of the road, at times directly into oncoming traffic.  Our driver explained that Mumbai drivers consider themselves "tigers" and only give way to bigger "tigers" :-)   The miracle is that most of the cars are completely undamaged and the only thing that must work is the horn.  A blast on the horn seems to open the road magically.

We saw all the sights, including Ghandi's house, Prince of Wales Museum, Jain Temple, train station, Dhobhi Ghat (where all the whiter than white washing is done), Gateway of India and finally the Taj Mahal Hotel.  We made the fatal mistake of mentioning that we were looking for a shirt for me & another blouse for Vivian.  This meant 3 stops at "very good value shops sirs", but in reality they had nothing and we soon escaped and told our driver that we were no longer interested.  Our trip was actually only 3 hours but we felt that we'd seen enough of the city and elected to get off at the Taj.

Security is now tight at the hotel, with screening of all visitors and cars entering the hotel courtyard.  No problems for us, and the ladies changed their shoes for something more presentable and we entered the hotel foyer.  There are many restaurants - Indian, Asian & others that we not too sure about, but we found out that the Middle Eastern restaurant was on the 20th (top) floor, so up we went.  What a magnificent sight of both the vista outside & the food inside.  This was a top class and award winning restaurant and on Sunday's they served what they termed a "brunch" but was really a buffet of magnificent middle eastern cuisine.  The food was superb and a glass of French champagne was included.  OK, this was not a cheap meal, but we thought that we had good value at $60 a head.  We were pretty well the only diners there, so we had great service from 3 waiters and we got to meet the Chef, who was from Syria.

The views were outstanding and we got some great photos of the Gateway of India, directly on front of the hotel.  Our berth was in the commercial harbour, which is also the large naval base, so we had a dozen or so warships as well as 2 aircraft carriers adjacent. Funny how we seem to have attracted the various navies over the course of our journey.

While at lunch, a local couple were dining and he was wearing a shirt like I wanted.  We established that there was a shop behind the hotel that sold men's shirts.  So after lunch, we head out through the crowd to find this shop.  We pass dozens of men sleeping on the footpath, dogs and generally a downtrodden part of town - immediately behind the opulence we had just experienced.  By great fortune, Norman spoke to this well dressed woman, out with her husband and young son.  She knew the shop and took us there - down more dingy/dodgy alleys.  In a rundown building, off a courtyard, off a side street, off the beaten track (I think you get the idea), a sign directs us to the first floor, once again up a deserted building we go, the women are not too sure.  But there we are - bright lights, air-conditioning, Taylor Swift music, and this amazing store.  Needless to say, we bought shirt & blouse and were happy.

Made our way back to the Taj and jumped a real local taxi (yellow & black in air conditioned) for a trip back to the dock.  His English was not good and he delivered us to the market on the other side of town.  When we told him this was wrong, we retraced our route and were delivered safely.  Two things - I was in the suicide (passenger) seat & the traffic was a lot heavier in the afternoon.  An experience I will treasure (or something like that).  Good to be back on board and although we know that there is a lot more to Mumbai, we are contented with what we did today.  Tomorrow of course is yet another sea day in preparation for our 2nd Indian port of Cochin. 

Oman & onwards

We retraced our steps through the Gulf of Oman and arrived at the entrance to Muscat harbour during lunch.  The Captain announced that there would be a short delay in teaching our berth as the pilot had not arrived "probably still eating his Couscous!".  But he did arrived and we tied up and were amongst the first to disembark about 1.30.  We were on the first (free) shuttle bus into the local market area.  Our timing was perfect, as the souks close between 1.00 & 4.00 !  Some however remained open - mainly Indian/Pakistani owned. More on our souk experience later.

After getting off the shuttle we were approached by taxi operators offering local tours. We negotiated a 15EUR fee for 1 hour.  Much haggling as they tried to upgrade for more hours, but we were content that we could see the main sites, which was mainly the Palace within that time.  I should have said that the first thing that impressed us when we arrived was the landscape. We had imagined that all desert countries would be flat and sandy like Dubai, but Oman, or should I say Muscat where we were is extremely hilly, with huge rock faces rising almost from the sea. A most impressive landscape with many, many forts on the various cliff tops.

Our drive headed south from the port to the actual town of Muscat, which is built around the old fort.  This is also the site of the Sultan's palace - an absolute marvel in the "middle of nowhere". We subsequently drove further down the coast, past the marina to the site of Parliament. They certainly don't spare expenses down there - extensive park like lawns surround the large white buildings which house parliament. As the country is an absolute monarchy, it is not clear what parliament actually does.

Our hour was soon up and we were content with what we had seen and decided to explore the soul which was partially open. The main thing they were trying to sell were stoles (wool, silk, cashmere, llama - you name it, they had it).  But no, Vivian was after a long blouse or tunic top.  We got to the very end and found what she wanted.  Not so lucky with a man's cotton shirt however.  As I said, much of the souk was closed, but it made it easier to explore the side alleys etc.

Found our way back to the waterfront and sat down to have a coffee.    Vivian was so impressed with the iced coffee in Dubai that we ordered the same. Ha ha.  2 very hot black coffees plus a bowl of shaved ice!  Omani coffee is very strong and apparently lots of sugar helps.  I persevered and survived to tell the tale.  While we were sitting there we attracted a lot more customers for the cafe owner - but no discount :-)

Berthed just opposite was the Sultan's Royal Yacht which was almost as big as our ship (well that's stretching it, but it was very large and just a not bigger than his son's one next door).  They are very strict in Oman and apparently the fine for smoking in public is over $100.  While still sitting having our coffee, we hear the sound of sirens and s police car pulls up, policeman gets out, checks his pistol and approaches one of the tour buses parked partially on the footpath. I don't think the driver was around as their policeman soon returned to his car, but as he walked back, as young couple took a photo.  No no, you can not do that.  The policeman grabbed the camera and took some time to ensure offending photos were deleted.  I also noticed than when taking, or about to take photos in the soul, any women within sight immediately fully covered their heads.

By the time all this excitement was over it was 4.00 and everything was now open, so we wandered further down the street to the area of the Gold Soul.  This particular one was obviously far more upmarket as it was fully air conditioned. This soul was one frequented by the locals, and being Thursday evening (pay night?) all the women were in all these expensive jewellery shops - and it looked as though they were buying.  They were always in groups of 3 or more and it was hard to tell whether they were friends, relatives or the wives!  The other fascinating thing was all the dress shops - I can report that the colour for next season is ----- black.  That was all that was in the shops, and dozens of them too.  But I must say the trim and designs were quite stunning - just not on Vivian I must add.

We wandered further through the various souks and eventually came out into the street well back from the port. Thankfully I had my trusty Tablet, with its GPS.  We soon confirmed our position and headed back through the original souk.  As we passed the little shop where Vivian bought her blouse, there were out table companions/friends from Perth. Amazing, considering the literally 1,000s of shops etc.  Anyway, they spent a lot more than we did.

Caught the shuttle back to the ship and had only half an hour to get ready for dinner. A bit of a rush but we did it.  We set sail at 6.30, bound for Mumbai.  A couple more sea days to go, but they keep stealing hours from us as we head eastwards!  Sharing the port with us was HMS Westminster.  We are pretty sure that she was in Dubai as well.  On the first day there were 2 frigates in port, but only one when we left.  Reassuring that we have friends around us.

Lovely evening relaxing on the deck, rather than the banjo player.  Also had more time this morning, updating the blog.  Tonight is another formal night, starting with the Captain's cocktail party for Captains Circle members - which is pretty well everyone on this cruise.  Never known such well travelled group of people, but the one good thing is that pretty well all of them have been to NZ - and they love it.  Makes us proud to be Kiwi.  On the meantime, onwards to India........

Dubai & back

I'll start with the bad news!  Despite many hours (OK, less than one), in the Dubai Port Terminal, I am unable to load photos to this blog.  Sorry.

The days all start to merge into one big blur, with so many exciting memories and trying to find the right place for them. So it has been since the last entry.  The seas have been remarkedly light, although there was a bit of a swell when we hit the Arabian Sea.  That only lasted less than as day, as we turned the corner into the Gulf of Oman.  The water from thereon, through the infamous Strait of Hormuz, between UAE & Iran, into the Persian Gulf has been millpond flat.

Before we reached Dubai, we passed a port, about 10km away, around this area there must have been between 100-200 tankers anchored. I think that they remain anchored until the oil price rises and then they take off around the world.  Amazing as there were small ships as well as some pretty big ones.  There whole area around the straight, almost down to Dubai is designated traffic separation area - there are a series of marked lanes all the way.

We were disappointed to see the rubbish in the sea, including bottles and we even ran through a small oil slick.  As this area is one of the busiest in the world, I suppose that to a certain extent it is inevitable.  As we approached Dubai it was clear that the water is not particularly deep and has a sandy bottom as we stirred up quite a bit of sand.  I am sure that large ships would not use the port, although having said that they have a large drydock operation.  Anyway, the skyline was impressive after 6 days at sea.  As with Egypt, the sky is not clear and there is a consistent haze, which is due in part to the sand particles in the air.

Most importantly we had lunch before we disembarked at about 1.30. We caught a free shuttle bus to the Mercato Mall, which is a relatively small mall, close to the beach.  The mall has been modelled on an Italian village.  Nice, but nothing spectacular.  From here we grabbed a taxi to take us to the very large Dubai Mall.  Foolishly, we asked the driver for a price and at that stage only had US dollars.  So it was $10 (remember that).  Well, Dubai Mall is impressive, with the largest indoor aquarium, ice rink and it covers acres.  A whole floor devoted to children. All the big names from around the world were there. We loved it.

Decided that we'd go back to Mercato, to catch the 4.30 free shuttle back to the ship.  It took ages to find the money exchange - I knew that it was on the lower ground level, but couldn't find an escalator.  Well hidden behind the aquarium.  Down there was also signposted for taxis, so changed a bit of money and went out to get a taxi.  Ha ha, the first one wouldn't take us as he reckoned he didn't know where Mercato was (really the fare wasn't worth it), so we carried on and came to this official person who showed us back inside and the end of a queue of about 100 people, including our Assistant Waiter & other crew.

After half an hour we made the front of the queue and got our ride to the other mall.  Cost was 21 local currency, which equated to about $6.50 US.  No wonder the first taxi driver was happy.  Got to the mall just in time to catch the shuttle back to the ship.  The temperature was up in the mid/high 30s and it was really nice to be back "home".  Open sitting for dinner, as so many were away from the ship.  Decided to give the show a miss, as it was on a lot later than usual and we had an early start the next day.

Wednesday.  Our tour left at 8.30, so up early and first in the dining room for breakfast.  The tour took us to the beach area, to see the world's largest freestanding hotel, shaped like a sail (it's generally the symbol of Dubai).  We were more interested in the beach and went down to touch the water.  We could look out and across to the Palm Islands & the "World", all designed by a Kiwi.  At beach level, you can't actually see a thing - just sand in the distance.  After that, the obligatory Mosque.

Drove back to the centre of town and went to the museum, housed in an old fort.  It would have been great, but it was a relatively small museum with defined paths.  When you add 8 tour groups (x38) I including local spoiled expat school kids, it was bedlam.  Actually pleased to get out onto the street at nearly 40 degrees.  One of our group had decided to go shopping, so we then wasted almost half an hour trying to find her.  She did the same thing at the next stop and then abused the guide & all in sundry.  Really!

Anyway, we drove to the creek, which is the waterway between old and new city and took the water taxi across to their old city.  These water taxis have to be seen to be believed.  They are basically flat, with driver in the middle and a raised area running the length of the boat, which you sit on.  They take just over 30 passengers and were very well frequented. On arrival on the other side, we were rushed through the Spice Souls (markets) to the Gold Souk.  Gold, gold, gold & silver. All very bright and shiny, but not for us.  Off the main area were further general markets and the usual pestering hawkers - mainly Indian, Pakistani & Bangladeshi.  Incidentally 80% of the population is made up of foreign workers.

We were directed by our guide to a cafe the size of a small kitchen.  Half a dozen tables & chairs crammed together and no room to stand.  Had a great iced coffee though.  Opposite, Vivian got accosted by Pakistani vendor and almost ended up buying a blouse, but time and price haggles got us away and back to our meeting point OK.  Funny thing was though that this little shop was crammed with goods and when Vivian pointed out that the blouse she selected was shop-soiled, it was "No worry, my brother will get one from our stock" & brother disappears upstairs on an open lift like ours.

Our tour then ended back at the ship just after 1.00 and after lunch I thought that I'd post those photos to my blog, so spent an hour setting them up.  Left the ship and went to the terminal for free WiFi, but as I said, no joy. Pity, but that is that.

Today, Thursday, we are back on deck about to arrive in Oman after lunch.  One naval vessel went past this morning - to certain of the nationality, but it left us alone.  It is incredible to think that 5 weeks have gone by since we left and that we are just over half way through our holiday.  If the second half is as exciting I'll probably burst :-)