Cochin, India
It was a special day to observe an otherwise very poor city. Today was a religious holiday and many of the residents dressed in their traditional India dress clothes. Some of the men wore long skirts tied at their waist. If they were not in the church area they picked up the bottom of the skirt and tied it around their waist, making a skirt above the knee. The women wore beautiful, colorful saris; children were dressed either like their fathers or like their mothers. Quite a contrast – driving through the poor, poor city seeing beautiful ly dressed people walking amongst the goats, scooters, trash, tuk tuk taxies, hawkers, and sacred skinny cows. We went through a spice market, many carpet/trinket stores, helped some fisherman lower a big fishing net, visited an old palace, and drove through streets that were barely wide enough for the van we were in. Playing chicken was the rule of the day. We saw several driving schools, but we don’t think they had any business. We saw no internet assistance centers. The temp was above 90 and the humidity had to be about 100%. We gave up about noon and spent the afternoon on the ship. Betty, Leila and Shirley played mah jongg . Jerry and Dennis took naps and Terry went to the hot tub! Tonight we’re having an outdoor India buffet. We’re hoping we don’t see goat as an entrée. We’ll let you know.
Six BMK Travelers
4/15 – We all paid our Taxes!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
At Sea
At Sea
We’re into our “at sea” routine. At lunch today during the Captain’s lunchtime location announcement, he told us the sea temperature and the air temperature were the same – 86 degrees, and the depth of the sea was 13,000 feet. He assured us we wouldn’t go aground at our current location.
We have substituted early morning dog walking with early morning cards. This afternoon Shirley, Betty & Leila played the game of Mah Jongg, followed by Line Dance lessons with the fellows. The laundry room is one of the most popular places aboard ship, and Terry found his place in line early this morning at 6:45.
Inside each stateroom was a letter regarding pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden and what precautions the company has in place in the event we should encounter a hostile environment. Our ship class is not typically targeted by pirates and we have more security staff than the ships being targeted. We will be transiting a designated route which is called the “Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor” and these waters are actively monitored and patrolled by international naval vessels. If all else fails, we will notify all our friends to wire ransom money to Azamara Cruise Line, Room 7098, 7090, and 7086.
Six BMK Travelers
4/14
We’re into our “at sea” routine. At lunch today during the Captain’s lunchtime location announcement, he told us the sea temperature and the air temperature were the same – 86 degrees, and the depth of the sea was 13,000 feet. He assured us we wouldn’t go aground at our current location.
We have substituted early morning dog walking with early morning cards. This afternoon Shirley, Betty & Leila played the game of Mah Jongg, followed by Line Dance lessons with the fellows. The laundry room is one of the most popular places aboard ship, and Terry found his place in line early this morning at 6:45.
Inside each stateroom was a letter regarding pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden and what precautions the company has in place in the event we should encounter a hostile environment. Our ship class is not typically targeted by pirates and we have more security staff than the ships being targeted. We will be transiting a designated route which is called the “Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor” and these waters are actively monitored and patrolled by international naval vessels. If all else fails, we will notify all our friends to wire ransom money to Azamara Cruise Line, Room 7098, 7090, and 7086.
Six BMK Travelers
4/14
Monday, April 12, 2010
Phuket - Hot, Hot, Hot
Phuket – Hot, Hot, Hot!!
Phuket is situated off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea and is Thailand’s largest island 30 miles wide. Our ship arrived at 0700 in the morning amid a beautiful sunrise. I snapped a photo of a local fisherman motoring through the sunrise reflection, which is now on my computer as my screensaver.
Jerry negotiated with a private driver to takes us to see the local sites of the city. Phuket has magnificent white-sand beaches and one of Southeast Asia’s most fashionable beach resorts, complete with street vendors, coffeehouses, bars, and restaurants. Our 30 minute drive to get to Patong Beach was through windy roads amid local residents on small scooters. It was Sunday and many looked as though they were on their way to Church, quite properly dressed, sometimes four to a scooter. A poor area, to be sure. Like many an island paradise, the tourists never see how the local residents live. Instead, they arrive at their luxury beach and hotel accommodations to spend their vacation in a far-off paradise. I think Phuket is one of those places.
Anyone want an elephant ride? We didn’t, but we did feed the performing elephant bananas. Shirley received a juicy kiss on the cheek from the meandering trunk of the elephant. Want to see a monkey show?? We didn’t, but we did see one of the monkeys. It was just too hot to sit on an elephant or watch a 30 minute monkey show. On to the next stop on our tour; a very beautiful Buddhist Temple, a jewelry mart, a local food and merchandise mart, and a walk on the beautiful fine, white sand beach. As enjoyable as this journey was, we were anxious to get back to the ship and our air-conditioned environment.
Tonight we had an Asian buffet and our first poolside dance party.
Six BMK Travelers , 4/13
Saturday, April 10, 2010
First Day at Sea -
First Day at Sea
We’re here! The difference between a large ship Princess Line vessel and a small 700-passenger ship became very apparent from the get-go. No long lines getting aboard; no waiting at counters to check in. We were met with a glass of the bubbly the minute we stepped aboard. We’re all pleased with our staterooms and immediately stepped outside on our balcony to watch the stores being loaded aboard ----forklifts busy beeping and honking –lining up to put their loads through the hull of the ship. After lunch, we walked from deck to deck to get familiar with our home for the next 30 days -- stopped at the computer room to sign up for our internet accounts. At the end of our last voyage we discovered how to create our blog on a word document and “copy and paste” our adventures with a short upload, rather than creating the document online at $.50 plus per minute.
Today, Saturday, Dennis and Betty played on the electronic Texas Hold’em table. Neither were winners. We made visits to the workout gym; Terry worked out and headed to the whirlpool. Leila, Jerry, Dennis & Shirley started a game of Hand and Foot cards. Late this afternoon Shirley & Leila joined the dance troupe learning Chorus Line for the show at the end of the cruise, Jerry and Dennis look on but weren’t brave enough to join the show. This should be interesting. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.
Good news. The ship provides free wine with lunch and dinner. This was a welcome surprise. We were expecting to buy our wine aboard. Didn’t purchase any wine in Singapore because the import taxes were very high and a simple bottle of Beringer was $35.00-$40.00. Anything really decent was in the $50 price range.
Dinner last night was less than wonderful – we’re waiting for the good news as the crew gets comfortable at their work.
Till Later,
Six BMK Travelers, Betty, Terry, Shirley, Jerry, Leila & Dennis
We’re here! The difference between a large ship Princess Line vessel and a small 700-passenger ship became very apparent from the get-go. No long lines getting aboard; no waiting at counters to check in. We were met with a glass of the bubbly the minute we stepped aboard. We’re all pleased with our staterooms and immediately stepped outside on our balcony to watch the stores being loaded aboard ----forklifts busy beeping and honking –lining up to put their loads through the hull of the ship. After lunch, we walked from deck to deck to get familiar with our home for the next 30 days -- stopped at the computer room to sign up for our internet accounts. At the end of our last voyage we discovered how to create our blog on a word document and “copy and paste” our adventures with a short upload, rather than creating the document online at $.50 plus per minute.
Today, Saturday, Dennis and Betty played on the electronic Texas Hold’em table. Neither were winners. We made visits to the workout gym; Terry worked out and headed to the whirlpool. Leila, Jerry, Dennis & Shirley started a game of Hand and Foot cards. Late this afternoon Shirley & Leila joined the dance troupe learning Chorus Line for the show at the end of the cruise, Jerry and Dennis look on but weren’t brave enough to join the show. This should be interesting. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.
Good news. The ship provides free wine with lunch and dinner. This was a welcome surprise. We were expecting to buy our wine aboard. Didn’t purchase any wine in Singapore because the import taxes were very high and a simple bottle of Beringer was $35.00-$40.00. Anything really decent was in the $50 price range.
Dinner last night was less than wonderful – we’re waiting for the good news as the crew gets comfortable at their work.
Till Later,
Six BMK Travelers, Betty, Terry, Shirley, Jerry, Leila & Dennis
Friday, April 9, 2010
Singapore
Our “ Worlds Away” travel adventure begins today!
The airplane ride was long and uneventful and Cathay Pacific provided us with an abundance of in-flight movies. We all watched at least 4 first-rate movies and tried to stay awake so we could adjust to the time change faster. After picking up our luggage we worked our way through the airport and met our prearranged pick-up van. Departing the airport, a blast of hot, humid air reminded us that our “Worlds Away” travel adventure brought us half way around the world in 24-hours and left behind was our rainy, cold weather from Bel Marin Keys.
Singapore is a beautiful, clean city. No spitting, no graffiti ($10,000 fine), no littering, no j-walking– or you’re fined $1000 or jailed. An airport sign reminded us that if you bring drugs into Singapore the penalty would be death.
Our first adventure was to experience a Singapore breakfast at a street-café not far from the hotel. We all were anxious to have a cup of coffee and something to start the day. The food offerings were clearly not what we usually have for our breakfast in the USA. No cereal, no fruit, no soy milk or high fiber muffins. Jerry thought Betty and Terry were having Pork balls, but they were actually having chicken buns. About 3 blocks from the hotel is the “Chinatown” of Singapore which wasn’t much different than the Chinatown of San Francisco except there was a Buddhist Museum right in the center of the tourist center. We took a tour and found it quite impressive.
Wednesday we woke up to the news of an earthquake in Sumatra not far from Singapore. According to the news, some residents of Singapore did feel the quake. Not us. Later, we found directions from the Hotel Concierge to the Botanical Gardens via public bus. Our ride took us through the upscale shopping area on Orchard Street claiming to have 10,000 shops. Jerry and Dennis were quite happy to stay on the bus and go straight to the Botanical Gardens. Terry and Betty spent a leisure day by the pool. Later that night we all joined together for our first in-room cocktail hour followed by a cruise on the river.
The electric boat passed many places to dine along the waterfront and into the larger harbor outlining the city skyscrapers. In the background we passed the famed Lion-Fish spouting water. The city was named after this statue meaning Singa-“lion”, and paura-“fish” – or Singapore. The attraction name is now called the Merlion. At the end of the harbor is a new hotel which looks like a freighter ship balanced atop three towers looking about 50 stories high.
Thursday we headed out for the international island play-park of Sentosa, Asia’s favorite playground. A short taxi ride away brought us to a Resorts World destination. On the island are resorts within resorts; world-class shopping; many exclusive hotels, a large casino and many playland-type events to see and do. Today we did something we have never done before – we learned to ride a Segway. If you get a chance, look up Singapore Resort World on the internet to see where we spent a very enjoyable day. While we were on the sky tower above the city we just happened to see our ship arrive and dock in the Singapore harbor. Must be a good omen.
Tomorrow we head off to the Azamara Quest and begin our cruise adventure.
Six BMK Travelers – Shirley, Jerry, Betty, Terry, Leila & Dennis
The airplane ride was long and uneventful and Cathay Pacific provided us with an abundance of in-flight movies. We all watched at least 4 first-rate movies and tried to stay awake so we could adjust to the time change faster. After picking up our luggage we worked our way through the airport and met our prearranged pick-up van. Departing the airport, a blast of hot, humid air reminded us that our “Worlds Away” travel adventure brought us half way around the world in 24-hours and left behind was our rainy, cold weather from Bel Marin Keys.
Singapore is a beautiful, clean city. No spitting, no graffiti ($10,000 fine), no littering, no j-walking– or you’re fined $1000 or jailed. An airport sign reminded us that if you bring drugs into Singapore the penalty would be death.
Our first adventure was to experience a Singapore breakfast at a street-café not far from the hotel. We all were anxious to have a cup of coffee and something to start the day. The food offerings were clearly not what we usually have for our breakfast in the USA. No cereal, no fruit, no soy milk or high fiber muffins. Jerry thought Betty and Terry were having Pork balls, but they were actually having chicken buns. About 3 blocks from the hotel is the “Chinatown” of Singapore which wasn’t much different than the Chinatown of San Francisco except there was a Buddhist Museum right in the center of the tourist center. We took a tour and found it quite impressive.
Wednesday we woke up to the news of an earthquake in Sumatra not far from Singapore. According to the news, some residents of Singapore did feel the quake. Not us. Later, we found directions from the Hotel Concierge to the Botanical Gardens via public bus. Our ride took us through the upscale shopping area on Orchard Street claiming to have 10,000 shops. Jerry and Dennis were quite happy to stay on the bus and go straight to the Botanical Gardens. Terry and Betty spent a leisure day by the pool. Later that night we all joined together for our first in-room cocktail hour followed by a cruise on the river.
The electric boat passed many places to dine along the waterfront and into the larger harbor outlining the city skyscrapers. In the background we passed the famed Lion-Fish spouting water. The city was named after this statue meaning Singa-“lion”, and paura-“fish” – or Singapore. The attraction name is now called the Merlion. At the end of the harbor is a new hotel which looks like a freighter ship balanced atop three towers looking about 50 stories high.
Thursday we headed out for the international island play-park of Sentosa, Asia’s favorite playground. A short taxi ride away brought us to a Resorts World destination. On the island are resorts within resorts; world-class shopping; many exclusive hotels, a large casino and many playland-type events to see and do. Today we did something we have never done before – we learned to ride a Segway. If you get a chance, look up Singapore Resort World on the internet to see where we spent a very enjoyable day. While we were on the sky tower above the city we just happened to see our ship arrive and dock in the Singapore harbor. Must be a good omen.
Tomorrow we head off to the Azamara Quest and begin our cruise adventure.
Six BMK Travelers – Shirley, Jerry, Betty, Terry, Leila & Dennis
Friday, April 2, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
"World's Away" Cruise
In 5 days we will begin our "Worlds Away" adventure.
We'll spend a few days in Singapore before we board the Azamara Quest and begin our cruise.
Join us on our adventure....
Leila, Dennis
Shirley, Jerry
Betty, Terry
We'll spend a few days in Singapore before we board the Azamara Quest and begin our cruise.
Join us on our adventure....
Leila, Dennis
Shirley, Jerry
Betty, Terry
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