and to Komodo as well

at the end of my day

  1. This is the second stop on this leg and a repeat from the previous cruise. I literally missed the boat on going snorkeling. One of those (there are 60 of us) who are holdovers from the previous cruise had checked for private boats the last time we were hear. So about a dozen, rather than pay the 159$ that the ship wanted for snorkeling and a visit to the local village paid $10US/a head to spend two+ hours on the same beach. They reported that the shorkling was great, the beach and the weather were scorching.

    I didn’t get off the ship. George has managed to have an ear infection so swimming/snorkling/hearing are not currently options for him.

So most of my day was spent quietly.  Also going through my audio book apps for no-brainer listens

 

 

 

 

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Back to Lombok

After leaving Bali yesterday, our ship headed back toward Lombok. Both today and tomorrow are repeat ports for those of us on back-to-back cruises. This morning I checked in again with one of our local experts at the coffee station. We dock at 0700 and leave by 1500. It is over an hour to anywhere. I looked at the tours the ship is offering. I don’t find any of them more interesting than I did the first time around. I may hit the same issue in Komodo tomorrow. That one is the decent tender ride followed by a risky disembark up narrow steps without a railing followed by being swarmed by local kids trying to sell things. Anyway – I can do that whole description tomorrow.

One of the interesting things I noted was that, by coming in early, all of the local ferries and inter-island transports were still at anchor in the bay.

It didn’t seem like all that much till I counted 14 plus two pilot boats.

Looking more closely, these are not small crafts..

I am thinking that I need a nap, a new audiobook and lunch in its proper time.  That will also mean I can get away from the flies inhabiting the terminal. and driving most of us insane. 

 

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Bali -> Cairnes

 

Sunday, November 26 Benoa, Bali, Indonesia 6:00pm
Monday, November 27 Lombok, Indonesia 7:00am 3:00pm
Tuesday, November 28 Komodo, Indonesia 1:00pm 6:00pm
Wednesday, November 29 Waingapu, East Sumba 7:00am 3:00pm
Thursday, November 30 Kupang, Indonesia 8:00am 5:00pm
Friday, December 1 Dili, East Timor 8:00am 5:00pm
Saturday, December 2 at sea
Sunday, December 3 Darwin, Australia 7:00am 5:00pm
Monday, December 4 At Sea
Tuesday, December 5 At Sea
Wednesday, December 6 Thursday Island 8:00am 4:00pm
Thursday, December 7 at sea
Friday, December 8 Port Douglas, Australia 7:00am 6:00pm
Saturday, December 9 Cairns, Australia 7:00a

please note – the map matches the “old cruise” and not the new list above. Darwin has been added and apparently the Papua New Guinea small island ports have sustained some damage and may not be open. Needless to say – there are some very unhappy passengers. For most of us – this leg has the Great Barrier Reef visit and the rest is just icing.

Disembarkation ran smoothly this morning and by 0930 George & I were in the few remaining passengers on ship. There are 60 remaining from the previous leg (some from Hong Kong and some from when we boarded in Yokohama). We are not gaining as many as we are losing. Doesn’t bother me at all, I enjoy the lower number of passengers. Additionally, some of the more entitled are off the ship and staying in Bali for a week or so. Also some really wonderful people. The first group? Meh, the second I will sorely miss.

As the distances from the port to anything really interesting that I would like to do aren’t particularly short, I am not going anywhere today. The idea of driving a couple of hours to turn around and drive back to make the ships departure would have just made me a bit too anxious.

So instead – you get the water views – and the new terminal (obviously newer and shinier than when I was here in 2013).

we passed this spit of land with larger homes, boat slips and lots of small and medium size boats on the port side as we sailed into the harbor.  I didn’t take photos of the larger planes inbound as we crossed under their flight path but counted five in less than 30 minutes. Thinking these are night flight departures from more distant cities.

Bali is the country (region of Indonesia anyway) and Benoa the city.

This is the new terminal complex where we were along side by shortly after 0700.

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Lombok

We docked at 1300

I am electing to make this a rather quiet day. The terminal is nowhere near downtown so there is nothing walkable. Plus the temperatures and humidity are falling into the not fun categories.  We waited till about 1400 which was only an hour after docking before heading into the terminal and enjoying the free wifi. Not the flies, but the wifi.

This was the greeting music –

This leg ends tomorrow in Bali. I am not yet sure what George has planned for the day. In any case there will be a significant turn over of passengers. The number now staying from Japan is seriously reduced.

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Komodo National Park

Obviously the thing to do in Loh Liang, Indonesia is a walk through the Komodo National Park. It would be totally foolish to not see Komodo Dragons while here. Right? World’s largest lizard and all of that. Also what should have been obvious to me but wasn’t till the port talk last night was that this was another tender port. The location of disembarking being a long pier next to the park entrance.

The choices today were “short tour” or “long tour” with the only difference between the two being a follow on trip to Pink Beach for snorkeling. Considering the bright sunlight, temperatures around 35*C and 100% humidity, spending time on a hot beach, even for snorkeling wasn’t high on my list. 

The park provided two naturalists for each group. Both were knowledgable and polite. Too polite as there was also a “guide” from the tour company who couldn’t seem to shut his mouth. My recommendation to anyone would be to insist on being able to listen to the naturalists.

Anyway – there were also birds – one of the cardinal family (being more yellow than we normally see) and another of the raven/crow variety (black).  We heard the yellow crested cockatiels, but none deigned to show off their feathers.

then there were the interesting insects –

who you can see hanging upside down on the branch….

But mostly we were there for the Komodo Dragons –

the first two we saw on our way in. The ground was dry – it isn’t quite the rainy season yet (3 months wet/9 dry).

frankly, I don’t find them particularly attractive at all.

Like most lizards – they swallow their prey whole/chunks without chewing, then spend a few weeks digesting. They don’t particularly care if their food is fresh, recently killed or pretty putrid. And yes, they are venomous.

This fellow would make a nice meal for an adult.

It was hot, extremely humid and I was more than delighted to get back on ship.

not our ship, but passed in the tender on the way back.

 

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Makassar, Indonesia

According to the advanced information – we were to arrive in port at 0600 and leave at 1600. Somewhere along the line, the departure time was moved up a couple of hours. Added to the hot & humid was the ship offering only one tour, an all day affair leaving at 0730 and getting back (I suspect actually after) right before all-aboard.

I was up early as always and

was able to watch both the sunrise, as well as our arrival in port

which was beautiful (and I think partly a result of serious pollution by the smoky smell of the air after we docked).

which didn’t take away the beauty of the sun coming up behind the nearest mosque minaret.

We waited till 0830 and caught the first shuttle bus to the “mall” –

which I deferred and instead walked to Fort Rotterdam (let us not forget the Dutch East India Company) and their colonial involvement in this region.  Although not next door, I can highly recommend Simon Winchester’s book on Krakatoa which delves into the Dutch Colonial activities in this region. If your public library doesn’t have it – ask for it.

Any way –

with it’s walls, moat on one side, and areas of former canon emplacements –

facing seaward.  The church in the center holds pride of place

with the rest of the buildings surrounding the central square. I skipped the museum as it was dark, few exhibits present as seen through a couple of windows and packed full of school children.

outside the walls –

I don’t get the large gong – and there wasn’t a plaque. The horse and rider? Isn’t there always a horse and rider statue?

There is free wifi in the arrival hall so I am going to take advantage of it to weed out my inbox. The current outside temperature is 91*F with equivalent humidity. Even looking at the temperature in *C isn’t going to make it any cooler.

Tomorrow is Komodo dragons.

And yes, we are expecting turkey for dinner. There are too many Americans on board not to do that…

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Sea Day 2/2

(sunrise is before 0600 in case you are wondering) – go to the blog post if you want to enjoy these.

 

Having two relaxing days in a row is not unusual for my average cruise. It certainly is for this trip. This leg, like the previous one, is port heavy. Not, so far, with ports that I am interested spending the entire docked time, but with places that are interesting to visit once.

The jig-saw puzzle fiends have worked their way through the entire collection of 500 piece puzzles including some traditional poster type puzzles (Cats, sea creatures, bees, and birds) and are now tackling a 2000 piece one that is taking up practically the whole table. Not helped of course by someone who jammed the edges together without matching colors….

The guest lecturer on board for this segment is much better than the last and is actually talking about local landscape, culture, religion, and craft traditions. I told her afterwards that she does need to be a bit more pointed with some of the passengers. Don’t tell them they will “feel more comfortable” if they are dressed more conservatively. Just tell them that it is needed. When you have those in their 60s and up heading off ship into a conservative Muslim location dressed in skin tight bicycle shorts, tank tops with flesh bulging out and flip-flops (thongs for the Aussies) on their feet – it is obvious that they are not uncomfortable at all. Rude? Inconsiderate? Disrespectful of the hosting country?

Perhaps I am more sensitive having served in the mid-East and not wishing to offend any more than a woman in a uniform carrying a weapon would offend. OTOH – we were always covered.

Anyway ….back to the lecture – one of the sights that I won’t be seeing tomorrow is the 99 Dome Mosque –

We ended our evening in the main dining room after receiving an invitation to dinner with an officer. This time it was Felipe who is the destination manager. It was interesting chatting with him – his background prior to joining the cruise industry was as a sergeant in the Brazilian military. The other person at the table turned out to be more than a bit on the conservative side. I am working on being, if not more careful about my insults, at least a bit less rude.

and progress is being made on my Relatively Small Ship of Life. Over half way…

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Sea Day 1/2

Today is a sea day, cruising along on a surface that is almost flat. We have significantly slowed since last night and our forward motion feels almost as smooth as glass. I am seeing people in the various lounges whom I wasn’t even sure were still on the ship post Hong Kong. There were the usual expected shipboard programs including trivia, chats, and music venues.

Unlike on transatlantic or pacific crossings, there are a serious number of cargo whips pacing us, or sailing in the opposite direction. This totally makes sense for goods transport in an area that is more island and island nations than large portions of land. Sea transport might not be anywhere near as rapid as air, but it is certainly seems more sensible and cost effective.

My day was spent quietly, mostly in our cabin where I could put on headphones and not have to deal with a stream of people stopping by to chat and ask how my knitting/embroidery/sewing was going. Cross stitch. Not any of the others… It was also a migraine day in which I finally caved, swallowed my meds and lost a good chunk of the day.

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Orangutans & Sun Bears

Sunrise just after 0600 and interesting islands that we passed.

We docked today in the commercial port belonging to Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. Located about 4 miles from the city, we were warned ahead of time that taking a tour or using the shuttle bus were going to be the only way out of the port. Not an issue for us – The Orangutan Rehabilitation Center  and the Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Borneo are effectively co-located and there was a tour.  Both are NGO run and maintained.

First, the Orangutans: (and you can read about them here on Wiki). As you might expect, the numbers have decreased due to forest loss as they are primarily arboreal. Secondly, offspring stay with the mother for 4-6 years… The Center provides services, rehab and maintains viewing areas for twice a day feedings (a reason for people to pay to come watch). Please note – I am not trying to be cynical, but you have to have draw and hook to get new people in on a regular basis in an area that is not wealthy. Our ship was only the third this year….

But what you want are pictures! –

There are ropes and cables from various trees. The small ones seem to race along, sometimes upright and sometimes upside down and hanging by just a paw.

and then there are greens & bananas..

We had to move on to the Sun Bears (again – the Wiki Link) in order for others to get a look as well.  So out of one preserve and on to the second. Up paths and stairs to an observation platform.  At first they are not completely easy to see –

so cropping the picture –

you can at least see his nose a bit better.

They are the smallest bears – weighing in at 25- 65 kg and so much shorter than the North American grizzly (aka brown bear are 80-600 kg).

There was a top at the Central Market which I skipped.  The drive back was smooth and we passed –

many of these original houses are now small shops and restaurants according to the information we were provided. Given that this is an earthquake/tsunami/typhoon area the stilts make a lot of sense.

It is back to the ship, lunch and email catch-up. Next two days are sea days. Might pay for Wifi. Or might do a catch-up when we get to Indonesia.

 

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Galley tour

Which is not the same as touring a sailing galley from the 1600s. Since the offer was on the daily program, I signed us up. Free- what is not to like?

In case it wasn’t completely obvious, this is a sea day.

I have done similar tours on much larger ships, but up to this point hadn’t had the opportunity on Windstar.  The main dining room is on Deck 3 and the galley is immediately adjacent.  The tour itself was a group of 12 escorted by Stefan, the head chef.
The first thing that struck me was how small it was compared to the big ships.  An obvious duh moment since feeding a max of 325 is a lot different than a ship of thousands.  The crew’s galley is actually on Deck 4, aft.

The second thing? I was the only one taking pictures! Not that I took photos of everything – a ship board commercial dishwasher seems to be the same everywhere. Here there are hot & cold carts that can be used on the lifts to transfer those foods prepared in the main kitchen to the other venues in the ship.

Obvious there is coffee –

all included.

There is the bakery area –

which has a small prep area manned by two facing each other across the surface and just a quick step to the stacked ovens.

There are pots and pans –

and we were afforded a quick peek into one of the storage areas –

and the rest of the prep areas are separated by type –

The tour was nice, lasted less than 30 minutes and then I headed back to my stitching and audiobooks…

Before I close  – just for fun I did a search for past galley tours: (the photos aren’ there from prior to 2015 as they didn’t transfer when I moved servers from Germany. I still need to find them and upload.) I know that there are more than these, but this is just a quick run. Apparently I didn’t either take (pr perhaps record) anything about the galley on any of my four cruises on the Star Legend.

There was the Mariner OTS in April of 2013.  and Sept 2014 – (Legend) no photos either.  Nov 2015 – on the Splendor of the Seas –  there are actually galley pictures! Then there was the last voyages of the Legend OTS in March 2017 .  In April of  2017  skipped the galley photos on the NCL Jewel but did include the laundry. The seriously NOT great galley tour of Oct 2017 on the NCL Sun through the Panama Canal and finally my westbound TA on the NCL Sun this past April (complete with pictures!).

 

 

 

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Puerto Princesa

And yes, we are still in the Philippines,  The name derives from Spanish Influence. It is our last port. And no, it is not anywhere near the earthquake in the region that hit yesterday afternoon. I checked in with the crew: one has family that lives in that region/island but they are all safe and sound.

So today – it was 31*C and humidity well over 70% with the sun blasting this morning on arrival where we were greeted by local performers and musicians. I am guessing that the costumes are a modern adaptation of traditional garb.

Along with another couple, we set out to walk around a bit. Of course, part of the reason for walking was that we just missed the shuttle bus by about a minute. Secondarily, there were the spires of a church within in an easy walk. Easy walk being defined by distance, not by the hordes of tour offers, ride offers, and general/noisy sales pitches that accosted us the minute we exited the restricted port area.

George, Chris, and Terry went into the church. I looked in the door then headed away because it was obvious that a religious service was about to start. I have no clue what would be at ~1000 on a Saturday morning. From there we headed toward the center of town

turns out we were on the road that has all the ATMs (no one needed any cash) and crossed over to the more coastal road at the civic center area. (Couldn’t drum up any interest from the other three in stopping at what looked like a very small museum). From there it was just a few blocks to what turned out to be an extremely modern mall.  Three stories and full air conditioned. Lovely to cool off, for a short while then we caught the shuttle bus back to the ship. We had been informed last night that there was a micro-brewery just three blocks from the ship which opened at 1100 which the guys were thinking about.

Wrong – it didn’t open till 1700. The town is cleaner and in better shape than several which we have visited but other than the mall – the main thing here is tourism which = water sports – primarily fishing, snorkeling, and diving.

The other option is the huge natural cave system with underground rivers which has been now named as one of the natural wonders of nature. We had looked into going but…. 2 hours in the bus to get there, two hours to get back and the tour is a total of 5 hours? Other option of an “all day tour” which involved (for 8 hours) – two hours to get there, lunch, two hours to get back which leaves (in my best guess) about 2 hours in the caves rather than one….

All of which might explain why I decided to spend my afternoon lazing about our cabin. There is yet another BBQ tonight. They do one on each leg. I will happily skip most of it but, if the weather holds there may be more of the local performers.

Otherwise, I am making steady progress on “The Comparatively Small Red Ship of Life” by Inkcircles.

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Coron/Busuanga Island, Philippines

Coron is the town located on Busuanga Island if I understand it correctly. Cashews are a main agricultural product both for local consumption and for export. Like many other islands, the main road seems to go around the island. According to Wiki the 2020 census, population was 65,855.

We were greeted by a young marching bad which I am thinking with the letters “CSF” on their shirts, belong to a local school. The more I looked at them, the younger they seemed.   Primarily a percussion based group, there was a small contingent of some keyboard thing I hadn’t seen before.

After waiting a while for the ship to be organized – we disembarked with the plan to hike to and up Mount Tapyas.

looking from the port past the port building, the yellow hotel, you can see Mt Tapyas in the distance. As it turned out, you had to walk through and past the majority of the town (several kilometers) before figuring out where to start the hill climb. Since there was a large cross on top of the mount, I figured that turning up at the main church – St Augustin was probably a reasonable move. Up a block, it was obvious that there had to be a way, but a guy on a motorcycle said  “left to the next street before going up the hill”.

Seems obvious on the way down.

We hiked up the road, then looked up to see stairs heading up the hill/mountain.

Let me just leave it with the statement that there were a lot of stairs. Admittedly, there were a more than a few landings with benches. But it was a lot of stairs. I counted 696 on the way down. There were painted signs on the way up every 100. According to them it was well over 700. Not sure it makes a difference. It is NOT something that can be managed any other way than a step at a time. We passed, chatted with, or sat with some amazing people both ways. A couple of pastor’s from the Seventh Day Adventist Church several islands over, a couple from Austria, a guy from Australia with his wife from Louisiana, a UK elderly gentleman in about our age group with his wife and a group of her relations, university students from Vancouver on a three week holiday.

At the base of the cross is the painted cement section noting the location with the original build going up in 1902. On the pastor’s mentioned that he thought that there had been replacements over the years secondary to typhoon damage.

The view from the top was amazing –

for the views of the surrounding islands,

as well as the view down to the city with all the tin roofs crammed together.  You can barely seen the ship from here in most photos – so looking closer.

Other quick things to note:

power lines run along sides on the road up the hill –

and I have no clue about water/sewer. I didn’t want to ask as there were blue jerry cans all over the place as well as the usual black used for fuel. Many of the transport vehicles were carrying both.

and, in contrast to our ship – the most common mode of transport for tourists and island transfers –

By the time we hiked back down all those stairs and back to the ship it might just be time for a short nap.

 

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Boracay, Philippines

According to all the literature we received ahead of time – this particular island (and location) is most known for vacations/beaches/watersports. After suffering over use, there was a government shut down in 2019 for clean up and major discussions on limiting visitors after reopening. The pandemic I think caused a change upwards in the number. I was never able to get an answer to “does the number include those who live there as well as visitors or just visitors?” I could be either, but total would be most sane.

The island off which we anchored has no major pier. We tendered in and took the shuttle bus up THE road to what was deemed the center of town. Frankly, the whole island seems to be devoted to tourism. The airport, quite busy, is the next island over with continuous ferry service.

From the city center we walked first along the main road, then through all of the various little lanes full of shops to the beach and up the beach.

with the obligate “you are here and far away from there” sign.

unlike the beaches which are all publicly accessible, most of the fancier resorts were tucked away in groves and behind fencing.

these are the main form of transportation around for locals and a lot of the tourists. There don’t seem to be any regular schedules or routes. OTOH, there is exactly one main road running down the island from one end to the other with only a branch off what my mind keeps wanting to view as the southern end.  There are also vans associated with the resorts and the usual number of mopeds, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Very few POVs. 

The only purchase I made was a couple of drink containers from Starbucks. As the counter person there told me, he knew that north had thermoses, but they had place named clear plastic cold drink contains. Just as good, he claimed, perhaps better for here. In any case, I now have Philippines, Boracay, and Manila (from our last stop). It tells me that I should have looked more closely in Hong Kong at my options and gone with what they had. 

Somehow the hike back to the port seemed a whole lot longer than the drive in would indicate. Neither of us had been paying as much as we potentially should have but then, there is but the one road. There was this really cool stair set which I recognized from the trip out. 

I also didn’t remember the amount of uphill, but then I wouldn’t sitting in a shuttle bus. We made it back to the port with hours to spare some of which I spent soaking some aching muscles in the whirlpool (the thing I really wish was a hot tub)

 

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Philippine National Museum

This is an addendum to the regular post and has only a limited email distro.

This wasn’t all that long a day, but I had pretty much wiped out after walking around and three floors of the museum. I had headed back down to the central courtyard and was waiting on George when he gave me a call. The fourth floor was devoted to fiber/handwork exhibits so back up I went.

The spinning equipment on exhibit simple hand spindles, what looks like a skein winder with sections on the main fibers and dyes – with all the colors displayed on shuttle bobbins.

there were fabrics made off back-strap looms

ridged heddle –

and from floor looms –

then there is the surface embroidery like this piece with a closeup –

or these

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with some really amazing finished items –

 

Since these exhibits were focused on traditional methods, symbols, patterns, there was nothing of what you routinely see in North America/Europe etc. Wool is not an issue here, rather jute (and other plant fibers) & silk form the base fibers.  You are not seeing knitting, crochet, tatting, bobbin lace etc because these aren’t traditional crafts.

I have much larger photos of most of the things. If you need them, just email.

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Manila, Philippines

We sailed into Manila’s South Harbor this morning shortly after 0900 and were along side the pier at close to 1000. Disembarking was a bit delayed (performance by a local group – the dancers doing men’s parts were excellent, those doing the women’s parts not as much but the percussion section was amazing).

We took the free shuttle bus to Robinson Mall. There was a Starbucks (sick of this yet?). The young man at the counter said that the “you were here” thermos type containers instead were the clear plastic designed for cold beverages. Ok, I can do that. Sorry I didn’t figure that out in Hong Kong…Ah well.

Oh – the electric wires strongly reminded me of New Delhi –

The mall? Like just about any mall anywhere. We headed back out and walked toward Rizal Place and Monument. The walk was interesting but not particularly pleasant. The traffic is heavy and I saw more people sleeping on the sidewalk or next to it including dozens of small children. Most of those areas reeked of stale urine. I expect there were also contribution from a few dogs tethered to carts and some feral looking cats.

Rizal Park was green, open and inviting. The monument is on the harbor side (west),

the Japanese Garden & exhibits on the north to include the Phillipino Flower Sundial.

From there we went to the National Museum which featured exhibits on history, poetry, archeology, and some amazing art.  

in the central courtyard from found plastics.

A both factual and artistic representation of Magellan’s voyage and his navigator who was a slave originally taken from this area. 

there were lightbulb people

and pottery, and ceramics, and costumes and stories collected from across the islands. 

and objects both artful and useful. 

The rest of the textiles are in a separate post. 

I made it through 4/5 floors before my body said it was time to go back to the ship. That was an adventure in itself – trucks, jeepneys, cars, and motor scooters everywhere and too many intersections where pedestrian cross walks weren’t really obvious.

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Hundred Islands

Most the violent rocking and rolling seemed to stop about 0200-0300 this morning. I was still one of the few people up early to get coffee. I decided to go ahead and move my usual table back to the alcove where I like to sit, and watched people drag in for morning coffee.  The staff seemed a lot better today as well. 

Our stop today was Hundred Islands. According to the information provided there are 124 islands at low tide and 123 at high tide. Geologically they are fascinating, appearing almost as mushroom caps with the area immediately below the water line (at high tide) being worn away. 

We were not landing on one of the inhabited islands, but one obviously set up for tourists with kayaks, beach, swimming, & snorkeling; Quezon Island. The ship was setting up a beach BBQ. 

We wandered over on one of the later tenders, traveling mostly with crew bringing all the last minute things needed.  After less than an hour, I was more than ready to head back to the ship. I am afraid that I am really not much of a beach person, the sun was hot, the air was humid, and I was delighted to be able to get photos of several of the small islands on the way back. 

Now – does this count as an island? As 2 or 3 islands?

 

You can clearly see the undercutting that has happened as a result of the ocean. 

 

I didn’t spot this till the way back to the ship. I would have been more than interested in walking across – it looked interesting. But, at least from the sea there was nothing much on the adjacent island

 

The rest of our day passed more than quietly.

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Rock and Roll

There were a lot of unhappy people today. Shall we just say that the seas were rough enough that the portholes in the dining room were covered, a good half of the passengers didn’t venture outside their cabins, and I had most of the Deck 8 forward lounge to myself for most of the day. I didn’t think it was “that rough” but apparently my view was not held by most on the ship. A fair number of the crew didn’t look all that much better. 

I spent the day comfortably listening to audios books and stitching. The main entertainment for me was getting on line to get my Philippines Visa sorted since the Immigration crew wanted a QR code. I didn’t have one, neither did George. So there was this. – well, go on-line. My return comment was that I wasn’t going to pay for the day’s worth of internet to get a QR code that they should have mentioned the day before in Hong Kong when I was on-line. So the Purser logged me in long enough to fill out the form for George and I on-line. We then could clear immigration and go back to reading. 

We ended the evening in Candles aka the Veranda aft on Deck 7. In the evening it serves as their specialty steak/fish/seafood restaurant. The ship was still rocking and rolling. There were broken dishes. The poor woman at the table next to us had her chair slide more than a meter and practically dump her in George’s lap. Other than her clothes being a bit soup covered, she was all right. 

(Amazing how many people freeze in shock. Except for the restaurant manager who raced over and helped me get her back on her feet.) After that experience, I decided that dinner was just about over and that I really didn’t need desert. The ladies at the next table were moved to one of the small side seating areas where the tables are fastened to the wall and the chairs are a lot sturdier. 

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Hong Kong -> Bali

The second segment:

Sunday, November 12 Hong Kong 5:00pm

Monday, November 13 At Sea

Tuesday, November 14 Hundred Islands, Philippines 7:00am-4:00pm

Wednesday, November 15 Manila, Philippines 10:00am-6:00pm

Thursday, November 16 Boracay, Philippines Noon-9:00pm

Friday, November 17 Coron, Philippines 9:00am-5:00pm

Saturday, November 18 Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines 9:00am-11:59pm

Sunday, November 19 At Sea

Monday, November 20 Sandakan, Malaysia 8:00am-6:00pm

Tuesday, November 21 At Sea

Wednesday, November 22 At Sea

Thursday, November 23 Makassar, Indonesia 6:00am-4:00pm

Friday, November 24 Komodo, Indonesia 1:00pm-5:00pm

Saturday, November 25 Lombok, Indonesia 1:00pm-10:00pm

Sunday, November 26 Benoa, Bali, Indonesia 7:00am

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Kowloon, Hong Kong

Not surprisingly, there was “heavy mist” on the way in which didn’t clear till well after sunrise. But the view of Hong Kong is amazing as row after towering row of buildings appeared as the rain cleared and the light increased. I am not sure why I was surprised at the building density – but you have to have hundreds of high rises if you want to pack 7.5M people in such a small areas. Here is just a sample of the pictures from earliest approach to the Ocean Terminal.

 

Leaving this one out of the gallery so that something comes through in the email post – with the lighted front of the concert hall clearly showing.

We were safely docked before 0700 with disembarkation for those leaving the ship here starting around 0900. I saw a serious number of the 68 remaining for the next leg at. the Veranda for breakfast as soon as the majority of the passengers had cleared.  Those of us in transit were able to get off the ship after the last of the disembarking passengers had cleared immigration.

We headed off shortly before 0900 just walking into the portion of the city on this particular island. Our significant tourist stop was the Heritage Center in Kowloon Park.

The exhibits covered archeology, ethnology, architecture, with related items, drawings, and reconstructions from prehistoric early Iron Age through to the present. Not being from here – I thought it might just be a bit Han Dynasty centric, but what do I know?

So you could see how the roofs were constructed along with the decorative details in different eras.

or coinage in use back when most of our early ancestors weren’t out of the basic barter for survival. –

But then there is the Ming Dynasty with all of its porcelain leftovers on display under the glass flooring.

From there we went up Nathan Street toward the various outdoor markets.

I just looked at things & places –

and noted that there was an amazing amount of specialty highly expensive calligraphy supplies available including all of the ink trays shown at the Palace Museum –

and headed back to the ship being very grateful when this tower came into view.

as it marked the entrance to the building complex at the Ocean Terminal.

 

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Veteran’s Day

Today is the last day of cruising for 2/3 of those on board. Tomorrow we dock in Hong Kong which makes that sort of your bog standard turnover day. It will also be an extremely  short turnover – as we can’t get off till 0900 and have to be back on ship by 1600. 

Meanwhile – it is Veteran’s Day. From what several of us can tell, there are no American staff members in the current crew. Nevertheless, today’s short ceremony at 11:11 was American orientated. I met several other veteran’s in the crowd, a couple from the Viet Nam era.  There was a short ?annoucement? about the history of Remembrance Day, the raising of both the ship’s flag and the US flag after the minute of silence.

I thought back to the ceremony I experienced in Australia in 2013 while doing the circumnavigation on the Radiance. (the link to that post is here). Not only did it have meaning but it much more truly reflected the many countries and peoples that were affected by WWI. We have long since buried all of those served then; it is still so important not to forget. 

 

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