Go With Me on My 2014 Grand World Voyage

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me! (With Photos)

 

I woke up just before 8:00 AM this morning. I was still sitting on the side of the bed making sure I was awake before I stood up when the announcement came that we could now leave the ship at today’s port of Alatau, Papua New Guinea. I took a shower and had a Milky Way bar for breakfast… (220 calories, no nutritional value *shrug*). Then I checked my camera and put an envelope with my remaining Australian money and $60.00US in my blue bag.

 

I left the ship at about 9:15 and was back in my cabin at 10:05. It was hot and so humid that I had to wipe my camera lens before every photo I took because it kept steaming up. I didn’t actually leave the pier.

 

There was a shuttle bus into town, but several people told me not to bother as I walked to the end of the pier to take a few pictures of the harbor and the mountains in the distance. Then I walked back to the little stand the PNG Post Office had set up to sell stamps.

 

I spent almost $200.00 on five sheets of different current stamp designs, three collections of all the stamps from different years, and a photo album containing all the stamps issued in 2006. I actually only purchased the photo album because I wanted someplace to store my stamp purchases and keep them from sticking together or getting wrinkled. I was glad I bought it after I looked at it though. There were a lot of very pretty stamps issued in Papua New Guinea in 2006.

 

When I got back to the cabin I took my diuretic pill and drank a Diet Coke and two liters of water while reading. I read until 11:30 and then I went up to the Lido for lunch. I had a bowl of spaghetti with Bolognese sauce with extra garlic and shaved Parmesan. John, Mary’s father, joined me at my table and we talked while we ate.

 

After lunch John headed out by the pool to try to sweat out his cold and I came back to the cabin. I checked Facebook and e-mail and I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon working on photo processing. I have an appointment at 3:00 PM to get my hair cut in the salon. I told Kay last night that I probably would not make the Trivia game this afternoon (it doesn’t count for our cumulative score).

 

I worked on my photos from Alatau until time for my appointment. Danielle did an excellent job with my hair cut. After the hair cut I read until dinner time.

 

The menu tonight was one of those where nothing really looked good. Jo Anne even went so far as to mention this to Endrian. Since nothing looked good I ordered my stand-by of Shrimp Cocktail, Caesar Salad, and the NY Strip with mashed potatoes. They were serving zucchini chips with one of the entrees and we asked for a plate of those to share. They were excellent. My steak was delicious too.

 

When Dedan brought the dessert menus I said, “I hear you have a cheese menu?” They did and I ordered four very good cheeses with fruit and crackers. Much better than vanilla ice cream.

 

Weather Report: Hot! Hot! Hot! It was about 98-degrees Fahrenheit and 90% humidity. Those who took the shuttle and walked around downtown all came back soaked in their own sweat. I did not suffer from my early, and short, trip ashore. Nor did I have that feeling that I was trying to breathe water that I get when walking outside a cool building into the summer heat in Georgia. It was hot though.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

I had a troublesome night last night. I woke up every two hours or so with pain in my knee. It didn’t hurt when I got up to go to the bathroom – when I walked on it, but for some reason I could not find a comfortable position for sleep. At 4:00 I woke up and could not go back to sleep.

 

I got up and took a Voltaren and did a little work on the computer. Then I went back to bed at about 4:30. I did go back to sleep and woke up around 7:45. I set my alarm for 9:30 and tried to get a couple more hours, but gave up at 8:00. I brushed my teeth and got dressed (I’d showered and washed my hair last night to get rid of the cut hairs that were making me itch).

 

I went up and had breakfast in the Dining Room. Pleasant conversations with two couples I’ve eaten with before and a nice omelet made me feel better. After breakfast it was back to the cabin to process pictures.

 

I’m having a problem with some pictures Aloha had asked me to copy for her from her friends’ cameras before Sydney. The other day when I was trying to copy them I kept getting an error saying the files were corrupted. I could see them and open them though so they weren’t corrupted. I rebooted my computer and finally got them copied to the flash drive. I opened several files from the flash drive to make sure.

 

Last night at dinner Aloha told me the photos weren’t on the flash drive. Just the ones from her friends’ cameras, the rest were there. I told I had seen them on the flash drive, but I would check again. That is one of the things I did this morning between 4:00 and 4:30. They weren’t there!

 

I copied them over again. No error messages. Then I rebooted the computer and double-checked and they were still there on the flash drive. I came back from breakfast and checked again and they were gone. I have no idea what is going on. I’m copying them again, to a different folder on the flash drive, as I write this.

 

No joy. If it was my flash drive I’d format it and be done with it. I’ll have to take it back to Aloha and see what she wants to do with it.

 

Our team finished first in Trivia today. It was one of those days where I would have had a really good score by myself. I think there was one I didn’t know and one I would have had right that we had wrong. Still I prefer playing with a team – it is more fun.

 

After Trivia I told Aloha what was going on with her flash drive. I told her that if it was mine I would format it and start over. Of course, she asked me to do that so that’s my evening project.

 

After Trivia I took a nap until about 3:00 PM. Then I worked on photos from Sydney, leaving those from the first segment for later. I may have some I want to enter in the photo competition for this segment so I need to get them done. I took a shower at 4:30 and read until dinner time.

 

Tonight I had nothing from my stand-by menu. I had an appetizer of Serrano ham and grilled asparagus – very, very nice. Then a tossed salad with romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots with Bleu cheese dressing. For my entrée I had a nice Fettuccine Primavera with a Parmesan cream sauce. I had cheese instead of dessert again tonight. Same cheese menu as last night so it doesn’t change daily. I don’t know if it ever changes at all. I’ll have to ask Dedan.

 

After dinner I read and worked on Aloha’s flash drive. Formatting appears to have worked. I’ve removed it several times and I can see still the files in the folders that were showing empty before. Cross your fingers.

 

I spent about eight minutes chatting with my friend Kim on Facebook. We’ve done so a couple of times before. It’s really nice to talk to her and we try to watch the time… Hi, Kim!

[erewhon]

Thank you for your updates.

 

If Brussels Sprouts appear again on the menu, just ask the waiter for extra.

[Esri]

Posted a photo grallery for Madang, Papua New Guinea. See it on Go With Me!

 

The photos will also be added to the blog post for Madang when it is published -- probably tomorrow.:D

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me! (With photos)

 

I slept better last night. I did wake up and take a Voltaren around 2:30 AM, but managed to go back to sleep quickly. I woke up as Gene, the Cruise Director, was announcing that we can now go ashore in Madang, Papua New Guinea.

 

I spent an hour or so working on the blog and a few other computer chores. I’ll be going ashore as soon as I finish backing up my pictures and documents to my external hard drives. We are supposedly parked right downtown so I’m going to take some pictures.

 

Well, going ashore didn’t take long. It was hot, humid and the gate to the pier was almost blocked with a not too friendly looking crowd of locals. I walked down to the end of the pier to gauge how far I’d have to walk and saw this crowd milling at the gate and chickened out.

 

I went back to the ship and up to the Crow’s Nest to see what I could see. There was a pretty good view from the starboard side so I took some pictures and went back to my cabin. I spent the day processing pictures and reading. I processed everything from Madang and got them posted to a gallery page on the blog.

 

Other than reading and post-processing using Lightroom I did nothing all day except Trivia at 3:30 PM. We didn’t do badly, but not well enough to get any Dam Dollars. After Trivia I returned to my cabin and read until dinner time.

 

I had a Shrimp Cocktail, a mixed green salad, and a steak salad for dinner. I clearly shocked Dedan’s sensibilities as he asked me several times if I was sure I wanted “salad and salad”. One of the stewards on the Lido jokingly told Jo Anne his salary was determined by how much she ate – they certainly act like it is sometimes!

 

I did soothe his hurt feelings by having two desserts though. I had a piece of a very nice spiced chocolate cake and a “Latte Cotta” – a lemon panacotta. Both were very good.

 

Everyone wanted me to go to the show, a ventriloquist, but I got back to the cabin at 7:15 and started reading. Next thing I knew it was 9:00. I tried to go to bed at around 10:00, but couldn’t sleep. I got up and worked on photos from Sydney until almost midnight.

 

Weather Report: Although the ship’s weather report said the high today in Madang was 84-degrees Fahrenheit it seemed much hotter than that. This morning it was clouding up like it would rain, but it didn’t while we were there. It was very gray and dismal as we pulled out to sea on our way to Yap, however.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

After finally getting to sleep after midnight last night I slept very well. Until 5:00 AM that is. I finally gave up and got out of bed just before 6:00. Took a shower and then finished yesterday’s blog post on Madang. I published it and checked email and Facebook. If my hair weren’t wet I’d be tempted to go back to bed. Guess I’ll read until breakfast time instead.

 

I had breakfast in the Dining Room. I shared a table with familiar faces – all people I’ve eaten breakfast or lunch with before. I had buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup, a glass of orange juice, and Earl Grey tea. A very good breakfast.

 

After breakfast I came back to the room and read for about an hour. Then I went up to the Ocean Bar for Trivia. Nothing of note happened during Trivia. We didn’t get any Dam dollars and finished with a mediocre score.

 

I came back to the cabin to drop off my bag and then went up to the Lido for lunch. I ate cheese and crackers and grabbed some peanut butter cookies for later. Then I went back to the room. I read until about 2:15 PM and then went up for acupuncture.

 

Acupuncture was also uneventful. I have two more appointments following this one and Dimitri wants me to start back with the exercises the physical therapist gave me after my surgery. I’ve been doing a few of them when my knee has been stiff, but not painful. I guess I’ll start in earnest tomorrow morning. Dimitri suggested fifteen minutes a day to start, broken up into two or three sessions if I want.

 

I considered taking a nap after acupuncture. I was very tired, but I decided to read instead. The Outlander series I am reading are books I just can’t seem to put down. I think I have one or two more books in the series.

 

Tonight was formal with a theme of Medieval Dinner. Nothing medieval about the menu, but the Dining Room was decorated with banners like you see at a Renaissance Faire. The Dining Stewards, Assistants, and even the Managers were wearing either suits of armor or clothing such as a squire would wear. I complimented Dedan on his and he laughed and said it was hot. I told him that at least he didn’t have to wear the hat. Everyone at our table has agreed to include a comment on their end-of-cruise survey that we don’t think the Dining Room employees should have to wear costumes on formal nights. They look quite nice in a vest, bow tie and black pants like the ones they wore on Vegas night. That’s enough as far as we are concerned.

 

After dinner I read for about an hour and went to be around 8:30 PM. I went to sleep too. I woke up twice. I took some acetaminophen at around 1:00 AM and some ibuprofen at 7:30 AM. Then I went back to bed and slept until almost 10:00. Like I said, I was tired.

 

Weather Report: It was hot and humid. The high was around 88-degrees Fahrenheit. It was overcast or raining most of the day with patches of heavy fog. During the afternoon and evening the seas were a little choppy.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

Many moons ago, when I started collecting postage stamps around the age of twelve, I found a stamp from Yap Island in a random collection of (inexpensive) stamps from around the world. This stamp showed a native of Yap standing next to a wheel of stone about twice his height. This was the famous “stone money” of Yap. My singular goal for my visit to Yap Island today was to see the stone money.

 

I had joined a private tour booked by another member of Cruise Critic. We were to meet at the end of the gangway as soon as we could leave the ship, or at 8:00 AM, whichever came first. 8:00 AM came and went and we were still waiting for the all clear to disembark.

 

It finally came about 8:30. I was waiting on Deck 2 – Forward. There are a couple of nice couches there. When the all clear came I headed for the elevators. Unfortunately, somebody had forgotten to activate the elevator’s ability to stop on Deck A – where the gangplank had been set up.

 

There were two or three other people who couldn’t use the stairs and we were a little perturbed. An officer came along though and saw the problem. She called the control center and said they’d have the elevator working in about five minutes. They did, but when I got off the ship my tour group was nowhere in sight. I figured they’d left me and took my time getting to the port gate.

 

I was taking a picture of the “Welcome to Yap” sign at the gate and a Yapese fellow asked me if I was with the Darcy tour group. I said I was and he gestured for me to come along – they were waiting for me at the bus. The tour organizer came to the gate as I joined him and said she was so glad she found me. I thanked her for waiting.

 

We had a nice air-conditioned bus and Mary Ann had saved the front seat for me. I thanked her again for that and apologized to everyone for the delay. Since I’d thought they had left me I had not hurried to get to the gate. We left for the tour around 9:00 AM.

 

It had already been raining on and off during the early morning and we had rain at just about every stop on the tour as well. I did not actually get off the bus during the tour because the ground was uneven (always) and slippery when wet and muddy. I did take pictures of almost everything we saw from the doorway of the bus, however.

 

Our first stop was the crash site of a Japanese Zero from World War II. Then we visited the old airstrip the Japanese built on the island in 1943. This airfield had become Yap’s commercial airport in 1963 and was in use until 1992. There was a path through the jungle leading to the wreckage of a Japanese “belly bomber” and a 727 that crashed on Yap in 1987. Those ventured into the jungle got very wet.

 

It started pouring rain and Richard, our driver, gathered up half a dozen umbrellas and ran into the jungle to pass them out. That was very nice of him as all of those who stayed on the bus agreed. We also agreed that we were glad we’d stayed on the bus.

 

From the abandoned air strip we went to the south of the island to see a “stone money bank”. This is a place used to store the stone money that belongs to the community. Each community, or village, has their own bank. Our tour guide, Helen, explained that these are the only banks where you can make a deposit, but never a withdrawal. Ownership of the stone money is recorded via oral history.

 

As we were driving through rural Yap (rural is relative – the main town is very small and our tour guide told us the total population of the state of Yap was about 11,000 people in 2004), I noticed some trees with dark green, waxy leaves that looked very much like Magnolias. I asked Helen, the guide, if she knew what they were called, but couldn’t see any when I asked her. She told me to ask again when I saw one.

 

We stopped to visit a Men’s House in a village and there was one of the trees. When Helen came back to the bus I pointed it out and she got out of the bus and cut a fruit from the tree. When she came back she told us the tree is called “Voi” and they use the fruit both for medicine for chest colds and to add scent to leis. The fruit she had was not ripe so it had no scent.

 

After the Men’s House we visited a scenic lookout point – the highest point on the island – where you can see both the Pacific Ocean on one side of the island and the Philippine Sea on the other side. From there we visited another village and then returned to “town” – called Colonia – to pay for our tour at the Manta Ray Hotel. Then they gave those of us who were ready to return to the ship a ride back to the port in the bus. About half our number decided to walk back and see what there was to see in town.

 

After I returned to the ship I took a nap for a couple of hours. Then I read until it was time to take a shower and get ready for dinner. My dinner tonight was in the Pinnacle Grill for Le Cirque. I’m glad I went, but I probably wouldn’t go again. I started with the Caesar Salad, which was a mistake.

 

This was the oddest Caesar Salad I’ve ever seen. The romaine was cut in squares and stacked like lasagna. It was served with a poached egg on a circular piece of garlic toast. I don’t eat boiled, poached, or fried eggs. I have an aversion to egg whites (except in meringue or angel food cake).

 

Next I had the Butternut Squash Soup with Huckleberry Compote. It was every bit as good as I’ve heard. My entrée was the Three Cheese Ravioli and it was delicious. It was served with a nice marinara sauce and covered with shaved Parmesan-Reggiano. Delicious.

 

My dessert was the Crème Brulee and, again, it was wonderful. The custard was not set hard, but was still quite loose. The flavor was wonderful, you could taste the vanilla, and it was almost the best Crème Brulee I’ve ever had. My sister’s was better, but she used Le Cirque’s recipe so I’m sure they were very close.

 

When I got back to my cabin after dinner I found a small box of chocolate truffles to “complete my Le Cirque experience”. I was too full to eat any, but I’ll try them today sometime.

 

I read for a few hours and then went to bed around 10:00 PM. I slept well, but did wake up every two or three hours. The ship was really rocking last night and I had to hold on to something every time I walked through the cabin.

 

Weather Report: The high was about 80-degrees Fahrenheit today. It was really humid and it rained on and off which did not serve to cool anything off, but just made everything “steamy”.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

Today was an uneventful day at sea. I spent the night coughing – back to the choking fits I was having before I saw the doctor. I’ve been out of the cough syrup with codeine for two days. Apparently my bronchitis did not get any better while I was suppressing the symptoms. I don’t feel sick, but the cough is already wearing me down.

 

The first thing I did after my shower this morning was head to the Medical Center. I got some cough syrup (not the good kind in the locked cabinet) and some decongestants in case my sinus headache comes back. The cough syrup helps, but does not stop the coughing fits altogether. I still have one or two every few hours.

 

After dropping by the Medical Center I dropped off my immigration health questionnaire for the Philippines at the Front Office. I truthfully said I have had a cough during the last two weeks. I wonder if they’ll stop me from going ashore?

 

HAL was having a “Souvenir Sale” in the Atrium on Deck 5 – right outside the Ocean Bar. Apparently it wasn’t much of a “sale” as everything was still price the same as it had been in the shops the day before. I didn’t look at anything except the on location photos taken by the ship’s photographers. I purchased a package of 100 5x7 photos – they’ll come with a nice leather photo album. I can pick my photos at any time during the voyage. I’ll probably go to the Photo Gallery and have a look through their offerings sometime before Manila and then again close to the end of the voyage.

 

Trivia was again unremarkable. We scored high enough to make sure we’d drop the nine we’d gotten earlier in the segment from our cumulative score, but not high enough to win anything. There were no noteworthy questions or controversies.

 

Following Trivia I simply went back to my cabin and took a nap. I was very tired. I woke up around 3:30 PM and processed a couple of photos from Yap Island to include with my blog entry. Then I published the blog entry and read until dinner time.

 

I went back to basics with dinner tonight. I had my shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad and macaroni and cheese for my entrée. The mac and cheese was good, but not as good as mine or my sister’s… I had a butterscotch sundae for dessert.

 

I spent the evening reading. I finished the Outlander series. I was reading a chronology that Diana Gabaldon, the author, had included at the end of the series and was struck by a comment she made about the first book in the series, Outlander. She advised that if you were unsure about reading a series of huge and unwieldy books that defy classification, you should pick any spot in the book and read three pages. If you can put it down after three pages, don’t bother reading any further. She posed it as a dare and I’ll pass that on. Go ahead, I dare you.

 

Weather Report: We’ve been having some choppy seas today. I’ve personally seen two people fall – neither were hurt, but unfortunately there were others who were. In addition to high winds and rough seas it has rained off and on all day.

[erewhon]

Thank you for continuing your world cruise reports.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

I did nothing exciting today. It was a very relaxing day. We put the clocks back an hour last night and I woke up around 7:30, but was not inclined to do much of anything. I downloaded the Lord John books and a couple of Outlander novellas from Amazon and read until about 10:30. I went up and had a box of Froot Loops and a pot of tea in the Lido. I ran into Jo Anne and we talked until after 11:00 then I headed down to Trivia.

 

We tied for third place with a score of sixteen and got a Dam Dollar each. Other than growling about people needing almost every question read over again at the end nothing stood out about the session. After Trivia I went to lunch in the Dining Room with Kay, Colleen, and Sue from my team.

 

Lunch was good. I had a Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella Panini – excellent as always. I had vanilla ice cream for dessert. After lunch I spent the afternoon reading, working on my blog, and processing photos from Sydney.

 

Around 4:30 PM I took a shower and dressed for “Classic Formal Night”. This must be code for dress up but no decorations in the Dining Room. The menu was less than stellar as well. I had my usual appetizer and salad and the Surf & Turf. The steak and lobster were very good, but the rice was forgettable and the vegetables almost non-existent. Which was okay because I was pretty full after the steak & lobster. For dessert I had chocolate chip ice cream.

 

I had to go up and get my temperature taken for Philippine Immigration after dinner. They simply scanned our key cards and then we walked past this little machine. No muss, no fuss.

 

I spent the evening reading. I finished both the novellas I downloaded this morning and started on the Lord John novels. I set my clocks back and then went to bed around 8:30 PM. I slept very well.

 

Weather Report: The seas were calmer than yesterday. They were still a bit choppy this morning, but smoothed out by mid-afternoon. Temperatures in the high 80s with matching humidity.

[Esri]

See it on Go With Me! (Photos)

 

I've posted my photos from Sydney, Australia. You can see them at the link above.

[AlohaPride]

Welcome to the Outlander fan club! I'm so excited you liked the books. I can't wait for the next book this August! Now, I'm going to go cyberstalk your pictures. I'd love to visit Sydney someday soon.

 

Sent from my SGH-T779 using Tapatalk

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

I really enjoy reading you travel experences. You said you brought the photo package of a hundred photo's were they expensive? Since I think HAl photo's are expensivei for just one.

 

Mary

[erewhon]

Thanks for the link to your Sydney photos.

[Esri]

Hi

I really enjoy reading you travel experences. You said you brought the photo package of a hundred photo's were they expensive? Since I think HAl photo's are expensivei for just one.

 

Mary

 

I don't think so -- $119 for 100 with the leather bound album. That's no more than a post card in most places.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

We put the clocks back another hour last night. I woke up around 7:30 and got up and went and had breakfast in the Dining Room. I had an omelet and some bacon. After breakfast I came back to the cabin and gathered up my Kindle and some money to be converted into Philippine Pesos and Hong Kong Dollars. Then I went up to acupuncture.

 

This was to be my second-to-last treatment, but I signed up for ten more – about one a week until the end of the cruise. I’m not sure the acupuncture is responsible for the improvement in my knee, but I’m not taking any chances. After my treatment I went down to the Front Office and exchanged my currency. Then it was time for Trivia.

 

We didn’t do great. We are currently just about 100 points for the cumulative score for the segment. I did much better dollar-wise by myself… I enjoy playing with the team though so I will continue to do so.

 

I had checked the lunch menu after breakfast this morning and knew they were having Fettuccine a la Frutti de Mare for lunch. I usually don’t eat lunch in the Dining Room two days in a row, but I love good pasta. The fettuccine was awesome. I also had fried mozzarella and a wonderful chocolate Pot de Crème for dessert.

 

After lunch I came back to the cabin to rest my knee (raised). I’m supposed to take it easy after acupuncture. I wrote my blog post for yesterday, posted it, and paid a couple of bills. I tried to send postcards, but the Internet was very slow today so I gave up.

 

Tomorrow we will be in Manila. We will be passing Corregidor around 5:00 AM which will unfortunately be too dark to take pictures. I am going on a tour arranged by another member of Cruise Critic. It is an all day tour – roughly 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It will be the longest and probably most active tour I’ve attempted since my knee started bothering me after Lima. Cross your fingers for me!

 

My schedule for the evening tonight was the same as always – dinner then back to the cabin to read. I had Wiener schnitzel for dinner tonight with my usual appetizer and salad. I had vanilla ice cream for dessert.

 

Weather Report: The seas were calm today. It was in the mid-80s and sunshine.

[Watson's aunt]

Thank you for the report. You are right the photo's were not expensive. I love going around the world with you. Hope your knee holds up.

 

 

Mary

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me! (With Photos -- a few, anyway)

 

What a long day! Or, at least it seemed long. I had a great time on my tour of Manila today. I wish I had been able to get out and take pictures at every stop on the tour, but my motto is now “Listen to your body – especially your knee!” It was a fun time, nevertheless.

 

I had my clock set for 6:00 AM, but I woke up a few minutes early. I showered and took my pills then read until my breakfast arrived at a little before 7:00. Breakfast was a box of Fruit Loops (no milk), a pot of my Indonesian Spiced Tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a cheese Danish. Yummy.

 

After breakfast I put my traveling bag together and went down to Deck 2 Forward to await permission to disembark. We were supposed to meet our tour guide outside the cruise port terminal at 8:15. Unfortunately, the crew had a difficult time finding a place to put the gangway this morning. This resulted in some walking back and forth from forward to aft and back to forward.

 

Some folks naturally were complaining, but I figured that the tour guide would wait because NOBODY could leave the ship… Some people just like to gripe though. We made it safely to the shaded holding area outside the terminal. It was bustling with minivans and taxi cabs, but no sign of our tour guide. The Cruise Critic member who arranged the tour (and a couple of other tours today, as well) came by and told us he was here, but went to get the bus.

 

They did not let him bring the bus to us, so we went to the bus. It was a couple of blocks away – completely outside the port. I had fallen behind the group (but not by much). I could see them boarding the bus across the street as I came to the gate. I asked the guard if I could cross the street, but she pointed to the guide who was waving at me and he escorted me safely to the bus and helped me on. Then he asked if I was “Pat” and I said he was and he pointed to the first seat, which had my name on it. Bless Charlotte for her thoughtfulness, she had arranged reserved seats for the less mobile of us.

 

I was the last to board the bus, but I wasn’t the only one we waited for. Three people failed to show up and we waited another fifteen minutes to make sure they weren’t coming. Our tour guide introduced himself as Joe, the drive as Pim, and our security escort as Ike. Ike was a really big dude and he told us he would be in charge of helping us on and off the bus and with any other mobility problems.

 

Then we were off. Our first destination was the church at Las Pinas and the Bamboo Organ. The Bamboo Organ is a national treasure of the Philippines. It was built in 1824, the same year as the church where it is housed, by an Augustine friar. Unfortunately, it was destroyed the same year by fire and was not restored until the 1970s.

 

When we arrived at Las Pinas we found they were preparing for a ceremony of some kind. It turned out that the church was being established as a National Historical Site. It was a lovely old Spanish church and the Bamboo Organ was interesting. We spent about fifteen minutes at the site.

 

Next up on the itinerary was a stop at the Sarao Jeepney factory. The Jeepney is a ubiquitous and unique form of public transportation found only in the Philippines. It gets its name from the Jeeps used by the American Army during World War II. After the war most of the Army went home, but they left thousands of Jeeps behind.

 

An enterprising mechanic named Leonardo Sarao started converting the left-over Jeeps into public transport vehicles. He added metal roofs, extended the back-end, and painted them in vibrant colors and designs. He promoted them not only as inexpensive public transport, but as a proud symbol of Philippine culture and ingenuity. They are still the most widely-used form of public transportation in the Philippines.

 

Our next stop would be the resort at Lake Taal in Tagaytay, for lunch. We were going to see the “world’s smallest volcano” which is found in the middle of Lake Taal. I think several of us would have voted to skip this stop only because it involved a one-and-a-half hour drive each way. It was very hazy on the lake and our view of the volcano was not that great even though we had the best seats in the house for volcano viewing.

 

Lunch was a buffet of Philippine dishes, none of which were overwhelming in taste or presentation. We were, however, serenaded by a Filipino country band with rousing renditions of Country Roads and Jambalaya. That reminded me of my tour in Korea in the mid-70s where the entertainment at the NCO Club was often Filipino country bands flown in on six-week contracts.

 

When we left the restaurant and headed back to Manila we were joined by the owner of the tour company, Arnold Sanchez. He wanted to see how his crew was doing. They were doing very well, in my opinion.

 

Unfortunately by the time I’d ridden on the bus for three and a half hours (traffic, you know) after a morning spent getting up and down on the bus and walking, I really wasn’t up to much more “touring”. I sat on the bus for the last two stops in Intermuros – Fort Santiago and Saint Augustine Church. That said, between the ride back and waiting in the bus while most of the others toured these historic sites allowed me time to chat with Joe, Pim, and Ike. They were very interested in hearing about life in the United States and told me about their families and life in the Philippines.

 

When we got back to the cruise terminal most of us were pretty tired. Arnold got off the bus at the gate and went to talk to the gate guard to see if they would let us take the bus closer to the ship. He managed to sweet talk her into letting the bus take us to the interior gate right next to the terminal building. We gave him a huge cheer when he got back on the bus.

 

Arnold told us just before we left the bus that this was his first large-scale tour. He asked if we would give a good review of the tour to our friends, family, and readers of our blogs (if we had one).

 

I got back to my cabin at 5:15 PM. I had just enough time to wash my face and cool off a bit before dinner at 5:30. There was nothing on the menu that really appealed to me so I had my stand-by shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, and NY Strip steak and carrot cake for dessert.

 

They were showing Gravity on the big screen in the Queen’s Lounge tonight. Kay and Jo Anne were going and asked me to come, but I was exhausted. When I got back to my cabin I sat down to take off my shoes and just said to myself, “Forget it -- I’m going to bed.”

 

I did too. I went to bed at 7:30 and went to sleep. I woke up every three or four hours because my knee was hurting, but rotated ibuprofen and acetaminophen and went back to sleep. I woke up at almost 9:00 AM and told myself I had to get out of bed – fourteen hours was certainly enough sleep!

 

Weather Report: It was hot and very, very smoggy. The high was supposed to be around 90-degrees Fahrenheit and I think it made it. The smog was really worse than the heat as far as I’m concerned. It burned both my throat and my eyes and I had a nasty taste in my mouth all day.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

Somewhere between today and tomorrow we’ll hit the halfway point for the world cruise. At our dinner table we are in complete agreement that we don’t know how the last two months have gone by so quickly. If the next two go by as quickly I’ll be home with my sister and fur-babies before I know it. I just hope I’m not enjoying myself in spite of illness and injury for the second half of the voyage – I especially don’t want to miss any more ports!

 

Last night I went to bed at 7:30 and I got up around 9:00 this morning – still tired. I could not rationalize staying in bed any longer though, fourteen hours is long enough for anyone. So I got up and went to breakfast in the Lido. I had an omelet and some toast. My knee was both stiff and painful so I decided regretfully that I wasn’t going to make it to the American Cemetery.

 

After breakfast I went down to the cabin and worked on photos from Manila – worried only about getting them transferred and then picking a few out to go with my blog post. I did my physical therapy exercises and alternated between sitting up straight with my feet on the floor and sitting with my knee raised on the couch as I worked.

 

Around twelve I went upstairs in search of a phone signal to call my sister. We had a good conversation and all is well at home. Well, Molly apparently stole Mab’s collar (Molly is a thief) and there is a cat in heat hanging around the house. The latter is amusing because while we have seven beautiful male cats, they are all neutered.

 

There are two unneutered male cats in the neighborhood and they have also been hanging about (they do so often anyway), but the lady cat wants nothing to do them. She has apparently set her cap on Who Dat, my sister’s black cat. Who Dat follows the lady cat around, but probably has no idea what she wants him to do. Our other male cats, except for Tut (who is fifteen), gather round the female and stare at her, apparently wondering what the heck is wrong with her. Roberta said she’d been hanging around for three days already so she should be gone in a day or two. Spay or neuter your pets, people!

 

After I’d talked to Roberta I went back to my cabin and worked on my blog post for yesterday. Then I decided to go up to Deck 3 and take some pictures of the Manila skyline and harbor from the outside deck. I brought the camera back to the cabin and then went up to Trivia.

 

Trivia on port days doesn’t count towards our cumulative scores. There were only three of us there today, but we won with a score of twelve. We got two Dam Dollars each. Tomorrow is the last day for cumulative scoring for this segment, which ends in Hong Kong.

 

After Trivia I went down to the Shore Excursions office and canceled on shore excursion in Hong Kong. I booked some “easy” shore excursions in Phuket, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius. I think I can handle them and, as I said, I don’t want to miss any more ports.

 

All day today I saw happy families touring the ship with crew members. I talked to several of them and they all seemed to be having a great time. While I was waiting for the Shore Excursions office to open at 4:30 the children from the Las Damas de Filipinos Orphanage came in and Gene presented them with school supplies donated by passengers as well as over $5000.00 also donated by the passengers. These children had done a musical show in the Queen’s Lounge while we were doing Trivia – they were full of energy and we could hear them singing from the Ocean Bar.

 

I returned to the cabin and took a shower and dressed for dinner. We had an empty place at our table so we invited a gentleman who was dining alone (Jack), on his anniversary, because his wife was not feeling well, to join us. Turned out he now lives about twenty miles from Jo Anne and was born about 40 miles from where I live. It really is a small world.

 

I had Beef & Chicken Satay for my appetizer, my Caesar salad, and pasta with Italian sausage in a cream sauce. It was all good, but not exceptional. For dessert we all shared Jack’s anniversary cake. It was a chocolate ice cream cake with whipped cream frosting – very tasty.

 

After dinner I watched an hour of Gravity on television. I got bored though and turned it off and read. I was tired and didn’t feel like working on my blog. So I went to bed at 9:00 PM, but couldn’t sleep. I ended up getting up at 10:00 and finishing up my blog entry and posting it. I went back to bed at a little after 11:00 and went right to sleep.

 

Weather Report: It was even smoggier than yesterday. Temperature and humidity seemed about the same for the short time I was outside though – high 80s and very humid.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me! (With Photos)

 

Hong Kong… The words conjure up visions of everything from dragons to paper lanterns to bankers in three-piece suits. I’ve heard it said that Hong Kong is the world’s most changeable city – if I come back in ten years I might not recognize it. This is my first time in Hong Kong, though, and I am excited to be here.

 

I woke up before my alarm went off at 8:00 AM. I had breakfast ordered for 9:00, so I took a shower and swapped a few emails with our tour guide for today, Anne Thiessen with ToursByLocals.com. In Room Dining was right on time with my tea, orange juice, and Fruit Loops. I ate and then went forward to meet Mary, who joined me on my tour today.

 

I had told Mary that we’d leave at 9:30 to allow plenty of time to meet Anne in front of the Ocean Terminal, but Anne said she’d meet us at the Amsterdam’s dock. So Mary and I talked for a while and then left the ship at around 9:50. Anne met us right at the end of the Amsterdam’s corridor into the Ocean Terminal. She was a very nice young woman from Hamburg, Germany. She’s a full-time business consultant with offices in the Financial District and a part-time tour guide. If she’s half as good at consulting as she is at tour guiding I’m sure she’ll be very successful.

 

We dropped our bags off with Vincent, our driver for the day, and taking our cameras we headed to the Star Ferry. We crossed to Central and met Vincent with the minivan. It was a very comfortable van, especially since there were only two of us. Anne told us to let her know when we wanted to stop and take pictures or get out and walk around. One of the first things Anne pointed out was the ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores on nearly every block. Our first shout out to stop was at a Chinese temple. Anne said we could go inside to take pictures and we did. It was quite fascinating and seemed very ancient.

 

Our next goal was Victoria Peak and we decided to drive rather than paying extra to take the tram. The weather was very smoggy and visibility was apt to be zero once we got up there, but we took the drive anyway. We were not surprised to find that we could see nothing down below, but we enjoyed the drive up (and back down) anyway. One of the things we saw on the drive back down was this huge cemetery.

 

After driving back down the mountain we went to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. We stopped and took pictures there and then headed over to Deep Water Bay to see the beach. From there we went to Recluse Bay to view famous apartment building with a hole in it. There are actually many, many buildings in Hong Kong with holes in them. The ostensible reason for the hole is feng-shui – the holes are to allow the spirits of the Mountain Dragons to reach the sea to drink.

 

From Recluse Bay we headed back through the tunnel to the Ocean Terminal. Mary and I went up to the Lido and had lunch with her father, John. After lunch I went to my cabin and took a nap! I read for a while before dinner too.

 

We have a new member at our table this segment. Louise is on from Hong Kong to Cape Town. Hopefully we won’t scare her away. I had my usual shrimp cocktail and Caesar Salad and then short ribs braised in a sweet Asian sauce served with rice. They were very good. For dessert I had vanilla ice cream.

 

I was very tired after dinner and went to my cabin and went to bed around 7:30 AM. Sometime in the night I started getting a sore throat and a stuffy nose. I hope it isn’t another cold.

 

Weather Report: It was chilly today. It was supposed to be in the seventies, but I don’t think it got over the low sixties. It was also very, very smoggy.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

This is our second day in Hong Kong. I had planned to at least explore the mall in the Ocean Terminal, but I awoke this morning with a swollen throat and a stuffy head and runny nose. I felt terrible, but not like I had a cold. Normally I start off feeling sick and tired for a couple of days and then get the sore throat and stuffy head. I was fine yesterday. Bad as I felt this morning I told myself it wasn’t a cold – just a reaction to the smog yesterday.

 

I took some acetaminophen and a decongestant tablet before breakfast. Then I called in an order for some orange juice and tea. After breakfast I went back to bed. I got up around 1:00 PM and read for a bit and drank about a liter of water. I felt a bit better than I did this morning.

 

I went up on the wraparound deck on Deck 3 around 3:00 PM and took some pictures of the harbor. It was still very smoggy and chilly, but not as bad as yesterday. I took my camera back to the cabin and then went out again about 3:45 to wait for the emergency drill at 4:00.

 

The emergency drill was over just after 4:30. I went back to my cabin and took a shower and dressed for dinner. We would be sailing out of Hong Kong during dinner tonight. Since I didn’t feel as horrid as I did this morning I decided that I wasn’t getting another cold.

 

We were all at dinner tonight, including Louise. Dinner went quickly and we were out of there by 7:15. I’m sorry, but I can’t remember what I ate! After dinner I went back to my cabin and read until a little after 8:00 PM and then I went to bed.

 

I woke up sometime around 11:00 PM, moaning. My knee was very painful and it took me a few seconds to realize that it was me making the noise I was hearing. I put a Lidoderm patch on my knee and went back to sleep. It felt better the next time I woke up.

 

Weather Report: It was about 65-degrees Fahrenheit today. It was smoggy and cloudy, but not quite bad as yesterday.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

I felt better today even though my throat is still a little sore and I’m coughing a bit more than I was. No choking fits though and no runny nose or stuffy head today. We’ll see.

 

I slept late today. I didn’t get out of bed until after 9:30. I ordered breakfast from In Room Dining again – Fruit Loops, tea, and orange juice. After breakfast I straightened up my cabin and then headed up to the Ocean Bar about 10:30. I ran into Jo Ann on the couches near the Deck 2 Forward elevators and stopped to talk to her for a few minutes.

 

I read while I was waiting for Trivia to start. I’m on the last of the Lord John novellas, The Scottish Prisoner. Then I’ll have to find something else to read as Diana Gabaldon’s next book isn’t due out until June 2014.

 

We finished one point out of a tie for third place in Trivia today. That would have been fine except that the team next to us changed their score and tied for third. One of the questions asked was which element was most commonly used to make computer chips. The answer was “Silicon” – which we got right.

 

The team next to us wrote “Silicone”. Normally, spelling doesn’t count, but in this case the change in spelling results in an incorrect answer as there is a substance known as “Silicone”, but it is NOT an element it is a polymer. Several people, myself included, asked Gene to not count “Silicone” as correct. He agreed that since it resulted in an incorrect answer “Silicone” was wrong.

 

When the team scribe for the team next to us took up her score sheet she told Gene that the “meant silicon” and he told her he’d accept that answer! Well, we started sniping with the team about “cheating” and “changing scores”. One guy on their team told us “it was only a game” and “what’s the big deal?” Well, the big deal is a bunch of teams had “silicone” and who knows if they would have won if they changed their score? Since it is “only a game” why did they feel the need to cheat to win? The final result was that we were really pissed off – it did not affect us because we had the right answer in the first place and we still didn’t win. It is the principle of the thing.

 

After Trivia I went to lunch in the Dining Room with the women on our Trivia team. I had a pastrami sandwich and what was supposed to be a Blondie and a dark chocolate brownie. Well, the “Blondie” was simply yellow cake, not a brownie at all. The dark chocolate one was pretty good though.

 

After lunch I went to my room and worked on post processing some photos from Hong Kong to publish with my blog post for the first day there. I also read for a couple of hours. Then I got ready for dinner.

 

Nothing on the menu appealed to me tonight so I had my usual shrimp cocktail, Caesar Salad, and NY Strip. I had Crème Brulee for dessert. Then I went to my room and read for an hour or so and went to bed.

 

I had no problems with coughing or pain, but I woke up frequently. I also had a weird type of dream that always leaves me tired – instead of dreaming in pictures and sound I dream I’m thinking. The only thing in the dream is my own voice in my head – I often don’t even know I’m asleep when I wake up and I wonder if I’ve been lying awake the whole time…

[boards]

Deleted my comments

Edited March 6, 2014 by boards

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that we received another “pillow gift” last night. We’ve been getting them the night before formal night and not on formal night as happened in years’ past. This was the suitcase. It is carry-on size and hard-sided. I didn’t open it, just stuck it in the closet until I have to, sadly, actually think about packing to go home.

 

This morning I had the alarm set for 8:00 AM since I had an acupuncture appointment at 10:00. I took a shower and was reading when my breakfast was delivered at 9:00. Bacon and orange juice this morning.

 

After breakfast I read until it was time to leave for my appointment. The appointment went well. This was the last of my original ten appointments, but I’ve already signed for ten more. My knee is better and I can’t say the acupuncture isn’t the reason.

 

Following my appointment I went down to the Ocean Bar to read until time for Trivia. It would be an understatement to say we sucked today. I think we had 8 points. Any time Gene starts out by saying he’s picked easy questions we know we are in trouble.

 

I had lunch from the taco bar near the Lido pool today. I made myself a taco salad with tortilla chips, shredded beef, onions, pico de gallo, cheese, and guacamole. It was very good.

 

I spent the afternoon with my knee raised on the couch while I worked on blog posts and photo processing. I wrote and published two blog posts including a few pictures from Hong Kong. I also sent several postcards using Postcardly.com. Then I backed up my computer to both of my external hard drives.

 

Tonight was Red Lantern Night in the Dining Room. It was decorated very nicely and the Stewards and Officers were wearing Chinese jackets and pants. They looked very nice and not as hot as they usually look in their “costumes”.

 

When Dedan came to take my order he said “Madam Pat, I hope you are ordering something different tonight.” I told him I actually was – I went Chinese all the way with a Spring Roll, Hot & Sour Soup, and Peking Duck. They were all very good. The Spring Roll and soup were very authentic. I’ve never had Peking Duck before, but the duck was very, very good. It tasted less “Chinese” than I’d imagined Peking Duck tasting, but it was excellent anyway. The skin could have been a little crisper for me, but I actually had Dedan bring me a second portion of the duck only. For dessert I had Red Velvet Cake and it was better than the last time they served it – the cream cheese frosting actually tasted like cream cheese frosting!

 

After dinner I went back to my cabin and read. Then I went to bed around 10:00. Unfortunately I had “stomach troubles” and was up and down most of the night. I think the last time I got up was around 5:00 AM, but then I slept until 10:00.

 

Weather Report: The high today was in the low eighties. It was warm and humid when I was on the pool deck at lunch time, but not uncomfortably so.

[Esri]

Read it on Go With Me!

 

 

I slept until 10:00 AM this morning following a rough night. I skipped breakfast and headed up to the Front Office after my morning ablutions. I turned in Immigration forms for Thailand, picked up my passport and departure card for Singapore, and converted some currency. Then I went up to the Ocean Bar to read until time for Trivia.

 

I started reading (for maybe the fifteenth time) Katie Mulholland yesterday. It is my favorite Catherine Cookson novel. I have several of hers from the sixties and seventies on my Kindle, bought especially for this trip. I’m about halfway through it as I write this.

 

We did better in Trivia today. We tied for third with a score of fourteen. The only big controversy was the speed of light. Gene said 186,000 miles per second which is what most people had (not us, we were way off), but one group said 186,200 miles per second and another said 186,100. Gene stuck to his guns though and I just looked it up and NASA agrees with him.

 

After Trivia I went back to my cabin and ordered a burger from In Room Dining. I wanted to watch Philomena on TV. I wanted to see it before I left home, but it never showed at the theater in Hinesville. I enjoyed my hamburger and loved the movie. Dame Judy Dench is wonderful and one of my favorite actresses. It is a good story about a woman’s fifty year search for her son who was sold to an American couple by Irish nuns in 1955.

 

After the movie I wrote up yesterday’s blog entry and started this one. I also sent another postcard via Postcardly.com. I had a message from my teacher friend, Jill, that her class had received another five postcards yesterday including my sloth picture from Costa Rica. She said that was quite timely because they had a sloth visit them from the zoo last week.

 

I read for about an hour before dinner and then went up to the Dining Room. Tonight I had a shrimp cocktail, a mixed salad, and tortellini with fresh tomatoes and pesto sauce. It was very good. Dessert was a slice of coffee cheesecake with vanilla ice cream. The cheesecake was so-so – rich coffee flavor, little resemblance to cheesecake.

 

After dinner Mary, who is a masseuse, came to my room and gave me a reflexology massage on my feet to help my cough. I’ve never done reflexology before, but I sure coughed a lot while she was doing the massage. It may have been psychosomatic, but my bronchi seemed less tight after the massage as well.

 

I read until around 9:00 PM and then I went to bed. Unfortunately it seemed as soon as I lay down that I started coughing. It went on all night. As a result I’m not feeling very well this morning.

 

Weather Report: Overcast, hot, and humid. High in the mid-eighties.