Singapore February 24, 2007

We are in Singapore on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, which date is everybody’s birthday, so Happy Birthday y’all. This city is the most spectacular result of an authoritarian rule. The city streets are spotlessly clean as the buildings of old colonial days are brilliantly colored and preserved to be used in administration or in upscale shops. A newly completed I M Pei designed cultural center is on the bay surrounded by sharply chiseled high-rise hotels, business and shopping centers. There is little crime, as police mingle among the populous dressed in plain clothes. A single marijuana use will get you whipped and sent to a rehab center for six months. If you possess narcotics that weigh more than three small coins it is death. This truly makes for a safe city. The tip of Malaysia has always been important as part of the ancient ocean spice route. A shrewd trader, Sir Stanford Raffles, made suggestions to the British crown that turned a multicultural city into a major international trading seaport and holiday retreat for Asians and Europeans. In the Tiffin rooms of his Raffles hotel, we lunched on northern Indian cuisine. At the grand entrance, a doorman dressed in traditional Indian garb is said to be the most photographed single person in the Far East. We then visited a Hindu temple dedicated to the nine forms that the God Vishnu comes to earth as. These are depicted in the 6o foot high tiers of the God forms. Next Jim and Barb appear before the Sultan mosque, which has a huge prayer hall that on Friday, the Islamic Sabbath, worshipers enter through fourteen doors.

A lot of the land on the Island has been reclaimed. On it are beautiful high rises-and some parks to break up the scenery!

We have great pictures of Singapore-just email me if you would like to see more.

Colombo, Sri Lanka February 20, 2007

Sri Lanka hangs below India as the tear drop of the far East. This day we visited some cultural sites in Columbo, an important trading post in the 5th century for Phoenican and Arabic sailing merchants. The Dutch in the 1600s traded the lush cinnamon crops. Later than the British East Indian company fortified this city and advanced and exploited the riches of Ceylon now called Sri Lanka until their independence in 1948. We obtained a graphic view of the religious culture of Buddaism and Hinduism from the stone carvings, paintings, stella, dioramas and bronzes in the Columbo National Museum. Then we were taken to a Buddist temple that was guarded by a token elephant. Here we saw the religious icons in use. There were huge gold plated Buddas in the main portion, private praying areas in shrouded vestibules, and a great open rising terrace holding hundreds of Stuppas. These are cone shaped requilary urns which hold the remains of special Buddists.

Continue to 14 a

Colombo, Sri Lanka February 20, 2007

To bring us into the twentieth century, we had morning tea, mango juice, and tea cakes at the four star Galle Face hotel. This elegant building dates back to the colonial days and has an open green that extends to the ocean’s the edge. The professional class of natives are Tamil speaking Hindus, while the street merchants are principally Sihilanese speaking of Muslims.

Photos above-Car Prince Phillip owned when he was stationed in Sri Lanka--Galle Face Hotel
Car was purchased by hotel when Prince Phillip returned to England. The photo on the lower right is in the lobby of the hotel and the left lower photo is when we were leaving the port.

Male, Maldives February 18, 2007

The ship planned a BBQ on the swimming deck for the evening meal. To cap the day the entire dinning room staff decorated the deck with flowers, plants, & watermelon sculptures that circled the entire area. Lobster & prime rib to mention just 2 delights headed up the food. We dined with the McSweeny’s on the upper deck overlooking the array of food & a dazzling display of nautical flags strung between the balconies over the pool. Yes, we danced to the music of the Voyager Quintet & songs by our female vocalists.

Read Port 13 first & come back to this.

Male, Maldives February 18, 2007

Top picture is one end of an island. Below - as we anchor, a view of Male.

Pictures of the beautiful Kurumba Hotel. The beach is just like the Seychelles. Perfect.

Maldives Islands February 18, 2007

We thought the beach experience at the Seychelles was tops until we arrived at the Maldives Islands south of India. The Maldives consist of a thousand tiny islands spread over 26 tropical atolls straddling the equator in the heart of the Indian Ocean. Our ship anchored a mile or so off shore so we were tendered in to Male where a local bus boat took us to another island to the Kurumba Resort for the afternoon. It’s interesting that different islands are used for certain things like the airport island. We watched many planes take off & land before we anchored. The Kurumba Resort has the usual fine, bright, white sand and coconut palms & lush vegetation and is surrounded by clear azure blue water. We could see the fish as we got off our bus boat. The Resort is a wood framed open-air lounges & restaurants & marble line lagoons festooned with bright flowers greeted us. Jim & I obtained snorkel equipment in front of several bungalows. We pushed off into crystal clear warm water. What a surprise to find clumps of brilliant coral with hundreds of tiny multi colored fish feeding & poking in & out of the carved coral crests. Schools of grouper & several 2 ft. long mahi mahi passed by us. Barb saw a small stingray and an el. All of these beautiful things in water that we could stand up in! This was as the snorkeling at the Pajankar reef in the Yucatan coast or the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The upcoming Red Sea snorkeling adventure has a lot to measure up to!

Stay tuned for our exciting evening!

Seychelles February 14, 2007

Barb's beach--------Coco de Mer in the tree.













Seychelles, February 15, 2007 This is a friendly spider!

We left the Coast of Africa & headed north east to the granite remainders of a mid Atlantic continent of the past now breaking through the ocean surfaces as the 115 Seychelles Islands, some as high as 3200 feet peaks covered by tropical vegatation with unique birds & animals. The islands are sometimes called the Galapagos the of Atlantic. Here a mix of French & English Europeans joined previous settlers from Arabia, India and China.

Admiral Zheng He left the China mainland in 1405 in 7 expeditions to the coast of India and Africa, perhaps rounding the Cape of Good Hope. He sailed an armada of ships each500 ft.long and with 9 sets of sails & carried 21,000 chinese. They returned with giraffe, lions, spices, & perhaps some natives. The forward-looking emperor died & his successor & conservative isolationist leaders chose to burn the plans & the fleet of ships. They concluded they didn’t want what was out in the “other world” as they were the Middle Kingdom, the true world leaders. But, not for long!

Early in the morning we dock at the largest island, Mahe and its capitol, Victoria. Twenty-four of us immediately boarded a small, double decked speedboat that took us 25 miles to Praslin Island, the 2nd largest island. There we found The Vallee de Mai, also called The Garden of Eden, now a World Heritage Site. The renowned coco de mer, a double seeded coconut which may weigh as much as 80 lbs. grows there. The female version & the male version (see photo)are suggestive of the original Adam & Eve mating. All the tropical plants are impressive as they grow much bigger here than any other place in the world we have been. This tropical forest is also the home of the black parrot.

Next, we drove to the area where we would swim and lunch. We drove past several beautiful high end hotels. It is the tropical paradise for Asians, Indians, and Europeans. We spend several hours on Lazio Anse (beach) one of the worlds must beautiful beaches located on the Cote D’or (coast of gold). The fine white sand & azure colored, silky water was paradise for Barbara who told Jim to go back to the ship as she was “staying on the beach forever”! The creole BBQ lunch was the best native food so far. Jim’s luscious desert consisted of coconuts &fried bananas with carmel sauce over vanilla ice cream. Our day ended & upon our return to the ship we began sailing towards the Maldives.

Mombasa, Kenya February 12, 2007

This city is famous for these crossed tusks as you enter the city. Below, a common sight!

There must be 20-30 of these places to work. We walked all around & ownly saw 2 women.
This is just 1 man creating a piece for tourists to buy.

Mombasa, Kenya, Feb 12, 2007

As we had recently been on extensive safari in Kenya & Tanzania, we chose to go to the Akumba Cooperative (the Arts & Crafts Village) outside of town where ,it seemed, hundreds of men & women carve wooden images of animals and warriors principally out of mahogany . They work in thatched roofed open ended shelters. The result was a purchase from their show room of a bread basket with an elephant motif and a necklace with small wooden animals for Barb.

After a quiet afternoon at the pool on deck 11, we left the ship and boarded a bus for a different wonderful experience titled “Arabian Night on the Tamarind Dhow”. We drove through Mombassa old town and a series of even older towns each with a different religious group at its core. The streets were teaming with people mostly selling things-all kinds of things. The road through Mombassa & those villages was being repaired in preparation for the 2007 World Cross Country Challenge. Kenyon runners currently hold both male & female fastest times & world titles.

We arrived at the Tamarind Hotel located next to the Tudor Creek, an extension of the bay from the Indian Ocean. The restaurant is famous for its seafood culinary. About 50 of us filled the dhow and sat at the flower decorated tables on the deck. There were even tables on the upper deck where the dhow’s captain in Arabian dress sat under the furled sail. We cruised the bay moving by old mansions of Arabian design. The guide pointed out the old English Club where Karen Blixon (Author of Out of Africa ) walked in (the movie) in search of her lecherous husband. We were offered a seafood stew Swahali style, grilled giant prawns, steak, or lobster and a range of pre & post main course delights at candle lit tables under the stars on this balmy night. There was a 5 piece local band which played a wide range variety of popular music. To top the evening off, the constellation Orion was clearly visible overhead.

Maputo, Mozambique February 8, 2007

Maputo, Mozambique Feb 8, 2007

Today is Thursday we must be in Mozambique!
This is a former Marxist Russian city, but now with extensive shipping & mineral refineries it has been struggling to be a democracy. It extends over 1500 miles along the coast between So Africa & Kenya. Just east lays the non-continent Madagascar. We toured (in a bus) Maputo, the capital, during a hot muggy day. We saw old colonial buildings such as the railway station (green building) & all iron home, both designed by Gustave Eiffel of the tower fame. Sad to say, the unemployment rate is over 70% & medical case is pay as you go. There is an extensive colony of ultra modern designed hotels along the shore of the bay. One embassy is bigger than the next. And, there is a profusion of beautiful flowering trees towering along the wide thoroughfares that criss cross the town of 2 million living in mansions or shanties.

Photo above-as you steam into port the city seems very modern. Unfortunately, its not been maintained. I love the drive along the beach-in town women carry things on their head in plastic containers-not woven baskets-and the famous train station.

Richards Bay, South Africa February 6 & 7, 2007

February 6 & 7, 2007
We steamed around the Cape of Good Hope, headed up the Indian
Ocean to Richards Bay. A major port that has seen substantial growth
in the past decade. The coastal dunes are filled with minerals such as
titanium. The deep coal deposits have provided energy to smelt
aluminum from Bauxite, shipped from as far as Canada. More interesting
to the visitor, this very green, lush area is the gateway to the land of
the Zulu which now number over 7 million in this KwaZulu-Natal region.
The Zulu people have no written history. They use a distinctive “clicking”
sound in their speech. Early in the 18oos the warrior king Shaka united
the many tribes into a coherent nation. The land is divided into several
areas and each area has a chief who reports to the king, together they rule the country! While they are presently moving into small cement home (out of huts) the Zulus keep their hut that contains their ancestor’s spirits.

Our 1st tour was to the St Lucia Lake & Wetlands. We boarded a small local boat and besides several pods of hippos we saw many beautiful birds: a gleaming yellow weaver, a mighty eagle with brilliant white shoulders & head AND a 6 foot wing span, purple herons, flocks of white egrets & some multi colored Egyptian ducks. Its understandable that this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our 2nd experience was a Landrover safari in the Thula Thula bush. Bumping along narrow dirt trails we saw adult & young giraffes, zebra,with alternating black tan, & white stripes, snorting throngs of wildebeasts, & a single 7 foot tall spiral horned white faced Inu buck that stared right back at us! The 1 hour drive to the reserve was just beautiful. We really enjoyed being in this area of the world surrounded by so much green grass & different tropical trees and plants.

Cape Town, South Africa February 2,3,&4,2007

Cape Town at night. Below-the clock tower-a landmark on the Cape Town Pier. Lots of shops there-and things going on.
February 2,3,& 4, 2007
The good weather has finally found us as we are steaming into beautiful Cape Town, So Africa! The harbor city is framed by Table Top mountain and Signal Hill both rising over 3500 ft. We were met by several small whales, fur seals and even given a water gun salute! We felt as if were sailing into Sydney, Australia because of the busy waterfront with a large Mall and trendy restaurants in the quay makes it similar. A highlight for us was driving the west coast along sandy but rocky wave driven beaches. And, a lot of land is set aside as a permanent park. Another area we visited, the wine country, with beautiful estates set in rolling hills similar to Napa Valley. We visited Signal mountain peak which gives a 360 degree view showing how Cape Town and its 4 million people are spread out. Surprising us as we drove down the mountain into town revealed older shops and homes, well kept up showing the Dutch & English influences. We had high tea at Mt Nelson's Hotel-(1899) a city landmark. You can’t miss it-its Pink! One night we dined at the Haiku Restaurant with our Canadian friends. They serve Korean, Chinese, & Japanese food. You order several and share-you might have read about it in Conde Nash. We didn’t get to Robben island where Nelson Mandella was held for 28 years. His name is mentioned by every tour guide or speaker in the most reverent of terms.

Mt Nelson's Hotel. (all pink) Below is Capetown under Table Top Mountain - then leaving the dock.

Walvis Bay, Namibia January 31, 2007

January 31, 2007
Walvis Bay is the only deep water port on the coast of Namibia. And,the coast of Namibia (the lower west of South Africa - north of Cape Town) is a series of contrasts. As you drive along the paved road there is the wild Atlantic on one side with its skeleton coast littered with shiprecks dating 100 years ago and one as recent as 18 weeks ago! These were prey to the strong cold north antarctic currents that produce fog. Then on the other side of the road are huge undulating sand dunes (the Namib Desert) as high as 1,000 feet & go as far inland as 70 miles. Recently, our own stars-whats their name-oh yes, Brad & Angelina stayed at the small Burning shore resort located on this road.

Barb visited the 19th Century German town of Swakopmund. Its hard to believe your eyes as the town is so immaculate with its colorful well preserved homes. There is a rug shop with very thick and colorful hand made rugs and of course a crystal shop with colorful crystals from the desert among the businesses.

Jim took a Landrover over & between the sand dunes where he was shown small green bush plants which store minuscule drops of water. Underneath these live sidewinder adder snakes, scorpeons, coffee bean beatles & others!

For the evening event we enjoyed “Desert Under the Stars” a dinner for 600 or so in a large tents where elegant dinner tables set with the ships table settings were placed on carpets for floors. It was held at Sand Dune #7. We had local Blacks singing and ladies in 19th century costumes and camels to ride. And, a native Percussion band provided a bouncy background beat. It was quite an evening!