May 2005

Since they cancelled Kenya we get an extra day in the Seychelles

but not on the same island so they re-jigged our excursions.
We now get 2 days on Mahe as per schedule but arriving a day early. Then sail over to Praslin for the extra day.
I had tried unsuccessfully to book something on Praslin before I left Ottawa but could not get any response. Looks like a nice bonus to get there - home of the largest coconut in the world - the Coco de Mer.

I was all set to go to the Seychelles in 1973 ( I think ) but I went to Canada instead. Met my future wife & that as they say, was that. Could have saved myself a lot of grief.

Anyway - I have a catamaran to catch..

& you may note that there is actually someone under the age of 90 on this boat. She is also on the big boat & I assumed she & her boyfriend were staff, but no, they are tourists & mysterious as well. No one I came across found out what they do for a living & I never got her name. That's her on the right in red, not on the left in green.

This is day one & we were on the way to Cerf island (yet another island) to go in a semi-submersible to see some fish.

As per, there are no fish. Never mind, it's a nice ride out to the island...

Where Robinsons Friday has just left...

Maybe he was scared by the locals...

Then it's day 2 & off on another boat ride further down the island..

to Peter Pipers pickled pepper plantation. Up in the hills with all sorts of spices & maybe even some pepper, but for sure some nice views over the ocean...

Where there are some Giant Tortoises..

Giant spiders...

small sea dogs...& some extremely large Coconuts

& oceans of lovely blue sea....

Overnight to Praslin.

After all my hype about Praslin, it was a bit of a washout.

Almost continual rain. Went for a walk through the forest & the trail was a river. The guide was a young girl, part mountain goat. Wearing flip flops she just hopped for rock to rock. I just waded through. She offered to turn back & many did but I soldiered onto the end. Could not see a whole lot what with the water streaming down my glasses & having to look where I was going the whole time.

Did see this young couple so I asked them to pose for me with the famous Coco De Mer.

And you can see how wet it was...

& here I am within a degree of the Equator, just coming up on the Maldives.

A nice moon out tonight...

We are now in the Male, the Maldives where we are due to be for 2 days. Don't know why 2 days. The Maldives are lots of little islands, most of which are private resorts & off limits to the casual tourist. A tropical paradise but Male itself is all concrete. Even has a man made beach where the locals bathe fully clothed.
I was scheduled to go on a boat ride to a different island resort on each day but one island got "closed down". So I changed to the one island for a morning & then back again for the afternoon. Then changed that so I could stay on the island while everyone else went back at noon & I get to go back with the afternoon tour. I got to walk around the resort, have a drink at either end & laze on the beach for the day. The other day I just wandered around Male which isn't all that. I met a couple staying at the resort who were on their 7th visit to the Maldives & never set foot on Male. Can't say I blame them

Here's some fish (Tuna?) on the dock which may well have become dinner on board later.

& some Maldive graffiti. No idea what it means but looks a little odd.

The unnatural beach..Muslim ladies do not undress for the beach.

& the natural beach...

Hectic times....

THESE PEOPLE. FOREVER GETTING IN THE WAY OF THE VIEW.....

THERE - THAT'S BETTER...

Wonderful looking flowers...

THESE FOUR ARE FROM MY SHIP. UP TO THEIR KNEES, WALKING ON SOMETHING OUT THERE, CORAL MAYBE.

WAITING FOR THE FERRY.....

& that's about it for the Maldives. Very pretty & the weather was great. A nice little breeze & not too hot considering it's on the equator. Two more islands & a couple of nice boat rides. Relaxing & in days gone by I would have been quite satisfied to spend hours getting some sun on a beach. Not anymore.

Going to a tea plantation today. This is a long but interesting ride though Columbo which has suburbs stretching for miles, & then out into the hills.

DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS STRUCTURE IS.

RELIGIOUS?

THERE'S NORM TAKING A PICTURE OF HIS WIFE, DIXIE.....

WHO IS AKING THE GUIDES LIFE DIFFICULT...PROBABLY WANTS TO KNOW IF WE WILL BE STOPPING FOR SOME TEA SHOPPING....

They harvest rubber in this place..Rubber! Grows on trees! Course I know rubber grows on trees but it always surprises me to see something like that actually doing it.

as well as tea...hard work in the lush grounds.

We did get to go into the tea factory but no photos allowed & they were very strict about that. Ladies working machines with dust all over the place. Not the best environment to spend all your day. Ladies were very friendly but no time to talk OR HAVE A CUPPA as they were busy, busy, busy.

We had tea & biscuits on the lawn. Very nice.

THERE'S NORM, GETTING HIS ORDER IN....DIXIE AT THE BACK, MAKING SURE HE HAGGLES WELL....

You come across little shrines all over the place.

This is a strange looking building.

& that's it for the former Ceylon. I did get to chat with the guide a little. About cricket mostly but he was great at spotting birds as we passed by. Seems a gentle sort of place which belies the violent times they have had over the years. let's hope that is behind them.

PHUKET

The day before arriving in Phuket I was sitting at the restaurant on deck, by the pool talking to Sandy & Jim. Jim was standing up & I was looking up at him when I felt ill & started to say " I am going down to my cabin". Got as far as down. Woke up on the floor with a massive black eye. The medics arrived & whisked me off to the clinic & , 1300 dollars later told me they could not find anything wrong with me.

Just fainted right out.

So - I did not get off in Phuket. Just sat sat in the shade on deck reading or watching the traffic. A nice quiet time with everyone else off the ship.

Had no recurrence so I don't know what that was. Too much sun? no. Too much alcohol? no. Not enough liquids? no. Not enough food? no. The doc did put some liquids into me. I felt fine before & after so who knows. I will talk to my doctor about it next time I go see him.

Some nice little boats going by...

PENANG

Today it's a pedicab ride around Georgetown, Penang - Malaysia.

Pedicabs are a nice way to get around. They totally ignore the other traffic & traffic rules, & in case of an accident, the other driver is always wrong, no matter what.

It all looks so incredibly cluttered. This is inside a museum..

This is a certificate of some kind - something to do with Opium perhaps..

Mary getting to know a local..

A couple of couples from the ship....

The cheapo English on foot & Jenny & Don in front of me in the pedicab. Spent a lot of time with them right up to Beijing.

A pretty mosque...

And a pretty temple...

I think that's Jenny & Don again at the front..

another temple & two of my favourite subjects in one photo. Laundry & satellite dishes..

I will be heartily sick of temples by the end of this trip, but they do have some very pretty adornments.

Moving on to KUALA LUMPUR

Nothing much on offer in the way of excursions at this port which is a long way from the city of Kuala Lumpur. So - I took the bus into the city & just walked around. When I got tired of that I got on the Hop on Hop Off bus which is always a reasonable way to see a city.

Lots of very tall buildings here including the Petronas Towers, once the tallest building in the world....

These kids were putting on a show for Chinese new Year.

Spent a few hours just sitting in a cafe drinking Bubble tea & watching the locals going about their business. A nice day but when you get down to it, just another big city.
Not sure what I would do if I were to visit this port again.

Singapore tomorrow & the end of the first segment of the cruise. Most of the Botswana people will get off there. There was a farewell party for them the other day which I missed as that was the day I was unwell. Never did get a group photo of them all. Not a bad crowd. American or Canadian with one Brit who is now Canadian.

At least 3 of them were quite ill with expensive Bronchial problems.

SINGAPORE

This is a change over port where lots get off & new bodies get on, hence I am here for 3 days.

I have been here before & feel comfortable going anywhere without tour guides so I get a 3 day bus & tube pass for about 18 dollars. First day & I go to the bus station & take the first bus I see.
It's heading to Faber park which is the end of the cable car ride to Sentosha island, which I did in 2011 so no need for that again

Nice views for up here & a great little bistro. Looks like rain. Not a day for walking.

So it's a bus ride back to the terminus & any bus from there. This one is going almost to the East coast.

Goes though Chinatown where they are still celebrating New Year, which seems to go on for ever.

I get right to the end of the island & head back. Residential & could be anywhere. Rained most of the way.

Past the famous Raffles hotel, where the more famous Singapore Sling was invented

Next day I take another bus heading inland.

Singapore is mostly concrete but in the center there is a little patch of jungle & the highest point on the island ( yes - yet another island ) called ......

A nice spot with a good trail, if very steep & exhausting. No views as it is like a jungle. Might be monkeys & signs say how to react if meeting them ( do not look them in the eye ) but not even a glimpse - too bad.

I had a chat with the guy in the photo & his wife while we were catching our breath. They are from outside Shanghai in a place I will be visiting in a couple of weeks - Souzhou. I got invited to their place & It would have been great to do that but the logistics would be too difficult.

The underground is very nice & you could eat food off the floor it's so clean. Notice the doors leading to the doors on the train. Very safe.

Not sure what this is all about... a promotion for some bag!

Some lovely looking buildings downtown.. this is a police station if memory serves..

& Clarke Quay.

Great bits of art...

& the view across the harbour to the fancy hotel I will be on top of in a bit. Sandy will be staying there come September.

The fountain is coming out of a Lions mouth. Lots of lions around as it's Singapore's emblem.

More statutory - Rodins Thinker. I thought it was in London but apparently not or there are several maybe. There is a Rodin piece outside the Houses of Parliament in London of the Burghers of Calais.

these kids were taking a survey of some sort...

I don't think these are street people lying down. More likely office workers on break. The round contraptions are fans that start up when you walk under them. Nice & cool on a hot day.

inside the hotel..

On the roof....

& the pool from the top of the hotel.

They wouldn't let me in the bar as I was not dressed for it.

Saved myself a buck or 30.

The fans I mentioned earlier are right in the middle below the big buildings.

A vertigo inducing view out to sea...Incredible amount of shipping in Singapore. Most I have seen anywhere. This is just a fraction...

& that's it for Singapore. Say goodbye to lots of people & hello to some more.

I like Singapore & there is lots more still to see. It is reputed to be a bit staid but it looks good to me. A bit antiseptic & clean for SE Asia but I am ok with that too. Public transport is an easy way to get around so no need for the expensive ships excursions. My 3 days cost 18 dollars. 1 excursion could easy be 200 or more for a day.

doubt this store would get much business in the UK

Ko Samui, Thailand next up. You guessed it, another island.

MORNING HAS BROKEN OVER KO SAMUI ISLAND

GOING TO BE A BIT MORE EXOTIC FOR A WHILE AFTER SINGAPORE

Today we are going to see some animals, have bite to eat, visit a temple, a beach & a waterfall to name a few..

Monkeys doing tricks. I missed getting a shot of them asking for tips..

This could have been the 3 wise monkeys with the monkeys calling the shots.

See no evil.

& hear no evil..

& the Monkey sang no evil..

We take a meal break to watch a Thai cooking demonstration & a bit of a taste...

The meal was more of a snack but very Thai & very hot. Not too many other people tried it - bunch of wimps.

Sad looking Elephants doing tricks too...

He's seen it all before...

I am up on an Elephant now ....

Either Elephants or very large mice....

I spy a sales point approaching...

Yep - time to by the Elephant lunch of a bag of unripe bananas, which he ate - without taking the skin off.

Elizabeth & I got paired off as the only singles & when the Mahout asked to "take the couples photo", she said "oh no, he doesn't belong to me".

Too funny & a nice Swiss lady.

Travelling with her mother who stayed on board after her daughter got off in Hong Kong.

Pretty gutsy for a 84 year old. I spent a few tea times with her.

Time to get off...

& it's Temple visit time

or shopping...Or coconut milk drinking time in my case..

They say you should try to not look like a tourist & this one is disguised as a Zebra. Might work in Africa.. & the Burberry scarf looks a little out of place here too...

Then it's the beach for a beer & a bite..

and a waterfall...

Sundowner time....

The waterfall I could have done without.

BANGKOK

The boat is able to navigate a long way up river & we are parked quite close to down town Bangkok...

where I am heading to a Royal complex of temples & palaces. Incredible. Don't see how anyone gets any praying done...

Don't see how the guide did not lose anyone...

Going around bare legged is not allowed so the ladies buy sarongs...Don't know who she is, Just got in the way for some reason...

Amazing buildings.

I think that's it for the Temple complex..& it is so many people, so many temples.

Now heading to a boat ride.... & past these ladies preparing lunch...

onto the river now, passing houses &

under bridges....

sneak a glimpse of the royal barges...in their special housing...

back on shore....& a visit to another temple... this one with visiting monks...

That was just a sampling of the first day in & around Bangkok.

Need to spend a lot more time here.