LIVE - An Epic Journey - Rhapsody - Singapore to Istanbul

I also noticed that there were no women in the park. Is it forbidden there? Can you wear shorts and tank tops or do you need to cover up? I can't imagine the heat. The pictures of Dubai are breathtaking.

I also noticed that there were no women in the park. Is it forbidden there? Can you wear shorts and tank tops or do you need to cover up? I can't imagine the heat. The pictures of Dubai are breathtaking.

Never see women out relaxing or just enjoying life. I did see them out with the family in the malls in the evening (public holiday) but that was it.

In Dubai you need 'modest clothing' with shoulders covered.

In Oman it is shoulders and knees covered.

Raina

Thanks for the lovely comments. It isn't too hard to take lovely photos here!

Raina

Sea day

We are just about to sail through the Aden Gulf. ie off Somalia. Therefore we have gone into “Operation Safe Haven”. All decks are closed at night as they have water cannons set up, SAS are on board with multiple bags of "golf clubs". From sunset to sunrise almost all outside lights off and room curtains must be shut. This is mainly to improve the night vision’ of the many spotters. Deck 5 has ship security all around with binocular 24/7. We are sailing through Pirate waters.

We just did a "Pirate drill" where we had to huddle in various places. Theatre, shops, inside cabins or if in your room – into the corridor away from windows.

The code word is “Safe Haven” three times.

Do you think I misinterpreted the dress for the call for a Pirate drill?????

Of course it is a serious matter but we are totally safe. As well as onboard security, we have an Aussie Frigate sailing along with us (just out of site).

Internet. This trip is 15 nights. Internet is $195. First day discount took it to $175. Then C&A discount. With D+ is went down to $116. Pretty happy with that. It is slow at times but hey....I'm on a cruise ship with no land it sight. I think its amazing that I have any internet...let alone ability to upload photos.

I have moved to a room on Deck 2 for this leg. I did lots of room shuffling when Sarah (DD) dropped out of the trip.

A - If I kept the same room and dropped her off the booking it would have doubled the room price - go figure.

B - If I left Sarah as a no show i WOULD NOT get double points.

C - cancel, loose $150 OBC and re book at $900 cheaper an double points.

My deck 2 room is exactly the same with the exception of the small window...and the internet is terrible in there. Now I have to go to a public place to post here and facebook! Oh well.

We have a stowaway. A small bird has joined us. It is living in the Concierge Lounge.

It's funny having all the curtains drawn in the night.

The Revolvers - a 60's English boy band were brilliant.

Salalah 20th May

Went on another ships tour today.

Salalah is also amazing.

The Sultan was born here. The Queen of Sheba lived here.

We had a lovely cool day today - 36 degrees, but a baking heat like Australia not a sauna heat. We still sweated like piggies, but not horrid. Just exhausting.

The houses are so different from others we have seen. Single houses on almost "1/4 acre blocks". Locals are given land when they turn 21. So they all have houses.

All houses are surrounded by a high wall and balconies are virtually unheard of. That is so the women can be out side by not be looked at by men passing by.

Next was an archeological dig - Samhuram. Near the town on Taqah and a UNESCO site. Built in the area of Khor Rori, is the most important pre-Islamic settlement in the Dhofar region and in the centre of frankincense production areas.

South Arabian inscriptions were carved along the monumental gate to the city. Outside the city wall, a small temple and structures contemporary to the first phase of the city were excavated (3rd century BC - 1st century AD).

The great quantity of iron and bronze objects discovered, as well as the presence of a workshop for metals, suggested that the city was also a very important centre for internal trade towards south-eastern Arabia and the northern coast of Oman, which was rich in copper.

Salalah continued

Next stop Taqah, and a small Palace. The home of a previous Wali. Like a town Mayor. He lived well.

There swords are curved so that they can wear them when kneeling to pray, and when riding a camel. Today the sword MUST be worn for official occasions ie talking to the Sultan when he does his annual "Meet the People Tour".

Salalah continued

Then to the Souq for a bit of shopping, Chai drinking (great chai) (.25c US) and 'Lemon Mint Juice' drinking. The lemon mint drink is traditional and is (now days) water and ice chips blended with quartered lemons and limes and mint. Skin on. (.75c US)

It is a glorious drink!

I did do some shopping here. A bought a few scarves - as it is forbidden for women to wear the head pieces, but very acceptable for tourist women to wear then as scarves...and scarves are my thing. I got the pure cotton ones with the tassels and edges, hand made by the ladies in the city - for 6 and 7 Rial. About $15US. The synthetic ones were half that.

I also bought a Fez (the hats) as all Dr Who fans know "Fez's are cool!"

And some Frankincense and a small burner.

This is the best souq. They give an honest price and don't play the stupid barter game. And the prices were great. They also didn't harass you, chase you up the street and all that.

Shalalah is one of the major stops the Spice Route.

Frankincense trees. This is where the gift for Jesus came from.

They scratch the tree, it weeps a juice which set into a resin. That is Frankincense. You burn it for the smell and the therapeutic effects.

Then to a fairly nice hotel for lunch. Lunch was a disappointment as it was not Omani food - apart form a few things like great Hummus. The beach part was pretty good.

The resort part was lovely - pools, grass, beach showers, chairs, umbrellas.......but this sign sort of didn't fit in.

Playing in the Arabian Sea. It had t be done!!!! Right before a wave got me up - up to my butt. And got my shoes high up on the beach. Pity the photographer didn't tell me. Bottom half soaked.

We then drove down the coast.....towards the Yemen boarder!!!!!

And saw remarkable country. Not remarkable to live in....to look at. The hills are full of gypsum ( Gyprock / dry wall sheeting) and are mined for it.

Salalah continued

Down the coast past the beach where the Flamingos stop on their migration - but not today!

It was worth the drive,

My BIL, who is a miner, was not too impressed to be under this ledge!!!

And a great blow hole.

And yes...there is one in every crowd.....

But my bottom half was wet, why not the top as well.

Salalah continued.

On the drive back we saw more camels, lots more camels.

An amazing 8 hours.

Then back to the ship for a shower, dry clothing and refreshments.

As we sat in the lounge last evening a big pod of dolphins came and performed for us.

They were going nuts. Like they were playing "Who can spend the most time out of the water".

They were so close to the ship. And were leaping around 4 meters out of the water. The show lasted about 15 minutes.

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Some dodgy dolphin photos as I was walking along at one stage today thinking about how sweat soaked my camera lanyard and how wet my arm was.....and guess what happened a short time later....I reached for something and so did the camera. And now it is dead! Luck they are selling better cameras on board now.

I'm really enjoying your review. This is the first time I've seen pictures of most of your stops. It's absolutely fascinating!

The pictures are simply breathtaking. Some of them remind me of The Ten Commandments. Sorry, that's all I have to compare it to. Also, from Linda's post, I see the picture in the Duty Free shop has a woman in a sleeveless dress above the knees. This is forbidden for locals or anyone? As a woman I am interested in how you have been treated. Do you feel you have been treated differently even being an outsider on a tour?

Dubai continued

 

Tonight is the end of cruise one and the corridors are full of sad people' suitcases.

 

What an amazing trip this was.

 

 

Turn around day I got back onto the bus. this time I did the Blue route out along the coast.

 

 

All of the tour guides like telling you about the native bird of Dubai - The Crane. Hahah - get it? A crane!

 

 

Burg Al Arab. The supposedly 7 star hotel - even though there is no rating higher than 5 stars. It comes from a hotel reviewer saying that "this hotel should have 7 stars".

 

 

We then drove along the beach a bit. We saw a number of public beaches – open beaches – where bachelors can go, family beaches where men can only go with a family, but most were private beaches.

 

Although humans have lived in Dubai for over 5000 years the city as we now know it didn’t develop until 1971 when the British left the Persian Gulf. Dubai joined with six other Sheikdoms and formed the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai had the straightest coastline of any city. And not enough of it to cope with the demand for luxury houses. So they build a stack of islands and added 70 kms of beach front.

 

The nationals, know as Emitatis, make up 10% of the population. They get free Education, free medical, free housing. You cannot become an Emiratis. Citizenship is not given out.

 

Dubai is the fasters growing city in the world. In 1991 it had one tall building. Now…….

 

There is no standard address system in Dubai, making delivery services a challenge. Instead of a line for address, there is a space to draw a map or leave instructions such as this: “I live on the street after the airport road, but before the roundabout, Go past the mosque and make a U-turn. It’s the second house on the left.”

 

In 2009 they opened the Dubai metro system. It serves most of the city including stations at the main hotels. The whole system was built in under two years. Longer than it had taken Canberra to build one stupid corner on the Cotter Road in Weston Creek.

 

 

then visited the Palms. A collection of man made islands in the shape of a palm tree. We were able to drive out to the ‘top of the palm’ and see the hotel. Access to the fronds is through boom gates to residents only. They are not called streets they are called Fronds, as in Smith Frond.

There has been so much development just in the last 10 months. It is amazing that Dubai continues to grow.

 

[/quot The picture with the building that has the LG3 advertisement reminds me of The Wizard of Oz when they first see the Emerald City!

Was there a reason why you not permitted to go swimming?

Salalah continued

 

 

Then to the Souq for a bit of shopping, Chai drinking (great chai) (.25c US) and 'Lemon Mint Juice' drinking. The lemon mint drink is traditional and is (now days) water and ice chips blended with quartered lemons and limes and mint. Skin on. (.75c US)

It is a glorious drink!

 

 

I did do some shopping here. A bought a few scarves - as it is forbidden for women to wear the head pieces, but very acceptable for tourist women to wear then as scarves...and scarves are my thing. I got the pure cotton ones with the tassels and edges, hand made by the ladies in the city - for 6 and 7 Rial. About $15US. The synthetic ones were half that.

 

I also bought a Fez (the hats) as all Dr Who fans know "Fez's are cool!"

 

And some Frankincense and a small burner.

 

This is the best souq. They give an honest price and don't play the stupid barter game. And the prices were great. They also didn't harass you, chase you up the street and all that.

 

 

Shalalah is one of the major stops the Spice Route.

Frankincense trees. This is where the gift for Jesus came from.

They scratch the tree, it weeps a juice which set into a resin. That is Frankincense. You burn it for the smell and the therapeutic effects.

 

 

Then to a fairly nice hotel for lunch. Lunch was a disappointment as it was not Omani food - apart form a few things like great Hummus. The beach part was pretty good.

 

 

 

The resort part was lovely - pools, grass, beach showers, chairs, umbrellas.......but this sign sort of didn't fit in.

 

I hope everything is okay, I have seen any posts in the last few days.

Norma

Was there a reason why you not permitted to go swimming?

Rough waves. I believe we were at that and resort for the day. Most on our tour went in no more than waist high.

M

Riana. I enjoyed meeting you as we floated in the Dead Sea. I love your photos of the cruise.

Enjoy the remainder of the cruise .

Marci.

The pictures are simply breathtaking. Some of them remind me of The Ten Commandments. Sorry, that's all I have to compare it to. Also, from Linda's post, I see the picture in the Duty Free shop has a woman in a sleeveless dress above the knees. This is forbidden for locals or anyone? As a woman I am interested in how you have been treated. Do you feel you have been treated differently even being an outsider on a tour?

The lady in question was incredibly rude to dress like that. At most places she would just be looked at. At the malls I hear they walk u and give you a card explaining how offensive you are being. At Mosques she would be denied entry.

Was there a reason why you not permitted to go swimming?

I think it was a public liability thing. The ocean was not kind with under tows etc - and that is coming form an Aussie. Weird that there was a guard tower.

People were swimming in the pools on the grass - so not a swim wear issue.

Riana. I enjoyed meeting you as we floated in the Dead Sea. I love your photos of the cruise.

 

Enjoy the remainder of the cruise .

 

Marci.

It was so cool meeting someone while floating. Loved it.

Sorry for my slackness everyone. I'm back and aiming to catch up now.

I've also discovered that if I pin my door open a bit with the waste bin, I can get internet! Yay for me.

Raina

I think it was a public liability thing. The ocean was not kind with under tows etc - and that is coming form an Aussie. Weird that there was a guard tower.

 

 

 

People were swimming in the pools on the grass - so not a swim wear issue.

I would think the ocean would also be rather warm, as in hot even? Lol, like a hot water spring [emoji12][emoji41] not that they would for forbid you to swim ... A very stern sign that one!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Red Sea

A lovely relaxing few days as we raced through the Red Sea. Really fast. we were over 23 knots and sometimes over 24. They didn't want to be in pirate waters any longer than we had to be. We occasionally saw our frigate escort, and our SAS guys would jog and so on.

We then spent the next few days with dark, quiet evenings. You don't realise how much light a cruise ship makes. Looking out the windows at night - with your room lights off was so very dark. Pitch black. Amazing.

The ship security guys loved it as they got to be outside all day in groups with binoculars. They loved looking at the Dolphins, Flying fish etc.

And then we were out of danger.

I suppose our SAS guys now get a four day holiday until we reach Israel and they can get off. Or maybe they will jump off as we go through the Suez canal.

There were all the usual events - C&A functions - This time we had a live band then a display of rock'n'roll dancing.

More shows from the 'monkeys' in centrum.

The plaque went up today. Rhapsody's first visit to Oman. And I was there.

We were near the end of the Red Sea - a 'keyhole' and the roughest seas we have seen. Must be hot winds off the desert whipping up the seas.

And at 8pm on the 23rd May 2015, in the Red Sea, we passed Quantum of the Seas.

Close enough to hear the cheering. And of course all the horn blowing.

Fun

That was very cool. Have have never seen a ship bigger than Navigator.

Red Sea continued

I'm thinking of a new career.

But maybe not! Although my one hour of fun only cost $15!

We then entered the Gulf of Suez. And the water was as flat as I have ever seen it. The Suez canal was getting close.

Suez Canal.

Egypt was the first country to dig a man-made canal across land to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea via branches of the River Nile. This was built by Senausert III, Pharoh of Egypt in 1874 BC. It was abandoned to silting and reopened several times.

The Suez canal was the first that that directly links the two sea.

The canal opened on 17th November 1869, and remains one of the planet's busiest shipping lanes. Through it the vast percentage of Europe's energy needs are transported from the Middle East oil fields.

It has been closed by war twice. The most recent closing occurred during the Six-Day War (in 1967), a brief war between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

Traffic through the Suez Canal runs in convoys. AND USUALLY IN THIS MANNER!

Ships going South sit at their 'mooring spot' near Port Said until called forward. They head off at around 8pm.

Ships going North sit at their 'mooring spot' just outside Suez. They head off at 6am.

We both get to the 'Bitter Lake' along the way at around the same time. The south bound guys sit at a 'mooring' point while the north bound guys steam ahead. When north are gone the south bound guys head off.

BUT... WE MIGHT ARE GOING THROUGH IN THE NGHT.

BOOO!!!!!! HISSS!!!!!! SULK!!!!!!

Road works up ahead so they have changed the convoy order. Oh well, it would still be amazing.

I'll be up at 5am to see some of it.

Before dark we could see Egypt and Saudi Arabia.We arrived at our 'designated spot' by 8 pm and awaited out orders.

There were 35 other ships waiting with us.

The sunset over Egypt was pretty spectacular. To the left of the sunset, along the coast, was a band of air catching the sun colour - a huge band of dust! It wouldn't show up in photos though.

Then the pilot came and gave us our orders.

We were to enter the convoy as number 22 of 36. We entered at 10pm - and that meant we would get some sunlight in the canal.

Suez Canal

The sides of the canal were about 20 meters off the ship. We travelled at around 6 knots and hundreds of people were outside cheering at every one we see on the banks - who were cheering at us.

Very exciting.

I jumped up every 30 or 40 minutes to look out as we travelled along.

Saw stacks of ships waiting to go south in The Bitter Lakes.

I got to see the wedge shape of the canal and the sandy sides.

Then I got up at 5 am and went upstairs to be ready to see things as the sky lightened.

But.......... the sky didn't lighten until well after 6.15.

But I did get to spend time talking to the Pilot (from the Port Suez end) - so that was good. He was quite 'touched' that people were up at that time to look.

Then the sky lightened and I could see ! Hooray!

Looking forward.

Looking back. You can just make out the next in the convoy.

The ships - even at 7 to 10 knots make waves that drag sand off the edges, which then falls to the bottom - thus the need for dredging.

There are many military lookouts along the way. Lonely job!