drron29

But no one had pointed out this koala before. And how you leave your boat.

Most of the places here are for day tours. Around this area our guide pointed out rocks that resembled animals including humans.

From near here you can climb over the hill to a large lake called barracuda lake. There are apparently some small channels through the lock which they can get through when young. And this is where a smaller second lake can be reached.

The excursion today was a cruise around the bay in a local boat. With my balance problem boarding was a little difficult but fine once aboard. First class facilities. Our crew.

The next morning we were steaming into Coron.

Atlantide for dinner once more. The menu had changed a little. Rojaan ordered and got the beef tartare. Whilst I had the crispy fried octopus though it was neither crispy nor octopus. It was calamari. For mains Rojaan had lobster which was very dry and I had the pork belly which was quite ordinary. I continue to decline desert but this time a picture of Rojaan's pavlova.

We had lunch on the pool deck for a change. Rojaan had the burger and I tried the buffet -mainly Fillipino dishes. It didn't look particularly appetising but tasted good. Good street food. A soup - pork sinigang. I avoided it.

Sorry for the interruption but Starlink isn't available in Taiwan so internet very flaky.

In 2026 we have a cruise ending in Capetown. Leopard are also on my bucket list. I have seen a couple but at great distance so we have picked Londolozi to spend a few days after the cruise. Graet to see your photos even that behind the undergrowth.

The next day was the crossing of the Equator whilst we were transitting the Makassar strait between Sulawesi and Borneo. A pretty poor ceremony. A few sea birds around. As some of you know I like to stand out in a crowd so here is typical day wear then on informal nights.

So to dinner once more in Atlantide. This time shared with two Australian couples. A much more lively and enjoyable evening. So to the menu changes. Rojaan had the shrimps and then the salmon. I ordered the beef tartare but got the artichoke and beef carpaccio. No problem for me as I like both. Some though would be very upset. Of course it shouldn't happen. I then had the beef. Much better than what I saw being served on the first night. Cooked just as I ordered and tender, juicy and tasty. Lunch the next day was Kaiseki. And more of the Orchids. Dinner that night was in Indochine with a solo cruiser from Connecticut. No menu photos or mains. Rojaan went for 2. Ginger and kaffir lime Creme Brulee and coconut rice pudding. For starters Rojaan had the prawn and I the tuna. For mains we both had the lobster Pad Thai. Me with chilli andRojaan without. Certainly wasn't authentic Pad Thai but it was nice.

Well I have now proven the best way to improve your golf is to drink G&Ts. I have entered the putting competition on this cruise 5 times. Twice with no drinks and didn’t get a single point. Once with a G&T and had a hole in one. Twice with a double shot G&T. First time a hole in one and third. Today a hole in one and a winner. Pity I didn’t take gin with me when I played golf!

We went to Atlantide for dinner. Quite a few don't like it but it basically is our favourite restaurant for dinner. Ususlly a decent selection of dishes which change regularly. Always has a menu of the day. As well the last vestiges of Covid behaviour have gone. You are asked when you arrive whether you want to share a table with others. We like to do this but not every night. We shared with another Aussie couple and a couple from Wales. So the menu. The day's menu photo wasn't any good so the last 3 pages. The menu has been pruned and a fair bit which was available every day has gone. As well the Soups and Salads section has gone. The made up an intermediate course so now 3 courses rather than 4. I started with the Seafood chowder. Not a chowder and an extremely small amount of seafood. Mrsdrron had the Argentinian prawns which were OK. And I had the beef char sui. Disappointing. The desserts haven't changed. I have decided not to partake of desserts as my walking distance is less than on the previous cruise. Rojaan had the Pavlova which she enjoys. No picture this time, We start off with 3 sea days. Great for relaxing but can get a little boring. Great moment when a ship passes by. Lunch in Atlantide. Always quiet at lunch with most eating in La Terraza for the buffet or up by the pool. We prefer the much more relaxed atmosphere and smaller serves so easy to keep your intake of calories down. So to the menu. It changes every day. I had the Cajun chicken wrap and the sea bass on a vegetable ragout. I liked both. The fish was cooked to perfection. Rojaan had the penne and the crumble. I continued to decline desserts. But in between lunch and dinner was trivia where we again have a great team. No Americans this time but a very knowledgeable Canadian. In fact we won the first 3 days though on the 4th hit rock bottom. Then there was the Captain's welcome introducing th Senior officers.

I developed a viral illness just after boarding. running nose,cough, a few aches and pains but no energy . That and 3 sea days has meant I have had a lot of time getting to know my pillow. Two days ago I got motivated to start walking and hopefully today begin to post some more. So here we go. On Sunday we had a lunch invitation from 2 of the World Cruisers on the Silver Shadow. Turned out we got on exceptionally well with @mysty and myster. We had lunch in the main dining room. I only took a photo of my main course a vegetable Biryani. quite tasty. There is always an Indian chef somewhere on board. We had got a Bali Blue Taxi from the IC. He was just the first in line. A safe driver and the cost was at the bottom of the suggested rate that we were given at the hotel. We knew what time we were leaving the ship so got him to take us back as well arranged for him the next day to take us back to board the Silver Muse. Dinner was as usual grazing at the IC Club. And because I have never tried it before I drank Arak Madu and enjoyed it. The next morning we had truffled scrambled eggs for breakfast. Very nice. Then at 1120 a long check out process as they were without electricity for 2 hours. Computers worked but pretty dark. At 1130 picked up by our taxi driver in cab 007. Arrived at the port at 1150. When we got there we had to take a seat as check in only opened at Midday. But we were able to do some of the paperwork so pretty much straight through when it opened. We were the second couple to board. We went to the Dolce Vita lounge and I had a gin and tonic or two. We decided not to have lunch. The lounge and one of the orchids. Lots of them around the ship. And a lovely sunset before we went to dinner.

A bit hard for me to get it back to the title as we are 5 days from reaching Japan. Our first port is Naha, Okinawa. Somehow I don't think I am going to see Fuji from there.

In our case when they did the same to the Muse earlier this year it was to a new booking not an already booked cruise. But inconsistent behaviour by SS is probably to be expected.

That afternoon we decided to have afternoon tea because we could and it cost nothing. The menu. And the food. I had mine with mint tea. We then decided we had better do another walk. That didn't stop us from going back for Happy Hour. The nights canapes. no picture though. But also nibbles for the weekend. Plus a special dish from one of the restaurants. The fellow putting it together only knew it as a special dish. Plus a couple of other different additions to the buffet. And Sunday breakfast. Avocado toast for Rojaan and Okonomiyaki for me.

It was decimated the last time we were on the Muse October/ November 2023. Haven't changed Indochine yet.

No they had gone on our last cruise. When you arrive in the suite there is still a bottle of champagne and the 9 little bits of chocolate in a box. No other edibles at all. And I am wondering whether the lobster tail and caviar are going to disappear as they have disappeared from the Everyday menu.

By the way my beef fillet last night was back to the normal serving size and cooked exactly how I like it. Tender and tasty.

They have now pruned the Atlantide dinner menu. First a menu from our last cruise on the Muse in October/November 2023 Now a current menu. So the choice of 3 vegetarian mains, 5 seafood and 5 meat has become 3 of each.Plus the Intermediate course with soups and salads has been cut completely but with 1 soup and 1 salad added to the starters but a reduction from 7 to 6 of the other choices. And here was the seafood chowder from the first night. Lots of seafood? definitely not

And there are a lot of other problems on our current voyage including scrubbing all our restaurant bookings. No fruit bowl. No nuts and dried fruit. Think we must be the guinea pigs for the essentials fare.

And back out into the hotel grounds. Then I wandered outside the hotel grounds. Not that much. Reasonable prices at the Turkish restaurant. Put $A in place of the K and a decimal point in front of the last number and you have the Aussie price. $US 2/3rds of Aussie price. Then I went into a large convenience store. Very clean and a good range of food and drink. lovely fruit. I nearly bought some mangosteens. I did buy a cold pomegranate juice. Ticket said 18500 so I handed over a 20000 note and got 5000 change. I then went outside to drink my juice. they had a few tables and chairs out the front. whilst I was drinking A woman came up and sat down beside me. Asked where I was from then asked where I was staying. I said the IC and she replied that is an expensive place. I have no money but I can make you happy. Time for me to leave and retreat back into the hotel grounds.