drron29

That night had been the Captain's farewell and crew parade. We don't miss that. The good Ukrainian pianist was leaving the next day. The Captain Tomasz Kulas from Poland. And the crew.

That night it was our only booking for La Dame. First the menu. The setting. Rojaan started with scallops. She didn't want them with the pork belly so she got double the number. I had the scallops with the pork belly. The scallops were nice but on the small size whist the pork belly was overcooked. I then had the Foie gras. it was good. The wines were good. I then had the mushroom soup which was very nice. I then had the dover sole which was moist and tasty. Then the sorbet. For mains Rojaan had the lobster with leek and peas. Unattractive presentation. I had the filet steak. Tough and not as good as that served in Atlantide. For desserts Rojaan had the crepes and I the souffle. And the petit fours. I am pretty sure this will be our last meal in La Dame. Nothing really outstanding so not worth an upcharge. Service is good though. Got back to our deck and saw the most depressing view there is on SS.

The following day was a sea day on our way to Hong Kong and our first changeover day.there was a little swell which was no trouble for the Muse but a little up and down for small vessels. Lunch in Atlantide. I had a crab cake - all cake and very little crab. then the penne with tomato and mushrooms which was much nicer. Rojaan had the roast lamb. She likes it extremely dead. Then we both had the cheesecake. Plus a little help for our points tally. One of the crew we have cruised with before insisted we enter the daily distance travelled competition. So I put down 158 nm and that was the exact distance. So got back to the suite with a big envelope saying congratulations and 15 points.

Dinner once more in Atlantide. the menu. The wines. Rojaan had the centre cut of Baltic salmon and then the duo of halibut and scallops. Whilst I had the carpaccio with the small bits of meat barely visible. I then had the tomato soup and the halibut dish as well.finished with the Baba al rhum.

Lots of men at several tables engrossed in what we called Chinese Checkers. Now back on the bus to head back to the ship. A seafood restaurant with 30 dishes for 100 NTD each, $A85, $US 3

A bit surprising. A place full of fun parlour kids machines frequented by adults. Then across the road to Central Park. But we weren't taken here to view the park but to look at an underground metro station. Went dow the long escalator. Nothing any different so straight back up in the elevator. Having been given the time to be back at the bus I took off by myself to explore the park. the sun had just set.

I completely agree. On the other hand it is interesting to view changes over time. Interesting to note how much Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam have taken Japanese landscaping into their public gardens far more than was the case when we visited Asia in the 70s and 80s.

Interesting I googled Smart Casual and this came up from earlier this year. https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2023/05/23/how-to-dress-smart-casual-what-you-need-to-know/?sh=289e71621900

Our most memorable hosted dinner was with the Engineer on the Explorer who had been on the ship before it was taken over by SS and remained on board for the refit by SS. He loved that ship and knew everything there was to know about it. During dinner he excused himself for a while saying sorry I am hearing a noise that shouldn't be happening. Returned in a short time saying fortunately it was a minor problem that was easy to fix. And yes hosted dinners even with the Captain. We had dinner with the Captain on the Moon earlier this year.

And once again no gorgonzola in La Terrazza but they did source some from Atlantide. Presented like this. It is not the gorgonzola of past cruises which was much creamier. Sorry despite the denials this seems to be cost cutting.

I relate to Richard. Every time our son rang with Rojaan always answering the phone if he asked to speak to Dad I would take the call and immediately ask - how much is it going to cost me this time?

This is why I like the paper version of the chronicles. Our version listed the 2 Saigon overnights as casual. And some are really taking the casual a little too far. The SS idea of casual is listed on each day the dress code is casual and for indoor venues it does not include shorts.

Though this one might be better in a dress code thread.

The area around the great bridge is an Arts area. They grow my weeds as flowers here. A convenience store with tables inside and out. And a walk around the neighbourhood until it was time to get back on the bus. Now driving to Central Park. And a glimpse of the Love river. And the shuttle stop opposite Central Park.

We now drove the "Love" river to the famous harbour bridge. Well we just drove beside the Love river twice but in the same direction. The second was to see the "night" lights. Just a row of lamps. So only people on the right of the bus saw it. Those of us on the left missed out. I doubt we missed anything important. What I did notice was the proliferation of CCTV cameras. A couple of examples. Now we were at the Famous bridge. Views to the Muse. A light rail line goes past. It also stops at the cruise terminal. Views from the bridge. And the only picture I took of the "Great" bridge.

The last of our time at the lake. 4 fighters flew overhead then 4 helicopters took off. this was the 4th. Now the lake is also for waterskiing. Personally I would rather have walked these trails instead of the rubbish that was to come.

Sensory overload. A bicycle tour goes past. As suggested we are going to enter the pagoda being renovated by the dragon's mouth and out the tiger's mouth. Inside some artwork. Now we cross the road to the temple.

I reported an occurrence on the Muse. It wasn't a joke.

We arrived at the Parking lot for the Lotus Pond. Shades of Angkor Wat. And then the Pond turned into a Lake.

Now I was meant to be on an excursion to Shou-Shan mountain which had been recommended. However a tourist bus crash the day before made that trip impossible so basically it became a city exploration. The extra stops made to replace the mountain quite frankly were pathetic. So off we go to drive to what the guide called the lotus pond. First past Kaohsiung tallest building which for a while was Taiwan's tallest until the 101 tower in Taipei was built.

Impressive new Terminal/ Busses ready. And off the ship a nice wecome.

An interesting trip into this very large harbour.

The next day was a late arrival into Kaohsiung. Plenty of ship traffic. And time for lunch in Atlantide before arrival, Rojaan had the spinach and mushroom salad. There were a lot more mushrooms than it looks. I had the minestrone which wasn't the greatest. But we both enjoyed the veal Marsala.

Sail away from Keelung.