Miaminice

Good night, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with a fabulous dinner in Blu. and then listened to the Christmas Caroling of the Solstice Officers. It was fun and everyone enjoyed the spirit. The kids also loved getting a gift from Santa 🧑‍🎄. After this joyful event we had a drink at the Ensemble Lounge and listened to Christmas songs played by the acoustic duo. When we went back to our stateroom we stopped by at the theater and watched the Christmas show for a few minutes. I have to say: a really good mix!

Well, what was to be an adventurous day in Thailand now turned out to be a day at sea. So we made the best of it, enjoyed Solstice and relaxed. And yes, had more food 😁 before we took advantage of the Persian Garden.

Haha, thank you! We only eat that much on vacation. Enjoying and trying different food is part of the experience for us. The problem is that it took me two or three weeks to get back to my normal weight after a trip when I was younger. Now it’s more like months. 😁

Ok, so it’s got to be something about us and elephants… in the past few years all of our tours which involved visiting elephant sanctuaries have been cancelled. So in case someone elso on board reads this - blame it on us 😉 On the other hand we also learned that guests on the Diamond Princess - she’s just behind us - are going through the same process. She also cancelled her call on Koh Samui. Anyway, there’s nothing we can do and we’ll just continue to enjoy our trip. However, this morning was a perfect example to me that sometimes things are not as they seem. When we had breakfast, and even when we were just about to leave our stateroom, the sea looked calm from “up here”. So when the announcement was made, my first thought was: “you’ve got to be kidding…”. Clouded by disappointment, briefly a bit of anger flickered up in my mind. Then I went out on the balcony and saw a ferry boat ploughing through the seas. The bow digging deep into the waves and the ferry covered by the sea’s spray. Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo. I realized then how much harder it would be for a small tender boat to make it through the waves and to tie up to the ship. Plus, I am trying to keep in mind that they have to consider the weather throughout the whole day… not an easy decision for sure. Announcements were made that they‘ll add a show in the afternoon, that they will change the opening times of the venues and that a new today paper with the revised schedule will be printed and delivered to the stateroom. I can imagine that none of the staff are bored right now but all are doing their best to make up for something that’s out of their hands. So I am trying to be grateful rather than to be disappointed.

unfortunately, it will be the only photo of Ko Samui I will get to take. 🙁 oh well… 😉

I guess it’s a sign… 😢

I guess it’s a sign…

we were, too. But then I saw a ferry boat ploughing through the waves close to us. That’s when I realized it sure looks different from “up here”. A tender boat would have considerably more problems with the waves than a ferry.

So close… but no cigar! We had breakfast while sailing towards Ko Samui where we actually stopped. Just when we were about to leave our stateroom to meet our party an announcement was made that tender operations would be unsafe. So we’ll continue sailing towards Bangkok.

Merry Christmas!

Just a heads up… it’s still dark outside but it looks like we‘ll make it to Ko Samui 😁 Feels much calmer and we weren’t tossed around in the shower. Merry Christmas 🎄

During the day the sea calmed down a bit and we are hoping that this will continue until tomorrow. Since our next stop Koh Samui is a tender port, there have been rumors that it might be cancelled. Optimists that we are, we are still assuming our visit is a go until we are told otherwise 🤞. Around noon Birgit surprised me with the suggestion to stop by at the Oceanview Cafe. Who am I not to listen to my dear wife?! 😉 As usual our dessert was a drink at Al Bacio. The afternoon went by quickly by writing some emails and a workout at the gym. If only to soothe the bad conscience of already looking at the Blu menu on the app. You know the saying: we come as guests - and we leave as cargo 🤷🏻 Mmmhhh, talking about it.. we haven’t tired the Escargot yet 😉

Celebrity Solstice - December 2023 - Day 2 - At Sea We are on our way to Thailand, making our way through (warm) rain and rough seas. The night was pretty rocky and Birgit didn’t feel well - which is unusual. AndeEven I’ve had better mornings. Our way to cope with it was to only have a light breakfast at Blu. Birgit decided to sleep it off and went back to our stateroom. I took the chance to take a few pictures of Solstice.

yes, there was a separate line for people who don’t need visa. We have German passports and require no visa for Vietnam or Thailand. Except for one short wait, embarkation was a breeze for us. We basically walked right through.

Back at the hotel we picked up our bags, said thank you for the wonderful friendly service and took a Grab car to the pier. Check-in went smoothly and it didn’t take long until we were able to say hello to our home for the next two weeks. Aqua stateroom 1542 on deck 11. Our luggage arrived soon after we got to our stateroom, so we unpacked and settled in. Around 5pm we went to the Oceanview Bar to meet some of our fellow travelers and people we’ll tour with. Thank you, David @mahdnc for creating all the name tags 👍 We waved goodbye to beautiful Singapore and sailed away to a new adventure.

Time had passed and it was already noon. We couldn’t really have lunch but we still walked over to the People’s Park Complex food court. For us one of the most authentic ones. We got a pork bun at a stall we knew and then some more juice. It really couldn’t be fresher. Made to order when you are finally done browsing the expansive menu. On the way back I couldn’t resist one of the Salty egg custard buns… sooo yuuuuummmmy!

On the street we noticed a different kind of music and chanting coming from the Sri Mariamman Hindu temple just a few feet down the road. We took off our shoes again and visited the ceremony. What an enriching cultural mix. Buddhism next to Hinduism and just next to it also a mosque. It kind of depicts one of the qualities for which we like Singapore so much.

IMG_7123.mov The Buddha Tooth Relict Temple was just across the street. When we walked over to the temple, there was a ceremony. Monks reciting sutras, bells ringing. It had something hypnotic about it - hypnotic and peaceful. Since the inner part of the temple was closed to the public during the ceremony we decided to go up to the Mezzanine level for a view. We took the elevator but didn’t get off on M. Someone had pressed 4 and we thought: why not, we haven’t been there yet. We got out on 4 and found a meditation area where the tooth relict was kept on something like an altar. Elaborate, gold glittering and just beautiful. Unfortunately photos were not allowed. At the entrance to the stairs we noticed a sign pointing upwards to a roof garden. Again: why not? When we exited the stairs on the rooftop level, I was awestruck. We entered the jungle of a beautiful orchid garden surrounding another temple like structure housing a huge prayer wheel. Unexpected and absolutely beautiful. A true hidden gem! IMG_7106.mov We took the stairs down again and exited at every level. On each one there was a different exhibition of relicts, statues and explanations about the history… all accompanied by pleasant music. From the mezzanine level we watched the ceremony for a while before we left the temple. IMG_7123.mov

Celebrity Solstice - December 2023 - Day 2 - Singapore / Embarkation To say we slept like babies would be a massive understatement. Good that we had set the alarm for 8am… just in case. When it went off we were both still deep down in the basement of dreamland. We got ready and walked over to the Maxwell Hawker Center which was just next door. We had to restrain ourselves not to give in to the alluring smells of Hainan Chicken Rice and other delicacies. But there wqs absolutely nothing wrong with being seduced by the cups of fresh fruit, fresh squeezed fruit and avocado smoothies and a Sesame Ball. All for under 10 USD (the signs are Singapore $).

See you later! 😁

We escaped the glittering world of LV and Gucci and walked over to the Skytrees. They are a magnificent sight and a must see. This time of the year, Christmas decorations are the icing of the cake. Happy about a fun filled day we grabbed a Grab at the entrance of the gardens and drove back to the hotel. Good night friends.

Walking along the bay and across the Helix Bridge we enjoyed the lights and music until we reached the “Shoppes” at Marina Bay Sands. IMG_7072.mov It is true - when they add an extra p and e to the word, everything is twice as expensive.

We took the bus to return to the Marina Bay area. Again, we went through the Fullerton, passed the Merlion and crossed Jubilee Bridge to the Gluttons Bay hawker center. IMG_7056.mov We followed the recommendation of one of the stall owners and had a platter of spicy pork with mushrooms and a garlicky pepper soup. Holy smokes 🔥 it was spicy but sooo delicious.