LIVE from the 2018 HAL Grand World Voyage!

Pictures are up on my blog.

Thank you.

They are great -- so much so -- I am going back and looking at them again.

Singapore – March 14, 2018

 

 

I am too tired to process my pictures tonight (it normally takes over an hour to choose the ones I want, resize them, and get them loaded onto the blog) so check back for them.

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

Do you use an app to resize your pictures and to what size do you resize them?

Do you use an app to resize your pictures and to what size do you resize them?

On my iPad I have "iResize" which costs a couple of dollars if I remember correctly. On it there is a sliding scale and I usually use between 25-30%.

On my PC I use "Image Resizer for Windows" which is free. Roy (rafinmd) recommended it and it works great. I use the "small selection" which resizes to 854x480 pixels.

Singapore – March 15, 2018

I was able to sleep a little later because we were not meeting until 10:00. Peggy, Dawn, and I met in the Ocean Bar and headed out to get a taxi. The ride was not very long but after we returned, and it was much cheaper, we think the driver purposely overcharged us. He tried to tell us the store we were going to did not open until 11 (website said 10) and we could hire him to drive us around and point out the sights. When we said no he wanted to drop us in the center of Chinatown and then we could walk back to the yarn store. Again, we said no. He finally dropped us off where we wanted to go but it cost almost twice as much as the ride back to the ship.

The shopping centre (People’s Park Centre) was a real Chinese one with local shops and not one of the malls that could be in any country. We spent close to two hours looking at everything in the store. Besides yarn they had fabric, beads, ribbons, thread, interesting notions, etc. It was very popular with people constantly coming and going and a group sitting and working on their projects.

We looked in a few of the other interesting shops and then headed back to the ship.

I was back in my cabin by 1 pm. I sat, read, knitted and drank a coke before heading back out at 1:40.

The shuttle bus left for the Millenium Walk Mall at 2 and we were there by 2:15. This was the same drop-off point as four years ago. It is not a great mall. It has about as many little restaurants as shops and most of the second floor is empty. There are two much better malls across the street. Millenium Walk, however, is easier to get in and out of for the shuttle buses so I guess that is why it is used.

I walked through the mall and then went over to Suntec which is huge. Still, neither one was as interesting as the Chinese mall from the morning.

Didn’t find any restaurants where I wanted to eat but after walking for 1 ¾ hours I was tired and hungry. So, I went to “The Coffee Bean and Tea Co”. They had a peach jasmine cold brewed tea that was great. Since I had not had breakfast or lunch, I also had a delicious piece of cheesecake. They also had fantastic high-speed wi-fi and I sat for 65 minutes eating, drinking and on the web.

I found one more souvenir and headed back to the shuttle.

I was way too tired to change for dinner so I ate in the Lido. I spoke with a lady who had just returned from an overland tour to Angkor Wat. She said it was very strenuous and she was exhausted.

I worked on the pictures for yesterday and then went to see the Cultural Show. I usually sit in the balcony but the seats downstairs have tables and I needed to work some more on the blog while waiting for the show to begin. Somebody decided it was a good idea to put chairs that sit higher in front of the sofas which are low. A tall lady sat down in front of me and I could not see a thing (she was in a chair and I was on the sofa) so I had to move.

The show was called “Instant Asia” and featured Malay, Chinese, and Indian dances. They were the same group that performed on the QE four years ago. Once again, they were very good.

Back to my cabin to work on my blog before sail-away which I watched from my deck.

We gain an hour of sleep tonight.

Anybody missing trivia as much as I am?

Sea day tomorrow.

Hi Kathi, I am a friend of Cyndi & Ed and have been following along on your blog. Thank you very much for being so faithful in keeping it up and for the great photos. I also enjoy the trivia questions (and answers!:)) I hope you continue to have a wonderful trip. ( For some reason I couldn't figure out how to post a comment on your blog page.)

Sounds like another great day Kathi, although tiring.

I admire your stamina in continuing with the tours.

How interesting that the cultural performance were the same people that you saw on QEII 4 years ago. Amazing!

At Sea – March 16, 2018

Unusual for me, I woke up at 7 am and could not get back to sleep. I pulled up my curtains and noticed a new metal piece on the deck. A few minutes later a number of people arrived and they put out the LRAD again. We must be in pirate territory again.

I puttered around my cabin and was in the pool by 8:25. This is the first day I have been in the pool or at water aerobics in well over a week (maybe two?).

After picking up juice and a muffin, I headed back to get dressed for Sit and Stitch. Doreen brought her ball winder and I wound off the three skeins I have brought in the last weeks.

Morning trivia had David join us who had just boarded yesterday. Living up to our nickname we came in second with 12 (winners had 13).

1)Nintendo was founded in which country?

2)HTML and CSS are languages for making what?

3)In military terms what does HALO stand for?

4)What is the state sport in Alaska?

5)Roquefort (sp?) cheese is made from the milk of which animal?

Worked on the arrangements for the Cruise Critic cabin crawl before lunch.

In arts and crafts we made a St. Patrick’s Day stick pin.

Read and knitted afterwards and then had the copies made for the cabin crawl reminders.

Afternoon trivia found us again in second place with 13 points and the winning team had 14 (out of 17).

1)In which century did Rembrandt live?

2)Which tree is on the flag of Lebanon?

3)How many teams are in the World Cup finals?

4)How many bits in a byte?

5)What is the main export of the Canary Islands?

Dropped my things off in my cabin and then spent 30 minutes delivering the notices. I got to see decks of the ship where I had never been.

Played Rat Pack “Name That Tune” and trivia with Helen. We had 10 (out of 25) and two teams had 20.

For dinner I had fruit, dim sum, Singapore beef, and more fruit with passion fruit sorbet for dinner.

The show tonight was a group called the “Jukebox Rogues”. I considered it to be one of the four best acts so far.

Phuket, Thailand tomorrow.

Morning trivia…

1)Japan

2)websites

3)high altitude low opening

4)dog sledding

5)sheep

Afternoon trivia…

1)17th

2)cedar

3)32

4)8

5)bananas

Just got caught up with your wonderful reports, blog and pictures.

Love reading everything.

In your blog, do you know if that was Copper10-8 closest to the camera putting out the LRAD? I thought it looked like him but wasn't quite sure.

Roy

Very few places accept dollars in Phuket. Visa is widely accepted. We did find a shop that took dollars. Bought some t shirts for the grandkids. Later, the shopgirl caught up to us and said she was in trouble because we were a dollar low. We gave her the dollar which made her happy. At KFC they have a spicy flavor that is 5 alarm hot. It is great, makes your lips burn.

In your blog, do you know if that was Copper10-8 closest to the camera putting out the LRAD? I thought it looked like him but wasn't quite sure.

 

Roy

No, it wasn't. I did see him today when I got back on the ship but I did not get a chance to introduce myself.

Phuket, Thailand – March 17, 2018

First of all, Phuket is pronounced “poo-ket” in case you are thinking something else. 😊

Phuket is the largest of Thailand’s islands which is joined by a bridge to the north. A popular tourist destination because of its beaches, it was badly hurt by the tsunami in 2004 with over 5000 casualties.

My tour was called “Best of Phuket” and was scheduled to be 7.5 hours although we returned about a half hour early (everyone was very prompt getting back to the bus).

Our first stop, after about an hour drive, was Promthep Cape which is at the southern end of the island. It is popular for the lookout over the sea.

From the Cape we drove to Wat Chalong which is the largest of the Buddhist temples on the island (there are 29). We were allowed to walk around and were able to enter most of the buildings. Every few minutes we would hear the firecrackers go off which people buy to make wishes.

The next stop was to old town Phuket. We were given about 30 minutes to wander around. Lots of pretty old buildings that show a Portuguese influence (Phuket was visited by many early explorers and was once on a major trade route).

Our final stop was at the Phuket Thai Village where we saw a cultural show which showed some of the dances from different regions of Thailand. We walked to a different building on the grounds for a buffet lunch that was very good but it was extremely warm (Our guide told us the average high is 95F and the low is 77F.).

We returned to the ship at 3:30 and I walked around looking at the stalls until it was after 4:00 (all aboard was 4:30). Showered and dressed for dinner and then headed to trivia. It was a St. Patrick’s Day special and only Bonnie, Rodney, and I played. Surprisingly, we won with 11 out of 17!

1)The lease on the Guinness Brewery in Dublin is for a)9 years, b)90 years, c)900 years, or d)9000 years.

2)For what does the circle on a celtic cross stand?

3)What is the national symbol of Ireland?

4)Why is St. Patrick’s Day on March 17?

5) For what do the green, white, and orange on the flag represent?

After trivia I worked on my pictures for some time before going to the “Shamrock Shenanigans” at the Piano Bar.

There was a special menu for the day. I had fruit, corned beef, and the Bailey’s cheesecake.

Went up to the party in the Crow’s Nest and took a few pictures before coming back to my cabin.

Tomorrow is a sea day but a very busy one!

Trivia…

1)9000

2)the sun

3)harp

4)the date St. Patrick died

5)orange for the Protestants, green for the Catholics and white for the hope of peace between them

On my iPad I have "iResize" which costs a couple of dollars if I remember correctly. On it there is a sliding scale and I usually use between 25-30%.

 

On my PC I use "Image Resizer for Windows" which is free. Roy (rafinmd) recommended it and it works great. I use the "small selection" which resizes to 854x480 pixels.

Thanks, Kathi. Appreciate the info.

Catching up with your reports, super photos, thank you.

If you get to speak to Copper 10-8, please tell him "Hello" from erewhon.

Your tour sounded much easier than the last couple you did.

Always love the trivia questions.

Catching up with your reports, super photos, thank you.

 

If you get to speak to Copper 10-8, please tell him "Hello" from erewhon.

Will do!

At Sea – March 18, 2018

Who says there is nothing to do on sea days? I beg to disagree. I was busy all day.

I started off with water aerobics and 50 minutes in the pool. Hamish was having the Jukebox Rogues at Coffee Chat so after getting my juice and muffin I stopped by for the last few minutes.

After changing it was off to Sit and Stitch. We had another new person who left the downstairs group to join us and we ended up with 13 present.

David joined us again for trivia but we were only able to get 11 while two teams tied at 13.

1)Who was the original singer for the punk band “The Misfits”?

2)What is the women’s equivalent to the Davis Cup?

3)What is the birdlike image on the coat of arms of Thailand?

4)Who was the Queen of the Olympian Gods?

5)In photo editing, what does “RGB” stand for?

After trivia I did a little straightening in my cabin and worked on a mistake in my sock. Then I was off to lunch and arts and crafts. Today we made a “new jade” necklace. New jade is green serpentine stone which is similar in physical properties to real jade. Tomorrow we will make the matching earrings.

Next it was time for our Cruise Critic Cabin Crawl. We had six people who volunteered their cabins for view – an interior, a fully obstructed ocean view, a regular ocean view, my front-facing ocean view, a Vista balcony, and a Neptune suite. During the crawl another person volunteered her cabin which was an interior that had a different configuration than the first one we saw. About 25 people participated. I developed extreme closet envy with the number of closets those cabins had in comparison to my 3 tiny ones. The crawl took about an hour.

Then it was time for afternoon trivia. We had 11 again but the winners had 16 out of 17.

1)What is the most common English word beginning with the letter “m”?

2)The Dead Sea lies between which two countries?

3)Which African animal kills the most humans?

4)How many years does it take for Neptune to orbit the sun?

5)What opera was written to commemorate the opening of the Suez Canal?

I had time to talk with the team for a few minutes before I was off to the spa for a much-needed pedicure. It was a really good one but almost three times more than what I pay at home.

My travel agency had a cocktail party at 7:00 but I did not attend. I am not really a cocktail party person. I went to the first two and decided that was enough. After getting ready for dinner I went to Singo in the piano bar.

Dinner was good with a shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, Beef Wellington, and a kiwi pavlova with a scoop of raspberry sorbet for dessert.

Skipped the show which was a violinist.

We gain a half hour tonight.

Tomorrow will be a much quieter sea day.

Morning trivia…

1)Glenn Donzig (sp?)

2)Federation Cup

3)garuda

4)Hera

5)red, green, blue

Evening trivia…

1)me

2) Israel and Jordan

3)mosquito

4)165

5)Aida

Smooth sailing until next time!

Enjoying your reports and the daily trivia.

Sounds like another wonderful day at sea.

Keith

You had a busy sea day indeed, Kathi.

Sounds like a fun filled one :)

Kathi,

I'm still so jealous of your ability to take this cruise. [:D]

That must have been a slow cabin crawl when they got to your room - considering how big you said it was - no more than 2-3 people at a time.

I am loving your pictures. Some of your tours sound like my choices - others- 'no way, Jose'. I like playing the trivia, but I know I could never be a team member.

I look forward to seeing you on the sailaways again, we miss your input. [Of course when you get back, it will mostly Juneau sail-ins]

Continue to have fun, the 'relaxing' sea days are great - aren't they? :evilsmile:

Carole

At Sea – March 19, 2018

I had a much more relaxing day today than yesterday.

We had 15 at water aerobics which pretty much fills up the pool for exercising. Grabbed a donut and juice and then changed for Sit and Stitch. We had about 10 today. I worked for an hour and a half trying to figure out the problem with my sock. I knitted, ripped it out, knitted, ripped it out until I was sick of it. Judy worked on helping me and gave me some suggestions.

Morning trivia only gave us 10 points and the winning team had all 15 correct!

1)Who starred in the 1969 James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”?

2)Ceres is a dwarf planet between which two planets in our solar system?

3)In nautical terms, what does “full fart” mean?

4)Which national anthem includes the phrase “our home is girt by sea”?

5)What are the two small islands in the Bering Strait between the US and Russia?

After trivia I finally was able to correct the problem with my sock and was able to start on the ribbing.

Ate at the Dive-In for lunch and then joined Cyndi for arts and crafts. We made earrings to match the necklace from yesterday. The earrings however are from real jade from Myanmar.

Enjoyed the breeze by the Lido pool (reading, knitting, and talking with Ruth) until a rain shower started and they closed the roof making it hot and steamy. I left and went to the Crow’s Nest to claim a seat for the evening trivia which was being held there instead of the Piano Bar.

We tied with two other teams for first place with 12 out of 17 points!

1)How many of the 10 tallest peaks in the US are in Alaska?

2)What South American country had major damage from the 1960 largest earthquake in history?

3)What British city is brimming with Brummies?

4)For what does the “B” in USB stand?

5)What mammal has the record for staying awake the longest?

Worked on my blog before getting ready for Gala Night. I had fruit, land and sea and Key Lime Pie for dessert. We were supposed to have a hosted table (an officer dines with us) but he or she never showed. We did get the wine that the host provides, however. Cyndi had a glass of sweet wine she didn’t want so I had that, also. After dessert, Herb, a friend of Stephanie’s came over and sat with us. Turns out he is from Midlothian, VA - about 25 minutes from home.

The show tonight was “At Midnight” featuring the Amsterdam singers and dancers. It was good.

Columbo tomorrow and I have a tour that leaves at 8 am.

Morning trivia…

1)George Lazenby

2)Mars and Jupiter

3)full speed ahead

4)Australia (Advance Australia Fair)

5)Big Diomede and Little Diomede

Evening trivia…

1)all 10

2)Chile

3)Birmingham

4)bus

5)walrus (over 80 hours)

Greetings, Kathi! It's been a busy week since we left you and flew home and I just now had a chance to catch up on your posts. Was glad to see that the "Bridesmaids" won trivia. Tell everyone we said hello and that we miss all of you.

Jeanette is doing better but not back to normal and has some tests ahead of her this week to find out what the root cause of her problems is.

Read your commentary on the Hong Kong terminal and couldn't agree more with what you said. The gangway by itself was enough to tire you out let alone all the extra walking through the terminal. Very inefficient!

Looking forward to reading your future reports.

Another busy day at sea for you.

Hope you figure out what you are doing wrong on the sock.

We love the trivia questions.

Do you win anything for playing trivia each day? I read on another thread that everyone who plays gets 10 cents -- sounds weird to me.