and so it begins.....RTW16

[Emma Chisit]

 

Do go back and soon as it is changing fast. We would definitely go back for another River Cruise and more time on Inle Lake. those were my favorites..if we could figure out how to get there without the long flights!

 

cwn. We were to do the overnight Bagan trip, but in the end decided against it because we thought it would be very tiring (as cbb has noted). Myanmar is not too far from Australia – and we are definitely going back! We started this cruise with no future travel plans but now we are inspired by this small first taste of Myanmar to put together a new adventure. We do want to see Bagan and Inle Lake, and do a river cruise – and take it slowly. One thing we have learned on this long (and most wonderful) cruise is that we don't have the stamina we used to when dealing with sightseeing in hot countries. It was 41C yesterday in Yangon.

For those following this thread, and pondering what alternative tours they might take in Yangon rather than doing an overnight to either Bagan or Mandalay, here is what we did. On arrival night we did the approx 90 mins drive into the city for a Burmese dinner and local dance performance. Normally avoid these sorts of things but we enjoyed it very much, even with the long (but interesting) drive each way. The next day we did the drive all over again and saw many of the sights in a very long day of sightseeing on the “Golden Glory of Yangon” excursion. Again an excellent tour. Could have done with much longer at all of the stops, especially Shwedagon Pagoda. I think that we may have already left it too late to see Myanmar as it was just a few years ago, because it is on the move – and the traffic is horrendous now that more people can afford cars.

And the meditation? That was the third excursion this morning, which only my “sweetie” (as cbb says) did - which involved a visit to a meditation centre and a guided meditation session as well as participating in the donation ceremony at a monastery. He enjoyed the experience and has some wonderful photos too. However he says he is unlikely to take up meditation in the long term...for a start the sitting cross-legged is a problem...

Rachel G....The Taj Mahal is wonderful, but it wouldn't make my top five sights in India which is the most stunning and exotic country I have ever visited. Go – but do a land tour, stay in the Palace hotels and take it slowly....

 

Cheers, d.

 

cbb...you didn't show me your new earrings either!

[no fuss travel]

Emma, if you are going to do a river cruise, start at Mandalay and go down to Yangon. You are busy for the first few days of the river cruise, but they have down time between the morning tour and the afternoon tour, so one could catch 40 winks in-between. The best part of the end of the cruise, was we had more relaxing days, and it was beautiful sailing down the Irrawaddy. I would highly recommend it.

[Emma Chisit]

Thanks for the advice no fuss, anything which involves a nana nap in the afternoon - I'm there. Unfortunately not today as we are packing in preparation for disembarking in Singapore. Next few days are port-intensive, but today is a sea day.

[cbb]

Today is a sea day as Emma Chisit reports. We were cleared of Noro protocol yesterday and everyone, especially the crew, seems very happy about that. No more asking for salt/pepper, condiments for the burgers and hot dogs, and I can get my own coffee-to-go in Terrace & Horizons...sweet!

 

This morning at 9 we had a memorial service for Don Horner in the Lounge which was lovely.

 

Captain Flokos shared his regard and his recollections of being with Don and Betsy.

 

Trish shared a note from Betsy and read his obituary.

 

Andy Heath read the poem Gone From My Sight by Henry Van Dyke which was so perfect for a memorial service on a ship for Don who loved cruising. So very appropriate.

 

Pictures of Don and Betsy were shown on large video screens and the Lounge pianist played "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Amazing Grace.

 

We all then could stand, if we wished, in front of a video camera and say a few words and it would all be put on a dvd for Betsy to view. Most of us did take the opportunity to say something to Betsy.

 

We are having another one of those huge special teas this afternoon--kind of a farewell tea, I guess, for those getting off in Singapore.

 

There are some that sailed from Singapore to Miami last year, the shortened RTW15, and are finishing their cruise Miami to Singapore. I will be sad to see some go (emmachisist and sweetie i AM talking about you)

 

Tomorrow we are in Penang, Malaysia and will do a DIY there which will be nice since we do enjoy independent travel.

 

The day after is Kuala Lumpur and we will do that DIY as well, although we are using an O bus to get us into city center and 5-6 hrs later, will return to the ship the same way. Since it is a Sunday, we weren't sure about transportation schedules and their dependability.

 

We're taking a shorex in Singapore Day 1 and then doing the HoHo bus Day 2 for needed DIY time.

 

We listened to one of the enrichment lecturers this morning so we know not to drink from our water bottle on the metro or bus & to hide our water bottle in our packs while on public transport, stow the gum on board, (that will be easy--we don't own any,) not spit on the street and generally try to behave ourselves.

 

Ray Carr was at Don's service and we introduced ourselves. He will be the new cruise director for the remainder of the cruise. We're looking forward to getting to know him. Hope he has a strong shield as trivia can get....well... heated in the afternoon; some of the reactions to the accepted answers gets a little trivial, i think.

 

It is another great day on board and the people in our cabin feel refreshed (I think!) for having taken a 2 hr nap! Playing catch-up, but it is all good here on the lovely Insignia heading into the Malacca Straits.

 

 

[Floridiana]

"electric city" was the word "electricity" because he was saying it as he had sounded it out...i thought perhaps Bagan was an "electric city" in some way!! But my favorite, because it is so apt in current events for the US..... was "demo crazy." Our demo cracy...is indeed "crazy" and many of us chortled...quietly!!! (and no....we're not missing the primary season, at all!)

 

 

It also took me a while to understand that 'electric city' is not the city's power plant in southern Laos. Demo crazy is even better! :D

[excited cruise traveler]

We are so happy Ray C. will be the cruise director for our segment and then onwards. He is a super guy, we have traveled with him twice and thoroughly enjoyed him. Also, he will have no problems w. the trivia crowd, he keeps perfect control of the players. I hope his assignment will not change before we get on in Shanghai and we are really looking forward to seeing him again.

Ask him about his nickname "Banana Man", in ref. to the announcements in the ports in Australia, and Julio and Carol Campos will be happy so see him again.

[Hunding]

We are to be in Southeast Asia later this month and most of April - Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, India, etc. - and were hoping you might have a few clothing tips to share. Actually, it is probably Mr. Wonderful to whom I should address this, as we are both fellas. I was thinking probably cotton/linen/silk…yes? Any info would be much appreciated.

[cbb]

Hunding-

 

Mr Wonderful says to tell you 'it's hot', and this from a man who lives in Florida part of the year (and for 20 years all year round!)

 

He wears Columbia " ('titanium' line) or REI long sleeve shirts that are sometimes found in the "fishing section", because they tend to wick moisture away from him.

 

He also likes them because he can take them into the shower with him, wash them out, hang them up to dry, and easily by the next morning they are ready to wear or put away. Of course, doing RTW, we get free laundry and they always come back looking great.

 

I like them because he takes care of them and since they have long sleeves and a collar he can pretty much wear them everywhere--wrinkling is not a problem.

 

Many of the guys are wearing these kinds of shirts. We've also found some at Sam's Club!

 

Having said that, many of the guys wear cotton tee shirts, and are showing up wearing ones that they have just purchased in port. By the time they go home, they won't have to do laundry for weeks--just keep buying tees!

 

Mr Wonderful also brought with him 2 cotton button down shirts w/collars for special dinners and 3-4 polos.

 

He also brought with him a navy suit coat. He doesn't wear the pants anymore so the jacket is his travel jacket. Some of the guys do wear jackets to the speciality restaurants but jackets certainly aren't needed so if you're tired of wearing one in real life--give yourself a break. Don't bring a tie!

Edited March 12, 2016 by cbb

[Hunding]

Many, many thanks! Great ideas for "doing more with less." And the wash-and-wear shirts will certainly lower what I had anticipated to be a hefty laundry bill. We are indebted to you both.

Happy Sailing!

[no fuss travel]

Enjoying the pictures. We have several of the same pictures as you have. It looks like the haze is worse now than when we were there mid February. The sun just disappeared into the haze which was disappointing after seeing some beautiful sunset pictures previously. I recognized the lady that was following you. She followed our group for 2 days along with the others. We learned the lines "Maybe later" and "Think about it" from this group. I just caught myself telling a clerk here at home the same two lines. I had to laugh when I saw her reaction and explained to her what was so funny. She laughed then too.

[Floridiana]

I love your blog, read it faithfully. :)

 

By the way "Maybe later" and "We'll think about it" = "Yes, I'll buy!" We learned this on our recent South East Asia trip. Luckily, we didn't need to say it often. Never in Laos.

[Mura]

In my early days of traveling I would routinely avoid making a purchase because it was too expensive or I didn't think I would want it later, or for various other reasons.

 

But after many regrets about NOT having made the purchase, now I do! Not everything, of course, but many items that in the past I would have declined, now I buy. I haven't regretted the change.

 

Mura

[no fuss travel]

I love your blog, read it faithfully. :)

 

By the way "Maybe later" and "We'll think about it" = "Yes, I'll buy!" We learned this on our recent South East Asia trip. Luckily, we didn't need to say it often. Never in Laos.

 

We did buy. We found lacquered kleenex boxes covers that I coveted and we finally found two that we really wanted. We also found a wedding gift while there. We have hit the no more tee shirts stage as we have too many.:D We also found two books on archeology that our daughter was thrilled to receive as she is studying Asian archeology at University. Somehow items made with animal teeth simply did not appeal to us and we were warned about the jewelry and I have all I will ever wear, so that struck out other purchases.

[silkman]

We did buy. We found lacquered kleenex boxes covers that I coveted and we finally found two that we really wanted. We also found a wedding gift while there. We have hit the no more tee shirts stage as we have too many.:D We also found two books on archeology that our daughter was thrilled to receive as she is studying Asian archeology at University. Somehow items made with animal teeth simply did not appeal to us and we were warned about the jewelry and I have all I will ever wear, so that struck out other purchases.

 

I married the wrong woman:p

[cbb]

Have had problems posting since the Internet seems not to always work well so we decided to spend our time attempting to post to our blog rather than post on ccritic. We were warned that the internet could be disrupted in Malaysia but now that we're in Singapore, the internet is much better.

 

Penang, Malaysia was interesting. It is an island just off the western coast of mainland Malaysia and like many old port cities it was an interesting blend of many cultures.

 

We arrived at noon on Saturday, Mar 12 so we ate lunch on board, put on sunscreen and hot weather clothing and off we went to diy this port.

 

Our goals were to see Chinatown, Little India, and the historic British colonial section. We had some walking tours I had downloaded and were able to successfully see many of the places but could tell after about 2 hours of oppressive humidity that this was not going to be an all-afternoon adventure....'mad dogs and Englishmen sprang to mind!!'

 

How did English women of the colonial era survive wearing corsets, petticoats, long sleeves, stockings, etc in this humidity?

 

Penang is a thriving, energetic town that, at least to this tourist's eyes, seems to embrace its multi-culturalism. We saw temples, mosques, churches, and restaurants serving a wide variety of foods.

 

Ignoring the humidity, or perhaps just being used to it, people ran errands, had coffee with friends and walked with their kids. The streets were clean, the houses and businesses well cared for, and of course, there were motor bikes!

 

My favorite sign was "grab a beer", under it was "have a soup of the day" and under that line was "home-made pizza" on a Chinese restaurant facade. How great is that!!!

 

On to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow or KL as the locals call it!

[cbb]

Sunday, March 13

 

This day began in the best possible way. We called home! It was my birthday and all I really wanted was to hear the voices of those I love the most. We were 13 hrs ahead (but will set our clocks back an hour and much of the US "springs ahead"...whatever) so we were preparing to start our day and they were just finished with dinner.

 

Everyone seemed excited to hear from each other and there is just nothing like talking to people who say they love you....and you know you absolutely love them.

 

We had decided that we wanted to go into KL which is at least an hour's drive from Port Klang so we signed up to get taken in by an O bus and dropped off, and picked up some hours later.

 

We were dropped off at Lot 10, a well known mall that we were told caters to the middle class. Mr Wonderful and I had researched how to get to Petronas Towers so we began walking.

 

I had found the information on the a/c elevated walkway from the Pavilion Hotel to the Suria KLCC mall that is next to the Petronas Towers.

 

The Petronas Towers are currently undergoing renovation so we didn't get to the top to see the view but our bus host said that it should be done sometime in April. Nevertheless, one can stand at the base, look up, and understand "tall."

 

We had no other plans in KL since it was a Sunday so we strolled the mall. Now I understand that sounds weird, but remember it was day 70 and this was the first time we had even gone into a mall, let alone stroll!

 

We bought a couple of small things for the munchkin and Mr Wonderful found the pottery store for me.

 

I like to find local handicraft/artisan earrings, small picture frames, and little vases/pots. I like to put gleanings from the garden into the small pots and will group 7-8 of them in the kitchen, each with a different flower, etc....makes me happy.

 

I was thrilled to find a small "tea cosy" (that was on the label) that I can easily remove the top to create a vase and a small picture frame both made in Malaysia. The young woman asked if they were gifts and I said "yes, to me because it is my birthday." She immediately held out her hand, shook mine, and said "I must give you 10% off as my gift to you." I was so touched!

 

The mall is one of the top malls in the world. It has several levels and carries the top design labels from around the world. When we entered the mall, we immediately saw "Hermes" and "Prada" as well as a variety of restaurants, but probably the most popular store with families was Kentucky Fried Chicken....one of Kentucky's contributions to the world of cuisine!

 

We easily found our way back to the meeting spot. Along the way we saw fully veiled women walking with their families, chattering teenage girls wearing the latest fashions, groups of young teenage guys intently looking at their phones, and a wide variety of business people walking to the convention center.

 

I know it doesn't sound like a great day to most of you all, but after 70 days on ship, it just kinda felt good to be out walking with no real destination, no timetable, and just being with each other.....among hundreds of other people!!

 

We dined in Polo, then went to Terrace for a little dessert. We saw some RTWers and Robin & Chic sang Happy Birthday to me, and many people clapped afterwards...Mr Wonderful said I blushed....didn't know I still could!!

 

Last night was Andy & John's farewell performance with Andy singing (wow, he's great) and John performing magic (both hilarious and good!) so a wonderful way to end the evening. (Andy is leaving but John is staying on until Shanghai--I think this is all correct!)

 

An excellent birthday in KL! On to Singapore......

[LHT28]

Belated Happy Birthday wishes

What a great way to spend your birthday

 

 

Lyn

[TenerifeSharon]

More belated Happy Birthday wishes to you! Sounds like you had a wonderful, beautiful, peaceful day.

[Hunding]

Seconding LHT28's message: Belated Birthday Wishes from this quarter also!

[Floridiana]

Happy birthday and keep on writing!

Enjoy Singapore's gardens!

[SellaVee]

Many Happy Returns from me too!

[smoothsailors]

Happy Birthday...best wishes for everything beautiful! So glad to read about your "enjoy each other/relaxed pace day" as you've been going full out and still have SO much more to see & do on this magical journey!

[buggins0402]

Happy Birthday! What a wonderful gift to hear the voices of those you love back home!

[Emma Chisit]

Happy belated birthday! Did not realise we missed this auspicious occasion. Have not been checking your thread for a couple of days due to the painfully slow internet issues on board. And The Packing! When we made our farewells last night the topic of birthdays did not come up - so much else to cover - but in fact it seems you share a birthday with our senior grand-daughter.

Sitting at the airport now, loving the fast internet. Safe travels, will be following your blogs with interest. And "Sumpai jumpai Lagi " *. as our wonderful Indonesian crew members would say......

 

*Until we meet again.".....

[osandomir]

Happy birthday!

Your cruise is such a wonderful gift for yourself. It feels like we are all invited by following your blog. Wishing you many more happy memories ahead on your around the world adventure.