Cruising Grand on the Amsterdam Asia/Pacific

[arzz]

Bali Hi ... Bali Hai? ... or Bali High?

 

Whatever it is today was a completely wonderful day. As we awoke the ship was setting its anchor in the bay near the island of Bali -- we could see the mainland which was covered with lush green tropical hills reminiscent of Hawaii and surrounded by small, green, rocklike islands and inlets that were filled with morning mist.

 

We tendered from the ship to the pier at Padang Bai, Indonesia -- a town on the island of Bali. We were met on the island by a band playing local music on local instruments and by women dancing to the music. Our guide for the day, Komang, was also waiting.

 

The small port which is essentially a small beach with a pier for tenders and ferries was crowded with large numbers of people trying to sell us all sorts of local goods all at once. They tried to push items into our hands saying “free” or “one dollar”. Komang led us to the nearby parking lot where we boarded his van and headed out of town. The main streets are well paved but narrow roads with two clearly marked lanes -- however the protocols for driving are definitely different than the markings. Traffic here drives on the left but our van often drove down the middle weaving past the many motor bikes and slower moving vehicles and deftly, somehow, avoiding oncoming traffic.

 

In the town of Padang Bai, near the port, the streets are lined with concrete buildings with orange tiled oriental style roofs and stucco walls. Many buildings had stone carving decorations on them and we often passed small hindu temples complete with the carved pyramid “stepping stone” shaped gates with a central opening -- the shape is supposed to be reminiscent of the traditional respectful greeting made with the hands in what we would call a praying position.

 

As we drove along we passed thick jungle vegetation with coconut palms, bamboo, and all manner of flowering trees. We passed fields planted with rice and other crops. We passed vendors with trays filled with sweet potatoes, coconuts, and other produce. There were many chickens, roosters and dogs on the streets and in the roads and there were roosters in bamboo cages. There was the woman carrying a large basket of coconuts on her head and another carrying two loads attached to either end of a pole. There were groups of school children all dressed up in their uniforms (matching shirts and pants or skirts) on their way to school. We moved into the countryside and saw many villages set off the road that consisted of small wooden huts.

 

A few minutes out of town we passed a large black sand beach that was full of people who had collected to celebrate a local festival. Our guide parked the van so that we could get out and watch. The beach was covered with large extended families who each carried baskets that were intricately wrapped with colorful fabrics and then decorated with dried palm fronds and colorful flowers. Most of the people there were in traditional dress and the men all wore turban like head coverings. The baskets contained the cremated remains of relatives and the ceremonies of the day were designed to bless the remains and commit them back to the seas. Apparently families will go from temple to temple with the cremated remains of loved ones for blessings. There was also a small boat on the ocean collecting water that was being blessed to become holy water.

 

As we approached our first scheduled stop of the day, a large Hindu temple about an hour’s drive from the port, we mentioned that we were interested in batik fabrics -- so Komang detoured slightly and took us to a batik factory that was located along the first part of the day’s circular route. There we were able to watch demonstration women applying the wax to fabric for some of the intricate batik designs -- and we were also able to purchase batik fabric and products They mentioned that most of the work is actually done by women in their homes and not at a place of business.

 

Along the way we were detoured by road construction. We turned off the main road to follow narrow unpaved roads lined by stone walls on either side hiding gardens and private homes. There were dogs sunning themselves in the street so sure were they that not much traffic was to come their way.

 

At the Hindu Temple though we were wearing long pants we were all (men included) still required to tie a satin piece of cloth around our waists that hung down to our ankles. One member of our party had brought her own sarong but was still required to add a satin sash to her ensemble.

 

Inside the temple we proceeded through three beautiful courtyards paved in stones, surrounded by intricately carved brick and stone walls, and containing statues and shrines. It was explained that the three courtyards are like the human body -- the legs and feet, then the torso, and finally the most holy part, the head. The heat and sun were quite intense but we were in an intensely beautiful location.

 

After we were well desiccated by our time in the sun at the temple Komang drove us to our next stop -- a restaurant built along a hillside that led down to a gorge and up another hillside. The facing hill was covered with bright green terraced rice fields. We climbed part way down the hill and sat under the cover of the restaurant’s thatched roof open air dining room and enjoyed our curries, nasi and mei goreng’s, the cooling breezes and were awed by the quiet beauty of the rice fields opposite our perch. The food presentation was as attractive as our view and complete with plenty of cold beverages our meal totaled about eight dollars per person U.S. Wow! Great food and a great view in the same magical place -- as magical as our whole day in Bali.

 

After lunch we stopped at the Elephant Cave on our way back to the port. This spot is at the location of an ancient Buddhist temple that was believed to be destroyed by an earthquake in the 10th century. It was dug out and rebuilt as a Hindu temple in the 11th century. It contains a huge fountain with what used to be seven and is now 6 angels spewing water from their mouths into a pool and a cave with a shrine to a figure that is half elephant and half man who is thought to protect the people.

 

The rest of our ride back to the port did not disappoint. I never tired of looking out of the window as what I could see was not only beautiful but very different from my previous experience.

 

Back at the port there was a lengthy line for the return tenders to the ship. Many of the crew are from Bali and today they were allowed the day to meet with relatives and to bring them aboard the ship for lunch. Each tender that came in released crew family members. Many eyes were tearful as they were once again separated from those that they love.

 

We are now beginning the three day sail to Perth (Freemantle) Australia. For the first time in days we are aware of the seas -- they are not bad but they are reminding us that we are on board a ship. I have missed that.

[Foxpaw]

Foxpaw here.....

 

I am safely aboard the wonderful ms Amsterdam now, having joined the cruise in Singapore, along with several hundred other passengers.....as we cruise southwards from Bali to Perth, Australia. :)

 

Thanks, so much, arzz for your kind comments! It was my distinct pleasure to make absentee voting possible for a few of my fellow Cruise Critic passengers while inport Singapore. And, I'm so glad you enjoyed the Mount Faber cable car ride to Sentosa Island in Singapore. It has been one the highlights of my past couple of visits to Singapore. And that view of the ship from directly above -- WOW! (I'll see you around the ship in the days ahead!!! :D ) (Yes, I feel that little bit of sea motion this evening.....will make for nice sleeping tonight!)

 

Best Regards!

 

Nick

[jayzee99]

For any of you now aboard or who have been aboard the Amsterdam, I was wondering if there are refridgerators in the oceanview staterooms. The HA brochures do not state anything about theem being there.

 

Steve and Henny Zimmerman

[MightyQuinn]

For any of you now aboard or who have been aboard the Amsterdam, I was wondering if there are refridgerators in the oceanview staterooms.

You need to book at least Cat BC (Verandah Mini-Suite) to have a complimentary refrigerator in the cabin. For other Categories, you can rent a fridge for a reasonable per diem. Ship Services can give you a quote for your extended voyage. :):)

[arzz]

We are at sea today -- the first of three in a row and let me tell you we are enjoying the rest. The port days have been spectacular but between the heat and the touring they have also been exhausting.

 

Our weather is tempering as we head south towards Freemantle and away from the equator. It is still warm and sunny but not so intense as it has been. We are really looking forward to some port time with reasonable temperatures.

 

This evening was the Red and Black Ball -- formal night, dining room all decked out with red satin and decorations, waiters in red shirts with black vests or black shirts with red ties, chairs covered with black slip covers and intricate oriental puppets decorating the dining room entrance. The ball was a gala dance in the Queen’s Lounge which was also decorated and lit with red spot lights. Prizes were given out and a good time was had by all.

 

We did little more today than exercise and Trivia. Speaking of Trivia:

 

Billy Jean King was the first woman in sports to win over $100,000 in prize money in a single year.

 

A-1 Steak Sauce removed anchovies from its recipe in the 1990’s.

 

AND

 

In a 355 gram can of mushrooms up to how many maggots are approved to pass FDA standards to make it to the supermarket shelves? The answer in 20. Go ahead, open a can, and make yourself a mushroom omelet, or maybe a pizza ... and enjoy! This one certainly ruined our morning!

[croozer]

Arzz:

I got this link from Foxpaw and have so enjoyed your posts. It's helping me get oriented to the ship before I join you in Sydney. I inferred (hopefully correctly) that you're from Chicago. Did you and/or your husband grow up there? If so, what high school did you attend?

 

Soon-to-be-cruising-with-you,

Sally

[cccole]

Arzz - I started your review this a.m. and just finished your last post. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! I will now dream of being able to do a similar cruise when our three children are out of college. Your descriptions of activities on and off the ship are absolutely fantastic. THANK YOU, Cherie

[arzz]

We are still at sea and about to turn our clocks forward for our second 23 hour day of the trip -- and so it begins -- we are slowly headed back east. At 5:30 pm today we had sailed 11,122.2 nautical miles since we left Seattle, 895.8 nautical miles since we left Bali and we still had 633.9 nautical miles to go before we reach Freemantle (Perth), Australia.

 

We spent a very entertaining morning doing laundry -- and we believe that we made cruise history today as every machine with the exception of one dryer was empty when we arrived at the laundry room.

 

Midday was Team Trivia -- today’s pearls:

 

The oldest active trophy in international sports is the America’s Cup. A Manatee’s tail is shaped like a paddle -- and -- Constantinople is to Istanbul as Upper Volta is to blank -- did you guess? Why the blank is Burkina Faso of course. I am sure that you all knew that.

 

The time had finally come that my hair was getting too long and thick and I finally decided to attend to it -- risking both a financial as well as a personal style disaster I had it trimmed on board -- and I am happy to report that I survived, my wallet also survived, and I now sport a very nicely trimmed “do”. (huge sigh of relief)

 

Before dinner we were invited to a cocktail party in the Crow’s Nest -- a pleasant little gathering that most importantly served the good appetizers.

 

And, for the record, I forgot to mention yesterday that Ed is still having issues with his zipper when he wears his tux.

[arzz]

Creakings from the Indian Ocean

 

It is 9:30 pm on Tuesday and we are rockin and rollin in the Indian Ocean ... as the old Chad Mitchell Trio song goes “swing to the left Nellie, swing to the right....”.

 

We will dock in the morning at Freemantle our port for Perth Australia. The temperature outside today was delightful in the mid-sixties with clear sun and deep blue seas (unfortunately some rather deep, slow swells too). The ship responds to the motion by talking back -- it uses a different voice and speaks in different languages depending where you are. I cannot print what the elevators are saying. Our cabin is low down and mid ships so it speaks less than most.

 

Today we awoke, we ate, we did the New York Times crossword, we walked, we played trivia, we ate again, we read and napped and oops ... it was time to eat again and now I write before going to bed for the night.

 

When you look at it we did not do very much today though we did seem to fill our time. Funny how that works. We are well rested now and looking forward to some time in port tomorrow.

 

NOTE TO CROOZER (Sally)

I am honored that you are reading my blog. We are excited and anxious that you will be joining us in Syney. Yes I am from Chicago -- I will gladly share personal info if you e-mail me at arzz at aol dot com. Hope to see and hear from you soon.

[carosave]

DH and I did this cruise in 2002...and reading your blog, here in Spfld, is bringing back such fun memories. I, too, remember those days...they seemed filled...but we accomplished so little..! Thanks for taking me along...and bringing it back!

[Kween Karen]

I am still following your trip with great interest. It is SOO like my next year trip (only 11 months away now!)

Some of the other blogs regarding your trip have mentioned having dinner with the Captain..........but thought maybe it was just for people in the "UPPER" rooms. Did you have this opportunity??

 

I will be in the bottom of the ship so hopefully it won't speak to me much either!! Funny!

[SHERGIB]

We also were on the first of the Asian-Pacific cruises in 2002 on the Volendam. Your account is wonderful and brings back so many memories. We were at most ports a maiden voyage ship so were greeted with fireboats, bands and dancers. My husband kept a journal which I never got to read as our hard drive blew up and we could not salvage any of it. I might just keep yours !!! Just kidding . Sherrie

[arzz]

G’Day from Down Under -- the land where every name ends in “roo”, “doo, “chep”, “chup”, or “loo”.

 

This morning we docked at Fremantle, Australia -- the port of Perth. It was sunny and 66 (with more than a bit of a breeze) -- my kind of weather! The thing is, last night was something else. A few years ago when I booked our trip to Antarctica I was aware of the difficult seas we could expect around the horn and through the Drake Passage. But somehow, when I booked this trip I kind of slipped up and didn’t really look at the geography. I expected horrors in the north Pacific during our crossing and lo! it was sunny and smooth most of the way. But I really did not notice the analogous geography of going around Australia to going around the horn or around the tip of Africa -- oops!

 

Now don’t get me wrong -- I am a cheerful sailor who enjoys a bit (and even more than a bit of motion) but I do confess that bonine helps me through the most difficult times. I cheerfully survived our infamous Prinsendam trip down the Drake Passage, even the two 65 foot waves. I love retelling the story. I just really had not thought about it in terms of this trip.

 

Yesterday the swells increased all day until last night (according to retired Navy Commander Foxpaw) we were cruising 16 foot seas and we can expect 18 foot seas tonight. He suggested that we secure the cabin for the night. Last night, from our vantage point in our mid-ships Dolphin Deck outside cabin we were about as stable as things come. We watched the seas and the foam rise and fall. We delighted in the constant spray and mist outside our window. What got me were, however, the loud, “THAWACKS” as our cabin window took the occasional direct hit. Oh, well, I am bonined up and ready for tonight’s installment.

 

Our trip today in Perth was an HAL excursion to Yanchep National Park (see ... I told you every name here ends in one of those syllables!). We boarded our minibus for the ride to the park. The bus itself was unusual in design. It seemed to consist of a truck cab with an attached (and disturbingly detachable) trailer (which was, in fact, the bus seating area). The trailer was flush with the cab, a large open window between the two -- but they seemed to be attached to each other by large metal clips -- the type that you used to see on men’s galoshes or some old fashioned suitcases -- but larger. The trailer was not sitting on a flat bed -- it had its own rear wheels. The trailer and cab were “mated” to each other totally flush. I neither asked nor examined it closely. Sometimes it is better not to know.

 

Once we were comfortably seated, our driver guide got into the cab, started the engine and engaged the switch to close the automatic door to the “bus section” of his vehicle. It did not close. After many attempts, and help from the driver of the other similarly appointed vehicle also going to Yanchep -- they finally solved the problem by forcing the “totally automatic” door closed and locking us in the bus, with a key, for the trip. Immediately we all searched for the emergency exit -- there were two. One in the roof, and the other consisted of a small hammer hung on the ceiling to be used to break the window glass. We passengers assigned emergency exit responsibilities to each other. And we were on our way.

 

The driver told us that he had turned on the air conditioning as the sun was quite warm as it beamed through the windows of the vehicle. He then turned on the PA system. We could not hear him at all. We complained -- he tried to fix it -- we complained again. After much fuss he finally got it to work -- our guide commented “it pays to read the manual” -- my concern is that he was driving this whole time -- when was it, I wonder, that he read the manual as he never stopped driving through Perth?

 

It wasn’t much longer before we were aware that there was no air moving from the air conditioning system. We again complained. He said it was on. We complained. He then said that he fixed it -- still no air ... we suggested that he read the manual. A few minutes later we had air conditioning and we continued on to the National Park.

 

Our route to the park took us along a road with Perth’s extensive and beautiful beach on the left and exquisite upscale beach front homes on the right. It is spring in Perth and the winds were high today so it was not really a swimming day. This, however, did not stop several “kite boarders” from plying the seas. For those who have not seen them, a kite board is essentially a surf board with a string and large kite attached. The wind then pulls the board and boarder across the waves. Occasionally they go airborne. Fun to watch but not my personal kind of sport - a little too much risk attached.

 

We stopped briefly at the beach. Our driver unlocked and then forced the door to open on our moving tomb. We not only got to view the beach but to enjoy some of the unusual trees such as the Norfolk Island Pine which has needles that are thick with many curly spines and they grow up from the branches, not down. The tree itself only sports branches in sets every few feet giving it a very lacy and unusual appearance.

 

Along the way we were treated to all sorts of vegetation exclusive to this continent. The city is very clean and well manicured. The roads are lined with all things growing including native large bushes full of red thistle type flowers, many blooming wild flowers and lots of grass trees. A grass tree grows very slowly and the young ones look like a large mound, maybe two to three feet tall, of grass or a green “Cousin It” from the Adams Family. The more mature grass trees are tall enough so that you can see several feet of a very straight, dark, stocky trunk with a single mound of grass on the top. More like Moe from the Three Stooges. They bloom once about every twenty years and this is their season to bloom. Their blooms look like, uh, how can I say this in mixed company ... sort of like a 4, 5 or 6 foot long digit pointing bolt upright from the center of the grass mound at the top of the tree. Ed says they look like gigantic mushrooms from outer space with Albert Einstein hair.

 

At Yanchep park we emerged from our vehicles to the scent of the “eucalyps” as our guide called them, or what we would call eucalyptus trees, that were growing all around us. Following the raised wooden park pathways we were able to view several koala bears (who have been imported as they are not indigenous to this part of Australia) lazing about in the trees. With patience you could occasionally see one move a body part or scratch himself.

 

We were led into a primitive covered tent and invited to sit on stools that were simply chunks of large logs covered with kangaroo pelts while a gentleman of Aboriginal descent presented. He shared the artwork, tools, and writing of his people. He demonstrated the skills and techniques used by his people for hunting. He showed us how they made clothing and carry bags out of kangaroo hide and how to create a hot, pliable resin suitable for making tools from a powder prepared by grinding hardened tree sap with kangaroo poop and heating it over an open flame. He made a small hatchet for us. He spoke of those ancient traditions that his mother still followed when he ws growing up. He taught us all a few of the elements of a tribal mating dance. And, he finished by playing the diggerydoo for us (note the last syllable of this word please!).

 

From there we enjoyed a picnic lunch in this bucolic park and then we boarded the buses (once again locked in) and were driven to a part of the park that was full of kangaroos (again, please note that last syllable). Unfortunately we did not stop long enough to take any really good photos but we did see “roo” in significant numbers.

 

Next stop was a large park in Perth with incredible views of the city and then on to another park to see and photograph black swans. Curiously there was an “ugly duckling” living with the black swans, a large white swan! When we reboarded the bus at the park -- lo and behold the bus door had been fixed and was once again functioning as an automatic door. For our last 20 minutes of the day we did not have to be locked in.

 

It is now 10:00 pm -- soon to be 11 pm as we enjoy another 23 hour day. We have traveled 11,854 nautical miles from Seattle and we have three days to cover the 1700 or so nautical miles to Melbourne. Our winds tonight are force 7, a little less than last night but the seas are still exciting.

[kryos]

Everyone on board gets pillow gifts -- we are among those who live in HAL’s luxurious steerage on the Dolphin deck.

Nothing whatsoever wrong with that luxurious Dolphin deck. I personally love it. "A" deck is nice too.

 

Thanks so much for taking me along on your wonderful voyage! I'm loving it. It's easing the "coming home pangs" of my own recent trip on the Statendam.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[bra1nchild]

For those who asked [and for those who didn't], here are the tour companies we used for Shanghai, Vietnam and Thailand:

 

Tansy at Beijing Services [beijingservices.com] for Shanghai.

 

Tony at Ann Tours [anntours.com] for Hoi An, Saigon and Koh Samui. When we complained about the guide in Saigon, our money was refunded without our asking. [Yes, Arzz, the credit came through as promised.]

 

Petrada at Chang Thai Travel [changthaitravel.com] for Bangkok.

 

We also used Goodwill Guides in Kyoto and Osaka. They are club members and volunteers, not trained guides. We used them to get a more personal experience [like the use of public transit]. Getting there is half the fun. You can get more information on Goodwill Guides on the website for the Japan National Tourist Organization. Note that they are not available everywhere.

 

Hope this helps.

[arzz]

Today we are at sea -- the temperature is about 57 degrees outside and the seas are still rolling but not too badly. For those who care, last night’s seas started impressive, as promised, but by ll pm or so they had calmed considerably. Tonight is another 23 hour day -- clocks forward again so it is 10 pm now and will soon be 11 pm here, on Thursday, Oct 30 -- at home in Chicago it is now 7 am on the 30th -- well, we get to have Halloween 16 hours before than you do!

 

About 30 of our cruise critic friends that we met on line gathered today for lunch in the dining room. A great time was had by all and some of our bloggers went around taking photos to post on line. It has been so good finally seeing and interacting with those that I met on line before the trip! And I am looking forward to our newest addition, croozer, who will join us in Sydney.

 

Some trivia:

 

There are 554 roses in the blanket of roses awarded to winners of the Kentucky Derby.

 

In the 1897 novel “Dracula” is killed with a bowie knife.

 

The national flag of Venatu (sp?) includes the tusk of a boar.

 

J. R. R. Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” was first published in 1954.

 

The name of the shawl that is made from the fine down of Tibetan antelopes is called a shahtoosh.

 

Angostura bitters, used in cocktails, is named after a town called Angostura which is located in Venezuela.

 

Other than the New York Times Crossword puzzle and the trivia questions, not much changes at sea.

[RuthC]

Other than the New York Times Crossword puzzle and the trivia questions, not much changes at sea.

The crossword puzzle, maybe. But those trivia questions sound familiar.

[LandandWater]

Arzz,

You are so good at describing things I immediately knew the type of vehicle for your tour. We were on the same type on Catalina Island and it certainly spiced up ours. On some of the steep roads with dropoffs it took the breath away. It was rough riding but the views were worth it.

Do hope there will be another CC meet and great as it would be so fun to thank you in person when we board in Sydney. Through your vivid writing have been with you the whole time. Wonderful.

Many Thanks,

sue

[arzz]

A Bootiful Day at Sea and a Gouhl’d Time Was Had by All

 

We are on the Oceans just south of Australia -- about half way between Perth and Melbourne. The skies were gray today and the temperature in the low fifties. What a great place and day for Halloween. And a great venue to introduce the Aussies who are traveling with us to their first Halloween.

 

The first two thirds of our 23 hour day proceeded as a normal day at sea -- New York Times Crossword, Trivia.

 

Did you know that the human body part that is the favorite of vampire bats who attack snoozing campers is the big toe or that Alfred Hitchcock used Bosco chocolate syrup for blood in his black and white film “Psycho”?

 

The Daily Program encouraged us to wear costumes to dinner. The approach to the dining room was draped in black fabric with cob webs and the entrance was adorned with a coffin complete with skeleton. Inside there were more cobwebs and a large bloody mummy hanging in the center between the first and second levels. Playing in the background was a tape of scary sounds. The entire wait staff was costumed. There were pirates, doctors in scrubs and masks, men in jail stripes, various costumes that were remnants of assorted international night dinners and then there was our waiter (Jaya) dressed as the joker (complete with mask) and his assistant Noor who sported a shocking pink zoot suit. After everyone took everyone else’s pictures the meal service began.

 

And so did the entertainment. During the meal the cruise staff and entertainment staff came through the dining area -- stopping for pictures and a little fun. Many were so totally costumed as to not be recognizable.

 

My personal favorite, however, was the passenger who went around from table to table. He was dressed in blue jeans, a navy dam ship sweat shirt and he had a navy ship’s beach towel pulled down through the back of his sweatshirt so that it covered his head like a hood. He was wearing a homemade paper mask with a small hole in it for his mouth and he carried a straw. He trolled from table to table. He never spoke -- he had a joke written out on a piece of paper -- after sharing his “trick” (the joke) -- he pantomimed that he wanted some wine. If he was successful and someone poured him a glass he took out his straw to consume his booty and moved on to the next table. We ran into him some time after dinner and asked him how much wine he had gotten and he held up three fingers.

 

During dessert Jaya and Noor did some magic tricks for all of us.

 

Then it was on to the Halloween festivities in the Crow’s Nest. Most folks were in costume. I enjoyed wearing my bat wings and spider necklace (with Ed in his dark suit, skeleton t-shirt, white athletic shoes and large bony hands) but I discovered that bat wings do get in the way in a crowd. Some of the costumes were simple and clever -- like the elderly lady who wore her life jacket and kept going around blowing her whistle, or the fellow who wore a sheet carrying a sign that said “sheet house”. Some were quite elaborate and one could only wonder how they managed to get their whole costume to the ship. There was music, dancing and costume awards. And there was some of the very best people watching that we have had this whole cruise. We took many photos.

[Kween Karen]

Another wonderfully fun story. I guess I had better pack something for Halloween since I will be in Sydney next year on Halloween!! I have added it to my list.....YES.....I already have a packing list started!!!

 

I do hope you are having as wonderful of a time as it sounds like. A few others have indicated some displeasure with the GRANDNESS of this cruise........and it causes be a bit of worry. But I keep reading your accounts......and I know my trip will be GRAND indeed!!

[arzz]

Today we are cruising the Tasman Sea between Melbourne and Sydney. We have now cruised 13,876 nautical miles since we left Seattle and we expect to be in Sydney tomorrow morning.

 

Yesterday in Melbourne it was sunny and mid-seventies. We could not have asked for a nicer day. We took one of the local trams into the city center and we feel like we walked for miles and miles. We visited the Immigration Museum which is designed to celebrate Australia’s immigrants from all over the world. The exhibits were quite interesting -- in particular the exhibit dedicated to some of Australia’s not so welcome immigrants ... the rat, the black bird, the cat and most notable, the American cockroach! (actually I thought that our cockroaches were “bladdae germanica” or the German cockroach! -- but who is quibbling ... not me). We were surprised to not find the fox in that company as we have been led to understand that Australia continues to have difficulties with their naturalized citizens of the fox persuasion.

 

The city itself is trim and clean except that no matter where we were, if we stopped moving for any time at all, we were buzzed by small black flies. Must be the season -- and I do believe that we captured a few them as hitchhikers on board before we left port.

 

Melbourne yesterday was chock full of people as Tuesday, our election day in the U.S., is the annual Melbourne Cup (which I believe to be a horse race). We have been warned that where ever we are in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, everything will grind to a standstill for a couple of hours during the running of this race. It is apparently Australia’s biggest sporting event of the year. So when you add 1000 cruise ship passengers to who knows how many sporting fans -- well the city was busy. To our advantage, however, there were tourist information guides in red vests stationed all over the downtown area so we never got lost.

 

At lunchtime we went to the Chinatown area and found a very busy restaurant with a good menu. We ordered two different types of dumplings and some vegetables at what seemed like very reasonable prices -- only to discover that each order of dumplings consisted of 12 large dumplings -- very unlike the four to six smaller ones we encounter at home. Did we have food! We ended up leaving most of it.

 

When our feet wore out we returned to the ship. Tomorrow we will be taking a tour of Sydney and rumor has it that we will be docking almost next door to the famous Sydney opera house.

 

Today we have mostly cloudy skies with only occasional sun, some rain, and heavy winds. The oceans are mysterious looking and full of white caps. I could watch the oceans forever. We have been extremely fortunate this trip to have our bad weather while we are at sea (and not all that bad either) and to consistently have great weather while in port. We do hope that this continues.

 

At present we are not cruising full -- we have only about 1000 passengers on board -- the expectation, however, is that we will be full tomorrow as a bunch of new folks are expected to board in Sydney.

 

A rubix cube has 54 colored squares (including the white squares). The vocal duo who first performed under the name of Tom and Jerry are Simon are Garfunkle. True or False: Basengi dogs make no sound ... False. If you suffer from Abulia (also spelled Aboulia) what you suffer from is the inability to make decisions.

[arzz]

Election day is technically here -- yet it has still been yesterday for you until about 52 minutes ago. Clear? It is currently 4:52 pm on Tuesday, November 4 here in Sydney yet it is 12:52 am, just the wee hours of November 4 in Chicago. Late tomorrow morning (for us) election returns will start to trickle in and it will hopefully be all over by late afternoon.

 

This morning we slept as the ship went under the harbor bridge and docked at “the good place” where you can see, up close and personal, both the famous Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. We awoke to discovered that for the next two days we get to enjoy a view of the dock while the port side of the ship gets the visuals.

 

We began today with a three and a half hour quick tour around Sydney -- sort of a get acquainted tour of the city. We stopped at many scenic views, we saw (and photographed) ibis birds, towering fig (ficus) trees with their huge knurled trunks that look to all the world like baryon trees, many Jacaranda trees with bright purple spring blossoms and many views of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. We then drove through the suburbs to the magnificent Bondi Beach that was the site of the beach volleyball competitions in the 2000 summer olympics which was held in Sydney.

 

The weather today was mostly cloudy with only bits of sun, temperature in the upper 60’s and extremely windy. Not cold but definitely uncomfortably windy. It was this wind that is responsible for today’s tragedy .... Ed took several pictures at Bondi Beach while the fierce winds were blowing in towards land over the beach’s incredible, fine, white sand. Many of you photographers probably know what comes next ... yes, he seems to have done in his better camera. The lens will no longer move in and out and the camera has shut down. Oooops. We have already made several inquiries and repair seems to be our only option -- and this is usually so expensive that it is cheaper to get a new camera. Ed does have a smaller lesser camera so all is not completely lost -- and the photos he took today were also not lost.

 

Following our tour we had lunch near the dock at a local pie shop where we each enjoyed a small meat pie. While eating on the outside terrace we were visited by a very brightly colored bird (possibly a parrot?) who just came by to bum crumbs. That certainly doesn’t happen at home.

 

After lunch we headed out on our own to walk Sydney -- and that was the moment that Ed discovered he had murdered his camera. Bravely, Ed continued out anyway and we walked over to the opera house and many miles around the downtown port area.

 

Today was the running of Australia’s most notable sporting event, the Melbourne Cup (the BIG horse race). In Melbourne the day is a holiday for all with big parties and luncheons and everyone dresses up, the women, apparently, all sporting hats. Even here in Sydney around lunch time we saw large groups of women (and men) dressed to the nines. The women all were wearing some sort of a hat -- most a small but garish thingy hanging off center near the front of their head that appeared to be parodies of the hats commonly worn by women in the ‘30’s and ‘40’s.

 

A few minutes before the “Cup” was about to begin we spotted a small coffee shop with a large screen TV and stopped in for a latte. The shop was empty at that moment with the exception of the staff. Over the next half hour folks started to trickle in, order a coffee or beer and sit down. Then came the last minute rush -- the business men in their suits and ties, the shop men and women from stores nearby -- all carrying their small betting slips (similar in size to a U.S. lottery ticket) and they gathered around the TV set. As we spoke to folks in the crowd we were amused to discover that most there really did not know what horses were favored to win -- but never-the-less they were there to watch the big race, and most held a slip listing the name of one of the horses.

 

The race began and quickly the large, horizontal group of horses had spread out in a vertical line hugging the inside of the track. The names of the top four horses started to appear along the bottom of the TV screen ... the Aussies in the coffee shop thought that we should be rooting for the horse named Honolulu who spent most of the race in one of the top three positions because we were Americans. As the race’s end approached the long vertical line again began to bunch up as horse after horse started to pass each other. One horse had held the lead, or close to it, most of the race ... as the horses rode dead on to the finish line another horse came up from behind and in a great, final spurt of energy began to quickly pass the long time leader. At the finish line it was not obvious which horse won -- in fact it looked to all like a dead tie. It was truly a photo finish. The room became completely quiet as we all waited for the photo, and the winning decision to be posted. The winner ended up to be the long time leader (whose owner has now owned 12 Cup winners) and the horse was shown to be less than a nose ahead -- even the photo finish was almost impossible to interpret.

 

At that moment shouts rang out throughout the coffee shop, and literally throughout Sydney. People screamed in joy, or just stood there tearing their tickets up. One gentleman near us just sat there stunned. He held a winning ticket -- but it was not the ticket he had wished to purchase -- the betting shop had made a mistake. He had tried to return the ticket unsuccessfully and here it was ... the winner!

 

From next to the dock in Sydney, Australia -- on election day -- G’day.

[wynkys]

Hi Roxanne & Ed,

 

Thank you once again for your continuing reports and I am glad that you got to experience some of the excitement for, as it is correctly billed, the Race That Stops A Nation.

Continued safe sailing and on behalf of us Australians I apologise for that shifty Sydney sand and the damage that it did.

 

Wayne

[arzz]

Today it is sunny, our seas are flat and the temperature is 70 degrees. A perfect day at sea. There is no denying that now we are headed towards home. Our next port is Noumea, New Caledonia which we will reach on Saturday -- it will take us two sea days to cover the approximate 1000 miles across the Tasman Sea and into the Coral Sea between New Caledonia and Sydney. At this moment we have traveled 14, 444 nautical miles since we left Seattle.

 

A couple of days ago someone asked whether this cruise was really “Grand”. This is only my second grand cruise so I am not sure that I am truly qualified to answer this question. Due to the cost of internet time I have not read the other blogs about this cruise so I cannot address issues that they raised.

 

I can say, however, that the menu does cycle around. We were on the Prinsendam for 27 days around Antarctica and I remember very little menu repetition on that cruise -- on this cruise we are seeing much more of the same food choices and certain dishes seem to cycle back on the menu every so many days. That being said, however, I understand that Ostrich and Kangaroo meat are on tonight’s formal night menu -- these are firsts. On the other hand, even considering some repetition, we have so many menu options each day you could, if you chose, eat the whole cruise without repeating.

 

On the down side many of the passengers on board seem to be rather cranky. I hear lots of griping about all sorts of things. I listen but I only occasionally agree. Yes, it is true, that we only received one pillow gift between Singapore and Sydney. Yes, the food choices are cycling back. But does this ruin my cruise? No. Does this make this less than a “Grand Cruise”? I do not totally understand HAL’s definition of what a Grand Cruise should be so I am not qualified to answer that.

 

I am having a great cruise and in my perspective we are being treated very well. We are getting to all of our ports. The staff and crew that we encounter could not be nicer or more willing to help. Between Seattle and Singapore there was a shower of pillow gifts. Our coke cards are producing full cans of soda at each use. I cannot complain about the quality of the food -- I have not encountered any tough meat. As it has been said on these boards many times food is subjective. Not everyone likes the same thing or likes it prepared the same way.

 

We have at least one if not two Explorations Speakers each day at sea and many have been excellent. There seems to be no lack of things to do on board. We are provided with a show each evening -- admittedly some better than others but we are not here for the shows -- we are here for the cruise and the ports. Frank Buckingham, our port lecturer, is witty and knowledgeable and doing his usual fantastic job.

 

Am I having a great time? Yes. Do I have any real complaints? No.

 

In my cruising experience -- be it on longer or shorter cruises the cruise line does their job for the passengers, but to make a cruise really special, the passengers also provide part of the atmosphere. On our 2007 SA/Antarctica cruise we had a fabulous time, we sailed with a fabulous crew and an equally wonderful group of passengers. Maybe I traveled in the wrong circles but I did not hear the grumbling that I am picking up from some on this cruise -- in fact on the Prinsendam I heard no grumbling at all. The biggest single issue may be the stress of the current economic turmoil at home that began after we left Seattle. It may be having a subtle effect on folks during this cruise so that relatively minor issues are being magnified out of proportion. I, myself, am not having a grumpy or grumbling experience. I am having a great time. HAL is still doing it for me.

 

For the record, our cabin steward just knocked on the door and delivered two large, fuzzy koala bears -- tonight’s pillow gift.

 

Sydney is a wonderful city -- clean, neat and full of colorful neighborhoods. It is a place where we could happily spend time if it weren’t for that awful air fare and plane ride.

 

We began yesterday with the significant walk from the cruise terminal to Sydney’s monorail which circles the down town area. On the way we passed a full service camera store so we stopped in to look at cameras -- we ended up replacing Ed’s ill-fated camera (R.I.P. -- it will soon rest in the same shallow grave in our back yard as the lap top Ed killed a couple of years ago). Because of the recent and rapid fall of the Australian dollar we don’t think that we did badly on price -- when we get home we will look the camera up and see. Ed is much happier now that he has a good camera to use for the rest of the trip and the purchase has just become part of the operating expenses for this trip.

 

We rode the monorail all the way around to view the city center from that vantage point, and then we got off at Darling Harbor. There we toured the Sydney Wildlife World unsure if we would find a good set of exhibits or just a “tourist trap”. We were impressed with the quality and organization of the exhibits. It took us close to two hours to wind our way up and back through the Australian wildlife.

 

The tour began with a butterfly habitat that was huge and full of the wonderful and colorful critters. And then it began. Insects. You got to hand it to the ecosystems down under -- they do grow both the unusual and the extremely or is it distressingly large. There were huge spiders, walking sticks large enough to use as tent stakes and beetle type critters with shells that mimic the thistle bristle type blossoms that we have seen on so much of the vegetation here. Then it was on to the lizards, snakes and other reptiles. We saw large colored tongues and hanging neck skin that can blow up like a gila monster to ward off predators. There were many, many snakes and even more poisonous venomous snakes.

 

The birds followed. The smaller parrot sized larokeets with the beautiful, brightly colored feathers that we had seen in the trees in Sydney were there plus many other varieties of normal sized birds. And then there were the big ones like the Cassowary that stands as tall as a human on two legs that each sport three large toes with claws. There was a sign warning that according to the Guinness Book of World Records this is the most dangerous bird in the world -- it attacks with its large and powerful legs when threatened. Then there were the wallabies, kangaroos, koala bears and other Australian mammals. Each animal was in its own habitat. Some, like the koalas, could be viewed up close and personal (only $20 Australian to arrange to touch and have a photo taken with a koala....). There were also many “education officers” roaming the corridors cuddling all manner of snakes and reptiles for up close viewing and stroking by visitors.

 

True, this was not the same as viewing the animals in the Bush ... but on our limited time schedule it was good experience.

 

After the wildlife center we wandered the Darling Harbor area which is full of stores, restaurants, museums and tourist venues. We stopped at a restaurant along the wharf for a late lunch of fish and chips. We were the only ones in the restaurant at that moment so we requested they tune their TV to the election results and it was interesting to watch the results of our election coming in on Australian TV. The polls were still open in California but many of the key states had already been declared -- and the commentators were already speaking of who the next President of the U.S. would be even though no official declaration had yet been made. I do believe that it took the commentators at CNN a bit longer to speak so definitely about our election results.

 

After lunch and more walking we decided to head back to the ship -- this time by local ferry. The ferry boats run on frequent schedules like our buses and commuter trains -- but our fare back to Circle Quay where our ship was docked was actually higher than what we paid for the monorail but we certainly had great views. We shared our ferry boat with other tourists as well as business men and local folk.

 

We returned to the ship just in time to hear Senator McCain’s concession speech and Senator O’Bama’s acceptance speech on CNN.

 

One observation that we have made on this trip when talking to local folks at our ports is the stunning realization that everyone recognizes that the whole world has become a singular global economy and that we are truly dependent upon each other. What happens to one country does not occur in a vacuum and it affects others. It was not uncommon to be asked by locals who we favored for U.S. President and for them to share their thoughts on the candidates also. We received different answers in different places. Everyone was in agreement, however, that the U.S. needs to fix its economy in order for their local economies to prosper.

[kryos]

I hear what you're saying about the grumbling. I noticed that on my 35 day Hawaii/South Pacific cruise too.

 

I think what happens is that as the cruise is beginning to wind down, people get cranky. They've been living in a dream world for so long where every little thing is being taken care of for them, and the prospect of getting off the ship and back to reality is disturbing to them. So, every little thing that goes wrong seems to be magnified 100 times or more.

 

When the cruise is in its early days, if a drink isn't perfect or if a port time gets cut down by an hour, we don't even think about it. It just rolls off our backs and we continue to have an absolute blast of a time despite the minor "annoyance." But when the cruise is winding down, and people are faced with the imminent prospect of packing and disembarking, and going back to "real life," those little minor annoyances are not so minor anymore and we can't as easily let them roll off our backs.

 

Then there's the other part of the crowd. These people are actually anxious to get home. Maybe they have had too many days at sea and frankly, they are bored. They actually want to get off the ship and being stuck ... especially if the last several days are spent at sea ... annoys them. They are bored and just want off the ship, so they become cranky. Anything that doesn't go perfectly annoys the beejesus out of them. Go figure.

 

That's my take on it anyway ...

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita