Tuesday March 7th, PENANG

 We are in Penang today. The ship is due to dock at eleven and is scheduled to leave after 7:30 pm which is when all aboard is planned.. Penang is conveniently located in Malaysia's northwest peninsula in the strait of Malacca. Penang was an important trade route for Europe, the Middle East, India and China.

population ...1.65 million 

Climate..typical days are usually hot and humid with temperatures averaging around 35C and it cools down to about 25C in the evenings. Humidity remains fairly constant between 70 and 80 %

Language  : Bahasa Malay but English is widely spoken

Currency : Malaysian Ringgit ( MYR). USD is widely accepted with the current exchange being about 4 to one. A ringgit is worth about 25 cents US.

We will be docked at Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal 

This disembarkation went as smoothly as it could go. Everything went like clock work with no crabby immigration agent to try to make lives miserable.

When we left the ship, on time I might add, the bus was waiting for us. It was a beautiful new bus complete with air conditioning and velvet draperies. Our guide was Elaine and she was Chinese but spoke perfect English, clear and easily understood by all.

We drove around the island on our way to the farm and Elaine pointed out different important structures.

Our first stop was Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm. I was not sure what to expect but it was truly amazing and surpassed any expectations I might have had. 

There were hundreds of butterflies living in this amazing garden. There were hundreds if not thousands of trees and plants in the dome. The sunlight poured in and the butterflies were enjoying it. They landed on people for amazing photos. There was a wonderful waterfall and the water cascaded down to a beautiful pool filled with large Koi of many colors. There were winding paths and different levels and everywhere you looked provided a delight to the eyes.  

But that was not all ... There was a building that contained so many displays and so much information. Any question you could have asked was answered. 

They also had a gift shop and I was able to get a decoration for the Around The World Christmas tree.

Our next stop was the Batic Factory.  Much to our surprise it was almost next door. We watched a demonstration of how the craft is done. After the demonstration and explanation we were able to look and if we wished purchase some of the finished goods. Their work is truly lovely . I passed on the purchases.

We drove around the rest of the island and Elaine recounted the history as we traveled. The road was VERY NARROW and had lots of bends and curves. At one point we stopped along the side of the road so we could shop for spices. I purchased peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. The scent of these fresh spices was really amazing.

As  the bus completed the tour Elaine thanked us all and she and we sang Till We Meet Again.

It was a perfect ending to a wonderful excursion.

Because this excursion began around noon and was 5 hours long we did not return to the ship in time to go to dinner in the dining room. We went to Horizon court and got something there. It was not as nice but it did suffice.

The rest of the day was routine except for the fact that the entertainment in the theatre was great. The Soul Brothers sang so many of the Motown hits that they had the audience singing along with them for most of their performance. It brought back so many memories.

Wednesday March 8th, SAD TALE

 This is Wednesday, we are back from our excursion and I have a sad tale to tell.

I can't get my #@*&@ computer to download photos. It will show them to me so I know they are there but they will not download them to the computer which means I cannot add them to the blog.

SO the plan is to write the blog and then come back later and add the photos if I can get this computer or whatever to co-operate.

Sorry about that.

I have been successful with some but I may still be in trouble. :-(

Monday March 6th

 I am going to try to fill you in on what happened yesterday. Yesterday was Sunday and it was the day that the ship was docked in Singapore.  We are docked at the beautiful new cruise center. This is a very busy port. Ken counted 48 ships at anchor .

It was a strange day weather wise. It was foggy sometimes, sunny sometimes and pouring rain sometimes.

Ken and I had an excursion booked for this city. We were to go to the orchid gardens, to visit Chinatown and have a driving tour all around the island. The ticket said we were to meet in the Princess theatre at 9:30 . So we had an early breakfast and gathered things we thought we might need like sunglasses and umbrellas etc. We were told we had to bring our passports and the other special landing document they had us fill in. We did not have any Singapore currencies because they had none at the desk. We were told that there would be a currency exchange at the terminal and we could avail ourselves of their services there. 

So we arrived at deck 7 at approx 9:15 only to discover that the line to get into the theatre extended all of the way to above the Atrium. It took us over 15 minutes to make our way to the entrance of the theatre. At this point we were told that the theatre was full and we should wait in the Wheelhouse Bar. With our excursion sticker proudly displayed( orange 11) we found comfortable seats and began our wait. To try to shorten the story we continued our wait until after 12 noon.We could look through the window and see the line was almost not moving. Every now and then we would see a torrential rain fall and we were happy to be in a dry air conditioned space. It was hot out there.

 The poor harassed shore excursion person came in every 15 minutes to update us on the situation. Apparently the main problem was the immigration officials. They were taking minutes to examine every passport and every arrival document instead of the seconds it should have taken. The problem was further complicated by the fact that another ship was docked. The ship was called " The Genting Dream", it sails out of Hong Kong and was much bigger that the Island. So the Immigration staff was divided , they got 4 agents and we got 3 agents. I imagine that Sunday was partly why there were only 7 people working. The situation was further complicated by the fact that every member of the crew was also required to go through this procedure.

Finally about 12:30 our number was called. We proceeded to the gangway, showed our medallion and began the trek off of the ship and toward immigration. The line was painfully slow with scooters and canes and staff and others on the same line. Soon the lines were divided so there were three lines, one for each agent. After almost an hour of this we decided that if we had not made it to the door within a half hour we would give up and go back to the ship. We were falsely believing that this was the goal. WRONG!!! When we got through the door we discovered this large area with snake like lines going round and round and finally leading to these 3 agents. We stayed for about 15 minutes and we determined that it was going to take at the very least an hour to get to one of those agents. So it would be almost 2 o'clock before we would get out of that line and connect with our 4 hour tour if the tour bus could be found.....

We gave up and turned around and went back to the ship. The even sadder part was the fact that many of the staff had a few hours of free time and it was wasted standing in lines. 

As I said we had an early breakfast and I was concerned that I may be in trouble if I went much longer without food. A low sugar is not a pretty thing. That happened to someone on Komodo Island and they needed a stretcher. By now Ken's hip was giving him a problem as well.

We went up to Horizon Court and we could not believe that it was almost empty. That was something we had never seen.

After lunch we decided to go to the hot tub and relax. Somehow it seemed right to have a Singapore Sling, after we were in Singapore even if it was just the harbour. So I went to the bar and ordered us each a drink, a sling for me and a mai tai for Ken.

We made new friends and visited until almost time to dress for dinner. Many people were sharing the same horror story that we had experienced but some were not, some had a great day.

We would find out today that a big percentage of the problem was caused by the about 600 passengers who did not have excursions but lined up before the ship docked and they were allowed ashore right away. Those people took up the space in the lines and the 3 officers processed them first. Because the process was so slow those of us with tickets could not get into line to meet our tours. Those guests were not supposed to be allowed to disembark until all of those of us with tour times were disembarked. Someone made a big mistake which snowballed. It will be interesting to see if anything was learned.

We had dinner but skipped dessert because we wanted to go to the Folkloric Show. They showed Chinese,Indian and Malaysian dances. The costumes were beautiful. The music was very lively and believe it or not I was so tired that I actually nodded off a couple of times. I do not know if it was because I missed my nap or because the sling had taken its toll. 

There was to be a laser light show later but since we were not on the correct side of the ship we would have to go topside to enjoy it.

I went to bed instead!! Tomorrow would be a sea day.

I borrowed a few pictures.

Saturday March 4th

 This has been and still is a confusing day.

Tomorrow we will be in Singapore and then on March 7 we are supposed to be visiting the community of Langkawi in Malaysia. However the captain has announced that due to a labour dispute the tours there will not be able to take place. So instead we will be docking in Penang . Shore excursions has managed to come up with seven possible tours for us. The printed list of tours is in our hands. We have examined them and we have choosen the one we would like to take. So I went down to the office to find a line of about 50 people all waiting to book a tour. The office does not open until 4:00. Booking on line is supposed to be possible but as of yet this community is not on the list of stops. We have tried every way of booking and nothing is as yet possible. So we wait.

In the meantime I thought I would catch you up on a few things.

We decided to try Room Service for lunch and we were very impressed. There is a great selection possible. You can order using the medalion ap and it shows illustrations of all of the selection and the order arrived at our door in less than a half hour. The service is great and there is no cost unless you want a special beverage. Even tipping is not required but we did anyway.

One of the fellow passengers brought me 2 models of the dragons that I can use as an ornament for the tree. I will add a place name. One is less than 3 inches and one is about four inches.

Yesterday was a formal night . It featured a new production show named All You Need Is Love

The music was sensational as usual. This cast leaves the ship in Singapore and a new group arrives. 

We went to one of the hot tubs the other night. We had the entire area to ourselves. The conservatory is a special place and we both love it there.

Last evening we went to Movies Under The Stars. They were showing a pirates flick. Ken loves that series with Johnny Depp. So we sat and ate popcorn and enjoyed that again. We were not back in our cabin until after eleven. Our latest night on this cruise.

Because it is Saturday this is duck day.We tried to find a place to hide it. Ken likes to make them VERY hard to find where as I figure they shouldn't be that hard. Finally we decided on putting it on top of one of the elevator signs.We shall see how long it remains not found.

Tonight is the crew talent show and I am really looking forward to that.

Oh ... did you know that they sanitize all of the railings and chairs etc after every show?

Tomorrow we are due to be in Singapore. We do have an excursion planned so it should be fine. Hopefully our bus will be air conditioned. Tomorrow I will report and tell you all about it.

Misc.

 Here at sea it is Friday March 3rd. It is another sea day so I plan to post a few odds and ends. They will not be in any particular order, just what ever comes to mind during the day.

It is very humid in this part of the world which means a few things that I have discovered. If I make the mistake of going outside with my glasses on , they fog up and I can see nothing for a few minutes. Often I hurry out to take a picture of something and when I take that photo it is usually fogged up. So if I am expecting to see something interesting I have to anticipate that and put the cool camera outside at least a few minutes early so the camera adjusts to the heat and humidity. That can cause problems and often results in missed pictures. On the same topic if the temperature inside the cabin is what we consider comfortable and we go out on the balcony it feels very warm in the humid air. When I return to the cabin the room feels VERY cool and I have to grab my hoodie. So we spend a lot of time putting the temperature up or down.

Why do I accomplish so little on a sea day?? I brought a sketch book and pencils with me and my plan was to have time to sketch and perhaps learn portraiture. I have done none of that yet. I have found the problem....we spend too much time eating. At home breakfast takes about 10 minutes and lunch takes that or less, dinner may take 20 minutes. So in all I spend less that 45 minutes each day eating. Here on the ship it takes almost 6 hours. First of all you must dress for each meal, you do not go to breakfast in your pajamas. So that takes 10 minutes for more, then you have to make your way to the table which for us means going from deck 10 to deck 5 and I usually try to walk there, at least 5 minutes more. Then you wait to be taken to a table, then you go through the ritual of meeting your table mates for the morning.You visit until the table is full. Then the waiters take your beverage order, juice, coffee etc. Then at this point or just before the waiter with the pastry selection comes to your table. You make your selection, I always get a bran muffin and Ken get a cinnamon raisin swirl. The waiter arrives and takes everyone's order for a breakfast item, fruit, or cereal or eggs or pancakes or whatever . Then you continue to visit while you wait for the food to be prepared and delivered. Then you eat your fruit then your main course all while visiting with your new friends.  So with the ceremony and preparation involved breakfast is a 2 hour procedure. Repeat that for lunch and dinner and you have just spent 6 hours dining . If you plan to go to any events in the Princess theatre you must get there at least a half hour early to be certain to get a seat. Usually the function there will take at least 45 minutes to an hour so there goes another hour.  Then because I blog I use another hour at least  every day . So there is not much time left in your day, hence no sketching gets done.

Gossip:

Just because you are on a ship does not mean you won't hear gossip. Like gossip anywhere you have to take what you hear with a grain of salt. So I will repeat these tales with the caveat that I have not witnessed any of it I have just heard about it.

One passenger was caught being a thief. He stole cell phones and computers and these items were found in his cabin. Did you know that there is a jail on board? He is its new occupant but I have heard nothing about when or where he will be put off of the ship.

One person was caught smoking on his balcony. He was warned and fined twice and on the third event he was put off of the ship. I have not heard if it was tobacco or Marijuana that he was smoking.

Apparently 2 ladies got into it over hogging of washers and dryers. Did one lady put another ladies wash on the floor so she could use the machine. The fist fight became a real battle when the husbands joined the melay. It is said that a security person was assaulted and as a result both couples were put off of the ship. No refunds, no compensation of any kind.One of the stories had them being lifted off by helicopter with all of those costs being theirs. I can't believe that part of it. There was a helicopter evacuation at one time and I assumed it was for medical reasons but the story is that there were 2 helicopters, one for each couple because there were not trusted to be in the same one.. Stay tuned and if I get anything confirmed or get any other juicy morsels I will pass them along . With the same condition...it is GOSSIP not facts.

Komodo Island

 This is Thursday, March 2nd here on the Island Princess and we are at anchor off the coast of Komodo Island. This is one of the homes of the Komoto Dragon. 

We have not booked a shore excursion here and so we will be enjoying the amenities of the ship.

Mainly this is a national park and a small village is here. Visitors are restricted and you can only go ashore if you have an excursion. The excursions last about 2 hours. They tell you that the walk is over an hour, is over rough terrain at times. The tour will include 25 tourists, a naturalist and 2 rangers. One ranger leads and one follows. These guides each carry a weapon. (I thought the weapon was a gun but have since learned that the weapon is a forked stick.)You must be able to keep up with the group and there are no rest stops. Ken and I felt that this could be a problem for us so we decided not to take this excursion.

Our arrival at Komodo was bright and sunny with temperatures in the eighties and high humidity.

Since we will not be recounting personal experiences I have decided to give you some facts and figures.

Komodo is one of 17,508 islands that compose the Republic of Indonesia and Komodo is almost dead center in the Lesser Sunda Archipelago.The terrain is very hilly and you can see many islands everywhere you look. There is a dispute about the number of islands. The CIA counts 17,000 islands. The NIAS reports 18,307 islands with only 922 permanently inhabited. Indonesia only has names for 8,844 islands in the world's largest archipelago.More than 90% of the planet's earthquakes occur in Indonesia with 81% being big ones.

Komodo is the home of the largest lizard on earth. The park has been proclaimed one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991

Komotos can reach 10 feet in length and weigh up to 300 pounds

Komodos are venomous.

They can sprint at 15 mph. They swim and can dive 15 feet and they can climb trees.

Komodos will eat up to 80% of their body weight at a feeding if they have a large kill. They eat carrion, which they can smell 10 miles away. Their sense of smell is the reason that women experiencing menses are told to inform their guide so he can stay close to them. They also dig pits or hide in bushes to pounce on their prey, attacking from underneath.

The redeeming fact is that they eat only 12 times a year.

Dragons may live about 30 years in the wild.

One of the most frequently asked questions by tourists is why the early peoples didn't just obliterate the dangerous Komodo dragons. Reason? Ancient taboos. The original Bajau and Bugis believe ( and many still do) that Komodos are the reincarnation of their ancestors

All of that information plus our age and physical limitations had a great influence on our decision to stay on board. I would have liked to shop at the market which features local crafts and is housed in the ranger station, however you are not allowed on the island unless you are on an approved excursion.

Because we will not be taking our own pictures I have acquired a few from Mr Google.