jackdelaney40 - Tumblr blog

[jackdelaney40]

12/27 Home from exhausting 23 hours of flights. Couple of photos of Changi airport, as spectacular as you might expect. Even better was seeing Nahant from the plane. Could not be more tired, but off to the doctor's this afternoon as Jeannie took a bad spill in San Francisco Airport. Don't know if she broke or sprained her wrist. Pilot and crew were nice and the pilot didn't want her to take the flight as he thought it was broken. The pain wasn't too bad so home we came on our second consecutive red eye. No sleep so we are junk.

[jackdelaney40]

12/26

Last thoughts as we are at Changi airport waiting to start our 22 hour ordeal. Tired from all the effort we've put in so cabbed it to Chinatown for some shopping and lunch. Back to hotel, the pool area and now the airport. Seems I've shown little of the city except Chinatown, but the rest is gorgeous. Wide avenues, remarkable architecture and never a piece of paper or grafitti mark to see. Amazing! Ride to the airport is more of the same with immaculate roads and attractive buildings. This place is so special. Airport is a true polyglot of people and we had to go to a hotel to find a drink while we wait. Every mode of dress in the world on display here. United club opens soon so over and out. Thanks to all who have bothered to follow my ramblings. Thank you. It has been one hell of a ride for us.

[jackdelaney40]

12/25 We marveled at the immaculate and beautifully organized subway system, had lunch at a food market and enjoyed walking various areas (over 17,000 steps). Night time crowds were immense as they really celebrate.

[jackdelaney40]

12/25 Spent yesterday wandering and put in over 17,000 steps, from Chinatown to the wondrous new Gardens by the Bay to joining huge crowds in the Marina area. This city really celebrates Christmas. Gardens by the Bay is a huge biosphere with plants and replicated environments from all over the world. They also have a great Christmas display as you can see. Love this city.

[jackdelaney40]

Christmas concert on ship

[jackdelaney40]

12/24 Arrival in Singapore, our hotel decorated for Christmas and the huge buffet.

[jackdelaney40]

Touring the bridge, officers pour as we head into the special kitchen buffet and also, a special welcome to Sabang, hungry for the arrival of a ship.

[jackdelaney40]

Sabang, Indonesia, where we hired a tuk tuk driver who toured us around.

[jackdelaney40]

Phuket

[jackdelaney40]

12/24 A few ship photos.

[jackdelaney40]

12/24 sadly cruise is over, but we are in Singapore, a place we live. I'll try to send some earlier photos. These are in Phuket, including a photo of the world's largest jewelry store. Our hotel here is nice, connects to one of their massive malls and we join the most diverse collection of people you can imagine.

[jackdelaney40]

12/22 The end nears as we arrive in Singapore tomorrow morning. This has truly been the experience of a lifetime. Hard to believe it has been more than a month and we are not the least bit tired of it. Sad to see it end, although we still have 4 days in Singapore. We've formed some nice friendships on board and will miss them. Yesterday we took quite a tour of Penang, Malaysia, a far larger city than we expected. The ancient Chinese clan homes on the docks, various temples and city sights were the highlights. Really hot and humid, so we were happy to retreat to the bus when we could. Fascinating place with the typical complexities of an Asian city in terms of population groups, religions, history and cultures. It cooled off as we returned to the ship and a cold beer....... always available everywhere. Not sure I mentioned it earlier, but they stock your cabin with any beverages you wish and never a charge. Love this life! We enjoyed a great dinner last night with our ten member trivia team. Good food, many laughs and more than our fair share of drinks. Final competition is shortly today so we shall see. Hope to add some photos to this site in Singapore.

[jackdelaney40]

12/20 Spent today in Phuket and had a very nice time. Able to post photos to WhatsApp and Facebook, but not here. Will try later. We hired a driver with a van for the four of us and toured parts of the area, Chalong Temple, the Big Buddha and Rawai Beach. Went to the Observation Point, a very scenic spot and enjoyed a pleasant lunch at a water front restaurant somewhere. Our driver then stabbed Rob and me in the back by dropping us at the largest jewelry store in the world. Ladies each managed to find something of interest. We drove around old Phuket town and wished we had more time, but had to return. Tonight there will be a Christmas Concert by a group of passengers who have been practicing with staff members for weeks. It will be in the Atrium so all floors can hear them. This will continue a pattern of great entertainment every night since we boarded. In fact there are many options all the time. Very impressive. We were surprised to find Phuket much more urbanized than we expected. Could have spent more time here.

[jackdelaney40]

12/17 Just tried to post a photo along with some text and it failed. So text only. Too bad as this has been a colorful day. We just returned from a wonderful buffet presented in the kitchen and you took your food back to the luxurious restaurant area. Officers in full dress offered various drinks as you entered. Terrific options. I don't know how many lectures we have attended, but they have been really informative and interesting. Focused on each region or country we have visited, we've sure learned a lot. This morning, I attended one on the Peranakan, the fusion of Chinese and Malay people who are an important group and significant culture on the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. We visited a Paranakan museum 7 years ago when we were in Singapore and loved it. Yesterday, we heard about the history of the British East India company, after previously learning much about the Dutch in the region. Talks may sound dry, but they've been great and we've become friendly with several of the speakers and their wives. This afternoon, we are invited to a tour of the bridge that should be fun. Jeannie has her final ginger bread house session and her team will then present it to the competition. Busy days.

[jackdelaney40]

12/16 Continuing from this morning after out team trivia event. We were on a roll until the last 2 questions which had high point value so we failed to win again. Our team had fun and we're planning a dinner some night. 10 people. Yesterday we had a noon departure so the 4 of us went into the city early to soak up some more sights. We wandered some streets, avoided the hawkers and ended up on the harbor wall. Hope to post some of the scenes there, especially of the boats covered in laundry and buckets of fish sitting in the sun. Bunch of guys rushed to the wall and one guy dropped a cage over a good sized fish, then dragged it up. Seems it was a good thing. We walked up and down some narrow market alleys on the dock selling fish food and veggies. Interesting. Back to the ship for a caviar and drinks"sail away" party. Fun. Later got a surprise call from Dave and Leslie inviting us to dinner. They are friends of our friends in Nahant. After happy hour we enjoyed a pleasant dinner, all ordering weiner schnitzel. Full day.

[jackdelaney40]

12/16 Left Maldives yesterday and now sailing Indian Ocean to Indonesia. Tried posting 2 lengthy commentaries while in Male, but both failed. Glad we saw the area, but wouldn't rush back. Male is a microcosm of India and one of the most densely populated capitols in the world. Chaos reigns on the streets as motor bikes, small trucks and people fight for space and passage. Very humid here that took it's toll as we had a guided walking tour our first morning. We visited the fish market(no ice or refrigeration), but no smell. Strange. Then some produce markets, a mosque, a museum and some street areas. Happy to go back to the ship for lunch and a rest. Went back into the city later to wander. A lady from Atlanta on our ship was stymied trying to cross the street so I had her follow me. You have to brazenly step right into traffic and march. We're alive, so it works. Hawkers are everywhere trying to lure you into 2nd and 3rd floor shops with no signs. They must have cheaper rents than those on the streets. I wanted one with wifi and luckily saw our guide from the morning whom I trusted and we followed him to a hidden 2nd story shop where the ladies shopped and I got on to the internet. Nice. Our friend tried to head back on her own, but returned again for help. We barged our way back to the tender and she insisted we join her and her husband for dinner later. She is a doctor and he seemed to be sharp, as well. We ended up closing the restaurant and had a nice night. More to follow when time allows.

[jackdelaney40]

12/12 We have had a number of sea days as we sail the Indian Ocean to the Maldives. Before the trip, we wondered if sea days might become dull. The opposite is true as we have to often decide between attractive options. Yesterday and today, we've attended really interesting talks on the complexities of India, history of this region plus past and present trading patterns. Jeannie participated in an art class, is part of a gingerbread house building competition and we are on competetive trivia teams. Yesterday, they held the second black jack tournament on the cruise and I've won them both. Really lucky as most of the finalists yesterday blew themselves up trying to accumulate the most chips. You pay an entry fee, then all get same amount of chips and play 3 rounds with 7 hands played each round. 7 highest number of chip holders play a final round of 7 more hands. The winner has the most chips at the end and collects all the fees minus the ship's cut. Sweet.The musical presentations and shows are world class with remarkable talent. Add in great food and whatever you want to drink and a good time is had by all . Strange to lock my wallet in the safe and never pay a cent for product or services. Love it.