Day 10 Penang-5th January

The alarm buzzed at 6am waking us from a deep sleep. We have been going to bed at about midnight after enjoying a casual singalong style of entertainment each night in the Crooner Bar. Tonya Scott is a young stunning looking woman who has a range of covers that she sings along to as she plays the baby grand. She has an endearing manner and welcomes each person, couple or group as they enter the bar, often in the middle of her song. With a cheery wave she calls out "the New Zealanders are here". She knows people by name and often mucks up a bit of a song and just stops and laughs and replays it. It makes for an easy evening and she has a great voice. 

There is one man who comes in who is quite odd, we’ll call him Tom. Because actually that’s his name. He just walks in and moves the chair from our table without asking if it is free, plonks it in the middle and sits there by himself all night. Everyone else is laughing and chatting and singing along and he just sits there. Sometimes he will call out for her to play a song but it is usually something obscure. 

Back on track in Penang. We sat on our balcony with a cuppa and phone service as the ship glided into port. There were many huge container ships moored or slipping past and in the middle of these was one tiny fishing boat. It was just getting light and the sky scrapers were silhouettes on the sky line, but the funny thing was that there were no lights on in any of the buildings. 

The port is very close to the city, about a 5 minute walk, but once again we had a tour organized and our first stop was the markets. At last we felt like we were in Malaysia! Shuffling down narrow streets we were rubbing elbows with old women all bent and wrinkled, families out for breakfast and traders. The wet market was the best and was inside. The tiled floor was clean and the only smell was the fresh briney smell of the sea. Chinese, Indian and Malays were working with the fish, mutton and beef chopping, scaling and slicing. I felt a bit like I was in the middle of Rick Stein’s cooking show. 

Everyone was friendly even though they knew that we would not be making a purchase. Back outside there was hot and fresh food. We would have loved to have sampled more and felt that we would be fine as everything was being cooked on the spot. Chestnuts roasting, samosas sizzling and noodles flipping. Even flat white spring roll wrappers were being made on the spot. Lance managed to nip in and buy us some sort of hot puffy fried bread. It was light and crisp with seasame seeds through it. We wish we had bought more than one. And it was only one ringgit which is about 33cents. 

Our guide had been telling us about the nutmeg and seemed quite excited about it. You could see that everyone was thinking the same thing. We know about nutmeg. But this was a bit different and looked like a small hard peach crossed with a nashi pear. The stall holder told us that it was not only good in food but also medicinally. I have been suffering from a chesty cough since the middle of December and since I have been on board it has become much worse. I sound like I smoke two packs a day and have been really wheezy. There are a lot of others in the ship with the same thing. I don’t know if I have caught a new bug or if they have all caught mine! Anyway I have purchased some nutmeg balm and will rub it on my chest tonight. Another couple on our tour who are Chinese said that it is best if you catch it at the beginning. But I’ll give it a go. 

After the market we had a quick visit to the botanical gardens which were lush and tropical with little monkeys and big lizards. Whilst it is pretty hot the humidity doesn’t seem as high as in Singapore or KL. 

Next stop was little India which was very clean but not as colorful as I thought it might be. The music was booming in the street and I actually wanted to put my hands over my ears as I passed one head high speaker. We walked on footpaths and on the road, cars, bikes and people all making way for each other. At one point I was about to walk next to a small truck and there was a man lying on the ground. He was coughing and was obviously either unwell or injured. A couple of local people were standing watching him but no one seemed to be going to his aid. I just had to turn my head and keep walking. Hope he is okay. 

After a quick stop at a temple where people were giving thanks and prayers with incense and flowers our tour was over. 

We really wanted to try some local food so we wandered down to a hawker stand by the port. We had no idea what to order so Lance took a seat and I found the longest queue. Actually no one was queuing anywhere else so I guessed that this was a good choice. After about 25 minutes I plucked up enough courage to ask the people in front of me what I was queuing for and they said squid. So I ended up with some squid goreng and some passambur which I was told has a lot of stuff with a peanut sauce on it. By this time I was drenched in sweat. My eyes were stinging as it dropped down my forehead. 

We didn’t like it. Both had a sweet smokey sort of flavour. I was worried about the squid but it was all sort of dried up so I thought that there couldn’t be much bacteria left. I ate some just to say that I had tried it and we wandered back to the ship. We truely feel like we have had a Penang experience and highly recommended a visit. I just would have liked a Penang curry. But maybe it is like butter chicken and isn’t a local fish. 

Day 9 Kuala Lumpur - 4 January 2019

When we awoke we were sliding past lush vegetation into Port Kelang in Malaysia. At this port we were docked so this made leaving the ship a lot easier. 

Everything is very organized and as you come off the ship there are people directing you to your bus, it’s nice not having to actually think. 

This bus was a a lot nicer than our previous tour bus. Better aircon and more space, and once again a nice guide. We were expecting a culinary experience and shopping but the tour fell short. 

The drive from the port was 90 minutes and when the city appeared it was beautiful. Towering buildings with the morning sun glinting off them. And of course the Petronas towers where we would make our first stop. We had about 90 minutes so Lance and I popped up to the food hall to see if we could get some dumplings. Sure enough we found a place that sold duckling dumplings as well as other delights. Behind the counter a huge cauldron if chicken stock bubbles away with the carcasses bobbing up and down. We made our order using the numbered system but something was lost in translation and two crispy duck on noodles and little wonton soups came out. They were delicious. The mall was impressive with 6 shopping levels. We quickly left Gucci and Chanel begins and had a look around before we were whisked away for lunch. 

This restaurant was in the Oavilkion Mall and promised us a true lot Kuala Lumpur delight. 

Bak Kut Teh is a savory soup made of long simmered pork ribs. I expected something like a pho which is a hearty broth from Vietnam. This was nothing close, it was chunks of pork that had been boiled until there was no flavour. Also there was chicken, duck and tofu all done the same way , simmering away in some tasteless water. The best bit were the vegetables, tiny little bok choy with a tasty soy sauce and fried shallots. Also the fried bread was yummy. On the whole it was not what we expected. I left the table as soon as polite so that I would have time to check out the mall. There were a few different shops but I could easily have been shopping in Australia and the prices were similar. We had tried to find some local markets but they were too far away. So I don’t think that we got a very good taste (pardon the pun) of KL. 

One of our tour members is visually impaired and has a white stick. He said that he can only see shadows. He wandered of by himself and was really independent. I admired his bravery. The guide was concerned about him and then at the last stop he was missing. I had seen him wandering around the mall happily, but he got lost finding his way back to the meeting point. The guide put a request over the mall speaker and poor Stewart turned up. 

I have solved my wine dilemma when I found that they had NZ Cloudy Bay in one of the restaurants that you could buy by the bottle. And that is just what I did and they pop the lid on it for you to take where ever you want. 

Days 7 & 8 - 2nd & 3rd January

Two days at sea means late mornings, early cocktails and laying around reading followed by long evenings of eating, more cocktails, enjoying new friends and entertainment. 

Our two days were taking us from Bali up to Kuala Lumpur. There are plenty of things to do around the ship but we have just been taking it easy. 

In the early hours of the 2nd I was jolted awake with bumps that made me think that we had collided with a whale or something. The ship is pretty stable and even with these odd jolts there was not too much of a roll. Just a slight sway that makes you walk like you have had a few too many. (Covers up the evidence nicely and I guess if I was inclined I could blame a hangover vomit on seasickness as well). At 8am the Captain announced that we would be going through some squalls and the decks would be closed for safety. I must admit that I had a slight feeling of trepidation about the extent of the "squall" and gave silent thanks for the "sea legs" medication that I had packed. But these thoughts we not necessary at all as it was just a bit of rain and it was back to calm sailing. 

This morning however I was woken at around 6am with cannon fire. Well not really cannon fire, but I am on a ship after all. It did sound like the low rumble of cannon fire and I thought that we must have hit rough weather and the waves were breaking against the ship. As the sleep fuzz left me I realized that there was absolutely no roll happening at all so went to the window to investigate. By then it was about 6:30am and a wonderful tropical storm was on show right outside our door. A grey cloud bank surrounded us with the cannon fire continuously rolling around us. The lightning raged around us in sheets and jagged electric trident forks. It was breathtaking, and the sea was as smooth as glass as we chugged through through mother nature’s temper tantrum. I did wonder if I was the only passenger out on their balcony in their nighty enjoying the spectacle. 

Link to quick video of the storm. 

Throughout the day we watched the cruise talent show which we thought would be cheesy as it was passengers performing. It was really great with. Ballerina, bagpipes and even an impersonator as well as all the usual. In the evening we checked out the show Born to be Wild. And that was good too. 

The big event of the morning was crossing the equator with a pantomime sort of Neptune thing. People were pushing and shoving to get a view of the performance at the pool. We sat back and drank a mimosa instead (come on, it was hot on the equator). A certificate was issued to us all to say that we had crossed the equator. 

People: On board there is an abundance of Australians and Russians. I know, what a funny mix and totally opposite personality types. Of course we are mistaken for Australians all the time. There are all sorts of other ethnicities thrown in as well. Some people are just so rude and pushy that we have been gobsmacked. But generally everyone is really cheery and nice. 

In the evening as we walked to dinner we slid back past Singapore. It was nice to see the beautiful city lights again after two days at sea. We are at the Stirling Steakhouse and the meal was out standing. This is a meal the you have to pay for at $30 USD per head but was great. The other large restaurants are free apart from your alcohol and Lance has already had lobster twice. These meals are all part of your ticket and have so far been great. My only complaint is that now that I have drunk them out of the two NZ wines that are served by the glass they are running out of the other one that I have start enjoy. Oh well cocktails are only $9 USD so guess that will have to do me. 

Off we go to Kuala Lumpur. 

Day 5 Bali - 1st January

After a late night we were up at 5:45 in order to be breakfasted and ready at 7am. 

There is always a lot of waiting and queuing when being tendered ashore. Anchored 26 miles out the shore line was shrouded in a sea mist when we awoke. The temperature seemed cooler in Bali and was probably around 31 degrees celsius. We were quickly aboard small mini buses heading for a variety of destinations; ours was the Elephant Safari park followed by a visit to Ubud for a spot of shopping. 

We had been informed a day earlier that there may be delays because of New Year Day’s traffic and had the option of changing our excursion. Thankfully we chose to continue with our plans as we had a great day. 

The mini bus was pretty old, in fact Lance’s seat back kept reclining into the lady behind him’s lap. Fortunately there was another seat spare so we moved. It was still pretty cramped but we had aircon. The roads are really narrow from Benoa and it was a 90 minute drive. Temples, stores and homes lined the roadside and long tall bamboo sticks with a drooping top were cleverly decorated for the festival at that time. Our driver explained that the island of Bali was 90% Indonesian Hindu and the other 10% were mainly Muslim and then a few other religions. Which is strange because Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world with a population of around 250,000,000. 

As we got closer to the forest the road got even narrower and the bus in front clipped a small car coming in the opposite direction. We all stopped in the middle of the road to sort it out. The car’s back guard was hanging off a bit but they banged it back in and agreed to pay for their own vehicle damage. And it was a pretty nice car. 

Our guide was really informative but after a while we were all ready for him to shut up. 

I was a bit concerned about going to the Elephant park as I don’t support animals being used for entertainment and have heard stories of mistreatment, however after a bit of researching I found that this place was the pick of the bunch as they are an official world zoo member, elephant sanctuary and breeding zoo. The experience was fantastic. Extremely professional and informative; they had a small museum with artifacts and even mammoth and mastodon skeletons. The information about the care of the elephants was great as well.

 We wandered through beautifully landscaped gardens and elephants were wandering with their mahouts or keepers. Each animal has their own mahout and they stay together for a lifetime. If the mahout is off sick then the elephant gets a day off. And they both have a holiday every six days. Our mahout had been with his elephant for 16 years and the elephant was 35 years old. There was a cute baby wandering around. He was only five years old and let out little sqeaks like Inky Pinky. 

The staff were extremely generous with taking photos of us with our phones. In fact as we were going through a bit of forest we stopped and passed the camera to the elephant behind us. Well not the actual elephant. Sorry if you had a vision of a long trunk snaking over and taking my phone. I passed my phone to the driver who took photos of us. The ride finished in the elephant pool. Luckily not submerged, however some people had their togs on and the elephant was completely submerged with them on its back! 

As we fed the elephant and got a photo the elephant wrapped its trunk around Lance’s neck. He was a bit shocked at the weight and the strength but the mahout said not to worry as it was just a cuddle. The elephants were really dry and bristly and in one of the photos you can see the top of his head as the mahout rested the camera on it to take a shot. 

After a nice buffet lunch we all boarded the bus again and headed for Ubud winding through some lush forest and if you can believe it even skinnier road. By then it had been pouring with tropical rain and they handed us rain ponchos as we got off the bus. I had mine on for around 10 seconds before I had to rip it off. It was a mini sauna. Luckily I had packed a light rain jacket. It wasn’t very pleasant in Unbud, maybe because we were tired and it was hot and wet. 

We tried the market but the ladies were grabbing me from one stall and pulling me into theirs. We just left without a purchase. If only they had just left me to it I probably would have spent some money. I got some earrings at a nicer stall where the lady just let me look. We had a little bargaining and I think we were both happy. We also popped into the palace for a couple of photos and where I realized just how tired I was from looking at the bags under my eyes in those photos! Back on the bus and into an absolute traffic jam all the way back to the ship. Booking an excursion from the ship is more expensive but you know that they will hold the ship for you so we were not in the least but concerned when we pulled into the pier at 4:30 and that was close to sailing time, a very long queue trailed out from the pier where the tenders were whipping people away to the ship. In the port building there were foot massages and items to buy. But we had given any money (rupiah) that we had left to our guide and driver. So into the queue we went. It wasn’t too bad as people were chatting and swapping stories about adventures that had been had that day. A basket of fresh cold towels came up the line and were much appreciated by all. We had to sit downstairs on the tender as upstairs was full but managed to get by the entrance so that we had a cool fresh breeze. On the way in we were packed right into the back and it was hot and oppressive. As the tender filled up one lady refused to get in if she had to sit down the back. Her husband just got on without her and the one of the officers gave her a bit of a rev and she got on. Then as we got going another lady appeared from the back and sat on the stairs to get some fresh air. Obviously she was feeling sick or uncomfortable jammed down the back. As we came up to the ship the officer asked to to go back to her seat. You could see how panicked she felt and she said that she just can’t. He was very nice but said that he would be in trouble if she stayed there. Her arms started to flap about and you could see her distress. So I got up and told her to sit in my seat by the door and I went down the back. I am glad I was only there for a short time because it was pretty squishy. 

Back on board we thought that we would have a quiet night but ended up listening to a vocalist playing piano until 12am. Tonya Scott was very engaging and we just sat around the bar and she chatted between songs and took requests. We will certainly make sure we are where she is playing again. 

Days 3. & 4

Happy New Year!

We have settled and into ship life and have spent two days a bit like this. 

Buffet breakfast. I’ve been trying new things and the bread pudding with butter milk (custard) is delicious. But today I thought I had better rope myself in and had fresh fruit and yoghurt. Lance has been into the bacon and eggs and today had a bacon and egg muffin. A pretty good buffet selection each day. Yesterday at lunch they brought around complementary lemoncello!

Then it has been off to the pool for a couple of hours until lunch when the temperature goes over 30. But we do manage a Pina colada at 11am. 

The afternoon is a combination of a coffee or a beer either in the atrium or on our balcony. The  first day we wandered through the ship and the higher we got the hotter it got (closer to the sun). Bathed in sweat we definitely needed a cold beer. 

The evenings are spent on a variety of bars following live music around. We are starting to meet a few people. One night the captain shouted every one a glass of bubbly in the atrium!

One lady that we hadn’t meet but spotted looked like a nasty lady off Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. About 65plus she has thick straight very blonde hair in a French plait. Blue eye shadow and eyes that look pretend smiley but with something sneaky in there. Anyway we have seen her doing her ballroom dancing and then last night she was in a dinner queue behind us and was quite rudely vocal. Low and behold she was at our dinner table. I just kept humming the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tune quietly to Lance. 

Last  night was New Years Eve and we settled into a spot in the Atrium at the Crooners Bar. This was a great spot to watch people as it was "formal dress". We ended up with another couple Graeme and Lorraine from the UK and saw the new year in with them. It was a great night. Bed at 1:20 and the alarm went off at 5:45 am for the next adventure.