Cochin

8/06/2010 6:08 AM
Well here we are cruising off Cochin waiting for a pilot to take us in. I’ve had my first glimpse of India...A row of lights in the soft light of dawn and the inevitable array of vessels from the tiny fishing boats I photographed earlier to the big bulk carriers... We’ll be off the blog for the next three days ...tonight we are in Delhi . We went through the immigration inspection yesterday and have our ports packed so we can be the first group off the ship around 7:45am...this is the start of our long, busy days on the sub continent. We take a five hour flight to Delhi this morning and tour the city this afternoon. Then after a 4:30am start tomorrow we travel by train to Agra and our visit to the Taj Mahal at sunset. Next morning its back to Delhi by coach and among other things a rickshaw ride through Delhi streets..before catching an airline flight back to Mumbai to board the ship just before sailing around 10:30 pm...The mobile phone should be back in action once we are ashore...Till Thursday...This is the fishing fleet... 60 odd of these little boats are currently heading out past us for the days fishing...quite spectacular!

Bay of Bengal 2

6 June 2010

Still proceding west across the bay towards the tip of Sri Lanka...now at 5.51 N and 84.45 E. Seas still moderate to rough. Have our final details for India...seems it could be quite an adventure...last years train trip was delayed for 4 hours when the train hit a sacred cow..."Be prepared to be surprised" is the advice...with very limited sleep time on the trip we are continuing to take the day very quietly...bought ourselves chocolates and gave ourselves a latte and chocolate fix for lunch while listening to this string quartette. Weather and emotions more settled today.

Bay of Bengal

5 June 2010
What does one write when one’s heart is so heavy and you’re 5000 miles away from you all with a rough mounting sea, rain and 4.5m waves?
Our position is 6.10degrees north and 91.29 degrees east headed straight for the tip of Sri Lanka with ships to the left and right of us. We woke from a sleepless night to find 12 ships in view and the constant stream hasn’t stopped all day although now we are only seeing the odd one that emerges close enough to be seen through the misty rain.
And what does one do on a cloudy, showery day in the Bay of Bengal...mad things like take photos to share some of shipboard life with you...pictures of the tasty treat we have to bypass daily, the ice carving that accompanied the executive chef Manlio’s Thai lunch buffet...the fruit carvings created to decorate the Horizon Food Court... the twelve bays of photos already on display enticing us to spend our hard earned dollars...the beautiful crystal gifts from Swarovski on the bargain tables today - 20% off...those birds are tempting but at $1 200? We resist the temptation...while Hobo 1 finished “The Persimmon Tree” I took in a couple of movies from the comfort of my bed ...then Ann’s email arrived...and I don’t need to say any more...we needed to know...love and strength to you all.

Heading for India

Friday, 4 June 2010
Here we are tonight on our way to India having left Langkawi at 6:00pm. Our current position is 6.15 degrees N, 99.18 degrees E and we are travelling at 19.4 knots. Our colds are improving but we have come back to the cabin early again tonight rather than share our germs with others.
Beaver Bill will show the exhilarating day he had joining us on our tour of the tidal mangrove waterways of Langkawi as we explored a bat cave; visited a fish farm; watched the Brahminy Kites (eagles)diving to be fed, photographed wild monkeys in the trees around us and travelled out into the open sea to see Southern Thailand across the channel. He joined us for lunch at The Bayview Hotel shopped with us at The Zon, a duty free shopping centre which was the highlight of the day for Hobo 1!!! We lashed out and bought ourselves toothpaste, cough drops and a small $9 clutch purse for me as I left mine at home.
Does random _rulze have a birthday coming up soon? How would you boys like to be earning a living as fishermen out in these little squid fishing boats we passed last thing tonight? See the lights hung out on the side of them. These light up the skyline like a city once night falls as the fishermen scatter across the ocean.
Strong winds are forecast as we cut across the southern extent of the Bay of Bengal so this may sort us out a little. We’ve had nothing but mill pond conditions since we left Sydney. It should be good to feel a bit of weather under us so we know we are on a ship and not in a block of high rise flats.

Malaysia 1

3 June 2010
Spent the day in Malaysia... surprised at the extent of palm oil industry which is a palm tree imported originally from South Africa and the export of charcoal made from mangroves is a major industry as well... had the best cup of tea since we left Ubobo at a Malay home stay house we visited this morning...the family has turned the whole of their tiny yard into an orchid garden ...amazing ! Saw the largest Mosque in SE Asia- holds 16 000 at prayer...saw the Sultan/King’s palace ...and visited Little India a preliminary bout before the main event in four days time!
After dinner enjoyed another wonderful sail away up on deck 14 headed for Northern Malaysia – Langkawi where we will cruise through the islands and feed sea eagles.
The local currency is called a ringgit and is worth 35c Australian and Hobo 1 thinks he’ll get three stubbies for the price of one. The malaca strait is the busiest shipping lane in the world with 140 000 vessels per year into singapore alone. So Hobo 1 is having a ball!!!!

For those concerned for his welfare...Hobo 1 has his say every night as we write this together...he's not suffering too much.

Over and out from the Malaca Straits at 3.16degreesN and 101.8 degrees east.

Port Kelang

We are now at anchor in Port kelang 2.57 degrees N and 101.18 degrees E. I'm trying again to post photos from last night before we head ashore. Boy is it hot and steamy here today! AND the sun is just rising...something to look forward to for the day.

Sorry can't get Battle Box photo to work so am including one of the Generals at work.

Singapore

2 June 2010
Another great tour choice was made today...The Battlefields of Singapore...had a very informative tour of Changi Chapel outside the old Changi prison, the Battle Box where the British Army Generals made the decision to surrender to the Japanese in Feb 1942 and the War Memorial and Cemetery at Kranji...We won the jackpot as far as tour guides go – a British historian who has lived in Singapore for the past 30 years. He made history come alive. Have a look at the wax model of General Percival agreeing with his fellow generals to surrender . It was rather eerie.. with bombing noises surrounding us and these life size figures beside us ... quite surreal.
We left Singapore at sunset ...have never seen so much shipping ... The ships photographed may have been oil drilling rigs??? Anyway they made great photo shots.
Rhys was interested in our position...This map is what we can see at any time of day or night to tell us exactly where we are. I’ll keep the position details up for you Rhys... as I sat down to write we were entering the Strait of Malaca, west of Kukup at 1015N and 103o23E.
Sorry for the lack of a posting yesterday. I was too busy!!!!
Hobo 1 confined himself to the cabin for the day to kill his wog, while I undertook the mundane tasks of washing and ironing. Between loads I took in the crossing of the equator and the associated ceremony by King Neptune who treated all polliwogs to an initiation ceremony. As shellbacks (old timers at crossing the equator) we received another certificate to celebrate the event. Then in the afternoon, as a Platinum member of the Princess Cruisers club , I attended a pre-dinner cocktail party with Captain Mc Bain. After dinner, i went to the Vista Lounge to enjoy Grant Galea a vocalist who impersonates singer like Elvis and Dean Martin. He was excellent! I then retired to the Atrium Lounge for half an hour to enjoy singers Alan and Alana who play dance music, encourage sing-a-longs and present a trivia quiz every second night. My return to the cabin found the patient much improved and ready for his tour of Singapore.
Tomorrow is Kuala Lumpur- the first of our two Malaysian tours. Try to get another posting away tomorrow night.
Hobo 1 says he’s feeling much better today but is in trouble because he has eaten all the cough lollies in the cabin and is now suffering mental anguish because he has been accused of lacking discipline, being selfish and self -scented which of course is not true.