Subject: Report # 52 Sailing Towards Benoa, Bali, Indonesia February 21, 2016 Sunday Partly Cloudy? Really.... & 88 degrees 11 Pictures
Report # 52 Sailing Towards Benoa, Bali, Indonesia February 21, 2016 Sunday Partly Cloudy? Really….& 88 degrees 11 Pictures
When we went to the dining room for breakfast this morning, it almost looked like we were going to dinner instead. The skies were almost black all around the ship. Although it was not raining yet, that would change, and soon.
The kitchen staff was busy setting up another Sunday Brunch. This involves moving all of the dining room chairs from the raised middle section of the lower dining room. Don't know where they put them. Then the tables, which are secured to the floor, are set with table tops to extend serving stations. By the time we came for a regular breakfast, all of these tables were covered with the tablecloths and cascading draping on the table edges. This meal takes place from 11am to 1pm, and is accompanied by live music in the orchestra pit upstairs. Barb always goes to the buffet, and today she had the prime rib, reporting that it was the best ever. That says a lot, because Barb is normally a fish eater. So it must have been good.
There were only a handful of us walking outside this morning. It was still warm and muggy, especially with those dark rainclouds. Within minutes, one of those massive clouds came upon us from the aft, starting with a fine mist. We know that when the mist starts, it is time to take cover. Shortly, it began to rain so heavily, we couldn't see the water below. You could hear the rain hitting the waves. Thunder was loud enough for us to hear, so the worst of it must have been overhead. We sort of knew from the lightning we saw late last night, that we would encounter a storm. The good thing was that it cooled the air off quite a lot. And washed the decks and the ship in the process. Eventually, it let up and the sun did peek out later in the afternoon.
Good time to attend the talks onboard. Barbara H spoke all about Bali, Andrew Johnson lectured on traveling with the stars, and Mel Foster dealt with the unusual wildlife and natural history of Indonesia. The area of the world we are approaching is so diverse, there is a lot to take in. Bali is as exotic as it gets, in our opinion.
This is the first time we remember the local currency of Indonesia, the rupiah, will be sold onboard. Perhaps we missed this fact last year, because we have always used the US dollars. However this exchange comes with a warning. Low amount bills of 100 and 500 are now obsolete. Banknote denominations begin at 1000, although the lowest denomination accepted will be 10,000. That's because the Indonesian rupiah is 13,000 to one US dollar.
We did get some down time at the aft pool, although the sun did not last long. Clouds started up again, which did cool things off. Our friends Bill and Leta joined us to discuss recent political news on TV. We all had to be careful of the sun's rays, because the last time we did this, Leta got a totally burned neck. Bill, her husband, nicknamed her "red-neck". She loved it.
Seems that a lot of folks are laying low today, relaxing after such a hot day in Darwin yesterday. That heat and humidity did take a toll on everyone we know. Living there changes the way people do things. Few people are out and about in the heat of the day. Many of the cafes, bars, and restaurants only open at 5:30pm or later. Wherever the air-conditioning is, that's where you'll find the people. Or they are in the lagoon or the wave lagoon. Except for the outdoor shopping mall, most of the streets were empty of walkers. We overheard one lady who took a bus to a much larger and more modern shopping mall. She said she was in heaven with the cool high end stores and all of their special sales.
We caught the tail end of the sunset tonight from deck six forward. Only a few folks will make the effort to come out here. Tonight there were only four of us. The sun dipped behind some clouds on the horizon without much color. But eventually the upper sky took on shades of peach and crimson. There were just enough clouds to make it interesting. It is so quiet out there, standing under the bridge on deck seven. Hard to imagine that so much is going on inside the ship with dinner, dancing, bands, and shows. Out here, it is nature at its best.
This evening's dress was "gala". Not sure exactly what that means, most everyone dresses up nicely. We had a guest this evening….Julie the ship's officer of Human Resources. We have known her for many years, and she has been a frequent guest at our table. Tonight she explained some of the jobs of the crew members and how they are compensated. Take for instance, the crew that maintains the ship. They have an eleven hour day, 77 hours a week. If they work beyond those hours by invitation, they get paid overtime. Rarely happens. They do get three or four breaks a day…..two coffee breaks, and two meal breaks. Julie is their link to the management, as she oversees their rights. She sees to it that they have all of their benefits provided by the company, and is instrumental in keeping up with raises, etc. Good to know that all of the staff is well taken care of. If not, they would not be here, happily doing their jobs.
Dinner was good. One of us had rack of lamb, while the other had cheese raviolis with chunky tomato sauce. Last night, one of our tablemates had ordered a key lime pie. Expecting it to be made special, we ended up getting the frozen pre-made version. It was OK, but not like the ones they bake on site. As backup, we ordered the chocolate bomb, a special treat for us. Good thing we have jello most nights…it allows us to order doubles sometimes without the guilt.
The show this evening was Bravo from the singers and dancers. They sang Oscar winning film scores and music from Tony Award winning musical theater. The best of both screen and stage. The lead singer has one set of lungs…..can really deliver those songs in a powerful way.
By the way, the eco-friendly dry cleaning operation has ceased working. Seems that there has been a malfunction with its computer operating system. This will not be fixed until spare parts arrive sometime after Hong Kong on March 5th. Oh well, things happen.
The clocks went back another hour this evening. Great…..we all need the extra sleep.
Another day at sea, and we will be in Indonesia…….home to many of our crew members.
Bill & Mary Ann
http://cruisingwithbillandmaryann.blogspot.com
Sunset photos to enjoy…………..
