We spent another nice, relaxing afternoon at the Seaview Pool. The wind was a bit strong, but it did keep us comfortable. It has been nice using our spray bottle that we have filled with ice water for spritzing. Usually, we take a dip in the pool, but with so many people down with the super-bug cold virus, we hesitate even sharing pool water. Been noticing that the water has a tint of green, and is probably due to be changed.
Barb joined us for a while, and we caught up on cruise news. Later on, Ellen came by and shared some more info, so we are never bored back there. As we are sailing in a shipping channel, we were surrounded once again with many types of commercial vessels. Our friend Aart is a collector of ship photos, keeping track of the names and registrations. They can be tracked all over the world. A ship that we see today, may end up in the Suez Canal or in the Mediterranean.
We caught up with Barbara H's talk on Sri Lanka today. Sure brought back memories of our recent visit there last year. That's when we went on an overland safari to see the leopards, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Galle, and a tour and overnight stay in Colombo. We flew to Dubai and re-joined the ship. Certainly hope that Sri Lanka is not going through a heat wave like last year. Staying in the luxury tent was like going into a sauna. OK for a short time, but overnight for several evenings? Not so good. It was an adventure, however, that we will never forget, but in a positive way. Never saw so many leopards in the wild before, so it was well worth it.
Due to popular demand, we see that the movie shown in the Wajang Theater has a description now. On the other hand, we need to log our objections to totally foreign films being shown in the theater as well as on TV. These are not even dubbed, but spoken in Chinese. Dubbed are bad enough, because it is next to impossible to read the lines on the small TV's in our rooms. It has been recommended to us to discuss this with the cruise director. But from past experiences, we think the better way to go is writing it on the new "as we go" cards that get turned in to the Seattle office.
We have heard that there is a large group onboard that has reserved the Wajang Theater on sea days for early afternoon lectures. This travel group has their own private lecturers onboard for their group. Never heard of this before, but we are sure that many folks that liked the 2pm movie slot are not happy campers.
Tonight was another gala evening for us, and everyone else on the ship that cared to dress up. The decorations were bowlers and bumper shoots. You may say what the heck are those, as we did last year. We found out at breakfast this morning, when we found the bumper shoots or umbrellas were decorating the ceiling. Appeared at first that there were leaks in the ceiling. Nope, just the theme of dinner tonight. It is celebrating the fact that we will be traveling to the Commonwealth Nations of Sri Lanka and India. The bowlers? They are the round British hats that the English are fond of wearing. Each one of us had either a silver or gold bowler.
It was nice to be back at our friendly table, and even more so tonight as we had the florists, Eddy and Calista as our hosts. Sitting next to them was nice, since we are on the same page with being able to discuss gardening during the meal with them. You will never find such talented kids as them. They have continued their education, bringing new ideas each year with their creations. We shall try to take some more photos of these floral creations before we leave this area, since many of them are Asian in design.
We missed the show of the Wojciechowsky Trio last night, but the singers and dancers were on this evening with a rousing show called That's Life with music from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. The crowd loved it, as most everyone is quite familiar with the swinging jazz of that era.
Tonight the clocks went back that odd ½ hour. Something we do in very few places of the world.
Bill & Mary Ann
PS Konnie and Del……please know that we are thinking of you both. Get well soon!
Barbara and Orlin – Singapore has got to be one of the best places to visit in the world, don't you agree?
Bill H – English may be a second language in Singapore, since most everyone speaks it. Officially, we are not sure.
