En Route to India

Greetings One and All,

I have just finished three days in three different Malaysian ports. The first port of call was Kuala Lumpur. i did not see much. We arrived late in that four guests did not turn in their passports as requested when we left Singapore, we thus delayed two hours until they finally gave in. The Singapore government is strict and would not let us leave port until they has seen the missing passports. As a result of all this we were late in arriving in Kuala Lumpur. The tour I was to escort had a 9 hour time frame. If I went I would not return until after 6pm and Mass was scheduled for 5:15, as it is every day we are in a port. Instead I took the shuttle to a mall. I spent 10 minutes there got back on the bus and returned to the ship. I hen took a nap. May have been the best thing to happen. I did miss the twin towers of Lumpur that I would like to have seen.

Next port was Penang. Enjoyed the tour, visited a few more buddhas, hotels, beaches and met interesting people. It was a low key visit.

Yesterday was a tour from HELL ! The guide was very good and informative. We spent time in a rice filed where he explained the process of growing we rice. Got to meet a few water buffalo and rice farmers. This was educational and hot. From there we went to take a cable car to the top of a mountain. Bad mistake !!!! We waited 75 minutes to get on the cable car. You can just imagine my blood pressure by the time we got to the car. The car held six people that went up in two stages. The view was nice, saw water falls and the rock of the mountain. Then came the rain, while in motion up the mountain. Got to the top and decided not to get out. If I had to wait on the bottom I was not going to wait on the top of the mountain. Next stop was a yacht club. I could not wait to get back to the ship. Langkawi is a relatively small island, surrounded by 90+ smaller islands. It is really a beach resort with beautiful 5 star plus resorts. I found the island to be hot, humid and far to far for me to ever consider vacationing on it. As you can sense, nice but, for me. The island is very close to Thailand. I assume folk from Bangkok or Singapore would enjoy a visit.

I am now off to Cochin, India then Mumbai. I believe these stops will be filled with people, noise and lots of action. I look forward to these visits. After that Muscat, Oman and then Dubai for two days. I can almost sense the end of this segment of my cruise. Remember though after Southampton, I am off for the Canary Islands for 11 more days. I look upon those days as vacation. Someone has to do it ! ! !

I have three days at sea right now and you know what I love them. May I share a typical day at sea I celebrate Mass at 9am and then off to the Lido for a bight to eat. At 10,11,12:15 there are distinct lectures, if you want to listen. Today I went to the 11am on India, given by an professor of modern history. It was good and informative. I have attended a number of such lectures given by experts on the country we are about to visit. There was a lecture today given by a pilot who flew concordes. He was to explain the plane, service, technology etc. There was another given by Brian Ford on broadcasting. Lectures like this happen in the morning while at sea. I had an appointment at one pm to . get a hair cut that took all of ten minutes. Then went to the Red Lion to grab a bight. I have a number of venues to choose from for a meal. There is the formal dining room, the Lido, which is a buffet rich in diversity, the Golden Lion Bar and Grill which has a standard menu of fish and chips etc., but every day they have a special - today was chicken pot pie which is delicious and the Corinthian Cafe. Today, it was the Golden Lion. I then wandered to the Queens room where at 2pm there was a classical concert. Today a pianist by the name of Dominic John played a piece from Hayden, Liszt, Schumann and Gershwin.

The lectures and the concerts have a max time of 45 minutes. This is true for the evening shows as well. I have finished listening to the concert. I am writing to you all. I may take a nap before cocktails in the Commodore Club. I have dinner each evening at 8:30pm. Again, I have choices. For the most part I eat in the Britannia (formal dining room), the Lido or the Verandah, which is a gorgeous room, that you pay extra for, or one of the specialty meals from South America, Mexico, Asia, I forget the fourth which are served on the Lido deck. When ever we leave a port there is a sail away party on the aft deck, which is hugh with live band etc.

I sometimes will hit one of the bars for a late night cordial and usually hit the sack by midnight. Such are the days of this traveller at sea. There are many a moment that I find a deck chair to contemplate, unfortunately that usually means a nap. The Lord understands. By the way there are usually 35 - 45 guest at Mass each day and about 200 for the weekend. I say Mass for the crew at 10:45pm each Sunday on deck "A". I enjoy them very much, they bring life to the Liturgy with their music. The majority of those in attendance are Philipinos.

Guess that is it for now. I'll be in touch.

Take care.

Bill