THREE PORT CALLS IN THREE DAYS!
Today is Good Friday, March 21, 2008. We are a bit fatigued after three very active port days and are happy for a day at sea to relax and rest up. During the past three days, we visited Singapore, Port Kelang for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Penang, Malaysia. We are now cruising through the Andaman Sea and will be entering the Bay of Bengal this evening on our way to India. Once we reach our first port of call in India, we leave the ship for 6 days, 5 nights and explore India on an overland excursion.
Our last blog showed pictures only.. We had a little time at an internet café before getting on the ship. If you are curious about where the pictures were taken, here is a brief description...the picture of Larry with Dennis and Don are on Bondi Beach, Australia. The picture of the Sydney opera house was from our cabin balcony. Larry with chop sticks trying to eat a pea was in Hong Kong. The deity pictures are from the grand palace in Bangkok. All the snorkel pictures are from the great barrier reef tour. The strange looking men with Ruthanne are Aborigines in native costume. The sunset picture of Larry is from our balcony sailing away from Melbourne.
We have many more pictures to share and hope to get them off when we can. Now, here are our impressions of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Singapore
Singapore is an island, city and country-all in one; located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It is the smallest country in Southeast Asia. Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island itself. Singapore’s population is a mix of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and Eurasians with Chinese being dominant. It was once a British colony, becoming independent in 1965, and British influence is evident, cars drive on the opposite side of the street from the US, English is frequently spoken and the colonial architecture.
Today, Singapore has a population of 4 million and is the largest container port in the world. It is a very modern city with many high rise condos to house the population. 70-80% of the housing developments in Singapore are government subsidized. These are small but modern condos and are dotted all over the city. There are very few slum areas and the city is surprisingly clean and orderly for such a huge population in such a confined area.
While in Singapore, we visited the National Orchid Garden. The garden has over 1,000 different species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids. Orchid is the national flower of Singapore. We had a fabulous Chinese lunch after the garden walk and a bumboat ride on the waterfront. We had a drink at Raffles (famous for the Singapore sling) and shopped for bargains in Chinatown.
Kuala Lumpur
Our next stop was Port Kelang, for Kuala Lumpur. The day started with a long drive, 1 ½ hours to reach the city from the port. Kuala Lumpur is the capitol and largest (1.2 million) city in Malaysia. It is the only city in the world to have a million year old primary forest within the heart of the city. It is an equatorial climate (think hot and humid) and has plenty of rainfall. The locals say there are two kinds of weather, “rain and rainy“. Malaysia was once a British colony(those Brits were busy!) and just celebrated its 50th year of independence.
Kuala Lumpur holds the title to the world’s second tallest high rise, the twin Petronas Towers, which we visited. Most of our day was spent sightseeing as much as possible within a short timeframe due to the distance from the ship and our need to get back in time for the “all aboard”. We went to a pewter factory, very interesting, saw the Royal Palace, they rotate the Malaysian King every five years from the royal families, and the Independence Square which is surrounded by the legacies of the colonial era.
Penang
Penang is the most famous island in Malaysia. Priceless architecture centers mainly in George Town, the capital of the “Pearl of the Orient”. A noteworthy fact about Malaysia and Singapore is their law and justice system which relies heavily on caning as a disciplinary measure. Any where from 4 to 36 strokes can be meted out for crimes such as burglary, rape and certain traffic violations. Our guides repeatedly mentioned the effectiveness of the policy to control crime. Once again, we hired a guide to spend the day traversing Penang seeing sites such as the snake temple, the “Wat Chayamankalaram or the home of the 108 foot reclining Buddha, and touring George Town. Overall a good day due, mostly to our excellent guide, Marco. Next stop, five days in India including a visit to the Taj Mahal.
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7 comments:
Ruthanne &Larry,
Well I finally figured out how to get back on and leave comments on your Blog. I've tried several times before without success. Google does not make it easy, thus the reason you have not heard from me for a while and possibly others.
News from here is it is getting warm, 90's in the afternoon, but a wonderful change from our cool winter. The community has never looked so good unlike last year at this time. The Boggies are beautiful as are the flowers.
There have been a couple of foreclosures in the community, but houses are selling fairly well. The Gallaudets have sold several in the last few weeks.
The Club had to free events last week. One to show off the new bar and it got mixed reviews. It is a nice room, but now the seating in the dining room is limited. The have made it into a sort of parlor. The other event was showing new fitness center and pool, which I think looks great. It opens April 1 and that's no "Joke" we hope. Denise Austin was there signing her book.
Everyone is well here although there is a bronchial flu going around the community.
We had easter brunch at the Henderson's yesterday and Easter dinner at Greg and Sharen's with Camille and Jack and young Greg, the Andonian's grandson. Nice kid.
Sally and I are attending a Bible study group at Desert Horizon's CC every Wednesday evening. It's really a one hour lecture on parts of the Bible. The speaker is extremely knowledgeable and the whole thing is very intellectually stimulating. I know you both would enjoy it.
Personally I am eager to go north and would go tomorrow if the weather there was better. Still cold and rainy. I think we will head to Kingston about May 10 or 11.
My golf game is about the same although I have had some good rounds in the mid 80's, but they are rare. Bought a new driver and guess what, it doesn't seem to make a difference.
I am really enjoying reading your postings on the Blog although I was disappointed with the beach picture as I was hoping to see one of the more exciting location.
Oh by the way we miss you and wish you were here so hurry up and get back. More later.
Dale
Hi Loves,
The photos were lovely and made me miss you even more! The trip sounds fantastic and I love your stamina.
All is well on our end. Easter was a lot of fun, and the rain here did not stop our annual Easter Egg hunt. The kids are great and Isabel started crawling this week-a huge milestone for all of us.
We are going to Port Townsend tomorrow for some hiking and beach fun with the kids. We rented a great cabin on the beach, so it should be a great activity for us! We will all play hookie going on a getaway mid-week, so it makes it even more fun! Marty has planned a fun night for me for my b-day where we will go out with friends in Seattle and then to a great Italian place in Pioneer Square for dinner.
We will go to Maui with Marty's family next week which will be a true adventure! It will be fun to introduce Isabel to her great-grandparents on Marty's side as they have not yet met her.
Katharine is really close to having her babies-I can't wait to hear what she will have. Her c-section is scheduled for April 8th, so I will meet my two newest godchildren when we get home from Maui.
Marty returns to his job on April 21st, so we are getting a zillion things done around the house before her returns to "the factory."
We all love you so much and the girls are so looking forward to seing you both! They are going nuts without you, as are we.
By the way, I am going to Debbie's two year anniversary of being sober, and she will give a speech, and she has asked me to give a speech too on behalf of the family. I am so proud of her accomplishment! She is also almost ready for her real estate exam! Hold your thumbs, it would be awesome if she passed on her first try.
All my love, Tina
What's a Singapore sling?
This was a much needed update because winter has reappeared here. Hot and humid in equatorial climates sure sounds appealing right now. It snowed on me while in Spokane!
I got a postcard in the mail while on the phone with Gramma up in Canada and so I read it to her as well and she is so envious and so happy to hear about your trip. You are "living the dream" as they say.
I hope you are managing to stay healthy. Albert and I have been struggling with a cold. I'm not sure who gave it to whom but I think we're on the mend.
Can't wait to hear what India is like! On to the next adventure!!!!
xoxome
Talked with Jim this morning and everything is going well with him. He asked about you and I told him about where you are now and have been the last couple of weeks.
His shoulder is about 80% and he gets his next PSA reading the end of April. He was on the spit in Indianola taking down a shed and it was raining and snowing. He didn't say anything bout your house so I gathered all is well. later.
Dale
For the past couple of days and forcast for the weekend, we are having winter again in Seattle, winter with snow! Doris is here for a Hamilton-side wedding so we'll get to see her Saturday night, but Jo and Krista cancelled their plans to come this weekend until later in the spring.
As much as we're looking forward to your return to Kingston, it would certainly be understood if you stayed down south a little longer if unseasonable weather continues after your cruise is over.
Sure looking forward to your report on India, a different experience leaving the ship for five days, staying overnight in various locations, etc. Returning to the familiar atmosphere of the ship when that time is over will be a little like "getting back home." Hope your time in India was all you wanted it to be. Love, Mom.
Ruthanne & Larry:
Sandra has tryed to leave comments, but Google is a little persnickety about how one does that. I looked for her comments on your blog - no luck, maybe you can find them. She wrote you about Jessie, who is doing just fine. She now has a DUAL bionic rear drive. She also mentioned our delge of company surrounding the tennis and golf tournaments and Easter. We are looking forward to a bit of a respite now.
Anyway, the last time we checked into your site, you were headed for Hong Kong and beyond. We are enjoying your reports, especially the pictures - it's clearly a trip of a lifetime. Personally, I loved Hong Kong and Singapore, but was "underwhelmed" by Kuala Lumpur; however, the weather was terrible when I was there.
I have read Dale's comments and he has covered the status of the Citrus pretty well - not much to add there. You know Sandy Berliner's BIGOT tournament is on for May 13. Sandra and I are having the "pairings party" - we thought it would be 30ish people, but it's looking like 90+. Yipes!!! Are you back in time for that? The tournament is still very popular and, unlike the Club's functions, it doesn't cost $1000 to play. Speaking of tournaments. We are planning to attend the Citrus/Seattle tourament in August, if the dates work-out. We have missed the last couple of outings, so this time we are making it a priority.
Healthwise, both Sandra and I are fine, as are our issue and their children - For young Tom, no news is good news. Larry, how are things holding up for you? Your pictures look good and of course Ruthanne always looks good. By the way, young Tom, has switched jobs. He left Pillsbury et al to become General Counsel for a company called "Switch" - no pun intended. They are in Las Vegas, but he will continue to work out of Sacramento. (Yes, I remember Tina & family did a sort of reverse swap). He is very excited and we are happy for him; but he had a great job with a very prestigious firm with good health coverage - he has always been entreprenurial, but this makes us a little nervous.
Our mem's golf group continues - I have played with Bill Fowler and Kurt Kosti several times, they seem to be enjoying themselves here.
Well, your next stop is India. I can't wait to hear your comments - I enjoyed going there myself, but it sure was a different experience.
Our love to you both. We will try to stay in closer touch.
Tom & Sandra
Larry/Ruthanne:
Just set Sandra up so she can send comments. Read my own comments and must apologize for the "speeling" -"sppeling" - spelling errors: "tryed" = tried; "delge" = deluge; mem's = men's; etc.
Also, I checked your itinerary and see that you are now in the gulf Oman. Ship us some oil if you get a chance.
TOM
TOM
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