Paula and her husband, Bob, signed up to join a section of HA (Holland America) World Cruise. The Itinerary hit all the spots I had always wanted to see - Petra, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Suez Canal and many more. Another advantage was that there would be just a single time we had to do the miserable 30 plus hour set of flights to get to the starting point of Singapore. Ending Point was in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Returning would be easy peasy. I tried to get a partner to travel with me but the price tage and the 49-day lenght turned off a lot of my friends. So I bit the bullet and decided to do a 'single' anyway. I'd still have Paula and Bob to travel, eat, laugh and do excursions with. Paula was amazing: she should have been a travel agent. She did hours of research and booking of the Viatoor or HA tours that were available to us. After we decided which ones to book, it ended up being easier for her to book all the tours for 3, which made it really helpful for me. This will let me pay her back for my part after the trip and after I had gotten another GA teacher pension deposit.
We decided not to pay the very high price (over 900 $) for the onboard Internet because Bob had this Garmin InReach thingy that lets anyone you give the password to - see your location plus you could send and receive SHORT texts. Just enough to keep all family and friends informed. Also most of the ports have free wifi so we could catch up on email and longer communications.
First Big Glitch
Due to the events in Israel/Gaza and the Suez Canal we got a HUGE itinerary change. Now we are going around Africa – so back to researching and booking new excursions. Again Paula was the star. HA hadn’t posted any of theirs so she booked (again for 3) for the new Africa ports.
I bought a bigger suitcase and I was determined to pack light. Well that didn’t go so well. I ended up with a total of 2 checked bags, 1 carryon and a backpack. SIDENOTE - I pack items in Zip Lock bags and squeeze the air out - we will see how many I end up not opening (i.e. not wearing) on this trip. Bob and Paula had a total of 5 bags and 2 backpacks. I felt so smart ….. I bought 4 Air tags so I could keep track of my bags – Paula also had Air tags on theirs.
Adventure finally arrived …… Wednesday March 20th
BQK to ATL – good flight
ATL to South Korea – 16 hr - bumpy crowded flight
South Korea to Singapore – 6 hours – extra seat - slept most of the way
Crowded Harbor - landing in Singapore
Second Glitch -Luggage
In South Korea we checked to see what the Air tags showed for our luggage……… Concourse B in ATLANTA for Paula’s and Bob’s tag and ATLANTA International concourse for my bags. Panic set in….
South Korea’s airport is very beautiful and has nice free wifi so Paula texted with Delta and tried to figure it out. We were hoping for the best.
Arrived Thursday in Singapore 5 am their time - with Air tags still showing Atlanta – ok file a report and hope they get here in a couple of days. As Paula and I were walking across baggage to the “file a claim for missing bags” dept. Bob yells at us that they are here! ALL bags were on the plane. Wow – not sure what happened but we are HAPPY!
Pick up was there to take us to our really nice Swissotel, we crashed and got back up about 12 pm and walked around the area. It was really hot but we were relatively close to the waterfront so it was easy to see a lot of sites in just the 3 or 4 hours we had the energy for.
Friday – Transport to ship arrived on time – all went smoothly. My room is small but livable. Bob and Paula’s’ was really nice with a large bathroom and balcony. All bags unpacked and stored under bed.
Saturday March 23– HA Singapore Highlights Excursion 5 hrs
Ok tour – guy talked way too fast – and sorry I don’t remember much from the first part of the tour because of what happened in Chinatown
Orchid Gardens
History of Singapore
Muslim area
Chinatown – Third Glitch
Paula Face Planted
She caught her foot in a small square hole about 6 inches deep. She has a small but nasty gash on the side of her head and a possible broken arm. She was knocked out for about 15 seconds. Paula tries to get up but keeps fainting. Bob and I get her in a car to take us back to the ship. I let them go to the ships infirmary where it is decided that she really needs to go to the hospital. She does have a broken arm and a cracked bone around her eye socket. I ate a quick meal and went back off the ship so I could steal the ports wifi and send text messages.
HA leaves the port at 5 and I am onboard with no way to get in touch with Paula and Bob or anyone else. We were hoping that they could rejoin the tour in Sri Lanka.
Fourth.. Sunday - not really a Glitch but definitely HA’s mishandling of me and my message in my mind
I have the message light on my phone – Great -information about Paula. But it only tells me that I have a message and I need to go to the Service Desk. I go and identify myself and explain what is the situation. They say they can’t tell me but some other person has to come and tell me. Hypa ?? I let them know that I understand what has happened and that there was going to only be two possibilities – That they will rejoin the tour or they will fly home. (They were so smart and got MedJet Insurance so all is ok on their end) They make me wait in the lobby … I’m getting worried and start getting flashbacks of 40 yrs ago when school staff came to tell me about Charlie. I go back to the desk and say I am getting really worried and would they please tell me the message. They say – why not wait in your room and they will call you and tell you the message. I wait an hour - No phone call, no message light, I go to dinner – now really getting worried. I check the light again – nothing - I go back to the desk and repeat my information and request. Now I am panicking and crying – I am fearing there might be a third possibility they are not telling me– they told me to sit down and wait…. Finally a girl comes and tells me they are going home. Why couldn't they tell me that immediately - instead of worrying and thinking it might be something worse.
I ask for free internet - so I could text with them – they offer just 2 hours and said I could use their phone for one call - but I was so hysterical by now there was no way I could call or operate a computer. I am just hoping that this morning after breakfast I will be able to politely talk to them so I can communicate someway with Bob or Bob’s brother or somebody. Help!!
Tuesday – March 26
It was another fairly calm day – you can actually feel the boat move slightly but you have to be walking to notice it. Tonight I actually decided that it was late enough in the morning at home that I could start using the 2 hours of free internet – it was a pain cause I don’t have the ships app on my computer so I was one finger phone typing – I think I got the basics of what was going on to the people that needed or wanted to know but I didn’t include many details. I walked 4 laps around the ship, attended a couple of lectures, read, ate some more, (yummy hot dog– I need to lay off the comfort food real soon) and finally Internet connected with my great friends and family. I am so lucky.
Wednesday – sea day – woke up early so – did my walk 6 laps today – sweating and breathing hard – so I can have an oatmeal raisin cookie this morning. I did most of my chores – cancelled Paula’s spa stuff, making 2 reservations for HA shore excursions and seeing if I can contact Pat to cancel the Galland part so they can replace them.
Thursday – Columbo Sri Lanka
It is an ugly, dirty, huge and confusing port with no wifi available. But don’t worry China is building a nice new big port here – which is really sort of scary after hearing that they are also building or have built ports in Peru, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, and even Australia. This container port is so large that it took the shuttle about 20 minutes to get to the first drop off point.
I had already booked and paid for a 3 hour Tuk Tuk tour. (And this is when we decided it would be easier to have Paula book all the Viator tours then I would tally up the total later.) I was supposed to meet the Tuk Tuk driver/guide at the boat shuttle drop off point. Little did I know there were 3 stops. I obviously got off the wrong one – the first one - and never found the guy.
Backstory -- A couple of days ago we had a “Block Party” which consists of standing in the narrow hallway outside your room with your cup. Staff comes around with snacks (a bag of peanuts) and a jug of Singapore Slings. Staff fills your cup as many times as you want so… I didn’t feel as introverted as I usually do and talked to a Laos couple a couple of doors away. He was a translator and driver for the Americans in the Vietnam war. We talked about my next day tour and he was worried that this old lady was going by herself so they sort of tagged along to see me safely on the tuk tuk. We had been warned during the briefing that drivers and others were very aggressive and would always want more money in the end.
After the ‘no show’ or my mess up - we decided to team up and make other arrangements. We hired car with AC – which was a HUGE joke – and for 4 hours we toured the places we wanted to see. Traffic was horrible – flashbacks of China. Driver didn’t speak very good English and could not answer some of our simplest questions. It was very hot with high humidity. I was soaked and ended up with a very colorful stripe around each ankle due to heat rash caused by my socks.
The most colorful places we visited were the Hindu and Buddhist temples.
Day at sea – Did my walking – only did 7 laps but I will assume it did its job and add at least a couple of days to my life unless I do something stupid.
I finally got too frustrated and finally purchased access to the internet. Unfortunately it is limited to just one device so I still have to thumb type on my phone which is way slower than my keyboard. I finished cancelling our any leftover tours that Paula arranged and the Ships fancy Italian dinner reservation.
Sidenote - I have decided that all this tour planning is a pain in the butt and I never want to be a Travel agent. I didn’t pay enough attention to all the little nit picking details that Paula researched for us– I just kept saying “That sounds great”. Plus that she was using Viator that has much cheaper tours that mimic some of the HA’s tours. Canceling and making the new plans myself makes me constantly feel like I am a college student on exam day that has cut too many classes.
I attended a lecture on our next port – Maldives. I plan on just walking around the first day and snorkeling the second day with another HA progam. The HA progams seem to be the safest way to go when traveling alone.
Afternoon tea with Beth - we tried to remember to hold our pinkies up -- but I am sure we failed.
Saturday – Maldives
This was the first tender port that I had been to with this ship so I didn’t know that the crew would be taking down the tender boats (that obstruct my view ) to readying them for transport to the port. So walking on deck three was cut short by the barriers set up. Good thing cause I burned all my calories in the town with sweat. This time I teamed up with a Chinese couple “Rainbow and Michael” and we walked a total of 5 hot and sweaty miles around the sites. We were able to navigate our way to the vegetable market, fish Market, big Mosque, closed Museum, Blue Mosque, and the artificial beach before I gave out. It was interesting and cheap and definitely replaced my morning deck walk. I crashed after lunch. Ship provided us with cold washcloths for cooling as we waited for the ship’s tender. I looked like a field worker -with the washcloth on my head from the South GA fields. I did not care – even asked for another.
Since it was Easter they had a ‘dressy’ suggestion for dinner. I actually had only been to the dining rm twice - First night with Paula and Bob and another night with our travel agent representative. I’m not a good at sitting at a table with people I have never met. Very awkward for me – schmoozing is definitely not my strength. So Beth and I went together and sat with some of the singles on the ship. It was still awkward but it is something I might be able to do again when it is a dressy night. I gotta wear some of the dresses I brought –at least once !
Monday – Sea day
I’m back to doing the sunrise walk around the deck – legs were actually a little sore from all the “flippering” I did yesterday – different muscles I guess. Went and got a little tech help on getting the HA (Holland America’s) version of their Navigator on my old Mac Book Air computer without the internet being usable on my old computer without the HA Navigator – Catch 22. I am getting so far behind in technology without teaching it. Lazy ? Probably.
A Costume contest is tonight so I Amazon-ed a cheap and ridiculous 70’s polyester costume to wear. I KNEW that Paula would have something even more embarrassing so I felt safe. But she is not here –I doubt I will be brave enough to wear it. I wasn’t.
Don't share this with anyone - but this is what I WAS going to wear .....
Tuesday - Sea Day
More reading and walking on the deck. I met Susie who wanted to teach me cribbage. She said it was easy to learn - NOT. So many different ways you can get points and a lot of math - granted it’s really easy math - but with the dyslexia when I see numbers my BP goes up and I panic. So the learning was slow but I have the basic ideas and she gave me homework - ack…. practicing counting possible hands with a deck of cards.
Wednesday - Sea Day
Basically the same as above. Another hot calm day.
Thursday - Seychelles
Wow I can see why people want to come here. Hot but sunny and beautiful. Went on a bus tour around the North end of the island. Background of the country of Seychelles which consist of 150 + islands and Victoria the capital. The beaches all looked like they belong on a postcard. None are private beaches - even if there is a hotel on it you have the right to pass thru and use the beach - refreshing. We went to the Botanical Garden where we were able to feed the tortoises. We were also told about their unique type of coconut palm tree That have very descriptive shapes. There is a female palm and a male palm.
Also at the Botanical gardens were the tortoises that we got to feed
Friday - Seychelles
I planned on going into town by myself. I wanted to go into thier Natural Museum. Things are fairly close by so it was an easy 10 min walk. Again another hot day. As I was heading out I met a lady, Shirley, that planned on doing basically the same thing. She wanted a couple of postcards and stamps and I remembered that the post office was right across the street from the museum. I said let’s walk together. Turns out she is a very slow walker. It was almost painful to walk that slow. And of course she had to go to the bathroom half way thru. We finally got to the museum and they would not take US dollars. Card machine wouldn’t work. ATM machine next door did work. The museum was very small but every informative - There was a class of 10 yr olds going thru so I hung around so I could hear the teacher’s lecture. Didn’t have to read all the small print. Kids were well behaved. We left the museum and went to an outdoor french restaurant right next door - nice breeze and the best mint chocolate chip ice cream I have ever tasted - it probably was because I was getting a little cranky under my (trying to please) pollyanna facade. Left satisfied and happy and resigned to slowly stroll back to the boat. Shirley found some postcards at one of the passing souvenir stalls and reminded me we needed to get stamps. We went back a couple of blocks and got stamps at the post office. Yep, she had to write and mail them from that postoffice so it would have the stamp. I think I earned a couple of gold stars that day, hopefully the guy upstairs was paying attention.
Rest of day was spent reading and having a nice dinner with Beth.
Saturday + Sunday - at Sea
Monday - Zanzibar - DOORS
Another Time Change - back one hour so I woke up really early and went outside for a walk around the deck. I was really lucky and I was actually positioned 2 floors above where the pilot boat pulls up to the boat to let the pilot jump onto ours…… and this is all accomplished when our ship is still traveling. It looked very dangerous.
HA Shore Excursion - Good guide and a nicely air conditioned van - what more could you ask for — well maybe no rain. First stop was the local smelly market. Fish, meat, vegetables and spices and the downpour started. No umbrella - my optimism worked against me today. I bartered a guy down from 10 dollars to 3 for one of those .50 cent plastic ponchos. I wouldn’t want to melt would I ? We decided to skip the tour of the market and go to the Church which was located where the slave market used to be. Very interesting history of Livingston, and how he had an influence on the curtailing of slavery and the building of the church. Couple of neat facts - were that
Livingston got permission of the Sultan to build the Anglican Cathedral only if its steeple wasn’t higher than the Sultan’s tower. He also persuaded the Sultan into eventually signing the abolishment of slavery treaty.
Steele - the engineer that built the Church ended up becoming the bishop and then translated the English Bible into Swahili for the people (95% of the people are Muslim).
The churches alter is right on top of where the whipping post tree had been located. We got to go underground where the slaves were kept - very dark and very depressing. While some of the group walked in the rain to the closed Sultan’s bath house. I stayed behind and went slowly thru the very informative museum. I thought it was so important I made Beth go thru it the next day - and I reviewed what I read the day before. Very moving.
We drove back to the waterfront, and went thru the park (so many cats) the fort (all made with red coral), and to the birthplace and Museum of Freddie Mercury. Then of course the expected guide’s handpicked tourist shop. Short walk thru Stone town then a stop at a fancy hotel “Serena” where we had drinks and yummy hot peanuts. Electricity went off and on a couple of times. Guide told us that all the electricity came from an underwater cable from the mainland in Tanzania and that one time it took more than 3 months to repair. Poli Poli (slowly slowly)
Tuesday - Zanzibar
Beth and i will be exploring by ourselves - we will see how that turns out. How many mistakes or wrong turns will we make - Marty and Dana probably have a pool going. We ran into the “stars” of last night performance catching the tender back to Zanzibar. It was an acrobatic/strongman/juggling act - very high energy and they were really nice to look at. They also had a contortionist which was sort of icky. Tall and a very slender kid that managed to tangle himself up into all sorts of positions that are not possible with anyone with normal joints. I had to cover my eyes every once in a while.
For about the first 15 minutes we spent our time telling guys that we didn’t need a guide - I might have been a little too cocky into thinking I remembered how to get around to the major sites…..
We got some good photos of the old charitable dispensary, walked thru Forodhani Gardens where all the night activity is held - Food and other stalls and lots of stray fat cats. We explored the Old Fort and climbed up to an art shop. After stopping at a a few Tanzanite shops we finally found one willing to negotiate to an amount we were willing to pay and both of us got tanzanite earrings! We decided to go to the Slave market but were unsure how to weave our way thru the narrow twisty areas (not really roads but big enough for bikes, carts and really small vehicles. As usual there was someone that heard us pondering and jumped in to guide us - we negotiated a price and not only got directed but received an added little tour of some other sites like the Catholic church as well as more fantastic doors. We got to the Anglican Church/Slave Market where we spent about an hour.
When we left we thought we had followed the guides directions on how to get back - I bought some water at a nearby stall and we started off. About 45 minutes later we ended up back at the same stall. (luckily Beth recognized it or we would be still wandering around in circles) She pulled out her iPhone map app and we started back again - We were doing ok according to the map but, again another resourceful man figured out we needed help and finished taking us the rest of the way. He, of course, expected a tip - we gave him 4 bucks.
The Doors were beautiful in this town - most of them had brass points on them to deter the elephants from pushing them open ( I saw a kid polishing them with a lime and steel wool - never heard of that before -but it was working ). A lot of them were decorated with chains - because of the history of slave trade.
We heard a huge commotion across the street at the beach/port. Turns out there was a truck that somehow either fell off the pier or fell off of the ferry and was in the water. Later we saw a diver - just a mask and fins - but never saw anyone get out or get rescued. Sad.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - at sea
Finally we had some wave/wind action. The previous calm seas were sort of boring but by Thursday afternoon the seas picked up and we had some nice rocking motion that led to a really nice sleep that night.
Rest of the days were filled with normal stuff - Except for Cake Day - where the chefs show off their works of art and we get to sample — I ate way too many chocolate varieties. When chocolate is around - it seems to eliminate all my “moderation tendencies”. I gotta work on that….
Saturday - Maputo Mozambique
I took a walking tour of Maputo. Not sure if it was the “C+ young guide” or the fact that the cheaper walking tour didn’t take you far from the port or the fact that this was a really depressed area. We saw most of the city’s sites that were listed in the ships port recommendations but it was sad. There were many hawkers trying very hard to sell their wares, lots of trash, and most of the buildings were in very poor condition. The only new installation was a brand new shiny bridge made with Chinese $$ and a 75 year loan. The only thing I contributed to the economy was a HUGE bag (about 3 or 4 cans) of cashews for 10 US dollars.
Best part of the trip was the final stop at a bakery where we all had a Yummy pastry and a diet coke.
Basically the cliff version of its history is
Portuguese settled in 1500s
Then the Dutch for a while
Then the British has a finger in the pie every so often
Then the Portuguese again
10 year Civil war
Independence in 1975 - 10% of the white population population left
Sunday - Sea Day - Mozambique Channel
Dinner partners and Dressy Day - I got to have dinner with my favorite people - Beth along with Marty and Dana.
Monday - Durban
The local pilot came on the ship at 4 am by helicopter. That was different..... and no I wasn't up to catch it. Lucky Dana was the only one...
Even though the economy wasn’t much better than Maputo, this tour was much better. I was with Dana and Marty so it wasn’t another “Selfie” day and I had someone to laugh and talk with. Durban has a very noticeable divide between the haves and have nots. There were lots of homeless encampments in the city compared to the beautifully fenced and electrified homes on the hills.
Best part of the tour was the Botanical gardens. The low point of the tour was when we stopped at the big stadium where one of the other passengers had their phone snatched out of their hands. (Don't worry I have mine on a leash around my shoulder/neck -we probably would have both gone down, but the kid would have been caught!)
Wish we had been able to stop at one of the beaches -- They were mostly empty but beautiful. Sorry Zac it was low tide - so no big waves detected.
Tuesday - Sea Day
Most of the entertainment has been good. Since I have been on the shop, we have had 2 really outstanding nights during this cruise. One was a Santana tribute and the other was a Tina Turner tribute. The bands and singers were spot on. Wow!
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - Cape Town
The Fog ! The fog was so thick the port was closed for a period of time so we actually got in a little later than planned (we are usually early into most ports).
Beth, Kathy and I got a taxi and made it in time for our 3pm High Tea reservation at the "The Nelly" Mount Nelson Hotel. It is a pink (for peace) compound that reminded me a lot of the Cloister Hotel on Sea Island GA. It is so much fun to play at being rich for a short period of time. We dressed up as best we could for the coldish weather. They had a large variety of teas, including my Pu'erh tea ! Of course there were the sandwiches, scones, and deserts to go along with the tea. An hour and a half later we were stuffed.
We decided to walk to a couple of close attractions - the Company Gardens and the Bo Koop. We used our trusty iPhone GPS maps and found both, as well as a Bo Koop Bazaar that lured us into spending money. We took a taxi back to the V&A Waterfront where we spent some more $$ and caught our ships free shuttle back to the ship.
2nd Day - Table Mountain Tour- When I told Zac that Cape town was on the itinerary he mentioned that part of his favorite movie "Endless Summer" was filmed in Cape Town and they had a scene ontop of table mountain. I knew I needed to sign up for that tour. (I still haven't been able to see any surfable waves - either wrong season or tide or beach location)
We rode a comfortable bus thru town to the base of the mountain, where we took the rotating gondola to the top of the mountain. It was still foggy so the views were sort of limited, but the walk and fresh air was great (our boat is docked in a fishy area).
Zuiderdam Bridge Tour -
Besides the really cute officer and the informative tour he gave - I was even more impressed that one of four of bridge officers is a woman !
3rd Day - Aquila Game Reserve Tour. It was a 2 1/2 drive thru the wine country to the site. Then we had a 2 hour safari ride thru the park. Lions, Water Buffalos, Elans, Elephant, White Rhinos, Giraffes and Ostrichs were the photo shots of the day. Tasty Buffet was provided and then bus ride back to the ship.
I’m not sure what to say about this town. And I am not sure why people stopped here in the first place. Certainly not to farm….Early 1800’s the seals, whales and guano-harvesting were the only draws to this desert area. Germany officially claimed it in 1884 and named it after a guy names Luderitz. In 1909 Diamonds were discovered just laying on the sand. Later more diamonds were discovered further south on the coast which left a couple of ghost towns in it wake. Now it is a small tender port. I didn't book a tour so I hooked up with Lisa and her mother and we had an adventure walking around town. We tried to locate a path (mostly dirt roads) to the Church on the hill and we got muddled? 'directions' from one of the residences. We were not too worried we could still see the way back to the docks.
We took our photos in front of their hollywood sign and finally got to the church. It was a colorful and clean town with friendly people. One funny experience was that we thought we saw swans in a pond - turned out they were the "greater flamingos" which are bigger and whiter than our florida pink flamingos. When they fly you can see the pink on the underside of their wings.
- Settled by the Portugese in 1462.
- Slave trade
- English involvment (Francis Drake ramsacked cities a couple of times) 1585
- then Spain
- then back to Portugal
- Independence in 1975
