At Sea – February 28, 2018

It was easy to tell that the pool temperature is warmer because we had 14 for water aerobics.  Amanda had to cut class a little short because the anti-piracy drill was set for 9:30. The “When & Where” said guests were “encouraged to participate” but it was not required.  When the captain announced it, he asked people who were on deck 3 to stay away from the railing.  However, later they moved people off the open decks including the Lido Pool area.  I returned to my cabin just a couple of minutes before it was over.

They were setting up for “Wines Around the World” so we had to move our Sit and Stitch to the port side.  Seven of us present.  Stayed until 11:30 when I went to the Ocean Bar for trivia.  We had 12 correct and the winning team had 14.

1)Which is the largest of the Balearic Islands?

2)Which artist started the Impressionist Movement?

3)Created in 2009, what was the first decentralized crypto-currency?

4)In what year was the blue M&M introduced?

5)What is the official language of the central government in India?

I had Chicken Korma for lunch which was very good.  There was a special tropical fruit buffet in the Lido during lunch.  Lots of strange fruits including the snake fruit.

In arts and crafts we made a birthday card.

Read and knit by the Lido pool until it started to rain and they closed the roof which made it stifling hot.

Afternoon trivia saw us come in second again with 15 out of 17.  Winners had 16.

1)What is a dromophobiac afraid of?

2)Which English writer died on the same day as Cervantes?

3)What is the lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere?

4)What 1993 movie was set on Nublar Island near Costa Rica?

5)What is the name of the island Christopher Columbus originally called Juana?

Finished reading my book before dinner.  I had fruit, lamb kebab, prime rib, and blackberry sundae for dessert.  I skipped the show although I am listening to it right now as I finish up the blog!

Another sea day tomorrow.

this was on my door to show it had been checked during the drill

My first try at adding a video - if you listen very carefully at the beginning you can hear the sound of the LRAD machine

four pictures above from the fruit buffet

the card we made

Morning trivia…

1)Majorca 

2)Monet

3)bitcoin

4)1995

5)Hindi

Afternoon trivia…

1)crossing the street

2)Shakespeare

3)troposphere

4)Jurassic Park

5)Cuba

Smooth sailing until next time!

Benoa, Bali, Indonesia – February 27, 2018

After the long, strenuous excursion yesterday, I was glad to have no plans for today.  I slept until 9:15 and leisurely got dressed and ready to check out the stalls outside the ship.  Bought a number of things before I headed back to the terminal to try the free wi-fi.  There were not very many people trying to use it but it was still very, very slow.  The only thing I could do was delete junk e-mails.  I couldn’t get facebook to even load.

The cabin stewards are from Indonesia and many of them had friends and family visiting.  We were given a card to put in our mail slots with a message if you were willing to go without cabin service for the two days. Virtually everybody filled them out and posted them.  When I returned to my cabin my steward knocked on my door to ask if I needed something.  I told him I did not and to go enjoy his visitors.

Changed into my bathing suit and headed to the Lido for lunch.  By 1 pm I was in the very warm pool.  Hard to believe it was only a few days ago that the water was freezing cold!  I swam and sat in the (very hot) sun for almost two hours before coming back to change for trivia.

There were only 12 for trivia (none from my team) so we divided into two groups.  The team I was on came in second. ☹ (The first two are the ones we missed.)

1)What is the real first name of rock star Prince?

2)What decade was the first Indy 500?

3)What did you require to get legal alcohol during Prohibition?

4)Where was RMS Titanic built?

5)What war was in Lord of the Flies?

Had my afternoon ice cream and read until time for 5:00 trivia.  Rodney and Marilyn were not there but the rest of the team was.  We had 13 while the winners had 16 (out of 17).

1)What holds a bit in a drill?

2)How many major Hawaiian Islands are there?

3)What smelly garden flower’s name means “nose twister”?

4)What is the birthplace of George Bernard Shaw?

5)In which country was the Battle of the Bulge fought?

Knitted some before dinner and put away my purchases.  We had a very interesting menu tonight and for the main course I had sweet and sour crocodile.  I also took my mystery fruit to dinner.  Nobody at my table had ever seen one before.  It is called a snake fruit which made sense because of the skin.  I cut it open and we all tried it.  It tasted like a very dry pear to me.

The show tonight was an illusionist and I skipped it.

Three days at sea as we head to the Philippines.

By the dock...

stalls

inside the terminal

Pictures from my deck as well as from the Sea View Pool deck…

this truck drove up onto the pier just before 6 pm - looked like fabric scraps ???

this looked like a wreck in the water in front of the ship

Dinner…

Sweet and Sour Crocodile - delicious

the snake fruit peeled and the pit

3:30 trivia…

1)Prince

2)1910s

3)prescription

4)Belfast

5)WWII   

5:00 trivia…

1)chuck

2)8

3)nasturtium

4)Dublin

5)Belgium

Smooth sailing until next time!

Benoa, Bali, Indonesia – February 26, 2018

Wow, did I pick the wrong tour!  My tour was sponsored by my travel agency but it was basically the same as HAL’s  “Historic and Scenic Bali”.  It was 9 hours long and marked “strenuous”.  How did I miss that???

I was one of the last people on the bus and I got the back middle seat with a couple on either side by the windows.  After the first stop the man was nice enough to let me have the window seat so I could take pictures.

We drove for almost two hours to our first stop which was Tenganen, a walled mountain village where some 700 people live who are descendants of the first people on the island.   Naturally after that ride all the ladies had to use the restroom.  There was only one stall and it was BYOP (bring your own paper).  The good news was that it was not a “squatty potty”.  Since we had four buses it took forever.

We toured around the village and visited a family home as well as seeing some of the meeting places. We were supposed to learn about the “flaming cloth” which the villagers weave but if the guide mentioned it, I missed it.  Most of us did not want to walk the entire length, which was built on different levels and very unlevel and it was hot and humid.

By this time it was about noon and we were all getting hungry.  I (and a few others) misunderstood the guide and thought we were going to lunch next.  No, we headed to Klungkung Kertagosa. The area had two major sites both of which were up steep, uneven stone steps with no railing.  I walked around and took pictures instead.

Lunch was finally on the agenda (it was nearing 3 pm).  We ate up in the mountains and had traditional Indonesian fare.  There was a nice breeze there.

Our final stop was at Pura Kehen, a temple that had – you guessed it – more steep stairs. I sat for awhile and then decided on some retail therapy.  I spent the last of my Australian dollars.

We finally returned to the ship just before 6 pm.  After a cool shower I started working on my photos to discover we are right on the flight path to the airport and a busy airport it is.  Planes were landing about every 5 minutes.

Met our new server, Faizal, at dinner.  I had satay, fresh fruit, and a Chef’s Salad.  Cyndi, Ed, and I skipped dessert to get seats for the Balinese Dance Group performance at 9:30.  They decided to sit on the main floor but I stayed in the balcony.  A lady sat down next to me and we started talking.  She showed me a fruit she had picked up in the market today.  She told me what it was called but I quickly forgot it.  When she left the theater she gave it to me.  The picture is below and I am sure someone out there knows what it is.  It looks like a brown, extra large strawberry but it is hard.  She said it tasted like a cross between a pear and an apple.

After the show I went to the Lido and got a piece of blueberry pie for dessert.  Came back and stood out on my deck for awhile.  The plane arrivals have not let up much even though it is after 11 pm.

We stay in Bali tomorrow but I do not have an excursion.  I plan to visit the craft stalls outside the terminal, use the free wi-fi in the terminal and get some pool time in.

Bali sights…

where we had lunch

welcoming us

my lunch

the above three photos are of a Hindu ceremony we passed

scouts

the temple with too many steps

the adorable little girl who sold me a scarf

rice fields

Balinese Dance Group…

Name that fruit…

Smooth sailing until next time!