Dubai just blows your senses in every way. The buildings are incredible; the city magnificent; but the main mind blowing fact is that they did this within ten years. An incredible fete even with all that oil money. The native Dubai people own everything so the worker bees are imported from other countries to work.

This photo that looks like a spinnaker is the Burj Al Arab Hotel which we visited on our tour for high tea. After tea which was very good because I had the first decent cup of coffee since I left home we ladies needed to visit the rest room. Well there was a line and Marge, Joan and I asked the Security Guard whether there was another rest room. He escorted us through a closed bar (closed to the peons) to a rest room which was magnificent. The bar is in a tube like projection just under the helipad separate from the spinnaker. I shot this photo from an angle that you can’t see this projection. This was quite a treat to be able to go where peons are not aloud to tread generally.

The hotel is said to be a 7 star hotel and one of the most elaborate hotels in the world. This young Dubai man was smoking a cigarette just outside the hotel sitting on this marble ball.

The other building (hotel) is called the wave and it does indeed look like a wave. The more traditional building is a hotel which is one of the largest hotels in the world. The name of the hotel escapes me.
The photo of buildings is just some of the spectacular buildings that we saw.

As part of our tour we went to the Emirate Mall to see the inside ski slope. They do have a ski slope with snow and it was a wonder in and of itself if you think that in the middle of a desert that there is a manmade ski slope inside a building.

We also went out on the trunk of one of the man made palm islands and saw the marina with all those yachts and the villas of many VIPs and stars.

I know you all have been waiting to hear about the QE2. She was berth close to our ship and I was able to take this photo. She has smoke coming from her stack and I understand that they keep a skeleton crew to maintain her but she did look awfully lonely. I did not see rust from my vantage point.

The Dubai people are very orderly and I found it interesting that the taxis queued up in this orderly line. Another cruise ship came in while we were just leaving and they began queuing up in this manner.

I had a lot of fun in Dubai. The second day there Joan, Ellen, Barbie and I ended up at the
Hotel for a buffet and beer. No local beer is produced here so I settled for a Heineken. Alcohol is only served in the hotels. Since their weekend is Thursday and Friday we couldn’t do much shopping since all the souks were closed until evening. A souk is a group of shops or stalls and there is usually a theme like the gold souk, the textile souk, etc.

We did have our Bollywood Ball and as usual the entrance to the dining room was decorated.

As most of you know I have been to Mumbai before and it is not my most favorite city so not having a good night sleep I chose not to leave the ship the first day. What a delight to sit out on the cool side of the ship and read in very quiet conditions. The ship can be quite delightful when so many people have left it.

The second day I had a tour and it was a good tour. We first went to the produce market and even though I had been there before I still love the sights, sounds and smells. From there we proceeded to the Thieves Market (Chor Bazaar) and that was very interesting to say the least. Rats running in the streets, goats frolicking in the debris. This market is for dealers in used goods and antiques, tools, building supplies and if you name it they have it somewhere in this market. It really isn’t a market in the sense of one building containing these items but a bunch of stalls on several streets in this location.

There are living quarters above these shops and this is a typical scene. Not the best area of Mumbai.

We then visited a school for boys who are blind. This was CSI’s humanitarian tour for the world cruise and I was impressed at how wonderful it is to join in and support these schools. We were entertained by this choir of students.

First I would like to answer Grace’s question about Japan. We were not scheduled for any stops in Japan as we did 5 or 6 ports of call last year. This is a horrendous loss for the Japanese people and is truly a tragedy.

Captain Olaf has had to change our itinerary again because of the unavailability of port space. This now is our current itinerary:

Mar 24 Dubai
Mar 25 Dubai
Mar 26 Dubai
Mar 27 Muscat, Oman
Mar 29 Salalah, Oman
Apr 03 Aquaba, Jordan
Apr 05 Transit Suez Canal
Apr 06 Ashdod, Israel

Haifa is the port that was not available so I won’t be able to overnight in Israel. We have arranged for a van and a personal guide to take 12 of us to many many places, This will give us the maximum use of our short time. I will give you further details when they are available.

Speaking of tours I had the worse tour yet in Kochi, India. That is Cochin in the English spelling. The tour consisted of taking in as many sites as possible by zipping past them as the guide pointed them out to us. The palace stop consisted of standing up on a portion of a stone wall to take a photo of the steps up to the palace which was not visible because of trees. We passed many interesting churches, mosks, and Hindu temples but the only stop we made was the church founded by Vasco De Gama where he was once buried. We did have a stop at the Chinese fishing nets and a small market.

Kochi is very similar to Mumbai which is to say very dirty and crowded. Our guide kept telling us how the caste system did not apply in Kochi and that it was very affluent because of the education they have at this time. I saw glimpses of this but I don’t think they are there yet.

Before I get to Singapore I need to tell you about our new itinerary so you can change your copies of it. The word has come down from high that because of the travel advisory of our government there will be no port stops in Egypt. I am thrilled at the change and here it is:

Mar 26 Muscat
Mar 28 Salalah, Oman
Apr 02 Aqaba, Jordan
Apr 04 Transit Suez Canal
Apr 05 Ashdod, Israel
Apr 06 Haifa, Israel

I understand that I may be able to overnight from Ashdod to Haifa and be able to see Jerusalem at a better pace than 14 hours on a day tour so if that is going to be possible I will do it.

Singapore is just as safe and clean as it always has been and since this was my third time there I took no tours, Joan, Barbie and I went to China Town to browse and have a beer and lunch. After browsing the stores became redundant so we went to an authentic Chinese Restaurant connected to an authentic Chinese Hotel. This turned out to be quite an experience.

First, Barbie and I asked for the local Singapore brew called Tiger. This beer was as large as a bottle of wine. Joan asked for white wine and they only had red wine. She then asked for cold water in a bottle and later we noticed on the bill they charged $1.50 for “cold” water. There was also a towelette by each plate and the charge for this was $.03 .

Second, we had some trouble ordering and making a man who seemed to speak English well understand what we wanted. We were going to share family style so we wanted three spring rolls, 3 dumplings, fried seafood rice and a chicken stir fry .He brought us three orders of spring rolls with 4 on each plate, 10 dumplings, and the fried rice. No chicken dish and after refusing two of the spring roll dishes we decided we best not try to reorder the chicken dish.

The second day I did a solo walk around the port which is lovely. This is one of the sculptures along the way. Then I hit the malls by the ship and bought a few items, nothing of importance except maybe the hair spray. Ran into Paul and James and James followed me to a nail place and watched as I had my nails repainted. He had never seen this done and kept up a patter that I was afraid was going to cause the manicurist to ruin her own work. This became his great new adventure of a lifetime.

Anyway, we had to be back on board at 1:00 pm so it was impossible to do as much as I would have liked..
As we were leaving I saw these buildings under construction which are curved with unusual angles.

The port in Viet Nam is not very nice and you even have to shuttle out because there is no walking in the port. It was very hot but James, Paul and I decided to rent a van to go to Vung Tau since none of us wanted to go to Saigon.

When we were outside the port we finally negotiated a price and three others joined us; Shirley and a Dutch couple. Anyway the ride was interesting and we saw many sights along the way including the hauling of these live ducks and this fruit. Also James snapped this Christ the Redeemer Viet Nam style.

We had a good time negotiating with the locals and managed to see a market where I was able to buy a local beer and James a soda which we consumed while sitting in the shade on a concrete bench. It was very hot even though it was morning but after a couple of hours we headed back to the ship.

Vung Tau just does not have a lot of scenic beauty nor does it have a lot of sights but it was enjoyable anyway.

There was a newly written mystery dinner called the Disenchanted Kingdom with fairy tale characters who are not famous. Our table who are known to stay in character enjoyed the music director, Irving, company and he was the Pied Piper from Poopsville. I went as Susie Wrong and everything I said was immediately dismissed as being wrong even if I was right because I couldn’t be right if I was wrong. Barbie was Slow Wit and the Seven Warts. Joan was the Wicked Bitch of the West. It went on and on. We had a blast.

Next to Sydney I believe I love the Harbor of Hong Kong the most. A magnificent port city. It is also the city we need in our world cruising to replace things lost or used up and to pamper ourselves. I, therefore, am usually on a mission of one sort or the other when I first leave the ship in Hong Kong.

First to the HH spa in Center Mall for a manicure and eyebrow shaping. Then to the pharmacy to buy a couple of inhalers and this year with the eyeglass caper to an eyeglass shop. I will have my new glasses for about half the price I would get at home. These glasses are quite unique but I loved my last frames and wish I could get them back. Ellen and Barbie took me to this place not far from the ship. While I got fitted Ellen used his phone and talked to her family. Apparently he has very cheap rates a little like the Magic Jack.

By the time I returned it was about 2:30 and I took a nap so I would be refreshed for my dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel with Peggy and Marcie. This is something we had planned last year. We had a great time watching the light show (which was disappointing again). The view of the harbor from this hotel is one of the best in the city.

After dinner we went to the night market which is typical of all night markets only it is my opinion that there was more junk than good buys. Last year at the night market in Xian there were some really good things and I did buy a couple of nice tops that I will be wearing in the next few days as they have an Oriental look to them. I also found a T-shirt for jeans that is really eye popping in the beaded design.

The second day Joan and I took off to get her hair cut, shop and have lunch and a beverage at the Marco Polo Hotel. Not as hectic as yesterday but very slow paced which was enjoyable. We were back fairly early as it was Mardi Gras up in the Crows Nest and as usual it was quite raucous. Lots of fun but I left at 11:30 for bed since it had been a long day.

I was in my element today as we were in Manila and this is a new port for me. I get real excited to see a new port. We get the extra day here since we couldn’t go to Palau. My tour is scheduled for the second day so I did a walk about with Tony. We are both not opposed to walking and oh did we walk.

We first took the shuttle to the mall and after a visit to the pharmacy and the grocery store we walked. We did see the US Embassy and walked along the water and then went to the Intromuros section to see the cathedrals. I will see the fort tomorrow. By that time we had walked and walked so of course it was time for a beer and lunch. I spotted an old building that looked like it had some commerce in it. We found a great old hotel with outside eating in the gardens and beer. My hair was soaked so it was a great place to cool off. We even had live music. A pretty girl sang the entire time we were there. It was a lovely inter-lude to all the activity but all things must end and we started to walk again. I believe we walked at least 5 miles and maybe even 6 miles.

We walked back to the Robinson’s Mall as we wanted to go to the grocery store and the liquor store. The entrance has a security system that is quite primitive. The males go through one side and the ladies through the other. We have to open our bags and they put a probe in your bags. The probe looks like a chopstick.
I believe this is where my problems started. Sometime between there and my attempt to pay for my Kaluha a pickpocket opened two zippers and my arm to get to my money. I did get hit for $30 or $40 dollars. My credit card and driver’s license were at the bottom of my bag and were not taken. Oh they are so clever. In spite of this experience we did have a great time.

This post is very long because I must mention the Pilipino staff. A lot of them are leaving and a lot of families are visiting. HAL, I believe, is very good to their employees. Under the Welcome sign you will notice tables. These were all set up so the families could have lunch together at HAL’s expense. It was fun to see all the children dressed up in their Sunday best.

The jeepney is their answer to bus service. These started when the US Army wanted to get rid of their jeeps which were well used and not worth shipping back home. Enterprising people fixed them and painted them with colorful pictures and names. They were originally called jeep my honey and that was shortened to jeepney.

My tour which took in the fort and some of the same area that Tony and I covered was not real great sine our guide left a lot to be desired and it was also raining. Some of these photos take in some of the sights seen.

Well we did cross the equator and went through the usual King Neptune Ceremony but it was so hot and sticky and since I have seen two before I didn’t bother to attend.

Our Captain, by the way, he refers to himself as Captain Olaf, announced that we wouldn’t be going to Koror, Palau which was our next port. Something about another ship was in our scheduled spot to anchor for tendering. As a substitute port we are going to spend an extra day in Manila and I am pleased with that development.

One of my trivia team heard from home that two cruise lines (not HAL) have canceled all Egypt ports of call. I have also heard that they are now rioting in Oman. Things are not looking good for that area of our cruise. Rumors are flying as to substitute ports.

To answer Don’t question, yes Bill and Maryanne are at my table and I know they have actually set up two tables in advance. I still have not signed on for another world cruise and don’t think I will. I need more targeted areas of the world.

The CSI party was last night. I took a good photo of my friend Carole with Captain Olaf. You can see why he has a girl on every deck rather than a girl in every port. He is not married.

This other photo is of Marcia who says she is an actress from Canada.

This winds up most everything at this time. I will now hopefully be able to download but it may not be until this evening. I find early morning or evening I get faster downloads.

I noticed that one of the photos I intended to post for Cairns didn’t get posted. This is the pic that shows the tallest buildings in Cairns.

Our next port was Madang, Papua, New Guinea and such a lush island. These photos were taken as we approached the port. The Captain actually backed into the dock which was interesting. As we came in this band was playing and one of the dock hands in his orange vest was boogying down and it was quite comical. Many of the locals did line the shore and you could hear the kids shouting and dogs barking.

I made a mistake here and I should have booked a tour. Where we docked there was nothing to see and as it was Sunday not even stores were open not that I saw any stores I would want to see anyway. But the locals did line up their homemade crafts but alas no keychain for Rachael. As you can see the people of New Guinea are quite dark. Most of the South Pacific Islanders are quite fair. Can anyone tell me why?

The people were very friendly but primitive. They chew beetle nut and their entire mouths are orange. They have very bad teeth. It was muddy and some light rain was falling. After looking at their wares and, of course, no place for a beer , it was back to the ship.