My friend, Pat, did it again.  Put himself in the middle and some thought it was hilarious and great fun and some were offended  believing he was disrespectful of the Catholic Church.  Pat is Catholic himself and many Catholics thought it great fun.  Pat with the help of some of the crew was dressed as the pope by the use of table napkins and cloths, and a nose mask for his  skull cap.  He was pushed to the dining room table in the Pope Mobile (wheelchair).  Here is a photo of Pope Patrick with Marilyn at our table.

Leslie, Linda, Peggy and others demonstrated how to use scarves to dress up outfits and where to buy materials for cheap and make interesting outfits.  They are planning to put together shopping expeditions next year to teach a few how to and what to buy and how to bargain.  I would sign up except I will not be going on the World Cruise next year.  The itinerary is so close to the one this year.

The next day I wore myself out with a 7 ½ hour tour of the island of Mahe’  in the Seychelles. Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles,  is the smallest capital city in the world.

The island is very plush with beautiful beaches.  The tour took us around the whole island including the botanical gardens with giant tortoises and flying fox (fruit eating bats the size of large crows).  The giant Coca-de-mer palm is a native and appears different than other coconut palms or is it my imagination?

Next stop --- Colombo, Sri Lanka, another new country.  On this tour we  were taken to a Bhudist Temple which was a huge complex with so many Bhudas that I couldn’t pick one  photo to put here.  Instead I enjoyed seeing three boys feed this elephant  with those tiny bananas.  He would take the bananas from them with his trunk then pop the bananas right into his mouth.

Later we stopped at an old hotel for refreshments and across the way we spotted a snake charmer  with a cobra and a huge python.

Fortunately, Sri Lanka was a welcome respite from the heat.  It was warm but not oppressively hot but I still was happy to get back to the cabin after all our sight seeing.

This morning we had a pirate drill We are now in pirate territory and our Captain actually had a drill for crew and passengers if a pirate boat is spotted.  We now have razor wire all around deck 3 together with high pressure hoses.  Some of the passengers actually get worried about this sort of thing.  The chance of pirates able to board our ship is next to impossible.

Next on our agenda was Phuket, Thailand and I had a tour since I had never been here before.  We were treated to a Hindu temple complex that was beautiful  and a cultural performance of dancing and music, in addition to a combat performance with both offensive and defensive weapons.  This performance was outside under a roof and by that time of day it became so hot it was hardly bearable but there were some fans.   After that we were treated to a Thai lunch and what little I ate was delicious.  The lunch was served outside under a roof and it was so hot that sweat was running down my back and front and my clothes were wet and sticking to my body.  Later we found out it was about 100 degrees with 98% humidity.  Our only relief was the air conditioned bus so I was glad to get back to the ship.

The next day was my date with the Captain for dinner at the Pinnacle.  I actually sat at the Captain’s table in third seat which gave me an opportunity to converse with him.  I have been at the Captains table on previous cruises but never seated close.  It was a lovely dinner and as it  was a formal night  we did have a party later up at the Crow’s Nest with dancing and prizes.

Grace, to answer your question there just wasn’t enough time to see everything.  I have always wanted to go to the American Cemetery but that will have to wait also.  Many did go to Corregidor  Island and that is why we had to wait for the last ferry even though we couldn’t stay at the pier.  The Captain left a tender for them as we sat idling at sea and watched the fireworks.   I noticed that the first part of my sentence  in my Manila post about that was cut off .watching

We docked in Singapore around 2:00 p.m. and stayed until 11:00pm the next day.  I know everyone will figure I was out of my mind not really doing anything of import in Singapore.  I still was not at l00% and with the weather as dreadful as it was I didn’t want to leave the port area.  It was 98 degrees and 98% humidity.

The port area is a large mall connected to another mall.  I needed to go to certain stores and beauty spa so other than sitting outside in a shaded and breezy area for a beer I stayed in this port area.

Every time I go to Singapore new buildings have sprouted.  The high-rises in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai cannot be beat.

St. Patrick’s day was celebrated the first night we were in Singapore so not much was happening since so many people were off the  ship.  But, as usual the decorations were fantastic.  It was also Marilyn’s birthday so we had a celebration at our table.

Our next port was the Island of Langkawi, Malaysia.  I have been to the mainland of Malaysia but not this  island.  It is a beautiful island and five of us hired a taxi for 3 to 4 hours.  He took us all around the island  and this water buffalo was right along the road.  We also saw monkeys but I wasn’t able to photograph them.  The island had so many different types of scenery  to beaches, jungles, arid topography, farmlands, etc.

I only have one complaint and that is Fran bought a beautiful dress for $5.00 and I paid $8:00 for a blouse.  I did not do the proper bargaining.  We each paid the taxi driver $15.00 for the tour.

ferry from Corregidor   The port authorities would not let us stay at the dock as another ship was coming in to dock.  We were close enough to watch the Italians and Dutch compete for the best fireworks displays.  I didn’t even know there was a competition between countries for firework displays.  Anyway it was a treat but we don’t know who won.

I had a tour to go to Macau the first day in Hong Kong and I am happy I did.  First it is a magnificent city and has more gambling casinos than Las Vegas.   It is a combination of Chinese and Portuguese, and the old and new.  Tall skyscrapers and ancient sites.  The Macau Tower is the 10th highest freestanding tower in the world and we went there for a buffet lunch,  We even watched five people get ready for bungee jumping but we didn’t actually see them jump because  our tables kept moving around the buffet.   We took a ferry over and back and on the way back I felt my throat get scratchy.  Needless to say I got a cold so I stayed in my cabin for a day and one half trying to get rid  of itr fast so my experience in Hong Kong consisted  of going to the pharmacy.

Oriental night was fun and Julia (93year old mother of Fran) dressed as a Geisha girl.  A very fun night and I started to feel human again.

As we were leaving Manila the Captain had to wait in the Harbor to tender passengers who were on the last ferry from Corregidor   The port authorities would not let us stay at the dock as another ship was coming in to dock.  We were close enough to watch the Italians and Dutch compete for the best fireworks displays.  I didn’t even know there was a competition between countries for firework displays.  Anyway it was a treat but we don’t know who won.

I had a tour to go to Macau the first day in Hong Kong and I am happy I did.  First it is a magnificent city and has more gambling casinos than Las Vegas.   It is a combination of Chinese and Portuguese, and the old and new.  Tall skyscrapers and ancient sites.  The Macau Tower is the 10th highest freestanding tower in the world and we went there for a buffet lunch,  We even watched five people get ready for bungee jumping but we didn’t actually see them jump because  our tables kept moving around the buffet.   We took a ferry over and back and on the way back I felt my throat get scratchy.  Needless to say I got a cold so I stayed in my cabin for a day and one half trying to get rid  of itr fast so my experience in Hong Kong consisted  of going to the pharmacy.

Oriental night was fun and Julia (93year old mother of Fran) dressed as a Geisha girl.  A very fun night and I started to feel human again.

Manila was hot but we marched on with our plans. I was acting as tour guide since I had been here before and there is no way you can do Manila in one day.  First a brisk walk to the entrance of Intramuros.  This is the oldest colonial district.  Eventually the Spaniards fortified it with walls to stave off attacks.

There are two very important Cathedrals in the Intramuros.   San Augustine Church and the Manila Cathedral are two of the oldest cathedrals in the Philippines.  We did go into San Augustine and it was beautiful  but the Manila Cathedral  was not open.  This was the opposite case the last time I was here so now I have seen both. Cathedrals inside and out.  After lunch Joan took a taxi to the ship as the heat was too much but Fran and I soldiered on.  We walked through the Intramuros until we got to Fort Santiago which is  a very old fort with beautiful grounds.

Next we took a taxi to the Manila Hotel which , in my opinion, is more spectacular then Raffles  in Singapore and the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.  The staff at the buffet restaurant allowed us to walk through the buffet so Fran could see the extravagant display of food.

After touring the hotel we did go to the bar and have a beer.  The walk back to the ship was quite difficult as it was at the peak heat of the day but I made it.

Manila gave us  not only a great welcome but they gave us a great send off as well.

Our first port in the Philippines was Puerto Princesa and it is a nice small town with lovely and friendly people.  It was very close to the ship and we took tuktuks at a $1.00 each to help in the heat.  Otherwise it would have been an easy walk.  We visited the Immaculate Conception Church and the old fort which was turned into a lovely garden area. This is called Square Quartel .  We met a German Visitor  and chatted with him about his travels..  This man had been there awhile and he told us about the mayor of this town.  He came from Germany and settled in this town.  He then became mayor and basically cleaned up the town and he is  pushing tourism.  This was very evident with the send off.  An hour show  of singing and dancing.  What a send off.   This scene was an interesting group of little houses on stilts and I shot it as the ship left.

To answer Don’s questions;  Fran’s mother, Julia, and her stepfather are on board and Leslie is also on board.  This is Julia’s 24th world cruise.  No, Don, Pat and I are just good friends and have been since 2011.

Just before this port we had another of the balls and I actually won a bottle of that wonderful champagne, Pol Clement (not) by dancing with Chris.  He is the librarian and a real nice kid, around 23 years of age.

Our next port was Makassar, Indonesia and I did take an organized tour.  This is the first time a cruise  ship has visited the city and I am afraid the city is not ready for cruise ships.  It is the third largest city in Indonesia and the predominant religion is Muslim.  The city is quite dirty and poor.  The island is a dryer island than Bali and not as pretty.  Note the trash in the water at the port.

We went to the produce market and that was very interesting but it would have been nice if they would keep  the traffic away from the street.  You were taking your life in your hands just to walk through the market to the other end.  Motorcycles and tri-shaws.

The tour was twice as long as it should have been but the traffic was incredible with very narrow roads and the small tour buses had problems stuck in traffic.  In order for this city to attract cruise traffic they will probably have to copy Manila.  In Manila  the police act as escorts for the buses and clear the roads so that the buses can proceed without difficulty.

The air temperature was about 94 with the same amount of humidity.   Much too hot for me.

We will be crossing the equator again at about 4:00 pm

I am having a problem with my email.  I can send but I am receiving nothing.  The computer tech tried for 30 minutes and he cannot find the  problem so I can get comments here only.

To bring you all up to date I along with Pat, Joan and Pete went to the Canaletto for the first time and enjoyed the meal .  Hadjah who was our waiter that evening is also the guy who waits on me for breakfast at the Lido.  At the Mariners Cocktail Party he was honored for being an employee for 30 years.  The day after our Canaletto dinner he left the ship for seven months.

I really enjoyed Bali, Indonesia.  I did have a formal tour since I had never been here before.  The Barong dance is a drama depicting the combat between good and evil with  gongs and percussion instruments.  We also viewed the wood carving techniques and the different eras of Balinese art through depth perception depictions.

The dominate religion in Bali is Hinduism.  I  thought this offering was quite unique.  Note the rice.

Bali is beautiful and another interesting thing I saw were fishermen up to their waist in water with their fishing poles.  The water is very shallow quite away from land.

When we got back to the ship we had to get ready for our special Mariner’s night.  The theme this year was Indonesia and these two little children were dressed in the costumes found in the Barong dance as were many other characters there that night.  The decorations and the music and shows were spectacular.