Friday 27^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

After a late breakfast we headed off to the Royal Court Theatre for “The Write Stuff” a presentation by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais – the writers of The Likely Lads, Porridge, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, Lovejoy, Auf Wiedersehen Pet and The Commitments to name a few! Although their IT didn’t work very well they were funny and interesting.

In the afternoon we sat in the sun/shade for a while and then went to see the film “The Judge” with Robert Duvall and Robert Downie Jr.

We discovered that Gary, Jenny and Dianne have all signed up to be part of the crossing the line ceremony on 1^st March. They will be “pollywogs” until they’ve crossed the equator on board a ship - when they join Nesta and Ian in being “shellbacks” (as, of course, we crossed the equator four times on board MV Voyager). Unfortunately this means that Nesta will not be able to kiss a fish, be covered in baked beans or pink blancmange as she was previously. Oh well – you have to make some sacrifices in life!

It was a “formal” night so we made the effort and got dressed up. We had a very nice leg of lamb for dinner and Nesta asked for (and got) some Heinz Tomato Ketchup to go with hers… Robert (our waiter) has promised he will get some and keep it in his part of the galley in case she wants some more in the future!

Incidentally – the Head Sommelier did turn up and apologised for the “Mullygrubber” running out. He promised he would “source it locally” in Brisbane and guaranteed us that it would not run out again before Southampton!!

 

Saturday 28^th February 2015 – Bitung, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.

It’s the QM2’s maiden call to the port of Bitung and the Captain wasn’t sure until we got there whether the water was deep enough for us to dock. Fortunately it was – which meant we didn’t have to use the tenders.

We are only one degree above the equator here and – to paraphrase the Captain – it was hot hot hot at 7-30am when Nesta was up on deck having her early morning cup of tea (or smoke as it’s known).

Lewanne came ashore with us today for a stroll around the local area. It is in no way a “touristy” town and we liked it for that fact alone. The locals were out in force – they had never seen anything as big as the Queen Mary 2 or, indeed, people as tall and broad as Europeans…They kept asking passengers if they could take photos of us! They were very friendly and smiley and did seem genuinely pleased to see us.

We saw the local market selling second hand clothes (which looked like rejects from UK Charity shops) and even the new clothes and shoes in the shops were much too small for us.

Traditional food in this area includes bats, dogs and mice – so we decided not to dine ashore! - Although we did see pictures of some interesting-looking dishes in the windows of local restaurants!

Lewanne and Nesta stopped in the shade for a smoke and a man from a nearby shop immediately brought out two chairs for them to sit on (Ian had to stand!) – so there they were outside a bridal wear shop having lots more photos taken of them by locals and even by some other passengers.

We only managed to stroll about for two and a half hours before the prospect of a shower and air-conditioning back on board beckoned!

The sail away party was interesting when the heavens suddenly opened and the band had to make a run for cover after unplugging all their instruments!

The locals came out in force to wave us off – bands were playing, people waving and taking photographs. We really liked Bitung. It is unspoilt, has a friendly atmosphere and the people are welcoming. Hope it retains this in the future.

In the evening we had to collect our passports as Australian Immigration officers have got on board and will be having “one to one” chats with us tomorrow!!

We then went to the pre-dinner show which was two Broadway dancers’ tribute to tap dancing… (Nesta had decided we hadn’t seen our share of the shows on this sector!) Well – they sang and tap danced to songs from well before our time and were very “American” when they thanked us for being a “wonderful audience”… Don’t think we’ll go to their next show!

To end a busy day we decided to eat in the restaurant and ordered a Chilean unoaked Chardonnay which we had tried, and liked, before to go with our meal. Dinesh (our Sommelier from the previous sectors) turned up with the news that he had “found” three bottles of “Mullygrubber” in the Queen’s Grill (posh peoples restaurant) and he would make sure our new Sommelier had a bottle ready for us tomorrow!

It’s very strange that the Head Sommelier didn’t know about this yesterday when he assured us that the ship had run out of our preferred wine…More cynical people than us may begin to think that passengers are being manipulated into buying more expensive wines… but not us, of course!

Thursday 26^th February – Day at Sea.

This morning we found a quiet spot to sit under the lifeboats – Ian in the shade and Nesta in a patch of sunshine – but we went inside at 11-30am as it was too hot even in the shade.

We had a light lunch and then went to choir practice. There are more men in this choir but only about six sopranos so Nesta has to sing loudly!

In the evening we had a pre-dinner drink in the Chart Room (in homage to Helen and Mike) and then went into the restaurant for the first time in a while. We ordered our favourite “Mullygrubber” from our new sommelier only to be told that it had run out again! Ian was not very impressed - as we had been told that new stocks were taken on board in Kuala Lumpur so they are actually either trying to manipulate us into buying even more expensive wine or they are incompetent. The Head Sommelier will talk to us tomorrow evening – allegedly!

After dinner we went to watch Benjamin Makisi perform. Ben is a tenor who hails from New Zealand via the South Pacific Islands but actually lives in Portishead! He had a superb voice and it was a pleasant way to spend an hour.

 

 

Monday 23^rd February 2015 – Day at Sea.

Some of us were a little hung-over this morning! An early highlight of the day was managing to skype both Dave and Martin after managing to talk to the girls yesterday.

We finalised our hens and stags wedding present with Hazel this morning and had the gift certificate delivered to our cabin (sorry, stateroom). We then managed to load up with a few carbohydrates before the champagne and caviar canapés began at 2-30pm. (or as some called it, the renewal of Gary & Jenny’s wedding vows!)

The service led by Captain Wells was lovely – and delivered in his own unique style. Nesta became the unofficial photographer/video recorder of the ceremony and competed manfully with the official photographer – especially once she found out that Gary & Jenny were going to have to buy the ship’s photos for $24-95 each… What a good invention a memory stick is!

After the service the Captain stayed with us socialising for a good two and a half hours (someone else was driving the ship!), the champagne flowed, the cake was lovely and the best thing was the Captain gave the smokers permission to smoke in the Churchill Lounge (much to the annoyance of last night’s little Hitler who was on duty again!)

We were not surprised to find that once the sun had set, we didn’t feel like going to the restaurant – our waiter, Robert, will have forgotten who we are!

 

Tuesday 24^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

Another quiet day at sea – recovering from the excesses of the previous thirty six hours! The weather is warming up again as we sail southwards across the South China Sea.

We went to Gary & Jenny’s cabin to show them our pics and video. It is the same size as ours with Diane sleeping on a fold-out version of our sofa…They liked the photos etc. so we transferred them onto their memory stick.

We were completely sober when we had a look at the future sales office. We were only going to enquire - but somehow the deal was so good, that we have only gone and booked ourselves on the 10 day round Britain cruise culminating in the three Queens sailing into Liverpool on 24^th-26^th May - so we’ll have front row seats for what is expected to attract over one million people to the waterfront in Liverpool… Show-offs or what?!

In the evening there was yet another “meet the Captain” cocktail party – for the newbies – and, as the waiters now know us, we were plied with yet more drink! (Austin will be pleased to know that the waiters now bring Ian glasses of red wine rather than the fizzy stuff…not that you drank at all, of course, Austin!)

The only downside to the day is that Nesta has developed a cold and Ian is beginning to show symptoms as well!

 

Wednesday 25^th February 2015 – Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Although we are back in Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu is actually on the island of Borneo. Borneo is the fifth largest island in the world and three countries (Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei) have sovereign territory on it.

Our trip today took us to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. It was great seeing so many animals close up – even if some didn’t look too happy in rather cramped surroundings.

It is really warm and humid today so the best thing we found about the Sabah Museum we were taken to after the park was that it was air-conditioned!

Then it was on to a heritage village. Lots of bamboo huts (with souvenir-sellers inside!) and displays including a “skull hut” where originally you kept your enemies skulls to ward of disease etc… (We had forgotten until that point, that tribes in Borneo were still head-hunters until as recently as the 1920’s)

There was a local showing us how to use a blow-pipe and he let some of us have a go. Ian, though, wouldn’t let Nesta - as she hadn’t had a cigarette for a while and he was worried that she’d suck instead of blow!

Back to the port and the short trip on the tender back to the ship in time for the sail away party. We didn’t feel like a big meal again (what’s wrong with us?!) so we ordered a sandwich on room service and updated the diary and blog as the ship began its voyage to Bitung in Indonesia.

Sunday 22^nd February 2015 – Hong Kong.

We had a quiet morning and did our laundry! Then it was back on the ship’s shuttle to the Ocean Terminal in order to explore a bit of Kowloon.

We walked to the Avenue of Stars. It was packed with Chinese tourists so we turned back and ended up at the 1881 Heritage site. It was previously the headquarters of the maritime police and is very interesting. We saw the actual 12 o’clock gun and the “ball drop” which occurred every day at 1pm and was used by all the ships in the harbour to set their chronometers - and thus be able to navigate successfully.

We found a nice little cafe in a tranquil area where we ordered coffee and a sandwich and watched the crowds queueing to get into designer shops! After that it was back to the ship for our next lifeboat drill and prepare for the evening.

Gary and Jenny are renewing their wedding vows tomorrow – so there had to be a hen and stag night tonight!

The “hens” met for pre-lash cocktails and then went for a meal in the Chef’s Galley area. The crew had done them proud and their table was set beautifully in an alcove looking out over Hong Kong harbour. There then followed a pub crawl to the nightclub G32, the casino and the Commodore club before breaking the ship’s rules by having a cigarette in the Churchill rooms (which is specifically for pipe and cigar smokers.) The little Hitler in charge kept telling them that it was not allowed to smoke cigarettes and actually went to get his supervisor! Common sense prevailed and they moved on to deck 8 aft before returning to G32 where they met up with the “stags” and some raucous dancing and singing then commenced to the music of Vibz…

The “stags” didn’t bother with food and just did a pub crawl. The starting place was the Commodore club followed by the swimming pool bar on deck 12, the Chart room and the Golden Lion pub before joining the hens in G32. The hens called it a night sometime around midnight but the stags went on to the casino. Even though the ship was relatively stable, both Colin and Gary fell down, at different times, some of the stairs leading to the casino… What are the chances of that? Thankfully they were both unhurt!

Oh yes – forgot to mention that the hens were wearing fluffy crowns and the stags all had on very large, colourful bow-ties which were very much admired/looked at by the other guests as we wandered around the ship!

All in all a good night – although there may be some sore heads in the morning!

Friday 20^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

 

Another busy day at sea and (hopefully) the last with our very noisy Chinese/Asian guests who never stop eating strange concoctions like for example fruit, hard boiled eggs and onions all on one plate – for breakfast!

 

We enjoyed the Dermot Murnaghan Q&A session. He is a good speaker and seems really genuine. Later we joined in the “groovy choir” which is open to all but consists of us all sitting in the Grand Lobby which (as Graeme and Sheila will know from the visit) is like a five star hotel. The acoustics are pretty good and as the songs were classics ranging from The Beatles to Sinatra – everyone knew some of them, so could sing away to their hearts content!

 

We didn’t know anything about Chinese wine (apparently they are the fifth largest producer of wine in the world) so when we saw there was a Chinese wine tasting presentation we decided to go along – purely from an educational standpoint obviously! The wines we tasted were more “old world” and not as fruity as we like - but we’ll definitely give the Zuishixian a go again. (At $45 a bottle it’s within our price range on the ship – wonder if there are any off-licences in Hong Kong?!)

 

At 7pm we went to a show by “The 4Tunes”. They are all West End class singers who harmonise really well and their version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” was not to be missed.

 

After this we decided to go and watch the film “Grand Budapest Hotel” starring Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law and Tilda Swinton amongst others. Ian had heard that is has been nominated for several Oscars so even though we didn’t know what it was about we decided to go and see it. Suffice to say – we still don’t really know what it was about!

 

Finally we had a nightcap and then retired to prepare ourselves for Hong Kong… (Just a quick editor’s note… Nesta has now finished her two litres of vodka but Ian still has one and a half litres of his whisky left! – lightweight!!)

 

 

Saturday 21^st February 2015 – Hong Kong.

 

Only 21 degrees and foggy – so we had to dig out our fleeces from the back of the wardrobe!

 

Sadly we were unable to meet up with Martin White (from Voyager) who lives here. We had planned to meet by the Star Ferry terminal but had received a text from him to the effect that although he was out of hospital he is confined to bed suffering from bronchitis. There is a flu epidemic in Hong Kong with apparently 250 deaths this winter. The ship’s advice, to prevent us catching avian flu, is not to hold or touch live birds…the mind boggles!

 

We took the ship’s shuttle along with Gary, Jenny, Diane and Lewanne from the new Kai Tak terminal in Kowloon (or white elephant terminal, as Martin called it) into Ocean Terminal. From here we got the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island and did one of the three “hop on, hop off” bus tours. The first stop was at Victoria Peak (the highest point in Hong Kong) and our tickets included a ride in the funicular railway up to the top. Gary and Jenny had been here seven years ago when it was peaceful and green - so they were amazed that it is now crawling with people and concreted over with Starbucks, Burger King etc. in evidence. The massive queues to get up – and back down – meant that by the time we got on to our open-top bus again, it was already 2pm.

 

The south of the island is much prettier, taking in Stanley, Aberdeen and Repulse Bay. The others got off again at Stanley (to “do” the market) but we stayed on and went back to the starting point. Incidentally, the trip was advertised as lasting two hours if you didn’t get off the bus – but our driver obviously didn’t know this - as he threw the bus round corners and tried to overtake any taxi he saw! Add to this the fact that it rained for the last 20 minutes of our ride, so we had the experience of being crammed in downstairs holding on to anything we could - whilst the driver tried to break his lap record. Not the most relaxing trip in the world!

 

We caught the shuttle back to the ship and explored the Kai Tak terminal. On top of the building is a park, water garden and walks. Lots of locals were there having picnics and taking “selfies” with the QM2 in the background.

 

In the evening, on the ship, there was “The Hebei Acrobatic & Magic Show” performed by a local group. It was very similar (and nowhere near as good) as the one in Singapore.

 

At 8-15pm we went up to Deck 13 to watch a laser show in the harbour area – but with the mist/haze about, it wasn’t very spectacular. The majority of the buildings had light shows playing on them so it was rather pretty. We like Hong Kong!

 

Wednesday 18^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

 

We’re now back to GMT+8.

 

We had planned to do the “galley tour” this morning but the queues were so long, we decided to leave it for a future leg.

 

15 teams from various sections of the ship’s company competed in this morning’s fancy dress pancake race. It was fun and lots of guests turned up to cheer on their favourite team – although the wind did seem to give the pancakes a life of their own!

 

In the afternoon, Nesta took over both our balcony chairs to make herself a “nest” to sunbathe out of the wind.

 

Yet another meeting with the Captain in the evening, when we were invited to a “world club” cocktail party. We spent our time chatting to Pippa, his PA, as we know who the power behind the throne is!

 

 

Thursday 19^th February 2015 – Sanya, China.

 

This is another port that the QM2 has never visited before. Over 2000 people were “tendered” to the shore-side immigration department. Even though we had been warned of long “lines” (American for queues!) it wasn’t as onerous as predicted.

 

Our trip wasn’t really as described. It was, after all, the Chinese New Year so our trip to the beach turned out to be “there’s the beach over there in between the masses of people” It is very strange that a nation of people, who don’t seem to sunbathe, go to the beach fully dressed on a holiday!

 

Our guide’s English was not good (although better than our Chinese) the on-coach microphone did not work properly and her mobile microphone she wore when off the coach was no better. This meant she didn’t come with us at the various stops – so we were at a bit of a loss as to what it was we were seeing…Other groups were getting local information etc. but we passed on what we gleaned by word of mouth. (Chinese whispers?)

 

After the beach we went to Luhuitou Park which is on a hill overlooking Sanya. There were lots of opportunities for taking photos but the highlight were the trips up and down the hill on “golf carts” (which wouldn’t meet EU Health and Safety measures) Why pay to go on a big dipper when we got this for free!

 

The final part of the tour was a visit to a pearl factory… Well, they opened the shop bit - but the museum and factory bit was closed because (yes, you’ve guessed it) it was a national holiday and all the workers had gone home to have New Year’s Day with their families.

 

We got back to the ship where we watched news reports of all the firework displays all over China. We, of course, sailed before any such display in Sanya! Overall it was a slightly disappointing day but, when you think about it, it is fabulous that we have been to China!!

 

Monday 16^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

 

Another relaxing day at sea. Went to listen to a talk by Dermot Murnaghan about his thirty years in television news. He was very good and funny, although he went down slightly in our estimation when we saw him later running round the promenade deck clad in Lycra!!

 

Nesta had a chat with the Captain when she was carrying two cups of tea down to the cabin. Apparently she needs to carry both cups in one hand so that her other hand is free to hold the rail if needed! She promised him that she would do as he suggested in future – indeed at the Full World Voyage Cocktail Party later that evening she was able to report to him that it was a skill that she has now mastered.

 

 

Tuesday 17^th February 2015 – Phu My, Vietnam.

 

What a full-on day. We went on the Cu Chi Tunnels trip which was about two and a half hours, by coach, away from the ship and necessitated driving through the middle of Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, as the locals still call it).

 

Along the route we saw lots of paddy fields and coffee plantations and as it’s very near to the Vietnamese New Year the roads and buildings were all decorated with yellow and red flags etc. Apparently the colour red is lucky in the north and yellow is lucky in the south. According to our guide (who was originally from the north), the South Vietnamese still do not like the North Vietnamese but have to tolerate them.

 

The tunnels were really interesting although a bit sad – as it was again a reminder of what human beings can do to each other. I’m pleased to say that we (as opposed to two of our readers) did not go down the wrong tunnel!

 

We were taken for lunch at a hotel on the banks of the Saigon River and then to a lacquer factory – but we refused their kind offers to buy furniture etc. Then it was back to the ship and some re-hydration!

 

Didn’t feel like dinner so Nesta made do with mashed banana in a bread roll! Five star cruisers are us!

 

Saturday 14^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

 

Another lovely day at sea. The Asians on board don’t seem to “do” sunbathing. Indeed many of them are still walking round in body-warmers and jackets and scarves! The plus side is that there are plenty of sun beds available.

 

We didn’t fancy any of the lectures so we took the opportunity of a little bit of sunbathing followed by sitting in the old-fashioned wooden loungers in the shade on deck 7 reading our books and just generally watching the world go by.

 

As it’s St Valentine’s Day there are lots of romantic decorations around Kings Court which we photographed. Nesta (along with all the other women) was given a single red rose as we entered the dining room and there were heart shaped chocolates in our stateroom when we returned.

 

We watched the start of the “Romeo and Juliet Ball” but decided that ballet is not for us!

 

 

Sunday 15^th February 2015 – Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

 

The clocks actually went back an hour last night, so we are once again at 7 hours ahead of GMT.

 

It was the ship’s first visit to Sihanoukville and we had to anchor one and a half miles from shore. Even then there was only one and a half metres of water beneath the keel!

 

We did the “Sokha Beach and Surroundings” tour. It took us to a “typical village” and local school – which all did seem a bit staged. After all, it is Sunday so why has the school got pupils all in tailored white shirts learning an English song?

 

It is obviously a very poor country and the housing seems ramshackle at best - but some of the hundreds of children that kept appearing were wearing nice replica football shirts, and the motor bikes looked new, so we will reserve judgement.

 

We spent the afternoon at a five star hotel, complete with barbeque and use of their private beach, swimming pool etc. The best thing is that the Wi-Fi was free, so Ian updated the laptop and sorted out Steam (so he can play FIFA 2015). But, still cannot get photos onto the blog. We will have to rely on Facebook for photos – sorry!

Back on the ship we ate in the Chef’s galley tonight and then went to see the film “Pride” starring Imelda Staunton and Bill Nighy.

Friday 13^th February 2015 – Singapore.

 

We did the battlefields tour of Singapore in the morning which took us up the west coast across the north and back down the east coast.

 

Several people on tour looked for, and found, the graves or names carved into the memorials of family members who lost their lives during the war.

 

As you may imagine it wasn’t a “barrel of laughs” tour but very interesting and poignant. Man’s inhumanity to man demonstrated once again.

 

In complete contrast – in the afternoon we met up with Andrew and Linda (fellow smokers) and took a taxi to Raffles Hotel. Here we met up with “the crowd”. The three of us plus Leanne, Gary, Jenny and Diane bade a fond farewell to Norah, Sharon, Tom and Hannah over a Singapore Sling in the courtyard of the hotel. Very plush but at over £20 a go, we all just had the one!

 

Nesta bought herself a Raffles Hotel T-shirt (well it was cheaper than a Singapore sling!) and then we got a taxi back to the ship – and made it with 20 minutes to spare…

 

There are approximately 800 new passengers on board all seemingly doing a 7 night Chinese New Year special as they’re getting off in Hong Kong. Unsurprisingly the majority of them are Chinese and there are lots of children and people in their 20’s. Good grief! What is the ship coming to?

 

At 7-30pm there was an “Asian Cultural Show” with local performers which was very interesting and the good news is that our favourite wine is back on board!

 

You know how much we like dressing up (not) – but we do as required by the dress code. After all, we knew what it would be like before we got on. The dress code doesn’t seem to have been communicated very well to our new passengers however. Lots of people were allowed into the restaurant wearing trainers, jeans, t-shirts and in one case a bright red hoodie. We were told that the dress code will be enforced tomorrow night (it is a formal night). We can’t wait to see what they think formal wear is! Mr & Mrs Grumpy, or what?!

 

 

Wednesday 11^th February 2015 – Penang, Malaysia.

 

We hadn’t known what to expect in Penang – but it turned out to be a little gem. We very much enjoyed our tour, which took in most of the north of the island. There is much more money here than in Thailand and the “Brits” have left some fine architecture. It’s really hot though…

 

After a shower and a cool down we decided to give the “sail away” party a miss as it couldn’t live up to yesterday. Several passengers have commented that it looked as if we were enjoying ourselves, although we did notice some of the “posher” passengers looking down on the frolics. Nesta said it felt a bit like being on the Titanic (although hopefully not too much) as all the best parties were in steerage!

 

At 7-30pm we went down to meet Helen and Mike for pre-dinner drinks before going on to the “Lotus” restaurant for a “Chinese/Asian food experience” Unfortunately Mike has finally succumbed to the Cunard Cough and couldn’t make the meal. It was interesting - with a taster menu including lots of different dishes but we preferred the Indian “coriander” night we went to last week.

 

Helen and Mike get off on Friday – so we booked a farewell drink with them tomorrow night in the Chart Room.

 

 

Thursday 12^th February 2015 – Port Kelang, Malaysia.

 

We slept well and were up in time to drink orange juice and make bacon and cheese rolls for brunch - and then it was off to Kuala Lumpur. Again, we weren’t expecting much but were pleasantly surprised.

 

Port Kelang (or Klang, as the locals say) is just over an hour away from Kuala Lumpur (or KL, as the locals say!) The roads were busy but not as hectic as Cochin. Malaysia has an elected King and the present one had a new palace built about two years ago so our first stop was there. It has a number of domes, is very striking and even has “Buckingham Palace” type guards both on foot and horseback. We then went to the National Memorial which stands in beautifully landscaped gardens and commemorates not only the dead from the two world wars but also the fight against the communists in the 1950’s. It was designed by the same person who did the “Iwo Jima” memorial - but when it was completed, it had to be “amended” as the faces on the soldiers weren’t Asian!

 

We were then taken to Independence Square. Again, we were expecting something along the lines of the massive square we’d seen in Havana – but this was a grass square surrounded by lovely colonial buildings and it even had a cricket pitch laid out in the middle!  

The oldest mosque is just off the square and this was actually built on the confluence of the two rivers that KL was founded on. All in all, it was a fascinating trip.

 

We had a final photo-stop at the Petronas Twin Towers - which were impressive – but when you’ve seen the tallest building in the world, you’re not going to be too impressed with the building that used to be! Seriously though, they are amazing. Tower No.1 is fully filled with the offices of the oil company Petronas and Tower 2 is rented out to the businesses who can afford the “best address in Asia.”

 

We arrived back at the ship in time to cool down and prepare for this evening’s festivities.

 

Monday 9^th February 2015 – Day at Sea

 

Clocks forward another hour – so it’s now GMT +7.

 

Didn’t fancy breakfast this morning so went to see Helen’s last lecture. (They’re getting off in Singapore) Mike is suffering from the Cunard cough unfortunately. After Helen’s lecture we went to “Sir Samuel’s” for proper coffee and decided that we were going to have a “farewell” lotus (Asian) meal with them tomorrow night. Nesta thought it was lovely to have a real expresso and said that we may even treat ourselves to another before the end of the cruise!

 

Then it was off to the “dress rehearsal” for the three of us with the choir. An hour’s work trying to get four songs correct and then we had to go onto the stage in the Queen’s Room in front of a packed audience. Surprisingly (and thankfully) it all seemed to go rather well!

 

In the evening we went to see “Saving Mr Banks” starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. It was a good film and once again we forgot we were actually on board a ship!

 

We decided against eating in the restaurant so, after a quick snack, headed down to the pub to save seats (i.e. have a pint) for some of the smokers who wanted to do a music trivia quiz. We did quite well, scoring 13 out of 15 but the winners scored 14, so still no prizes!

 

Nesta decided to do some washing later on – but it will have to be carried over until tomorrow as the laundrette closes at 9-30pm and we discovered some toe-rag had taken our wet washing out of the drier before it was dry and used our drier for their clothes!

 

 

Tuesday 10^th February 2015 – Phuket, Thailand.

 

Our first tender port – and there are over 1400 people booked on shore excursions!

 

First things first though – Nesta was up at 7am to retrieve the washing and (as neither of us felt like breakfast) she went off to the Kings Court to make a couple of cheese salad rolls each to take on our trip. (Very British!)

 

There were plenty of tenders and the organisation is very good but it was still 10-40am before our coach finally set off. The tour was excellent and when we returned to the port managed to buy some cans of beer at a supermarket before joining the queue to get back on board. It was 5-30pm before we got on board – thank goodness for those rolls!

 

We decided we needed a cold drink (the temperature was only 34 degrees today) so straight up to deck 8 aft for the sail away party. After a quick 2 pints of Strongbow, Nesta was game to join the entertainment team and some other smokers in strutting her stuff to the music. It was all going well until the lead singer in “Vibz” sang a song where he instructed the dancers which move to make. He sang “jump into the pool” “jump into the pool” so about 12 people (including him) actually did – fully clothed…it was good fun and the other passengers gave them all a hearty round of applause when they emerged – dripping!

 

After a shower and putting on some dry clothes, Nesta thought she would brave the laundrette again. We had read on “trip advisor” that there are often queues, but had underestimated the friction and downright bad behaviour! Apparently two guests were asked to leave the ship in Dubai, because they had actually been fighting in the laundrette! Fortunately the only drama Nesta faced was a member of staff had locked the door 15 minutes early - so we had to phone the Purser’s Desk to get someone to open it - so we could retrieve another load of washing (and very popular we were too!)

 

The clocks go forward yet another hour tonight so when we land in Malaysia we will be GMT +8! Because of this, we decided to have an early night.

 

 

Thursday 5^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

 

Happy birthday Don.

 

We had another relaxing day at sea. Went to hear Helen give a lecture on the defence of India in Napoleonic times, had brunch and then went to the cinema on board to watch “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” starring Judy Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy. It’s set in India and is a really good film.

 

It was yet another formal night so we ate in the restaurant. We have found a Chilean un-oaked Chardonnay which was very nice and at $34-50 quite cheap!

 

There was a “Night of the Raj Ball” in the evening. We had a look in and there were a surprising number of passengers strutting their stuff in fancy dress. We didn’t join in!

 

 

Friday 6^th February 2015 – Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 

Our “Ceylon Tea Experience” was certainly that! It involved a two hour drive each way in traffic just as chaotic as in Cochin…a large junction with three (official) lanes of traffic converging from five different directions all at once on to one policeman, with a whistle, standing in the middle of the road, was our favourite!

 

We did notice that no matter how “free” the driving is, we never saw a single vehicle with a dent or even scrapes.

 

We did about six miles on a toll motorway – with hardly any traffic! – And the last few miles was actually an “off-road” experience where we bumped along over dried mud!

 

Because of the civil war in Sri Lanka (Tamil Tigers, and all that) only finished in 2009 we were warned that tour guides were inexperienced and may not have much grasp of the English language - but they would make up for it with their enthusiasm… Our guide was in his 70’s, couldn’t speak conversational English and had obviously missed out when the enthusiasm was being handed out. It eventually became quite an art deciphering what he was in fact saying (that is when he bothered to speak at all!)

 

The sights and aromas of the tea factory were fascinating and the cup of fresh tea served on the lawn outside the plantation bungalow (massive house!) was picturesque and thirst quenching.

 

At the “sail away” party we stood chatting with Dr Rami Seth (one of the lecturers) and then decided to dine in the restaurant. Our sommelier told us that several of the red wines (including our favourite) were out of stock… We are sure it is purely coincidence that it is all the wines priced at less than $40 dollars that have run out. We said we would leave it for now but, not to be outdone, he returned shortly having “found” a South African Pinotage at only $35-80.

 

 

Saturday 7^th February 2015 – Day at Sea.

 

Our three lovely “Solace” security men left us at 2-30am by small boat off the coast of Sri Lanka as we are apparently no longer in the piracy danger zone. Nesta was chatting to one of them yesterday and he has four days off and then flies out to accompany a Super Yacht through the Suez Canal, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Not a bad life… (As long as there’s no pirates!)

 

After listening to a Jackie Stewart Q&A session we went for brunch and found there was a “Ploughman’s Station” – all that you can imagine that could be served as a “ploughman’s” – brilliant!

 

Choir practice was at 2pm – to learn our 4^th song…We still aren’t very good and the performance is only two days away… Heigh-ho

 

We went to Helen’s next lecture about the lifetime experiences of a Battle of Britain pilot who not only survived, but won a DSO and bar and a DFC. The fact that he was also Helen’s father merely added to the interest.

 

We then managed to skype Dave, Rebecca and Martin… although the Wi-Fi is expensive it’s worth it! (Ellie and Fi – we’ll try you tomorrow).

 

On Voyages of Discovery whenever you were invited to dine at the Captain’s table the commemorative photograph was delivered to your cabin. As we hadn’t received ours we enquired, to be told that the group photo of this ship’s dinner would cost us $25. Strangely we didn’t buy one!

 

In the evening, we tidied our stateroom and Jerry (our steward) found us an extra chair because we had invited Helen and Mike up to our balcony to sample the wine which we bought in Italy. We then headed for the “Chef’s Galley” for some fresh pasta – delicious. Here they bought a bottle of Malbec which was much nicer (and probably more expensive) than the one we had at the beginning of the trip. All in all it was a lovely evening and another brilliant day.

 

 

Sunday 8^th February – Day at Sea.

 

We attended Rami’s final lecture – he made us laugh again - and then it was on to the church service with the Deputy Captain.

 

Another relaxing sea day and as the Captain said on his noon update “We are skirting the bottom end of the Bay of Bengal in the North Eastern part of the Indian Ocean and are totally surrounded by – absolutely nothing…except beautiful sea”!

 

In the afternoon, Ian went to see the film “12 years a slave” whilst Nesta went to the latest choir rehearsal.

 

The bad news is we seem to be missing out on free wine!! (Yes, difficult to believe isn’t it?). Tonight is a formal night and we should have received invitations for a cocktail party but they were not forthcoming. Several people complained (not Nesta!) and were told several different reasons/excuses for the non-appearance of the invites. The final one was “it is your cabin steward’s fault for not delivering them”. Strange coincidence that lots of different cabin stewards forgot to deliver the invites at the same time! Why can’t people just say “sorry, we got it wrong”?

 

After dinner in the restaurant we went to the show – more acrobats doing a similar show as previously – and then at 11-30pm our time skyped Eloise and Fiona – meaning we had seen and talked to all the children this weekend.

 

We also received presents from the World Voyage Club…a hat for Ian and a rather nice beach bag for Nesta. Very nice – but doesn’t make up for missing the free wine!!

 

Well – another sea day tomorrow followed by four different ports in four days! You need stamina to be on a world cruise…

 

 

Tuesday 3^rd February 2015 – Day at Sea.

 

We are now at GMT + five and a half hours! India is such a vast country but it is all on the same time zone – hence the further half an hour forward (apparently!).

 

Another relaxing day at sea…Off to the Royal Court theatre at 10-30am to secure a seat for Jackie Stewart’s presentation. He is severely dyslexic (I think that’s how you spell it!) and he spoke of the problems it had caused him as a child, his coping mechanisms and how it still affects him to this day. He then talked about motor racing and his F1 career. Unfortunately (for us anyway) he then went on to talk about his commercial contracts with Rolex, Ford Motor Company and Verve Cliquot to name just a few. It became almost like a “motivational presentation” always promising low but delivering high and going that extra mile etc. Slightly disappointing – plus he overran so we missed the Captain’s daily update.

 

In the afternoon, it was off to choir again. From our point of view, it’s not going well. The main problem is the lack of men despite (because of?) Gary and Ian being there!

 

At 7-30pm we met Helen and Mike in the chart room for a drink and then it was off to our “Coriander evening”. The food was absolutely wonderful and we had a fabulous evening.

 

 

Wednesday 4^th February – Cochin.

 

Woke up this morning and it was even more humid outside. If we thought getting our Indian visa was a hassle then clearing immigration was long-winded, shall we say, and involved a lot of queueing.

 

We were going to the “Backwaters of Kerala” and were supposed to leave at 9am. At 10-30am we were still in immigration! Still, we all eventually were allowed in and set off on our 90 km trip to the boats. Well – driving in India is “interesting” to say the least. Cars, trucks, busses, tuk-tuks, motor bikes etc. just go anywhere. There are no obvious rules of the road and can appear quite scary at times – but we saw no accidents or collisions and there was no road rage – so perhaps they’ve got it right?

 

Kerala is described as being “God’s own Country” (with apologies to all Yorkshiremen!) and it is a land of contrasts. Our two hour trip along the canals and lagoons was brilliant. We went past houses, schools, churches as well as paddy fields and the contrasts were all there to see. On the banks of the canal there were women washing clothes by bashing them against stones, a fish-seller in a canoe going from house to house and yet next door they had solar panel street lighting. It is an amazing part of India and a real shame that we have so little time here.

 

When we came to “sail away” scores of people lined the banks of the river to take photos and wave us goodbye. It was quite a sight.

 

In the evening we decided to go to the show. Vocalist Helen Wilding and magician Phillip Hitchcock are getting off the ship in Colombo, so this was our last chance to see them. They were ok (there’s no pleasing some people!) but not our cup of tea.

 

Talking of tea…we’re going to Sri Lanka tomorrow!!

Saturday 31^st January – continued.

 

We enjoyed our drinks and catch-up with Helen and Mike and agreed that we’ll go to a speciality “coriander” evening with them later in the cruise. They are on until Singapore and Helen is presenting five lectures – the first of which is tomorrow morning at 10am.

 

After dinner in the Britannia, we went to see Mick Miller in the theatre. The old people amongst you will remember him from ITV’s “The Comedians” in the 70’s and 80’s. Nesta had never heard of him but he had more than a few funny one-liners. Altogether, it was a good show.

 

Having now been on board for more than 20 nights, we are officially Gold members Cunard’s World Club – so have another badge! More importantly we get two hours free internet each! (Although we have to purchase them first and then the cost will be reimbursed at the end of this sector – honest!)

 

 

Sunday 1^st February – Day at Sea.

 

Well! So much for a relaxing day at sea! First of all it was Helen’s lecture followed by the church service and then a talk by Dr Rami Seth MBE (an Indian doctor who worked in the health service for more than 40 years) on the peculiarities of English if it is learned as a second language.

 

After this we sorted out registering for our “free” internet and then Nesta went to check out this sector’s choir. Gary has joined up so Nesta signed Ian up too. He is thrilled – but hiding it well!

 

Bow-ties were on offer today, so Ian bought a snazzy one to wear for our evening with the Deputy Captain.

 

We very much enjoyed our evening. Stephen was easy to talk to as was Pippa (the Captain’s secretary). They swapped places after the main course so all eight guests could speak to them.

 

It was the normal Britannia menu and although the wine was not exactly flowing – it was free! We had a picture taken but not sure if we will be asked to pay for it… Hope not!

 

 

Monday 2^nd February – Day at Sea.

 

Happy Birthday Eloise!

 

A surprisingly busy day! At 10am Dr Rami Seth did “An Introduction to India” talk and managed to be both entertaining and informative. Then it was a mad dash to the Royal Court to listen to Sir Max Hastings talking about Churchill’s war. (Ian stayed for the lecture, but Nesta decided to get some “fresh air” instead)

 

We then had a brief respite between 12-2pm so had some breakfast.

 

At 2pm there was the choir (and, yes – Ian did attend!) followed at 3-30pm by Helen’s second lecture, this one about the Indian Air Force and the re-taking of Burma.

 

Finally, it was back into formal wear for the Captain’s Reception. We managed to down a few glasses before dinner in the Britannia again.

 

Received a phone call from Mike suggesting we meet up with them tomorrow night to dine in the Indian Coriander Restaurant. This cruising lark is full-on (and that’s before we visit 8 ports in 10 days commencing on Wednesday.

 

We’ll have to have a holiday to get over it!