EmmJays Travel Journal
March 2002
For three days we traveled parallel to the coast of Western Australia from Perth to the Temor Sea, which runs through Indonesia and across the northern coastline of Australia. Our destination was Darwin.
Darwin, Northern Territory
Rising early I left the ship and boarded a motor coach with 34 other passengers. We were headed for Kakadu National Park. The sun shone as we entered the park which was swamp covered on either side of the road. It was the rainy season. Reed grasses swayed tall between the gum trees and the area was lush with vegetation. The water level was too high for us to see the crocodiles, however we were informed they were there.
As we drove along a dingo walked alongside the bus and we saw a few wallabies hopping through the grass. We took a flat boat for a few hours and we weaved in and out of the narrow waterways. There were parrots, geese, storks, fishing birds and magpies to be seen. We saw termite mounds as tall as a man and a series of caves with aboriginal art hand painted on the rock. Twelve hours later we were back on the ship.
Cebu, Philippines
We spent the next 3 days at sea with hot sunny days and calm seas. We participated in all the ship's activities and on day two we crossed the equator again. The captain informed us that a cyclone was brewing approximately 800 miles from the Philippines but it was currently headed away from the islands. We passed several small islands. There are about 7000 islands that make up the Philippines and they cover about 1150 miles north to south and about 700 miles east to west. We entered Cebu harbour at 7:30am. The water was horribly polluted and the ships we passed were in poor condition. Shacks made of rotted wood were stacked closely together along the shore. There was garbage everywhere.
I took a bus through the chaotic traffic to the countryside. A good percentage of the people are excruciatingly poor and live at a subsistence level. We found them to be friendly and very curious. We stopped in a square outside a market. School girls swarmed the square on their way to class. One little girl took an interest in my video camera so I let her look through the viewer and record some footage. On the road again we passed a lot of rice fields, water buffalo and delapitated buildings. We stopped at a shoe shop and watched the workers make shoes of leather from scratch. Chickens pecked around us on the dirt floor. On a hill overlooking lush vegetation we attended an outdoor catholic service.
Hong Kong, China
We left Cebu at 6pm having dodged a cyclone and a 7.2rc earthquake that hit the northern islands of the Philippines. We entered the South China sea the next day and the seas were rough. Our sports activities were moved indoors and we had a ladies vs men competition. The ladies won 3-2. The winds whipped up to gale force and the ship rolled with the swell.
The ship docked at Tsing Yi Island, a 30 minute drive to Kowloon. From Nathan Street I took a bus to Victoria Peak. We were dwarfed by sky high apartment buildings, hotels and office complexes. Fortunately the weather cooperated and the view from the top was excellent. On the bus again I was off to Aberdeen and Repulse Bay. This area is dripping with wealth. I looked around the arts and crafts centre in the PRC (Republic of Communist China) store. There was silk, jade, linens, artifacts large and small all imported from the mainland. No knockoffs in this store.
The following day I went to Stanley Market. Lots of knockoffs here! Not far from the market there was a porcelain factory with vases, pots, animal sculptures, figurines, plates, bowls, you name it on several floors. It was worth a browse. In the afternoon I went into a jewelery factory/store to watch a group of workers sorting and cutting gems. The showrooms sparkled with baubles of all shapes and sizes. One had to admire the workmanship and beauty of the end product. I browsed in awe.
The weather was sunny and warm again the next day so I decided on walking through old Hong Kong. The air was polluted by the factories on the mainland and the exhaust from the heavy traffic in Hong Kong. You could taste it. I stopped for a custard tart and then navigated my way through the narrow alley ways packed on either side by business entrepreneurs. The first few streets were mostly fruits, vegetables and dried foods. Meats and poultry hung from hooks in shop after shop. Live fish, frogs and all types of aquatic life were displayed in shallow tubs. Birds of all shapes and sizes were caged ready for sale. Chinese medicines made from wild animal parts, all displayed in glass bottles in shop after shop. It was a fascinating place to explore but it also saddened me to see so much exploitation of wild life.
I entered a Buddhist Temple and watched as the followers presented their offerings. The temple included religious carvings and a huge Buddha was perched front and centre. Having left the temple I wondered through an antique market before returning to the ship.
Da Nang, Vietnam
A full day at sea enjoying ships activities preceded our arrival in Da Nang. I boarded a minibus at 7am and we headed for the mountains. The people were very poor but they showed pride in the little they had by keeping their surroundings and waterways free of garbage. The traffic was not chaotic but the drivers were suicidal. The majority of the vehicles on the road were motorcycles, mopeds and push bikes. The vehicles were overloaded with people, foodstuffs, live animals and building materials. Traffic heads in all directions with a total disregard for the centre line, traffic lights, cross streets or on coming traffic. One motorbike I saw had 6 people on it. Most bikes had at least three people on board plus some goods.
The minibus reached the Forbidden City in the City of Hue. The palace had been ransacked and had been damaged from the ravages of war. I met an American who fought in this location. He told me that the local people welcomed him when he returned. He thought they would be hostile, but they were warm and welcoming. After exploring the grounds the minibus returned us to the ship. Twelve hours of travel this day had slipped by very quickly.
Kampong Saon, Cambodia
Two days at sea with calm waters and we were docked at Shanoukville, Cambodia. This was a very special day for this town as our ship was the first cruise ship to stop at this port. The wharf had been built by the US during the Vietnam war. It took several tries for the Captain to get the ship tight to the dock.
Buses were waiting to take us to Phnom Peng, Cambodia's capital. This country had suffered many wars and as poverty gripped the people, the towns and villages were left to decay. This area had been 'cleansed' by the Khmer Rouge. We passed through a 15km stretch where millions of people, entire families lost their lives to Pol Pot. It is known as 'The Killing Fields'. As we traveled toward the capital we did stop a few times and were warned not to leave the road as there were unexploded ordinance everywhere. Farmers lose limbs and many children who play in the fields get blown to shreds.
In Phnom Penh we stopped and explored the museum and Royal Palace. The Silver Pagoda, dating back to 1860 is a Khmer version of Ramayana. The temple has 5000 silver tiles on the floor, each weighing 2 ½ lbs. We had to remove our shoes before entering this fortress of opulence. The King was in residence at the Palace when were were there. The gold Buddha in the palace temple is encrusted with 9584 diamonds. The haves and have-nots are very apparent in this country. We found the people engaging but shy. We were free to go wherever we wanted and I would have liked to have seen more.
Singapore
It took a full day at sea to reach Singapore. On our sea day the M&M pool got more visitors as the weather was warm and a gentle breeze blew all day. I won a camera at golf chipping which I gave to Margaret. She had won a lot of other events but never won the camera.
We found Singapore very clean and well kept. The downtown is beautifully manicured with tropical flowers, tall shade trees and stately buildings. Lots of mixed races greeted us here. They were curious and very friendly. We stopped by Raffles, but did not go in. I headed for Faber mountain to take in the view and later the Botanical Gardens to check out the orchids. The gardens were magnificent.
Port Kelang, Malaysia
After having cleared immigration and customs on the ship I boarded a bus to Kuala Lumpur. It took an hour. I took a photo of the Blue Mosque on the way. Malaysia is 85% Muslim. The remainder of the populous are Hindu, Buddhist and Christian. I particularly wanted to see the old commercial sector with its early 1800 architecture. There was a mixture of styles and all the buildings were in good condition. I also visited a bird sanctuary and butterfly house. Both were excellent.
I had a late lunch at the Governor Generals residence which is now a restaurant. It was a beautiful setting and the food was a bit expensive, but good. There was a good view from the grounds of the tallest towers in the world, The Petronas Towers. They are joined at the top by a bridge.
Phuket, Thailand
It was a very hot day in Phuket. I took a bus into town and walked along the main streets until I reached the beach. The Thai people were very shy but the people of Indian descent were pushy and in-your-face. I could not get away from taxi drivers who would chase me in order to get me to hire them. It was awful. Shopping was not a good experience either so I went back to the beach. Back at the ship in the late afternoon I saw that merchants had set up stalls on the wharf, so I meandered my way around these until the ship was scheduled to leave. I purchased 3 tops and a skirt in Thai silk.
Thai dancers entertained us in the Queens Lounge. The ship left late at night and we did not go to the dining room for our evening meal, instead we enjoyed a BBQ on the back deck by the pool.
Madras, India
A friend had told me that India would insult my senses, but it did the opposite, it excited my senses. It was very hot and dirty, packed with people with limited amenities. The infrastructure could not support this many people but they were doing what they had to do to survive. There was wealth hidden behind huge stone walls and abject poverty for most. In the streets, bustling with people going in all directions there appeared to be no conversation. The men stared at us everywhere we went.
Margaret, Caroline and I visited the Elephant Caves at Mamallaouran and a Hindu Temple at Dakshinchitra. I loved the caves. The elephants were carved out of rock and they were the size of adult elephants. We were swarmed by street sellers when we arrived and a polite 'no thank you' meant nothing. They harassed us constantly and I found it very uncomfortable even though I knew deep down that these were poor people just trying to make a living. On the way back to the ship we drove through the countryside where we saw water buffalo soaking in pools thick with water hyacinths. We passed a lot of livestock on the roads and had to let them pass so as not to run them down. We stopped at a Tamil Village and looked at some of their artifacts as a group of musicians practised for a concert.
Seychelles Islands
Three days in the Indian Ocean preceded our next destination. We had already traveled 20,818 nautical miles. We rounded the coastline of Shri Lanka and it got dark. I had received my invitation to attend the Captain's table in the Kings room that evening. It was a table for 15 guests and 5 officers. The meal was elegantly presented and the food was excellent. It took 3 hours in all.
Victoria is the capital of Make, one of the Seychelles Islands. We arrived at 7am just behind the QE2. Tall cliffs surrounded the city which was very small but vibrant. I spent the morning in the town then grabbed a local bus with Adrianna, Myrna and Jitja and we headed for the mountains. The driver was a homicidal maniac but we did reach our destination in one piece. The beach on the other side of the mountain was almost deserted and the water was very warm. We swam and talked all day, then caught the local bus back in the afternoon. School children were coming home from school and were packing onto the bus. It was a hair raising trip down the mountain as the driver must have been related to the last one, only this one was completely insane. In town we stopped at a cafe and then as the day drew to a close we headed back to the ship.
Mauritius
The sea was rough all day and all night as we headed for Mauritius. Port Louis was mountainous and tropical. It is situated east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Six of us piled into two taxis before 9am and we headed for the beach on the north end of the island. The beach was absolutely beautiful and we snorkeled all day. Small fish darted all over the reef and the sea was calm. The taxi drivers hung around all day and at 4pm they were there to take us back to the ship. We stopped at the market and spent 2 hours shopping. I bought a silk sari. We had a beer under umbrellas before walking a mile back to the ship.
Reunion Island
Surrounded by volcanic mountains the ship docked at La Port, a 30 minute drive from La Possession. We jumped into a taxi and headed for a beach on the east shore of the island. We stopped at Gille de Bain. The sand was gritty and there was broken coral on the shore line. We swam all day then piled back into another taxi to get back to the ship by 5pm. We just made it back in time.
The month of March had come to an end.
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