Friday, April 13, 2012

Dubai, United Arab Emirates


Thursday, April 12 and Friday, April 13 find us in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a very modern desert city.   Dubai has only one city, but it is made up of over a million people.  The older quarter, Bur Dubai, is on the left bank of Dubai Creek and Deira, the commercial center, is on the right bank. 

In Deira, you will find some of the oldest and most interesting markets (souks), as well as many glittering skyscrapers.  The Old Covered souk and the Gold Souk still preserve their old character – unlike many of the other more modern looking shops.

One very interesting thing to do while in Dubai, besides browse and shop the souks, is travel along the waterfront known as Dubai Creek.  Currently only wooden ships, called dhows, are allowed inside the Creek, for reasons of safety.  The dhows represented the luxurious trade of the Indian Ocean over many centuries.

Arriving Dubai, we were in our berth shortly before 1PM on Thursday.  Fortunately, we were able to take a few skyline photos as we traversed the harbor because soon a “sand storm” blew into the area blocking all views.  Many of the tour excursions, especially the 4WD Desert Safari’s, were cancelled.  Needless to say, there are disappointed passengers.  The tours have been rescheduled for Friday but the weather conditions remain to be seen?

Next port of call will be Salalah, Oman on Monday, April 16.





Thursday, April 12, 2012

Around The Ship


Here are some photos from around the ship.  We were please to get to know Gavin MacLeod , star of the TV show the Love Boat.  Really a nice guy.  As you can see we have had a few holidays on board—Valentine’s Day, Cindy’s Birthday, and Easter.  Cindy got beautiful flowers from a friend and we have both enjoyed doing ceramics.







Manama, Bahrain


Manama, Bahrain – the first time we have visited this location.  Wednesday, April 11 and it is a beautiful, sunny day but you wouldn’t really know because of all the sand that is blown by the wind causing the horizon to look very hazy.

Bahrain is an island located just offshore from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.  It is connected to Saudi Arabia by a new, 16 mile causeway.    Manama, the capital city, has a unique skyline with mosques and futuristic skyscrapers intermingled. 

Bahrain has oil but not a lot compared to its neighbors.  One of their biggest businesses is in refining petroleum from other countries.   Bahrain is the Middle East’s pre-eminent financial hub.  They also won the competition to host the Formula One Grand Prix, a magnet for tourist, further putting them on the map.

Because Bahrain is thought to have been inhabited since prehistoric times and it was home to one of the great trading empires of the ancient world there are numerous places of interest to visit.  One that intrigued us was the Tree of Life.   Surrounded by desert, a sole mesquite tree has mysteriously thrived for approximately 400 years and is believed by many to stand upon the location of the Garden of Eden.

At 5PM we sailed away, heading for Dubai, UAE.  Shortly after leaving the harbor, we encounter many very large jellyfish.  You sure wouldn’t want to swim in these waters without a wetsuit!










Mumbai, India




Saturday, April 7, we’re in Mumbai.  The name was officially changed from Bombay by an Act of Parliament in 1997, and Mumbai is built on seven islands which are joined to the mainland by an artificial causeway.   Also, Mumbai is one of the most populous cities in the world and it shows when you try to traverse a street.

We left Chennai with the sun setting and arrived 3 days later with the sun rising over Bombay Harbor.  Taking our place at our berth provided many interesting sites, men doing laundry, fishing for their breakfast, sailing lessons in small dinghy’s and many cargo ships waiting their turn at a port berth.

Several people remained onboard today and we were among them, again……

Tonight we leave India and begin our trip across the Arabian Sea to Manama, Bahrain.

Chennai, India


Tuesday, April 3 found us in Madras, India or Chennai as it is known today.  Overlooking the Bay of Bengal, Chennai was founded in the early 1600’s for the East India Company.  Here you will find the world’s second largest beach and a warm, year-round climate.

Nearby you will find Kancheepuram, the “city of 1,000 temples” and one of India’s seven sacred cities and said to bestow happiness on everyone who visits.  Also, not too far away, you can explore very old granite monuments at the 7th century village of Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Chennai was this year’s departure point for the Overland tour to the Taj Mahal.  Approximately 130 very excited passengers departed for their 5-day tour.  Many of the passengers who stayed to tour Chennai on their own choose to take Rickshaws; they described the rides as “white knuckle tours”!

Some tours were late returning so our departure was delayed allowing us some very nice sites of the setting sun.  We now have 3 sea days before arriving in Bombay (Mumbai).







Phuket, Thailand


Saturday, March 31, found us at Phuket, Thailand’s “Pearl of the South”.  Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea, among several breathtaking islands, known for their snorkeling, diving and photographic areas.  Phuket is also an interesting island full of temples, gardens and fishing villages.

On Phuket there is an off tribe known as sea gypsies because they frequently move their villages, they earn their living by fishing from gaily painted boats.  Freshly-caught fish hang on a stick like washing on a line.  They are also known for their exquisite specimens of seashells.

It was a very hot day, reaching into the mid-90’s with humidity to match and all were glad to sail away at 4PM.  However, our next port, Chennai, India, should exceed the temperatures! 




Singapore, Singapore


March 29, 7am,  Singapore,  the last port on the third segment of the World Cruise.  The ship docked at the Ocean Cruise Terminal – located within the Harbor front Shopping Center.  This is the best docking location for cruise ships.

Singapore lies just 85 miles north of the Equator at the tip of the Malay Peninsula and is the commercial center of Southeast Asia.  This island city and state of nearly five million people is modern and old combined, has Chinese shop houses with red tiled roofs, Victorian buildings, Buddhist temples, Arab bazaars and of course, is home to the world famous Raffles and the Singapore Sling.

We were required to leave the ship for immigration purposes.  Fortunately, this cruise terminal is designed much like an airport and has the walkways that connect directly to the ship.   Curt was able to roll the wheelchair off without assistance.   After clearing immigration, we shopped in some of the stores and then headed to MacDonald’s to use their free Wi-Fi.

Our next port of call will be back in Thailand, to Phuket, a new location for us.





Laem Chabang, Thailand


Monday,  March 26th, at approximately 7am we arrived in Laem Chabang, the port of entry for Bangkok and our first stop in Thailand.  Thailand is a world of exotic excitement, a land of golden temples.  It is a nation of smiling, happy people, saffron- color robed monks and so much traffic.

Passengers had varied choices of tours, heading off to Bangkok for the day (a 2 ½ hour drive each way), visiting cultural gardens, doing the Elephant Kraal, or taking the shuttle into the nearby town of Pattaya for shopping and restaurants.  Even this shuttle ride is 45 to 60 minutes each way due to the very heavy traffic!

Still being “wheelchair confined”,  we did not do any tours but did decide to try and go into the cruise terminal.  Curt wanted to use the internet and Cindy wanted to look at the many shops found inside.  Two ship stewards carried the wheelchair off (and on) the ship with Cindy still seated – what an ordeal!!!!  Anyway,  the opportunity for a little retail therapy was good for the soul.   Cindy was able to find a wonderful Thai gentleman to wheel her around all the vendors so she could shop while Curt “played” on his computer.

Sail away was shortly before 8pm heading to Singapore.