Cochin - "Mumbai Light" - Day 18

For many, this was their first taste of India.  The term Mumbai light was coined by one of the cruise director team and was a warning that whatever we thought of Cochin, it was merely a taster for Mumbai.  Easy disembarkation with no fuss.  Brian’s head gear and shirt were suitably colourful.  Not one of our group as such but a fun guy we met at dance classes.  We had a great day with Mal & Megan and hired a taxi from the wharf.

“George” (all guides in Cochin appeared to be called George!) claimed that he had an air conditioned taxi (can be unusual) and spoke good English.  Well the taxi was a Tata (small car made in India) rather than the Hindustan I was expecting, which is a throw-back to a 1950’s Morris but with Nissan power and although small, there was enough room in the back for three.  We nominated Mal as the navigator alongside the driver as with his sun tan and neat beard, he could almost pass as a local! George’s quote for 3 hours was a cheap $20USD.  There had to be a catch at that price as we were expecting it to be about $40.

No catch that we could find and so we headed into the old town, with a list of places we wanted to see, gleaned from Debbie’s lectures.  Ignoring the rip offs of the emporiums (any place with a security guard and air conditioning is not going to be cheap) we stopped off at the Dutch museum (5 rupees entry fee) and  a couple of churches including George’s own place of worship.  The ride was a hoot with seemingly no real road rules, no traffic lights, give way or stop-signs, no traffic wardens and a delightfully chaotic drive, with trucks, buses and cars jostling for road space along with hundreds of motorbikes, tuk-tuks cyclists, pedestrians, cows and goats.  Quite hilarious but guess what, even without the western style of total restrictions, it works and appears to work well.  After the steering mechanism, the most important essential is a working horn.

Speeds weren’t high but the traffic moves like an amorphous mass with few signs of battered vehicles.

We did buy in a more down market shop (obviously friends of George...) a top each and after a lengthy haggle that ended inside the car, a pashmina as a gift.

On our list was the Basilica where you run the gauntlet of the street hawkers,  all trying to pass of various junk items including not so cheap and very nasty plastic models of tuk-tuks, that they all seem to think were Ferraris. On our list of things to see were the famous Chinese fishing nets, cantilevered contraptions that look rather more like medieval catapults, but the ‘fresh’ fish and prawns laid out on open slabs, without even as much as a bed of ice, just the occasional lethargic flick of a stick to waft away the flies, would have given the average western health inspector a heart attack. The litter was appalling.

Back to the ship about 1:30pm for a quick wash, toilet stop and on to the buffet for lunch.  The majority of people enjoyed their day in Cochin but none more so than the ones who enjoyed their “Ferrari” tuk-tuk rides.  (The tuk-tuk pic show’s Mal in the driving seat and one mightily scared passenger – and we were stationary.)

Overall impression?   Friendly but grubby chaos and thoroughly enjoyable.  Needless to say we tipped George a bit more than the $20, so we have new friend for life....

Sailaway at 6pm was a warm pleasant affair and the evening dining room menu had an Indian flavour.  Paula had the mushroom korma as a starter followed by the prawns and I had lentil soup followed by two mains, the prawns (as pictured) and a beef jalfraize.  Hottest dish?  The mushroom korma!  The beef was disappointly bland.

Vista lounge for 9:45pm on our own as everyone else was pooped (they had a six hour tour including the time on the river).  Good singer with half a show and an excellent instrumentalist/singer for the other half, playing alto sax and clarinet.

One waltz (we had the small Atrium floor to ourselves!) and 11:30 bed.

Another day at sea to come with the sea doing a bit of rock ‘n roll...  It is also the Philippines Independence day, so that will be celebrated, weather permitting.   

"Melbourne Cup Day"... Day 17

Well this was  a big day for us – the Melbourne Cup.  After breakfast we assembled in the larger cabin of Dennis and Anthea for a working bee and planning session.  Our intrepid ladies turned up with needles, a full cone of thread, (not a bobbin or even a kop, but a full cone!) scissors, orange paint (our official colours were black and orange) and somehow or other, Judy turned up with a glue gun!!!!  Paula brought along a bottle of port and Arnold had a one on one training session with our chosen Jockey Dennis, who stands about 6ft plus tall and is not a small man, but does walk with the aid of a stick.  Ros was our chosen representative of the syndicate and had gone to great trouble to write out her introduction ready for interview by Warren, the cruise director.  Although it may appear on her blog, she was kind enough to email it anyway, so here it is:

 

Ladies and gentlemen, Warren and Dave, on behalf of the Florentine 18 syndicate (our table), I am proud to introduce you to our thoroughbred Italian stallion – ‘Semplecemente Magistrale”. Careful thought went into the choice of his name - chosen to be symbolic of his character - translated from Italian it means ‘the best of the best’, and of course, the most important criteria - a name that would be hard for Warren to pronounce as he calls the race!!

Pedigree

His pedigree is impressive - sired by previous Cup winner - Knackery Bound - out of a beautiful little chestnut mare - Glue Factory’s Desire.

“Semplecemente Magistrale” has himself won three group 1 races in recent times - although they were at the Dapto dogs - with over $327.50 in prize money to date.

Silks

Following in the proud family traditional, he is racing in the famous black and orange silks, first worn by his great grandfather ‘Bumblebee’ - and then his grandfather -‘Bumblebee cold if you don’t put your pants on’.

Training Schedule

He has had a rigorous training schedule leading up to the race but his preparation wasn’t without incident. He managed to slip his reins in the corridor and ventured into the laundry but the atmosphere was a bit heated for his delicate disposition so he beat a hasty retreat. 

We would have liked to have given him an early morning workout on deck 7 (the Promenade deck – subject some complaints from the speedy ones...) but he couldn’t keep to the left and was almost trampled by a wheelie walker. He was rested overnight in the rarefied atmosphere of Deck 11; his diet is a closely guarded secret - thanks to the onboard vet - I mean doctor - he has had an intravenous infusion of prune juice and liquorice all-sorts - definitely guaranteed to get him running, and give the other horses a run for their money as well.

Jockey

We don’t like to draw attention to his affliction but I am sure you haven’t failed to observe his missing appendage (the horse only has three legs!) which some would see as a disadvantage. But his looks are deceiving - if he wasn’t white - he would be the dark horse of this year’s Melbourne Cup! Everyone knows that a great horse race is a partnership - careful merging of horse and jockey - and our jockey is our secret weapon.  Big Dennis is our jockey - and he only has one good leg - and let’s face it - four good legs are all that  any horse needs to win the Melbourne Cup!!

 

In keeping with the Italian plus black and orange colour scheme, we decided the men should dress Mafia style, with false moustaches where necessary plus shades.  In Arnold’s case, we chose the Casanova style as most appropriate in a fetching shade of grey.  My curly black wig was donated to Ros but we decided that in deference to any sensitive hirsute Italian ladies on board, she decided to dispense with the proffered black moustache.

Birdie was duly stuffed and mounted - on the plywood horse - and we retired until mid afternoon for the big race.

The first 4 races were not our worry, but as we were in lane one of six, it was interesting to see how the other races went.  Meanwhile we spectated from our owner’s box whilst “Brazilian Barbara” served us champagne. From the attached pic above, it rather looks as though Arnold was trying to add to his harem  He failed.  Alas, number one rarely appeared on the dice and we failed to win ‘best dressed horse’ too.  A lot of laughs but maybe as we have been granted an entry in the Mumbai Classic in a few day’s time, our luck will change – but we did think that our team were definitely the best dressed and deserved a prize.

Oh, and in the Trivia, we split into a boys and a girls team.  The boys finished equal first but lost the play off by guessing that the longest boxing match ever was 52 rounds.  The correct answer was 105...  if we had heard Dennis’s answer regarding Seagrams & Royal something or other as whiskies rather than gins, we would have won.  So near yet so far.

For the dancers, today was the Gypsy Tap, but in all the excitement, we skipped it.

Another excellent evening meal though Ros and Arnold went to the Steakhouse (an extra $20) with Anne & John.  Our steaks in the dining room were excellent (see pic, plus Paula’s veal Cordon Bleu), which was also very nice.  We shared that dessert...

General comments for 2012 cruisers:  A few grumbles from those who use the main dining room for breakfast. It was taking an hour just to get porridge – which is of course a staple in the buffet anyway, with no queues.  We haven’t bothered with a dining room breakfast so far and probably won’t.

A warning regarding currency exchanges.  At Langkawi on the wharf a money changer had set up – presumably with some sort of official sanction.  Not only were his conversion rates appalling, but it appears that several people also thought they had been ripped off too  – a double dip, so be warned. They were pushing people through quickly and unlike the exchange in Singapore, no receipts either...

Tomorrow, Cochin or Kochi, in India.  A first visit to India for many and as the port lecturer emphasised, “You’ll either love or hate India”. We’ll see about 10am tomorrow.

The ship trundles along at a leisurely pace, presumably so as to not over stress the three remaining good engines.  Lots of speculation - particularly from the men - as to the true nature of the problem and the likely outcome.  So far, the details have only been published as far as Dover so what happens there, or thereafter, is anyone’s guess. This ranges from cutting out a port or two before Los Angeles to flying every one home after Dover, to major repairs in Los Angeles.  Bearing in mind the size and position of these generators/engines in the ship, major problems in the cylinder blocks or lower part of the engines could be rather difficult to deal with whilst at sea. It is all pure speculation of course but no doubt Captain McBain will lets us know just as soon as practicable, meanwhile, we are just cruisin’, laughin’, talkin’, eatin’, drinkin’, dancin’, writin’ and just lovin’ every single minute of it.     

We've bought a horse at sea - Day 16

Yet another enjoyable sea day.  This time the port lecture was on Mumbai and once again, the theatre was packed to overflowing.  We were 15 minutes early and Paula just managed the last seat on the front row and I sat on the floor until the talk started, whereupon I stood.  A top class presentation by Debbie (from Warrington in Lancashire). A very varied international crew this one, with staff from all over the world.   So far, just about everything on the cruise has been extremely professionally presented and the staff as ever, very keen to please.  Two of the horizon court staff quietly amuse, one with the bird calls and another who does an extremely convincing bulb horn/hooter noise as he steers his trolley of dirty dishes around.  Also very impressive to see even the overall Maitre D’, prepared to clear tables if necessary, or help out with serving food at the buffet.  My poached egg order the other day at the buffet was dealt with by the head chef.  No wonder the Dawn Princess regularly tops the lists of best crew.

Dance class with Alana (suffering a little with a cold) was the Merengue, no Jill, not meringue... We made good progress on this but it was nothing like the version we had learned before.

Just prior to the afternoon trivia is the “horse racing”.  Six plywood horses on a ten section track and three dice are thrown.  When the horse’s number is thrown, it moves forward the appropriate number of squares.  Quite how the betting works, I have no idea.

Anyway, tomorrow is Melbourne cup day and the horses are auctioned.  Our dinner table syndicate purchased horse number 1 that appears to have just three legs!  We were given a small bag of bits and pieces we can use to decorate our horse for the big race and we get a private box with champagne.  We nominate an owner/spokesperson and a jockey.  Could be fun.

A useless quiz score again and some trivia players complain when Barbara, the Brazilian Zumba teacher, takes it, as although her English is OK, she can cause a bit of confusion at times. For example, her pronunciation of “Mozart”, sounded to us like “Moses”...

Formal night again and pre-dinner canapés and drinks with Dennis and Anthea, who have a larger cabin than the rest of us.  On the TV whilst waiting for dinner, we saw several of our group at the previous night’s deck party – including birdie!  The ship’s photographic department produce a DVD set of the actual cruise but it is on the expensive side, so I doubt many of our group will buy.   When I say expensive, I mean several hundred dollars.

Another excellent dinner with even the Thai waiter greeting us in Italian to suit the menu!  Great waiter and we asked for extra spiced prawns – one of the main dishes. Sure enough, after serving everyone, he returned with a dish of extra prawns for the table.

Another song and dance show “Latin Fiesta”, as good as ever with fantastic costumes – or lack of them on the girls at times , followed by a quick hot drink at the buffet with Mal & Megan.

Minds are now ticking over regarding the Melbourne Cup tomorrow and apparently, we get to retain ownership of the horsed for the Mumbai Cup a few days later.  We are going to attach birdie as jockey and at least one of the other horses will have a koala on board...  We are looking at an Italian name and theme for our horse and the lads are going as – whoops, can’t say yet, the other teams might be reading this.

Another day at sea - Day 15

Although the clocks keep going back 1 hour, we still seem to be struggling to fit everything into each day.  After three days of early starts and snack breakfasts, a sea day at least gives you the chance to enjoy the first meal of the day.  Unfortunately, today was a big breakfast, followed by a Crazy Cruisers lunch ( see the pic of the enormous double mustard chicken...) and of course the normal 4 course evening meal. Even this was followed by a massive and magnificent evening sweet/chocolate buffet on deck during the “White Hot Party” night, though we were very good and resisted temptation.

Back to the morning where we attended the port lecture for the first time.  Although we made it to the theatre a good 10-15 minutes early, the theatre was packed to hear Debbie’s excellent lecture on our next stop, the Indian port of Kochi, or Kochin (it means "like China").  This was a brilliantly presented and well balanced lecture with no attempt whatever to try and sell a Princess tour.  A full house and an appreciative audience.

We bumped into Ros & Arnold in the corridor afterwards and headed for the Horizon Court – but not for more food.  There are numerous coffee stations around the ship where you can purchase a reasonably decent cup of coffee and there was no queue, unlike the Atrium Patisserie which always seems to be crowded.

Almost straight after, it was to the lunch where Helen received her “Legend” certificate.  Roger got another mention for sitting at a dining table and wondering where his companions were.  Right table, wrong floor...

Trivia was hopeless – 9/20, but the winners didn’t fare much better. Afterwards, a stroll right around the promenade deck (number 7) with Garry & Joanne.  Norm & Marion who were lounging around anyway, claimed that our lap time was pathetic and just about the slowest ever, so we went for another ‘lap’, but out of sight of them, we cut through from one side of the ship to the other and reappeared striding it out, but I don’t think they really believed we’d done a full lap, despite the faked breathlessness.

We dressed up in white for dinner, ready for the “White Hot” party.  Whilst the Duck pate was my first choice of appetizer, Anthea bravely tackled the snails in garlic.  The second course choice of French onion soup was filling (but most enjoyable) and I opted for the lobster pasta for a main.  Very nice too.  The soufflé is a regular on the dessert menu and as the only hot choice, although billed as different flavours, they are a little too bland, but nice enough.

Birdie made a reappearance at the deck party but it was a bit loud.  Several really did get into the modern dancing and when last seen on the big screen, when we retired, after rehydrating with a lemonade in the Horizon court, Malcolm looked as though he was in a sauna and probably lost the weight I should have done.

Another sea day tomorrow and the clocks go back yet another hour.  Life is good.  A great table and lots of laughs – even the staff get into the swing of it.  Maurizio has threatened to split us up after Dubai so that we can lift the humour of the other tables.  No way!!!!

Postscript: We had an email to say that Paula may well be a grandma again, courtesy of Dave & Erica who are just away to the USA for a couple months, touring in the Chev Corvette they purchased last year in Fort Lauderdale.   

Langkawi - A jewel of an island - Day 14

What a nice day.  Total contrast from the soggy streets of Singapore or the steaming streets of Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi Island is one of 99 islands in the immediate vicinity and one of only three that are populated by humans. Very much  a tourist holiday spot. We were up on deck just after 6:30am as we tied up to the wharf, but not much to see.  Paula’s room card failed to activate the door lock, so it was a trip to customer services again, this time for a replacement which took only  a couple of minutes.  Just enough time them to grab  a quick snack before once again joining the mob for the tours.

We trooped off the ship and were organised into twos (for easy counting – shades of Mapperley Plains primary school...)  and were led to the inner end of the pier/dock where we hung around for a further 20 minutes but were at least issued with bottled water.  We piled into small boats, seating from 8 to 15 passengers and enjoyed  a great high speed ride along with the other 5 boats in our group.

The flotilla stopped together, so that we could all take our photographs of “Pregnant Maiden Island”, so named because in profile, it looks like a pregnant maiden...

The boats then all headed for the tiny jetty at “Wet Rice Island”, whereupon we were warned to watch out for the monkeys and to specifically not carry exposed plastic bags, as the monkeys assume that the bags will contain food and are likely to steal them.

A fairly steep, hot and very sticky climb up to the top of the hill, then an even steeper descent, where the concrete steps were all different heights and some were quite high.  We came out onto the edge of a fresh water lake and pontoons were arranged in such way that they created small swimming pools that many people took advantage of for a warm swim.  The rest of us hung our feet into the water, hoping that the fishes would come along and nibble away the dead skin. No such luck, though if you read the other blogs from yesterday, you will find various accounts of these aquatic nibblers in more controlled conditions.

After about an hour, we climbed back up the hill and down the other side, where we ran the gauntlet of the monkeys.

Queuing to get back on the little boats was total chaos, as by this time, there were dozens of them still arriving with mainly Muslim visitors.  Seems quite strange to see these ladies dressed in black from head to toe and some even wearing heeled shoes.

Another cooling exhilarating run back to where the sea eagles feed and then to another jetty and beach for a BBQ lunch.  The food was fine and it seemed a waste to leave a couple of cans of Skol lager in amongst the Pepsi, so I gave them a good home as they had run out of the rather weirdly labelled “Joy Juice”, their version of the over coloured Mellow Yellow lemonade.

We gave young Jacob a bit of a wind up, as he’d left his watch on the BBQ table whilst he went for a swim, so we hid it and on his return, told him that we had some bad news. A monkey had stolen his watch.  He asked which one, so we told him it was the only monkey wearing a watch and shaking it, as he couldn’t hear it ticking... Jacob stepped out, determined to find the monkey and retrieve his watch!  When he returned  a couple of minutes later, somewhat down, we told him that the monkey had returned it as it couldn’t read a digital watch.

Back to the cool ship but en route, we passed a stall selling plates.  A quick look showed them to have individual digital photographs of most of the trippers, taken that morning on the jetty so for about $4NZ, I got a souvenir misspelled plate proclaiming it to be a Trupical Paradise...

A 2:00pm sailaway and heading for India with our trivia score of 15/20 at the 4:30pm session, putting us just one point behind the winners.

Birdie returned to the table for the evening and wasn’t too impressed with my choice of chicken satay, chicken and lemon noodle soup and chicken curry. The blueberry wonton’s were rather nice.

The Vista lounge show was a stage version of “Balderdash” with the lead dancer Lynsey taking a speaking part for a change.  The show was hosted by “Bex” from Middlesbrough – still with a lovely accent and an infectious laugh.
Afterwards we headed up to the buffet (yes, again) for a late night hot drink.

A great day but still so nice to look forward to a day or three at sea  – and once again, read the other blogs to see what the other’s did...  Clocks back again an hour tonight (and the next two nights I believe), as we steer a westerly course.

 

just a few pics

Trying again with posting pics. Maybe it wanted some words as well as pics...