Birth of a City...

We just left the extremely rich port of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The ship had 2 days there, but I really only had an evening and a day because of in port manning. We were settled on the Persian Gulf in the Emirate of Dubai. There are 7 Emirates and Dubai is the second largest of them. Although after all I heard on the second day from our guides, I'm surprised they didn't try and expand to become THE largest since everything there seems to be the largest in the world. The country is very rich and not on oil as I expected. The guide said that only 10% really comes from oil, but the main source of income is tourism and trade. He also said that in 10 – 15 years oil will not be but a fraction of a percentage of the income. Our first day there as I said was a wash. I spent the day on board occasionally looking out at the hazy city. It's situated on a stretch of desert and with all the winds the desert can be a hazy place. It can also get VERY hot here as we found out later that this was pretty much the end of their tourist season. It was a hot one out today. Whew! Not so humid though, which was very nice. It came in handy for the evening. Everyone was making their evening plans and the 3 of us stuck on board thought it might be easier than we thought to swap out with some of the musicians that had to come back and play sets in the lounges until midnight. This was not true since there was the prosperity of phones and e-mail just off in the cruise terminal and everyone wanted to take advantage of that when they got off their shifts. The frustration began. It turns out our musical director was a bit under the weather and couldn't go out so I was able to swap with him, but this left 2 others stranded. For 3 hours we tried to find a swap and we finally did. Now the obstacle was that the computers in the Cruise Director's office were down and we couldn't get to the security program. We scrambled for another hour trying to find a computer and we finally did around 10:00pm. The girls rushed to get ready to head out for the evening and we were off!! Woo hoo! Five of us crammed into a cab (illegally I might add). The cab driver seemed a bit clueless anyway and kind enough to carry five. He only knew of a few places to go out despite the fact we had a destination in mind. He just didn't know what we were talking about. This put us at a disadvantage since we didn't get out in the day and find out all the details. We took him up on one of HIS recommendations and went to this hotel with a club in the back. The club was called the Snake Bite. All the hotels along the way were very reminiscent of the hotels you might find on the strip of Las Vegas. They were all big, flashy, and expensive. I had a night view and it looked like the area was just getting built up. We plopped into this club in back that by the standards of the other hotels would be a Motel 6 with a bar in the back. Everyone was dressed up though and there WAS a dress code in place. We paid our cover, which gave us one free watered down drink. As soon as we walked in I felt the incredible sensation of lurking eyes. Yes, it was all the women in the bar. There were 3 men in the group and all of a sudden we were being watched with HUNGRY eyes. It wasn't a normal curiosity of the women for new folk walking into a club, it was a definite desire. I suddenly felt like I should be on a hook ready to be fired up on the barbeque. It was packed and suddenly I was being fondled and watched with such intensity. I looked around and noticed that the ratio was a bit off. There were more women than men in the bar. All the men were dressed mainly in suits or fancy name-brand clothing. One of our guys had a suit on (since that was all he said he brought for going out) and he was already in conversation with a woman who was stroking his hair and getting really close. Suddenly a bell went off in my head. This was no ordinary bar. This was a bar of working women. I began to chuckle. The band was great. It was a girl band and they were rockin'. The place had the atmosphere of the Coyote Ugly bar in Las Vegas. It was well themed and it had 2 levels with pool tables up top. We decided to get out of the crowded area with our watery drinks and go upstairs. As we looked down upon the crowd we noticed that this was simply a whorehouse. It was packed with prostitutes. Some tactfully dressed and others like one we were laughing at in particular just busting out of everything. The ladies in our group were feeling a little uncomfortable and we, the men folk, started to feel the watchful eyes as well. We decided to get out of there and find the club we originally wanted. We found a cabbie that would take us there. It was called Trilogy. It was situated on Jumeirah Beach in the Souk Madinat Jumeirah. There was a VIP line, limos, and plenty of people mulling around in their best. As we pulled up, it was like pulling into a castle. We managed to get through the VIP line and right up to the ticket counter where we paid our $25 entrance fee. Whoa!! No free drinks with this one, but we later learned that this was THE place to be in Dubai tonight. The place was all decked out since this was the club's season ending party. Everyone and anyone was here. Guest DJs and everything. There was Persian music pumping in the background and the place was just alive. We walked through the front door decked out with balloons and a red carpet. As soon as we got to the main area there was the grand dance floor. It was an open space with a domed red ceiling. Stained glass windows surrounded the dome. The second level was a walkway with 5 private "bubbles." These caged glass bubbles were outfitted with couches, tables, and bottle service. To get into such a unique environment would run you about $1,000 U.S. dollars. Whoa!! The first floor was the dance floor and it was hopping. The whole place had a great vibe and it looked like we were in an old Persian castle. It was fabulous!!! We danced the night away until 3:00am having a blast and trying to blend in by singing along to the local Persian pop songs. Mind you we spoke no Arabic, but we were having a ball just trying to and cheering at all the right moments. I even got a phone number from a local guy there by the evening's end when they turned on all the lights (Muhammad). Ha ha!! We straggled back to the ship to end our evening since we had a day of touring the next day.

The next day I dragged myself out of bed in the early morning and then woke up my traveling partners (who I found out went to bed later than I did). We finally got rolling around 11:00am and were off in Dubai. We took the free shuttle to the Burjuman Mall in the center of the city. This mall was pristine beyond belief and had many a name brand like Gucci, Prada, Dolce Gabana, DKNY, Saks Fifth Avenue, Cartier, and on and on. It was so rich I felt underdressed to be there. We had a little bite to eat to satiate our stomachs and put a coating on after the bingeful drinking the night before. We took the Big Bus City Tour, which is a double decker bus that takes you to various spots around Dubai. The city tour had things like Souks (local shopping markets), museums, and points of interest on it and the beach tour had other points of interest and a tour of the development of the resorts in Dubai. We opted for the beach tour since that would take us to the famous Buraj Al Arab building. This is a SEVEN star hotel noted for it's interesting architecture. It represents a sail and it sits on a manmade island just off the coast. You have to have a reservation for dinner 3 days in advance just to get into the place to visit (or be a guest there at $800/night minimum) and you have to be dressed in slacks, shirt, and jacket to walk the premises. The clientele is exclusive and the hotel protects the client's privacy. So we traveled on the upper deck of the bus in the open elements along the beach. The first stop was The Jumeirah Mosque. The official religion of Dubai is Islam, but other religions are welcome. This particular mosque has an open door and open mind policy, which was nice to hear. En route to the sight where we could view the famous and noted symbol of Dubai (the Burj Al Arab Hotel) we passed by the World Islands. These are manmade islands constructed to look like the globe just off the coast in the Persian Gulf. You can purchase an island for roughly $400 million dollars. The only way you can get to these islands is with your private helicopter or yacht. I made a down payment on Australia with my pocket change. Just a small $100 million. NOT!!! Evidently Rod Stewart already purchased the U.K. Island for the said $400 million. Once you own an island you can build whatever you want on it (resorts, private residences, golf club, etc.) and you're your own president of that island. Amazing. We went on to see the noted hotel and took some pictures. We also passed by the souk were dancing at just the night before. It looked even more spectacular in daylight. En route I noticed that practically every building or at least 90% of them are under construction. I've never seen a city being born like this one. They said that just 3 years ago where we were driving it was nothing but open desert. Now it's a thriving populous community with huge skyscrapers in process gracing the landscape. En route we passed by 2 sights where the "8th wonder of the world" (they proclaim) is being built. It's the Palm hotels. There are 3 sights along the coast and each one is so detailed and large. These huge resort/residences spread out into the gulf in such a way that from above they look like a palm leaf. It will be the largest resort complex in the world and manmade bunch of islands once it's completed. I couldn't believe it. As we traveled on down the beach several hotels and resort complexes were in the process of being built. All of them had a unique architecture and complimented the Burj Al Arab Hotel. We started heading back after seeing areas under complete construction and entered into the city area where the construction of the Burj Dubai is underway. This will be the tallest skyscraper in the world once it's completed. Around it were several other buildings that were in the process of being constructed as well. We also passed the world's largest gold and diamond park and the world's largest shopping mall with an indoor ski facility (the mall of Emirates). It seems like they want everything to be the world's largest here. En route back to our beginning destination we also passed Media City, which was also in the process of being built and had offices for the many TV, radio, and newspaper businesses here. Also there was internet city where IBM, Windows, Canon, and various other computer big wigs have set up camp. The city itself has some very unique and interesting architecture. It's like an open-air museum of buildings. An Architect's wet dream. We finally arrived back at the Burjuman Mall where we stayed for the rest of the evening. We wandered into stores, but I was just overwhelmed by the wealth that's here. We caught some dinner at this nice noodle place (the Noodle House) that had a great atmosphere before we headed back to the ship in a cab. The free shuttle stopped running at 5:00pm, but no worries since the cabs are required by law to use their meters. So no haggling with prices and it was fairly cheap. A mere $3 U.S. I was exhausted by the end of the day and we still had a rehearsal to get through. Wow is all that needs to be said.

3 Days in Bombay...

We're actually in Bombay, India. Since being on the Amsterdam and having the luxury of my own room, I've been catching up on my series of Alias. It's a fabulous TV show with stories of CIA, black ops, and exciting undercover adventures of this woman who goes on these missions with her many different personas (Aliases). She always goes to different places in the world in the 80 or so episodes I've already watched. It's always exciting to see the stock footage and know I was actually there since in filming a TV series they can't always get to these places, but only use the stock footage they have available for the show that week. The other parts of the scene they just recreate using sets or locations that later have a matte painting brushed into the film. Today I was in Bombay. It wasn't quite the place I had pictures in my mind or remembered seeing in the movies. The city was a bit crowded, dirty, and smelly, but the architecture and the sights were still amazing. We started off the day haggling for a cab pier side before we finally found one guy who spoke some broken English (enough to get by) and who agreed on our price (which in actuality is extremely cheap to hire a cab for the price we were asking for 4 hours of time all over the city). The ride was adventurous again. It was in the old 40s style cars you see in the films from that era. He was driving like a maniac darting in and out of oncoming traffic. He wasn't the only one though since others were doing the same and even coming into traffic from side streets as if they commanded the road. We made our first couple stops at some carpeting and jewelry places. It was part of the agreement for keeping the price low and he would get a small commission off of the owners. We really had no interest in carpets or jewelry. The carpets were absolutely gorgeous, but how would I even think of transporting them? I would also have to keep them in storage with my other things until I finally got a place of my own. Oh well. I have a feeling I'll be traveling again someday. We made our first tourist stop at the Taj Mahal hotel just up the street from the gateway to India archway. We stopped and took some pictures of course and then made our way to see the hotel. The people are relentless here. Aggressive salespeople. They pester you and follow you for many minutes before you ignore them so much they just walk away. Sometimes even so much that they won't stop until a third party stops them like when you go into a building or back into your cab. Yikes!! The hotel was beautiful. Rich in all aspects. Names like Lacoste, Coach, Armani, Bulgari and various others lined the window fronts of the stores you could visit inside. The inside was so breathtaking. It must cost quite a bit to stay here. I wanted to pretend I was in my own episode of Alias and feel like I was actually staying here. We browsed in the stores and determined this was beyond our budget, so we left in our cab to another stop. A few more stores along the way and we went to a waterfront view of the city line just across from the known Chowpatty Beach. After this stop we were whisked away again to visit Gandhi's house where he lived from 1919 - 1934. Gandhi!!! There was a big statue of him in the park as we were on our way to the waterfront view. Now we were seeing one of his old homes. He was quite the remarkable man. I don't know much about him only that he was a great peacekeeper and revolutionary. His home was full of relics and history that offered great insight into his life. It was a tremendous learning experience. One quote in particular that stood out considering the upcoming elections was "To call women the weaker sex is libel; it is man's injustice to woman… If by strength is meant moral power then woman is immeasurably man's superior… If non-violence is the law of our being the future is with women." He had so many great thoughts. Here I even read a letter to Adolph Hitler pleading with him to not take on a war that would cause so much hatred and destruction. He addressed him as "Dear friend" noting his peaceful nature and care of humanity. We left the house after fully exploring it and soaking up as much as we could. We traveled through the city to the hanging gardens on top of a plateau in the city. I guess they are noted as hanging gardens because this park is situated on top of a reservoir that provides drinking water to the city. The gardens were beautiful and we got some great sights of the city below. After this last sight we went to lunch at a place recommended by our cab driver. It was a nice hole in the wall place much like the places you see in NYC. We even had a few visitors crawling up the wall like some of the places you see in a major city as well. This didn't deter us because the food was so good. I never thought I liked Indian food, but there were so many new flavors crossing my palate. It was delicious. It was also very spicy. Whoa!!! I was sweating at some of the flavors. I had chicken tikka masala. I think that's what it was. The tikka was how it was cooked (in a clay oven). The masala was the spice and whoa was it hot. We also had some pita bread that was roasted to a crisp and spiced and that was also very delicious. We headed back to the ship in our cab just to get our bearings so we could leave the cab and walk around for a bit. The area where we docked and the remote city weren't very nice places to walk around. I've never seen a city so impoverished it makes the ghetto areas of the USA look wealthy. The streets and sidewalks were just torn up and the city doesn't really have a proper garbage disposal system so the streets can be, at times, lined with garbage. It causes for some interesting smells. We had reservations that night for dinner at Khyber restaurant (also well-known and recommended) so we headed back after a bit of walking around to clean up. I could feel the filth all over my body from the day. I had a good scrubbing when I came back to get ready for dinner.

A large group of us headed out that evening to fulfill our dinner reservation. It was crazy. As soon as we crossed the port gate a heard of taxi drivers flooded us with prices and offers. When we all got to the restaurant we got to our tables and began the feast that was about to happen. The restaurant was so nice and had a fabulous Indian atmosphere about it. One thing I learned very quickly was that any sweet drinks that you'd normally get elsewhere (tequila sunrise, mai tai, or daiquiri) were oversweet. Whoa!! Also, Indian house wine is not the best wine. In fact I find it undrinkable. We stuck to simple beverages if we could. I had a pumpkin soup appetizer and it was amazing and spicy. Ever since having pumpkin soup for the first time, I've been fascinated with different recipes and ideas that use the pumpkin for anything other than pie or carving. My dinner tonight was with garlic naan (which is a baked pita bread with garlic sauce) and a chicken dish with a spicy tomato and cream sauce. A-MAZING!! Wow!! My taste buds were mystified. I ended the evening with a dual layer mousse of dark chocolate and milk chocolate with a side of cinnamon coffee. Yum!! I was completely overstuffed and my senses were going wild. That night we hung out for a bit at this nightclub that was especially opened for the crew of our ship. It was nice to just dance and hang out with all the crewmembers. On board we have a bar we usually all go to, as entertainment staff, but the Indonesian and Filipino crew aren't allowed in that bar. It's for Officers only and even we, as entertainment staff, have a strip as an officer. The other crew doesn't have that privilege. I was finally tired and out of money for the day before heading back to the ship. What an amazingly exhausting day. I slept very well last night. Today I had to stay on board, but tomorrow I plan to go out shopping in the area and see what's out there. Three days in Mumbai (the city formerly known as Bombay).

Two Fabulous Days...

Two great experiences in two wonderful days. The first was the performance of our live Broadway show a few days ago. It's the only truly live show I've ever performed on a cruise ship and I get great pleasure out of performing it each time. The other day was no exception. The show has an amazing energy for all of us involved. It's quite a pain to rehearse with organizing stage time, band time, and sound time, but it's all worth it in the end. It's just us up there singing, harmonizing, and not moving much in the way of crazy choreography. I have two wonderful features including a Billy Joel song that has a Manhattan Transfer style background vocal with it.http://www.badongo.com/file/2695756 I also get a fabulous comedic song from Kander and Ebb that I have so much fun with on stage. It's a great feeling at the end of the day when the show is over of a job well done. Especially since we have to be such musicians and actors on stage being in tune with each other as singers and with the band.

Yesterday we ported in Cochin, India. It was my first visit to India ever. As we pulled in we were greeted with decorated elephants. On the dockside as well were flocks of Ambassador cabs. These cabs are old 1940s cars all in white that take me back to the days of the Indiana Jones flicks. We got off the ship in the morning and took one of these cabs to a resort about 40 minutes away. It was the La Meridien resort. All the way there I kept thinking of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with the character Shortround driving the car through India. It was a funny thought. We got there and the resort wasn't anything special, but we told people we'd meet them there so we sat down for the buffet lunch available. It was amazing. There was a mixture of flavors, but most of it was Indian. I had a delicious tomato and cilantro (coriander) soup as well as some other local dishes. We wrapped up our time there and took another Ambassador cab to the recommended hotel of Taj Malabar. Here we lounged around the infinity pool and basked in the sun. It was about 90 degrees and humid. The water was perfect and the atmosphere was to die for. I felt like I was really on vacation. After a day of dipping into the pool and spending time in the sun, I fell asleep on one of the cots with the warm breeze blowing off the Arabian Sea. I still can't believe I'm in this part of the world. That night we took part in the barbeque diner offered by the hotel. A little overpriced, but well worth it. You couldn't possibly leave that dinner starving there was so much food. For appetizers they just kept bringing over new grilled delights that sparked my palette in new ways. I hardly had room for the buffet portion after all the grilled bits came by. It included beer with the meal. Now I'm not the beer drinker, but it went well with the meal and I had to partake since it was St. Patrick's Day AND it was included. I left that meal completely overstuffed and satiated. We spent that evening of sailing away on the top deck of the ship watching Cochin leave us. We didn't go into the markets or the city, but I feel I will get my full experience of that side of India when we are in Bombay in a few days. Someone needs to pinch me, because I can't believe what all I'm seeing in these past few years.

Off To India..

We're sailing along now through the Indian Ocean to our next port of call of Cochin, India. We just left Malaysia. Despite my frustrating morning in Port Kelang in Malaysia, I had a delightful day. A few of us got off the ship later. I was able to go out into port at the misery of some of my cast mates. They were quarantined with the ship virus known as NLV. Well, one girl got it a few days before, broke fever, but had to be quarantined for 72 hours. Her roommate was also quarantined although she wasn't sick just because she was exposed. Both girls were fine and not sick on the second day of quarantine, but had to stay there due to protocol and keeping the ship clean from NLV. Since they were stuck on board in their rooms, I was able to leave. We took a taxi into the city of Kuala Lumpur. It was about an hour's drive from port, but well worth it. I was in Kuala Lumpur 20 years ago, but I think we just stayed there and performed and went sight seeing elsewhere because I don't remember much of this city. It was a beautiful and bustling city and very clean. There was an architectural marvel there called the Petronas Twin Towers. They're connected by a bridge about halfway up that was unfortunately closed on Mondays (the day we were in town). It was fascinating and eerie at the same time. The plaza reminded me of what the twin towers at the World Trade Center in NYC must have been like before they collapsed. These twin towers in Kuala Lumpur didn't seem as stupendous or as large as the ones in NYC, but they claim it to be taller than the trade center buildings and the largest in the world. They may not seem so extraordinary because they come to a point unlike the trade center towers that were square all the way up. We did a bit of window-shopping in the mall below before heading to the Kuala Lumpur tower in the center of town. This radio tower is the 4th largest in the world. The CNN radio tower in Toronto being the tallest. We went up to the observation platform, which was about level with some of the top floors in the twin towers across the way. In the twin towers, the only place visitors were allowed was in the middle bridge, and that was not nearly as high as the observation deck in the Kuala Lumpur tower. The city spread out over the landscape and it was so peaceful up there. We could see everything and it was beautiful. We didn't have much time so we spent some time up there for a while before heading down and back to the ship for the evening.

The next day was in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. It was a small port and I only had 2 hours there. I just walked around town by myself and had some time alone. It was soooo hot that day. Whoa. It was in the 90s and humid. Just walking around my shirt got soaked. There was a much different feel here than in the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur. I found a lighthouse near the beach on the other side of town and climbed all the stairs to the top. I got some good views of the town and the ocean from up there. The climb was steep though. I followed the beach and caught some pictures of the City Hall and of Fort Cornwallis. The fort was interesting, but mainly an attraction for the evening since the whole inside was a stage arena set for jousting shows. I was running out of time since I split shifts with another friend, so I had to head back after this. Apparently there was some good shopping if you got into a taxi and went about 45 minutes away. Next time I'll have to do some research before heading into town and splitting shifts. Next stop is India. I still can't believe all the sights I'm getting to see on this adventure.

Good Morning Vietnam...

As I sit here in Kuala Lumpur I reflect on the adventures in my last 3 ports. Yes there are good things and bad things about cruising to such lovely and vibrant places as Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A good thing is that you get to go in and experience what you can with new cultures and fascinating sights, and the bad thing is you just get a taste of some of the beautiful ports like today. Anyway, we just came from some fascinating places where we were close or had access to a city without worrying about being back on too much of a time constraint.

Nha Trang, Vietnam was our first stop after Hong Kong. It was sketchy weather, but that's expected in this tropical area. We took the shuttle to the main area of hotels and beaches and immediately pestering locals approached us. Hoards of them came wanting us to get into a taxi to see places and buy their postcards. They followed us for a good block or two and stuck to us like glue. It was unbelievable and I think worse than the locals were in Indonesia. They seemed just starved for us to buy SOMETHING from them. We finally settled on a taxi and got out of there. It was great. We had a fabulous driver who weaved us in and out of scooter traffic. Yes, L.A. has car traffic and lots of it, but imagine L.A. being populated by scooters instead of cars and that is what Vietnam becomes for traffic. If L.A. drivers had scooters, they would be racing in and around traffic just like the Vietnamese people were that day. Cars were intrusive and clunkier so it was definitely an experience to pull into the streets. Our first stop was a temple that was high on a hill. It was fascinating and it reminded me of Indiana Jones. I had the theme rumbling through my head the whole time. It was HOT!!! Whoa! Talk about tropics. Whew. From the hilltop we were able to see the fishing village below and the countryside. It was beautiful. In the distance you could see the very large Buddha on another hilltop. That was our next stop. We went over to the Buddha temple where we saw 2 of them. One perched on the hilltop, very large, and all carved out of porcelain. The other was a sleeping Buddha about midway up. It was a school as well as a place of worship and the kids being educated there led us through all the way to the sleeping Buddha. I was just amazed when I got to the one at the top. It was so large and eerily perched on a pedestal against the blue sky. It just seemed to float there and the clouds that rolled through would make it disappear in the foreground because it was white. We headed back to the ship after all this touring in the heat for a good lunch. It wasn't the most developed town, so we didn't want to chance eating the local fare. I had the strangest experience riding around town all day. This city was just as underdeveloped as all the war movie depictions of the Vietnam War. We would be driving down the street and I could see buildings that I remember seeing get blown up in the movies. It was an eerie feeling.

Phu My, Vietnam was our next stop. We docked there unexpectedly since we were supposed to tender into Vung Tau (formerly Saigon). A shuttle took us into Vung Tau about 50 minutes away. You could also take a taxi ride to Ho Chi Minh City also 50 minutes away from port. We chose to go into Vung Tau. It was a nice and relaxing day. Since we were in the city formerly known as Saigon, I couldn't get the songs out of my head from the musical Miss Saigon. It was crazy being there knowing all that had happened in the past. This town though, unlike Nha Trang, was more developed and looked like a vacation resort. The beaches were clean. There were carved hedges in various spots, and it just had a cleaner look. Shopping was a bargain here. One of my friends bought some snake wine after I told her I saw it yesterday. It was a bottle of yellow liquid with a cobra snake inside holding a scorpion inside its mouth. Who would drink this? Whoa. It must be strong. Like formaldehyde maybe. Yuck. We walked around and just enjoyed the day before getting back on the shuttle bus again.

Singapore was amazing and hardly like I remember it. Come to think of it, all I can remember of Singapore was the fact that I went to the zoo in the morning to have breakfast and got my picture taken with an orangutan. We docked in this bustling city paying homage to the lion head and the creatures of the sea. They combined the two symbols to create the Merlion. There was a large statue erected on the resort island of Sentosa across the bay. It was much like Disneyland coming into port. We docked right on a huge mall in the bay that was connected to a monorail that went into Sentosa. Flying directly over our ship were cable cars going to the mountaintop from Sentosa. On the resort island was a huge space needle jutting up to catch panoramic views and flags donning the coastline where a hotel was perched. The cars drove under a castle-like entrance that greeted them with the island's name right across the top. I went there first and it felt like I was in a small amusement park or one that was just in its developmental stages. It was beautiful and manicured though. I took the cable car over the ship, through the skyscrapers, and into Mt. Faber. This gave me dazzling views of the large city below. I loved the peace and serenity up there. I wasn't even supposed to go off today, but there were a few of our cast members quarantined for the ship virus that's going around. Once that was all sorted out, I just took the day off. I didn't get to leave the ship until 1:00pm or so and the group left early that morning, so I had the day to myself to explore. Sometimes I need that once and a while anyway. Once I had my fill of the beauty of Mt. Faber, I took the cable car back to Sentosa where I explored the island a bit more. I went inside the Merlion statue and up on top of its head to get a perspective of the island. It was fascinating. Before I went up though I got a Disneyesque presentation/movie of the different creatures of the deep and how Singapore came to be from the prince who discovered its beauty. After leaving the resort town, I took the tram back to the HUGE mall and was overwhelmed by all the shopping. I didn't make it into the city because I was captivated by this vast shopping mall. Things were a little too pricey for me, so I explored a little, got my Starbucks, and headed back to the ship. I had a fabulous day out in Singapore and an unexpected day of exploration. Too bad it was at someone else's expense. I guess that makes up for today now being stuck in some random farmland called Port Kelang in Kuala Lumpur. I do get to go out in the city though this afternoon, just not as long as expected.

To China And Back...

One day in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China brought back a whole slew of childhood memories. About 20 years ago in 1987 I took a trip to the Far East with a group called the Singing Angels. Every summer they planned a tour to somewhere on the globe to sing and see the sights. I was merely 14 years old when I made the trip and really took for granted all the sights I was actually seeing. We spent about 4 days in Hong Kong in which one of those days we went to Macau Island, then we went to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Tokyo. It was amazing to see all those things at such a young age and I will be seeing some of those places again. I just went to Hong Kong on this worldly adventure and had a full 24 hours to explore it. It wasn't the best of weather days, but it was still worth it. Last time I was here we took a trip to Aberdeen Harbor and the Stanley Market. This time it was just too far away to do in just a day. So, we still took the trip to Victoria's Peak. It has definitely changed over the last 20 years. Now there's a fascinating viewing structure with all kinds of shops and restaurants inside. There's also a bright and shimmering new mall right next door. Last time I remember seeing this sight it was just a windy road with a few little shops alongside. I do remember a McDonald's being close by, because that's about all I would eat back then seeing as it was my first time away from home, my first time out of the country, and my first time out of the state all in one trip. I grew up on family cooking and to suddenly have the taste of the Far East was not an appetizing experience. These days my taste buds have changed though and I've grown accustom to new fruits, cold seafood, and various other delicacies and delights from around the globe. However sushi is still not my top favorite, and since that's where the group decided to eat, me and another friend went to have some nice comfort food at the KFC just around the corner. Ahh well. I guess SOME things never change. The peak view was still breathtaking despite the cloudy and hazy weather. We did take the tram ride back down the hill and that was still a thrilling experience. Inside the tram the chairs don't compensate for the tilt in the hill, so you lean back as if you were on a rollercoaster lift. The thrilling part is that a cable is keeping both cars from careening down the hillside and the views are still amazing as you approach the city of skyscrapers. The city has some amazing architectural structures that rise to the sky in this harbor city. It seemed to have grown so much in the past 20 years. I was just blown away by all the LCD screens and lit up advertisements that put Las Vegas to shame. That night we ventured out to the night market not to far from our port area of Tsim Sham Tsui in Kowloon (the mainland). Before we headed into that area we took in the light show that runs every night on Hong Kong Island at 8:00pm. Hong Kong Island was across the harbor and all the buildings light up in sync to music. It was fascinating to watch as about a half mile stretch of skyscrapers and small buildings lit up and flashed in time with the music playing over the loud speakers. There were even lasers and bright searchlights scanning the sky from the top of some of the larger buildings. It was all well orchestrated and intriguing. For a moment I thought I was watching a show at Disney's Epcot Center. A voice even came on and explained that in the true spirit of Hong Kong how they were delighted to present this light show to demonstrate Hong Kong's thriving industry and pride in their country. The voice was very Disneyesque and then the music sounded like it was coming from Disney's light parade. It was so funny. The night market was filled with all kinds of things from pirated DVDs, trinkets, knock-offs, and clothes. There were all kinds of huts with either plastic or tin roofs all close together in rows. It was raining a bit so I'm glad I brought my umbrella to shop in comfort since some of the huts were packed with people. I didn't buy much since it was mostly souvenirs. We sat down for a drink or two before everyone got tired. We wanted to go out to some clubs, but the over stimulation throughout the day got the best of us all. Now we're on our way to Vietnam. I've never been there, so it should definitely be an exciting experience.