Day 20 - 02/14/2019 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We arrived at Port Klang in the dark and were tied up at the dock by 6am. After breakfast we met in the showroom at 7:15 for our HAL TOUR, Best of Kuala Lumpur. However, the ship wasn't cleared until nearly 7:45am. It was then another long walk to the port exit outside the port building where our bus #2 was waiting.

It was an hour plus ride into Kuala Lumpur and our first stop was the Royal Palace where there was another organized dance of over 50 buses each containing some 40 people. And all vied for a parking spot. We had 15 minutes to take pictures of this very scenic palace with 2,000 of our new close friends. 

From there we went to the Royal Selangor pewter factory. It was fascinating to watch the manufacturing process, but a group of 20 was too large for the guide to effectively provide commentary. After leaving the factory a few minutes later we had the opportunity to photograph the Petronas twin towers which were once the tallest in the world.  

A yummy buffet lunch was served at the Big Apple restaurant in the Berjaya Hotel at Times Square before we headed over to visit Independence Square and then stroll through Chinatown and visit the Central Market (established in 1888) for last minute shopping.

We then had an hour ride back to the port where we were greeted by the sight of a large cruise ship berthed across the dock from us. It was the Genting Dream which is a fairly new cruise ship owned by a Hong Kong company and filled with Chinese Tourists. That ship's capacity is 3500 guests or about 3 times our capacity.

We promply but slowly backed out of our berth at 5pm with the assistance of a tug, rotated clockwise, and sailed out of the harbor into the open sea. Our last Lido dinner was a nice turkey, stuffed green pepper, fried mushrooms and artichokes meal and a Valentines Day heart chocolate. I partially packed and we took a break to attend the 8pm Jonathan Johnston flautist show which was excellent. We also said our goodbyes to Carol and then finished packing so we could put our luggage tonight out for transfer shoreside tomorrow morning in Singapore.

Tomorrow we don't disembark until 9:15am and will take a city tour before reaching Changi for our flight home via San Francisco. And so ends a wonderful cruise with all but the beginning and ending ports being brand new. We look forward to rejoining the ship in July in Seattle for a much longer voyage. I'll blog that voyage as well. If you want to continue following along, I'll put a link in this blog in July or if you are on Cruise Critic, the link will be there. Or you can email me. Thanks for following along.

Day 19 - 02/13/2019 - Langkawi, Malaysia

After over two weeks in SE Asia, we're back in Malaysia, this time at the Port of Langkawi which is located on Langkawi Island in the north part of Malaysia and just a few kilometers south of Thailand. The weather today was projected to be the hottest day so far on the cruise at 94°f. And it did not miss the mark.  

We docked sharply at 8am and while there was a short delay in getting the ship cleared, our group of 19 was timely in assembling in the Ocean Bar. As soon as the cleared message was given, we headed down to deck 5 to disembark. Immediately upon entering the covered gangway we encountered the heat, and it did not dissipate the rest of the day.

It was a fairly long walk to the port exit (1/8th of a mile), and our drivers for the two vans from the Langkawi Taxi Service met us. Mohammed was our driver and while he was pretty quiet, he did know some basic English. It was about a 45 minute drive north to the dock where the river tour boats were docked. Along the way we saw numerous monkeys and felt many speed bumps. There's no need for speed limit signs here! Several of the speed bumps were no more than 100 yards apart.

At the boat harbor we broke into two groups to fill two long and skinny boats with a blue vinyl roof stretched across chrome tubing. Our boat was powered by a Suzuki 140 and the other one was powered by a Suzuki 170. However, in looking around, the motor of choice seemed to be Yamaha.

After boarding the boat, our young and skinny driver backed us out of the moorage and headed us upriver along the mangroves. The river meandered a bunch, and from time to time we'd stop to observe something interesting like eagles feeding, monitor lizards swimming across the river, monkeys (these we bribed with peanuts and they didn't hesitate to enter the water to snag a peanut), and interesting rock formations such as the Crocodile Cave.  

At the Crocodile Cave we turned around and sped down river to the Sas Rimba Floating Fish Farm where we took a short break and observed numbers of fish in pens including some sting rays, grouper, and tuna. Feeding the latter two was an aggressive proposition as these fish could easily take one's finger off!

We then continued on downriver to the Bat Cave where we observed hundreds of bats hanging from the ceiling along with many stalagmites. There were also a number of monkeys here including some really cute mother baby combinations.

We continued down river and did a high speed ride across the mouth of the river and back up the river to our starting point. We were gone about 2 1/2 hours. We drove back roughly the same way as we came and were dropped off at the port gate around 1:15pm. All of this was 150 ringits per couple or about $38 US. It was still hot and it would have been a 30 plus minute walk back to the nearest civilization, so we all elected to reboard the ship for lunch.

After lunch and a little siesta in the Crow's Nest, we attended a short talk by Terry Greenberg on the Chinese Diaspora in SE Asia. Once again it was excellent! I then watched the untying of the mooring lines from the Promenade Deck and the Maasdam slipped away from the dock promptly at 5pm, rotated 180° clockwise, and sailed out of the small harbor against the backdrop of two four masted sailing vessels. The Captain announced we would need to average 19 knots to reach the port for Kuala Lumpur by 7am tomorrow.

Tonight was the Guest Chef Gala Dinner in the Pinnacle. The chef was Pearly Gee from Penang, Malaysia and the meal was quite good, but took nearly 2 1/2 hours so we missed Story Time at 9:15pm with Chris, the Expedition Leader. The 10pm Main Stage show was a variety show with Peter Mehta, the magician who did closeup magic. We were called to the stage, and his tricks were very good. Tomono Kawamura, concert pianist, played the second half and was very good!

Tomorrow we'll be in Kuala Lumpur and will be doing an all day HAL tour. With a 7am arrival, we'll need to get going pretty early!

Day 18 - 02/12/2019 - At Sea to Malaysia - Day 3

This final day at sea started a bit slow. Overnight we lost another hour which totaled 2 1/2 hours adjusted forward over the last 3 nights. We got up after 8:30am and missed the 9am coffee chat with the Naturalists. After my typical two broken eggs over easy breakfast in an uncrowded Lido I went to the Paul Hill photography session on why landscape photography is not about the land. Expedition leader followed up with his presentation on wildlife images he took around the world which was a better photography presentation. There was a noon Master Class in photography that I missed due to a conflict with lunch.

After lunch Pearly Kee, EXC guest chef did a Malaysian curry shrimp and deep fried spring rolls demonstration in the Wajang theater. But the high point of the lectures was Terry Greenberg's 2pm presentation on China in the 21st Century or Making China Great Again. It was the best lecture of the cruise and may have been the best lecture we have heard on a cruise ship. Ashok Ferrey ended the lectures for the day with his talk on how to get published.

We continued to experience relatively flat seas and warm temperatures and lots of marine traffic. That led to walking around the deck for a mile before we ate a Gala Night dinner in the Main Dining Room. Jonathan Johnston, a Irish flautist, was the evening entertainment; and he was pretty good.

Naturalist Jason Kelley was the presenter at Story Time in the Crow's Nest at 9:15pm. He had an interesting story about crossing the equator on an expedition type ship. But most bizarre, at the end of his story, he simply said thanks to the small audience and walked away without entertaining any questions as has been the custom at story time. KK wasn't there but Renau, Cruise Director, was.

Tomorrow we are on tour in Porto Malai, Malaysia.

Day 17 - 02/11/2019 - At Sea to Malaysia - Day 2

Overnight we lost another hour on the clock as we motored speedily at 18 knots east across the crowded Bay of Bengal towards the Strait of Malacca. Today was totally filled with lectures and other EXC presentations. The 9am morning coffee chat with Ashok Ferrey was a great start to the day. It was followed by Terry Greenberg's full house presentation on Chinese Admiral Zheng He's expeditions which were larger than any European version and using ships large enough to hold all of Christopher Columbus' and Vasco deGama's ships on their main decks! 

 Robert, the Staff Chief Engineer gave a terrific virtual engine room tour filmed on a GOPRO camera. Unfortunately he wouldn't take any questions. Strangely again, KK introduced him instead of our Cruise Director. After lunch Ashok presented part II of his class on writing and Kristy King presented on Sea turtles. Maria Faulkner presented what in my opinion was the weakest presentation on personal photos taken of her and her family. Then Terry Greenberg returned with another full house talk about living with headhunters in Borneo titled "Where getting ahead meant getting a head".

We enjoyed a pop up Sel de Mer dinner in the Pinnacle Grill with friends John &Carol before attending the nightly story time with Maria and John (the EXC photographers). They read long passages from their blogs about helping refugees in Macedonia and we didn't find it an effective means of communication for this venue.

We concluded our evening watching the 10pm Showroom at Sea performance by Tomono Kawamura who we saw on our 2017 Asia cruise on the Volendam.

Tomorrow's schedule will have a bit of relief and it's our final Gala Night.

Day 16 - 02/10/2019 - At Sea to Malaysia - Day 1

Overnight we lost 30 minutes as our clocks were set forward at 2am after leaving Colombo. The harsh shrill of my phone's alarm brought me out of unconsciousness to face a new day. Today is Sunday, at least that's what the rugs in the elevators told me, and I'd be leading the interdenominational service at 9am.

The service went well and I shared a sermon on the book of Philemon that I had prepared. I've been volunteering to lead these events for the past few years, and rather enjoy it.

With this first sea day there was a nonstop series of lectures and presentations. One of the EXC guides led off with a port talk about the next two ports of call in Malaysia (Porto Malai and Port Klang). The always popular 'Ask the Captain' with KK and Captain Arno Jutten was presented to a full house. It seemed strange that the cruise director didn't conduct the interview, but KK has a much more bubbly personality. The Captain was genuinely enthusiastic about sailing to these unique ports and driving the Zodiacs.

After a light lunch, in the Wajang Theater, our guest chef presented a cooking demonstration of a chicken curry dish accompanied by a yummy looking pancake item. On the Main Stage Terry Greenberg presented yet another excellent talk on the history and culture of Malaysia. Back in the Wajang theater, Terry was followed by Ashok Ferry's writing class which was well attended and quite good.

Given the number of days we've sailed on cruise ship (nearly 500), I find it interesting how aware I am to changes in vibrations on the ship. We were in the theater and I felt more vibrations than normal. This signaled to me that we were likely traveling faster than we have been. Sure enough when I checked the APP on my phone, we were cruising along at 18 knots.

It's also interesting how little things on cruise ships excite us. As I was sitting in the Crow's Nest updating this blog and watching out the window, there was suddenly a burst of excitement and a rush to the windows on the starboard side of the ship near me. It seems that a school of porpoises or dolphins had decided to come and play in the pressure wake created by the ship. These creatures not only did their more typical graceful arcing leap out of the water, but several of them came straight up out of the water before crashing back into the water tail first.

Today we've also seen many other ships sailing in our same direction as well as the opposite direction. This is the first time we've seen this much at sea activity the entire trip.

After a leisurely Lido dinner we attended Peter Mehtab's magic show. He's quite clever and the large audience appeared captivated. But the day was capped off with 9:15pm Story Time with Terry Greenberg reading a few excerpts from his book about his early years of traveling solo and on the cheap around the world. There were over 60 people there totally engaged with his stories and the following Q&A time.

Today was also Sari night and many beautiful saris were worn.

Tonight we lose another hour and tomorrow is filled with another full set of lectures. Stay tuned.

Day 15 - 02/09/2019 - Colombo, Sri Lanka

Shortly before 8am the Maasdam slipped into its berth next to the container terminal. Berthed across from us was the super yacht Vacca which I learned via google was owned by a Swiss billionaire. Behind us a large container slipped into its berth and began unloading containers.

Our little group of 10 met in the Ocean Bar and headed off the ship and met our guide and boarded our nice Toyota van. We toured throughout the city visiting an old temple, a new temple, a floating temple, a vintage Christian Reformed Church from the 1600's, The National Museum, a produce market, and a Sri Lankan buffet restaurant for lunch.

The temples were beautiful with lots of Buddha statutes and many worshippers. At the newer temple an elephant made an appearance which was a treat.  

Traffic throughout the city was the worst so far this trip. There are thousands of Tuk Tuk's (3 wheeled scooters that serve as taxis and transport vehicles). They and the compliment of motorcycles and scooters dodge in and out of traffic. Compounding the traffic are the many vehicles parked on the streets which cause narrowing of the 'lanes'. Speaking of lanes, those are merely a suggestion. There were a few traffic lights but mainly the traffic danced it's way around roundabouts. Size seemed to be the determining factor in setting the right away. In the core of the city where there are little markets, an additional impediment were the dozens of two wheeled push carts.

But all was well and we made it back to the ship by 4:30pm where we did some final shopping before reboarding. After dinner we attended the evening show twice (7 & 9pm) which was Q, the daughter of our Sri Lankan lecturer. She sang blues and soul type songs. At 22 years old she has a bright future ahead of her. There was a game show of Call My Bluff which wasn't well attended.   

We ended our evening by walking outside around the promenade deck and enjoyed a lengthy conversation with Florian, our hotel director. We've sailed with him several times, and he's very approachable and fun to talk with. He mentioned that we're delayed an hour waiting for something to be delivered (he didn't specify it). At 12 midnight we backed out of our berth, turned around and headed out to sea.

We lose a half hour tonight and now have 3 sea days ahead of us. Stay tuned.

Day 14 - 02/08/2019 - At Sea to Colombo in the Laccadive Sea

Yesterday we had the opportunity to have the Maasdam Captain be our Zodiac driver. During the ride back to the ship, he noted that HAL paid a company to use a company to use satellites to map the ocean depths in the Maldives. That indicates a high level of commitment to the safety of sailing in this area. He also said that it was important to sail in the daylight hours so that there could be visual observance of any reefs or other obstructions.

Today was our sea day to Colombo. Matthew, an EXC guide, gave a great presentation on Colombo. There was then a Mariner Medallion presentation followed by a Mariner luncheon. Following lunch, we squeezed in a cooking demonstration by Malaysian Guest Chef Pearly Kee followed by Terry Greenberg who spoke on differences between Western Nations and Asian Nations. Chris Cook gave a good presentation on underwater photography. Afterwards I spent time editing my videos of yesterday's Zodiac and snorkeling trip.

Following a light Lido dinner Jason Kelley, Naturalist, presented an excellent Evening Insight presentation on Killer Whales. A new entertainer from England, Helen Wilding, sang a wonderful variety of songs ranging from movies to classics to pop.

But the evening highlight was the return of story time at 9:15 in the Crow's Nest. It was well attended with over 30 in attendance to hear Ashok Ferrey share 3 of his travel stories which were very good.

Tomorrow we have an all day tour and Ashok's daughter is performing twice tomorrow on the Showroom at Sea stage.

Day 13 - 02/07/2019 - Utheemu, Maldives

Water activities were the main attraction today. We were on the first sailing of the Zodiacs and it was a hoot. One sits on the pontoon and hangs on to a rope that rings the boat. Depending upon the speed the driver selects, it establishes the comfort level for the passengers. For our trip out to the sand atoll, we had a second officer from Holland as our driver. On the return trip our Captain was the driver. He thoroughly enjoyed doing this!

The snorkeling was okay. The coral is quite bleached and the water was only chest deep. I did see a starfish, many parrot fish and a number of others. The only shade was some beach umbrellas and it was mid 80's Fahrenheit. Given the right excursion, I'd certainly do it again!

After returning to the ship we showered the salt water off and ate some lunch before tendering to the island to walk around. There are no paved streets and a few minimart type stores, a generating plant, several schools, public administration buildings, and a huge mosque. There were no calls to prayer while were there. 

We did inquire of a local artist about where people worked. He indicated it was primarily in tourism on surrounding islands which house resorts. We only saw 3 vehicles: an ambulance, a small work pickup, and a small van. There were a number of motorcycles with some of them being ridden by Burkha clad ladies.

At the opposite end of town from the tender pier, a man was building a 30' boat by hand and I watched him make his metal fasteners by hammering rods in a vise to flatten the end like a nail head. The rest of the boat is being built with an assortment of hand tools. It was impressive.

With the heat, we headed back to the ship by tender and we were on board by 3:30pm. We lounged around the rest of the afternoon until dusk and after we were underway. After a light Lido dinner, Ashok Ferrey presented a talk on vintage Sri Lankan furniture. BBC Earth II was shown on the main stage and it was accompanied by a live orchestra. It's really good and was worth watching again.

We lose a half an hour tonight as we head towards Columbo, Sri Lanka. Tomorrow is a sea day with Mariner Activities and a return of a favorite EXC In Depth event: story time at 9pm in the Crow's Nest.

Day 12 - 02/06/2019 - Getting Wet In Malé, Maldives

Today was a tender port and we arrived before 8am under cloudy skies. We watched part of President Trump's State of the Union address before getting some breakfast. The plan was to be off the ship and on shore by 9am. Due to windy and choppy water conditions, we as 5 star Mariners did not get off the ship until around 9:15 and we're on shore by 9:30. Our group leader was among the few that got off on the first tender. Since our group was so large, Carol sent the first half off on tour while we waited for two more tenders containing the remainder of our group.  

The local tour leader took us to the Presidential Office Building, a couple mosques, a terrorist attack memorial, a produce market and a fish market. Along the the way the sprinkles started and allthe while the temperature was in the low 80's. Perfect sauna weather inside my light Frogg Togg rain jacket. This is an Islamic country, so much so that one can't own property without being Muslim or marry a Muslim without converting. The fish market was clean and neat by Asian standards and one could purchase fish and on the south side of the building, men would clean and filet them. I also found a money changer and got $20 changed into 308 rupees. We went back to the produce market on our own and walked the entire market. There was lots of interesting produce and items we didn't know the names for.  

Interestingly, there were virtually no women in either market. All transactions were between men. We did see lots of women walking and riding some of the many thousands of scooters. Generally they would have a head covering and a few would have a burka with just a slit for eyes. But the clear majority of the people in public were male and many of those with the ubiquitous cell phone.  

We ate a lovely light lunch at the south end of the island overlooking a beach. It cost the equivalent of $5.50 each. While waiting for our food and eating it, the skies opened up once again. But we stayed dry! We then walked the length of the island using the main south to north street. This street was crowded with pedestrians, thousands of motorcycles, cars and light trucks. It was an interesting and slightly chaotic solo dance between all of the partners even though none never touched though some came close. One has to be totally vigilant when crossing streets. Stopping and signaling are mere suggestions!

At the north end of the island was the Artificial Beach which had ladies in full Muslim garb swimming in the sea. We also watched airplanes take off and land from the adjoining island airport which is connected by the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge. We wandered back to our tender location and checked out a Burger King (the only American franchise we saw) and the King Salman mosque which is under construction. Our full tender took us back to the ship and it wasn't quite as rough as the morning tendering process.  

I'll add also that there is no alcohol in Malé, but it is available on one of the many private islands that are home to resorts. It's sort of what I'll call a 'wink' policy ( we didn't see you drink, therefore you didn't).

Shortly after 5pm the last tender arrived with a full load of guests and the Captain soon announced that we would be under way to Utheemu where we will tender also. We watched the sailaway from the Crows Nest as the shipsailed out of the harbor and amongst the islands.

Terry Greenberg presented a talk on his early travel life when at age twenty he took off to travel the world with 3 goals: spend no money on transportation (ie hitchike), pay nothing for lodging, eat the cheapest local food possible. It was a great talk and very inspiring.

Ashok Ferrey read excerpts from his books and both the reading and the writing was quite good. He'll do more literary events on the remainder of this cruise. This should be a treat!

At 10pm the Captain proposed a toast to the Nieuw Statendam and even acknowledged us as having sailed on it (we were wearing our Dutch orange shirts). Following this was a video of Oprah Winfrey naming the ship on February 2, 2019 and giving a little speech along with Orlando Ashford, President of HAL. After the movie, a couple passengers came up to us and asked questions about the Nieuw Statendam as they will be sailing on it.

At 11pm the Indonesian crew performed their crew show. And our long day was over!

Zodiacs tomorrow in Utheemu! Stay tuned.

Day 11 - 02/05/2019 - At Sea to the Maldives

Today is our lone sea day on our way to our first port in the Maldives. There's conflicting ways to pronounce Maldives. The English say it with a long I and Americans say it with an E like in leaves. I'll let you choose.  

There was a full range of lectures and events today. First on the docket was the reveal in the Explorations Cafe of the dedicated EXC In Depth library with books devoted to the itineraries we are sailing on. There's both fiction and non fiction offerings. I also learned there that Terry Greenberg will be returning to the Maasdam after it reaches Japan in August and will be on board until Australia. He's a terrific and engaging speaker well versed in Asian history, politics, and culture topics.

Terry Greenberg led off the lectures with a short history and general information talk on the Maldives. He was followed by Matthew, one of the EXC guides, who presented information on the ports of Male and Utheemu. After lunch, Jason Kelly spoke on the formation of the Maldives from a geologist's perspective. Most of these islands formed by volcanic mountains that are receding. The highest point on the islands is 3 feet and with the rise in ocean levels, within 80 years all of the inhabitants are projected to need to be relocated.

During the lecture I submitted an online suggestion through the mobile App and was surprised to get a phone call back within a few hours from KK. The 9pm story time may be coming back down in the Hakf Mion Room! She also passed on to the Cruise Director my suggestion that coffee chats not be juxtaposed to main lectures. We'll see if that changes.

He was followed by Marie Falconer, the lady photographer who presented her pictures of dancers. I wasn't impressed from the standpoint of how the photography related to the type of voyage we are on. There was also a mild sales pitch for prints she brought on board to sell. We're halfway through this segment with little emphasis on photography, but I realize have three ports before a sea day makes scheduling hard.

Tonight was gala night but we ate in the Lido as the Main Dining Room menu wasn't appealing to us. Kristy King gave a good Evening Insights presentation on whale sharks before the Jersey Tenors presented their 3rd and last show for this cruise. It was packed and the crowd was enthusiastic! We went back for the 10pm final show which was also very enthusiastically received.

It's a tender day tomorrow in Male and we'll see if good weather returns after overcast and showers today.

Day 10 - 02/04/2019 - Hambantota, Sri Lanka

If viewing wild animals and birds are of interest to you, today would have been just for you. We arrived just before 8am and docked at a large pier usually used for shipping vehicles. In fact there were two large car transport ships docked and about 5,000 cars and buses parked neatly on the dock. One of the transport ships was being filled by an endless stream of cars being driven on to the ship, and interestingly they were left hand drive which is not used in much of Asia. That ship left around 5:30pm, and the second ship started unloading.

An interesting parenthesis about the port is that it was built with Chinese money, and then the port defaulted on the loan, so now the Chinese own it or have a very long term lease. There are no manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, so these cars must be in the process of being trans shipped.

We gathered in the Ocean Bar (26 of us), and when the 'ship has been cleared' message was broadcast, we made our way to the gangway on Deck 3 and then on to a shuttle bus to the Main gate where we met our guide, Angeli. We boarded another set of nice smaller shuttle buses which took us to the nearby Bundalay National Park where we transferred into Safari type vehicles (Mahindra 4 wheel drives with seats for six in the covered box behind the driver). The Mahindra's are built in India with a small 4 cylinder mechanically injected diesel. The Mahindras were very comfortable bouncing around on the park roads.

We motored through the park in 6 vehicles and saw lots of birds, monkeys, water buffalo, domestic cows, crocodiles, small monitor lizards, but no elephants. Afterwards we drove to the Peacock Resort for a lovely buffet Sri Lankan lunch for $15 per person.

After lunch, we took a short drive to the closed museum (it was a national holiday) & viewpoint and then to town for a stop at a supermarket before continuing our trip back to the ship. The driver wasn't the fastest in the world but that worked to our advantage when a free range donkey, a beautiful peacock, and last but not least, a young bull elephant appeared alongside the freeway. Viewing today was complete with the spotting of an elephant in the wild. This one posed for us before scampering off away from us. We learned later that on the afternoon park tour, 5-6 elephants were spotted.

Back at the ship around 3:30pm, we lounged in our stateroom and watched the Zodiacs and their drivers practice and play around in the harbor.

We ate a light dinner and then attended in the Wyjang theater a packed and excellent presentation on Asian Pirates in the 17th century by Terry Greenberg. This was followed by our umpteenth viewing of Frozen Planet In Concert. Afterwards, Ashok Ferrey fielded questions about Sri Lanka.  

With that, we adjourned to our stateroom to get ready for a day at sea. It'll be a full day of lectures and a gala night for dinner.

Day 09 - 02/03/2019 - Trincomalee

We arrived in this little port just before 8am. The Maasdam sailed by a large collection of flour silos and berthed at an empty and plain dock that it shared with a small tanker vessel. Our group of 18 gathered in the Ocean Bar and exited the ship and boarded our shuttle buses that took us several kilometers to the entry gate and by a guard donned with an automatic rifle. At the gate we waited for a few minutes for our guide and the tour buses to arrive. While waiting I observed a significant number of tuk tuks which are little 3 wheeled motorcycles used to transport up to 2 adults. Many of the independent travelers used them to get to nearby attractions based on my observations.

As for our group of 3 vans from the Jungle Beach Resort and our guide Robert Gray, we first drove to a Temple but it was not yet open. So we continued on to a local fish market where we observed all manner of fish, shrimp, & squid displayed on tarps on a covered concrete slab. It was surprisingly free of fish orders and the products looked very fresh.

And as we left, there was an adorable little puppy sleeping on the stairs. Puppy stories are always good press! We headed on to Fort Fredrick which was originally built by the Portuguese in 1623 and later the British. The vans were parked and we continued our walk up the crowded roadway to the Koneshwaram Temple with vendors lining each side of the roadway. There were spotted deer grazing the hillsides and monkeys swiftly traversing the tree canopies. Near the temple we had to store our footwear and walk the rest of the way barefoot or in socks. At the very top we toured the temple which was very ornate. All of the statuary seemed to be telling a story but none of it was in English. We then got a look over the cliff at Swamy Rock where temple objects were tossed into the sea. We made our way back to our van and continued on to the Golden temple.

At the very large Golden Temple we males had a strange requirement to enter: shirtless and shoeless. And there was a guard to enforce the requirement! While we were in the temple there was a worship time going on with a nan leading a series of chants in a language I didn't understand.

Leaving the Golden Temple we went back to the first temple and then to the Uga Escapes Jungle Beach Resort for lunch and a chance to use good WIFI. The lunch was spectacular. Angela had a fish curry dish while I had the best fish quesadillas I've ever had. The cost including drinks in US dollars was $31 and worth every penny. We then drove to the Trincomalee War Cemetery where I observed two graves of British sailors who died the day I was born. It was sobering. From there we made our way back to the port gate dodging numerous wandering cows and goats and an occasional tuk tuk or dog! We arrived at 3:30pm.

Back onboard, I showered and did final preparations for leading the interdenominational service at 5pm which went well despite two interruptions for ship announcements. The most important one was that we have the opportunity to see blue whales around 6am tomorrow on our way to Hambatota, our next port.

We skipped dinner because of the nice lunch we enjoyed, and attended the 8pm Showroom at Sea performance by Andy Bünger which classical rock music played on the marimba and handpipe.

The Super Bowl coverage will begin around 7am local time. But whale watching is higher on my priority.

Day 08 - 02/02/2019 - At Sea to Sri Lanka - Day 3 - Bay of Bengal

Today started out like most every day with me waking up around 6am and eventually heading to breakfast. But did that ever change!  

After breakfast I was walking through the pool (Lido) area when I spotted a large rectangular object floating in the distance off the starboard side. When I returned my gaze after looking away I couldn't find it and thought no more of it. It wasn't more than 5 minutes later that the Captain came on the PA system and said we would be making a starboard (right) turn to check out a floating object. 

 So I hustled up to Deck 12 above the Lido and could observe the ship executing a sharp right turn and there was an object in the distance. Gradually our speed slowed from 13 knots to 5 knots and then to 1-2 knots as we approached what appeared to be a raft about 12 feet wide and 24 feet long made of bamboo. It had a stick superstructure and was flying a tattered flag. We couldn't see any signs of life on the raft but the Captain came back in the PA system and announced that a tender would be sent out to inspect the raft. At this point we were still in the water about 300 feet away from the raft. Tender #9 was launched and it circled the raft twice before returning to the ship.

The Captain then came on the PA system and said there was no signs of life onboard it and that it would be reported to the Sri Lankan Coast Guard. He thanked the crew for their professionalism in responding to the event, and I would concur. The tender was retrieved and we resumed our course. All of this took about an hour. Of course we don't know the source of the raft or how it came to be in the middle of the Bay of Bengal; and we'll likely never know.

Then I went to the first meeting of the Voyager club down in the atrium. There KK announced that we would be permitted to go out on the bow and see the Zodiacs up close. This was the first time passengers have been allowed there since the Zodiacs were loaded and while the ship is under way. It was really cool to see and touch them. I'll do a specific Zodiac post in a few days as this post is getting long.

Afterwards I attended an EXC lecture on Mangal Communities (Mangroves) by Kristy King. It was very detailed and went way overtime. Angela went to a coffee chat with the Jersey Boys where she learned another group is rejoining the ship on the next segment.

Following a quick Lido lunch, I walked 1/3 of the 5k In Deck For a Cause cancer walk. Paul Hill presented his first lecture on photography, but I found it not as good as Ben Brain's on the first segment backbin September. Ashok Ferry presented part 2 of Sri Lankan Architecture, but for me it didn't connect with me. Finally Terry Greenberg did a good presentation on religious cooperation in Sri Lanka.  

Since we had a 7pm dinner reservation in the Pinnacle Grill, I used most of the time to walk the deck to finish my miles for the 5k Cancer walk.

The guest chef dinner tonight was prepared by Singaporean chef, Deming Chung. Not only was it excellent, our table mates Jim & Rose were a delight to chat with.

Tomorrow we arrive in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka and it is a docking port which is a change from what was previously announced. We have an all day independent excursion.

Day 07 - 02/01/2019 - At Sea to Sri Lanka - Day 2

Overnight we passed within 150 miles of the island on which a young American Missionary was recently killed by a tribe that doesn't want any outside contact. This was according to Captain Arno Jutten's noon metereological and navigational briefing the day before.

Today was a very full day of EXC lectures. For those who are interested in this new format, based on the first week on the cruise, it's as good as the first segment we sailed on out of Fort Lauderdale last September. There's a good quantity of lectures with high quality. One of the themes that really should have been emphasized early is the photography theme and particularly the phoneography sub theme. With all these amazing new sights, lots of pictures will be taken, and some instruction would be helpful plus it gives the photographers a chance to connect.

In terms of lectures, Brett gave a port talk on Tricomalee and Hambatota, Terry Greenberg presented on Buddhism and Hinduism. Chris Cook gave one of the best coral presentations I've seen and included an audience participation activity on coral reproduction.  Ashok Ferrey presented part 1 of his series on Sri Lankan Architecture and in reference to over 500 years of colonial occupation and control, he said it was like the colonialists were "Playing cards with other people's countries". It turned out that Ashok is a builder first, an author second, and lectures in an architecture school on colonial architecture.

We walked the deck a bit and observed a number of flying fish. But it was very hot at 93°! For dinner we chose to eat in the Caneletto (Italian cuisine) with Carol and John. It was wonderful and we returned after the show for dessert.

Ashok gave an Evening Insight short program on 20th Century Sri Lankan art. This was followed by Andy Bünger, a German multi-instrumentalist.

We have one more sea day until we reach our first port at Tricomalee. Stay tuned 

Day 06 - 01/31/2019 - At Sea to Sri Lanka in the Andaman Sea

Before I start today's blog entry, I would like to respond to a rumor from yesterday that we went aground. I only first heard the rumor at the meet and greet today but never felt any contact during the docking procedure. Today, I personally spoke with the Captain at lunch, and here's the sequence of our docking maneuvers that he recapped and I personally observed. The ship approached the dock area and executed a 180° turn to back into its berth along a relatively narrow bouy marked channel. While backing there were strong currents and winds moving the ship towards the shore and there wasn't quite enough power to push against the wind and current. While the tugs were a bit behind schedule, they were fastened to the ship and used in a normal fashion to provide assistance in combating the wind and current. We then approached our berth normally and tied up.  

I should also update my report on our use of a travel router. This device allows my wife and I to share a single internet connection, and it's working well.  

Today was the first of a very welcome sea day. The seas continue to be very flat and there was virtually no wave action in the Lido Pool as we sail on at about 13.2 knots. After breakfast we attended a naturalist chat session in the Crow's Nest which was not well attended (maybe 30 people). We learned that we may have opportunity to see blue whales which are resident in Sri Lankan waters. It appears that KK and the staff are trying very hard to increase the number of ways in which guests can 'connect' with the EXC presenters other than in lecture settings. Afterwards I hosted a very successful and well attended Meet & Greet in the Crow's Nest. There were probably 75 in attendance out of 106 that signed up. It's always good to put faces to electrons we've seen on Cruise Critic.

Before lunch, Terry Greenberg gave an excellent presentation on a history of the spice trade and its enfluence on us to this day. I could listen to him for hours. Oh wait, I will be!

After a light lunch, we attended a Sommelier wine tasting. While these are interesting, we continue to like just one wine on the entire wine list: Moscato. Ashok Ferrey presented his first lecture on Sri Lanka. This presentation was an overview on politics, geography, history, economics, and the arts.  

Today was also a first for us in several years when while walking, we saw a couple of flying fish. Oh the little things that bring joy!

After a light dinner (I don't yet have much of an appetite with my cold, but the cold is getting better), Terry Greenberg presented a sobering Evening Insight on the Legacy of European Colonialism in Asia. The Wajang theater was packed. With the growth in China, he'll be presenting a talk on the enfluence of Asia on Western Countries.

The Jersey Tenors presented two concerts tonight and we enjoyed both. The solo of Whitney Houston's "I will always love you" was chillingly good and the group's final rendition of "One Day More" was excellent!

Tonight our clocks go back one hour. I think I'll remember it! Stay tuned to find out if I do.

Day 05 - 01/30/2019 - Phuket, Thailand

With my cold, last night I fell asleep on the couch and not even my wife could wake me up. Eventually at 2:30am I roused myself out of a sleep stupor and made arrangements for a proper sleep. Except for one thing: I didn't remember to set my clock back one hour, so when I woke up at 7am, it was really 6am. No wonder Angela didn't move!

I watched the ship backing in to the berth and soon the "Ship is cleared by the local authorities and you are free to go off the ship" message was given by our cruise director. Our little shore excursion group gathered later in the Ocean Bar and headed off the ship to meet our replacement Tours by Locals guide, Weera. It seems that our original guide couldn't suddenly fulfill his obligation and Weera stepped in to help. Our little group of 11 easily fit in the Toyota van and soon we were off on a 1/2 drive into the old city of Phuket. 

The streets here are narrow and follow the British design (drive on the left). There are hundreds of scooters that weave their way through the traffic, and at every light they inch their way to the front of the queue. When the light changes, they're off like being shot out of a cannon. In the downtown area we were dropped off to do a little walking tour of the old downtown area.

In this area, sidewalks are a mere suggestion as they are either 1. Nonexistent or 2. Occupied by something else like commercial goods for sale, restaurant seating, or even a judiciously parked scooter or car. So much of one's walking is in the street where one has to dodge moving traffic or double parked vehicles. All in all, it's a friendly dance and nobody seems to get hurt.

We saw lots goods for sale, food stalls, street art, jumbled wiring, a fresh market, a shrine and even a temple. And all of this was done in over 85°f temperatures. After our temple visit, we drove a few minutes to a cashew nut factory where we were all fascinated by how they hand split the shells to get the nut. Apparently it's done by hand as too many nuts get broken using automated machinery. We got to sample lots of nuts and in the end purchased a bag of them. It was then time to go to a nice restaurant on the bay, Parlai Seafood. We all thought it important to have Thai food in Thailand. My dish of Phad Sie Euw was pretty bland, but Angela's salad and soup were quite spicy.

After lunch we drove up to the big Buddha which was located on a peak of the Nakkerd Hills. It's probably the highest rated attraction in Puket. On the way up, we saw elephants which was pretty cool. The Buddha is some 150 feet tall, constructed of concrete and clad in ceramic tile.  

Our last stop of the day was a Karon Point where we could see three tourist beaches. This west side of the island is where the psunami hit, and it is literally teeming with western tourists.

Our Evening Insight presentation was on Zodiacs by Jason Kelly who has been driving them for many years. One thing that I learned was that they had to replace the Yamaha gasoline outboard motors with diesel motors. It seems that the storage of gasoline on the deck of a cruise ship was not an acceptable risk Holland America was willing to assume. I'm looking forward to my first ride in one in a few weeks.

That's about it from Thailand. We depart at 11pm tonight and finally we have three sea days ahead of us. Our Cruise Critic gathering is tomorrow morning.

Day 04 - 01/29/2019 - Georgetown, Malaysia

Overnight we sailed at 18 knots in order to make our next port of call, Georgetown or Penang. It was incredibly smooth sailing and after breakfast, I attended a presentation on EXC by KK. Based on this presentation which was not well attended, it seems that there's a return to the typical EXC format including story time. I also learned that shore excursions will likely return to that name from Explorations Central due to confusion about the name and EXC In Depth. I laud that decision.

We then attended a lecture by Kris on Phuket before adjourning to the Crow's Nest to watch the sail in. Our berth was occupied, so we had to wait for another ship to leave. It was interesting to see two tugs pull the small cruise ship away from the dock. Then our crew slowly guided our ship into its berth.

Carol assembled our group of twelve in the Ocean Bar and as soon as the ship was cleared we made our way off the ship and found our guide for the day, Lawrence. We boarded a small van across the street from the 60 foot leaning clock tower. We then headed over towards Chinatown where we boarded tri-shaw's like what we used yesterday except the design of these put us in front of the driver. And these tri-shaw's were not as elaborately decorated. We wound our way through Chinatown and little India before ending up at a large Chinese temple. After visiting the temple, we strolled through the city and spotted a number of pieces of street art including a famous bicycle painting.

Throughout the rest of the day we rode the funicular to the top of Penang Hill where we not only enjoyed scenic views, but also some unique monkeys and the world's largest squirrels with several foot long black tails. After descending the mountain, we re-ascended the mountain to a giant covered Buddha. Following that visit, we made our way to a Chinese stilted village which was really interesting with little shops and more street art before returning to the ship. 

This Tours By Locals tour was excellent and I appreciated Laurence's use of a portable PA system.

Back at the ship we skipped dinner and attended the 7:15pm Insights talk where Terry Greenberg presented on Thai History with an emphasis on the real story of Anna & the King of Siam and why it's banned in Thailand. We ended the evening watching a very funny British comedian, Paul Adams. I've had a sore throat all day which has impacted my enthusiasm, but I continue to soldier on. We'll see what I'm like when we visit Phuket tomorrow.  

 

Day 03 - 01/28/2019 - Malacca, Malaysia

This was our first tender port and we got up early as we didn't know what exactly to expect. Breakfast went quick and we were number 1 & 2 in the 4-5 Star tender line on deck 4 about 50 feet from our stateroom. By the time tendering started, there were very few people in line and I became the first passenger on one of the locally hired tenders.

Upon reaching the tender dock on the Malacca River, I noticed what looked like small crocodiles, but according to Melissa, our tour guide, they are related to monitor lizards. They were around 4-5 feet long and I would assume there would be no swimming in the area!

Melissa led us on a nice 4 hour walking tour of the historic sights of Malacca including the Riverwalk, Mile Zero, the Dutch Christian Church, St. Paul's Church which was abandoned and became a graveyard, Chinatown, a ride in the colorful pedal trishaws, a historical Chinese temple, and a private museum. All of this is a World Heritage site. Afterwards, 5 of us met for lunch at the Nonya Kitchen restaurant for some traditional Malaysian food which very inexpensive at about $20 US for two main courses, rice, two sodas and a Tiger beer.

After lunch we wandered back to the ship and let Carol and John go on ahead while we toured two maritime museums on the waterfront: a Naval Museum and a replica Portuguese galleon in which there's lots of historical information about the area. The cost was only around $2.50US each. Around 3:30pm we caught a nearly empty local tender back to the ship.

One of the shore excursions EXC guides and KK gave a long presentation on all the upcoming shore excursions. It wasn't that well attended as it was presented during the early dinner hour. 

After dinner with friends in the Lido (my laundry from yesterday had yet to be returned so I had no pressed long pants to attend the Gala Night), we attended the Captain's Toast and then we had a real treat: The Jersey Tenors ( a Frankie Valli tribute quartet) sang at 8 and 10pm. We attended both, and they were enthusiastically received and well attended. This same group (with different members) sang 4 shows on our inaugural EXC voyage. After enjoying some late tea (I have a gravelly throat) we came back to our stateroom and our laundry was finally there.

We don't arrive at our next port until 11am tomorrow, so we'll have a lecture in the morning. Stay tuned.

Day 02 01/27/2019 Departing Singapore

We were up at 7am to get some breakfast before heading out with our friends, Carol & John, to get a cab to Fort Canning Park to take a 9:45am tour of the Battlebox bunker which was the command and control facility for the British in WWII. We quickly cleared immigration and found a cab. The driver, however, didn't seem to know where it was located and dropped us on the wrong side of the park. We were early enough that we were able to walk through the Park and were at the Visitor Center where we waited until 9:30am when the Center opened. Promptly at 09:45 Chin Han assembled our group of 23 and we headed underground for an hour and a quarter tour which was well done. No photos could be taken underground on the tour.

At the conclusion of the tour, we headed down through the park to a main road where we hailed a cab and headed back to Vivo City Shopping Mall. At the mall, John wanted to purchase some soda, so we found the store which we used the previous day. Then it was back through immigration and back on the ship where we ate lunch with other friends, Jack and Ashley, who have been on the ship since it left Ft. Lauderdale in September with us.

We had our Passenger Emergency Muster Drill which went well especially since it was so warm out (low 80's f). We watched the sailaway from Deck 13 and departing Singapore is especially challenging due to the large number of ships which were anchored or underway. Up there we enjoyed great conversation with Juergen and Heidi from Germany.

After dinner there was a special 1/2 hour Showroom at Sea show on the 6 themes of EXC In Depth cruises. KK Robbins introduced the presenters and it appears that the lecture style we enjoyed on the inaugural cruise is continuing on. We did learn that all of the Zodiac shore excursions on this voyage except for the one that we are doing in the Maldives were cancelled by the Sri Lankan military after a year spent arranging for them and getting permission. Afterwards Terry Greenberg presented the first lecture on an introduction to SE Asia. He's a good lecturer we've heard before.

Today I also set up a travel router so that my wife and I can share our single internet connection. Essentially the small electronic device receives the ship's WiFi signal, and rebroadcasts it (with password protection) to multiple devices. For this cruise I purchased the ship's SURF package of 300 megabytes of data on a daily basis for $10 per day or $189.95 for 19 days. It was $199.95 for 20 days.

Tomorrow is our first port of call and it's a tender port. It will be interesting to see how tendering will work with a new set of guests. We are 5 star Mariners so we get get off at our leisure, but our plan is to be on the first tender.

       

Day 01 01/26/2019 Embarkation Day in Singapore

We enjoyed a leisurely morning at the IBIS and finally left the room close to 10am in order to get a light breakfast at a nearby Burger King. We then checked out of the hotel after 11am; and after waiting for about 15 minutes, we got a cab to the Harbourfront cruise terminal. Our driver was very talkative and quick to explain the nuances of living in Singapore. When we got within 200 yards of the terminal, traffic came to a complete halt. It would take 30-40 minutes to complete those last 200 yards. Our driver even turned off his meter.  

As we approached the luggage drop off point in our terminal, we were handed a letter indicating that the Maasdam arrived at 10am due to unfavorable weather and that check in would be delayed until 1pm. The terminal area was very crowded as passengers were still disembarking. So we walked a loop around the shopping mall and went up to the second floor check in area where we joined a long line of 4-5 star Mariners waiting to check in. We spotted our friends Carol & John who were being escorted on to the ship having checked in earlier. After a wait of 25 minutes we were quickly processed and passed through exit immigration. In Singapore one has to be rescreened going on and off to he ship every time.

On board the ship we left our backpacks in the large outside stateroom before going up to the Lido for lunch. After lunch, we headed back off the ship to purchase sodas at a store in the VivoCity mall. We found that cans are about 80 cents at the store compared to $1.80 on the ship after adding in a 15% surcharge and taking advantage of our 50% discount on mini bar purchases. Of course it was necessary to go through immigration two times during that excursion. We ate a quick dinner as we needed to meet in the Ocean Bar with our small group that was headed to the Zoo for its Night Safari. We quickly met our guide, Raymond, but the van driver was 30 minutes late with no explanation or apology. This frustrated our guide to almost no end,

The Night Safari was pretty cool. We rode a tram for about 40 minutes and observed a number of animals in dimly lit surroundings. Afterwards we did a walk on trails and got to see more animals. Given the darkness, it was tough to photograph them, but a got a few good photos. The drive back to the ship took us by Marina Bay with a chance to see quite pretty lights.

We went back through immigration and arrived in time for the 10:30pm feeding. After all of the walking and then eating, I fell asleep while trying to write my journal account. But sleep was more important especially since we needed to be up by 7am to go on another excursion. Stay tuned for what that excursion is all about.

Day -01 01/25/2019 Scavenger hunting in Singapore

These flat flowers look 3D!  This was one of the scavenger hunt items.

After a very refreshing full night's sleep, we slowly got started by visiting the nearby Chinese market and enjoying a brunch meal of laksa soup at a nearby hawker stall.

We then slowly walked over to an area called Little India where we planned to do a street art scavenger hunt. We downloaded an APP which gave us the coordinates for the street art as well as a picture of what we were looking for. There were 23 items and we found all but two of them. Several of the ones we did find didn't have the correct GPS coordinates which made for an interesting search. Our search took us on lots of back streets and alleys which gave a very different view than the regular tourist routes. Along the way we did lots of shopping and I found two pairs of nice walking shorts for the equivalent of $4US per pair.

The walk ended up being around 5.7 miles and the temperatures were in the mid 80's Fahrenheit. Back at the hotel we showered to cool off before heading back out to shop some more and get some dinner at a hawker stall. We found a 3 meat dish with bok choy and soup and rice for about $3.50US each.  

Tomorrow we'll use a taxi to get to the cruise terminal and then we'll check in for our cruise. We have planned for a night tour at the Singapore Zoo. Stay tuned.

Day -02 01/24/2019 Arrival in Singapore

At 8:23pm local time (4:30am the previous day in our home time zone) we touched down at Changi Airport in Singapore. We deplaned and made our way to immigration which went smoothly and quickly. Then we collected our luggage and made our way to the hotel shuttle transportation desk. For $9 Singapore each we had a ride to our Ibis Hotel on Bencoolen which we've stayed at previously and rather like it. Checkin went fast and soon we were in our room 537 and immediately preparing for needed sleep.

I'm sorta glad we took the daytime flight as staying mostly awake prepared us to be tired for sleep. It's hard to believe we started traveling on Tuesday and it's already Thursday evening.

That's all for today. We're both tired. We want to do some exploring tomorrow on our free day before boarding the ship. There's an art walk we may take, but stay tuned. Hawker stalls for local food are high on our agenda.

Day -03 01/23/2019 Finally In Flight to Singapore

After months of waiting and planning, it was finally time to start our 2019 adventures. This first adventure would involve flying from Seattle to San Francisco and catching a direct flight to Singapore. We'd have a couple days in Singapore before leaving on a cruise on Holland America's Maasdam to Sri Lanka via Thailand, Maldives, and Malaysia before returning to Singapore. We spent 48 days on the Maasdam last fall as well as 56 days on it a few years ago, so we're familiar with the ship.

Yesterday afternoon after breezing through TSA security (despite the partial government shutdown), we left Seattle for San Francisco on a short Alaska Airlines flight. After collecting our luggage in SFO in terminal 3, we took the Sky Train over to Terminal G (International Terminal) where we quickly checked in, dropped off our luggage and breezed thorough SFO's TSA checkpoint to begin our 5 hour layover for a projected 10:45pm departure that would put us in Singapore 2 days later (Thursday) at 8:15am.

During our wait we enjoyed some very good Vietnamese Pho soup. Since we were there so early, very few people were in the waiting area for our United Airlines flight #1 at gate 97. Gradually more and more passengers arrived. Since we fly standby, I continued to monitor the available number of seats on United's excellent APP and there were plenty. As the time to board approached and the boarding process began, they still didn't call for any standby passengers. Finally after boarding most all the passengers, they called for the first person on the standby list to board. About 20 minutes later they boarded two more ladies, and kept interacting with another couple about being ready to board. But finally they announced that the flight was weight restricted, and no further standby passengers would be allowed to board. That meant 18 out of 21 standbys wouldn't be flying to Singapore this night.

It was now time to consider options many of which I had been mulling over as we waited. I knew there was a flight twelve hours later on Wednesday morning and it had some 80 open seats, and it would put us into Singapore on Thursday evening which was the same day as the previous flight would have. However, would they authorize enough seats to take standbys? There was also another evening flight but it was nearly full. Now I needed to find some over night lodging. So I used my Hotel Tonight APP and found a nearby hotel in San Bruno at the Gateway Inn & Suites for $125 which included a free shuttle both directions. I didn't expect much for that price but we just needed a clean and comfortable room. After retrieving our luggage, I contacted the hotel (it took two tries) and arranged for the shuttle. It picked us up and took us the few miles to the hotel where we checked in and were assigned room 311. They also required a $100 deposit which was charged to our credit card. We also made a reservation for the 8:10am shuttle back to the airport.

The room was very clean and neat and very much like an Ibis IKEA style hotel like we'll be staying in in Singapore. The room was pretty chilly but the heater worked to remove that. And we settled in while watching the Late Show with Steven Colbert. I wrote an email message to our Singapore Ibis hotel advising we would be there 12 hours later than I originally indicated. Then I began exploring our options in case we couldn't get on the morning flight. My final conclusion was that our best option was to attempt to fly out on UAL #29 on Wednesday morning, and if that wouldn't work, I would purchase tickets for the Thursday morning flight for $500 each less $100 each discount vouchers we received as compensation from our last UAL flight from Papeete when the entertainment system failed mid flight. If we took this option, we would forfeit one night's lodging as we would now arrive on Friday night instead of Thursday night.

With that completed, I plugged in and donned the mask on my new small and very portable Z-1 CPAP machine and immediately noticed the pillow was extremely hard and I also couldn't get a good fit with the covers. It was going to potentially be a long night. I comment later on this new very small travel CPAP machine.

Awaking in the morning at my 7am alarm, I felt that my overnight sleep had not been restful, but when I read the data on my CPAP APP, it showed I did have a decent night's sleep with low apneas. We showered, dressed, packed, checked out, and waited for our shuttle. It was timely and very full.

Arriving at the airport, we discovered that there was another standby couple on the shuttle with us from last night's attempt to fly. We quickly checked in (UAL's electronic check in is terrific) and headed for the gate. At the TSA checkpoint we discovered we didn't have TSA PreCheck on our boarding passes and there was a huge line in the regular TSA line, so we went back to the electronic check in area where a helpful agent assisted us in getting our TSA PreCheck numbers put on our boarding passes. Armed with our new passes we went back to the TSA checkpoint and quickly cleared it. TSA PreCheck is so worth it!

We made it to our departure gate #100 and found the other couple we rode in on the shuttle with. They were from Madison, Wisconsin and were heading for Phuket, Thailand for a 10 day vacation. The husband is a retired flight attendant and they were number one and two on the standby list. We chatted a whole bunch about travel and traveling standby as there were few other travelers around us as we were so early. Before the boarding process began, they were called up, and they were assigned the two remaining Polaris Class seats (fully reclining flat beds!). They indicated that we likely would make the flight even though we were 20 and 21 on the standby list. The flight was authorized to carry a full load of passengers and there were still some 80 open seats on our 787-9 Dreamliner (my favorite long distance airliner).

As I continued to monitor the standby list, I could see that seats were being assigned. Boarding commenced and the standby list continued to shrink until finally we were called up and given the choice of a full row back in Economy class or an aisle and a center seat in Economy Plus. We took the latter for the increased legroom and other benefits. Virtually all the standby passengers were assigned into Economy Plus.

Parenthetically, our flight benefits come as being parents of an Alaska Airlines employee. We've learned that many parents don't use the standby benefit as they can't deal with the uncertainty of not making a flight. Fortunately we are easy travelers and don't mind long flights plus I'm pretty skilled in searching out alternatives. One has to really think outside the box and be flexible when traveling this way.

We boarded in Group 3 and settled into our seats for the 17 hour plus flight direct to Singapore. Shortly after takeoff we were served a nice chicken and rice lunch and we were scheduled to have two more meals. I watched Diehard which has been on my watch list for some time and tried watching The King (about Elvis) but fell asleep during much of it. Later I composed this blog entry and watched a number of documentaries on the excellent inflight entertainment system. I tried to not sleep much so that I would be tired when we arrive in the evening in Singapore.

Stay tuned for the next part of our adventure as we arrive in Singapore and make our way to our hotel.

Day -4 22 Jan 2019 Seattle to San Francisco

Our first adventure of 2019 is about to begin.  We're flying to San Francisco to catch our 17 hour connecting flight to Singapore.