World Cruise---Malaysia

This was our first visit to Malaysia. We would have two ports of call. The first was Port Klang which was our gateway to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city and the largest city of the country. The port area had absolutely nothing to do since it was a large container port so we opted to take a ship’s excursion. Actually, we had booked it way before the cruise began which was a good thing since it sold out quickly. The tour? A trip to the Petronas Towers.

I couldn’t help but think of our twin towers in New York as the guide kept referring to the Petronas Towers as the twin towers. They are twin towers in that they look alike and are joined in the middle with a sky bridge that is 41 stories up. Our tour would take us there and then up to the 86^th floor for an even more panoramic view. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

It took a little over an hour to get to Kuala Lumpur from the port and along the way we enjoyed taking in the beautiful countryside. Malaysia is very tropical and is considered rain forest. It was very green.

Once inside the city, we stopped at the national monument that commemorates and honors those who gave their lives fighting for their country. It looks a bit like our Iwo Jima monument.

Another stop took us to a home that was now a museum for a past leader of the country and a photo stop at a famous club house that I think was a polo club but I’m not sure. It was very difficult to hear our guide on the bus as the noise from the engine drown him out. The big thing about the club was that it was all male members, no females allowed in at all until a female lawyer took them to court and won a case against them for the discrimination.

Finally we arrived at the Petronas Towers. Towering above us (almost 1500 feet high) as we entered, they were very impressive. The base of the towers houses a large shopping center and we were promised time there after our visit to the top to shop and/or eat lunch.

The tickets to go up are timed to keep things organized and from getting overwhelmed with visitors. Half of our group went up first and we followed fifteen minutes later. The first elevator took us to the 41^st floor to the Sky Bridge that connects the two towers. We had ten minutes to look around and take pictures. It was more than enough time.

The next part of the tour took us to another elevator that took us to the 83^rd floor and another elevator to take us to the observation area on the 86^th floor. While the views were spectacular, it would have been even nicer if it hadn’t been so hazy. This time of the year Indonesia, a neighboring country, harvests their sugar cane and then burns the fields. The smoke and haze drifts to Malaysia and Singapore. I remember people in Singapore complaining about it as well.

The smooth movement from one level to another suddenly ran into a glitch. Once off the elevator coming down one level, we had to wait in a long line to get one the elevator that would take us to the ground floor. It appeared that one of the two elevators wasn’t working so the crowd grew and our time to get lunch got shorter.

Once we finally got down, we found the food court that was filled with every kind of spicey Asian food you could imagine. Added to that, the bowls of food were very large. We just couldn’t eat that much let alone that much spice. Tucked back in a corner, we found a Subway. Not my first choice for trying food in a foreign country but we weren’t taking a chance on the spice. I must admit, the meatball subs tasted like home.

Most of us slept on the way back to the port.

The next day in Malaysia, we were in Penang. There is Penang Island and then mainland Penang. The island is attached to the mainland by two bridges, one of which is eight miles long. Originally we were going to just get off the ship and walk around the port area which had lots of things to see but we had seen pictures of an excursion to an orangutan sanctuary that looked like a lot more fun so we signed up.

Again we had a long bus ride to get to the man made lake on the mainland where the sanctuary was. On the shore of the lake was a large resort area. A nice place but not exactly what you would expect a resort to be. It was also obviously off season. There were not a lot of people around except for the four or five busloads of cruise passengers getting dropped off periodically.

The orangutan sanctuary was in the middle of the lake on a little island. We were loaded into a couple of boats and transported to the island. After a little introduction to the sanctuary and its purpose, we were allowed to start through what they called the “tunnel”. It was a pathway protected by metal fencing to allow you to safely view the animals—or for the animals to safely view the people. Sometimes it’s hard to tell.

It was hot and humid and the orangutans were as uncomfortable as we were. One was in the water staying cool the whole time we were there. While some of the attendants tried to coax the animals from their cool shady places so we could see them, those guys weren’t moving. Who could blame them. They had heavy fur coats on.

Once we were done walking through the tunnel, we were given a snack bag and were able to cool off a bit in a small theater that had a video of the orangutans and the sanctuary. One busload after another was put on the boats and taken back to the other side of the lake. The A/C in the bus was quite a relief.

After our hour drive back and a quick little bus tour of Port Penang, we were finally back at the ship. It had been a lot more fun than walking around the port but I think we can get closer to our orangutans at our zoo and they are a little more entertaining.

Six sea days ahead. Time to hopefully get some writing done.

World Cruise--A Cloud Forest and Flower Dome

Instead of making the long walk to the MRT station our second day in Singapore, we opted to take the complimentary shuttle bus that would drop us off near the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It was still a bit of a walk to get across the park area of Gardens By The Bay to the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. The day promised to be hot again.

When we got to the Flower Dome, I was glad we’d bought our tickets ahead of time. The line to purchase was growing. The tickets were not very expensive once you did the exchange between currencies. The combo ticket for both was 32 Singapore dollars/person which worked out to $23USD each.

I hoped the flower dome would be tolerable as far as heat went. Many times you go into a flower display and it’s way too warm and humid. Not the case here. It was very pleasant and surprisingly cool. The Flower Dome was huge. We’ve never been in an inside botanical garden this large.

Trees of all sorts towered above us and between them were all sorts of plants and flowers. We started to the right which took us through the succulents. I’m not a fan of cactus but there was an amazing variety of them not to mention the most unusual succulents I’ve ever seen, all shapes and sizes.

The little brown "stones"
are actually plants.

We followed the winding path and found ourselves in several other types of gardens of plants and flowers from all over the world. Mediterranean Garden. South American Garden. California Garden. And on and on.

The main attraction for this month however was the Japanese Garden that was full of cherry blossoms and other flowering trees. It also included some beautiful and unique displays of Japanese garden ornaments and fountains, the most unusual of which was the water that dripped through bamboo tubes to fill another tube that would dip when it was full and send a hammer into a gong.

It took a good hour to go through the Flower Dome and I’m sure you could spend even more time there if you inspected the plants more closely. We were done though and headed out to the Cloud Forest which was in the neighboring dome.

The Cloud Forest was much taller as it covered a huge “mountain” of plants in the center. A walkway that could be accessed by a lift (elevator) wound its way around the mountain of plants and through other displays as well.

The information I had found on the cloud forest showed a misty cloud that surrounded the mountain to give you the feel of what it would be like to be in a real cloud forest. While I could see the large tubes that would probably produce the misty cloud, there was no mist coming out except for a couple of small fountains at the start of our journey.

For me, the most fascinating part of the Cloud Forest was the display of orchids. There were the usual orchids and unusual varieties but the most intriguing display was of miniature orchids, so small you had to view them through a magnifying glass.

There was also a place called the Crystal Garden that had long strands of plastic that changed colors from white to blues. Inside the area was an interactive display much like the immersive display that toured in many parts of the world that was a way to step into a Van Gogh painting. 

As we entered the Crystal Garden, the floor upon which was projected a video of water with frogs and fish swimming through under your feet made you feel as though you were walking on water. The amazing part was that as you stepped, it appeared you were moving the water with your steps.

Bob was having a Big Mac attack by the time we finished the Cloud Forest and the day before, we had spotted a MacDonald’s nearby inside the park. We found our way there and ordered our usual, one meal and an extra sandwich and drink. We were surprised later when we learned how inexpensive it was after the currency exchange.

There was no way we were going to take the MRT back to the ship. The walk the day before, while in the A/C was way too long and then the walk to the ship outside would be very warm, hot even. While it was a bit of a walk to get back to the cruise shuttle pick up, it still didn’t seem as long.

And, did I mention that we didn’t have to use the escalators in the MRT station? What was wrong with that? Well, you have never seen such a fast escalator. Trying to judge your step onto the moving stairway was the most dangerous thing we’ve done in a while. Unfortunately, we discovered later that one of the friends Bob played Pickleball with on the ship wasn’t so fortunate. His wife hesitated and when she did, he fell. Six hours later, he was well bandaged but not up for Pickleball for a while.

As we ate dinner, we watched a tug boat as it lurked nearby waiting for our ship to move on. It looked a little eerie as you couldn’t see anyone on it. Soon enough we were on our way. There would be two more days of ports before we would get some sea days. It could be a little tiring especially since it was predicted to be hot and humid again.

World Cruise--Singapore, Excursion To The AIrport?

 Yes, let me confirm that we are a bit crazy sometimes with the adventures we choose in our ports of call. This was our third visit to Singapore and we had done all the introductory tours and visited the botanical garden twice before. As we planned this world cruise, we searched for something new and different to do—and found it!

The Queen Anne was to be in port overnight so we had two days to fill with fun things to do. We found that the airport, the Changi Airport that serves Singapore, had all sorts of unusual things that were available to explore mainly for those with long layovers but also many of them were open to the public including a huge shopping mall that was at least six levels.

The main attraction, and entirely free, was the 400 meter high (around 1200 feet) vortex waterfall in the middle of Terminal 1. People looked a little funny at us when we said we were going to the airport even though we weren’t on our way home. They had no idea what they were missing.

Part of the fun was in the getting there. Near the Marina Bay Cruise Center where we docked was an MRT (Metro Regional Transit) stop. It was a little bit of a walk but the walkway was covered thankfully because it was raining slightly. Once there, we went to the customer service booth and asked the best route to get to the airport. There were quite a few lines and more than one way to get there. She outlined the stops on our transit map and informed us that there are no tickets to buy. All we needed to do was to tap a credit card on the gated machine. We did need to have two credit cards though.

There were no other riders around and the attendant at the gated machines jumped up to show us what to do. I went through one gate and Bob another with basically the same account card without a problem. The attendant made sure we knew where we were going and how to get there. So far the journey couldn’t be easier.

The MRT train arrived and we boarded. It was practically empty and in pristine condition. We made our two connections and in about an hour’s time we arrived at the airport. I must say that all the trains were pristine and there was only one nearer the center of the city that actually had most of the seats filled.

At the airport we followed the signs that led to “Jewel” which was the large geodesic dome in which the waterfall would be found. The waterfall was to begin about fifteen minutes after we arrived. There were levels of walkways and some seating surrounding the waterfall with green plants and orchids adorning the walls from top to bottom. It was amazing.

People gathered with trolleys full of suitcases and waited as we did for the show to begin. There was a little theater smoke released at the top just before the trickle and then the full waterfall began. iPhone everywhere recorded the event as well as documented many of the viewers in various poses with the waterfall behind them.

We explored the mall a bit, stopping for a cup of brewed coffee at Starbucks. We’re not Starbucks fans but that’s where we usually find brewed coffee when we are abroad. The cups were huge even though we ordered “tall” which is their small. The unique thing we found was a little robot who was making rounds and stopping for people to put their used cups, etc., in the back trays. It would fill up and then go into the back where the dishwasher was to be unloaded. Every so often it would wink as it went by you.

So much coffee was consumed that we weren’t the least bit hungry for lunch so we opted to go to our second destination, the Marina Sands Hotel and shopping center. The hotel has an observation deck (57 floors up) where you can go to the top and get quite a few of the area. We had talked with a couple who had stayed in Singapore a few days and they talked of a bar/restaurant at the top where the cover charge was about the same as the cost of a ticket to the observation deck. Sounded like a good deal.

We found the way up and said we were just there for “drinks and bites” and were welcomed in without a reservation. The weather was still a bit iffy and had started to pour rain just as we got to the restaurant. You could not see anything out the window. We were finally hungry so we ended up with a pizza and of course we had to try a Singapore Sling. Definitely met our cover charge. By the time we were done, the weather cleared and we were able to walk on the outside deck to get some good pictures.

The area near the cruise terminal is known as Marina Bay Gardens By The Sea. It is a huge park area with all sorts of gardens including some huge man-made trees in the center of it. It was a lot muggy and warm and even hot-damp after the rain by the time we got out to walk around. Our plan had been to stick around the park, explore, have a light dinner and be there for the 7:45 light show that they have each night.

Sometimes the planning looks better than the reality. It was way too hot and we were way too tired. We started for the MRT station near the end of the park where we were. It looked close on the map and it was. Well the entrance was. Once we got inside, we must have walked almost a mile, at least it felt like it before we got to the gate to enter. At least it was in the A/C. The ride to the ship was easy enough with only one connection. Have I mention that the MRT is very easy to figure out and very cheap to ride?

On the ship we ate dinner and then sat on one of the upper decks where we could view from a distance the Gardens and watch the light show. It was not as spectacular as we thought it might be but we were watching from a distance.

I was still glad we made the decision to return to the ship. We called it an early night. The next day promised to be full as we would return to the Gardens to visit their two special indoor exhibits, The Cloud

World Cruise--Good Morning Vietnam!

Good morning, Vietnam!! It was a hazy morning arrival but promising to warm up as the day went on. Our excursion for the day was to an area called Ba Ria to visit a couple of temples, see how rice paper was made, taste some rice wine and visit a “typical” home before spending time at a local market.

Our first stop at a temple was impressive. (Please don’t ask me to say or spell the name, I can’t.) It was a large compound that also held residency for the elderly and was attended by monks. The temple itself was two stories and quite ornate.

I was even more impressed though by hundreds of potted bougainvillea in full bloom, their bight pink flowers overflowing the branches and creating quite a beautiful garden area surrounding the temple and into the courtyard.

We were invited to wander the grounds and enter the temple if we liked. Shoes had to be off to walk inside the temple but most of us had planned for that and many wore socks as we did. The chants of prayer to Buddha were amplified and there were a handful of worshippers inside. Our guide said that the prayer time usually lasted an hour and was done four times a day.

As we walked around, we noticed others who attended to cleaning every nook and cranny. The floor tiles outside and in were sparkling clean as were all the handrails and intricate designs of the banisters.

Outside, I had to stroll through the rows of potted bougainvillea. Once in a while there was a pot of something else, maybe honeysuckle, that smelled heavenly. I could see why our guide who professed she had no religion said she would come here just to be peaceful sometimes.

Our tour moved on to a second temple which was quite different than the first. It was extremely colorful and full of all sorts of carved symbols, animals and Buddhas. This temple, said our guide, was of a religion that combined Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity. The only hint of Christianity we saw though was among the people depicted above the altar. We think the middle one looked like an image of Jesus.

On to our next stop, the rice paper making. Now when I first heard it was rice paper, I assumed it was like a paper you would write on. Boy was I wrong. What the women were making was like a tortilla or a crepe but of a steamed liquid made from rice. The round rice paper is actually what they use to make spring rolls.

It was fascinating to watch this woman who smoothly spread the mixture on a warm palate, steamed it a bit while she dipped a spoon for another. Then she took a rolling pin of sorts and rolled it over the steamed rice paper, picked it up, ladled more on the palate, covered it to steam and then unrolled the rice paper onto a drying rack.

The drying racks were everywhere, in the courtyard of their home, out on the sidewalk and even across the street on clear areas of walkways. The rice paper needed to dry for a bit before being stacked and packaged for delivery to the local market for sale. The women could make between 800 and 1,000 a day.

Just before we left, we were offered a taste of the rice paper. It had a dip with it that was very spicey. I guess you needed to add flavor because by itself, the rice paper had little taste.

Off to more rice product and this had quite a kick to it. We were at a place that made rice wine. It was very different from the Japanese sake and had 35% alcohol equivalent to 70 proof. Whew! The rice was steamed and mashed and then spread on tables to ferment. I didn’t quite understand the whole process but the cooking rice smelled good and was making me hungry.

On the outdoor patio, tables were set with small water bottles, bananas, candies and rice crackers and of course a bottle of rice wine for tasting in tiny shot glasses. It was strong but I don’t think as strong as the Greek orzo is. At least it didn’t taste as bad.

Cooking rice for wine

We had been to two places, the rice paper and the rice wine that were businesses attached to the homes. We got to glimpse inside them and I thought that would be our look at typical homes but no, we were on our way to the house we were to tour.

This house was a bit different from the others in that it had no outwardly visible business attached to it. A lovely garden was in front or back, I couldn’t tell for sure. We walked through the house which was a lot different than the one we had seen on our last trip to Vietnam. This house appeared a bit more upscale. The previous house was one owned by a widow and was very small. This house was a bit more elaborate and even had western style toilets.

A tree full of mangoes in the garden promised some good fruits soon. The little pond had pretty water lilies in it and butterflies were obviously attracted to the flowers there as a couple flitted around my head.

I was not looking forward to the next stop on our tour. I remembered the local market from the last Vietnam trip. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. As the bus pulled in, I could tell this was a better quality market as those things go. It was much larger (we were in a small city) and it looked a little like a flea market back home.

Stands of colorful vegetables are always appealing and we enjoyed walking through them. We passed on most of the clothing and other household items for sale. Bob was most interested in the meat and fish area so we headed for that.

The meat was rather interesting, especially the quarter of a pig with hoof and all attached. At least this time there was not a chicken covered in black flies.

The fish are always interesting in these marketplaces as well. Many were still alive and kicking including the octopus and, ready for it, frogs. These were nice looking frogs and I’m guessing they are raised somewhere for food. The ones that were skinned looked to have plenty of meat on them. Oh and by the way, some of the skinned ones were still moving.

The day was getting more humid and with the noon day sun overhead there was less shade. Most of our tour group began gathering to head for the bus and the comfort of A/C. We still had about a forty-five minute trip to the ship but as the dance host from the ship who acted as escort for the tour said, “We’ll be there in time for lunch.”

This trip to Vietnam was different from our last and I would assume that should we visit again, it will offer another glimpse of life there we haven’t seen. I remembered our first visit and the tour guide who started out by saying, “Most people think of Vietnam as a war. Vietnam is a country.” Yes, it is. A beautiful country of lovely people when you open your eyes and heart.

World Cruise--Hong Kong

Iconic Hong Kong. Buildings reaching into the sky at dizzying heights and stretching as far as the eye can see along the harbor’s edge. We arrived on a hazy morning, a little clouded over sky. There would be two days to explore this city, one that we had explored several times before (Hong Kong) so we did not book any excursions. Instead, we planned our own time there.

A week or so prior to our arrival we received notice that there would a World Cruise Banquet on the night we would spend there. Since we had to be ready early to be transported to the hotel where the gala affair was to be, it made changes to our plans. Sadly, the meetup with some friends had to be canceled. Their schedule and ours was not going to mesh.

We opted to get out of the main city and decided to take the Hop On Hop Off bus that would take us around Hong Kong island. The Hong Kong area is made up of several islands. While Hong Kong island had some city congestion, it also had some open areas and some resort type places that were not all steel and glass buildings towering above our heads.

Since we needed to use our phones on shore and on the ship (Hong Kong does not let you connect to Starlink for internet, so no internet on the ship), we opted for the AT&T international day pass. Ours is only $12/day and $6 for a second line. Whoo hoo! No sharing the internet for two days. A perfect decision.

Once we found our way through the Kai Tek terminal which used to be the airport for Hong Kong and to the “meet up” spot, Bob used his Uber app to call for a ride. The price was reasonable for what would be about a half hour trip to where we could catch the HOHO. It seemed to take the driver forever to find us but as the “ambassador” for the cruise terminal told us, it’s a long drive down the old runway and then a turn and drive back.

When he arrived we jumped in and were on our way. We needed to get to the central ferry station for the green line HOHO that we wanted to take. Surprisingly, for all the warnings about the possibility of heavy traffic, we arrived in about 20 minutes despite some backup going into the tunnel that connects to the Hong Kong island.

We scored the senior rate for the bus and began our trip around the island. Once away from the city area, the countryside changed to green trees and small mountains. One of the stops was for the famous Stanley Market but we’d been there before and opted to stay on the bus. It was getting close to noon though so we decided to hop off at the next stop which was Repulse Bay. There we found a small open air mall that was attached to either an apartment building or hotel, I’m not sure which but we found a restaurant called Spices. It was about our only choice as the other sit down restaurant was closed that day. Spices was exactly what the name implied. Food was a bit spicey as was the price but we ordered two small salads picked out the chili peppers and the cilantro and enjoyed a ginger tea and some kind of limeade that let you add your own sugar syrup to taste.

There wasn’t much we wanted to explore there as it was either climb up or down and up again to see more. We got on the next HOHO and finished our tour. When we arrived back at the central ferry terminal, our HOHO ticket allowed us a one way ferry trip so we used it to get back to the other side. The passenger ferry had lots of character and a huge engine that you could look down at through an open door.

We found another private car meet up point not far from the ferry, called another Uber and were back at the ship in plenty of time to do a load of laundry and get dressed for our World Cruise dinner. Unfortunately, I don’t think either of us was extremely impressed with the dinner. 

Our last world cruise on Crystal had been so wonderful that we were a little disappointed. A pre-dinner cocktail party lasted more than an hour. There were fans being personalized by a couple of men and some kind of flower being made for souvenirs but the fans ran out and the lines were so long that many of us just gave up.

With no place to sit down, we were relieved when we heard the call to go down to the ballroom for dinner. Now we were entertained by an acrobatic group and listened to two addresses by the captain and the president of Cunard. 

By the time dinner was served, it was almost nine o’clock, a little late for most people. We lucked out by leaving before dessert and catching the first bus back to the ship at 9:30. That meant we could get to bed at a reasonable time so we could get up for our next day’s adventure—Hong Kong Disney.

Once again we called an Uber and were happy to get a car quickly and move through the city without a lot of traffic tie ups. As a matter of fact, we arrived earlier than we expected but that was good as the line was already getting quite long to get in. We waited about forty-five minutes until they opened the security lines. Once through security, we were able to buy our tickets (again a senior discount) and wait in another line for about a half hour until the gate was opened.

Several announcements were made that once inside people should walk to their first ride. Sure enough, half of them ran. The Frozen attraction had recently opened and we expected that was where most were headed. We walked.

Adventureland. Fantasyland. Tomorrowland. We did it all. It’s really a small park and since there were several rides we passed on and we didn’t wait around to watch the shows, it only took about four and a half hours for us to finish, including lunch. 

Most of the attractions were very much like Disney World but often had a different twist to them. For example the Haunted Mansion at DW was call the Mystic Mansion here and differently themed. The tried and true It’s A Small World was the same and I hoped that the tune would work its way out of my head before too long. And now I’ve probably put it in yours. You’re welcome.

We were due back to the ship much earlier than the time we sailed. A new captain had come on replacing the one who was now going on vacation. He made the announcement that we would sail out in the direction that would allow us to see the nightly light show of Hong Kong harbor. 

The light show was not like I remembered which verifies our theory that seeing something a second time is never as good as the first.

World Cruise--Pirates and Manila

Aaaaargh! Who knew there were modern day pirates in the Pacific? As we neared the area between Malaysia and the Philippines on our way to Manila, the captain made an announcement concerning the procedures that would be taken as we passed through this area should we encounter any pirate action. Now it was highly unlikely. The pirate activity involves the fishing industry more than the cruise industry but I’m sure the cruise industry does not want to be caught off guard.

It would take an army of pirates to take on a ship the size of Queen Anne but just in case there were a few brave eye-patched individuals who would give it a try, the security team was at the ready with high powered water hoses and sound “guns”. The sound guns looked like large old fashioned cameras, big black boxes, but they can direct an ear piercing sound wave at someone to discourage their advance, enough to blow an eardrum.

The rest of us were restricted to indoors after dark, no outer decks or balconies, asked to keep our curtains closed and lights to a minimum (of course there was a full moon). If we were to receive an alert that there was an attempt to board, we were to gather in the inner corridor if we had a balcony or stay in our room if it was an inside stateroom. On the Queen Mary years ago, when passing by Somalia we actually had a pirate drill where we did just that to practice.

After about eighteen hours, we had safely passed through the area and although we saw quite a few fishing boats, we saw no one flying a skull and crossbones.

This was our first visit to Manila or anywhere else in the Philippines so we were a bit curious. We had booked a ship’s excursion since we were unfamiliar with the area. Our arrival was delayed about an hour as we had to wait for three cargo ships to clear the harbor entrance. On our sea days we had been required to fill our e-travel documents for the Philippines as well as pass by the authorities who were onboard and have our temperature scanned with a thermos-camera. It eliminated a lot of confusion at the port.

When I went out onto our balcony and looked around, I was amazed at how large the harbor was. The skyline of the city was very impressive but was shrouded slightly in a light haze. Humidity? Or pollution? It looked and felt more like humidity to me.

At our appointed time, we met in the Royal Theater to await our call to board the bus for our tour. When I booked the tour at home, months before the cruise, it had appealed to us because it was only four hours and, knowing it would be very hot in Manila, and the fact that the description said it was done in an air conditioned bus.

It wasn’t long after we got our assignment to a bus, that we were on our way. The bus was comfortable and I was ready to see the “Charm of Old Manila”.  We passed a couple of monuments and buildings that our guide pointed out and then the bus came to a stop in front of the San Augustin Church. We thought it was just a phot shop but the guide said we could also go inside as long as they weren’t holding Sunday mass. I left my water bottle on the bus thinking we would be back shortly.

The church was amazing. It was huge and quite ornate. We were there between mass times. We finished out pictures and went back out into the courtyard. Our guide handed out orange stickers for us to enter the museum. Museum? I did not remember that in the description. Oh well, how long could it take?

I got the feeling we were in trouble when we were broken into groups of ten and assigned to pairs of young girls who were to be out guides. And the place went on forever. It was a monastery and a convent. We slowly made our way through the maze of corridors and rooms that were lined with displays that dated back to the very beginnings of the church in 1602. It is the oldest church in the Philippines.

By the time we had walked through it all, we were very hot and thirsty and wishing we’d brought the water that we’d left in the bus. Some people found benches before the tour of the museum was finished and sat and waited for the rest of us. I had the definite feeling that I wasn’t the only one who had picked the tour for its non-walking description.

We managed to climb steps to the second floor which gave us a view of the sanctuary from above. Ten o’clock mass was had begun and we listened for a bit. Back downstairs, we were led outside to the large garden courtyard where under the shelter of the covered walkway that ran around the main courtyard, we could see a Sunday School class of children led by a nun. That was a lot more interesting than dusty old relics.

Once we were all gathered together again, our guide said, we would venture on to the fort. It would be a bit of a walk and we would pass through a market place. I spoke up and asked just how much more walking we were going to do. There were several in our group who were having a difficult time walking to begin with and now the heat had risen as well. When the answer came, about a third of our group decided requested they sit on the bus and wait. The guide had to summon the bus whose driver probably thought he was going to have a nice rest.

When the bus finally pulled to the curb, he found 30+ people trying to stand in the little bit of shade that was offered along the wall of a building. Several of us boarded and grabbed the water we’d left behind and one lady grabbed walking sticks that she had brought just in case.

We soldiered on and across a square that had a Sunday market set up. There was no opportunity though to stop and look at the goods. We marched on and finally arrived at the gate to Fort Santiago, There was a large open area that I was guessing was a parade grounds. At this point, I couldn’t concentrate much on what our guide was saying and often he talked with his back to us.

Crossing the open ground to the ruins of the fort was blistering. The humidity had climbed along with the temps and Bob looked at me and asked, “Are we back in India?” We moved on and crossed a bridge across a moat or part of a river. I was so warm that I couldn’t concentrate on what he was telling us. On the other side, he stopped again to relate more history.

Our guide finally found a shady spot  and talked about the fort, I moved away from the group. Walking was one thing in the heat. Standing and trying to pay attention to a story of history was beyond me at that point. I found a spot where a slight breeze was blowing  and I walked in circles slowly there (I’ve never been able to stand in one place for long) and finally leaned against a guard rail.

When the guide was finished, Bob approached me and gestured to some benches in the shade that were on the other side of the building they were going to enter. “It’s a dungeon and there are steps. Maybe you should sit over there. That’s where we’ll come out.” I didn’t have to think twice about it. Neither did about ten other people.

I sat next to a lady from Sydney who complained that this wasn’t the excursion she thought it to be. I commiserated with her. Apparently sometime between booking the excursion (she’d done it at home as well) and the actual cruise, there was either a change in the itinerary of the excursion or the original description had been a mistake and no one told us. The description on the My Voyage page from the ship (Cunard doesn’t have an app but it does have a page you connect to with ship’s WiFi) showed at the bottom of the description that there was considerable walking. I’m sure I won’t be the only one complaining.

It was another long walk back to where the bus would pick us up. I was thinking the tour was done. Oh no. Our guide announced that the last stop was the Hotel Manila, a historic hotel that is the luxury hotel of Manila. We couldn’t miss that, he said, and we might even have time for a cup of tea. Right. We were due back at the ship in forty-five minutes, he had to get 30+ people off the bus and we were stuck behind two other buses who were unloading their tour groups.

The hotel was impressive but a mass of people and noise. It opened in 1912 and has a lot of history behind it including serving as a military headquarters during WWII. The luxury suite is named the MacArthur. Lots of dignitaries and celebrities have stayed there including Hemingway. (Hemingway really got around.)

There was a man playing a grand piano on one end but unless you got right up next to it, you couldn’t tell what he was playing. We wandered around and then congregated with the rest of our group who were obviously as eager to be done as we were. It took quite a while for the bus to be able to pick us up. The main entrance was busy with guests checking in and out, wedding parties entering, and four or five busloads of tour groups. Someone should have planned better.

Okay, I’m done venting. The best I can say is that when you book excursions, most are very good but once in a while, as Bob says, you get a clinker. On to Hong Kong.