The best day

Sometimes, as the day begins, we feel a little ho hum.  A little weary of early mornings, being given directions and told what to do.  When we opened the curtains this morning and saw the rain, it only added to the temptation to stay at home today, to take an easier, shorter, less strenuous tour.  But you know, we are so glad we went with our original plan, because really, we had the best day!

I’d popped out first thing when I’d heard a commotion outside early on.  Sure enough, there was the pilot’s launch.  It was warm and sticky, even then, and my camera immediately fogged up.

But it was raining, and though we kept our fingers crossed that it would fair up once the sun rose, as we gathered our things together and watched as we neared the dock, it was coming down more heavily if anything.  No dancing girls here in Brunei, just a man in a yellow kagoule.

Even the welcome poster didn’t have the right name of the ship on it.

However, after breakfast, we joined a group to visit the Temburong National Park and found that, once we were outside, it was so warm that the rain didn’t really wet us, if you know what I mean.  We began by driving through the affluent neighbourhoods of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei and listened to our guide tell us about life here.  I’ll share that in a future post, because really, it’s rather interesting.

It being Sunday – Easter Sunday, in fact, the streets in the city centre were quiet.  No market today and not much traffic either.

Zul, our young guide told us our boat wasn’t quite ready, so he’d take us and show us the mosque.  By the time we’d looked around there, hopefully all would be ok.

No, that’s not our boat, but a concrete, mosaic covered structure in the middle of the man made lake which surrounded the main mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan.

We were advised that it’s the best place to take a photograph and sure enough, there inside it was a small platform specially constructed for the purpose.

Eventually, I got my turn.

Even more interesting was the clothes rail with black burkas hanging there.  I rather liked the sign too: “Please take off your shoes” and underneath the step with a pair of shoes on it, “Thank you for not putting your shoes on the stairs”.

Ok, so no time to go inside, even if we had all got ourselves togged up appropriately, so off we went passing by the Sultan’s field just opposite.

At the jetty, we boarded a medium sized speedboat equipped with two powerful engines and squeezed ourselves in for a 45 minute ride.

We passed by the water village, where homes are built on stilts.

But soon, we were out into the jungle, making our way towards a different state of Brunei which involved us sailing through a little part of Malaysian water once again

Our driver was a casual sort of chap, sitting back and navigating the river with ease, in spite of some tricky areas of rapids. 

From time to time we’d pass another, similar speedboat and both would slow down to minimise the rocking and rolling.

There were lifejackets stuffed into a rack above our heads, but we hoped they would not be needed, especially when Zul told us about the crocodiles in the river.

Once back into Brunei waters again, he pointed out the emergency beacons on either side of the river.  On the top is a button to be pressed in the case of an emergency.  What worried me was how on earth I’d shin up that green pole to reach the button – although as my hero pointed out, the crocodiles in the river might well provide a bit of an incentive in the case of such an event.

45 minutes later, we arrived at the boat jetty where a bus was waiting to take us on to the National Park station.  Here we were given lifejackets of our own to wear, given strict instructions for the next part of the adventure, which was to take place aboard smaller, five seater long tailed boats on a fast flowing river with rapids here and there, too.

For some reason, too, we were given a pair of rubber shoes to wear as well and advised to leave all our belongings and our own shoes here, before continuing on the next part of our journey.  We had no idea why we needed rubber shoes, but it was too late to find out more.  We simply did as we were told and boarded the small, long tailed boat.

With fond memories of our travels by boats like this in Thailand, we climbed aboard and sat tight for the journey. 

I’ll tell you all about the rubber shoes in the next post!

Kota Kinabalu

Feeling like a bit of a change from all of these city tours we’ve been doing, we’d chosen to explore the Mount Kinabalu National Park today.  Well, the early start and the activity descriptions nearly put us off, but we realised that, unless the destinations staff make it quite clear that a particular group is going to be climbing steps, walking through uneven terrain and so on, then someone is going to overestimate their ability and spoil the whole shebang for everyone.

So, the warnings for this particular adventure were pretty serious.  Wear sensible shoes.  Expect to be climbing steep inclines and so on.  At times, I wondered if I was up to it!

We’d had another welcome party as we’d arrived and they were pretty scary.  Some wore skulls around their necks and one of the first things we learned was of the headhunters of Borneo.  Hmm. 

But out into the countryside, we soon reconsidered.  This was a lovely landscape.  I wanted to say “unspoiled” but actually, most of what we could see was overgrown, abandoned rubber plantations, let go after the price of runner plummeted when synthetic rubber was discovered.

Anyone of my generation attending a British school in the 1960s would surely have learned about Malaysia’s rubber industry and drawn pictures of the tapping process.  Seldom done now it seems, although the price of rubber has begun to improve once again and people are reconsidering.  Anyway another one of those geographical topics in the picture as well – these people practise slash and burn agriculture too.

We were heading for the National Park of Mount Kinabalu, up there in the clouds, where it remained all day.  4000+ m above sea level, we weren’t going to the top, we hoped – though all of those warnings had us all feeling pretty scared, I can tell you.

On the way, we passed frequent signs to Catholic churches such as this one.  Though Malaysia has a large Muslim population, here in the countryside, other religions are more prominent.

The journey was quite a long one - more than  two hours – and so we made a brief stop at a market along the way,   These bundles of pineapple plants were amongst the more interesting things for sale.

The rest was mostly tourist tat – T shirts and suchlike.

Though I did succumb to another longyi length – $6 for more than two metres of fabric unless I choose to wear it as intended.

Anyway, we were nearly there and all of us were wondering what on earth we’d let ourselves in for.

We needn’t have worried.  Our guide, Nelson, led us around the Botanic Garden at first: A kind of warm up perhaps?

Actually, this was a chance to spot particular things, to know where to look and what type of ting to keep an eye open for.  This is a small ginger flower.

Mostly, we were walking upon even surfaces and the going was perfectly fine.

There were interesting and unusual things to see, too.

So we were well entertained.

The plant life here ranged from the curious

To the slightly strange

to the important but totally insignificant (those two little patterned leaves towards the top fo the photograph are an important and endangered species, believe it or not)

and of course, the spectacular, carniverous plants too.

This was all our “training”, for the next step was to walk the trail through the forest, looking out for what we’d been taught to look out for.

Well.

Firstly, the going was a little rougher now.  Not only were we faced with an uphill struggle, the ground was uneven and most of us had our eyes down, concentrating on our feet.  Shame – I’m sure we missed lots, but in the circumstances, there wasn’t even much of a chance to take photos, so focused were we. 

I didn’t even take any photos!  OK, so it was more of the same rainforest landscape, but really, the fear of stumbling made me concentrate on my footing, and reaching the lunchtime buffet came as somewhat of a relief.  For all the dire warnings it hadn’t been bad at all.  Phew.

Nothing that a bowl of tapioca pudding with sweet palm sugar wouldn’t sort out, I’ll say.

After lunch, we had to make our way back down the rickety road, through some mist and rain which had come down in the hour or two we’d been up there

Past what looked like a Chinese cemetery on the main road going into Kota Kinabalu but which I hadn’t been able to take earlier because I was sitting on the wrong side of the bus!

arriving home to our lovely ship around 3pm.  It being Saturday, the traffic had been lighter than expected, not that we were complaining!   Once again, someone was painting.

What a contrast to this rustbucket that sailed past just as I was closing our balcony door.  I know which ship I’d rather sail on!

And that’s another day done.  We met our friends for drinks a little earlier than usual because we had a South East Asian dinner planned in the restaurant.  A group of six can preorder a regional menu and tonight we looked forward to something in keeping with the area in which we’ve been sailing.   It was delicious and beautifully served – once again, we were thoroughly spoiled.

Before we returned to our suite, we went to the theatre to watch one of the most popular shows – Cirque D’Amour.  Amazing costumes and breathtaking acrobatics, we decided to call it a day as soon as it finished.

Dare I say we have an early start tomorrow?!

In the Sulu Sea

We’ve had another sea day today, time to catch our breath as we sailed in the Sulu sea, on our way to Kota Kinabalu, where we’ll be tomorrow.

There was plenty of time to do not much more than watch the patterns forming in the water.

To compare shades of blue and white.

And to check that tender #8 had been returned safely and securely.

There might have been time to peruse the lunchtime buffet and to sample a little fish, it being Good Friday and all.

Oh, and those new sun beds on the deck outside the Horizon lounge needed testing.  We can both testify that they meet our exacting standards and allow for comfortable snoozing in the shade on a hot and sunny day.

Last but not least, we needed to check out the food in Signatures again, just to make sure that it was still as delicious as ever.  You’ll be relieved to know that it is, that the crab and asparagus starter is a picture and the service remains the most delightfully efficient we could wish for.

We have an early start tomorrow, when we plan to explore some of the National Park, so it’s goodnight from me.

And it’s goodnight from him too.

The World’s Best Beach

Today we are at anchor off Boracay Island in the Philippines.

This morning, tenders were being prepared and the ship was under scrutiny from the local police.  It’s the first time the company has called here, so it was a little bit of an unknown quantity.

It’s always fun watching the tenders launch and I stood for some time as they were hosed down, cleaned off and made ready for use.  In an emergency, that boat – #8 – would be our lifeboat, so I wanted to make sure all was tickety boo!

We’d had difficulty deciding what to do in this port.  Most tours involved sitting on a beach or spending the day snorkelling and whilst I’d be happy to be in the water, my hero doesn’t really enjoy such activities.  So, we chose a tour called “Island Hopping”.

When we looked closely however, the islands were these snorkelling platforms and the idea of spending the day in the hot sun just did not appeal.  So, we gave our tickets back and decided to use the tender and the free shuttle bus into town to do our own thing.  Before we did, though, we exchanged $20 for Filipino Pesos, because surely there’s be something to buy, some journal fodder or maybe a drink or ice cream?

After breakfast, we secured our place in the first available tender and joined a few other guests and a large group of crew members to go ashore.

Easy peasy to step off the secure stairway and onto the little boat, but there are plenty of staff on hand to ensure everyone’s ok.

 

Off we went.  Ten minutes maximum.

As we arrived, we spotted this service boat arriving at the same time.  Those outriggers make for a very attractive sight as they sail past and the first thing I noticed was the palette of colours – suddenly we were in a world of bright blue, lime green, turquoise, yellow and white.

We were greeted by people putting shell pendants around our necks – I’m never sure about these and took mine off immediately, lest it send out the wrong signal to people i the town (like here’s another sucker from that huge cruise ship out there)

There was also a group of dancers and drummers making a noise, too.

But the two smallest dancers did not look happy.  Oh dear.  It was ever so hot and they were dressed up to the nines in what could be seen as a very embarrassing costume!

Anyway, immediately our feet touched the ground, we were bombarded with offers to ride in this tricycle, go on that shuttle bus, go to this beach.  We needed none of these because we already had free shuttle transfers but it didn’t stop them trying.

We drove along a bumpy old road to the drop off point in town.  Alongside there were houses of all kinds, but mostly fairly simple places with tin roof and not much more.

It all had a scruffy air and wasn’t especially appealing in any respect.  Hope the town is better!

We were dropped off at the entrance to “the Mall”, actually a collection of beachy type shops, bars and restaurants selling nothing we wished to buy.

But we didn’t want to rush back so mooched a little here and there.

We spotted the self same bags as we’d bought in Manila yesterday at the same price as we paid.  That’s ok then!

I spotted some crochet sandals, “Hand worked, Madam”.

Since we had time, I tried a pair on for fun, but it merely confirmed, they’re not my style.

Passing this blackboard with a list of Premier League matches on it confirmed that really, this wasn’t our kind of place.

But we knew the path led down to the beach and decided that at the very least, we needed to put our toes in the water.  So, we kept going.

White Beach was pretty busy this morning, with families, youngsters and couples.  According to our port information, White Beach is the island’s pride and joy, regularly voted amongst the top 5 beaches of the world “thanks to its stunning 4 km of sugary white sand with palm trees swaying in the tropical breeze and the incredibly clear waters of the Salu sea lapping its shores”.

Well, yes, all of those things are true, but there’s not mention of the continual pestering for massages, sun lounger hire, boat trips, wanna buy pearls…and anything else you can think of.

Though the sea was indeed tropical blue, warm and mostly clear,

there were heavy growths of algae in some parts which made it rather smelly too.

I hate to say it, but we have been to far better beaches in so many respects.

Now, maybe the next five minutes affected my judgement still further, because at this point, I wanted to take a photograph of my feet in the soft white sand.  I scuffed off my Birkenstocks, bent down to pick them up and as I did, my camera fell onto the aforementioned soft sugary white sand.  Slightly panicked, I handed it to my hero whilst I gathered myself together and retrieved a soft cloth from my sunglass case with which to clean it.

If I say “at this point, it was still working”, you might gather what happened then.  Actually, I took this photo afterwards and though it sounded a little scary when switching it on, all appeared to be (almost) ok.

But then it wasn’t.  I wanted to find some shade, away from people who wanted me to buy things, do things or have things done to me – that bunch under the palm tree took the biscuit – for a price they would draw something on your body with a felt tip pen.  Huh?  Temporary tattoo be blowed!  I simply wanted to try to sort out my camera in peace, but it appeared to be impossible.  My hero had the right idea…use my phone for now and take my camera back to the cool of our room, when everything would be clean and hopefully contract a little in the lower temperatures.

So I took a picture with my phone to prove it’d be ok, but really, my heart wasn’t in it.   We waited for the shuttle to return to the jetty, and took the tender back to the ship.  Once there, I fiddled with my camera a little, managed to get a surprising amount of sand out of it – considering it was hardly in contact with the stuff and for such a short time.  By the time we were ready to go and have a bite to eat for lunch, it was at least switching on and off correctly.

When we returned from lunch and all was cool – including us – I switched it on.  Bingo.  Took a picture.  Fine! 

Phew.

There is still the occasional crunch when the lens moves in and out but hopefully, for now, it’s ok.  Fingers crossed.

To prove it, I went outside onto our balcony to record where we’d been earlier.  We’ll look forward to hearing the stories our friends have to tell when they return from the beach later, but for us, I simply don’t think the world’s best beach matched our expectations.

Later that same day

In sombre mood, following the visit to the American Memorial, we headed on to the centre of Manila.

The very centre from which all mileages are taken, the huge flag flying from a mast right opposite the stadium where the Pope preached to six million people not so long ago.

Where there is also a monument to a national hero, Dr Jose Rizal.

“Let’s go to the Rizal Park”, said Alvoy, “you can learn a little about him”.

So we followed dutifully on, past the sign which said “The Martyrdom of Dr Jose Rizal”, into a small amphitheatre where a sound and vision presentation was under way.

“Welcome to the execution of Dr Rizal”, spoke an amplified voice, which continued to tell the story of his last days and how he walked to this very place to be shot.

We didn’t linger.  It was midday, the sun was hot and we hadn’t really expected to spend our day moving from cemetery to memorial to scene of execution.  Fortunately, it was almost lunchtime and we hoped to lift our spirits over something tasty!

Lunch was indeed very good.  Served in a traditional restaurant in the Intramuros historic district, there was a well laid out buffet with plenty of choice.

Entertainment, too!

After lunch we were invited to look around the Casa Manila, next door.  It was the most beautiful Spanish Colonial home, decorated in traditional style and had been a pet project of Imelda Marcos.  Sadly, no photographs, so I’ll try to find a link to an online source.  Suffice to say the furnishings were lavish, the guards were attentive but smiling and we were able to put our one word of Filipino to good use.  “Guapo”  Beautiful, handsome, stunning…

Just across the street was the San Augustin church, the interior of which is a World Heritage site.  The baroque altar was particularly beautiful.

It being Holy Week, however, the purple drapes were a particular feature.

Almost every image was draped similarly.

From the peace and quiet of the church, we returned through the throng of street sellers – “pearls” (3 strings for $5 – do you think they’re real?), hats, key rings…nothing we wanted, but interesting local colour, nevertheless.

Our next and final stop of the day was Fort Santiago, scene of Dr Rizal’s imprisonment and torture and of similar events throughout the history of Manila.

We preferred to mooch around the beautiful gardens,

to speculate what was being said to General MacArthur

and to take a little look around the handicraft shop.

Mind you, some of those handicrafts looked a little manufactured.

Some were of questionable taste, too.  Still, around the corner we spotted some pretty clutch bags and spent a fun time with the assistants, choosing a couple whilst dancing the Filipino tinikling dance (minus the bamboo sticks) that anyone who's travelled on a cruise in this part of the world will recognise from the Krew Kapers show.  Well, as soon as we heard that particular piece of music, what else could we do but dance!?

From there, we returned to the ship, where preparations were already being made for our departure.  Sad farewells were made as crew guests were asked to go ashore and we made our way to deck five to watch our departure.

What cuties!  These four were the most precocious bunch!

The band played,

The dancers began their show

and a few families waited to wave.

Slowly, as the ship moved away from the quayside, the band, the dancers and everyone else formed a long line and accompanied by the strangest arrangement of Auld Lang Syne you could imagine, they wished us bon voyage.

Manila had proved to be a fascinating city, not at all what we expected and in many ways, far more South American in feel than Asian – I imagine as a result of the Spanish heritage.

 

As we left the harbour, the sun was setting over the volcano and we couldn’t resist standing and taking another twenty photos as it sank low in the sky.

We watched as the tug arrived to take the pilot home.  Thankfully he had assistance in making what looked like a pretty precarious leap from one ship to another

Yes, I’d have waved enthusiastically having made that transition safely, too!

Dinner last night was in the steakhouse, where the menus are large and the portions not much smaller!

So after dinner, my hero and I took a stroll in the warm, late evening air.

We admired some of the new decor, in particular the way some areas of the ship have been enhanced and made more attractive.

We didn’t linger however, for there were blog posts to write, emails to read and plans for tomorrow to be made.

There is simply never a dull moment.