[Sorry for the multiple posts, technical difficulties – Paul]
Category Archives: Photos
Singapore Raffles and Bugis Street
Friday 4th & Saturday 5th April
Woke early to watch our approach to Singapore and we were not disappointed, I thought we had seen sizable gatherings of ships outside the Panama Canal and ports like Shanghai, but as we sailed up the Singapore straights we saw hundreds of ships anchored waiting their turn to enter Singapore. We were told later that there are more than a thousand ships waiting to load or unload at any one time. This is the second busiest port in the world by tonnage and is the so called crossroads of shipping between Asia, Australia, Europe and America.
There was a strong smell of wood smoke in the air which it turned out was coming from Indonesia where they are burning forests to clear them for other crops. Later a taxi driver told us it could get so bad sometimes that it was impossible to spend any length of time outside. Most (if not all) is illegal deforestation. Singapore itself is not very big. The island is only 30 miles east/west by 16 miles north/south (approx. 227 sq miles) with a population of 3.8 million, so it’s amazing to see what this tiny nation has achieved. The city is very clean, the gardens immaculately kept and not a sign of anything like graffiti of vandalism, the laws are too strict for that. They like to call Singapore the garden city, which is pushing it a bit, but there is a lot of greenery about so I guess there is some justification for that. Apart from all the usual draconian punishments we’ve all heard about, we noticed a sign in the market saying shoplifters will be prosecuted, penalty 7 years imprisonment. Or guide told us proudly that they had a parliamentary democracy with a president as head of state whose role was very much like the Queens. He told us the strictness of the regime was very popular with Singaporeans which was reflected in the way they voted, he said that Lee Quan Yu looked at Britain’s declining standards with sadness.
Our trip was leisurely Singapore which took us round all the highlights of the city. On the way in we passed the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Three towers with a top deck across all three that resembled a large boat/barge, which has a 150 metre long infinity swimming pool (the world’s longest) and a sky park complete with fully grown palm trees. The hotel has 2,561 rooms of which only two thirds were open, how do I know? Eagle-eyed Carol spotted that there were no lights on in the end tower at night even though all three towers were illuminated externally as part of the night time glamour of the place. Along with all the modern buildings and architecture the older buildings were prominent at various points in the city. They have similar strict rules about protecting old buildings as we have in the UK, in fact they were probably set by the British because when Lee Quan Yu took over he insisted that they would change nothing the British had done unless it was in the interest of the Singaporeans, as they were all only there because of the British. Singapore was uninhabited jungle and marshland when Stamford Raffles saw its potential and claimed it for the British East India Company in 1819. As a result all the street names and places retain the same English names (and the country retains the same old British discipline) that were given originally. This has led to some strange anomalies. We saw a mosque with the Star of David over the door. This building was an original Jewish synagogue which later became a Mosque but the star was part of the façade and as such could not be changed so it remains probably the only mosque in the world with the Star of David over its door. To be fair one of Singapore strong points is the multi ethnicity, multi-cultural makeup of the population and they work hard to ensure that all the religions work together for Singapore rather than as individuals against each other.
After the tour we had a quick lunch and then got a taxi to Chinatown, what a change from other Chinatowns no pestering, no begging, pristine and safe. All food stalls have to carry a food hygiene certificate and are subject to spot checks with the risk of being instantly shut down if they fail. As a result Singapore is one of the safest places to eat in the world. From Chinatown we got a taxi to Bugis Street. This turned out to be a little embarrassing because there was an Indian (Asian?) family at the front of the queue and the driver refused to take them. Drove past them to us, asked where we were going and said OK when we said Bugis Street. I don’t think they are supposed to do that as they are also strictly licenced, but it looks like things are similar around the world. We didn’t just see this once either, as later in the day we had to leave the queue and hail a taxi off the street because so many Asians were in the queue in front of us and no taxi would take any of them when they dropped passengers off.
Anyway we got to Bugis Street and what a change from the days of my youth when we spent many a wasted hour (in both senses of the term) enjoying the bonhomie atmosphere. Our taxi driver said he used to cop off school to go and watch the antics that went on down there. Well they have only gone and put a roof on the whole street and filled it full of ordinary market stalls, sacrilege! Still I suppose it is better that no street at all. We had a browse down the street and then made for little India to wander around the gold soaks before getting lost (Carols map reading, I’d forgotten my glasses) and ending up in another taxi to get back to the ship (just like the old days, except wasn’t drunk). Had a drink in the Commodore Lounge before dinner watching the laser light shows and laid plans for visiting Raffles the following day.
Carol had a disturbed night, I slept through the thunder and lightning, but when we woke there was torrential rain outside. Carol grumbled I thought you said that in Singapore it rained every afternoon at four o’clock and then cleared up and the sun shone again. The sun didn’t shine yesterday it didn’t rain at four o’clock and the sun didn’t shine after four. Global warming must be to blame because that was what used to happen when I was here in the sixties I replied, as we both once more stared out at pouring rain. We had breakfast and I said we can still go to Raffles cos the bar’s indoors and we can pour ourselves into a taxi afterwards. So that was decided upon, on condition we got the shuttle bus into the shopping area first. So shopping it was and we asked the nice young lady at the door to the mall where Raffles was before entering.
When we had done shopping and I had managed to download my photos we headed for Raffles, got lost and got a taxi as it was still pouring down. We wandered around the old hotel looking in every nook and cranny, Carol pointed out some knickknacks in the souvenir shop saying that’s ten times what you pay in the market. I said it’s Raffles everything’s ten times the price, which it was. We got upstairs to the long bar only to find there was a long queue of people waiting to be seated! Waiting to be seated in a bar??? Might suggest that at the Jolly Brewers, I can just see Shaun’s face, “could you just wait there sir while we check we have a place” Anyway as we stood in line, and then we got lucky we spotted a couple from the ship, deep inside the bar gesticulating wildly and pointing to two seats at their table. Ah! I said in a loud voice they’re already here and grabbed Carol by the arm and propelled her past the queue and in towards this couple who it turns out recognised us from the time we had dinner with the doctor (they were on the same table) and they were also at the wine tasting which was where they got the story of the haircut that wasn’t. We sat down and she said they only called us over because they wanted to see what kind of repair job the hair dresser had done on me. So I showed her and thus satisfied she let me stay, which was good, because that queue was the slowest moving queue in Singapore. So I ordered two Singapore Slings at twenty seven Singapore dollars each! (That’s about £14 each) but it had to be done. I went on to pints of Tiger after that, a lot cheaper at £11 a pint but Tiger is a good pint and the only pint that I can drink ice cold. We (I) spent a happy few hours wallowing in nostalgia, those were the days. Carol dragged me back to the present by saying we were not going to spend all day in a bar, even if it is the Long Bar at Raffles with peanut shells on the floor. So having dragged her in, she dragged me out and by now the rain had stopped so we walked back through town to where the shuttle bus was waiting to take us back on board. After clambering back up the gangway we had a quick shower and change then made our way to the Commodore Lounge to watch our departure and have the cocktail of the day, yes you’ve guessed a Singapore Sling (at only £5.00 each). Carol had mine after two or three sips they are a bit too sweet for me, I went back on Boddies. Having exited the Straight of Singapore we turned right and headed North into the Strait of Malacca so we are now officially on our way home. Next stop Port Klang, (sounds like the cell door) Malaysia. Oh! and William (an American guy on our table) is going to tell us about being on the 82 floor in the twin towers on nine eleven, he is an international banker.
Georgetown
Monday 7th April
The alarm got us up at 6:00am this morning as we were on an early trip, Flora, Fauna and Spices. This meant that we were up at breakfast before we were alongside, something we have not done for a while. However it did not reward us as it has so often done previously. The approach was very uninspiring and the only thing of note, sadly was the line of pollution laying above the skyscrapers which was very prominent because it and the buildings were lit up as the sun rose behind us. Georgetown lies on a flat area of land between two ranges of hills and from where we were, it looked like they were at sea level which made them seem vulnerable to rising sea levels and global warming. As we drew closer we noted that they were a few metres higher so no panic yet. Just tsunamis to worry about and we saw a couple of tsunamis warning sites on WiFi when we finally got ashore.
Careena was our guide and for a tiny Malaysian girl, she had a powerfully clear voice and knew her stuff. We went to the botanical gardens first which she proudly told us were natural and had not been created like other botanical gardens. She reeled off facts and figures and descriptions of various plants and trees. One which springs to mind was the cannon ball tree which had seed pods the size of, yes you’ve guessed it, cannon balls. These don’t just look like cannon balls, they explode like them scattering their seeds far and wide. Luckily none exploded while we were there. The gardens were extremely well laid out with formal areas in the centre and less formal on the periphery. One area was a path through typical Borneo jungle, with the bird calls and monkey shrieks you see and hear in the old Tarzan films. We could have spent much longer there as it was so peaceful, but we had to move on to the spice gardens which were just as interesting.
Careena handed us over to a spice expert for this part of the tour and he was also a mine of information. His rapid fire delivery was punctuated by his handing out of various crushed leaves, seeds and stems for us to sniff or sniff and taste. All of these were good for various conditions backed up (he promised us) by scientific research. Up hills and down valleys we trailed marvelling at each new fact he gave us on every plant or tree we passed.
And, finally on to the Butterfly farm which needless to say was just as good. Some trips are poor some are OK and some are great, this time we were on a great one. Entering the main area we were surrounded by hundreds of tropical butterflies of dozens of varieties, their chrysalis hanging and hatching. The only problem was it was extremely difficult to get a decent photograph as they didn’t keep still for long. The farm didn’t just have butterflies, there were spiders, beetles, frogs, cockroaches and other creepy crawlies (unscientifically put, I know) fortunately these were for the most part behind glass. That was it as far as the visits were concerned and we finally boarded our coach for the half hour drive back to the ship. We stopped off there for a bite to eat before heading back ashore for a brief walk around the port area as everyone was due to be back on board by 4.00pm. A good port bearing in mind that the publicity for the port and tours was not very positive.
By the way, if anyone has any ideas what we can do in Haifa that does not involved churches, mosques, or sites with religious overtones can you advise. All the trips that have just been released for this port (in place of Egypt) are to the many religious places in Israel, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee etc. Carols seen these and I have no particular interest in seeing them. As this is all that is on offer, we are on our own for these two days, so I thought perhaps we could draw on your collective experience. Fingers crossed.
Georgetown – Photos
Rubber and Tea
Thursday 10th April
Well the ports are ticking away alarmingly quickly. Today was Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, it’s a large port and we were deep inside it amongst a plethora of general cargo ships being loaded and unloaded by dockside cranes and ships own derricks. It was a scene that must have been a familiar site in many UK ports before containerisation, seeing it once again was an interesting journey back in time. We were a couple of miles from the main dockyard gates and there were buses already lined up for the various trips programmed for the day, many of which were early starts. Down on the quay amongst the various officials waiting to board was a group of Sinhalese dancers and drummers gathering to welcome passengers as they stepped ashore. As we stepped ashore they were twisting and twirling in a frenetic style reminiscent of whirling dervishes, but we didn’t have time to stop and watch as our trip to a tea plantation was a two and a half hour journey into the hills. The trip through Colombo was a fascinating experience of everything you have heard about Asian cities. We were straight into a maelstrom of tuk-tuks, bikes, motorbikes, taxis, buses and lorries, all disobeying any rule that the signs were seeking to impose (each sign is written in three languages, Sinhalese, Tamil and English). At one stage an ambulance came down our side of the dual carriageway against the flow of traffic, causing all sorts of chaos, we could only hope that if there was a patient on board, they were not aware of the danger they were in. As we got into the centre we were told that this was a “quiet” day as the schools were on holiday. At a particularly busy intersection the traffic lights had been turned off and police on horseback were directing traffic reinforced by loud whistles, because the junctions got so grid logged that the lights ended up being totally ignored.
After a time traffic finally got lighter and we eventually hit a brand new motorway where things got better as few people seemed to want to pay the toll to use it. Coming off the motorway we started to climb into the foothills through small towns and villages until we reached the Kitagawa Plantations and the Rayigam Tea Factory. The landscape here was typical terraced tea plantation you see on the sides of some tea packets and I remembered from school projects. A brilliant fresh lush green. At the top of the hill we pulled up behind a planter’s bungalow and walking round to the front we saw tables and chairs set out for tea, with a fantastic view down the valley, we could be back 85 years when the bungalow was first built. They served us a slice of sponge cake and a cup of tea from a teapot (no tea bags here) and as tea jenny I can honestly say it was the best cup of tea I’d had for many a year. No small wonder as we found out it was their top of the range tea (BOPF Broken Orange Piko Feinings). I noticed a small stand to one side with some foil bags on so I wandered over and there were a couple of signs with prices on but no one near. We eventually found someone who we could ask if this was the tea we had been drinking. It was and I bought a Kilogram for $10 US, bargain! After tea we were driven down to the tea factory and on the way we watched the pickers plucking the top few leaves and buds and putting them in the sacks tied round the front of their foreheads and hanging behind them. We were shown round the factory which was remarkably small for the quantity it produced and at the end had a go at tasting. It was over too soon and we were on our way back, passing rubber plantations on the same estate. The rubber was dripping into the collector cups at quite a rate, but it was ‘the tea wot won it’.
We ended the day watching our departure as we slowly reversed out of our quay in this still busy dockyard before going down to dinner. However the day didn’t end quite as well as it started because during dinner Carol didn’t feel too well and had to leave the table early.
Georgetown – More Photos
Colombo – Photos
Abu Dhabi – Day Two
Thursday 17th April
Today dawned a Hot! One. We left the ship at 8.30am and the temperature was already in the low thirties, promising to hit the high thirties by midday, which it did.
We were destined to sail up the narrow waterway between the Corniche and a manmade island in an old fashioned Arab dhow. It was probably the best way to see the cityscape as many of the buildings were too high to appreciate from immediately beneath them. We boarded our dhow and took a seat in a gazebo on the bow whilst an old fashioned siren sounded to signal our departure. We were served fresh fruit smoothies and tiny sandwiches as we sailed along the waterfront, all very civilised. The Corniche is effectively a long park stretching for 7km along the waterfront and it is impressive, dotted with fountains and palm trees. The first fountains we passed were harps, the strings were water. But the buildings as a backdrop were equally impressive. There were so many shapes it is hard to know where to begin. There were competing for who could have the most original top, square tops were out, too boring, pointy, curved, scalloped, domed, wedged, you name it they had it. The same with the finishes on the buildings, this year metallic finishes are in, copper, emerald green, ice blue, steel blue, gold, aquamarine, all reflecting the sun like massive jewels set out for sale. Then there were the shapes, some were close to conventional but not many. One building was designed to look like a folded newspaper (pink of course), it was the Investment Authorities building. There was one with what looked like a big hamburger on top; the meat? black windows concealing a rotating restaurant, another looked like a huge pile of beer mats that someone had pushed in the middle, one was a set of stairs going nowhere and two were like giant sausages with the top sliced off at an angle. Another was leaning like the foundations were giving way, many had huge balls as part of the structure (Stoppp It!). My favourite was one that looked like someone had used a huge ice cream scoop to take a piece out of it and there was a ball that looked like it was rolling down the scooped out bit. It was an architect’s paradise, no building was older that thirty years old, we were told that as soon as a building reached twenty-five, plans are drawn up to pull it down.
We then went down to seafront that looked out over the small bay. On the other side was the sultan’s palace in pristine white marble with white domes picked out in gold glistening in the sun like it had just been pulled out of its box. A short distance away was the Emirates Palace Hotel in red marble with similar domes picked out in gold. This hotel is used for government and sultan guests. The red marble is to remind the sultan of the desert sand, but the sand on the beach in front of the hotel was pure white. Apparently the desert sand clashed as it was not an exact match for the red marble, so they decided on a sand that contrasted, it was shipped in especially, from the Maldives. Just shows what can be done when money is no object.
Finally we were dropped at yet another massive mall, this time sitting under huge Arab tents, the entire structure air conditioned. Miles of shops with polished marble walkways on three levels where one can easily get lost huge computer controlled water features in the crossover junctions and yes Carol found a Marks and Spencer (photo evidence supplied) her excuse? I just wanted to see if the same frocks would be in the UK when we get back and see what the prices are here, hmm, withdrawal symptoms more like, good job there’s no Tesco.
We drove back along the Corniche we had sailed past and close up it looked even better, everywhere was pristine and it was easy to think that everywhere was wonderful. I asked the guide about working conditions here and she said that the people with lower paid jobs had to live in workers hostels and were not allowed to buy or rent in town, health care was excellent (but health insurance was compulsory and the level of excellence depended on the level of cover), so perhaps not quite the utopia portrayed on the front cover. When we arrived back there was a local hawk handler who insisted that Carol sat down whilst he handed her a beautiful hawk to hold, nervous at first, she really took to it and was a little reluctant to hand it back. We finally staggered back on board and sipped our drinks on the balcony as we sailed for Dubai, (another disadvantage, booze is frowned upon) and we stayed there until darkness was well and truly descended.
Dubai
Friday 18th and Saturday 19th April
Today dawned bright and clear and as we manoeuvred to begin our approach through the channels to Dubai. We could see the low lying man-made islands that lay off the coastline. Once again we looked out on a very low lying coastline with its display of high rise buildings. One unusual aspect of this coastal approach were the brilliant blue-white lights that shone out at us from various points along the shore. I thought at first that they were electric arc signalling lights of the type used on board warships, which double as search lights because of the intensity of the light. It slowly became apparent that this was in fact the sun rising behind us and reflecting back from the glass façades of the buildings on the horizon. Dubai has a more spiky or pointy outline than Abu Dhabi and as we drew closer we could see the more prominent (and famous) buildings begin to come into focus. The most famous of which is of course the Burj Al Arab but almost as prominent, though further inland, were the Emirates Towers and the Burj Khalifa. It is a much more spectacular sea approach than Abu Dhabi. Entering the cruise terminal basin we could see outlined on the reclaimed land opposite, plots for new high rise hotels and buildings which will form the new cruise terminal. Landscape planting of the gardens and palm trees had already begun even though not one brick had been laid, what a contrast to building work in the UK where the building is constructed first and the landscaping carried out almost as an afterthought.
Once berthed we had plenty of time for breakfast as transport for our seaplane flight was not due to depart until 10:00am. We went down to the terminal at about 09:45 and on the dot we picked up in a luxury Mercedes minibus and smoothly whisked away through Dubai to the Park Hyatt Hotel which was part hotel part luxury apartments, its grounds swept down to the inland waterway where our aircraft was moored at a small jetty. Prior to boarding we were all photographed individually (or in pairs) on the jetty. We were told that this was for a souvenir photo / certificate, I didn’t say anything to Carol (she was nervous enough), but the thought crossed my mind that it was for identification purposes should we end up embedding ourselves in one of the many high-rises we would fly round/between. Our extremely personable pilot Andy welcomed us aboard (with a slight antipodean accent) and said the escape routes would be demonstrated by the two guys outside the aircraft as there was not enough room inside. As we were sitting at the front, we had to rely on the people at the rear to remember what was said because it seemed a rather complicated arrangement of a top gullwing and a lower step door clipping together. It was an eight seater aircraft and each seat had a window. Once airborne we could move around inside the cabin if we wished to take pictures out of the opposite windows. After being told what the flight plan was and shown where we could find our laminated maps, we strapped ourselves in and Andy wound up the turbo prop. We watched in fascination as he flicked switches on the huge panel in front of him and various images of dials and barcharts flashed momentarily on the video displays in the centre of the console.
The frequency of the turbine had reached and then exceeded my range of hearing when he reached down between the two front seats and pulled a leaver. Immediately we heard the deep growl of the prop beginning to bite the air and we surged forward away from the jetty. Our speed increased until we were almost flying as we taxied down to where we would start our take off. The buildings either side flashed by and what amazed me was Andy could not see out of the front windows above the control panel, partly because of the angle of the plane and partly because he was as short as I am. He looked out of the side window as if he too was enjoying the ride. After what seemed an age the revs slowed and we settled down into the water again, Andy then turned to us and said with a grin “well that’s it folks welcome back and I hope you enjoyed your flight”.
A few moments later after we had turned around (done a one eighty as the jargon has it) and were facing back down the water. We watched again as Andy flicked a few more switches, muttered into his microphone, the whistle increased again, this time at a much faster rate until it reached its crescendo roar and the hand went down again to the lever. Up it came, the growl this time had a more serious gravelly bite to it, the surge forward pushed us well back into our seats and we noticed that Andy now had both hands on the column, hanging on as if his life depended on it, (which I guess it did, ours too). We accelerated up to what seemed a phenomenal speed, buildings, trees, cars flashed by, we zipped under a couple of bridges, no I made that bit up, but the banks were so close it wouldn’t have surprised me. Spray was flying up from the skis and the ride was as smooth as silk as we lifted up. The ground fell away rapidly as we climbed to about fifteen hundred feet before banking sharply away towards the coastline.
It was Carol’s first trip in a small plane and those first few robust manoeuvres were a bit disconcerting, but within minutes the views beneath us totally absorbed her. Andy flew a course which allowed both sides of the cabin the same views, timing his turns so that we were in a perfect position to take our time taking photos. However with the aircraft banking so sharply, the people on the opposite side of the cabin had almost as good a view as the ones next to the window on the inside of the turn. We flew up the coast with views of Dubai’s buildings on one side and the islands on the opposite side. We then returned over the sea performing lazy snaking S turns and circling, first clockwise then anti clockwise. Close enough to see people on the ground stare up at us staring down at them. Past the world which had only a few islands occupied with villas and landscaping, the remaining islands just barren sand dunes. The world islands are protected by a huge circular breakwater which overlapped at the entry point, making it difficult for the postman to find. The palm was almost fully developed with only a couple of empty fronds. The scale of this development is almost beyond comprehension as we looked down and saw just how many villas were on each frond, the design such that each villa has a huge private beach. We then headed inland circling the buildings many of which towered above us. Then further on looking down on the various race and golf courses, all immaculately kept, before finally and rapidly losing height as we dropped back to the small strip of water we had left 40 minutes previously. We touched down so smoothly we were hardly aware that we were down, if it had not been for the spray zipping past the windows. I think we both agreed that this had been one of the best experiences of the cruise. We were then presented with our photo of departure and certificate to authenticate our flight. It was all over too soon and we were on our way back to the ship to prepare for our evening ashore at the ships world voyagers gala dinner cruisers dinner.
Showered and dressed in best bib and tucker we left the ship once more for the Madinat Jumeirah. As we arrived we joined the line to shake hands with the Captain and several other officers and dignitaries before availing ourselves of the hospitality available on the many silver trays circulating in the assembled guests. Whilst waiting for everyone to arrive we wandered around various distractions put on to amuse, like having your name written in Arabic and having tour photo taken with the various hawks being held by their handlers. It was more amusing to watch some faces as the birds were put on their wrists, because the birds themselves were so calm they could have been stuffed (they weren’t, by the way), but some people looked so terrified that you would think they had an alligator on their wrist. Further on I spoke to a lady who had her name written in Arabic and she asked how she could know it said what they told her it said. I told her you will never know, because it says, whatever you do, do not tell this lady what I’ve written here. The look on her face was a picture, so was the look on mine, as there were only four letters (or symbols) written on the card.
After an hour or so we made our way in to a huge hall where sixty or so round tables were set around a central stage. I can’t go through all the entertainment that was laid on, suffice to say it was lavish and continuous. Ranging from popular European songs, to whirling dancers with illuminated costumes. My favourite was the belly dancers, one lady came right up to where I was kneeling (filming!-stop it!) and mesmerised me. (See video). When I found my way back to the table Carol asked me why my eyes were rotating like Catherine wheels. But like everything, all good things have to come to an end and we eventually found ourselves outside warming up because Carol found the air conditioning a bit too fierce and as it was getting a late, instead of going back in we clambered aboard a waiting coach that was about to depart. The trip back was just as fascinating as the journey in, all the buildings in ‘Down Town Dubai’ were now festooned in their finest illuminations and seen close up, were more spectacular than from a distance. By any standard, it was a good night.
We were a tad late getting up the following day, but that was not too much of a problem as we were going to have a look at the various markets close by where we were berthed. We finally wandered ashore and grabbed a taxi into the spice souk. This was a fascinating veritable warren of narrow alleyways with tiny stalls many of which were packed from floor to ceiling with spices and herbs. Stall holders were only too willing to talk at length about all the different products and what they were used (or good) for, opening jars and saying smell this. Some were pungent some were sublime, I would have bought most of what was shown me if it wasn’t for that moderating influence, otherwise known as a wife. I did end up getting some vanilla pods which were as cheap as chips, even there I ended up getting half the quantity I originally wanted, as Carol said we are not going to use all that before it starts to go off.
We spent a couple of hours or more getting lost in this maze before walking back along the creek, we toyed with the idea of popping into the gold souk but we guessed from the few shops on the outside it would be the same as the others and as our legs were just about to drop off. So we made our way back to the ship sailing was early tonight and as I am late with this dispatch I’ll close for now.
[Video quality due to dad’s phone only sending low res versions to his cloud storage. I’ll replace them if I get my hands on the originals – Paul]
Three Days Update
Sunday 27th April
I opened my eyes this morning to see desert slipping past our cabin in the early morning sun which was also shining directly into the cabin. We are high enough up to see over the banks of desert sand that has been excavated in the massive dredging that has taken place over the years to enlarge the canal. The odd small building occupied by a lonely looking official also slips by occasionally but other than that there is just miles and miles of desert. Our speed is a steady nine knots which this close to land seems remarkably fast and before very long we were entering the first (smaller) bitter lake at 8:15 am. On the banks of both lakes were new holiday resorts which look very expensive as they extend into the lake on narrow isthmuses a bit like palm island in Dubai. By 10:00am we exited the greater Bitter Lake into the main part of the canal heading for Ismailia, the halfway point. We then passed through a large section of Lawrence of Arabian type desert before reaching areas that started to look greener on the Port side, these were being irrigated by manmade tributaries of the Nile, then as we got past the halfway point green bits started to appear on the Starboard side where fresh water was being piped under the canal in an attempt to make both sides more productive. The canal zone is heavily militarised and we were buzzed a couple of times by a military helicopter and armed guards patrolled the whole length of the canal. In the final stages the landscape became more and more urban (and therefore more interesting) until we finally entered the city of Port Said. Then pop! Before we knew it we were out in the Mediterranean Sea. This was my fourth transit of the Suez and having now sailed the Panama I think I can say that I prefer the Suez. Panama is impressive but Suez has more to see and watch. Nine and a half hours and we were back into Europe (well almost) two weeks today and it will all be just memories.
Saturday 26th April
Sailed back down the Gulf of Aqaba during the night and morning found us passing Sharm el Sheikh quite close inshore we could see all the sunbeds lined up on the beaches and one or two early risers paddling on the edge of the sea staring out at us passing. We then sailed back out into the Red Sea before looping round and entering the Gulf of Suez, we will anchor of the canal entrance at 4:00pm tomorrow morning waiting for our departure time for transit of the Canal which is expected to be about 7:00am. Queen Mary is hard on our heels coming up the Red Sea, but we have not been told if she is transiting the canal with us or a day behind. After yesterday’s hike we didn’t do much except go to the talks ‘Romans and what they ate’ which was interesting from how they got their information as much as what they ate. They put the evidence of tomb frescos together with analysis of fossils, shipwrecks etc. Next was another space talk, satellite analyses of amongst other things temperature of the earth’s surface, interestingly here was another scientist pouring scorn on the climate change doom-mongers. Saying more or less what the other guy said, that climate change is happening but it hasn’t got much to do with us or CO2, the gas with the biggest influence on global warming in the atmosphere by far, is water vapour.
Friday 25th April
Early start today 6:00am showered, up to breakfast, where we watched the mountains pass by. Part of the granite mountain range of Aqaba they looked like the mountains you see on computer games, so even and repetitive with the same repeating three colours that they looked false. Then down to register for the trip to Petra and luckily we were on the first coach (out of twenty). Not only was Queen Elizabeth sending twenty coaches, but an Italian liner moored behind us were also sending a batch. It was a two hour drive to Petra and it was all uphill, we climbed 1500 metres through some really spectacular scenery, gradually leaving the granite mountains behind and moving into a sandstone landscape which was a more rounded, softer profile. We passed Bedouin camps and goat herds as we climbed up through the passes looking a little odd with four by fours parked outside their tents. Our guide Youssef was a fierce Bedouin who said Bedouins were Lords of the desert. I didn’t want to argue with him. His favourite expression was ‘if I may be brief’ before launching into a description that used every adjective known to man, preferring those which contained lots of the letter R which he rolled round and round his tongue before finishing the word. And woe betide you if you spoke while he was speaking.
We arrived at Petra (which means rock in Arabic – very apt) and after a dire warning to stick together and if you fell behind you were to make your own way down and back because he wouldn’t wait longer that a minute or two. Then we were off at a brisk walk downhill all the way stopping at various places where Youssef launched into one of his lengthy descriptions of the various rock formations finishing each one with the words ‘onwards the best is yet to come’ and to be fair he was right, each section was better than the last, but as we descended I couldn’t help but wonder how some would be able to get back as they were already showing signs of distress as we progressed deeper into a narrow canyon called the siq which means the shaft. It was an impressive journey through the siq of about a kilometre, (if a bit crowded), the canyon sides almost touched above our heads in places and years of erosion by the rain had woven incredible shapes and colours in rock. By now we had walked about three kilometres and we were nearly at the first stop, the treasury building the one you see first through the gap in the canyon wall, the one Harrison Ford made famous as Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade or was it Raiders of the lost Arc? After a photo stop there Youssef rounded us up with the cry ‘the best is yet to come’ and so we followed him down the path, stopping at various photo opportunities listening to his magnificent descriptions. Down and down again for another three kilometres we continued past tomb after tomb until we reached the almost the end of the valley where we stopped to admire what was left of the Greek theatre.
By this time our original 46 was down to about 15 and we walked on down to the Temenos Gate a huge three arch gate which was the end of the tour and the point where Youssef told us that if we wanted we could continue on down to the bridge which if we crossed it and climbed the hill to our right we would see a beautiful Byzantium church with a mosaic floor which is almost as good as the day it was laid. It was at this point that the fifteen became four and even Youssef didn’t continue. Myself and Carol together with a Swiss couple continued on down we crossed the bridge and started on up to the church. Half way up we heard Youssef’s voice floating up from the valley below ‘turn left now’ so we waved and obeyed climbing higher and higher until we reached the church. The heat was by this time intense and the coolness of the church welcome. We took a few photos and a video and then followed the track back down to another bridge trying to find the route back to the main street, by now there was just Carol and me left, we still don’t know where the Swiss couple went.
After about 20 mins we found our way back on the main route and by now were heading back up the way we came. It was a long hard drag but we were glad we were not being passed by anyone and passing many exhausted people who were a lot younger than us. Through the heat of midday we passed people collapsed on the floor, being helped to their feet by their colleagues, couples having domestics and others saying get me one of those camels. The camels, horses and horse & carts were doing a roaring trade carting exhausted tourists to the top and then galloping down for the next in the queue. In much the same way taxi drivers in the UK pray for rain, these guys must pray for hot sun. When we finally reached the top we must have walked a total of 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) half of that uphill. I drank a litre of water in one go when we got to the restaurant (on top of that we took with us). Unfortunately the walk continued to take its toll, a lady collapsed waiting to board her coach after the meal (heat exhaustion). The restaurant was a bit empty that evening, but it was a fantastic day and well worth seeing.
By the way you may remember some time ago we heard a story from William about his escape from the twin towers, if you are interested in reading it you can see it here (he has just OK’ed my version and added some bits.)
