Maldives - Bandos Island

The island capital Male

Our Dhoni - the Dawn Chambermaid

   

Today, we docked in Male, the capital city of the Maldives, a group of 200 islands, southwest of Sri Lanka which are reputed to be the lowest islands on earth. 

The capital, Male itself, is only 2.5 miles by 1 mile and very heavily populated, with more than 300,000 people crowded onto the small island. We had been to Male previously, but we hadn't experienced the picture postcard beautiful island beaches that the Maldives are famous for. 

On this visit, we were determined to get to the famous islands, which is not easy because they are mostly exclusive private, luxury islands reserved for paying guests only. This is where Prince William and his new bride are reputed to have honeymooned after their wedding. 

after much research, wE were able to book a private group transfer for the 7km trip to Bandos Island for 18 of our friends. The transfer boat was a local 'dohni', a wooden fishing boat - we really went from in nautical shipping standards from the Dawn Princess to the Dawn Chambermaid!! 

We had heard horror stories about tourists who went privately to the islands and their return transfer failed to return to pick them up. The port lecturer also mentioned an incident where tourists took local transport to an island and were robbed at gun point on the return journey. She omitted to mention that they were 4 very elderly passengers - wearing all their jewelery etc.

 With these warnings in mind, and using basic common sense - we agreed with the tour company owner that we would pay in full when  we were returned to the pier in Male - and he agreed readily - after all, there were 9 large Aussie men in our group - and we don't travel to the beach wearing any bling!! 

The 40 minute transfer to the island was relatively smooth and we were met at the pier by the islands reception staff and taken to the checkin counter - we paid $45US each for the day pass to use the islands facilities - spa, beaches, bars, restaurants, water sports centre etc - it is a cashless island - similar to payments on the ship, we were given a charge card which was settled at the end of the day. 

Bandos Island is an upmarket private island resort surrounded by white coral sands and clear azure water for snorkeling. We walked past luxury suites at every turn including some spectacular accommodation over the water - although it was almost fully booked, there is a great feeling of privacy and seclusion for the guests. 

We quickly set up our gear on the beachside loungers, and headed for the water to cool off. The small colourful fish were everywhere around us- brightly coloured a s well as some that were well camouflaged against the sandy bottom. Sadly, the coral close to the shore was mostly dead - possibly due to the number of swimmers who try to stand on it, although it was also speculated that maybe the tsunami has killed it off. Further out, there was a drop off wall, and the coral was very colourful - a few reef sharks had made their home here, so we didn't stay long!! 

After swimming and snorkelling for a couple of hours, we retired to the Sundowner Bar for lunch, just as the group who were booked on the Princess tour arrived - another reason why we like to book smaller private tours. the sesame coated fish was delicious, as were the cocktails - I tried a Caribbean Champagne cocktail - yummy - a perfect drink for this hot day.

 Our two dhoni drivers were spotted on the other side of the island fishing from their boat, so we were confident that our return trip was secured. True to their word, they were punctual at 1.30pm for the return ride. They showed us their catch - two small fish - we joked that we could have used our hands to catch more fish while we were snorkelling. We were completely surrounded by spectacular coloured fish within touching distance.

After our return to the ship, it was time for a quick swim and our ritual sail away party on the back of deck 11, before a nana nap and dinner.

Since our Egyptian ports have been cancelled, we now have 8sea days before our next port, Ashdod, where we will be going back to Jerusalem - cant wait!! 

Phuket

 

Phuket Thailand

We were on deck early to watch the Dawn Princess manoeuvre around un the channel and then back up the channel to the berth – very impressive and no easy feat given the size of the ship, especially for those who are reversing-challenged even in a small car – LOL!! Thank goodness to the person who invented the reversing camera!!

We have been to Phuket a number of times and visited the major attractions, so we opted for a rather low key in and around Phuket Town – the capital city of the island – and the elast touristy.

We walked down to the pier where a large group of taxis and vans with drivers were assembled – many were sharing their taxi tours but we decided to be independent and pay a bit more -  we negotiated the price and thought that he spoke and  understood reasonable English - $50 for the car and driver at our disposal for the whole day. However, then we were led to another driver and it didn’t take us long to realise that those friendly smiles and awkward laughs meant that he didn’t understand a lot of the conversation – no big problem really – just part of the experience.

The great post office adventure

I had bought a pair of prescription swimming goggles in Singapore and decided to ask Rachan, our driver, to take us to the post office so I could send then to her. Our communication difficulties were highlighted when he took us into a spa. We thought that he thought that was what we wanted, but he had taken us there so that his friend who works there could interpret for him. She was stunningly beautiful, but we have a feeling that she was so beautiful, she was actually a lady-boy – so famous in Phuket.

Finally she translated that we wanted to go to the post office – and so the next stop – after about half an hour in heavy traffic mainly composed of young men with death wishes on motor scooters – was the Telegraphic and Post museum – well… think about it …. tourists want to see temples and museums ….. not actually POST a parcel. Luckily the receptionist at the museum spoke English and so she gave us directions to the Phuket central post office and told us that – ‘yes they accept US dollars at the post office’

The post office is another experience altogether – you go into the downstairs section – show the contents of the package to the gentleman behind the counter and he hands over an appropriately sized box, three pieces of wide sticky tape and a carefully measured piece of string!! At this point, it became apparent that they didn’t accept US dollars, and we had to give back our box, tape and string (9 baht which is about 30c) and go back out to find a currency exchange.

Rachan patiently drove us to the currency exchange, we duly exchanged the money and went back to the post office…. relined up…. reshowed our parcel…… re-boxed and taped and retied the parcel … paid the price and were directed upstairs to actually post the parcel…. up the stairs with everyone else ……. and there were some customers lugging really big heavy parcels up the steps …..who am I to question the logic ...... take a number and sit down to wait for your number to be called …. just like a Medicare office in Australia!!

Finally we were called up, the parcel carefully examined to make sure that the special tape was in the correct places and also that it was tied securely, and we were given the options for postage prices and concluded the deal. We loved this little slice of local life and had fun with all the twists and turns.

The rest of the day was spent exploring old Phuket town, the cashew, honey and jewellery markets and just experiencing the local life, a great lunch which cost the equivalent of $7.50 AUD, massages and then back to the ship.

The Rolex challenge

At dinner last night, the great Rolex challenge was thrown issued …. to see who could negotiate the best price for a genuine fake Rolex, and could come back with the receipt. There was a market on the dock with traditional Thai products as well as some very blatant ‘genuine fake’ dealers with sunglasses, watches, t-shirts, DVD’s, and jewellery.

We went to the ‘Watchs Shoppe’ and bargained for our purchases – one male and one female - down from $25 each to two for $25. Very impressive when you consider that they have a 12 month warranty, genuine plastic bag to store it in and a spare battery – and the seller even tested them and set the correct time - LOL. The seller even encouraged me take his photo so that I could recognise him if it broke down in the warranty period!!! We had so much fun bargaining and laughing at the whole process.

However, we weren’t able to get a receipt – so we were afraid that we had failed the challenge – next best thing though – we came back to our cabin and took the 135Baht labels from our cashew nuts and attached them to our purchases ready to show them off at dinner. Jo and Garry also displayed impressive new Rolexes from the same dealer I think, but I think we won the price challenge.

 Not to be outdone, Col and Judy pulled out their purchases – and a crumpled receipt written in Thai – although we could only make out a couple of figures. Clearly, the challenge winners were declared – until Judy broke down and admitted that she had sat outside a shop and copied the sign in Thai and created the receipt – the Thai script actually read “internet café” - had she been able to keep a straight face, we would never had known that it was a fake receipt to go with the fake watches.

We declared that there was no challenge winner cause no one was able to complete the full mission – however Judy got bonus points for creativity and mine is definitely the most unique – it is a back to the future ‘time travellers watch’ – time has stood still since I first brought it back to our cabin!!!!

Now where did I put that photo of the seller and the warranty???

Three sea days now until we arrive at the Maldives.

Egypt cancelled

Finally - the announcement we have been waiting for …. Egypt Cancelled!!

The Captain of the Dawn Princess changed yesterday in Singapore, and our new Captain, Philip Pickford - on his final cruise before retiring - introduced himself and then explained that due to the political situation in Egypt, for the sake of safety, we will be missing the three ports in Egypt - we were a bit disappointed - especially to miss the Valley of the Kings, Alexandria and Sharm el Sheikh.

They have been replaced by stops in Ashdod ( the port for Jerusalem) and Crete.
After the announcement over the load speakers, there was a knock at our door, and when i opened it, Jo and I were dancing the happy dance cause we had said that we hoped Jerusalem would be one of the substitute ports if Egypt was cancelled. I loved Jerusalem on our last visit, so I am very excited to be going back again to spend more time there.

I was sad to have to write to our private tour company in Egypt to cancel – they have been extremely helpful as we have emailed back and forth to set up each of the tours and I know how much they rely on the tourists for their living, but until the political situation is sorted - I think they will be in for a rough time.

Now, I am busy researching a private taxi tour for Crete while Jo researches Jerusalem for our group.

Extreme sports 101

 

Forget bungy jumping, wind surfing and base diving, I have unwittingly participated in a new, more dangerous extreme sport – canasta for those with short arms!!

 Don’t laugh until I explain – a couple of days ago, while playing cards, I leaned over the metal arm of a chair to pick up a dropped card and felt a sharp pain in my chest.

Since the pain didn’t subside and it was really disturbing my sleep,  a quick visit to the on-board medical centre and the diagnosis – a broken rib – although I think that I will have to invent a new more dramatic story to explain the injury – playing cards just doesn’t seem to cut it!!

Singapore

 

We had an early arrival into Singapore under ominous grey skies - briefly reminding us of our last visit under torrential conditions.

We love Singapore, but every time we come, it feels like so much has changed. This time we used the new cruise terminal being constructed at Marina Bay - despite some horror stories, we passed through with the usual polite Singaporean efficiency. The complete Marina Bay Area around the relatively new Marina Bay Sands hotel is being developed, and will be amazing when it is completed..

One of the newest editions is the Gardens by the Bay complex - stunning tropical gardens, orchid gardens, palms and ferns.

The highlight was the Supertree Grove which features some oversized 'super trees' made from steel scaffolding - they are designed to support growing flowers and in time the metallic frame will no longer be visible.

Above the gardens is a 22 metre high skywalk with spectacular views over Singapore. One of the most intriguing sights was a giant sized white baby statue lying in the Meadow garden.

Next stop, a walk across to the Marina Bay Sands hotel ( it is shaped like three towers with a surfboard on top.) and the adjacent casino and shopping complex for a coffee before heading across the Helix bridge and into Orchard Road and the city sights.

After catching up with some of the favorite sights of Singapore, I enjoyed an hour to myself in my favorite bookstore Kinko's, and then a coffee at Paul's - a french bakery which we always return to – Singapore is such a cosmopolitan city that nothing surprises me.

As luck would have it, I was seated next to two dapper gentlemen in exquisitely cut suits, speaking in french, so my radar ears were working overtime to catch snippets of their conversation and translate to myself - sounded like a very boring business deal to me – par probleme!! (LOL - my French class will appreciate this!!)

We had a later than expected sail-away from Singapore after taking on lots of fuel, which has further sparked the speculation that we will be missing the Egyptian ports and heading straight through the Suez after our stop in the Maldives - hope they took on extra food as well - there could be a mutiny in some quarters if the pantry runs low!!!

Despite the grey skies, we enjoyed our day in Singapore, and joined our friends on the back deck for sail away, as the lights of Singapore's city faded into the distance.

High Jinks on the high seas

 

Today there was a lot of fun and frivolity on the Dawn Princess.

 It started at lunch when the Dawn Nomads got together for our Christmas in July lunch. Each couple brought along a ‘Hometown Gift’ – a souvenir which represented their home town – whatever the country, climate or produce from the region – the funnier the better.

Our contribution was a snow globe of Surfers Paradise beach – now anyone who is familiar with Surfers beach will know that this would be the most ridiculous souvenir ever!!!

We had lunch and conducted a Pirate Santa gift exchange – each couple received a number and could come up and open a gift from the table and then either keep it or ‘steal’ another gift which had been previously opened – Ron and Edie, an American couple, are now the proud owners of our snow globe!!!

 

After lunch, it was time to head to the outside decks for the Crossing the Equator ceremony – when King Neptune climbs aboard the ship to initiate all our unsuspecting ‘pollywogs’- cruisers and crew who have never done an Equator crossing – into the realms of the experienced ‘shellbacks’.

 Despite the heat, hundreds headed up to witness the spectacle and there was a lot of laughter as copious amounts of spaghetti, cold porridge, shaving foam and chocolate sauce (among other things) was spread around – they really were great sports – we had already warned our friends – Judy and Ian – to wear old clothes and swimmers.

Tomorrow, we will be spending the day in Singapore – one of our favourite cities.

Lombok Indonesia

Working the rice fields

The village laundry

Popular transport

We pre-booked a private driver and guide for the day to take Joanne, Garry and ourselves around the sights of Lombok. Since there isn’t a pier on Lombok which is large enough for the Dawn Princess, we were tendered ashore.

 We met early and were able to get onto an early tender, because we were being met at 8.30am. As soon as we arrived ashore, we were greeted by a traditional band, and after walking through the gates, we found our guide, Jos holding a sign with my name on it. He introduced our driver, Addy.

Initially, we drove through a rural area, with rice growing fields along with vegetables and fruit, very labour intensive. The first thing that struck me was the traffic, the constant tooting on the horns, and their uncanny ability to turn a narrow single lane road into a four lane highway – carrying buses, trucks, minivans, cars horse drawn carts and a multitude of scooters all jockeying for position. The horn blasts are signals, although we didn’t quite figure out the sequence it seemed to be that  one blast means I am overtaking you, two blasts means watch out and three blasts  means “*#**#**##**”!!!

Jos told us that there were around one thousands mosques on the island, so Jo and I started to play ‘Spotto’ whenever we saw one, but we quickly became tired of that and stopped at about 30 – there were just too many – some very small and some large and ornate.

Our first stop was at the weaving village – the village is a co-operative and everyone owns the communal land. The women weave cloth for sale to raise income for the village and take care of the children while the men all work in the fields growing the crops. The thread is all spun and dyed with local materials – green thread is coloured with spinach, red from a variety of local beetle etc.

They also use a metallic gold thread which is supplied by the government, since it is too expensive for the villagers to purchase. We bought a table runner with a beautiful intricate pattern – about 1.5 metres long which took 6 weeks to weave – such delicate work for $25AUD.

Judging by the commentary from Jos, there seems to be a lot of rivalry between Lombok, and Bali which is just across the strait – we were told that the leader of Lombok (governor??) is younger, smarter and more handsome that the Balinese leader.

Lombok is described as being “Bali thirty years ago, before the tourists took over” and it is largely unspoiled with many less developed villages where the people still live very traditional lives – Jos says that the government is helping the villages to develop products etc. to encourage tourists cause they realise that is the only way for their economy to grow.

In the village, one lady as sitting on the ground with an enormous pile of empty plastic containers from water and yoghurt, peeling off the labels and washing them for recycling. (we have been warned that often the water bottles are filled with local water and resealed, so I am not sure whether these were destined to be refilled).

The social structure of the village works because everyone in the village has a role that is valued – cooking, weaving, childcare, farming, recycling, construction, tending to the buffalo, showing visitors around, selling in the village shop etc. Everywhere, the people we met were very happy, smiling and humble.

Our next stop was at a pottery workshop – I was intrigued by a technique where batik fabric is stretched and glued over the pots, bowls and plates to give a unique pattern.

We travelled further north to Mataran, the capital, and then on to Sengiggi Beach which is the main tourist area and the location of the larger hotels and restaurants which cater for westerners.

 Jos smiled as he asked us whether we would prefer real  Indonesian or ‘Western/Indonesian’ food for lunch. Since, we knew that the word Lombok means ‘hot chili’ we opted for the western version.  We had lunch at Yessy restaurant – the daily special was grilled King Prawns and was a popular choice – I ordered Chicken with Cashews which were absolutely delicious. It was a very humid day, so we all enjoyed the local Bintang beer – icy cold – essential fluid replacement!!

The conversion rate is about $1AUD for 9500 Indonesian rupiah – our lunch came to 319,000 rupiah, so I had to take a photo of the bill for the most expensive lunch we have ever had. (about $30 in total)Since it is Ramadan and both our guide and driver are Islamic, as are 95% of the population,  they were not able to eat with us and went to prayers at the local mosque while we ate.

We had been warned about the hawkers who approach trying to sell their wares, and we did encounter them outside the restaurant and at the pier, but they were very friendly, not intrusive and when told ‘no’, they left us alone without any problems.

After lunch, we visited the Sengiggi beach lookout for some spectacular coastal views, and the to Lingso Temple which is used by both the Hindu and Moslem people. Since, tonight is a full moon, some ladies were preparing floral tributes and offerings for their gods.

 In the courtyard of the temple, we were confronted by cages of chickens, which are being prepared for cock fighting – a popular sport here. They are kept confined and force fed to build them up -  then have a small poisoned blade strapped to their foot which is used when they fight till the death – so cruel to us, but obviously still a part of this culture.

We returned to the port, and took the tender back to the ship where we opted for a swim before joining our friends on the back deck for sail-away drinks as the full moon rose above us.

Jos and Addy provided excellent service, jumping out to open the doors for us and providing excellent commentary so we got a great overview of their home country for one day – they were both warm, gentle, polite and approachable with a great sense of humour. They spoke excellent English, although Jos apologised in case he made mistakes – since they are also learning German and French for their roles as tour guides, we were very impressed.

Following an excellent recommendations on Trip Advisor, we used Eko Suprajitno to book our tour in Lombok, Indonesia. His contact details are ekomangsit@gmail.com

The many faces of Lombok

I love to photograph people - here are a few of my favourite characters from Lombok.