Around the World. Week 16 Wrap Up

Seemed like a short week, but mostly because we had two overnights in two different ports. It's still a bit odd to me to go to sleep and wake up in the same place after 100+ days on this trip.

Schedule

• Day 106 / April 22: Bali, Indonesia

• Day 107 / April 23: Bali, Indonesia

• Day 108 / April 24: Surabaya, Indonesia

• Day 109 / April 25: At Sea

• Day 110 / April 26: Singapore, Singapore

• Day 111 / April 27: Singapore, Singapore

• Day 112 / April 28: Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia

Day 106 / April 22: Bali, Indonesia

We arrived in Bali around noon today. It was a bit odd to have lunch before getting of the ship and I wasn’t exactly productive in the morning either. However, that cannot be said for the afternoon and evening time.

Before I get into the details of the afternoon, let me try to describe our entry into the port.

On the right side of the ship (also known as Starboard), there was a majestic lagoon with blue-green water, surrounded peacefully by a treelined barrier. On the left side of the ship (also known as Port), chaos. There were dozens of jet skis zipping about. Hundreds of boats anchored near shore. People flying above the water by parasailing or airborne tubes being pulled behind speedboats. And craziest of all were these people dancing way above the waters surface as they are suspended by water jets created from these hover-board like things.

As we started the docking process, I noticed the Buddhist temples and statues emerging from the skyline all over the city. Each sculpture was so ornate with each aspect carved, painted, or decorated in some way. Later, our guide explained that the government installs those at intersections to remind younger people of the stories of their religion. He also explained that along with the alters at the sculptures, each family home has a temple where they make daily offerings in the form of flowers, fruit, or whatever they feel the gods are requesting of them at the time.

Once docked, I met a few of the other passengers to go exploring with a private guide. The benefit of having a private tour is you get to control the speed and destinations more so than on a ship tour. The normal downside of a private tour is if you don’t get back to port on time, the ship will leave without you. However, because this was an overnight stay, the risk was removed, so off we went on a 3-hour tour, just like Gilligan’s Island. Okay, so it was originally planned to be about a 5-hour tour, but ended up being about 7 hours in total. Can you guess why we were delayed?? I’ll give you a hint.. it’s been a recurring theme these past few weeks.

Yep! Downpour. Torrential downpour.

Luckily, it started while we were driving and finished while we were still driving, but managed to slow us down quite a bit as river rapids splashed down the sides of the roads, debris started littering the roads creating an obstacle course, visibility was minimal as we carefully navigated intersections that are typically controlled by police, who had vacated those positions to protect themselves from the weather. At some point, our guide almost turned back, thinking our destination of the Rice Terraces wouldn't be worth the trouble of getting there. However, he kept that to himself at the time and pushed on. Eventually, we arrived! And the rain had actually made the view even more spectacular since the wet grasses twinkled in the sun contrasted by the moody gray clouds in the background.

It really amazes me how over 1,000 years ago, they figured out how to best utilize the space to create the Rice Terraces in the step-like agriculture, optimizing water usage and preventing erosion. This approach also supports their believe in balance between humans, nature, and their gods.

After a quick beverage stop, we headed towards our next destination - Batuan Temple. Locals believe it was founded in 1020 AD, making it one of the oldest and most significant Hindu sites in Bali. It’s also still an active local community temple, used for quite a few ceremonies. What struck me the most here was the amount of very detailed statues. They were everywhere! I can’t recall if I explained that one of my favorite pastimes is to visit Art Museums, specifically to look at the stone statues and babies in Renaissance paintings, so at this temple, I very much enjoyed getting to see all the different sculptures.

Last planned stop - Tegenungan Waterfall. At this spot, there was an option for swimming in the pools of the falls, but as mentioned, there was a downpour, resulting in a fantastic, gushing, spewing, full waterfall full of mud, but not to great for swimming in the strong current. If I come back to Bali, I’ll plan another visit here as there was a restaurant and another temple that we could have visited, but didn’t have enough time. We did have enough time to stomp down over 100 steps to the base of the falls and then, ever so slowly, trudge our way back to the top.

On our way back to the city, the sun was setting behind a beautiful rice field, so I asked the driver to stop so I could get a quick photo - see below!

Now, it is a Wednesday evening, so you would think rush hour would be over, but nope! Google Maps suggested the drive back to the ship should have been under an hour drive, but with traffic, it took a bit longer, but we made it back to the ship in time to see the local group perform in the Vista Theater!

Immediately following, I went to bed.

Day 107 / April 23: Bali, Indonesia

Early to bed = early to rise. But also because the sunrise was expected to be phenomenal! And it was!

Because we stayed docked overnight, we didn’t have to wait to get back off the ship. What I did have to wait for was my confidence to venture out on my own to kick in. Sometimes I am full of gumption and sometimes, I need a lot of self-pep talk. Today, it took about an hour to convince myself that the Grab App, which is equivalent to Uber, is safe to use and because I was planning to head to the touristy beaches, I would be safe to go alone. Finally, I ordered the car.

My destination being a beach resort, hoping that they issued day passes. I figured if they didn’t, I could just walk down to the public beach that didn’t seem to far from the hotel. Upon arrival, they confirmed they did not offer day passes, so I started down the street only to be distracted by a coffee shop across the road! Oh my goodness, that was the best find of the day! Not only did they have coffee, but they had fresh juices and amazing breakfast offerings!

While I was eating, I noticed a booth set up right next door for a spa. Once my bill was paid, my next stop was that booth. Turns out, they provided 90-minute massages for the equivalent of $20 US dollars. One of the options was a 4-hand massage, but as mentioned, I was lacking in the gumption department today, so I went with the typical hot stone massage.

The woman lead me back an alley way, but it wasn’t one of those dark and creepy kind. This alley had a beautiful archway and well manicured landscaping. Once in the open-air lobby, they provided a lovely hot tea for me to sip on while they prepped a room.

I’d love to say that the full 90-minutes was peaceful and relaxing, but the first 15 minutes was a bit unnerving to start. She climbed up on the table and used the palm of her hands to dig into the base of my spine, suggesting that was medium pressure! After a few gasps for breath, I asked for the lighter version. After that, the remainder was blissful heaven!

As mentioned, when we came into port, we saw those hover board water things and I wanted to get a closer view. With some time still before all-aboard, I walked to the public beach entrance that I thought was where I saw those things. I was wrong. This beach had boats and no swimming or any of the other fun activities that I thought it would. Instead of continuing to explore, I just went back to the ship.

The brain is a weird thing sometimes. Once I was out and about, away from the ship, any hesitation or fear disappeared and was replaced with the excitement to explore a new place. After 100+ days of this trip, you’d think that my reluctance to leave my comfort zone would be minimal. I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m on this ship to begin with, pushing my limits and continuing to learn more about myself.

Day 108 / April 24: Surabaya, Indonesia

Surabaya is not a typical tourist destination, being one of the main financial cities in Indonesia. When I was looking for what I could do here, one place kept coming up, which was a giant mall in the middle of the city. Upon reading the Currents for the day, it said there would be a shuttle provided to that exact place! Winner winner! I didn’t even have to figure out the Grab app that day.

One observation to share, while the shuttle bus seemed to be brand new and very nice, the average American height is noticeably different than the seat spacing assumed. However, the very last row had a bit more room and that made the 20 minute drive much more comfortable than trying to wedge my knees into a seat closer to the front.

Upon arrival to the mall, while I had read about it, the sheer magnitude of this place could not be described. There are six (6) plazas that comprise the complex, each housing almost a city block of stores. Many of the stores are the fancy kind, so I found my way to the Arcade. Okay… to be honest, I was always headed to the Arcade since I found it in the Directory the night prior.

This arcade had a ton of the coin pusher type games and not so many of the hand-eye coordination games, but that didn’t stop me from spending over three (3) hours there! Because it was a Thursday morning, I was the only one there for most of the time. A huge fun surprise is that they still use physical tickets! At all of the other arcades I’ve been to recently, they’ve gone to just adding the points to my card instead, so it was great dopamine highs to watch as ticket after ticket spewed from the machines. By the end of my morning, I had amassed over 3,000 tickets! Now comes the very funny and semi-awkward part where I have to decide which of the very silly and very much meant for children prizes I will choose. Sometimes, I just give my card to a kid that’s in the arcade, but since I was the only one there, I decided to try to spend them all, leaving with two reusable bags (one with a dinosaur and one with an astronaut), a cheap black purse, three toy motorcycles, and a drawing book that turned out to just be blank paper inside. And I had won a claw machine stuffy! Nothing says 40-years old like walking out of an arcade with all of those lovely prizes! Ha!

Working up an appetite, I headed to the food court, selecting one that promoted Dry Ramen. Apparently that is all the components of normal ramen, minus the broth. Plus they had sushi!

As I was leaving the food area, I found another arcade! However, I pulled from the depths of my soul to convince myself not to go play since I did not have another 3 hours available; otherwise, I might miss the ship! Not going to admit that I was tempted… There’s definitely an addiction here.

Once boarded the bus, I headed to the back to find that much needed leg room. I’m really hoping this photo shows reality, but there were two seats that definitely had plenty of space because they were situated over the stairway that lead to the back door! Once seat at least had a step that I could use to climb into the seat, but the other seat had absolutely no floor in front of it, but that meant that I had both spaces to myself for the ride back to the pier.

As I wandered through the port, I saw a sign for Luwak Coffee. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that - I also had been calling it Cat Poop Coffee. It is a rare Indonesian coffee made from coffee cherries that have been eaten, partially digested, and defecated by the Asian palm civet. Yep, exactly. Cat Poop Coffee. After the beans are thoroughly cleaned, they are roasted and considered the world's most expensive coffee, with prices ranging from $100 to $1,000 per kilogram. I got a sample for free… It was okay. I’m not going to rush out to buy more, but am happy that I got to try it before leaving the region.

Day 109 / April 25: At Sea

I know I’ve said this before, but there’s nothing like having tapas and cocktails before 10am. Also, time is still arbitrary on the ship, so it really doesn’t matter anyway.

Culinary Class today featured Southeast Asian cuisine. On the menu was vegetable fritters, meat skewers with a peanut sauce, and a pork Bahn Mi sandwich; basically, all of the proteins minus fish. My favorite was the meat skewers with the peanut sauce. Not only was it very easy to make, but the sauce complimented the chicken and beef perfectly! The pork for the sandwich was seasoned very well, but the bread to meat ratio is what positioned the meal at second best for the day. However, as always, everything we made was very tasty!

On to my next activity on what was expected to be a busy day - Teaching another class! This time, instead of going through how to use the iMovie app to create the photo recap videos, I focused on the Psychology of how to make engaging content. This topic is interesting to me because while we all knew it was a thing when you create a video, I didn’t really stop to understand the reasoning behind certain aspects - like creating a pulse like effect with the durations the photos are shown for on the screen. I learned quite a bit while developing the presentation material and received good feedback once the class was completed. (Post edit note: I was planning to do this class again, but for some reason, the Lync Center Classroom is closed until beyond Miami… so I’ll have to find another location with a screen).

Since I had a cooking class this morning, no need to stop for lunch and on to my next event - playing cards! This was a bitter sweet time because the couple who I had been playing with are getting off in Singapore and not planning to get back on in Southampton. Instead, they are going to spend a lot more time in Southeast Asia, which is amazing for them, but sad for me.

It’s been at least a day since I mentioned rain, so can’t forget it in this update. It rained. No pickleball today, so I napped instead and slept through my alarm. Luckily, I woke up in time for the Solo dinner and Goodbye party!

Casey, our Social hostess, and her husband, Robbie, also Assistant Cruise Director, are disembarking in Singapore as well. Since they have had such a positive impact on our trip, we threw a bit of a Goodbye party at Waves, the pizzeria on board. It was fun to have one last hurrah with them and the other solo travelers before we departed.

With both the card playing couple and Casey / Robbie, I had said we couldn’t officially say farewell yet because we still had a whole day and some before they were getting off the ship and was trying to avoid that awkward multiple goodbyes. Well, that backfired with all of them because I didn’t see any before leaving Singapore. But I’ve said this before, that is just the Universe’s way of letting me know that I’ll see them again sometime down the way.

Day 110 / April 26: Singapore, Singapore

Arrival into Singapore wasn’t until 3pm, so we had all morning on board. With this time, I tried to catch up on my journaling, but that wasn’t quite successful  and I find myself finishing this post up before we reach Thailand on Day 113.

Instead, I went to play pickleball, but no one else was up there, so I practiced serving. However, there was a LOT of wind, which made for an instant ball return, just not a great way to work on consistency. Oh well. I saw one of the other typical players at lunch and agreed to meet at 2pm to play a real game before docking, so I napped.

Waking up at 1:30pm, in time to get changed and up to court, I walked up to Deck 15 just in time for the rain to start. It had been a beautiful (very hot) and sunny day this whole time until Singapore was in our sights. The storm was hovering over the city, complete with thunder and lightening, so as we sailed closer to shore, we entered the storm cell, cancelling pickleball for the afternoon. So I went back to nap.

Before I get to the main event, I’ll foreshadow a bit of why all the naps for the day (or at least more than usual). It has to do with planning to pull an all nighter to finish my Canadian taxes, which are due on April 30th.

Ok, on to the main event! The Around the World Exclusive Shoreside Event - Singapore’s Cultural Mosaic, A Journey through Heritage and Harmony. The description touted we’d discover the vibrant tapestry of Singapore’s multicultural heritage as we explore the city’s most iconic neighborhoods: Chinatown, Little India, Kampung Glam and the Peranakan enclave in a reimagined setting. Where we actually went was a converted abandoned Power Plant that had booths for those different cultures set up, with activities that represented their cultures. Some examples are Henna Tattoos, Flower Leis, and writing in Chinese calligraphy on fans. This was paired with dinner where the courses, served family style, matched the same cultures. Lastly, the music. The night was kicked off with a drum procession and a traditional lit-up dancing dragon, followed by a local band, who played a lot of American Hits. After dinner, many of us hit the dance floor, thoroughly enjoying the event until they told us it was time to leave.

I’ll admit that I had planned to return to the ship given how hot and therefore, sweaty, I was, but some friends convinced me that everyone in Singapore is like that and to join them for a nightcap at the famous Raffles hotel bar, called Long Bar, where they serve the Original Singapore Slings. It is a gin-based cocktail originally designed as a pink, feminine drink to allow women to consume alcohol publicly. They also serve peanuts that you get to throw the shells on the ground. It was a fantastic way to close the night!

Oh, back to my planned all-nighter - it was Sunday. The CRA (Canada’s version of IRS) was closed and I couldn’t complete the task I had planned. So I went to bed.

Day 111 / April 27: Singapore, Singapore

For Day 2 in Singapore, I decided to head to the city and take the Hop On Hop Off bus. However, since I slept in a bit later than planned, there wasn’t a bus stop at the Cruise terminal, so I had to find my way to the city center to start that adventure. The helpful information booth lady explained that it was only three stops away using their subway system and included one transfer between trains. The MRT subway in Singapore is known for being very clean and easy to figure out, so I readily agreed to follow her instructions. Once on the train, I saw signs for the Garden by the Bay and realized that was one stop before I had planned to get off, so in true LeAnne fashion. I just got off the train and went to the gardens, figuring if there was time afterwards, then I could catch the bus later.

These gardens are the ones you see all over the advertisements for Singapore with the giant metal tree sculptures looming over the other natural trees. While I’m sure they are even more majestic at night when they are lit up, they sure were stunning to stare at in daylight. Along with the trees, there are also sculptures of dragonflies in a lake and different areas, representing the different cultures we learned about at the event the night prior. Now, I’m not going to mention real precipitation at this time, but it was so very hot, my skin decided to create rain and sweat continued to pour out of my pores. Eventually, I sought some relief in the nearby hotel and shoppes.

Ok, I’ll admit that it was not a random place along the route that I ducked into for some much needed AC. Instead it was the other famous landmark called the Marina Bay Sands hotel and shoppes, also known as the three pillar hotel with a ship on top and infinity pools overlooking the harbor area.

I entered at the shoppes side of the complex and was stunned at how bright and airy the whole building felt. Most of the stores here were luxury brand, such as Louis Vuitton, but I wasn’t really planning on buying anything anyway since I’m still on the “no more stuff” brigade. Eventually, I figured out how to get over to the hotel side, realizing I passed through the same area where I had gotten off the train. Therefore, I had just completed a gigantic circle.

Once in the hotel, I planned to grab a bite to eat at one of the rooftop restaurants, but once in line for the elevator, the host explained that there was a $38 cover charge just to go there, but it included one drink. She also showed that only a portion of the bar was opened at that time, meaning I would only be able to see over the city and not the bay. Sensing my disappointment, she suggested I check out the Skypark instead, which is the space at the very front of the “ship” that is an open overlook for both the city and the bay. Even though that was $35 and did not include a drink, I agreed that was the better plan of action at the time.

As I exited the elevator at very top of the hotel, I heard my name called. Confused because there was a woman who I did not immediately recognize, calling after me. After she said her name, the brain juices started flowing and realized it was one of my co-workers from AtkinsRealis that I met last year in training in Montreal, Canada. Crazy! Traveling halfway around the world just to see each other again! It was a short greeting because she was on her way to a work event, but I’m still a bit shocked to have run into someone not from the ship on shore!

Once she headed back down to the ground, I wandered around the observation deck. After about 10 minutes or so, guess what?? We had to leave as a storm was moving in and lightening was spotted in the area. I’m realizing how lucky we must have been to make it around South America with very few rain days since most of French Polynesia, Australia, Indonesia, and now Singapore - rain. Daily angry, torrential storms; not just soft spring rain showers.

Back in the safety of the mall, I found breakfast. Yes, it was mid-afternoon by now, but it’s what looked good and I got a little overwhelmed by the amount of people swarmed in the mall food court. I also wasn’t close enough to the Hawker Center a friend had recommended to get there and back to the ship in time. By this time, I had already realized I’d be adding Singapore to the Come Back List, which alleviated the pressure to try to do all the things and eat all the foods before I got back on the ship.

After a bite to eat and some needed coffee, I confirmed the storm had passed and headed back to the gardens, meandering through the rest of the cultural areas that I had missed on the way in. One regret I have here is that I didn’t go into the buildings which housed a Tulip event and a dinosaur exhibit. When I got back on the ship, a few others who had gone in showed me pictures and I realized my mistake, so if you are in the area, go check it out!

With all-aboard time of 4:30pm and seeing that it was already past 3:00pm, I decided it was time to find my way back to the train to get to the ship. Once back on board, we did get to play pickleball, which reminded me that I am getting older since after walking over 8 miles that day, I was quite a bit sore after a few games.

Now, back to the Canadian taxes saga. And I will warn you, this includes a bit of venting, so if you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life, skip ahead to mid-day Port Klang.

Because we were back at sea, I was relying on the ship wifi to make the call that I had hoped to make while using cell service in Singapore. After many dropped call attempts, my optimism was crashing quickly However, not wanting to give up (and knowing that there were penalties involved if I couldn’t figure this out), I reached out to another passenger who had offered to let me borrow their streaming wifi service. Since they were going to the evening show, I could use it for an hour. The difference between the basic wifi and streaming service was night and day. It was obnoxious. The call did not drop within the first minute. It actually stayed connected until I decided to hang up. But the next issue was there wasn’t an agent available to take my call. Instead of putting me on hold like a normal call center, it kicked me back to the main menu, where I had to select 1 and then 1 again, just to be told there was not an agent available and to stay on the line. Only to be kicked back to the main menu, where I had to select 1 and then 1 again, just to be told there was not an agent available…. Now, again, motivated by getting this task completed, I selected 1 and then 1 again, a ridiculous number of times. But I was also multitasking at this time, Googling other ways to pay my Canadian taxes other than logging into the CRA system. Come to find out, I can use a third-party website (which is not restricted by open hours) to submit a payment. BINGO! Hung up the phone since I was still hitting 1 and then 1 again to chase after this new approach.

Once on the website, I recalled it was the same company I had to use the prior year to pay my taxes. Yay! There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, so I submitted my information only to see the spinning wheel replaced with a “Denied” message. Something along the lines of my credit card did not have the required security features in place to use their services. Ugh… so I tried another credit card. Same error message. So I tried again. And again. And probably again because at this point, I truly did feel like I was going insane.

Creative thinking mode activated - I thought, maybe it’s the security features with the wifi on the ship. Since I still had time before I had to get off the fast internet, I called my sister back in Michigan to see if she could try to submit my payment over her wifi! I walked her through the different screens and waited anxiously as she hit the submit button………

Denied.

Okay, maybe it’s because my phone is on airplane mode and the credit card company is trying to send me a message to confirm that it’s not fraud. Or maybe it’s because my credit card is from the States and not Canada. Or maybe… who knows, but after hanging up with my sister with a plan to try again once we got to land the next morning, I grabbed a glass of wine and went to listen to David at the piano.

Day 112 / April 28: Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia

The saga continues…

Since we weren’t docking in Malaysia until 8am, I didn’t plan to try to continue on my taxes until we were in sight of land, so at 7:30am, I was up in the Lync Center, hoping for a quiet place with a strong cell connection. Also, overnight, my accountant sent over the forms that I needed to sign for her to file. Step one - review and sign forms. Complete. Now back to figuring out how to actually submit payment. Googling again, I realized there was another company for a third party payment, so I crossed all my fingers and toes, filled out the required information, and hit submit……………. IT WORKED!!! And a giant sigh of relief deflated my lungs. Forms signed and payment submitted, I was free of any further adulting responsibilities! Or at least until I have to submit the US taxes, but those should be much easier. I hope…

I’ll admit, I had planned on taxes taking all day and didn’t really plan any activities in Malaysia. However, the ship offered a shuttle bus to the city mall, so I figured, why not and headed that way.

The mall was not as big as the ones in Surabaya nor Singapore, but it did have a TIM HORTONS! For those of you not familiar with the brand, it is the premier coffee shop in Canada. It did feel a bit like the cherry on top since I just finished the taxes saga. So I enjoyed a bit of nostalgia before wandering through the stores. They also had an Auntie Anne's Pretzles with a ridiculous number of options! I defaulted to my normal order of Original Salted pretzel. Ultimately, I did not buy anything else and went back to the ship and might have taken another nap. The multiple port days plus the stress of the taxes had done a number on my energy level, but hoping after the next set of sea days, I can reset and rest up.

We did get a chance to play pickleball again for a bit, but as we volleyed back and forth, lightning and thunder were rolling. Eventually, we decided it was not very smart nor safe to be playing on the top deck of a metal ship with lightning so near. Just as we got inside, the rain started.

The evening was very relaxing with a long dinner at Terrace and drinks at Martinis with David at the piano, but after all my napping, I ended up watching a movie in my room so yet another late night! However, as I’ve mentioned, time is arbitrary and we gained another hour overnight.

So starting off Week 17 in a whole new time zone!

#2026aroundtheworldcruise