2023 - Cruise from Abu Dhabi to Singapore
Above: Salt Lake City, UT International Airport. 04 December 2023.
Embarking via Alaska Airlines to Seattle and connecting to Emirates for onward flight to Dubai, UAE.
Note: Fifty Facebook clicks on this image. TIMDT is always my best clickbait!
Above: Image of Dubai from Vault Bar, 71st floor, Marriott Marquis Hotel, Dubai. UAE. 10:00 PM, 05 December 2023.
TIMDT, who didn’t sleep well on the plane, went to bed circa 8:30 PM after arrival at J.W. Marriott. I slept better than ever on the plane, and I was looking for something to eat before going to bed. Prime filet. Fries. Creamed spinach. Malbec, at the stratospheric Vault Bar. Burj Khalifa is center left in image.
A bit of drama in Seattle. TIMDT had thought she complied with all of the Emirate's requirements for taking her portable oxygen concentrator aboard the aircraft. There were two problems teed up by the airline: 1. TIMDT brought only four hours equivalent use of battery power for a fourteen-hour flight. 2. TIMDT did not have a required doctor's permission on an Emirates form to fly.
Authority was finally received, from Dubai supervision, to waive the oxygen battery requirement. We convinced the airline that bringing the concentrator was as an abundance of caution... that TIMDT rarely used the device and would likely not need it in flight.
With the able assistance of an Emirates employee, Margaret was able to connect by telephone with her pulmonologist doctor's office at the University of Utah. Staff at the office located the required form on Emirate's website, and electronically transferred the form to the doctor, who was not in the office. The doctor electronically signed the form and then transmitted it electronically to TIMDT's "My Chart" on the University of Utah website. The Emirates supervisor took a screenshot of the required doctor's permission form off of TIMDT's I-Pad and we were good to go.
TIMDT attested to being confident throughout the process that rectifying the problems would be successful. I was a nervous wreck and thought that there was a good possibility that we would not get on the aircraft. That TIMDT was able to remain calm throughout my nervous remonstrations is a testament to her inherent calm, her ability to discern the reliability of the people helping her, and her significant experience in handling aberrations in the travel experience. TIMDT 1, Bishop 0.
Above: Poolside. Marriott Marquis Hotel, Dubai. UAE. 06 December 2023.
Burj Khalifa, center right in image. We went to the "top" of this building ten years ago. Today, we'll enjoy seeing it from a distance as we relax by the pool.
The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP28, is the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, is being held from 30 November until 12 December 2023 at Expo City, Dubai. A petrostate hosting a climate conference is pretty much of a joke. The COP28 president-designate Sultan Al Jaber has strongly denied accusations that his team sought to use the international climate talks in Dubai to strike fossil fuel deals for the UAE’s state-owned oil and gas company. Clearly, the naïve West is being played here in petro-world.
Hypocrisy reigns supreme at COP28. Doofus King Charles, he of the seven miles per gallon Rolls Royce and the private jet, opened the conference by reminding everyone that we're going to boil in hell unless we cut down our fossil fuel consumption. These international climate conferences are all for show. It's always the same. Imminent doom is predicted. New agreements are signed. Deals are made. And then nothing happens. Twenty-seven previous conferences have resulted in global emissions increasing every year except the ones when Covid shut everything down.
In the end, the rich (petrostates, US, Russia) want to remain rich and the poor (rest of the world) need cheap energy i.e. fossil fuel. Carbon reductions come about with very high costs and low additional benefits. To reach the putative goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, 20% of the world's GDP, or $43 trillion, is necessary. The COP28 goers have not pledged even a tiny fraction of that amount. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
Above: Vladimir Putin, President Russia and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Dubai, UAE. 06 December 2023. (File Image made available by The Hill).
Putin and Sheikh al Zayad were expected to discuss the Israeli-Hamas war, the war in Ukraine and their shared economic interests as major oil-producing nations.
Putin looks to be riding high. Russia has benefitted from high oil prices thanks to Joe Biden's haircutting US fossil energy production and OPEC's holding its own production down. High oil revenues have enabled Russia to finance its advance into Ukraine as, simultaneously, the West goes wobbly in its support for Ukraine. Also, Putin is capitalizing on the world's perception of weak and inept US leadership by pushing for a multipolar world. Hence his visit to cozy up to the Saudis after he leaves Dubai later today. Biden has never recovered from his gaff of criticizing Saudi leader Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) in 2019 about Saudi's human rights record. When Biden visited Saudi Arabia in 2020 - his fist bump with MBS visit - he failed to move MBS to open up OPEC oil spigots to get oil prices down. Having been shunned by the US, the Saudi's are very happy to strengthen ties to Russia.
While I didn't see Putin in Dubai today, I was reminded of the time when I was standing outside of the gate of American University of Cairo, on Tahrir Square, in 1964. Then, I watched Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet Union Premier and Egypt President Gamal Abdul Nasser drive by, easily visible, standing together, in an open car. I guess it's worth a footnote in my life history that twice I have "intersected" with Russian leaders in the Middle East. And, both times, the Russians seemed to be doing a good job strengthening Russia's ties to middle eastern leaders.
Above: Rang Mahal Restaurant. Marriott Marquis Hotel. Dubai, UAE. 06 December 2023.
Dinner with friends, Kristen (daughter, working as flight attendant for Emirates) and Kirsten (mom, visiting her daughter in Dubai).
It was in the Middle East when we first became fond of Indian Food. While living in Beirut's Manara section for six months in 1972, we dined frequently on Indian food at the nearby Manara Palace Cafe.
Above: La Farine Restaurant and Bakery. Marriott Marquis Hotel, Dubai, 07 December 2023.
TIMDT. Breakfast.
Above: La Farine Restaurant and Bakery. Marriott Marquis Hotel, Dubai, UAE. 07 December 2023.
We enjoy traveling in Middle East or India over Christmas. Unlike in the US, locals revel in celebrating the holidays of other faiths. Christians love Divali, Hindus respect Ramadan, and Muslims have Christmas trees. Fabulous gingerbread effort. Stein Eriksen Lodge, eat your heart out.
Above: Fuel tender aside Seabourn Encore. Dubai Seaport. Dubai, UAE. 07 December 2023.
Sucking carbon while docked in the harbor of the city hosting COP28.
Above: Observation Bar. Seabourn Encore. 07 December 2023.
Musical duo provides easy listening music at cocktail hour. Thankfully escaping Taylor Swift.
Above: Dubai, UAE harbor. Upper image: Starboard. Lower Image: Port. 07 December 2023.
On our way.
Above: 700 AD Christian church excavation. Sir Bani Yas Island. Abu Dhabi, UAE. 08 December 2023.
TIMDT contemplates some unanswered questions as she observes the excavation. Today, water comes to Sir Bani Yas Island via undersea pipeline from Arabian mainland. But back then? 700 BCE? Also, where did the early Christians go? A story board at the site suggests that they converted to Islam during the religion's early rise. An Indian branch of Christianity claims provenance from Thomas the apostle who allegedly came to Kerala post Christ's crucifixion. We are visiting Christian Kerala on this voyage.
Above: Straits of Hormuz, Persian Gulf. 09 December 2023.
Sunrise. One of many oil tankers on the horizon. As US deterrence continues to weaken, this vital choke point is more vulnerable than ever to being closed by bad actors... Iran... Houthis..., pirates... China... thereby upending the world petroleum market. Hunker down.
Above: Observation Lounge. Tea. Persian Gulf, aboard Seabourn Encore. 10 December 2023.
Above: Seabourn Singers. Tim Rice compilation. Sea of Oman aboard Seabourn Encore.
Above: Dinner. The Restaurant. Arabian Sea aboard Seabourn Encore. 11 December 2023.
Addendum:
Dubai is the one place I would go back to. They are the city of the future.
Bridge,
Palm Beach, FL
Thanks Steve. Wonderful write up.
Enjoy your travels. We miss both of you.
Hoops,
Pelham, NY
I enjoyed reading your last-certainly happy Margaret got on the airplane and I am sure Marco would’ve been the same as you being nervous and Avi would’ve been calm taking care of business 😎
Mr. Z3,
Palm Desert,
CA
Wonderful Picto Diary. Thanks very much.
Nathans,
Massapequa, NY
Steve,
A Merry Christmas to you and Margaret.
From your Picto Diary it looks like you two may have taken a cruise similar to what Gael and I have planned for her 80th birthday.
We are going on a ship named Le Bougainville of the Ponant Line, a French cruise line. We board on Jan 5th in Muscat and head through the Hormuz Straight into the Gulf with stops in Daymaniyat Islands, Khasab, Doha, Abu Dhabi and end up in Dubai. Gael’s birthday is the 12th and we will spend the day and night in some outrageous ostentatious hotel in Dubai - don’t know the name as I write. Any recommendations?
I have been a bit concerned given what’s going on with Israel and Gaza and now the Houties are getting adventuresome. I have been a bit uneasy about going through the Hormuz Straight with Iran immediately to our starboard. But, you were just there.
Any hint of concern with your ship’s crew? My rationalization for deciding to go is that the cruise line has a multi-million-dollar ship that they don't want boarded and taken by the Iran Navy, or blown out of the water, not mention 120 passengers.
I would love to hear from you about your thoughts on the wisdom going and if so, what we should not miss on our stops.
Tom,
Aspen, CO
Tom,
Merry Christmas!
You will enjoy Ponant. My friend Espresso and Mwah (sic) did Ponant's Antarctica cruise in January of this year aboard Ponant L'Austral, round trip from Ushuaia. Yours looks to be a bit more of an adventure cruise than our current Dubai to Singapore Seabourn sailing. We have sailed this route, one direction or the other four times now. We have had previous cruise stops in Oman... Muscat and Salalah.
Since October 7, The Persian Gulf, where you will be doing your sailing, has been free of the types of incidents (hijackings, drone attacks etc.) that have been occurring in the Red Sea near the Straits of Bab el Mandeb. As a lot of oil flows thru the Persian Gulf, direction east bound, it would seem that it's in the interest of all nearby oil producers to keep the Persian Gulf free of conflict. Our three days stay in the UAE was without incident. Dubai was hosting a 70K attendee global climate conference while we were there which seems to be indicative of the fact that war concerns were attenuated.
Our cruise ship, the Seabourn Encore, started its voyage to Dubai in Piraeus, Greece and transited the Suez Canal and the Straits of Bab el Mandab (again, where you will not be going) before we joined the cruise in Dubai. A crew member of the ship said that the Red Sea section of the voyage was done in a convoy and that there were no incidents.
Since our last sailing through the Red Sea in 2017, where the cruise line had armed commandos join the ships as they sailed through the Straits of Bab el Mandab, the Coalition Task Force (CTF) was organized in 2019 by the US, the UK and Australia to protect shipping in the Red Sea. Countries joining the CFT later included Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lithuania, Estonia, and Albania. Up until recently, the CTF, which organizes convoys led by armed ships to transit the Red Sea and the Straits of Bab el Mandab, has been pretty successful in keeping hijacking at bay. Though there has been the occasional incident between US Navy and Iranian Navy in the Persian Gulf over the last ten years, no such international coalition for shipping protection has been deemed necessary for the Persian Gulf.
Regarding traveling in this region today: one has to stay informed on global conditions, for sure. In general, in the absence of specific warnings or instructions from the cruise line, we were always "good to go." The Encore is about 2/3 full. I think Seabourn lost some customers worried about conditions in the Middle East. Offered a discounted price to upgrade to a suite, we took it!
Based on what we have seen, as of today, a Persian Gulf cruise adventure experience sounds like a good thing to do! Have a great trip.
SDT
PS. I have mused about doing one of Ponant's adventure cruises along the northwest coast of Australia. Also, with the full ice breaking capacity of Ponant's ship, Le Commandant Charcot, Ponant is the only cruise line offering a voyage over the actual North Pole. It's pricy, but it does qualify as a bucket list thing. I look forward to hearing about your upcoming cruise with Ponant.
PSS. Notwithstanding their smaller size, the Ponant ships offer a full international class, five-star living and dining experience.
SDT
Above: Walkeshwar sites. Mumbai, Maharashtra. 12 December 2023.
Through TravelScope, India we booked a car, driver and guide. We told, Roopali, our guide, that we had seen most of the major sites in Mumbai. We asked her to suggest the proverbial off the beaten track tourist destination. She took us to the Walkeshwar neighborhood on Malabar Hill.
The above images form a colorful and human Indian montage. The slimy fish in the first image is Bombay Duck, a fish unique to the waters around Mumbai and a local favorite. From the saris to the veggie stands, you can always count on India to be colorful at the extreme. No more need for cash! Buy bananas with GooglePay on your phone. Haircuts on the street: outdoor laundry: fellow who fluffs overly compressed cotton mattresses with what looks like a large hatchet; neighborhood cow; Indian made Royal Enfield (thumper) motorcycle. The tank (pond) is derived from a freshwater spring. The water is clean as it circulates from the spring flow.
Note: In 2008 I rode an Indian made Royal Enfield motorcycle from Siliguri, in West Bengal, through Bhutan, into Assam, and across the busy Bhramaputra River bridge to Guwahati.
Addendum:
Fascinating Steve!
I just want to express gratitude for your friendship and creative arts patronage and support and wish you and Margaret a very blessed and Merry Christmas!
Drummer Jay,
Lehi, UT
Steve.. I hope you had a safe passage through the straights, and I am glad Margaret solved the oxygen compressor problem in her own calm ways. Looking forward to reading more of your adventures and wishing you both a great trip.
Espresso,
Washington, D.C.
Above: TIMDT and Koessler face time. Abord Seabourn Encore, Arabian Sea, southbound. 13 December 2023.
A pick-me-up on at sea days is visually connecting with family, real time while on opposite sides of the globe. Koessler has done a magnificent job staying in touch with his mom over the years. PS. I get to talk to Koessler plenty. I applaud the special relationship he has communicating with his mom.
Note: Internet service has been top notch on this cruise. It has been four years since we have cruised, the last cruise being 2019, a Regent cruise from Lisbon to Cape Town. Previous cruises had internet but not as reliable as we are experiencing on this voyage.
There is less paper to deal with as well, compared to the "old days" of cruising. The ship no longer gives you printed facsimiles of newspapers. Get the news off of your phone, computer or live TV in your cabin. For all you on board planning, such as restaurant reservations, shore excursions, spa appointments etc. you do through the Seabourn Source app on your phone.
Above: Koessler blurb from his law firm. Retrieved off of Facebook today. 13 December 2023.
TIMDT and Mwah (sic) are very proud of Koessler and his family.
Above: Patio Restaurant. Seabourn Encore. 14 January 2023.
Nigerian Shrimp. A first for me. Never consumed a shrimp this big!
There are five choices for restaurants.
The Restaurant - Deck four main dining room. White tablecloth. No reservations required. Also breakfast
The Grill - Deck eight, aft. A top-level steakhouse. American prime beef served.
The Colonnade - Deck nine, aft. Buffet or a la carte. Also, breakfast.
Sushi - Deck eight mid-ship.
Patio Restaurant - Outdoors on pool deck. Deck nine. Casual dining.
Food is also available 24 hours via room service, tea-time in the observation lounge, and deck seven "Seabourn Square." Early risers can get coffee and croissants from 6:00 AM in the Observation Lounge.
My "at sea" day today: (Sailing down the Arabian Sea coastline of India between Mumbai and Cochin. We bypass ports of call on previous cruises in these waters: Mangalore and Goa).
6:00 AM. Coffee Observation lounge. I was alone. I run through the days news... emails etc. At 6:30 AM TIMDT and some others joined, one in her bathrobe. TIMDT said that coming to a public place like the Observation Lounge dressed in your bathrobe was gauche.
7:30 AM. Breakfast with TIMDT at Colonnade. Scrambled eggs, potato patty, English bacon, baked half tomato, oatmeal, coffee, ice water.
8:15 AM. With TIMDT thirty-minute walk outside on deck five.
9:00 AM. Nap in cabin for an hour.
10:30 AM: Computer. Correspondence, diary update
12::00 PM. Lunch with TIMDT at Colonnade Restaurant.
1:30 PM. Walk 30 minutes outdoor deck five.
2:00 PM. Nap one hour (I'm still jet lagged).
3:00 PM Start movie. Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One
4:00 PM. Tea. Observation Lounge with TIMDT
5:00 PM. Book. Chapter One. "Return of the God Principle", Stephen C Meyer.
6:30 PM. Cocktails with TIMDT. Observation Lounge.
7:30 PM. Dinner. The Patio. Nigerian Shrimp.
9:30 PM. Seabourn Singers. Theater, deck six. Highly professional presentation.
10:45 PM Bed
Half the days on this cruise are sea days. Relaxation without any responsibilities was one of the things we were looking for when deciding on this cruise. This is the fourth time we have sailed in these waters over the last twenty-five years. We love stopping in India. We feel a sense of familiarity in this part of the world. We love reviving old memories.
Addendum:
Steve-
Nice to see you and Margaret feel so comfortable in the Maximum City and navigate the organized chaos with such ease. I am looking forward to my own 2 week trip in January and am being told that the infrastructure projects going on e.g. subway and Metra, bridges across the Arabian Sea to improve transport, etc. are moving along at good speed…I almost don’t recognize my own neighborhood on these visits anymore, but I come back feeling optimistic about how faith/spirituality, science and their ability to improvise with limited resources is helping to trickle-down
economic progress slowly but surely…. enjoy!
Best,
RJ,
Chicago, IL
India is energy, in contrast to what seems to be a depleted West.
Brings back memories of our visits to India with you.
Montage
Marina del Rey, CA
Yes Great memories with you two in these waters.
Great photos Steve and Margaret we are envious and glad you are having a great time
Steve and Arlene
Park City, UT
Is that an egg timer - with three tumblers for hours, minutes, and seconds in different colors of sand?
Seabourn Encore Ship Stats & Information- Seabourn Seabourn Encore Cruises: Travel Weekly
Seabourn Encore is too big for my tastes. I like the freighters with about 12 non-crew passengers.
We would take a United Fruit Company ship from Panama to ports in CA. 12 passengers.
https://visitpuertoarmuelles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Typical-Menu-Great-White-Fleet.jpg
Enjoyable – no longer on the seas….
Panama,
Los Angeles, CA
Tea timer. White tea. One minute. Three minutes. Five minutes. I take the tea at five minutes.
Steve.. I hope you had a safe passage through the straights, and I am glad Margaret solved the oxygen compressor problem in her own calm ways. Looking forward to reading more of your adventures and wishing you both a great trip.
Espresso,
Washington, D.C.
Unlike what's going on in the Red Sea now, things were quiet in the Persian Gulf, where we were sailing. Before we boarded in Dubai, our ship, had come through the Red Sea and the Straights of Bab el Mandab in a convoy. Crew members we talked to said their were no problems. At this writing, we know from news reports that the Houthi rebels have caused enough Red Sea mischief to cause some cruise lines to pend their Red Sea passages.
Above: Ernakulam., Kerala. Marine Drive. 15 December 2023.
TIMDT poses. TIMDT's fourth, my third, visit to Kochi.
Above: Bolgatti Palace and Island Resort. Kochi, Kerala 15 December 2023.
Serendipity experience. Another Indian assault on the senses. We gate crashed a colorful wedding. Ladies in their colorful silk sari best! Amplified, exotic music charged the atmosphere. Indian rhythms make you want to wiggle your hips. Guide Sabu recommended this stop after coming up with a list (at our request) with Kochi sites we hadn't seen in our three previous Kochi visits. We stayed on the periphery of the celebration. The guests were very friendly. We didn't get the sense that our presence was an intrusion. We've found, over 25 years of living in and travelling to India, that Indians are always very pleased to share their always colorful celebratory experiences with outsiders.
Above: Lulu International Shopping Mall. Kochi, Kerala 15 December 2023.
You can get your car washed while you shop! You cannot come to India without seeing something you haven't seen before and this underground parking garage car wash service was one of them.
Above: Lulu International Shopping Mall. Kochi, Kerala. 15 December 2023.
Lulu is not on the usual Kochi tourist run. But this is our fourth visit to Kochi, and we wanted to see something we hadn't seen before. We noted Lulu's claim to be the largest shopping mall in Asia in the Kochi blurbs on the internet. Sabu, our guide, hired for us by TravelScope India, was happy to take us, at our request, to Lulu. You didn't have to squint a lot to see the highest of quality of mall that you would see anywhere in the world. Rolex. Starbucks. And a long list of other recognizable brands. TIMDT and Mwah (sic) discussed the contrast between this top-class mall and the shopping that we remembered from our experience of living in India in the 1970's. That is not to say that "1970's India" isn't still the norm in most parts of the country, but shopping on the level of what we saw today would have been inconceivable in the 1970's. The existence of a mall like this is testimony to the reality of India's growing middle class and the aspirational aspect of an India seeking to grow and progress in the world of nations. The mall was all decked out for Christmas (see image). I noted in my earlier piece about Dubai how Indians of all religious and cultural stripes revel in celebrating the religious holidays of all resident religions.
At our request, Sabu joined us at lunch. He takes a bus two and a half hours from is home to get to work in Kochi. His home, he says is modest. 350 square feet. He, his wife and sixteen-year-old daughter share the home with his brother and brother's wife. Home has all the amenities. Septic tank, hot/cold running water, electricity and a two-acre plot surrounded by lush trees and tropical flowers. Sabu is a private contractor. He was personally acquainted with the myriad of Indian tour guides that have squired TIMDT and her friends around India over the last two decades.
Above: Anokhi. Kochi, India. 15 December 2023.
Inconceivable would be a visit to Kochi without TIMDT buying more tablecloths at Anokhi.
Above: Fort Paragon Restaurant. Kochi, Kerala. 15 December 2023.
Our usual lunch stop in Kochi is the Brunton Boat Yard. This time, we told Sabu that we wanted to try something different. Sabu scored a home run on this restaurant selection.
Above: Chiles. Sebang City Market. Sebang, Sumatra, Indonesia. 19 December 2022.
I traveled to Jakarta once in the early 1980's for a Citibank business conference. A couple of nights. No sightseeing. All work, no pleasure. Margaret went on a two-week girl's trip to Indonesia circa 2012. Today, would be, for me, a first-time touring experience in the world's fourth largest country, ranked by population. Sebang is Indonesia's furthest western point, an island off the coast of Sumatra, one of five larger islands which make up the country of Indonesia. The other four large islands are Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Java and the western half of New Guinea. The distance from Sebang to the furthest point east, in Indonesia, Indonesia's border with Papua New Guinea, is 3200 miles, the same distance as from San Diego, CA to Portland, ME. Indonesia's population is 275 million compared to the US population of 330 million. Visiting Sebang would be like a non-American making a one day stop in the San Juan islands of Washington State, and then claiming he had visited the United States. But then, you have to start somewhere!
Yesterday, while at sea, I read a current article from the New Yorker entitled, "The Case Against Travel."
The Case Against Travel | The New Yorker
The article discussed the anti-travel views of the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and G. K. Chesterton. Quoted in the piece is the comment of Portuguese author, Fernando Pessoa:
I abhor new ways of life and unfamiliar places. . . . The idea of travelling nauseates me. . . . Ah, let those who don’t exist travel! . . . Travel is for those who cannot feel. . . . Only extreme poverty of the imagination justifies having to move around to feel.
The author of the piece admitted that the anti-travel lobby wasn't a big one but noted that there were some well-known names amongst the antis. Still, I couldn't believe that anyone would dis the benefits of travelling. I have been to one hundred and thirty countries and have spent over twenty years of my life living outside of the United States. It is impossible to conceive of my own life travel time as having been wasted. I wondered, as I walked through the fascinating Sebang City Market how the experience of seeing the interesting presentation of food goods, some of which, like the chilies in the image above, was a waste of time. In addition, the busyness of the people in the outdoor, but covered market, both sellers and buyers, was fascinating. How could this simple, real time, travel experience of seeing the Sebang City Market not be edifying to my overall knowledge and understanding of the world?
Above: Sumatra Coffee preparation. Sebang, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.
Our tour group of eight rode in a van to see the sights of Sebang. We stopped at a coffee bar for a shot of famous Sumatra coffee. I'm not particularly a coffee aficionado, but supposedly Sumatra coffee has somewhat of a cachet around the world. Sumatra coffee is known for low acidity, being full bodied, sweetness, essence of spiciness and intensity. Sumatra is the number three producer, after Brazil and Vietnam, of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. Starbucks, for one, blends Sumatra coffee beans into many of its offerings. I enjoyed a cup of the coffee prepared by the fellow in the image. Sans sugar, the coffee was robust and flavorful, but don't depend on me for a certified opinion. I can tell when coffee is strong, and I like that. But I'm inclined, as a general cynic of manufacturer and soi disant aficionado claims, to think coffee quality is like wine, where my recently deceased friend, vintner Dick Huber, said that 90% of Americans can't tell the difference between a $15 and a $200 bottle of wine. To the travel naysayers, I learned a lot about coffee in this visit! So there!
Above: Seabourn Encore at anchor. Sebang, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.
We selected the Seabourn cruise routed from Dubai to Singapore because it had as ports of call two of our favorite Indian cities, Mumbai and Kochi, disproportionately (compared to other cruises) more days at sea for just needed chilling, and some obscure, but seemingly interesting, island ports before reaching Singapore, TIMDT's favorite international city. The island ports included Sebang, Indonesia, Phuket, Thailand, and Langkawi, Malaysia. We had been a couple of times to Phuket, but we reserved a tour for part of the island that we hadn't heretofore visited. Report of third Phuket visit to come!
Above: Japanese pillbox/observation post. Sebang, Sumatra, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.
"During World War II, the Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 19451. The occupation was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history1. The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941-1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by forces of the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II2. The occupation of Indonesia by Japan for three and a half years during World War II was a crucial factor in the subsequent revolution3. Japanese military authorities in Java, having interned Dutch administrative personnel, found it necessary to use Indonesians in many administrative positions, which thus gave them opportunities that had been denied them under the Dutch." Wikipedia
(I thot of following the example of Claudine Gay and not citing the above... e.g. taking credit for the writeup myself. I demurred. Between plagiarizing university presidents and AI, it's going to get a lot tougher to validate accuracy of anything one reads.)
It's the rainy season here. Note the ponchos in the image. There were some downpours while riding in the van to get to this place, the far western tip of Indonesia.
During the day's tour, I talked a lot with John, sixty-five something, married but traveling alone, resident of Coeur d'Alene, ID. John worked half the year in Durbin, South Africa where he owned some kind of chemical plant operation. See? There's another reason to travel. Meeting interesting people along the way!
Above: TIMDT and guide Desy. Portside. Sebang, Sumatra, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.
TIMDT with guide Desy. Desy is a credit to her profession, her country and her religion (98% of Indonesians are Muslim). Desy's moving description of her Haj experience, before her marriage, including the financial sacrifice involved, for me stood in stark contrast to the growing number of people in the West whose only commitment is to narcissistic self-gratification. I learned a lot seeing this tiny slice of Indonesia through Desy's eyes. Travel naysayers be damned! Not the least of which is that there are large numbers of Muslims in Indonesia who have families, who work hard, and who buttress their hopes for a happy life with the five pillars of Islam: Profession of faith; Daily prayer; giving to the poor; fasting during Ramadan; and Hajj to Mecca. No doubt that Islam today has a militant faction which views the West a threat to Islam and which, in turn, is a threat to the West. How we in the west reconcile Islam's militant threat with the fact that most Muslim's live ordered, peaceful lives is a question requiring better answers than we have come up with so far., particularly as Islam has higher birth rates than Western countries and the fact that Islamic immigration to Western countries grows apace.
Addendum:
Steve,
Thoroughly enjoy your travel postings! A bright point in my day. Wishing you a most Merry Christmas.
Mark,
Menlo Park, CA
Great tales and photos and thanks for sharing the beautiful tablecloth.
Brand Man,
Ventura, CA
Above: Promthep Cape. Phuket, Thailand. 20 December 2023.
Elephant observes golden animal statues. I always wear a baseball cap when traveling abroad because I don't want to be mistaken for a Canadian.
We enjoyed our day of touring in Phuket. Sites seen today were first time for us. Previous cruise stops have taken us to elephant parks for elephant rides and to pearl stores.
Above: Big Buddah, Phuket Thailand. 20 December 2023.
Big Buddah and unidentified statue on right. The statue is 150 feet in height. Get perspective by observing the people at the lower right-hand corner of the statue. Big Buddah was completed only twenty years ago. Big Buddah has concrete innards with the outside being layered in polished four-inch square, quarter inch thick, marble plates from a Myanmar quarry. Our guide said that most of the workers on this project come from Myanmar. The cost of the statue was raised from private donations. There is no shortage of new religious edifices and monuments going up in the world. The magnificent Sheikh al Zayyad Mosque in Abu Dhabi is one that comes to mind. The Mormons are putting up quite a lot of temples around the world. Seemingly paradoxically, Russia builds more Christian churches today than any other country.
Above: Chaithararam Temple Complex. Phuket, Thailand. 20 December 2023.
Orchid. At right, unidentified flower hanging from tree.
Above: Chaithararam Temple Complex. Phuket, Thailand. 20 December 2023.
Above: Sam, Shana and Hilary at Dee's gravesite. Provo, UT. 20 December 2023.
Brother Dee's birthday. During our adult lives Dee and I rarely missed calling one another on our respective birthdays. I couldn't call Dee this year, but I sent a "happy birthday, Dee" note to Shana and got this image in return.
Above: Dee Taylor. 20 December 1948 to 20 February 2023.
Happy Birthday!
Addendum:
Steve,
Don’t mean to pry; curious. In the past, my Mormon co-workers shunned coffee but liked Coca-Cola. Is coffee still off the list?
“I enjoyed a cup of the coffee prepared by the fellow in the image.”
I wonder if the longer the arm, the better the coffee.
Welcome back,
Panama,
Los Angeles, CA
Coffee verboten for Mormons in good standing.
I agree with you travel is key to knowledge of the world.
Bridge,
Palm Beach, FL
Wow!
Such illustrious writing. Thank you Steve .
Brand Man,
Ventura, CA
Above: Sky Cable Car. Langkawi, Malaysia. 21 December 2022.
Langkawi is a duty-free island located twenty miles off the northwest coast of Malaysia in the Malacca Straits. This was our second stop in Malaysia having first visited, also by cruise, Kuala Lumpur and Penang, circa 2017. Tourism is the main industry of the island, which seems to be Malaysia's effort to replicate adjacent Thailand's famous vacation islands, Phuket, Ko Samui, and Pattaya.
Above: Map showing Langkawi, circled in red. I'm sure there is a story as to why Malaysia, and not Thailand, has possession of the island. When I observe a map of the Malay Peninsula the image of Japanese soldiers riding bicycles down the peninsula to take Singapore, 15 February 1942, always comes to mind.
This gondola ride was pretty interesting. A tourist attraction built from nothing twenty years ago, the gondola base was crowded with foreign and local tourists. The gondola base was full of souvenir stores (I bought a cap) and restaurants. The views of the Malacca Straits were spectacular. I was also impressed, as an almost daily winter user of Dopplemeyer made lifts and gondolas, that the device itself was Dopplemeyer manufacture. Gondola stats: six-seater gondola cars, one angle station, 1.5 miles long and 3000 vertical feet.
Seated across from us on the gondola descent was a family of three ethnic Chinese, Malaysian citizens. Mom, dad and a ten-year-old boy. I started a conversation, and they were happy to engage. The boy studied in English at a school in Penang where the family lived. They were on vacation. The boy said he liked to play basketball. I asked him if he followed the NBA and he replied that he watched NBA games. He volunteered that his favorite player was Kobe Bryant... a good American role model for a foreign kid. A German speaking, Italian fellow, who lived in the Dolomites, our age, was also riding in our gondola car. He didn't seem happy with the experience of hanging from a cable with a five-hundred-foot drop underneath.
The half day tour also included stops at a rice museum and a marina. Meh.
Above: Seabourn Encore. Pool Dick. Langkawi, Malasia. 21 December 2023.
From Seabourn Encore pool deck TIMDT contemplates walkway she traversed this AM on way to tour bus. Respiratory compromised, TIMDT, has shown good, even surprisingly good, stamina throughout this trip. Being at sea level clearly has a lot to do with TIMDT's seeming increased stamina.
Above: Seabourn Encore. Pool Deck. Langkawi, Malasia. 21 December 2023.
As the Seabourn Encore begins sailing the busy Straits of Malacca, direction east, to Singapore, Seabourn Singers perform Frankie Valli retrospective. Highly professional ensemble plays to knowledgeable, receptive, and grateful cruise going geezers. Lots of energy on the pool deck during this presentation. I feel sorry for next generation of cruisers***, for whom this music won't be familiar, and who will have no music from their own era worth listening to. But we boomer/silent geezers will revel in remembering, over the few years left to us, that "Big Girls Don't Cry."
*** As the world's sea lanes lose the protection of the US Navy, weakened by underfunding and inept leadership, and misguided US economic policies hollowing out the US middle class, there may not be a next generation of cruisers. Still, I have to admit, as far as my generation is concerned, that it was good living at the apex!
Above: Seabourn Encore. Observation Lounge. At Sea, Malacca Straits. 21 December 2023.
Cocktail hour in the Observation Lounge. Our favorite time and place on the ship.
Addendum:
These days I thought tourists abroad liked to wear a maple leaf to hide behind the tepid nature of Canadians image in the world. I choose a middle ground of wearing a ball cap with a British built Triumph motorcycle logo.
Peterbilt,
Bountiful, UT
That's the point I was making. In the first decade of the Millenium, the disgusting, pathetic (IMHO) practice of Canadians plastering their luggage with outsized maple leaf flag stickers was widespread as we traveled the world. I haven't seen it much recently. Your lily-livered compromise saddens me. I would have thought you would have worn a MAGA cap. At least you made a good move posing in front of Cafe Deux Magots in Paris.
Above: Seabourn Encore. Deck Seven Elevator Lobby. At sea. 22 December 2022.
Ship crew output in recycled material Christmas tree contest. Passengers could vote for a winner to be announced later in the day. I voted for the one on the right, midway, which used discarded shower wand flexible piping. Winner was number sixteen, just to the right of the tree receiving my vote.
Above: Container ship. Malacca Straits. 22 December 2023.
World's busiest sea way. Port side, Seabourn Encore. Seven ships visible over 90 degrees from my breakfast seat, outdoors, at Colonnade Restaurant this AM. This ship (in image), likely bound for Europe, sails into uncertainty as the Red Sea route has been rendered "risky business" by Houti drones and a dormant US Navy. The collapse of US sea lane deterrence over the last two years renders the world prone to even more misadventure. Hunker down. US is no longer feared.
“it is much safer to be feared than loved because...love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
Above: Seabourn Encore. Malacca Straits. 22 December 2023.
Staff appreciation party. An event on all the cruises we've sailed with. Fun. Band is playing. Cruise goers and honored staff alike clapping to the rhythm. Smiles everywhere. There is much to appreciate as service levels on this cruise, from a multinational staff, were world class at every step. We got to know some staff members better than others: the South African manager of the Patio Restaurant; the Filipino young man up daily at 6:00 AM to set up the early continental breakfast service at the Observation Lounge. The Albanian cocktail waiter in the Observation Lounge; the Filipino who was head waiter at the Sushi restaurant; the Indian young man in charge of doing up our cabin twice a day; the Brit cruise entertainment director, and others. One of the plusses of a cruise like this is observing young people, in disciplined fashion, working their tushes off as they strive to get ahead in the world. The pattern of aspirational hard work on this ship stands in stark contrast to mediocre service levels seen by us in recent years at hotel, entertainment, and restaurant venues in the US. Maybe we just go to the wrong places.
Addendum
Hi Banker Steve:
I was motorcycling 1/2 day today, one of the country's declared "Seven Dangerous Days" (for the high number of daily kills on the roads here in Thailand, 75% of which are motorcyclists). My goal for the balance of 2023 is to make it alive to 2024, as an avid motorcyclist and adventurer at my age (closer to 80 than 70). As the guy said after he jumped off the 60th floor of a skyscraper and passed the 50th, "So far, so good."
Regards,
Dr. G
Chiang Mai, Thailand
http://www.greataroundtheworldmotorcycleadventurerally.com leg #3 in 2023.
Steve,
pins. However as an abundance of caution we will travel on our Aussie passports.I woulda made the same call to go based on what I saw two weeks ago... it was pretty much BAU in the Persian Gulf. Have fun! You'll enjoy Ponant. Look forward to a report.
Above: Marina Bay Sands Hotel and ArtsScience Museum. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
Good morning. View of Marina Bay Sands Hotel and ArtsScience Museum from 17th floor elevator area of our hotel, Ritz Carleton, Millenia. Christmas atmosphere pervasive in Singapore. Decorations and lighting everywhere, Christmas music on PAs and cab FM radios, people greet with "Merry Christmas."
Above: MARS EXHIBITION. ArtsScience Museum. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
1. Giant Mars globe. 2. Ptolemy's geocentric universe, believed from 200 to 1600 CE. 3. Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo heliocentric universe, believed from 1600 to 1800. Somewhat disappointing about this otherwise fabulous presentation was that almost all of the pictures of achievers, from Copernicus to Musk, in the Mars adventure were of white males. Clearly something needs to be done to make the exhibit more inclusive. Perhaps hire a DEI officer? Where are Claudine Gay and Allisa Heinersheid when you need them?
Above: Arts/Science Museum. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
Future World. "Where Art meets Science." ArtScience Museum.
Above: Marina Bay Sands Mall. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
TIMDT stands in front of Frette and Christophle. Reminds of time in 2003 when alone, riding a motorcycle in Tuscany, I met up with TIMDT and three of her lady friends in Florence. I joined the girls at breakfast the next AM. "What are we going to see today?" I asked. Our friend Pat said, "Steve, you go see The David. We're going to Frette, Christophle, and Tods."
Above: Ode to Art Exhibit. Raffles City Mall. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
Lee Kwan Yew. Acrylic. Mixed medium.
Above: Ode to Art Exhibit. Raffles City Mall. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
Strangely, as if pulled by a tractor beam, The Bishop is always drawn to view self-resembling art.
Singapore reeks of safety, comfort and hospitality.
Singaporeans are so helpful to helpless looking gweilo geezers. It is nigh on to impossible to flag down a taxi to get back to our hotel. There are four car/taxi/sharing economy services to get a car, but you need to have the app and know the system. Finished with our art viewing and shopping excursion, we walked over to the Raffles Hotel hoping that the concierge could find us a taxi. As we were looking helpless, a young man, a Raffles Hotel employee, walked over and asked if he could help us. "We need to get a car back to the Ritz Carlton Millenia," said TIMDT. TIMDT added apologetically, "We are not guests at your hotel." "No matter," said the young man, I'll get you a car." He promptly pulled out his phone, made the transaction and said: "Your car, a blue Toyota, with tag number XXXX will be right here in five minutes. He then showed us the location of the car on his phone's map.
Yesterday, we took a car from our hotel to the Botanical Gardens. At the hotel, the concierge does the same thing that the Raffles young man did. She calls up a car on her phone. One of the services, the one commandeered for us, pays in cash, so the car can be ordered without charging a credit card. On arrival at the Botanical Garden, a sixty-something woman, wearing Botanical Garden ID shirt, walks over to us and asked if she could help us. We got the whole skinny from her. "Don't come back here," she said. "After you visit the Orchid Garden, it's just a short walk to another service depot like this one. My counterpart there can then order you a car." She pointed out her instructions on a paper map. She said, "look, we ask people to use the maps on their phones these days, but you look like nice people (read helpless gweilo geezers). I'm going to give you one of the old paper maps we used to use."
Above Summer Pavillion Restaurant. Ritz Carleton Millenia Hotel. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
One rosette Michelin restaurant. Chinese. Christmas Eve Dinner. Carolers were timely and amazing. Silent Night, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, and Feliz Navidad. All sung acapella with appropriate mood in four-part harmony.
You can't ignore the incongruousness of a robust, high quality, cheerful Christmas spirit in a country where only a smattering of its citizens is Christian. This phenomenon is similar to India, where, as I mentioned early in this Picto-diary, all religious holidays are celebrated and enjoyed by all, whatever their religion. This respect of others' traditions in multicultural milieus seems less acceptable in the US.
Above: Colony Restaurant. Ritz Carleton Millenia Hotel. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
Baked goodies. We found one of the green cookie trees in our hotel room when we returned there after dinner.
Above: Marina Bay Sands Hotel and ArtsScience Museum. Singapore. 24 December 2023.
Christmas Eve view from our 17th floor window in Ritz Carlton Millenia Hotel.
Above: Koessler Family. Salt Lake City, UT. 24 December 2023.
Addendum:
Our first visit [Singapore] was in 1970 and I don’t even remember any tall buildings just the black-and-white houses left from the Dutch which were beautiful and how unbelievably clean the city was. You were heavily fined if you left a little bit of water in a puddle in your garden, or for chewing gum, and the steps of the public buildings were so clean that when my daughter sat on them, her white pants were still clean to my mother’s disbelief. We stayed at the old Raffles hotel, which was renovated beautifully. An amazing story.
Comic Mom,
Park City, UT
Singapore was one of [Bond's] cities he had with Citi and I agree it is well run unlike most American cities.
Bridge,
Palm Beach, FL
Steve
I spent Christmas Day in Sarasota with Christopher and my wife and her children.
The Pope,
Sarasota, FL
Here’s hoping you had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed a great New year on your cruise. Looked like you were having fun.
As usual, a quiet (read WORKING) Christmas here but a gathering of 17 for the traditional New Year’s Day lunch.
All well here. Grand- and great- grandkids growing like weeds while Grandad/great-grandad gets shorter with each 6 monthly medical!
Bad start to 2024 with terrible earthquake on the west coast and then crash at Haneda airport yesterday. If I had been on that flight I would be buying lottery tickets today! Should have been a massive disaster but luckily fire was slow to start and initially confined to rear so all got out.
Still messing around in the workshop with bikes and sidecars and spending 3-4 months in NZ each year where I seem to be doing the same thing - messing about with bikes, cars and boats.
Love to all.
The Tokyo Mob
Forgive the extraneous content on the screen shots!
Pic: From left Great Grandkids Emma and Lui (hiding), granddaughter Marin, Meg, Shaun, nephew and partner, Yuya and partner with the twins.
Malcolm,
Tokyo, Japan
Malcolm, So good to hear from you. I have two bikes at our home in St. George. Come do a five to seven day ride with me in the US southwest... good riding conditions in winter. Serious! Revert. SDT
Above: Ritz Carleton Millenia Hotel. Singapore. 25 December 2023.
Christmas AM. Face timing with Koessler family, who were celebrating Christmas Eve on the other side of the world. Spending Christmas real time with family while being a world apart. We boomers and silents would have never thought it possible.
Above: Raffles City Mall. Singapore. 25 December 2022.
Merry Christmas!
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 9:13
Steve and Margaret Taylor
Above: Rain Vortex. Jewel, Changi Airport. Singapore. 25 December 2023.
First image that came to my mind on seeing this fantastic water feature was Travis Swift, and likely his team, the Kansas City Swifts, being sucked into the Taylor Swift vortex with a less than promising outcome.
Above: Business Class Lounge. Qatar Airways. Doha Airport, Doha, Qatar. 26 December 2023.
TIMDT can be seen chilling in the lounge.
Above: Utah. Oquirrh Range, center image. Stansbury Range, beyond. 26 December 2023.
Image, looking northwest, captured from port side window of AA flight from Dallas, TX to Salt Lake City, UT.
Yes, we came the "wrong way." Flying from Singapore east bound would have cut out the seven-hour flight westbound to Doha. It had something to do with long wait times at LA. Anyway, no biggie. Qatar Airlines business class cubicles were private and comfy, enabling a lot of sleep time.
Home sweet home!
Several top-of-mind reflections on this trip:
Climate conference in Dubai. Kabuki
Ancient Christian churches in Abu Dhabi. Where did adherents go?
Busy sea lanes. Suez Canal, or no? Big implications for world commerce. US Navy spent force.
Mumbai. India rising.
Kochi. World class shopping mall? Huh? More India rising.
Sebang. How to differentiate between religion of peace and terrorist proclivities?
Phuket. Big Budda confirms contemporary commitment to ancient religious traditions.
Langkawi. Doppelmayr rocks!
Singapore. Christmas Crazy.
Travel. Never wrong to understand your own life in the context of seeing the broader world firsthand.
Seabourn. Two weeks of being pampered.
Addendum:
Steve,
This is a great trip and I really like the images. Have a great New Year. Hope to see you and Margret this Summer.
John Galt and Dagney Taggart,
Walla Walla, WA
Thanks for the memories. Pictures and narrative were great. We were in Singapore in the late 80’s and could not believe how clean and orderly the city was. Coming from Chicago where our high-rise public housing was a shambles, I marveled at how well kept the public housing was here. Upon inquiry I found out that if you broke the rules, you were OUT…and perhaps your relatives as well.
While in Singapore there was an election and the long serving (?president/prime minister?) won about 90% of the vote and the news topic was “Why only 90%”.
In one of our shopping experiences at electronics store we purchased a blank VHS tape, and it took 10 minutes of bargaining to achieve the right price. Before leaving the store, we decided we needed a second tape and had to go through the same bargaining session all over again. From Singapore we drove through Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur…. a story for another time.
Mickey,
Chicago, IL
Lots to think about in this diary. Glad you made it home and had a great journey!
Happy New Year!
Rocky,
Miami, FL