Brunei

This is the so-called "water Village" in Brunei. It resembles a shanty town and everything is built right in the water, on stilts. In the background, the golden dome of the Sultan's palace is visible.

For José: another "Herman"

Saw this one in Darwin, and thought of you.

More pictures

Fancy dessert

Just to say we've landed in HOng Kong, and all is well.

Brunei

Dear Friends,

Now that I finally have made the time to update my blog….I can’t seem to get connected to it! Hopefully, I will eventually be able to copy and paste this writing into it.

After Marlyse left, I realized that I was far behind with all my regular chores, and my regular schedule continued unabated, such that I seemed to be either totally occupied, or totally exhausted, and unable to catch up. I am not sure yet, that I have totally overcome the respiratory virus that seems to have affected almost everyone on the ship; it has been going on for weeks, and every time I think I have overcome, it starts all over again. No fever, just coughing, coughing, coughing! And at its worst, no energy.

There is probably no way to recap what has gone on since Marlyse left in Sydney. Suffice it to say that the time in Brisbane, Cairnes, and Darwin has passed very quickly. I ate some kangaroo at some point, and found it delicious. I do have pictures from those places, and hope to upload some, eventually.

Yesterday, I visited Brunei and found it to be a place of huge contrasts: extremely opulent (wastefully so) and yet with many views of extreme poverty. There are no taxes to pay, and everything belongs to the “benevolent” sultan, who doles it out to the people, all of whom have the opportunity to go to school, and most of whom feel fortunate for all the handouts they get, but somehow, there is too much display of richness without any value that will guarantee a future. Too much show of gold and money spent just for the sake of spending, all in the name of the sultan. If oil should disappear, the whole country will disintegrate, and if some foreign army decides to invade to take hold of the oil, then Brunei will be no more.

Today, we are back on our regular sea day schedule, and that included: sauna and steam, Yamaha piano lesson, followed by bridge and Spanish lessons, lunch and then duplicate bridge. I am pleased and proud to report that my partner and I came in first place today! which was really a change from our near bottom of the listings in previous sessions. There a many very good players in the competition!

I also took time to practice playing “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” so that I can “perform” for the class tomorrow morning. I hope I won’t make a fool of myself! After tomorrow, we will be in Hong Kong for an overnight, and I am still hoping to get to a fish restaurant in Aberdeen while there. More later.

Hallelluljah! Today, I was able to connect!
Had a wonderful dinner last night at the Japanese restaurant. I'll post some pictures later.

meeting the former Crystal Harmony

Marlyse has come and gone; from Auckland to Sydney

Unfortunately, the days have so many activities that there is little time to spend on the computer, and that means the blog is neglected. I have been busy taking pictures at all the land visits, so eventually those who are interested will be able to see them. However, too much time has elapsed for me to remember everything we saw and did. riefly, Marlyse arrived in Auckland, and we spent a really nice day with Trudy in Christchurch. This was followed by a visit to the Te Papa museum in Wellington, which was fascinating; really a MUST SEE for anyone who goes to Wellington. The weather was rather cool in New Zealand, adn is beginning to wrm up ow that we have passed through the Barrier Reef on our way to Cairns, Australia. The passages in Dusky and Doubtful Sound, as well as the National Park and Milford Sound were spectacular not only for the Fjiords, but for the high seas and rocking boat. We had to forego the landing before that, in Dunedin due to rough seas. Melbourne was all we hope it would be, Arlene came on board in the morning, and then showed us all around the center of town. That night, we were invited by the Coghlins for a wonderful dinner, although it turned out that John was in the hospital. Nwevertheless, it was a lovely evening with Marelyn, Daniel, and his wife. The next stop was Sydney, and that turned out to be a very stressful time before we arrived, due to a slip up in communication. Finally, everything turn out quite O.K., although not at all as we had anticipated. Thanks to Lynda Gaskell, we were able to transfer Marlyse's luggage to Lynda's car, and then the three of us took the Ferry to Manly. It was a beautiful day, and we did some shopping and had lunch at the water front, after watching some of the surfers, etc. Lynda was able to visit our ship on the way back, and Marlyse went home with her to wait for the limousine that took her to the airport. From Sydney, we went to Brisbane, where I went to the Crocodile Zoo, and I managed to get a picture of a kangaroo and a few other animals. Tomorrow we will be in Cairns, but I am seriously considering remaining on the boat in order to catch up with ironing, reading, emails, and now the latest, is that I am taking a course on writing Memoirs, and there is "homework" that needs doing. Today for the first time, I managed to walk the 498 meters around the deck. If I still remember how, I will attempt to attach some pictures. In the meantime, I shall be happy to receive your emails any time. Hasta luego! Vaya con Dios.