Penang, Malaysia- Updated

Sunday April 13th started with a face time with Katie, Aiden and Gretchen.  I had tried to contact them last night but was not able to get through.  You need wifi and they were at the tennis courts.  So this morning we were able to connect.

Penang is very close to Thailand,  which is our next stop.  So the population has many Thai citizens.
When the tsunami hit this area, about 40 people died here.  Not quite as bad as in Thailand.  We are in the city of Georgetown, named for Britain's King George III.  In 2007 it was ranked as the 10th most livable city in Asia.  On July 7, 2008, Georgetown was formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is officially recognized as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in the East and Southeast Asia.  Georgetown was built on swampy land theta had to be cleared of vegetation, leveled and filled.

After our FaceTime,  Bob and I headed up to the pool.  Seems it is open earlier that posted.  We did one hour.  Now more people seem to realize it is a great time to swim so it is getting a little crowded.  Not so bad if you watch where you are going and make space for the next guy.  We did one hour and got the naked show once more.

Breakfast in Compass Rose.  I had eggs Benedict and Bob had Swedish pancakes.  They are sort of like crepes.  Being Sunday, caviar was available but Bob decided not to indulge today.  We arrive at the port at 11 am so they had needlepoint this morning.   Just a few of us show up now in the morning.

Our tour is "Penang's Spice Trail".  Sounds better than it was.  We rode on the bus for 2 plus hours to get to the spice Garden.  It was only to take 30 minutes but today is a Thai holiday so the city was packed and traffic was at a crawl.

Building welcoming you to Penang.

This is the dock where we parked.  A very pretty building.

One of the ferries that take you from one island to another.  This one is quite colorful.

One of the high rises in the city.

And no place would be complete without a Starbucks.

Once we arrived at the Garden, we were rushed through with little explanation of what we were seeing.  We did see one monkey. And some plants from the Amazon.  But little else.

The welcome sign.

This is an orangutan.  The local people named it "the person in the forest".  He is really quick so Bob could only get this one picture of him.

These lily pads are imported from the amazon.  So this is the second time we have seen them.  They really are quite large.

They used these mortar and pestles to grind up the spices.

This is the Thailand New Year.  And the tradition is to throw water on you as a blessing.  They have warned us about this.  We did not experience any water throwing, just the extra traffic.

There was a cooking demonstration which was one lady with a wok telling us how to make a curry chicken.  We did get to sample the curry which was okay.  Not too spicy.

They serve the curry chicken on this type of bread.  She had shown how to make it at the last demonstration.

The making of the chicken curry is pretty traditional.

Across  the street from the Spice Garden is this very nice beach.  No one is in the water as it is filled with jelly fish.  That is too bad.

Then we rode back to the ship via the ocean road and made it back in 30 minutes.  What a difference.  On this road are many upscale hotels and apartment buildings.  And now matter how fancy the building, they still hang their wash out of the windows.

Now we are cleaning up for dinner and then cocktails.

Dinner in Compass Rose.  When the head waiter was taking us to our table for two, Gami said not a good table for them, give them the table for four and remove the two settings.  I think we get this added service because we are friends with Enzo.

Dinner was a chicken dish but I only ate half.  Trying to cut back on my intake of food.  And no dessert.  Back to the suite where I started to watch "Saving Mr. Banks" once more.  This time I was able to pause it and will finish up tomorrow.

We turned in our tour tickets as we did not want to spend 8.5 hours on the tour.  So we will stay on the ship.

We gained one hour tonight.  So that means we will be up early tomorrow.

Port Klang, Malaysia

Saturday April 12th (Happy Birthday Wayne), and we are docking in Port Klang, Malaysia which is the port city for Kuala Lumpur.  We do not arrive until noon so the morning is like a sea day.  We swam for one hour.  Now the funny part, a lady from Holland comes and does her laps.  She does the breast stroke keeping her head out of the water.  When she is finished her laps, she goes to the outdoor shower where she removes her bathing suit and washes stark naked.  Her bare butt to the pool.  I guess in Europe, naked is an okay thing.  Then she dries off and puts on her robe.  Whatever!!!

Then we had breakfast in La Veranda where we ate and worked on the crossword puzzles.  Then I headed to needlepoint and Bob to work on pictures of Singapore.

We turned in our tour tickets as it was something we had done before and since it is over 2 hours to get to Kuala Lumpur, we did not want to do it again.  And the shuttle only takes you to a shopping mall.  So we stayed on the ship.

We had a late lunch, waited till the tours left, and sat with Ray.  Nice conversation and learned that he is sometimes hired by Regent as an entertainer and not a cruise director.  When this happens, he gets a better cabin.

Back to the suite for a nap.  I did not think I would sleep so I did needlepoint on the sofa and fell asleep.  I got up and took the tax papers down to the front deck where they said they would scan them for us and email to H&R for us.  Hope this works.

We dressed for dinner and headed to the Horizon Lounge for our cocktail.  We sat at the bar which was empty.  Most of the folks will not get back until later in the evening.  So the ship is quiet.  Bob went into Signatures and asked if they had space and they did so that is where we ate.  I had the duck and Bob had beef.  All very good.

Back to the suite where I started to watch "Saving Mr. Banks" but woke up with the TV off and me still holding the remote.  So I guess I will have to watch it over again.

Singapore

Friday April 11th found us docked in Singapore.  We were up early to swim but only for 45 minutes as we had a tour that gathered at 8:45 am.  Breakfast at La Veranda and then got our stuff together for our tour.  We were doing "Singapore's Iconic Tour".

We drove to the Colonial District of Singapore.  Here we walked down to the river to view the sights.

These next few pictures will give you an idea of the skyline of Singapore.  As a city, they have tried to have some green space.  And they have done a good job, IMO.

It is finally spring and some of the tress were in bloom.

Lots of tall sky scrapers.  Of all different styles.

I found this one unique.

We walked to the river and this is the newest project.  It is a hotel with a casino on the "surfboard".  Also up there is a pool and some restaurants.  And the hotel has been full since it opened.

The following pictures are up close of the "surfboard".

Not sure where the pool is or the casino.

I am not so sure I would like swimming up this high.

And Singapore is a very clean city.  This was our walk under a bridge.  Notice, no trash.

This is an art museum.  Was suppose to look like two hands but it looks like the fingers got broken.

And the Chinese like Fung Shay.(I know that is not spelled correctly).  So that means they build buildings with space for the dragon to pass through.

The Princess Ship was also here.  Not sure which one but they docked right down town.

They have this field where they play soccer or have parades.  The white church is St. Andrew's Cathedral.  Singapore was once a British colony thus the anglican influence.

This is one of the original building built during colonial times.

At the end of the field is the Cricket Club.  Reminded me of the Merion Cricket Club.

Next we went to the Thian Hock Keng Temple for a visit.

Bob took these pictures so that you can read about the history of the Temple.

The history continues.

The outside of the temple.  We could not take pictures inside.

This altar is behind the actual temple.

And the arch way to the front.

The Chinese love the dragon.   So here he is on the roof of the Temple.

Then to the Clarke Quay for a riverboat ride.

As were leaving the Quay, this is the look back.

This building used to be a police station and residence.  I love all the different colored windows.

This round object is the new Supreme Court.  In Singapore they still hang especially for drugs.

And this is the old with the new behind.  Now it is a area for restaurants, etc.

More of the views from the boat.

This wheel used to be the tallest but now Las Vegas has built one about 2 meters taller.

The Lion is the symbol of the city.

Finally to Arab Street and a photo stop at the Sultan Mosque and the Governor's Residence.

I would have loved to shop on this street  but we only walked up to the Mosque and then left.

I think it is the only Mosque in Singapore.

And finally to the Raffles Hotel.

Pun Jab (I think he looks like the guy from Annie.  He is like a door man.

A little history of the long bar.

Inside the long bar.

We were treated to a Singapore Sling.  Mostly fruit juice.

The court yard of the hotel.  Only hotel guests are allowed in the lobby.

Back to the ship but we decided to shop some at the mall next to the terminal.  Bob is tired of the four shirts he brought for this trip so he bought two more.  And I bought a pair of gauze white crop pants.

Lunch at the pool grill and then a short nap.

I cleaned up for dinner and went down to the computer room in order to print the IRS documents we need in order to file our tax return.  I thought we had taken care of this in January.  But no.  Oh well again.  Finally able to do this.  Now we have to sign the pages and try and get them back to Betty before the 15th.

A cocktail party for those in the Signatures Group.  That includes us because Brown and Keene are members of Signatures.  Talked with Ellie who lost her passport in Bangkok.  What an ordeal.  But now everything is fine.  Got an emergency passport in Bangkok from the American Embassy and today got an India Visa from the India Consulate.  But she had to pay again for it.

Dinner in Compass Rose where I had a chicken dish that was served with a hockey puck of noodles.  So hard you could not cut them.  Saves on the calories going in.

Back to the suite where I am finishing watching "Dallas Buyers Club".  This was an interesting movie.
A shame it is true.

Two Sea Days- Updated 4/10

We had to cancel our stop in Ko Samui so instead we are having two sea days on our way to Singapore.  We were up early both days to swim for one hour.  Day one we had several people in the pool with us.  Some swim laps while others just float around like us.  Not sure if they all will get up this early or if some of it is jet lag related.

Breakfast in La Veranda and then back to the suite for a short while until the steward wants to make up the suite.  Then we head to coffee connection.

This is the coffee connection on the disembarkation day.  Rare to find it empty.

During breakfast and lunch they have food available.  And all the time they have cookies.

Up for needlepoint and this being the first meeting of this cruise, there were 12 ladies there.  I am almost finished with the belt.  When I am done, I will post a picture of it.  It is looking really good.

Lunch in Compass Rose where I ate the Canyon Ranch offering.  Then a short nap and back to needlepoint and tea.

Tonight was the Block Party.  We met several of our neighbors.

Cocktails in Horizon Lounge.  We sat at the bar and when Marilyn and Bob entered, they also sat with us.  Then Susie and Fred came in.   So the 6 of us ate together for dinner.  I had a chicken dish which was okay.  And berries for dessert.

That night we lost an hour.

Thursday April 10th.  I am up earlier than Bob so I am catching up with the blog.  We are having a terrible time getting our taxes done.  We went to the Tax Office in January and were told we could do everything over the internet but that has not been correct.  And we thought we would be getting money back and that is not so either.  I am still convinced that something is wrong with the return but we cannot see it until we get home.  Oh well, the best of plans.

Today will be much like yesterday.  So I will post this and then the next entry will be from Singapore where we are taking a tour that ends at the Raffles Hotel.  This is the place the Singapore Sling was invented.  Not sure if I will buy on or not.  I think they are expensive and I don't even know if I like them.

We swam for one hour and then had breakfast in La Veranda.  Today I had oatmeal.  We do the crossword puzzles from the paper while we eat.  We take turns putting in answers.

Needlepoint only had 5 ladies.  I finished the belt.  I took a picture of it but Bob has not put it on the stick for my yet.  Then back to the suite to wait for noon and lunch in Compass Rose.  A short nap and then back to needlepoint where I showed Vivienne the pillow she gave me to work on.  I have only been working on it in the suite.  It is looking good.

We picked up our passports as we need then when we are in Singapore.

Tonight is formal night.  And the Captain's Party which we will skip.  But we are dressing up.  Dinner will be in Compass Rose and we will try to keep it just us.