I've had numerous requests to share more of my photos so this afternoon I spent some time uploading about 400 to my Flickr account. You can access them by going to the following website:
George's Photostream on Flickr
I'll be adding further comments and descriptions in the coming days, but for the time being you can simply follow the link and check out different sets.
Enjoy!
29 April 2009
26 April 2009
Back in Singapore
Friday evening on the 24th of April we sailed into the Jurong Port and tied up at berth J5. It was my 126th day of my trip having covered a total of 31,984 nautical miles. I had visited seventeen different ports and spent all but eight nights on board.
Some of the crew assisted me in getting my luggage on to the wharf and then I had to clear Singapore immigration. The whole process was reasonably quick and the ICA officers were most polite and professional. They did have a few questions for me as I was apparently the first passenger they had ever encountered coming off of a cargo ship.
After that it was a call for a taxi and a short ride back to my apartment. I'm spending the weekend unpacking and sorting through my souvenirs. I'll probably do a few other posts with some additional photos and with my final thoughts about the whole adventure.
I hope my blog was enjoyable reading, and for those of you who might be anticipating a similar trip I trust it was reasonably informative.
More later...
Some of the crew assisted me in getting my luggage on to the wharf and then I had to clear Singapore immigration. The whole process was reasonably quick and the ICA officers were most polite and professional. They did have a few questions for me as I was apparently the first passenger they had ever encountered coming off of a cargo ship.
After that it was a call for a taxi and a short ride back to my apartment. I'm spending the weekend unpacking and sorting through my souvenirs. I'll probably do a few other posts with some additional photos and with my final thoughts about the whole adventure.
I hope my blog was enjoyable reading, and for those of you who might be anticipating a similar trip I trust it was reasonably informative.
More later...
Pink Gin
I meant to pass on this simple yet effective technique for preparing a pink gin that Clive was kind enough to share. It produces, I think, a more subtly flavored cocktail than the straightforward method of simply adding a few drops of bitters to a gin and stirring it around.
Take the glass you're going to drink from and pour in some mineral water; swirl it around to thoroughly wet the glass and throw it away. Next add a few healthy dashes of Angostura bitters to the glass and swirl those about, taking care to fully coat the inside of the glass. Dump out the extra bitters. Add gin.
The result is a nicely flavored drink, not overpowered by the bitters and with a very pleasing color as well.
Take the glass you're going to drink from and pour in some mineral water; swirl it around to thoroughly wet the glass and throw it away. Next add a few healthy dashes of Angostura bitters to the glass and swirl those about, taking care to fully coat the inside of the glass. Dump out the extra bitters. Add gin.
The result is a nicely flavored drink, not overpowered by the bitters and with a very pleasing color as well.
The Final Stretch
It's my final Sunday on board and I'm starting to get ready for my disembarkation in Singapore. We left Jebel Ali on 16 April and now we're making the long, straight run to the tip of India where we'll bear east, past Sri Lanka and on to the Straits of Malacca.
Dubai was a short but interesting stop. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to stay ashore overnight but we were able to spend a couple of hours wandering around the old part of the city, visiting the Gold and Spice Souks and taking in some sights. In the late afternoon we four passengers met up in the lobby of a hotel before heading to the Mall of the Emirates. As malls go it's pretty impressive; one of the largest in the world. The main attraction is the somewhat famous Ski Dubai indoor ski slope. Pierre had decided to take advantage of our stop to get in some skiing so the rest of us wandered about the mall. The number and range of stores was impressive but not much that was especially unique or interesting; a mall is pretty much like any other mall and the brands are the same ones that can be found in just about any major city.
Some of the restaurants have large windows that look out onto the ski slope so Clive and I took a break, ordered some appetizers and a couple of non-alcoholic beers and watched.
After that we stopped by a bookstore and then went to meet up with Pierre and Diane and start our trip back to the ship. The taxi stand in front of the mall is right next to the valet parking area and there was an impressive collection of expensive marques on display from large limousines to hyper-fast sports cars.
Our trip back to the ship was mildly eventful when we encountered a some difficulty after we retrieved our passports. There's a bit of a design flaw in that the office where we had to pick up our passports was next to a gate that was barred to automobiles - only trucks were allowed through. After some confused discussions with the driver and the guard it was made clear that our driver would have to enter through another gate and then loop around to pick us up. Once he did that he started driving confidently towards what we thought was our ship until we were surprised when he stopped in front of the US aircraft carrier, Dwight D Eisenhower. There was a bit more confusion between the driver and the guards and to cut a long story reasonably short we spent about another twenty minutes driving around until we found our berth. In the driver's defense the signage within the port is pretty useless especially compared to that of Antwerp. Communication is also a challenge; everyone was speaking English, but it was at best the second language of all the participants.
The next afternoon we cast off and headed out to sea. As we exited the port and while still in the channel we passed the The Palm, the famous building project of reclaimed land laid out to resemble a giant palm tree when seen from the air. From our relatively low vantage point we couldn't see much but there did seem to be some construction going on. I believe this is the second such development, the first one being farther up the coast near the Burj al-Arab hotel. Personally I can't understand the appeal; sure, it might be a nice house, but it seems to be a bit inconvenient to get back and forth to the city and no matter how nice the house is the outside temperature might be 45 degrees C and humid with a dust storm on the horizon. As the Encyclopedia Britannica notes, "[t]he [Persian] gulf has a notoriously unpleasant climate."
On Saturday the 18th the crew had a combined party to celebrate the previous week's Easter holiday and this week's Orthodox Easter holiday. Our Romanian crew members; primarily the two carpenters, the electrician and one of the deck cadets; spent a lot of time in preparing some delicious dishes. They made puff pastries, several salads, some meat dishes, and colored a few dozen eggs. There was also the usual grilled fare and plenty of beer and wine.
The next few days were relaxed as we enjoyed pleasant weather and calm seas. The water temperature reached 30C, about as warm as the air. I occupied my time by editing more of my photos and burning my collection onto some DVDs for the crew and passengers.
Thursday morning found us starting our turn around the northern tip of Sumatra and heading towards the Straits of Malacca. There is a further threat of pirates in the Straits of Malacca so the Captain increased the watch. Unlike the Gulf of Aden the threat is not one of hijacking but rather robbery.
The number of ships in these fairly narrow straits is really impressive; for a while on Friday morning we were traveling almost neck-and-neck with a large Maersk container ship as she slowly passed us.
Dubai was a short but interesting stop. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to stay ashore overnight but we were able to spend a couple of hours wandering around the old part of the city, visiting the Gold and Spice Souks and taking in some sights. In the late afternoon we four passengers met up in the lobby of a hotel before heading to the Mall of the Emirates. As malls go it's pretty impressive; one of the largest in the world. The main attraction is the somewhat famous Ski Dubai indoor ski slope. Pierre had decided to take advantage of our stop to get in some skiing so the rest of us wandered about the mall. The number and range of stores was impressive but not much that was especially unique or interesting; a mall is pretty much like any other mall and the brands are the same ones that can be found in just about any major city.
Some of the restaurants have large windows that look out onto the ski slope so Clive and I took a break, ordered some appetizers and a couple of non-alcoholic beers and watched.
After that we stopped by a bookstore and then went to meet up with Pierre and Diane and start our trip back to the ship. The taxi stand in front of the mall is right next to the valet parking area and there was an impressive collection of expensive marques on display from large limousines to hyper-fast sports cars.
Our trip back to the ship was mildly eventful when we encountered a some difficulty after we retrieved our passports. There's a bit of a design flaw in that the office where we had to pick up our passports was next to a gate that was barred to automobiles - only trucks were allowed through. After some confused discussions with the driver and the guard it was made clear that our driver would have to enter through another gate and then loop around to pick us up. Once he did that he started driving confidently towards what we thought was our ship until we were surprised when he stopped in front of the US aircraft carrier, Dwight D Eisenhower. There was a bit more confusion between the driver and the guards and to cut a long story reasonably short we spent about another twenty minutes driving around until we found our berth. In the driver's defense the signage within the port is pretty useless especially compared to that of Antwerp. Communication is also a challenge; everyone was speaking English, but it was at best the second language of all the participants.
The next afternoon we cast off and headed out to sea. As we exited the port and while still in the channel we passed the The Palm, the famous building project of reclaimed land laid out to resemble a giant palm tree when seen from the air. From our relatively low vantage point we couldn't see much but there did seem to be some construction going on. I believe this is the second such development, the first one being farther up the coast near the Burj al-Arab hotel. Personally I can't understand the appeal; sure, it might be a nice house, but it seems to be a bit inconvenient to get back and forth to the city and no matter how nice the house is the outside temperature might be 45 degrees C and humid with a dust storm on the horizon. As the Encyclopedia Britannica notes, "[t]he [Persian] gulf has a notoriously unpleasant climate."
On Saturday the 18th the crew had a combined party to celebrate the previous week's Easter holiday and this week's Orthodox Easter holiday. Our Romanian crew members; primarily the two carpenters, the electrician and one of the deck cadets; spent a lot of time in preparing some delicious dishes. They made puff pastries, several salads, some meat dishes, and colored a few dozen eggs. There was also the usual grilled fare and plenty of beer and wine.
The next few days were relaxed as we enjoyed pleasant weather and calm seas. The water temperature reached 30C, about as warm as the air. I occupied my time by editing more of my photos and burning my collection onto some DVDs for the crew and passengers.
Thursday morning found us starting our turn around the northern tip of Sumatra and heading towards the Straits of Malacca. There is a further threat of pirates in the Straits of Malacca so the Captain increased the watch. Unlike the Gulf of Aden the threat is not one of hijacking but rather robbery.
The number of ships in these fairly narrow straits is really impressive; for a while on Friday morning we were traveling almost neck-and-neck with a large Maersk container ship as she slowly passed us.
Photos
Here are some photos from the trip that I wasn't able to upload earlier:
The Suez pilot ships expect payment of some cigarettes for services rendered. One of our crew is shown here dropping a carton of Marlboros into a handy net.
Ferry waiting to cross the canal between the passing cargo ships.
While passing through the transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden we observed this Canadian warship checking out a "suspicious" fishing dhow.
The Suez pilot ships expect payment of some cigarettes for services rendered. One of our crew is shown here dropping a carton of Marlboros into a handy net.
Ferry waiting to cross the canal between the passing cargo ships.
While passing through the transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden we observed this Canadian warship checking out a "suspicious" fishing dhow.
15 April 2009
Quick Update from Dubai
Greetings from the lobby bar of the St George Hotel in Dubai! I'm sitting here with Clive and Pierre, enjoying a beer and trying to catch up on some postings and some emails.
We had a bit of a delay in getting into Jebel Ali and the local regulations require us to return to the ship by midnight. This is a bit disappointing, but at least we get a few hours to see the city and maybe do some skiing at the Mall of the Emirates this evening!
I've added some new posts but I apologize for the lack of photos. I'll try to post some later today or at least when I'm back in Singapore; the internet connection at this hotel is sporadic at best.
Hard to believe my trip is almost over. It's been a great adventure and it will take some getting used to the real world again. I should be back in Singapore on or about 25 April.
More later,
George
Jebel Ali
We passed through the Straits of Hormuz in the wee hours of Monday, 13 April. I went up on deck a few hours later, right before dawn, to observe the ship traffic in the Persian Gulf. As we approached Jebel Ali we encountered rain which was something of a surprise to me. It was also a bit of a problem for the port, too; the rain, heavy winds and decreased visibility caused the port to be shut down so we had to find a place in the anchorage and wait for our turn to enter. This happened around 09:00 on Monday and as of 12:00 on Tuesday we were still waiting our chance to enter the port.
The delay has not been uninteresting. First of all there were several dozen ships surrounding us in the anchorage; tankers, bulk cargo carriers, car carriers, etc. The radio traffic back and forth between all the different ships and the port control office made for interesting and sometimes amusing entertainment. On Tuesday morning there was some activity as a US aircraft carrier made its way into the port. I think it was the XXXX (#69) but am not sure.
The crew kept busy on Monday afternoon and evening by fishing with hand lines off the Poop Deck. They caught quite a few small fish that the Cook prepared for dinner. In the evening I was called down to see a large fish that one of them had managed to hook but which was too big to be hauled up from the water by the line alone. Several of the crew tried some rather ingenious but ultimately futile means to lift the fish before it worked itself loose and disappeared into the night. It might have been a species of barracuda, but I'm not sure.
We are only a few miles offshore so we can see some of the buildings of the Dubai skyline. The air is quite dusty, though, so it's hard to see much detail. On Monday afternoon we were able to see the famous silhouette of the Burj-al-Arab hotel. The ridiculously tall Burj Dubai was also visible through the gloom.
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