We were very tired and went to bed right after dinner. Also we continue to lose hours as we move west. We are now 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
I took this morning to write up my notes on the trip. The bus ride was so bumpy that I was unable to use my I-pad. Evelyn did go to the bridge lesson and then we met for a lecture on the World War II and the battle for the Salomon Islands and New Guinea. The lecturer is a retired US Naval officer. The lecture was well attended and he made a very good presentation.
After lunch we played bridge and that evening attended the show which was a Scottish lady singer and flute player. She was very entertaining.
Evelyn and I had dinner in the Steakhouse. I had the rack of lamb which was good and Evelyn had the ribeye which was much better then our last visit. We also ate less which is becoming are approach to food. I'm sure I put on a few pounds and I want to limit how much I gain, because I know how hard it will be to take it off with the holidays coming up. I could always say the salt air shrinks my clothes or it was the ships laundry, but let's get serious. It's the humidity... Evelyn is already saying it's going to be Nutra Systems until Easter...
Nov 8 - at se
This morning Don and I attended the lecture on the Battle of Midway and then played trivia. This morning our team was just the four of us and we did well, we had 15 right and the winning team had 17.
After lunch we played bridge and we think we played well.
We are getting antsy and thinking about getting off the ship and coming home.
We have one more port, Kuala Lumpur (KL) and then Singapore.
After dinner we played a little party bridge until we got too tired. I think we are cocktailed out, entertainment out and getting a little traveled out. I don't know how some of the folks we have met that are going on to Australia ( another 20 days or even to Tahiti another 28 for a total of a additional 48) can do it.
Since we left Cochin the weather has continued to be on the hot side, partly cloudy and the seas mostly calm. We did have a little rain in the evening when we sailed from Cochin and the next evening Evelyn and I watched a lighting storm while we we having dinner in the Steakhouse. We have seen dolphins and reports of whales. From trivia I now know that both a group of whales and dolphins are pods, and the "B" in scrabble is worth 3 points.
Nov 9 - at sea
We slept in this morning, had breakfast, and attended the last lecture on WW II on the decision to use the atomic bomb. Very interesting. In general the lectures at sea are good and generally better that the port talks.. They are now provided by the same person and here on the Ocean Princess there have been a number of different lecture series.
After that I talked to the tour office about the KL on your own tour. We had been wait listed and I wanted to know my options. The downtown area of KL is about a 90 minute ride and the cost of a taxi is $100 from the port town. There is a shuttle bus from the ship to a local mall, but Evelyn and I really want to get into the city. Don and Myrna have been here before and didn't want to do the on your own bus. If we can't get the ship's tour we will have to use the shuttle to the mall.
We played trivia and did respectively well, but this time the losing team got the prize.
We are eating light for lunch because tonight we are all having dinner in Sabatini's the other specialty restaurant. The cover charge is $20, but we all have a comp from our travel agency.
When we got back to our cabin after lunch we found that we did get on the "on your own" tour, so that solves our problem.
We need to start packing, as we have only one more day at sea and then KL and the next day we dock and leave the ship in Singapore.
We played bridge, maybe for the last time, this afternoon and found out that we came in second (E/W) yesterday.
Finally victory at trivia, Evelyn and I played with a couple from Australia and we got 18 out of 20. For our victory we each received two of the ugliest hurricane glasses the color of hot pink that you have ever seen. They of course have the Princess name and logo..
Nov 10 - at sea
Dinner at Sabatini's last night was outstanding, we have eaten at this restaurant on two other Princess ships and this was the best. I had a veal chop that was the biggest I have ever seen and it was cooked perfectly. It was an enjoyable meal. Evelyn had lobster 3 ways ( tail, lobster risotto and a lobster bisque reduction as a sauce). Very rich.
When we returned to the cabin and found our disembarkation documents and found out we will have to pay duty to Singapore customs on what we have purchased on the trip. There is an exemption of around $500 US and then you pay 5% on the rest. The ship has not said anything about this, except to provide the Singapore customs information. I ask the desk staff and all they could say was to declare what you have and hope they don't charge the duty because we are in transit. I'm not taking any chances in Singapore with the authorities. One of the banned item is chewing gum. I told Evelyn to make sure she gets rid of her supply of gum before we get off the ship.
We are going to start packing this afternoon because tomorrow we will be in KL most of the day. Our bags have to be outside our cabin by 10 am on Friday night. We are getting off the ship a little after 9 am on saturday. We will take a taxi to the Crown Plaza hotel which is at the airport.
It's now 3 p.m. As we lost another hour last night and are now 16 hours, I think of Los Angeles. We will cross the international date line on the way home so we leave the morning of the 13th and arrive a little later in the morning on the 13th. Evelyn plans on going into her office on the 14th. We'll see what shape she s in.
Sent from my iPad
Hal
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