Pretzels, Tuk Tuks and a surreal and grateful experience....

Hello Everyone,

Well, its getting closer and closer to the final days that I'm on the ship. Currently we are on the cruise that will bring me back to the Med. and I can't believe that I'll have circled the globe….thats a little intimidating isn't it? Only 5 more cruises to go….

Well, lets not waste any time…here's what happened during our Singapore to Dubai cruise :

Monday, April 4th we were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Jodie, Greg, Jen and myself had a great day out in the city. We got off the ship early in the morning cause we heard that it took a while to get into town. We couldn't decide if we wanted to take the train in or just a taxi…but we eventually decided to go with the taxi, safer incase the train system was confusing. We were all really tired this day so it was nice to rest our eyes a little bit during our 45 min. journey into the city. Once we got there….these HUGE towers were right in front of us and I knew that I've seen them before (I think that they are in one of the Rush Hour movies….I could be wrong though). They are these twin towers that are connected by the 45th floor….so I thought that it would be cool to go up there. Unfortunately, the observation deck was closed this day, so we couldn't go up there. Instead we went inside this mall that was next to the building and WOW….what a beautiful and clean mall. Now, whenever I go to a mall, it is tradition that I get a pretzel and it has been a while since I've been able to get them…they don't have Aunt Auntie's Pretzels over here, so bummer no pretzel again…but wait…what is this smell….where is it coming from….follow it, follow it….HOLY CRAP, THERE IS AN AUNT AUNTIE'S PRETZEL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say…I got a few…but felt like the biggest dork because the other guys don't understand that tradition…I can't explain it, just something that I remember from my childhood whenever I would go to the mall with my parents….you knew that you were good, if we got a pretzel…haha. ANYWAY…we had a great lunch at Nando's, this chicken place that I don't think that we have in the states…its an English thing but WOW…really really good. Afterwards, I saw on the mall map that there was an aquarium next to the mall…so I suggested that we head over there and just go to the aquarium. We had a great time looking at all the different animals that are on this side of the world and how different they look compared to whats over in America and/or England….very interesting.  Afterwards, the girls went off and did their own thing and Greg and I went up to McDonald's to get some food. While we were waiting, Greg likes to do this thing called, "Death Stroke" to people…where he will touch them and then act as if he didn't just pet their arm or something…haha. Well, he 'death stroked' this one woman that was working at McDonalds and she turned and looked at him with her eyes so big that we both though she was going to run and jump on him…like a loose tiger out of its cage, as we said she looked like. We both got so nervous that we just laughed out loud….SO hard laughing that I started to cry…Whoosh, what a great time. After the death strokes of ALL death strokes, we headed back down to meet the girls to get our taxi back to the ship and enjoy the sail away heading towards our next port.

Tuesday, April 5th we were in Penang, Malaysia where I was on IPM and couldn't get off the ship. Had the normal IPM day of duties and being bored watching the films on the ship. Heard that the guys had a great day out on the beach, where Greg parasailed (ehhh…I wish that I would have been able to been there and done that as well). According to Greg, it was a great experience except the fact that he had to land on the beach…HIMSELF. Instead of bringing him back on the boat..they landed him on the beach. He said that he was nervous of the fact that he would land in the trees and knowing my luck….I would have landed in the trees…maybe it was a good thing that I was on IPM.

Wednesday, April 6th we are in Phuket, Thailand and I was really excited to experience this city…as I was told that it was cool place. Unfortunately, there was a taxi union strike against the ship, even to the point that the Captain was out there trying to reason with the people. Needless to say, we couldn't leave the port. Luckily they had brought vendors inside and we could do some shopping up right there off the ship. I bought a few things that I wanted to get and also bought myself a cool pair of pants that I now use as pajama pants….one of my favorite things I've bought throughout this cruise…haha. The rest of the day, we spent laying out up on the top deck and just enjoying the sun and nice weather. 

Thursday, April 7th and Friday, April 8th we were at sea heading towards Colombo, Sri Lanka. We had a nice crossing since the Indian Ocean is as smooth as bath water….which is really nice. We had our normal duties and actually got to enjoy the pool sometime playing water volley with the guests. It was a totally different age group this cruise and we had some lovely people on the ship, two in particular Harry and Robert who I met during the Transatlantic cross back in October. It had been 5 months since I'd seen them last and it was lovely to have them back on board. Also, got to have a lovely meal with them during the cruise…what great guys…and glad that I've made such a good friendship with them.

Saturday, April 9th we were in Colombo, Sri Lanka and wow, what an eye opening experience that was. Jodie, Greg, Lesley, Cody and myself got off the ship and we asked to be taken to the closest shopping mall…as we wanted to get some food. The drive there was just shocking, as it was REALLY run down. This was the place that got hit by the Tsunami in 2004, even though this city wasn't hit…you could tell that they were still struggling. We asked our driver to take us to a cash exchange…so we could change over our Thai and Malaysian money. He took us to this building that looked a little shady and I felt like I was in Sex and the City 2 (strange reference…I know), when they go in the back room and do that 'special sell'….haha. We walked into this really nice jewelry store and as the girls exchanged some money…the others were acting as if we were interested in stuff…just to make the guys feel better…that we weren't taking advantage of them or the English equivalent "taking the piss"…haha. It just felt really strange to be in this odd, cave like building, just to get our money exchanged…whoosh. We eventually get to the shopping area and were SO disappointed because it was NOTHING that we wanted and also…didn't smell the best. We walked around for about 5 or 10 mins because we were told that there was a McDonalds here….NOPE…so that just pissed us off more. Eventually we left and I thought that I saw a McDonalds down the street when we parked. We walked to the end of the street and I was right….there was one in the distance. Greg, Jodie and Lesley got into a Tuktuk to take them to the McDonalds but Cody and I walked there….it was like a few NY blocks….we could do it…haha. Once we got there…it was so cute because there was a little Malaysian kid birthday party. When we were having our lunch, we all talked about the fact that we all had a McDonald's birthday when we were younger and how cool you were, if you had one….HAHA…hilarious and I actually remember my McDonald's birthday…which I think, is a little sad…haha. After celebrating our coolness…haha…we all said that it was time to go back to the ship and go lay out by the pool…since we have NEVER taken advantage of the benefit that we have…12 - 4 on a port day, we can use the pool. All 5 of us got into one of this Tuktuk and drove back to the ship. HOLY CRAP that was an adventure in itself because those things should only carry 4 people including the driver…so actually we had 6 people on this thing including the driver….haha…what a blast. Once we got on the ship, we had a great time at the pool and really enjoyed our time talking and being with each other.

Sunday, April 10th we had a half sea day and then made it to Cochin, India a day early…which was nice. Greg, Jodie, Lesley, Jen and myself headed out together and we were heading towards a very nice hotel that the ship told us to head to for the day. Getting out of the terminal was so scary and I now know what its like to have paparazzi around you all the time. We had a SWORM of 40 taxi drivers trying to get us to go with them…screaming and tapping us to get our attention. My dad / protector mode kicked in and I told the girls to walk ahead of Greg and I so that they weren't behind us. I made all those guys understand to back off and that we didn't want to go with them. The walk took us about 5 mins to the hotel and all the way there…some of them were following us…did they not get the hint….WOW. When we arrived at the hotel, there was an Elephant there greeting us. Jodie and Lesley had never seen an Elephant before so they were excited and got a picture with it…which was cool. We got into the hotel and what a beautiful place it was, 5 star service and just beautiful lobby…I'm sure that it would be quite expensive to stay there. During our stay, we had a great meal and a wonderful time at the pool, where we had a make shift photo shoot with my camera….I've just found some really cool gadgets on my camera….a little late, no? After a wonderful day at the hotel, we decided to head back to the ship. It was shocking how calm and quite it was walking back. There was trash everywhere and I just couldn't believe that I was in India…just very shocking. Greg had the idea, since we were pretty much harassed earlier that if a Taxi driver asked us if we wanted a ride walking back…he would turn, look at them and scream, "NO!!!" Holy crap, I don't think any of us have laughed so hard….because two taxi drivers got an ear full of NO…HAHA!!! When we returned to the ship, we were all just exhausted and just chilled out of the rest of the evening.

Monday, April 11th we were in Cochin, India again and I spent the day with Greg and Lesley AND marked the two months left we have on the ship. Again, we were harassed coming out of the port and we eventually found a nice Tuktuk driver named, Babu. Babu spent the entire day with us and what a cool, interesting guy he was. First he took us into the city of Cochin…wow, another eye opener. The buildings were EVERYWHERE, old and really close together. This place reminded me of a run down and dry Bali…so it was strange that I can start to see similarities of different places around the world. First he took us to a few markets where Greg and Lesley got a few things. After we drove around to the different markets for a while, we all got hungry and wanted to have the best Indian food that Babu knew of. He took us to this hotel and we sat down where the others ordered Chicken or Prawn Curry (which I tried and it was actually good…a little spicy but good) and I had Honey Chicken and Fried Rice which was great…I enjoyed it. We had a great meal but were distracted at the beginning of the meal because we saw that a little kitten was stuck on the rocks next to the ocean. Greg and I wanted to go help the kitten but by the time we were going to do something about it…someone else had taken care of it…whoosh, made us feel better. After lunch, we told Babu to take us to things around that he thinks that we would like to see and boy did he deliver. First he took us to a Snake Charmer and wow, how scary that was for me…I'm scared to death of snakes but at the same time…it was something I wanted to see and experience….so what a cool but scary moment…haha. This guy had 4 cobras and they bit him a few times…I took a few videos of it…was really cool. Next, we went to this fishing yard where the locals showed us how they fished and they took pictures of us doing it….was a lot of fun. When we were pulling the robes down, they all started chanting these words, which I found so funny, so we all joined in making up our own chants…the fisherman found it to be funny as well. Next, we wanted to see another Elephant so Babu first showed us a Hindu temple…which was really interesting…we couldn't go in but from the outside…it looked so cool. Like I said, this place reminded me of Bali…which I really enjoyed. Finally, we made it to an Elephant…where we met a father and son elephant. We all didn't like the fact that they were tied up on a concrete floor but they said that it was normal. Found out that we could buy one of those Elephants for 16,000 dollars and I thought, "Wow, it was a little bit more than my first car…haha". While we were there with the Elephants, the dad wasn't to happy that we were there and kept throwing Bamboo at us and actually hit me in the arm with a HUGE branch….which really hurt. I have a little battle wound from the damn Elephant…OKAY I GET THE POINT, I'LL LEAVE!!! Next, Babu took us around his neighborhood and we asked him if we could see his house. It was something like you see in the movies in Africa or Slum Dog Millionaire…where the kids were all playing on the dirt paths in the housing district.  They were all playing cricket and we actually played with them during our little time at Babu's house. He invited us in and offered us some of the best tea I have EVER had. We found out that he lives in the house with his wife, who was pregnant with his first child and his mother, who was ill at the time. His brother lived above him with his wife…who we also got to meet. He sat us down and it was just a really surreal time…getting to see what it was like to live in India….get to experience how this guy lives each day…just was really cool to experience…something that I'll never forget. After we had the great time at his home..it was time for us to head back to the ship. While driving back, he told us his dream to go to Switzerland someday and that he knows that he'll make there. It made me tear us a little bit because this was his dream…something that he is determined to do and you could just see in his eyes the longing to go away from India. Just made me look back on this incredible 'dream coming true' for myself traveling the world….something that I always wanted to do but never thought that I would be able to…just strange and surreal. When he dropped us off…we all gave him 20 dollars which is worth SO much in his country and I told him to make sure that he buys something nice for his baby when its born….to which he gave us all a hug and drove off….what a GREAT experience in Cochin, India….one I'll never forget.

Tuesday, April 12th…we were at sea heading to Mumbai, India. We actually needed this sea day because we were all tired. All day long, I was totally out of it and not really responsive because I was just in a funk and thinking about my family. Its a hard time during this time of the year….

Wednesday, April 13th we finally made it to Mumbai, India and I made sure to get out and keep myself (more importantly my mind) busy today….since it was 7 years ago that my father died in a car accident. First, we got off and headed to a tailor shop because Greg wanted to get a suit made and yes, I got talked in to getting a suit made as well…which I'm really happy that I did…what a wonderful job that they did for me and who else can say, they have a tailored made suit from India…haha. We had a great time there and afterwards it was the perfect time to head to get something to eat. We had seen a McDonalds so we asked if we could go there…to find out that they don't serve Hamburgers there…they don't eat cow. It was crazy to think that they didn't serve them..only chicken so I had some chicken nuggets and a coke…was just shock throughout the entire meal. During our lunch these girls were staring at Jodie the entire time and really started to piss the both of us off. At the end of our meal, I looked at them and said, "You stare to much"…the little girls gave me attitude and said something in Indian about me to which Jodie walked over and said, "You know, I know that your mother taught you better than to stare at people….you should know that its rude.  Here is a lesson, from where I'm from…its not acceptable…so stop it". I was like, YEAH JODE!!!! Afterwards, our taxi driver stopped at the side of the road and for 5 mins kept telling us all the places that he wanted to take us and we were like…fine whatever. We asked if there was a shopping place anywhere and would he take us there….to which we kept telling us that we wouldn't like it…he knows what we wanted. We drove around to market after market of the same stuff in all the stores. He scared us a few times with his driving….wow…you think that there are some crazy drivers in America…you haven't seen ANYTHING!!! Eventually we said, we want to go to this mall that he didn't think that we would like. It took us about 45 mins to get there but we show up and its one of the nicest malls that I've ever been to…Jodie was in heaven and I was too…there was a TGI Fridays…haha. We had a great time there and a great meal and then it was time to head back to the ship. The entire day we had heard horns with the cars beeping throughout the street…we swear there is a conversation going on through the horns but this night…it was a joke. Our taxi driver got us back (even though he had NO idea where he was going and it pissed us off) to the ship just in time for our evening stuff that we had to do. When I got back to the ship, I got online and saw the outpouring of support that I had from my friends and family, especially from my mom who said, "Your Dad IS so proud of you" which made me start to cry. I have never felt my Dads presence more in the past 7 years than I have during this contract. Makes me feel so happy to know that both my parents are getting to experience this trip with me…but in two totally different ways. I know that I have an angel watching over me throughout this entire journey…making sure that I'm safe and having the experience of a lifetime. Thanks Dad…

Thursday, April 14th we were in Mumbai, India again but I was on IPM, which I was okay with…I didn't need to go back out into that crazy city. I enjoyed my day on the ship and laid out by the pool again….love taking advantage of my benefits for the last few times that I can.

Friday, April 15th and Saturday, April 16th we were at sea again, heading towards Khasab, Oman. Again, we had a great, smooth crossing and had great weather…nothing to complain about except…there wasn't really anything to do…boring, boring sea days.

Sunday, April 17th we arrived in Khasab, Oman for the day. Lesley and I got the tender into town and eventually made it to city center via shuttle bus. It was so strange to be walking around in this part of the world…Muslim country. Nothing against them but it was a little intimidating…I will admit. Also, the entire place looked like the Moon or Mars….just rock and mountain EVERYWHERE….just really strange. When we were in the city center, Lesley and I walked into this shop and found this cream called, 100% bust enlargement cream…which made us laugh…REALLY HARD…just something you wouldn't think you would see in this part of the world….bust enlargement cream…HAHA. Anyway, in the shop…the owner asked both of us where we were from and Lesley said, "England" and he smile and said "Okay", then he looked at me and I said, "America" and he stopped smiling and said, "OH". WOW…can we say, Awkward….I have now learned that I don't say that I'm American in this part of the world…I don't think that they like us very much. After the awkwardness…Lesley and myself headed back to the pier on the shuttle bus but we thought…lets go see this hotel that the ship suggested we see. When we were on our walk there, I kept singing…On the Road Again…because we felt like we were in the middle of NO WHERE!!! When we turned the corner…I thought, you know what…I want to have an adventure….I want to climb this mountain side and get to the top of that rock. Yes, random but I was in the mood to climb apparently…cause I made it all the way to the top of the mountain. What a beautiful view from the top of this rock…you could see everything. I sat up there for a while and took everything in…needed one of those moments…haven't done that in a while. Made the way back down the mountain and Lesley and myself finally made it to the hotel. We had a great time by the pool, even though these kids were giving the lifeguard in me a heart attack…just walking accidents waiting to happen. After a while, we were hungry and had a great meal at the hotel restaurant. I made the good point of why we haven't taken the advantage of hotels in some places but whatever…thus is life…haha. We made it back to the pier to catch the last tender back to the ship where we had a very smooth and slow journey to our last port of this cruise…Dubai, UAE.

Our next cruises itinerary is: Dubai, UAE on April 18th and 19th / Muscat, Oman on April 20th / At Sea April 21st - 25th..our last long crossing…HOORAY!!! / 

Safaga, Egypt on April 26th and 27th / Aqaba, Jordan on April 28th / Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt on April 29th / Transit the Suez Canal on April 30th / Alexandria, Egypt on May 1st / At Sea on May 2nd and ending our cruise in Athens, Greece on May 3rd….which will mark my circling the globe.

WOW….

Until Next Time,

Jason

Asia and One Night in Bangkok...literally...

Hello everyone,

Well, the 12 days cruise flew by so quickly…which I thought would happen, since we just got done with a 21 day cruise…whoosh…which was too long. 

Here's what happened:

Wednesday, March 23rd….we didn't arrive in Haiphong until late in the evening and couldn't get off the ship because there was nothing to do so it was pretty much a sea day…and a bad one at that. I was SO cold I couldn't believe it. I thought that we were suppose to be in warmer areas now…whats going on? One good thing that happened was I got to see the first lecture of Mr. Dan Rather (previously from CBS News). It was just strange, since I've seen him on TV for so many years, to see him in person was just strange but cool. He is a lot taller than I thought…haha.

Thursday, March 24th we had a good day in Haiphong, Vietnam. It was strange to be there and experience the life in Vietnam…very run down, dirty and congested. When we got off the shuttle bus, the entire gang headed off to find something to eat and/or find a cash machine to be able to buy things. I'll tell you something, figuring out the currency difference during this cruise is for the birds…its very very confusing. We walked around for quite some time before we found somewhere (we thought) was good to eat…KFC. I'm telling you…there wasn't anything else there…haha. I had some great mashed potatoes and roll though…it was really good…the chicken looked a little questionable but I had the popcorn chicken instead. Afterwards, we all decided to go over to the food market and just walk around…to get the feel of Haiphong. I'll tell you something, I have NEVER in my life seen so many motorbikes in one place. They were everywhere and you just had to RUN across the street to get to the other side….felt like we were playing the real life game of Frogger. Anyway, once we got to the market, they were staring at us like we had the plague or something. I guess they have never seen Americans or English before…they would look at us and comment to each other in their language…was a little weird. After we walked around for a while, Jodie and Greg went back to the ship and everyone else went their separate ways. Lesley and I walked around for a while, a little bit of time by the river…which was just sad to see….very interesting and eye opening but sad. When we were walking through one of the markets, Lesley stopped me and said, "Jason, I think that this woman is about to kill this chicken…." We both walked back there and she had put the chicken in SCOLDING hot water and killed it, then threw it on the floor. HOLY CRAP…I couldn't believe that we had just witnessed that. I turned to Lesley after it happened and said, "Makes you feel a lot better eating KFC, huh?"(HAHA). There was a lot of other gross stuff that we saw: cleaning a dead pig with the same washcloth that she wiped the table with, cutting up frogs…you know, the works…YUCK. We decided to leave that market and possibly go shopping for a little while (Lesley was on a shoe hunt this day). Again, crossing the street was a challenge…I made it across but Lesley wasn't so lucky and had to wait for a while. I taped her across the street and I was CRACKING up at her trying to cross the street….just bikes EVERYWHERE…haha…Run Lesley, RUN!!! Eventually we got pretty tired of walking around and decided to head back to the ship. It was a great but strange day in Haiphong.

Friday, March 25th we were in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam where there was a silver sea experience that I went on the tour of. Again, it was so cold…I couldn't feel my toes…what the hell…haha. Had a great time on one of their boats with some of the guests….some really friendly people on the ship right now. Sailing around about 1969 different islands in Ha Long Bay (which means Descending Dragon) I don't know about that…I saw NO descending dragons in the water…haha. It was really cool, with the guide pointing out that the different island / rock formations looked like different things like: A thumb, a sitting dog, a cat in the mountains, kissing chickens, king kong…was just really cool. While on the ship, you could buy these little paintings that at a fair distance glance…looked like someone painted but actually it was stitching which I thought was so cool…so I bought one. Had a great time getting to know some of the guests and talking about the difference experiences that I have gone through during my contract…was a good day. The rest of the day was spent on the ship as a half sea day…oh joy…haha.

Saturday, March 26th we were at sea again…but you know, it was a well deserved sea day…I needed the rest, apparently I was tired. Also, it was great because we just got some new movies on the TV and of course I've watched a few already like…Tangled and Burlesque. All in all, a restful sea day.

Sunday, March 27th and Monday, March 28th we were in Ho Chi Minh City or known to most as Saigon, Vietnam. The first day (the 27th) we headed out into the town…which was BY FAR a lot better than Haiphong. We headed down the street and right away you knew that it was defiantly going to be a day of souvenir shopping….holy crap, they were EVERYWHERE. First, we had to go find an ATM so we could get some money out…that was very important if we were going to shop today. We headed over to the big market that was there and before we could even get into the store we had a tragedy hit us…well not us…Jodie. A quite large bug had landed on her and she let out this HUGE scream (scared the crap out of me) and was scared to pieces and didn't want to be outside anymore for a while so we thought that we should have something to eat first…which was fine by me…I needed something to eat. I thought that everyone was going to go to this little shopping center that we had seen but no…we had Chinese food…oh no. Now, I'm really trying to be more open with my food intake and just enjoy the cuisine from around the world but I don't think that I am a chinese food kinda guy…I don't like the look of the food and I don't know how to use the stupid chopsticks. It took me five minutes to try and pick up a piece of chicken from my chicken fried rice…to where I threw the chopsticks on the table and said, "Ehhhh…I need a fork" (which they had…thank the lord). After lunch, we all headed back to the market…Jodie was better by this time and headed inside….HOLY CRAP…there were so many little vendors and people EVERYWHERE. We all got a few things but made sure that we stayed close together…it was NUTS. On our way outside, Jodie had bought one of the little fans that you see everywhere…to match her dresses. She had bought one from this older lady and started to walk away. This little 7 year old girl came up to her and said, "Why didn't you buy from me?" "Oh, I'm sorry sweetie, I already bought one from her…I didn't see you but thank you" Jodie said. "You have two hands, don't you…you can buy another one". Now, at first I thought, you little shit and wow…you have some guts but at the same time I thought and I said to Jodie, "She does have a point…haha." Needless to say…Jodie now has two fans and a picture with the little girl. As we were walking out past the front of the market, a man hit me in the shoulder REALLY REALLY hard. Just point blank punched me…like…really?  I turned around and just stared at him and he stared back. I thought…why did this random guy hit me but don't start something with someone in this country. Maybe he didn't like me cause I was an American….but man, my shoulder hurt for a few minutes after. On our way back to the shuttle bus, we all got a few things that we saw that we wanted and just enjoyed our time in Saigon…it was a good day. The second day (the 28th) I was on IPM so I wasn't able to go into town again…which was a bummer but I enjoyed the time on the ship….enjoying my bed and watching TV…haha.

Tuesday, March 29th we were again where…..oh yeah…AT SEA!!! I think that this at sea stuff is getting a little old right now….our days seem to go so much slower when you have no where to go or nothing to do…EHHHHH.

Wednesday, March 30 and Thursday, March 31st we were in Bangkok, Thailand and what an INCREDIBLE two days there. Lesley and I had been invited by one of the guests on the ship to be his guests in the wonderful hotel "The Oriental Hotel Bangkok" for the overnight (our first time staying off the ship for an overnight in 7 months…..wow, it was lovely). I didn't know just how glitzy this hotel was though but we had a DRIVER pick us up at the dock for the 2 hour drive into Bangkok. Our driver, Sammy…not James as my Mom pointed out…haha…was standing there and we said, "Are you with the Oriental?" And he said, "Are you Mr. Slattery?" I laughed because I'm telling you….he really didn't believe that we were the ones he was picking up…."Yep, I sure am". We get into the back of this beautiful BMW 7 series and enjoyed our 5 star service. Not joking….warm towels, reading papers, water and everything in this car….I just didn't know what to do…I've never been to a place like this…I felt very hill-jackish…haha. The trip in was great…didn't feel like 2 hours but once we got to the hotel…they greeted us in a way that made us feel like royalty. The Thai way to greet someone, was really cool. You put your hands in a prayer position and put it in front of your mouth and bow your head. It was so cool. When we got into the hotel, they had handed us these little flowers and Lesley and I didn't know what they were and we were trying to put them on our wrists (come to find out that they go over your hands for when you bow…whoops). They knew exactly who we were when we got there…by name, which I thought was AWESOME. Our friend was there to greet us as well and he asked us to go up to the room and come back down so that we could go sight seeing. We headed up to this hotel room and WOW…just amazing. Truly felt the 5 star hotel effect with just how nice everything was laid out. The bathtub was HUGE (Lesley loved that) and the beds were so comfortable (which we both loved…haha). I was just walking around, looking at the cool little gadgets that they had all over the room and just looking at the beautiful view that we had from our room. After we freshened up, we headed down and were on our way (via speed boat) to the Grand Palace where the "Emerald Buddha" was. It was so beautiful…the entire area and just amazed at how it was built. I found out that this was the palace to King Rama V, where "The King and I" is set….which I thought was awesome. I'm defiantly doing my research for musicals now…haha. After a wonderful day spent out in the grand palace it was time to walk back through the market (where I hit my head pretty hard on the low ceilings….guess I am just taller than the normal person over here) and get back on our speed boat back to the hotel to get ready for our evening. Before we went up to our room, we had a great time in the lobby of the hotel having proper English Tea Time…I've never had that but enjoyed it though. Once we got to the room, Lesley had a great bath and I spent the time talking to people online which was nice; I didn't have to worry about the time wasted or anything…whoosh. We all met downstairs to go to dinner at a GREAT restaurant called "Bed". I didn't really know what to expect from this place but I was told that it was great. We arrive there and you feel like you are entering a spaceship…just a really odd shaped building. Once you walk in everything there is white…EVERYTHING and your table is placed on this HUGE bed that you have to take your shoes off to sit / lounge back on. It was really odd to sit on a bed and during our AMAZING (and do I mean amazing) dinner….it was even harder to cut my food…when I was laying my plate in my lap….haha. Also during the dinner, they had a contemporary dance performance for you in the middle of the room…it was a VERY COOL experience. Afterwards, we had a GREAT night out in Bangkok….some really great stories to come back and tell…HAHAHAHAHAHA….what an eye opening experience, to say the least…haha. The song, "One Night in Bangkok" has a whole new meaning now…haha. Our second day in Bangkok was welcomed by a WONDERFUL breakfast down with our friend on the river. I had been craving pancakes for about 2 months and boy….did I enjoy them this morning…what a great breakfast (which is a lot coming from me…I'm not a breakfast kinda guy…haha). Afterwards, Lesley and I were treated by a 90 minute full body massage. OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH WOW…..I think I have caught the massage bug. When we first got there…they took us to our separate rooms…where we were shown all the ins and outs of the room and told to take a shower. I got in the shower but I guess that I took a little too long because the lady walked in on me….WHOOPS. After, I dried off and told the woman that it was all clear…haha…it was time for the 90 minutes of pure bliss….HOLY CRAP. I think I fell asleep at one time….which I really can't believe that I could but wow….what an amazing experience…one which I want to do again. After the AMAZING morning, we were off to go to do some souvenir shopping in town. We found some great things to buy and then headed back to the hotel for a great lunch before the 2 hours back to the ship, with Sammy as the driver. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE, which we both are totally grateful to have such a great friend that we have made on the ship….what a much needed time away. 

Friday, April 1st (April Fools) we were suppose to go to Ko Samui but we couldn't go because it was under 6 feet of water. Thats not the April Fools joke…it really was….essh. The captain decided to head to our last port, Singapore a day early so that we could have an overnight…we thought it was a good idea. This evening I had a WONDERFUL dinner with 4 people from California who are one of the sweetest people that I've met on the ship….had a great time talking with them and hopefully…will be able to stay in touch with them…so sweet. 

Saturday, April 2nd, half the day was spent at sea and then we got to Singapore and docked at 7:00pm to have an overnight. The cast decided to get off and have an impromptu overnight in Singapore. We headed into town via taxi and asked to be dropped off in Rivertown. Again, we had Chinese food…whoosh…but I was hungry…so I enjoyed my dinner. Maybe I'm getting use to it now…oh lord….haha. Afterwards, we had all seen this slingshot ride on the other side of the river. I had told everyone that I had done it before but no one else had. I KNEW that we had to go ride it….what a crazy thing to say you've done in Singapore. We got over there and decided who was going to ride with who. Jodie, Emily and Lesley were going to ride together and the three boys…Cody, Greg and myself were going to go together. First up were the girls and wow, was it hilarious watching them on the TV (which we bought the DVD of the girls and boys…haha) and hearing them scream. They all got off and just loved it. Greg was a little nervous about going on it because he doesn't do thrill rides very well (I can understand) but we got him on away. It was SO much fun and I had a blast…just really made me miss Cedar Point / Kings Island and all the thrill rides…defiantly going there when I get home…haha. We all had so much fun laughing at each other and talking about the experience. Afterwards, we all headed to get some ice cream and then realized that it was almost 3 in the morning…it was time to head back to the ship…which to find out was going to be interesting because none of the cabs were stopping. Emily worked her girl charm and we all got back to the ship safely to finally end this segment of the cruise the next day on Sunday, April 3rd where we embarked 340 guests onto the ship to continue on to Dubai. 

Our next cruises itinerary is: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 4th / Penang, Malaysia on April 5th / Phuket, Thailand on April 6th / At sea on April 7th and 8th / Colombo, Sri Lanka on April 9th / Cochin, India on April 10th and 11th / At Sea on April 12th / Mumbai, India on April 13th and 14th / At Sea on April 15th and 16th / Khasab, Oman on April 17th and ending our cruise in Dubai, UAE on April 18th. 

I hope that everyone is enjoying the beginning of April. I can't believe that I get to see my Mom and Nene in a little more than a month….its been 9 months since I saw them last…I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Until Next Time,

Jason