Reunion Island - a little peice of France

Reunion Island is indeed a little peice of France in the middle of the Indian ocean. Another volcanic island, same as Mauritius but this one has an active volcano which last erupted in Aug 15. Much more exciting to be living on a small island with an active volcano and for added excitment has the occasional severe battering from passing cyclones. It is only 30 miles wide but the highest point of the island is 10,069 ft so it does literally rise straight out of the Indian Ocean. It is 500  miles east of Madagascar and is classified as an overseas department of France.

France first claimed it back in 1649 and apart from losing it to the British for a brief 5 years between 1810 to 1815, has held it ever since. Coffee and slaves were introduced in the early 1700s but the coffee was wiped out by cyclones in the early 1800s. The Brits introduced sugar cane when they had their short stint and it now accounts for 85% of all exports by value.

As I said, it is very French, the islanders are French citizens,  official language is French, although Creole is mostly spoken and everything is written in French. Very little English, if at all, appears anywhere. They do have tourists but they are mostly from France, it is not promoted by many other countries.  So if you want a French holiday with a difference, go to Reunion Island.

Once again we pulled into port (or Le Port to be more exact)  in the early hours of the morning and we were one of the first to be on the shuttle bus that was to take us the 15 miles to the resort town of St Gilles les Bains. The capital of the island is St Denis and 9 miles in the opposite direction.  Why they didn't run the shuttle bus the shorter distance to the capital remains a mystery to us but as this is another maiden port for the boat maybe they thought this was the better of the two and if it was the case, then in my opinion they were right. We joked later about it saying it was such a lovely spot that next time they would make it a paid tour.

We decided that today we wouldn't race around the island seeing yet more mountains, waterfalls or volcanos as there is just so many you can see, a bit like  churches, or go into the city and fight with traffic and people. Today was going to be kick back and relax day and just enjoy the place we were in. You may wonder just what we were relaxing from as it isn't exactly stressful lying around on a cruise boat all day but I can assure you that even that can be exacting as previously mentioned in other posts.

So we took the 45 min drive to St Gilles and admired the scenery and particularly the roads on the way. We made our way around the edge of the island with the road clinging onto the side of the hills,  at one point it left the land altogether and rose up on massive concrete pillars forming a bridge alongside the hills then when it couldn't go around any more they had tunneled right through the mountain itself. Not unusal you may think but it is very sophisticated engineering for just a tiny two-bit island with less than 700,000 living on it. There were a few grumblings from the Europeans amongst us wondering where the money came from to finance this advanced roading.

Once we were dropped off at the resort town we spent the rest of the day wandering around the shops, of which there were a lot and so delightfully French and around the waterfront that had lots of cafés and restaurants and was also the starting point for the big game fishing boats and scuba diving boats. There were some lovely white coral sand beaches but don't be fooled by the enticing looking  sea just beckoning you in to its tepid blue waters. If you didn't know before coming here and you walked straight past the big no swimming notice boards warning of the dangers of these waters you could very easily end up as shark bait or appetizer to the great whites circling this island. Despite the beautiful beaches and hot weather this is definitely not the place to go splashing in the ocean.

I didn't mind so much, we found a nice little restaurant right on the beach, overlooking the sea and perched up on the high bar to watch the world go by while sipping on cold beers and nibbling on a fruits de mer pizza. It was really the only thing I could read on the menu and the staff didn't speak a word of English but we got by and spent a very pleasant afternoon there until it came time to leave. We panicked a bit as we had forgotten that here, like in  Europe, they have siesta and the bottle shops were closed. Thank goodness we managed to find one open and once again loaded Jon's backpack up with some excellent good quality French wine before retreating back to the bus for the return trip. It was the last bus back and we only just caught it, lucky it stopped for us in the middle of the road as we waved it down.  All was uneventful until we got back to the pier. The bus driver must have come through these gates a hundred times  before, it was a tight fit and you would need to swing the bus right out to squeeze through but he took a short cut and the next thing there was a loud explosion, like a gun going off, and glass and bits of metal went flying into the bus covering the seats and aisle. The bus stopped immediately and poking through the top window opposite us was the metal part of the fence with the barb wire wrapped around it. He couldn't move forward and it was difficult to move back but with some directions from Jon he managed to unhook himself and made a successful attempt to get through the gate. The bus was a mess but luckily no one  was hurt.  There is always something exciting happening to keep us on our toes.

Star date 10 April captains log more sea adventures

I must admit I was more than a little fearful about the type of people we would meet on the QV as there were so many stories we had heard of the upper class Brits that travelled on it and I know from living with them many years ago how they do tend to look down on us antipodeans as heathens and think we still run around in grass skirts. A review of the QV Jon read one day was how the writer was more than a little disappointed with the service aboard as one day at afternoon tea she had to wave twice to a waiter to attract his attention so she could get an extra scone. Despicable I thought, almost put me off going, I mean to have to wave twice was just not on, especially after the money we paid.

Anyway, my fears so far haven't been realised, most people we have chatted to and sat down to a meal with have been very friendly and chatty. A few Brits have even said they would prefer to talk to us antipodeans (they actually haven't used that word) as we are much more likely to talk back rather than ignore them. I have seen some bad behaviour from fellow passengers like today when some woman inadvertently stood in front of another woman while watching a show and woman from behind yanked her handbag so hard & almost pulling the poor woman over. A simple excuse me may have sufficed but by and large they have been great. You never know who you may sit with and here you have a chance to mix it up with people you would not normally meet. Today at lunch we happened to sit with the Rt Hon. Lord Howard of Lympne CH QC. He was the Home Secretary in 1993 then leader of the Conservative party in Britain between 2003 & 2005 and we had a great ol' chat to him and his wife who is an author. They were both on board as special guest speakers and we had just been to his lecture the day before about Winston Churchill. He was asked what he thought of the tv program Yes Minister & he said he thought it was grossly understated! 

It has been a big day today as in the early hours of the morning we crossed the equator so today they had the ceremony. The people who have not crossed the equator before are called polliwogs and had to have an initiation to become shell backs. Of course we didn't admit to being first timers and I'm so glad we didn't but it was fun to watch. They held it around the pool, there was King Neptune and his wife, mermaids, Pirates and assorted sea creatures as well as the captain. The polliwogs were lined up and put on trial with various charges laid against them. One was turning over the 'do not disturb' signs on the front of cabin doors to 'make up the room', another was constantly asking when the captains noon announcement would be made. They were all found guilty then had  this horrible slimey looking gunk tipped over them then they had to jump into the pool to wash off. There was more to it than that but it was a great little show.

I had a bit of laundry rage myself last night. Jon had put the washing through the machine then put it in the dryer. I went down to check on it and noted that there were two other dryers empty and ours still had 10mins to go so I went back to the cabin to wait. After 10 mins I came back and thought that's strange as the dryer now said 30mins and still the other two dryers were empty. I looked down and there in the basket was our clothes that someone had pulled out of the dryer (still a bit damp) and put theirs in. Bloody cheek I thought, especially when there were two free dryers so I did something that was just a little bit naughty and turned the dryer timer to 5 mins so if they came back in half an hour they would still have wet clothes, don't mess with me!

There seems to be far too many formal nights here and Jon is starting to revolt. He finds it very uncomfortable in his suit and hot so I'm picking that soon he will be refusing to go. I also suspect that other people are finding it a bit much too. Last night was a masquerade ball, we have had royal ascot, black and white and a Victorian evening with more to come. For last nights ball you could buy a mask and join in the fun. Some took it a little to far by wearing their masks around the ship, looked very silly and I was surprised they could even see. The numbers also seem to be dwindling for those attending the balls. There always seem to be the same people on the dance floor, the guy who dresses in white suits and Jon feels like giving him a smack as he's so annoying and lots of single woman who dance with the gigalos. Well I call them gigalos but there are about half a dozen men who's job it is to dance with woman either without partners or whose partners won't dance with them, what a job.

The Stunning Seychelles

Day 14 and we arrived at the much anticipated Port Victoria in the Seychelles after sailing past lots of little islands on the way. Everyone was on deck to watch our big boat sail into what looked like a very tricky harbour and dock alongside the wharf, hearlded in by a band and dancing girls playing on the wharf below. 

The landscape had these big dramatic and sheer looking mountains towering up behind the city of Victoria which lacked the normal highrises you would see in a city, instead it was low and spread out on the foothills and dipping down into the azure water below. There were windmills on an island just by the harbour although I'm not sure for what purpose as there wasn't a breath of wind and the huge blades remained still and silent.

Victoria is on the island of Mahe, one of the three largest islands in the archipelago of the Seychelles situated 5 deg south of the equator. There are 115 islands scattered over 500,000 sq miles in the Indian Ocean. The French first claimed these islands in 1756 (it was actually by an Irish captain who claimed it for France would you believe) and they were named after Louis XV's finance minister.  A few years later the first settlers moved in and by 1791 the Seychelles had 572 inhabitants of whom 487 were slaves from Africa and Madagascar. The Brits took it over in 1814 and by 1835 slavery was abolished. Moving forward to the 20th century they became an independent republic with a president and prime minister in 1976. A year later there was a coup when the PM overthrew the president whilst he was overseas. There were another two more attempted coups after that but happy to say it has all settled down and is now very peaceful.

We jumped off the boat as soon as we were allowed and walked into town. The traffic is very busy but the town is very walkable with nice shops and buildings and surprisingly flat. There is a cute Victorian clock tower in the middle of town erected in 1903. Before land reclamation It use to be at the harbour front so it shows how much they must have done. The people were all very friendly and happy to help out with directions and most were very well dressed. You could certainly see that we are close to Africa and no doubt there are more than a few descendants of former slaves.

We found our way to the bus station and hopped on the #9 bus which would take us almost around the island. For only 10 rupees (approx $1) we could see most of the island from the bus whereas if we had gone on a ships tour it would have cost over $100 so we were well cuffed with ourselves! 

The bus ride was great although it did get very crowded and was hot as no air conditioning but we sat by the window and had the most amazing views. The bus first went down the east coast of the island where we saw stunning palm fringed beaches dropping into the amazing blue of the Indian Ocean and lush green tropical forests all around. It then turned right to go over the mountain range to get to the west coast. Now this bit was even more interesting as the road is very narrow with very steep hairpin bends that tested the motor of the bus as well as my nerves. There was no side to the road, just a big drop down one side (my side) and to me it looked liked the back wheel of the bus was not going to stay on the road as he swung out wide to turn the sharp corners. No one else seemed too bothered about it so I had to trust that he knew what he was doing. 

The vegetation going over the mountain was very thick with tall trees and lots of vines almost smothering them. Every now and then there would be a little clearing with a house or two nestled into the edges of the forest. We then turned right again and headed back up the west coast which again had even more stunning views of beaches and oceans. 

The bus eventually stopped at the terminal on a north western beach where we had to get off, being one of the last ones left on the bus.  There was nothing there besides a big resort (apparently the largest in the Indian Ocean), a van selling hamburgers and a beach to die for. We bought a coconut from one of the vendors on the beach and sipped on the juice as we wandered down the beach contemplating what to do for lunch. We did go into the restaurant of the resort but when we saw an Australian hamburger on the menu for $30 decided we would try the van on the side of the road. The Seychelles is renowned to be very expensive and apart from the bus trip, everything we saw there seemed to confirm it. The van however was cheap and a hamburger there was only $5. So much for trying the local food tho, hamburgers was not what I really wanted but didn't have much of a choice.

Then we had a swim in the sea and all was forgotten. It was just amazing, sea temp was 32 deg, sands were silky fine and white and there were no waves, just a gentle swell that lifted you up and down. Definitely my sort of sea, even my two sisters would have gone swimming that's how gorgeous it was. It did have some seaweed on the beach and in the waters but the locals said that had just appeared in the last couple of days, normally the beaches were very clear.

Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time as we had to catch the bus back, which was another hours hair raising trip over the mountains to get back on board the ship before 4.30pm.  It was far too short a time but enough to give us a snippet of paradise.

A day in the life at sea

A typical day consists of getting up and going off for breakfast, (if you haven't ordered room service breakfast) then maybe going to a lecture if the subject seems interesting or a class of some sort like the camera club. There is trivia or bingo if you like that sort of thing, check out what's on special around the shops area or watch people learning how to dance or fence in the Queens room, always entertaining. Maybe Take a few strolls around the promanard deck before going up to lunch.  After lunch you may want to sit out on the deck and listen to the band whilst drinking a cold cocktail and contemplate going for a swim or maybe do something a little more vigorous like visit the gym which has a wide range of equipment and right at the front of the boat so you can walk on a machine and gaze out to sea. There are classes to attend to learn how to increase your metabolism or how to burn fat or find out how acupuncture can change your life. Maybe you want to have coffee with the singles club, play bridge or do some needlework & knitting. The choices are endless. There are a couple of activities that always seem to appear on all the voyages we have done but we never knew what they were. They are friends of Dorothy LGBT and another one called friends of Bill W. Now excuse my ignorance but I had no idea that they were to do with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people for the first one and alcoholics for the second one. I was going to attend one of them but don't think I will now!

We also have a highlight at 3.30pm every afternoon and that is high tea. Waiters in white gloves come around in the Queens room carrying trays of cucumber sandwiches, scones, jam & cream and other delightful little morsels to nibble on whilst you sip your cup of tea. Of course you need to dress appropriately for this as you do for any other part of the ship.

You simply cannot walk around in your swimmers or bathrobe in any other part of the ship apart from the pool area and after 6pm it is definitely not appropriate to wear shorts or jeans or sleeveless shirts anywhere on the ship. Informal nights you must wear for gents a dinner jacket but tie is optional and ladies a cocktail dress or stylish separates. Formal nights is dinner jacket, tuxedo or dark suit with tie for gents and cocktail dress or evening dress for ladies. As you can see there is not too much of a difference for ladies or men for that matter. If you want to dress more casually you can go up to the buffet but don't go to any other part of the ship where civilised folk may see you.

After dinner there is always a show and on the QV they have all been very good to excellent. There have been a variety of artists from flute players to comedians to ribbon acrobatics to singers and dancers and more. The other night we had a band called The Rewind Project who played a lot of the Hollies, Moodie Blues and 10cc songs. We thought here we go, another tribute band but no, it turned out that they were actually from all those bands. The singer was the lead singer from 10cc, the Drummer played in the Moodie Blues for 25 years and the keyboard guy was from the Hollies. No wonder they were good. The QV also have music in different areas of the boat, maybe a harpist in the champagne lounge, a pianist in the chart room or maybe a string quartet in the grand lobby area.

There is another site which can be of great entertainment and that is in the laundry room. On this ship they have one on about 4-5 levels with 3 washers & 3 dryers in each one and are free to use. Even the washing powder is free. They are always very busy and can be the cause of major disputes. We witnessed one such dispute when a woman wanted to take out the washing from a finished machine and the owner wasn't around. Another woman highly objected to this (she had nothing to do with said washing) and thought it was extremely rude of the first woman to do such a thing. Heated words were spoken but on this occasion nothing more was done. We have, however, been told stories of more volatile  incidences like when a dispute erupted over whose turn it was to use the dryer. The woman who lost came back a short while later while the victor was out and put some chocolate in the dryer with her clothes. Quite a neat trick I thought. Another was a woman had been ironing for about half an hour when she got in an argument with another woman so second woman pulled all the newly ironed clothes off the hanger and threw them on the floor. The classic one I liked was when a woman's dress was stolen from the laundry and later on she saw the thief wearing said dress! When she confronted her the thief said well prove it then. As the woman had already reported it to security and had photos of it, she had no trouble proving it and thief was ejected from the ship. What fun.

Today we had some excitement and that was pirate training. We are about to sail into pirate waters so we had to have a training exercise in case pirates attacked our ship. It was a major exercise as it involved the United Kingdom Maritme Trade Organisation in Dubai and we have a navy liaison officer onboard as our link to the Coalition Maritme force. At 10am a siren sounded and warnings of security threat came over the loud speakers. Those of us who have Windows or balconies weren't allowed in the cabins, instead we had to line up in the corridors and stay away from our cabin door and those with inside cabins had to stay in there. The engines were revved up to full capacity so we were steaming along at full speed, which is about 24 knots and we took an evasive course of direction away from the Pirates. Headquarters were alerted and our special security force, who are on board just for this pirate sector, were ready for action.

After just seeing the Tom Hanks film Captain Philips, I certainly hope that all these security procedures will work if those nasty little pirates do decide to attack. Whilst we are sailing in these waters the ship will go into stealth mode at night, so all the deck lights will be switched off except important ones, we are not allowed to have our curtains open or outside lights on and the promenade deck will be closed over night to even the crew. They will announce every night for 3 nights that we are in these waters to 'darken ship'. Seems a bit extreme but quite exciting all the same. Almost hope we do see a pirate.

Hong Kong to Sri Lanka

The trip has started uneventful enough in that nothing major has gone wrong so far except that Jon forgot to pack his swimmers. This in itself was a major for him as he likes nothing better than to drag me unwillingly to the poolside for a 'fun afternoon dip'. Being a Reid, getting wet is not really my idea of fun and I have never seen the point of lying in the sun all day sleeping and reading and burning your skin up to a dried prune. I see that there are a lot here who do and are testament why over exposing your skin to the sun is really not a good idea. Mind you, once they have finished with their skin they would make a cracker crocodile style handbag or shoes, but I digress.

We had a long but good flight to Hong Kong and were met by the delightful Anne and Gary, our ex boarder of many years ago. They both took a day off work so they could show us around and treat us to lunch, dinner and everything in between. They took us up a very tall building to have lunch at a special Korean bbq restaurant where our food was cooked at the table over a burner. The food just kept coming and when the scollops and lobster tails came out we thought we had died and gone to heaven. All this whilst overlooking the Hong Kong harbour, watching the boats and junks sail by.

After lunch we checked into the ship, got our boarding cards and dumped the luggage. We were suppose to go to a life boat drill onboard the ship but as we were with Anne and Gary we had to forgo the safety aspect of the trip. Just have to hope it doesn't do a titanic. After that they took us to the beach for a stroll and a coffee then went into a visual art centre where they had it set up with very clever murals and you could insert yourself in the picture to make it look like you were part of it. You used your own camera for the pictures and the staff there were only to happy to tell you were to stand then take the picture for you. 

After this was almost dinner time so back to the wharf where the boat was docked to a nearby restaurant that specialised in Peking duck. This restaurant was packed with locals and the food was excellent. From our table we could see the harbour and had a good view of the laser light show they have every night at eight. 

Where the ship was docked is an enormous shopping complex, I think it may be the biggest in HK which is saying something. I'm not sure how the shops survive as no one seemed to be buying anything but Gary said a lot of Chinese come over from the mainland and spend the whole day there shopping, going home loaded with bags. You could certainly spend the whole day there and never venture any further, in fact it would take a day to find your way out If you didn't know where you were going.

We finally got onto the boat around 10.30pm after waving a fond goodbye to our very gracious hosts and made our way to our cabin. When we opened the door we were greeted by a bucket of ice with two bottles of wine nestled in its depths, one sparking and one still. Sitting quietly beside them were two tall wine glasses just inviting us to come on in and settle down for the night. It was very tempting as we had been up for almost 48 hours but there was one more thing to do before retiring for the night and that was to go on deck to watch the sail away. With all the lights of HK on the tall skyscrapers and reflecting off the harbour it is a very beautiful sight to see and as the ships slips away into the night the twinkle of the lights slowly disappear to be swallowed up by the blackness of the night. 

 The next  three days were spent at sea which may seem boring to the uninitiated but they are anything but boring. It does take a few days to get into the swing of things but once you find your rythem you're away. I don't think the QV has as good an itinerary in regards to activities as the other ships we have been on but non the less there is always something to do besides eat. 

On the 4th day we docked at the port of Singapore. By now it had warm up to a very pleasant 32 deg and after 3 days at sea were very pleased to have terra firma under our feet again. We had decided to do the hop on hop off bus tour as we thought it would be the easiest thing to do. We hadn't really counted on the heat and tropical humidity so around lunchtime we had almost had it. Singapore had changed quite a bit since last time we were there like the new marina bay complex, gardens by the bay, new bridges and a floating stadium. There is still a lot of construction going on with highrises and road work but then again it seemed there was a lot of construction last time, I guess it never stops for them. By the time we had done the two lines right around the city there was not a lot of time left to do any shopping.

We did have a wander down Orchard road but the shops there are too high end for us although Samsung were having a promotion so we popped into this big marquee and had a play on their latest gadgets including the 3D experience where you put this headgear on with the phone clipped into the goggles part and you can experience a virtual reality with whatever is going on in the movie. They also had movie seats there that moved so you could have a 4d experience. 

The other great shop/s we saw were the electronic shops in a big mall. It had any and everything a gadget freak could ever wish for and more. It wasn't any cheaper than what you can get it for anywhere else but it was all in one place and almost mind blowing.

The buses took us around Chinatown, little India, Arab town, the docks and the beautiful colonial houses on the outskirts worth literally millions of dollars. As we had been to Singapore before we didn't really make much of an effort to see more and as Jon was getting hot and grumpy we headed back for the ship.

The ship seems such a sanctuary from the heat and noise and chaos in the outside world. We can sit in peaceful surroundings with a cool drink and gaze out of the window contemplating what's for dinner and should we attend the show or not. 

Sail away was meant to be at 12am and I particularly didn't want to miss it as sailing out of a big city at night is always spectacular. By 12.45am I couldn't stay awake any longer and was so annoyed we were late. It turned out we didn't leave until 1.45am due to some administrative issue, think it had something to do with customs.

Two more days at sea and we pulled into the port of Penang. Not wanting to waste our time like we did in Singapore we decided to sign up for a ships tour out to the Orang utang sanctuary. This is situated on an island about an hour and quarter from Penang. 

Penang is also an island of approx 285 square meters with a population of 650,000. It is connected to the mainland by a 13km long bridge designed to last for 400 years and withstand earthquakes up to 7.5 on the richter scale. It is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. 

At the sanctuary they have approx 21 Orang utangs that can roam freely around the island. There is no fear of them escaping as they can't swim. There can only be one alpha male at one time in the community and you can tell which one he is as he grows these big cheeks. The last alpha male died just recently from a heart attack, apparently they can get all the same diseases as humans and in fact are the closet primate related to us. They are also incredibly strong, can't remember the exact detail but think it's around 10-15 times stronger than humans so they could crush you quite easily. When they sit down, with all their shaggy fur it looks like they have melted into a puddle.

Anyway, to get to this sanctuary you take a boat from this theme park area that had a water park, fish spa and shops. Boat trip took about 10 mins across this very large, peaceful lake and landed you on a jetty area built up on long stilts. You then walked along a path way that had a cage built over it and looked thru at the Orang utangs looking back at you. There was also an electric fence between the cage and them so there would be no chance that either you or them could come into contact. Even the keepers did not go into their area and would feed them through these long tubes or throw them food. If it landed just outside the electric fence they knew not to put their arms through so would grab a stick to lift up the fence at the bottom and sneak their hand underneath, very clever. They were very cute, there were babies playing around and young males swinging high up in the trees. It's well worth doing if you are ever up that way.

After we got back we had a little wander around Georgetown which was not as pretty as I thought it would be. Georgetown is the historical centre of Penang and has been granted unesco world heritage status. Named in honour of King George 3rd it's situated on the eastern headland, sheltered from the oceans on the west by a mountain range. Although it does have some beautiful colonial buildings and interesting food places it seemed just like any other Asian city, uneven footpaths, chaotic, noisy and hot. Admittedly we didn't get to see some of the more historic and interesting buildings or go up the funicular to the top of the hill to see the view or temples but just walking around the streets was enough to figure that it's not really a place we would rush back to. It was also a very hazy day so the views were very limited anyway.

Once again the sail way was late, seems like a common thing with this boat. We were meant to leave at 5pm but didn't get underway until 7pm. Apparently there were technical difficulties then at 6 someone had a medical emergency so they were carted off. Just as well we hadn't left otherwise we would have had to turn around and come back, something that we had experienced before.

One more hot sea day, sailing on calm, very deep blue waters that are averaging around 32 deg, my kinda temperature just can't get down that far, before we arrived very early morning into Colombo Sri Lanka.

Colombo was again a bit of a surprise, this time a nice one. I thought it would be just another India, which I'm none too impressed with but it was much nicer. It has beautiful big green parks, still has the lovely colonial buildings, lots of evidence  of the Bristish occupation and also the newer highrises and modern shopping centres. There was even a replica of the Whitehouse, sitting on a large lush green lawn. Colombo Has a nice long beach with golden sands and palm trees lining one end of the city where they were flying kites as a bright red sun sunk to the sea in the evening. Traffic however is horrendous, we spent many hours just sitting and waiting in the traffic jams around the city, very frustrating.

We did another ships tour of the highlights of the city which I have to admit are not a lot but it was a nice drive. We went to the Jami-Ul-Alfar mosque first off, a popular place to visit and can hold up to 8000 worshippers. Then a stop at independence square. Not sure of the significance of that is, our guide was a bit shortcoming on some facts and the ones he did come up with no one could understand what he did say. There were a few gypsies hanging around the square with their enormous constrictor snakes for the tourists to have their photo with or little monkeys on the end of a lead and there was even a snake charmer. As soon as he thought you were interested he whipped the lid of the basket off and up popped a Cobras head waving in time to the fluters tune. The next stop we did and hello, here they were again, the exact same guys! It must have seemed like pay day to them with 2000 extra tourists in town. We saw the national museum which was in a beautiful large colonial building but there only seemed to be about 4 or 5 rooms of antiquities, a throne that belonged to the King of Kandy and a few of his artefacts and that was about it. A half hour tour of it killed it dead.

After we were dropped off we decided to walk around on our own for the rest of the day. We wandered around a large market that I think was only on for the day and geared mostly for locals but they had lots of cheap shirts and saris. All the women were dressed in gorgeous colourful saris making the rest of us look very dull in compression. The people seemed very nice too but it's hard to get over our inheritant mistrust of people from these countries. One very nice chap came up to us and said we really should go to the exhibition that's on for today with over 60-70% off. For just $2 we could get a tuk tuk there. In fact he was so helpful he called a tuk tuk driver over and instructed him to take us to this place and only charge $2 there and $2 back. He told us only to catch the red tuk Turks as they were government owned and trustworthy and with that and a strange last word of only buying sapphires with a certificate he waved us goodbye. We thought we were going to another market type place with a big exhibition as we were rocketed down busy streets with trucks coming straight for us and narrowing missing cars by inches. Our driver chatted happily away and seemed a very nice chap, then he pulled into our destination. As soon as the door opened we knew we had made a big mistake. It was a jewellery shop and they welcome us in like spiders would a fly. No exhibition here, we were tricked. We walked out again almost as quick and said to our driver to take us to proper shops. No problem, another terrifying half hour journey and he delivered us to a government souvenir shop, no trickery here sir, all government owned. Well what a lot of shit was there, wooden elephants, fabrics and god knows what else. By now Jon had put a tone on his voice and said take us to normal shops. Well he eventually did then tried to charge us $40 for the privelage. After much arguing We ended up giving him half that which was still way over the top, he even asked for jons watch instead! Thieving bastard. The ride back was only $3, goes to show what a con the first guy was.

That night, for the very first time, we left port early. So early in fact that I missed it. It should have been at 9pm so we went on deck at 8.50pm in time to see the lights of Colombo fading into the distance. So that was our experience of Sri Lanka, not altogether unpleasant with a quick and silent getaway.

The Countdown

Well there is only a few more days to go before we head off into the wild blue yonder for three months of cruising, travelling, eating and dancing to celebrate freedom from The Grand.  Our itinerary is as follows:

28th March: Fly to Hong Kong
29th March: Hop on board the Queen Vic for a 42 night cruise calling into;
2nd April:    Singapore
4th April:     Penang
7th April:     Colombo Sri Lanka
11th April:   Victoria Seychelles
14th April:    Mauritius
15th April:    Reunion Island
19th April:    Port Elizabeth Sth Africa
21th April:    Cape Town Sth Africa
24th April:    Walvis Bay Namibia
3rd May:       Cape Verde
5th May:       Tenerife Canary Islands
6th May:       Maderia Portugal
10th May:     Southanpton
11th May:    Fly to Italy stay in Amandas house in Umbria
24th May:    Fly to Athens & hop on another boat for 10 nights calling into;
25th May:    Izmir Turkey
26th May:    Rhodes Greece
28th May:    Valletta Malta
29th May:    Messina Sicily
30th May:    Naples Italy
31st May:    Rome
1st June:      Florence
2nd June:     Marsille France
3rd June:      Barcelona then fly back to England
4th June:      Hop on yet another boat for a 14 night Baltic cruise from Southampton calling into;
5th June:      Brussels
7th June:      Copenhagen
9th June:      Stockholm
10th June:    Tallinn
11th June:    St Petersburg
13th June:    Helsinki
15th June:    Gdansk
18th June     Back to Southampton where we hire a car and drive to Scotland
2nd July:     Attend wedding in Scotland
5th July:     Fly home

THE END