Cruise 2017

This was our 8th trip with the George Booth Vision Impaired tours.

Singapore and Cruise VI Tour 2017

Sunday 11 June to Sunday 18 June 2017.

Overview:

• 11 June Singapore city
• 12 June Singapore port
• 13 June Penang, Malaysia
• 14 June Langkawi, Thailand
• 15 June Phuket, Thailand
• 16 June At Sea
• 17 Singapore port and local tour
• 18 June Singapore Airport

Sunday 11 June – Perth to Singapore

Our flight (Airbus A330-300)
SQ 0224 left Perth at 6:25 am arriving in Singapore at 11:45 am. A flight of 5 hrs 20 mins.

After being met at the airport by our Singapore tour guides, we were transported by bus to the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel for our overnight stay before boarding our ship.

After settling in to our room, Erika and I, having stayed at the hotel several times, took a walk around the hotel area to see what had changed. Across the road there was much work going on with construction of a new complex.

That night the group took a walk down to Chinatown, with George filling in detail of various points of interest along the way. After a little sightseeing around Chinatown we stopped for some dinner and then headed back to the hotel.

Monday 12 June – Leaving Singapore

After a hardy breakfast, we were picked up from the hotel and transported by bus down to our cruise ship, Voyager of the Seas – Royal Caribbean International. After going through the ships check in process we found our Cabin 6441 on the 6th Deck.

After settling in Erika and I went on a little explore around our area of the ship, and finished the day with Dinner with our group.

MS Voyager of the Seas, with its capacity of 3,138 passengers and 1,181 crew, is the lead ship of the Voyager-class of cruise ships operated by Royal Caribbean International (RCI).

Constructed by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Turku New Shipyard in Turku, Finland, she was serviced on November 27, 1998, and christened by Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Katarina Witt on November 20, 1999.

Upon her departure on her maiden voyage the following day, November 21, 1999, Voyager of the Seas was the largest cruise ship in the world, although she was overtaken the following year by her sister ship Explorer of the Seas. She measured 137,276 GT at launch with a displacement of 58,000 t (57,000 long tons; 64,000 short tons), and a 2015 refurbishment increased her tonnage to 138,194 GT.[1][4] She is 311 m (1,020 ft) long overall, has a waterline beam (width) of 36.8 m (121 ft) and a height of 63 m (207 ft).

Voyager of the Seas contains the first rock climbing wall at sea (mounted on funnel) and the first ice-skating rink at sea, as well as a horizontal atrium concept known as the Royal Promenade.

The Royal Promenade is a marble floored street stretching just over 3/4 the length of the ship including shops and light dining venues. This area is the heart of the ship of evening activity, along with the 3 story high La Scala theatre in which some of the latest production technology is used to produce Broadway standard production shows at night.

All cabins on Voyager of the Seas feature en-suite bathrooms and an interactive television service, and most outward facing cabins on the upper decks feature balconies.

Tuesday 13 June – Penang

Each night after returning to the ship from our on-shore tour we were greeted by a different animal made from our cabin towel. Todays was a bear.

Arriving at Swettenham port at 3:00 pm, the group took an Excursion which included the Penang Tropical Spice Garden and Georgetown.

After departing the ship, we Met our local tour guide for our tour of the Tropical Spice Garden. We Learnt how aromatic spices and plants like nutmeg and peppers are cultivated. Took a walk through the Tropical Spice Garden trails through the lush foliage of the tropical forest, an experience of exotic spices and herbs from all over the world.

We visited a Bartik factory, where we were shown how these Beautiful Bartik items were made by hand.

Later we started our evening with a visit to the boisterous Gurney Drive and its colour hawker centre. A perfect place to sample authentic Penang cuisine including asam laksa pasembor, char koay teow and hokkien mee.

After dinner on our way back to the ship we took a drive through the heart of Georgetown and enjoyed the city’s spectacular bustling atmosphere.

George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang, is located at the northeastern tip of Penang Island. It is Malaysia’s second largest city, with 708,127 inhabitants as of 2010, while its metropolitan area, Greater Penang, is the nation’s second most populous conurbation with an estimated population of 2.5 million.

Wednesday 14 June – Langkawi

Todays towel animal was a rabbit.

Today Departing the ship around 9.30am we were off to visit Eagle Square, the Langkawi Cable Car and Oriental Village.

“Dataran Lang” or ‘Eagle Square’, is the location of a large sculpture in the shape of a sea-eagle perched on rocks in pre-flight pose. This 12-meter high statue greets visitors who come to Pekan Kuah by ferry as they ride to the jetty. The eagle is the emblem of Langkawi Island as its name is thought by some to have been derived from the Malay word for eagle. The square is a landscaped area with ponds, terraces and bridges, where visitors may stroll and view the sea.

After our visit to Eagle Square, it was back on the bus for our short drive to the Cable Car. On the mountain, the cool air was a nice relief from the humidity. We did plan to cross the Sky Bridge, but a sudden downpore closed the suspension bridge, causing us to return down the mountin via the cable car.

The Langkawi Cable Car, also known as Langkawi SkyCab, is one of the major attractions in Langkawi Island, Kedah, Malaysia. It provides an aerial link from the Oriental Village at Teluk Burau to the peak of Gunung Machinchang, which is also the location of the Langkawi Sky Bridge. The total length is 2.2 km (1.4 mi), with a journey time from the base to the top of around 15 minutes. It was officially opened in 2003.

The Langkawi Cable Car is located just north of Telaga Harbour, Pantai Kok, with the entrance within the ‘Oriental Village’ at the foot hill of the Mat Chincang mountain range.

the Oriental Village is a unique shopping, cultural and culinary destination. Bold displays of culture and fashion and fascinating handicraft demonstrations by skilled craftsmen.

On our way back to Awana port to rejoin the ship, we stopped off at a chocalote factory.

Thursday 15 June – Phuket

Todays towel animal was a peacock.

Arriving at Phuket we had a meet and Greet at Rassada Pier. After a 15 minute ride, stopping along the way to shop at the local markets for fresh ingredience for our cooking, we arrived at the seaside location of a Phuket Thai Cookery School

Nestled in a pristine Siray Beach, Phuket Thai Cookery School provides comfort and serenity while cooking some of the world’s favourite Thai dishes. After some instruction, we were at our work stations cooking up a storm. Then we sat down for lunch to enjoy our very own homemade meal.

Around 5pm we Returned to Rassada Peer to rejoin our ship.

On returning to the ship, while other passagers were still ashore, we took the opportunity to use some of the ship’s great facilities; a cocktail, swim and spa.

Friday 16 June – At Sea

Today we spent the day at Sea, and took the opportunity to explore those parts of the ship we hadn’t been too.

We had lunch at Johnny Rockets where Erika tried one of their strange menu items, Apple Pie topped with grilled cheddar cheese.

Johnny Rockets Group Inc. is an American restaurant franchise whose themed decor is based upon 1950s diner-style restaurants. Decor includes Coca-Cola advertising, featuring nearly life-size cardboard illustrations of women in World War II armed services uniforms (see WASP- Women Airforce Service Pilots), individual jukebox stations, chrome accents and red vinyl seats. The staff at some locations are known to sing and dance every half-hour. Making a smiley face with ketchup on the paper plate when serving French fries is a Johnny Rockets trademark.

The menu, presentation, counter seating and grilling area are based on an original restaurant from 1947 (still operating today), The Apple Pan in West Los Angeles. Hamburgers are grilled-to-order in full view of the customers and are served wrapped in paper on paper plates.

Saturday 17 June – Back in Singapore

After packing up and leaving the ship, now back in Singapore, we were once again met by our Singapore guides and transferred for a brief “taste” of Singapore.

We enjoyed some food sampling at Little India and stop off at Chinatown Food Street for lunch.

Then back to the Peninsular Excelsior Hotel for an overnight stay before departing.

Although ethnic Indians no longer tend to stay solely segregated in one place as previously arranged under the modern People’s Action Party (PAP) policy of racial harmony, for the sake of cultural heritage, many of the ethnically Indian commercial or cottage industry usages are concentrated in Little India, although Indian-dominant commercial zones are also found in HDB estates. Contrary to stereotypes, Little India is not solely an Indian neighbourhood. Located in the neighbourhood alongside shops that cater predominantly to the Indians are Chinese clan associations, places of worship of different religions, and a variety of different business ranging from electrical supplies, hardware, second-hand goods alongside traditional spice grinders and grocers. One of the more prominent examples of cross-cultural patronage besides those regarding food is that many Chinese parents go to shops in Little India to grind rice to make congee for infants. The machinery used in this instance was initially flown in from India to grind spices into powder for use in Indian cuisine. Little India differs from many other neighbourhoods in Singapore in many ways. Tekka Market is also multi-cultural, with produce and sundries that cater to the many ethnic groups in Singapore.

Under the Raffles Plan of Singapore, the Chinatown area originally was a division of colonial Singapore where Chinese immigrants tended to reside. Although as Singapore grew, Chinese immigrants settled in other areas of the island-city, Chinatown became overcrowded within decades of Singapore’s founding in 1819 and remained such until many residents were relocated at the initiation of Singapore’s governmental Housing Development Board in the 1960s.

In 1822, Sir Stamford Raffles wrote to Captain C. E. Davis, President of the Town Committee, and George Bonham and Alex L. Johnson, Esquires, and members, charging them with the task of “suggesting and carrying into effect such arrangements on this head, as may on the whole be most conducive to the comfort and security of the different classes of inhabitants and the general interests and welfare of the place…”

He went on to issue instructions, as a guide to the Committee, which included a general description of Singapore Town, the ground reserved by the government, the European town and principal mercantile establishments and the native divisions and “kampungs”. These included areas for Bugis, Arabs, Indians, Malays and Chinese kampungs. Raffles was very clear in his instructions and his guidelines were to determine the urban structure of all subsequent development. The “five-foot way”, for example, the continuous covered passage on either side of the street, was one of the public requirements.

Raffles foresaw the fact that “it may be presumed that they (the Chinese) will always form by far the largest portion of the community”. For this reason, he appropriated all of the land southwest of the Singapore River for their accommodation but, at the same time, insisted that the different classes and the different provinces be concentrated in their separate quarters and that these quarters, in the event of fire, be constructed of masonry with tiled roofs.

This thus resulted in the formation of a distinct section titled Chinatown. However, only when parcels of land were leased or granted to the public in and after 1843 for the building of houses and shophouses, did Chinatown’s physical development truly begin.

Sunday 18 June

Time to get bags packed, check out of hotel, and get on the Bus for our airport transfer for our Flight back to Perth. Boeing 777-200 SQ 0223, left Singapore at 9:30 am and arriving in Perth at 2:40 pm. A flight of 5 hrs 10 mins.

Another fantastic holiday with lots of fun..