Smoldering Semarang

Okay, let's get to Semarang on the island of Java.  We took a City Tour booked through Get Your Guide.  I have to admit that I made a tactical error by getting up early in the morning and doing an almost 3 mile jog/walk on deck.  I felt the effects later.

Our tour guide was a lovely woman, Nita, with an interesting life story.  She is Muslim as are 85% of the people of Indonesia.  It also happened to be the first day of Ramadan.  She is 34 years old and had an arranged marriage at the age of 15.  She is the mother of 3 children.  Sadly, her husband died in a tsunami in 2018, just before her youngest child was born.  She said that she would like to remarry but it is difficult to find a husband due to her 3 children and her dark skin.  She was an excellent guide.

We drove through the city to our first stop - the Masjid Agung Jawa Mosque.  It is an impressive mosque from the outside.  We could not go inside.

We then went up the adjacent tower.  Thankfully, there was an elevator!

Next up was a museum that was the headquarters of the Dutch Railroad Company and is now a railroad museum.  We had a local guide lead us through the overly long and boring tour including the renowned doors (there are supposed to be 1000 of them).  Linda did some sitting and I did some wandering while the tour was going on.

As usual, there were many cats around and a CFC.  Any guesses?  Okay, it's California Fried Chicken.  Maybe Gavin Newsom is their mascot rather than the Colonel!

We then went to a nice restaurant for lunch and they even provided vegetarian food for us.

After lunch we visited the Sam Poo Kong Chinese Temple.  Soon after we arrived, the anticipated rain came.  What a relief it was!

Eventually, the rain let up enough for us to take a quick walk around the grounds.

Next was supposed to be a walk in the old town with a stop at a church.  However, by that time, everyone  was pretty exhausted from the heat and humidity.  The vote was to do a drive through and then return to the ship.  

As we drove around, we saw the usual plethora of motor bikes and cycles.

Despite the heat and humidity, it was a really good tour with a really good guide.  Oh, about my tactical error - I think that I felt that discomfort even more since a wore myself out in the morning.  Oh, well, lesson learned, I hope.

Back on board, we had dinner on the back deck of Terrace for the Chef's Market Asian Dinner,  Such good food and a display of the heavens,  Can you spot Jupitor and Orion?

So that's it for Smoldering Semarang.  Today, it was equally Smoldering Surabaya and Trowulan.  More on that in the next post.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry

Two Days at Sea

Saturday we were in Semarang, Indonesia.  But, before I get there, I'll do a brief recap of our 2 days at sea as we sailed around Borneo through the South China and Java Seas.  Thursday morning was the Officer's Challenge where the guests compete against the ship's officers in various games.  Always fun.

Then we did the Sommelier's Choice Wine Tasting Lunch which was another event pairing excellent wines and great food.The truffle scrambled eggs were to die for.

Early Friday morning we crossed the equator.  We felt the bump, but no one believed us!  The very busy day started in mid-morning when they held the traditional ceremony where they induct first time crossers into the Secret Society of Shellbacks.  It involves kissing a fish, getting dowsed in blue water and a jump in the pool.  This time they inducted several of the ship's officers including the General Manager Emma, the Executive Concierge Marlenia and Cruise Director Sammie.

Next up was lunch with F&B Manager Gorica and ECM Milan.  They are a great pair though they claim to not be a couple.  Later in the afternoon, we joined an extensive galley tour led by Chef Heiko.  We were there just when they were beginning to prepare for the dining room dinner and were tasting the dishes.

We were led through the storage areas and it was interesting to see how depleted they were as the cruise is 2 weeks old.  Yes, there did seem to be plenty of rice (most importantly for the Asian crew members).  Hopefully, the rest will be restocked soon.

The evening was capped off by a nice sunset and a lovely dinner with Cruise Director Sammie and Social Hostess Sophie.

They were a really good 2 days at sea which we hoped would give us the rest we needed to endure the busy days coming up.  I'll give you a hint - the rest wasn't enough to deal with heat and humidity.  More on that in the next posting.  Until then,

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry