Whispering sweet nothings.

[tgh]

I agree ...sumptuous sunsets even..
Good to see that you are up and about and commiserations to t2.. say hi to mysty..

 

[VPS]

Fabulous sunsets

 

[turtlemichael]

And now, after a very good day in Bali on which I'll report in a while, it is Benoa, Bali to Tokyo via Sandakan, Manila, two ports in Taiwan and Osaka as we start Segment 4 of this cruise.

 

[turtlemichael]

Day 41 Feb 16 Bali

With Turtle 2 cabin bound, and his quarantine extended for a few more days because he is not too well, I decided to keep the reservation we'd made to go to a Balinese cooking school. Turtle 2 was probably glad of the break too! I strongly suspect that the cooking school was "unofficial". It was attached to a guest house at the back of Kuta Beach. However, it was an excellent experience and I'd recommend it to anyone.

The idea was that we would, under supervision, prepare the ingredients for some typical Balinese dishes and the staff would cook them, except for the chicken curry which we did, for our lunch. The head honcho spoke perfect English and had worked for a number of years in Melbourne before returning to Bali. He was a great and patient teacher.

Most of the preparation consisted of chopping and grinding the ingredients before they were assembled into the various dishes. The aromas were magnificent and the end products very edible. I am now an expert.

​

Welcome to Bali




We prepared it all except the two desserts.


We each had a dish to prepare. Mine was the middle one on the right - the Chicken curry


My plate finely chopped with the spices added.


Grinding and grinding and grinding. My wrists will eventually recover I'm told.

The finished goods. My chicken curry is in the second row. The banana leaves at the top contain mahi mahi and our secret herbs and spices.

 

[drron]

The chicken curry looks excellent.

 

[get me outta here]

Oh yum, what fun.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Can I come to dinner when you arrive back to Australia.

Thanks for the update on the trip report, and get well soon wishes to T2.

 

[love_the_life]

The food looks amazing and it sounded like a great experience. Pity that T2 wasn't able to take part but hope he is feeling better by now.

 

[zig]

The food looks wonderful. Pressure is on for you to recreate it all for T2 when you are back home.

 

[turtlemichael]

Day 44 Feb 19 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia

The sail up to the top of Borneo from Bali was uneventful and in continuing good weather. The most notable thing we saw was an incredible amount of floating junk. It was mainly plastic but had formed very large patches in the Java Sea and the Makassar Strait between Kalimantan and Sulawesi. This is a busy stretch of water with many tankers, fishing boats of all sizes and container vessels.

The sail in was impressive. We'd planned to go see the orangutans and proboscis monkeys of Sabah but, as Turtle 2 remains out of action, I settled for a trip into the port town, Sandakan., where we docked. The monkeys will have to wait for another time. The highlights were the general market which contained and one of the most interesting fish markets I've seen. It had everything in profusion. They were selling huge green prawns for the equivalent of AUD3.50 per kilo. Pity I had no need of any. I also came across a Chinese temple which was hopping.


Sabah is mainly Christian but this is the new mosque in Sandakan.


The floating village which, up close, looked like a major source of the rubbish we'd seen. Sandakan downtown was neat and tidy with no rubbish lying around.
Sorting the ch
Sorting the chillies.


Parrot fish

 

[drron]

Out of interest did they have a tour to the WW2 sites?
Hopefully T2 will be out of quarantine before the next port.

 

[Major]

Sandakan Death Marches - Wikipedia

 

[drron]

Yes I was privileged to look after one of the 6 survivors of that march hence my question.

 

[turtlemichael]

Out of interest did they have a tour to the WW2 sites?
Hopefully T2 will be out of quarantine before the next port.

No they didn't. The story is amazing and moving beyond belief. It is a pity it is not as well known as it should be. Today we are in Manila (we just docked) and we had planned to go to Corregidor to see the WW2 sites there. But T2 is still in quarantine, at the least until tomorrow so that will be postponed until next time. I am off on a drug run with prescriptions for T2 from the Philippine doctor on board. We and others have cleared them out.

 

[turtlemichael]

Some more Sandakan. I came across a Chinese New year celebration with dragon and very loud drums.

The politicians getting in on the act for Chinese New Year.


There are actually people inside the dragon. Who knew?


Everyone wants their picture taken and the thumbs up sign seems to be universal.


After we sailed out it was a splendid dinner on the deck.


Alex the very good keyboard player.

 

[turtlemichael]

Day 46 Feb 21 Manila

It was a scenic sail in to Manila Bay with photography helped by the smoggy air.


Moon over Manila Bay.

 

[turtlemichael]

Our day in Manila was very rushed.

It started with the very moving sight of many Filipino families coming on board the ship for reunions with their crew member son and daughters, husbands and wives. The majority of the crew is Filipino and Silversea arranges visits and lunches when the ships are in port. The excitement was intense as some crew members are away for 7 or 8 months. It is great to seen the people who look after us excited and happy.

Turtle 2 stayed on board and I went drug hunting, the prescription sort of course!. I had 4 prescriptions from the Filipino doctor on board. They looked for all intents and purposes like a prescription you'd get from a doctor in Australia. At the recommended pharmac_ they only had three of the items. The process with the pharmacist was for him to look at the scripts, hand them back to me untouched and then go to the cupboard and get the drugs. He added up the price and I walked out with both the drugs and the scripts. Clearly the prescriptions were of academic interest only as other people just went in and asked for the drugs they wanted and a few were taken from the boxes and handed over in exchange for small amounts of money. It is therefore not hard to work out why resistance to antibiotics is an increasing problem.

I trudged around to six other pharmacies and couldn't find drug 4 so it was mission partly accomplished.

Drugs in hand I did the long walk from downtown over to Intramuros, the very old part of the city. We were last in Manila over 30 years ago and my memories were vague. Unfortunately, this part of the city was flattened when the Allies drove out the Japanese in early 1945. Over 100,000 Manilans were killed, many slaughtered. The area now is a hotchpotch of development and there is very little left to see of what must have once been a fascinating place.

Our strongest memory of 32 years ago is of being then able to visit Malacañang Palace, the President's official residence, and see Imelda's 3000 pairs of shoes neatly racked and Ferdinand's medical ward where he was keep alive for months.


Rizal Park



St Augustin's Intramuros

Memorial to the 100,000 + Manilans killed in the liberation from the Japanese.


Statues of President Cory Aquino and her assassinated husband Benigno Aquino.


The Manila Hotel which has played and important part in the history of the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur lived in the penthouse from 1935 to 1941. Security outside was substantial.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

In 1995 or 1996 we stayed at the Sheraton Mainila for a medical conference. There was a man shot dead on the hotel steps and you could only go to the shopping centre on the hotel bus. We decided not to go sight seeing

 

[craven morehead]

In 1995 or 1996 we stayed at the Sheraton Mainila for a medical conference. There was a man shot dead on the hotel steps and you could only go to the shopping centre on the hotel bus. We decided not to go sight seeing

 

[turtlemichael]

Day 48 Feb 23 Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Kaohsiung is the second city in Taiwan, about half the size of Taipei. It is in the south a
nd is one of the largest container ports in the world. A lot of effort has gone into improving the city and it largely looks as if it is becoming quite a pleasant place to live, leaving aside the continuous tension with the mainland. We were in port on a Saturday and I was surprised to see how quiet it was. Streets were largely deserted and the roads very quiet. I was expecting to see lots of bustle with shopping the main activity but that wasn't the case. As T2 was following doctor's orders and just walking the decks rather than going out, I decided to have a look at an arts area nearby and then take the shuttle into the downtown for a bit of a nosey.

The arts area, called Pier 2, was composed of a series of previously derelict warehouses turned into restaurants, art galleries and studios. Unfortunately, when I got there about 11.00am, not much was open. In town it was even quieter. I'm sure it is an interesting place Monday to Friday.


Welcoming dancers at the Cruise Terminal.


The unusual building is the front of a popular music concert hall under construction not far from the Cruise Terminal..


In Central Park downtown.


Chinese Presbyterian Church​