World Cruise - Day 73 - Mar 25 - At Sea

We got up late this morning due to staying out watching Movies Under the Stars last night, hence, no sunrise pics.  As they would say back in Milwaukee, “It’s a soaker out there today!”  The temp in the early morning is already well into the 80s and very humid.  Krissie is going walking out on the deck and I am going to play ping pong.  Both definite soaker events.

Pete, thanks for the info about the durians.  Someone else mentioned that they were jackfruit, perhaps the same thing?  I would guess they are not allowed in the cabs due to either: a) their juiciness; or b) their stain-inducing qualities.  Or both?

Patti, the champagne waterfall means that they pour champagne into the top glass and it cascades down into the glasses below.  One thing they also do is put a grape several of the outside glasses for stability.  The champagne they use for the waterfall is pretty yucky stuff, so you want to get a glass from what they are pouring rather than from the waterfall.  You were right about the foursome on the motorcycle only being a threesome, I changed the blog entry.

Morning trivia was a bit of a repeat, most of the questions we had heard before.  But just because you’ve heard the question (and answer) before doesn’t necessarily mean you will have retained the answer.  Today was no exception.  We got 16 out of 20 correct, the winning team got 18.  Here are the four we missed:  What country led the way by abolishing capital punishment in 1826?  Russia (we put Netherlands).  The oboe gets its name from a French term meaning what?  High wind (we put high wood).  What is the name of the lowest deck on a ship?  Orlop (we put poop deck).  What was the name of the man who founded the Methodist religion?  John Wesley (we put Thomas Wesley).

Today is Sunday, so that means no Zumba (Cabaret Lounge is used for Catholic mass on Sunday mornings) and since it is a sea day, it also means Sunday brunch:

I always take a picture of the dessert area because it’s so pretty and colorful, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually taken a dessert from there.  I usually look it over, then go back to get another stilton cheese rolled in walnuts (which is outstanding) along with a hard wheat roll.

We got 15 out of 20 in afternoon trivia, winning team got 19.  Questions we missed:  Of which country was Bob Hawk the Prime Minister from 1983-1991?  Australia (we put New Zealand).  Which British composer co-founded the Promenade Concerts in 1895?  Bob Wood (we put Sir Edward Elgar).  What type of bird is a grey lag?  Goose (we put duck).  What nationality is race car driver Ayrton Senna?  Brazilian (we put Spanish).  Norman Foster is a famous man in what field?  Architecture (we put brewing).  Other tough questions that we got:  What is the international car registration for Switzerland?  CH.  What kind of food is a mascarpone?  Cheese.  In what country is the port of Gdansk?  Poland.  In Greek mythology, where did the minotaur live?  Crete?  What famous novel ends with the line, “After all, tomorrow is another day.”  Gone With the Wind.  What is the capital of Zimbabwe?  Harare.  Sophia is the capital of which country?  Bulgaria.  Where was Gloria Estaphan born?  Cuba.  What was the title of Stephen Spielberg’s version of Peter Pan?  Hook.  Lake Garda is in which country?  Italy.  What is mal de mer?  Seasickness.  The Great Red Spot is a feature of which planet?  Jupiter.

We were talking with others last night about the customs we learned about in Vietnam.  “MBA” is the term for marriage, primarily meaning marriage by arrangement (many marriages in Vietnam are by arrangement), but also having several other meanings.  The average wage is $1,000/year (20 million Vietnamese dong, since it is 20,000 to 1), you can have as many children as you want (vs. China, where they have a one child policy), although if you work for the government, you are limited to two children.  Only those working for the government are required to be members of the Communist Party, most others are not.  You are required to wear a helmet when riding a motorbike (we didn’t see anyone without one other than children, who are not required under age 6, although some of our photos showed kids older than that without a helmet) and technically are restricted to only two people on a motorbike (although that’s not really observed nor enforced).  According to one of the guides, every Vietnamese man aspires to: 1) own a car; 2) own a home; 3) get paid in US dollars (USD is highly valued in Vietnam and widely accepted by the vendors); marry a foreign wife, especially Japanese (not sure we understand that one).  Ironically, lots of Chinese men marry the Vietnamese women and bring them back to China.

Entertainment tonight was Preston Coe, the tenor whom we heard from a few nights back:

Tomorrow is Laem Chabang, Thailand.  It is pronounced “Lam Sha Bang” whih makes it pretty fun to say.  It is considered to be the gateway to Bangkok, but Bangkok is about 2½-3 hours away by car or bus, so those who have either: a) done Bangkok before; or b) are doing Bangkok at some point in the future, are looking for things to do closer to port.  We will be visiting several sites closer to port, since we are planning a trip in 2014 or 2015 to go to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Angkor Wat, when we will get to spend several days in Bangkok.  We thought we would skip it this time around to avoid duplication with that upcoming trip.  That way, we can spend more time doing things and less time traveling.  We will be going with four others (Mary Norwood, Alex Kowalski, Lanny and Marcia Alexander) on our tour.  They have all four been to Bangkok previously, so it works for them as well.