6 November 2007 Phuket, Thailand

6th November 2007 - Phuket, Thailand

Arrived Phuket early morning and took a tour to James Bond Island. We travelled by coach for the full length of the Island of Phuket and crossed to the mainland over the Causeway Bridge, skirting Phuket town on the way. We were very surprised to see a high incidence of mosques in a country that we understood to be mainly Buddhist. However, we learned that the island is populated by a mix of Thais and Malays which explains this fact since the latter are strictly Moslem. Along the route we saw many rubber plantations where it is common to grow pineapples and other crops between the rubber trees during the first 6 years before rubber can be tapped.

On the mainland the scenery was, initially, much of the same but soon we saw dramatic and steep limestone hills. Arriving at one of the inlets of the Phang Nga Bay we boarded our transport for James Bond Island. On the trip we passed many small boats that looked exactly like those in the movie "The Man With The Golden Gun"; that is to say, rather like a liquidiser sticking out of the back of the boat. On closer inspection these very long prop shafts actually looked like truck engines with extended drive shafts with propellers on the end that sprayed water all over the place as well as driving the boat. These were simply lowered into the water to propel the boats by tilting the whole apparatus.

The trip was exciting with lots of irregular shaped islands of limestone sticking straight out of the bay. What cannot be seen from the movies is that much of the sea area is very shallow, but more surprisingly, the actual James Bond island seen on the film is a relatively small stack, although interesting in shape. It's made to look big by the camera angles.

We also visited a genuine kampong stilted village populated by Indonesian immigrants - so also Moslem - where the regulation tee shirt was purchased. We followed with our first genuine Asian meal at the end of the trip. Although we have an Indian chef on the ship, all the food is incredibly bland and over cooked to accommodate the sensitivities of the 'old dears' so this was our first spicy food.

We travelled back by coach and took an hour out to post the last blog - we're now into 5 star hotels to do this, at least they have clean facilities - and do a bit of shopping. All in all, an impressive day in Thailand.

5 November 2007 Cruise Past Nicobar Islands

5th November 2007 - Cruise Past Nicobar Islands

A calm day at sea, we passed within 3 or 4 miles of Great Nicobar Island which, we were advised, is uninhabited. It was, though, possible to see some buildings on the shoreline. However, views through the binoculars showed clearly the serious and extensive damage caused by the Tsunami of December 2004. This would be expected given that these islands were within 50 to 100 miles of the epicentre of the Boxing Day earthquake.

Whilst the trees on higher ground exhibited the usual jungle foliage associated with this part of the world, all the trees on the shoreline backing the beaches were reduced to dead stumps and these extended the full length of all the beaches we could see. It would seem that it will take a considerable time for a full recovery of the eco systems.

3 November 2007 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sri Lanka 3rd November 2007
Did our own thing today. Much security in the city due to the fact that the second in command of the Tamil Tigers in the north was shot early this morning. We were security checked every where we went and were not allowed to photograph the clock tower, the world trade centre or any other politically sensitive areas. We tried to post a blog but had a problem with it appearing in Korean so aborted. We then hired a taxi for the rest of the day and managed to see all the sights of Colombo including the Buddhist Temple, the Hindu Temple, the Dutch Reformed Church, National Independence Monument etc.

1 November 2007 Cochin, India

1st November 2007 - Cochin, India
We elected not to disembark the ship at this port as there was a general strike on the day of our arrival and everything was shut. Mandi managed to persuade someone who did get off to purchase the mandatory T shirt. We took some photos from the ship.

31 October 2007 Halloween

31st October 2007 - Halloween On Board
Got in to the spirit of things and dressed up for the occasion along with a few of our friends. See photos.

28 October 2007 Oman

28th October 2007 - Oman
Took a tour called Oman Heritage which travelled into the 'real' Oman. First we went along the easterly cornish to the coastal village of Taqa where traditional rafts and boats are still made. We saw views of the village from the cliffs and then visited the castle previously occupied by the Wali (local tribal chief). Next we went a further 20k to the tomb of Bin Ali who brought Islam to southern Oman - a very striking building and impressive tombstone. This was on the outskirts of Mirbat, a traditional Omani fishing port, where a number of traditional buildings with elaborate carved doors and windows still survive. We also saw the fort - not as well preserved as Taqa - and amazingly a collection of over a dozen teenage girls waiting at the door of the Madrasa (school) for a bus which was to transport them to an exam. The women in the party were allowed to talk to them but not the men. They were very happy to show Mandi and Jackie their geography books. Photographs were strictly verboten. We moved on to the port where we witnessed the catch of the day (see photos) being landed from traditional dhows. We returned to the ship via Salalah were we drank coconut milk through a straw straight from the topless (macheted) husk.

25 October 2007 Yemen Volcano

25th October 2007
Something unexpected and not on the itinerary. As we cruised down the Red Sea (Latitude 15 32 N and Longitude 41 50 E) there was an announcement to the effect that there was an active volcano erupting and that we would pass very close to it. We witnessed ongoing multiple eruptions on the volcano which comprises the Yemeni island of Jazirat At Ta'ir. The peak stands at 244 m above sea level and we witnessed three active domes, the highest, a perfect cone, being the currently active vent. At our closest we were just 1.5 nautical miles off the volcano. The captain changed course to allow us spectacular views of the eruption and lava flows ranging in colour from white through yellow to red. A once in a lifetime experience that any vulcanologist would die for. Unfortunately, even 1.5 nautical miles was too far for good stills but we have an excellent video. We do, though, have some grainy digitally zoomed shots.