Friday, March 15, 2013

Our 115 day World Cruise, day 69, Nha Trang, Vietnam

Today Sandi was not with Irwin at coffee!  It was just the 3 of us until Bob and Cecil came in!  We have not seen them in quite awhile.  We all had a good time chatting until Vicki said" I thinK I am going to faint....not a good thing to say to me...as I am questioning her, I felt myself starting to go down too!  That is all we need is the two of us piled in a heap in Starbucks!  lol!  She does not know why she felt faint....I sure knew why I did!  lol!

We really are trying to get it together and eat more healthy.  I am enjoying reading Dr. Andrew Wiels book, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health.  We are moving in that direction and it is very close to the Mediterranean Diet.  He is very holistic and is the founder and owner of the True Food Kitchens.  There are none on the east coast but they will come.  The food is wonderful and the theory is longer life and anti-inflammatory.  This is something that I think Vicki could really benefit from exploring!

In keeping with our new lifestyle.......
                                                        WE CHOOSE TO DANCE!
                             

                                          DANCE GIRLS DANCE!                                      

Where we did not go today ....but the Amsterdam did!
                                           
at Sea March 14, 2013 Thursday

Just as we expected, the weather warmed up significantly as we sailed in a southerly direction through the night. Back is the humidity which keeps us moist and warm. Looks like we will be spending a lazy day, which we believe we have earned.

Explorations speaker, Robert Shrire, delivered a talk on the most unlikely democracy in India. He dealt with sensitive subjects of caste conflicts, religious differences, and illiteracy and poverty. All interesting subjects, except we are not visiting India on this grand voyage. Well, actually some folks will be going there on a very expensive overland trip. It is really unusual to be skipping Mumbai, as we go there every year. In fact, last year, the ship's crew added razorwire to the lower promenade deck before we headed across the ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Wonder if that will be necessary before we leave Sri Lanka and head towards the Seychelles, also in the same area?

The other exploration speaker, Adrian Cooper, lectured about incredible varieties of habitats and species in Southeast Asia. Barbara H spoke all about Singapore and things to do and see while there. It is also another one of our favorite places to visit. Lastly, a new celebrity guest chef has joined us, Naomi Kakiuchi. We think she may be from Japan. Too bad all of the spots have filled up for the cooking classes with these guest chefs. We should have been able to sign up for a complimentary one with our new 5 star standing with the Mariner Club. But they are overbooked for the rest of the trip as far as we know. At least they sent the complimentary culinary aprons in lieu of missing out on the class.

A very strange thing happened to us and our tablemates last night at dinnertime. Out of the blue, one of the head waiters from deck five brought a lady to our table, sent to us by one of our cruise friends. It seems that this passenger had been placed at our friend's table and they decided to move her out of there to us without asking. That should not happen, and we would never do that to anyone else without warning. We have the large table, but wished to keep two seats available to invite guests that we all know. To keep the peace, we all have agreed to ask first before inviting. Well, not to be mean, but this lady was not compatable with all, especially after announcing that she was a "contessa". She actually gave Martha a card with her name on it with a crown above the name. She is still chuckling about that. Yes, everyone was polite, but not comfortable. So three of us went to some of the responsible dining room staff who we knew could correct this intrusion. They said no problem, since the lady was supposed to be moved to another table anyway. She was not assigned to us. However after receiving her new table assignment, she informed the staff that she was coming back to us anyway. We hate to be put in this difficult position, but we and our tablemates are territorial about our time in the dining room. We let the staff know how we felt, and they agreed to re-route her. Long story short, it did not happen. She showed up, and we had to inform her that in two days, with Bob coming onboard, there would be no room for her at this table. She said she understood, and quickly was seated at a table for eight. Now we're the bad guys. Going back to the beginning, this should have never happened, and could have been avoided from the start with no ill feelings from anyone. In hind site, we should have gone to the dining room manager, Tom G., and informed him of the touchy situation. He would have handled it differently, we are sure.

Looking forward to a free day to do as we wish in Nha Trang, Vietnam tomorrow.

Bill & Mary Ann

 Nha Trang, Vietnam


Lovely sail into the harbor of Nha Trang Vietnam……  Right now I am just finishing up the packing for our trip to Cambodia.  I am looking forward to an awesome adventure.  I will post when I can, until then enjoy!

 

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