And I was very glad I did! :)
Swimming and sunbathing in Egypt (√).
Saqqara, Egypt.
The Step Pyramid of Saqqara. The oldest pyramid of them all.
Spoiler Alert: I was right when I thought that the pyramids were located at the middle of the desert but that was thousands of years ago. It was so surprising that they are actually part of the city. And what's also surprising is the KFC and Pizza Hut stores by the gate entrance in front of the Sphinx!
Had some troubles from the Egyptian authorities last time.. Almost got arrested by taking videos on some restricted areas! :( But all's well, they let me go unharmed! Hehe
The Sphinx and The Pyramids of Giza (√)
TheTreasury. Petra, Jordan (√)
Petra (Greek "πέτρα" (petra), meaning rock; Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ) is a historic and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that has rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans,[2] it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourism attraction.[2] It lies on the slope of Mount Hor[3] in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Seato the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007 and aWorld Heritage Site since 1985. Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die".[4]*
Priceless!
* courtesy Wikipedia
The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (√)
So I just finished my first 7-day cruise onboard Thomson Celebration and I must say, so far so good..
The itinerary is to die for: Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt; Aqaba/Petra, Jordan (overnight); Sokhna/Cairo, Egypt; Safaga/Luxor, Egypt (overnight).
The photo team is awesome. We are currently missing a member but everyone works well with each other. Ferg is my manager, he's English. The other photographers are Ciprian aka Chip/Chippy from Romania and Delfin my paisano.
The work hours are nothing compared to my schedule from my previous ships. I am working for another company now based in the UK, by the way.
Things I love about this ship:
• The size is just right. It used to be the old Noordam and being a Holland America Line (HAL) baby, their ships will always have a special place in my heart.
• The cabin is so spacious. We actually have a couch inside the room plus a fridge.
As usual, no food allowed in the cabin but we're permitted to drink!
• The food is delicious. And we're allowed to eat at the Lido anytime we want. Last night they had an Asian buffet and I almost dropped my tray when I saw some familar Filipino food favorites: vegetable lumpia, maja blanca, turon, fruit salad, enseymada, pansit and champorado! Yum! And they serve this every week! =D
I really think I'll gain some weight here which is not bad because it's part of my plan, to become more huggable when i get back. Wink!
• The atmosphere is very relaxed.
• We can use the passenger gym.
• We are just a phonecall away. Yes, we can be reached in our cabin through IDD! Just hit me if you want the number. :)
• The OB (Officer's Bar) is just a few steps away from my cabin. Always a nice way to end the night with a few beers and catch up with fellow crew members. The OB here is more like a lounge, slightly different from HAL's OB. It's well lit, no jukebox but with a very BIG home theatre TV, still a smoking area with very loud people.
• This is a British ship. So the guests are mostly, if not entirely, British. Except for the Filipinos that work on Deck and Hotel Dept. and the Indonesians at Housekeeping Dept. everyone else from the crew is British; the cast, the entertainment dept. and the officers.
• I love the scones! In the afternoon, I always go up to the Lido for a light snack of scones and some English tea.
• The salary is in British Pounds!
Things I don't necessarily hate but could have been better:
• The internet. There's only one wifi hotspot and it's entirely on the opposite end from where I live. And it's so f*cking slow. :(
I haven't really been out on ports that much except when I have to go on tours. So my next agenda would be to scan the places with wifi zones and I need to hit the beaches soon as well.
I just have to warn you guys that since everything around me is so English, don't be surprised when I get back home with a British accent! LOL
Bangkok Part 1: The Grand Palace
Our ship docked in the port of Laem Chabang. About 2 hours away from Bangkok and 45 minutes away from Pattaya. We had two days to spare there so we decided to travel to the farthest place first and then come back at night, book a hotel and party the night away in the Pattaya district. We were lucky there's a lot of us in our group so we just split the $150 van rental amongst us and I think I just paid less than 15 bucks for the day trip. You should be aware though that you need to bring extra money for souvenirs, food, entrance tickets etc.
First stop, the magnificent Grand Palace!
Welcome to the Grand Palace!
Grand Palace in Bangkok (√)
If there is one must-see sight that no visit to Bangkok would be complete without, it's the dazzling, spectacular Grand Palace, undoubtedly the city's most famous landmark. Built in 1782 - and for 150 years the home of the Thai King, the Royal court and the administrative seat of government - the Grand Palace of Bangkok is a grand old dame indeed, that continues to have visitors in awe with its beautiful architecture and intricate detail, all of which is a proud salute to the creativity and craftsmanship of Thai people. *
Restoration going on.
Within its walls were also the Thai war ministry, state departments, and even the mint. Today, the complex remains the spiritual heart of the Thai Kingdom.*
Ministry Buliding
Thai Guard.
Within the palace complex are several impressive buildings including Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), which contains the small, very famous and greatly revered Emerald Buddha that dates back to the 14th century. The robes on the Buddha are changed with the seasons by HM The King of Thailand, and forms an important ritual in the Buddhist calendar. Thai Kings stopped living in the palace around the turn of the twentieth century, but the palace complex is still used to mark all kinds of other ceremonial and auspicious happenings.*
Wat Phra Kaew.
Temple ornaments. Wow.
Buddha Bless You.
Devotees.
Rituals
Some kind of Reflection..
Important Note:
A strict dress code applies. The Grand Palace with The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is Thailand's most sacred site. Visitors must be properly dressed before being allowed entry to the temple. Men must wear long pants and shirts with sleeves (no tank tops. If you're wearing sandals or flip-flops you must wear socks (in other words, no bare feet.) Women must be similarly modestly dressed. No see-through clothes, bare shoulders, etc. If you show up at the front gate improperly dressed, there is a booth near the entrance that can provide clothes to cover you up properly (a deposit is required).*
The Neptunes. Pants for rent are also available in purple color. LOL.
*courtesy Asia Web Direct
But wait there's more! More bits from Indonesia..
The art of Batik making.
Batik is a cloth which traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Due to modern advances in the textile industry, the term has been extended to include fabrics which incorporate traditional batik patterns even if they are not produced using the wax-resist dyeing techniques. Silk batik is especially popular.*
Javanese traditional batik, especially from Yogyakarta and Surakarta, has special meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. Traditional colours include indigo, dark brown, and white which represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahmā, Visnu, and Śiva). This is related to the fact that natural dyes are only available in indigo and brown. Certain patterns can only be worn by nobility; traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines of greater width indicated higher rank. Consequently, during Javanese ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.*
The Puppet Show
Wayang is an Indonesian word for theatre (literally "shadow").[1] When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theater, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of shadow puppet theater are accompanied by gamelan in Java, and by "gender wayang" in Bali.*
Music is her life.
Singing is her passion.
The puppet master.
Wayang golek are wooden doll puppets that are operated from below by rods connected to the hands and a central control rod that runs through the body to the head. The simple construction of the puppets belies their versatility, expressiveness and aptitude for imitating human dance. Little is known for certain about the history of wayang golek, but scholars have speculated that it most likely originated in China and arrived in Java sometime in the 17th century.*
Wayang Golek
UNESCO designated Indonesian batik and Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppet theater and the best known of the Indonesian wayang, as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on October 2, 2009 and 7 November 2003, respectively. In return of the acknowledgment, UNESCO demanded Indonesia to preserve their heritage. *
*courtesy Wikipedia
"You're not normal if you don't have a problem.."
Life at sea could really be challenging if not particularly lonely most of the time, and I must say most of us sailors retreat to the comfort of our cabin (or someone else's)to listen to music, watch a movie, chat online and write e-mails.
That's basically what I'll be doing in my SAILOR MAIL entries. I'll be writing rants, opinions, problems and impulsive momentary emotions that might need to burst out whenever the need arises..
Emo stuffs..
You see, life at sea is a roller-coaster. It could be fun and exciting but it could also be very difficult and really demanding.
And this is how I cope.
I have yet to see China's Great Wall but I was glad I took the $40 crew tour to see Indonesia's most famous monument, hidden deep in the jungle, the mysterious temple of Borobudur.
Borobudur Temple, Indonesia
Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.[1] A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.*
The Stupa
Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.*
An exposed Buddha
Reaching and touching Buddha's hands for good luck!
The first circular platform has 32 stupas, the second 24 and the third 16, that add up to 72 stupas.*
A circular row of stupas.
Forest view.
Of the original 504 Buddha statues, over 300 are damaged (mostly headless) and 43 are missing (since the monument's discovery, heads have been stolen as collector's items, mostly by Western museums).*
Temple Buddhas
Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative panels), which cover the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface is 2,500 square meters (26,909.8 sq ft) and they are distributed at the hidden foot (Kāmadhātu) and the five square platforms (Rupadhatu).*
Amazing Relief Sample
My friend Natalie.
More reliefs.
My friend Sean.
The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.*
A carved gargoyle-shaped water spout for drainage.
A gate.
The lion gate guardian.
Pilgrims and tourists
My friends Lucy and Rean.
Josh, Anthony, Club HAL girl :), Maria and Patrick
Photo Op :)
Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The facts behind its abandonment remain a mystery. There is no written record of who built Borobudur or of its intended purpose.*
Borobodur Temple, Indonesia (√)
*courtesy Wikipedia
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