Darwin - back on home soil!!

 

 

We jumped from the gangway to step back onto home soil. We had planned a very relaxed day because we have been to Darwin many times, and most places are closed early on Saturday.

After finally completing the customs details, we headed off to the taxi rank with our friends, Colin and Judy, to go to the Casuarina Shopping centre.

At every port we have visited in all parts of the world, there has always been a long line of taxis at the port eager for business, but not in Darwin!! A long line quickly formed in the hot sun as we waited for the elusive taxis.

We had been handed a map of Darwin as we passed through the terminal, and so I spied the phone number of a taxi company among the ads, and phoned them to come down to the pier cause there was a line-up of about 40 people – within a few minutes they did arrive so we were on our way quickly.

We had a few things that we wanted to do, get some cards, a new watch battery and it was great to walk around and see the familiar shop names again.

After a few hours, we took a taxi to Callum Bay with Colin and Judy, to a café they had been to before – the Buzz Café – famous for their seafood. It was a very hot day outside, so we spent a couple of hours relaxing on the waterfront, sharing a glass or two of white wine and a delicious lunch – a perfect, relaxing  end to our last port day on this cruise.

After a visit to the gentlemen’s facilities, Colin and Arnold came back to the table laughing and told us that the men’s toilets were ‘interesting’ and we should visit them – so after checking with a male patron that they were empty, we went in with another lady to investigate– to discover that the glass wall around the café was in fact, one way glass, so the men could see back into the restaurant while standing there – if you get my drift!! – a bit daunting, I would have thought!! The seats in the cubicles were clear, with red backed spiders embedded in the resin – remember that old song about a ‘red back on the toilet seat’ – only in Darwin!!

Back on the ship, our last sail away party at the back of deck 11 lasted until well into the night – we are blessed to have made some wonderful friendships in the past three months, and we have had a lot of fun.

Now we have five days before our next port, Sydney, which is the disembarkation port for most of the passengers.

We are staying on until Brisbane, but we are so excited, because Rob and Ruth are flying to Sydney and will be cruising back with us for the final two days – we can’t wait to see them again!!

 

 

 

 

 

Flying High in Kuala Lumpur

Back in the city, we drove past the Petronas Towers and CK asked if we wanted to go to a vantage point to take photos, since it is difficult to get good photos of the perspectives of the towers from close up. He took us down a side street and we were able to get great photos looking back across a car park and grasslands.

We went up the KL Tower (aka Menara Tower) which was hosting an international base jumping weekend – we took the rapid lift to the 300metre observation deck …… my heart jumped into my throat a few times as we stood at the window of the deck …… and suddenly a body tumbled past us rapidly falling to the ground below…. some even went in tandem……waiting till the last minute before opening the parachutes…….nerves of steel!!!! I am pretty sure that base jumping is illegal from buildings in Australia - and I can see why - it really is taking your life into your hands!!

Just as we were leaving the KL Tower, we were in time to see the midday performance of a traditional Malaysia cultural show - great colourful costumes and enthusiastic dancers.

CK dropped us off in the Bukit Bintang area for a couple of hours - a mix of more oriental style shops and some very modern western malls, as well as the traditional Chinatown style food stalls and street vendors.
 After lunch and a wander around the Bukit Bintang shopping area, we decided to fill the time with  a Thai massage since we weren't really interested in the shopping.

We have been to Kuala Lumpur many times before, but we noticed the amount of modern development and construction that is going on …….. as well as the expansion of the residential areas further out towards the port ……  it is becoming a very modern cosmopolitan city which we enjoyed again…. I could quite happily come back and spend more time here.

Stairway to Heaven at Batu Caves

 

This morning we visited the Batu Caves, about 30 minutes outside the city of Kuala Lumpur.

 Driving through the gates, we were confronted by the gigantic 44 metre gold statue of The Hindu deity, Murugan.  The gigantic gold statue cost 240 million rupees (about 8 million AUD), and is constructed of 1550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel and more than 300 litres of gold paint imported from Thailand. This enormous statue overshadows a veritable Stairway to Heaven, the massive staircase up to the sacred Hindu temples, inside the caves.

CK, our guide told us that this was the most holy place for those of the Hindu faith in Malaysia. As a tour guide, he comes every day, but has never made it to the top of the staircase. When we asked him about the caves at the top, he said that they were basically empty with some statues.

The steps looked daunting….

Could we do it??

There was only one way to find out so we set off……. slowly at first to pace ourselves. There are 276 steep steps in flights of 17… so I counted every flight …… stopping to turn around and catch a glimpse of the views back across KL, whenever I needed to catch my breath.

We had been warned not to carry anything that the cheeky monkeys who live in the area could swoop on and steal……….. sunglasses, cameras, food and anything that could crinkle and sound like a food wrapper and that they could be quite aggressive to get food.

Suddenly, we heard screaming above us, and looked up to see a young girl surrounded by three or four of the Macaque monkeys, pulling at her t-shirt …….the more she screamed, the more monkeys gathered – probably attracted by the screams of her mother who joined in for the chorus! Eventually dad stepped up and saved his two women, as the monkeys turned their attention back to the coconuts and oranges that they were carrying.

There were a couple of baby monkeys – curious like all children … so mum calmly sat with her paw on one’s tail as it tried to get away …. so entertaining, and great photo opportunities.

Finally, the top was in sight … just as well as I really had to use the railing to help me up the last flight ……. reached the summit ….. looked inside the caves …. and what did we see??? …….. more steps going down and then another  three flights on the opposite side of the cave up to the main temple.

Over 100 metres above the ground, the caves are a complex of three main caves and a few smaller ones leading of from the side walls. The largest cave is the Cathedral cave, with a very high ceiling with natural windows which let light into the caves, with the main temple devoted to Murugan. The whole complex is considered a sacred site, so each cave contains a number of smaller temples, each one staffed by a monk in classical orange robes. The caves themselves are fascinating, long stalactites hang down from the ceiling. Of course, there is also the obligatory souvenir shop selling religious iconic statues.

Once back into the sunlight at the top of the steps, we took photos of the views back over the city of Kuala Lumpur and the myriad of small souvenir stalls, food vendors and money changers at the entrance far below.

My legs felt like jelly as we finally reached the bottom of the steps, where Garry and Arnold were accosted by a group of local ladies in saris and head scarfs who asked if they could have their photos taken with them – they did look different from most of the other dark skinned Malaysian men around us – now they have their own harem!!!

The base of the steps draws flocks of pigeons as they are fed seeds brought by visitors. As we walked back to the car, we stopped to watch a professional photographer taking photos of a young couple – maybe engagement photos? The photographer was trying to gather all the pigeons around their feet by throwing seed on the ground, and then waving a peacock feather to get them to fly around the couple while he took the photos – judging by the look on the girl’s face, I don’t think this was the type of photo she wanted!!

We told CK that he was missing a great experience if he had never been up to the caves, and he should go to the top and see the caves for himself… he said that he would get in training and walk an additional flight each day, until he could make it to the top…LOL.

It is easy to get from the city to the Batu Caves by train, local bus, taxi, or private tour – as we did, because Princess didn’t offer a tour to these caves.

 

Happy Birthday Megan

Tonight the Captain put on a pool side cocktail party, although Megan decided that it was HER birthday party attended by nearly 2000 of her nearest and dearest friends … and so she graciously  thanked him for his efforts!!

Megan and Malcolm, are two of our kiwi friends that we met on a previous cruise and they are great table mates, so of course, we had to celebrate Megan's birthday in style at dinner. We decided that the theme would be an 'Arabian Nights Party', so we brought suitable head wear when we were in Turkey and decorated the table accordingly.

Another wonderful night of fun at our dinner table – we are so lucky to have such great table mates!!

Cue Alice and the white rabbit....

Every afternoon, a very formal high tea is served in the Dining room… picture this ….. a piano player tinkling the ivories… white gloved waiters …….delicate cucumber sandwiches…. luscious cream cakes….. scones with jam and cream…… lashings of chocolate ganache…. the best china ware …….

                                                                                                                    so civilised….. until today.

The occasion…. the Dawn Nomads Mad Hater's Tea Party…. the invitation said to put on your craziest hat… and about 60took up the challenge and came along in all manner of headwear to share afternoon tea with their friends and have some fun. Cynthia and Timothy, as well as Brigitte, Thom and Bernie from the cruise staff came along to judge the winners and join in the frivolities.

The photos tell the stories……