Cochin Post Office

St Francis Church 1503 - burial place of Vasco da Gama. Note the manual overhead fans in the photo below, operated by Indians from outside the church

Cochin, India

Several days at sea in the Bay of Bengal had many passengers sea crazy. It was a rough crossing as indicated by the pools being closed for most of journey because they behaved more like washing machines than swimming pools. The ship looked like a parking lot at a nursing home, walking frames in every corridor. Finally we reached Cochin, India

Cochin is a large shipping port handling 5 million tons of cargo a year. Cochin is actually a cluster of islands connected by bridges and ferries.

The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama led an expedition at the end of the 15th century that opened the sea route to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.  King John III rewarded him by making him Indian Viceroy, but he soon became ill and died in Cochin on Dec. 24, 1524. He was buried in the St. Francis Church, the oldest in India. The history of St Francis church mirrors the colonial struggle of India. It started as a Catholic/Portuguese church, then Protestant/Dutch, then Anglican and now the Church of South India.

Cochin is a small place with a only a few but significant landmarks; the St Francis Church, Fort Cochin and Mattancheri. We visited all of these in 35+ degree heat in a tuk-tuk, the dominant local transport. The day was uneventful but hot, hot, hot…….

What did you have for dinner last night?

Appetiser:
Crabmeat and Papaya Cocktail with Citrus Vinaigrette
Soup: 
Cock-a-Leekie Soup (Chicken, leel & potatoes in Scottish broth)
Main: 
Salmon Coulibiac with Spinach & Rice en Croute
Vegetables: 
Grilled Vegetables Baked in Puff Pastry

Dessert: 
Burned Rhubarb Napoleon with White Peach Ice Cream
 Wine:
Grant Burge Sparkling Chardonnay - Methode Champenoise  (of course)

Martini Time

Hi,
 It's martini time so I thought I would share a Bond Red Eye and chilli olives with you all. Cheers! Most of the day its water but at 4pm it's a good way to change gears heading into the evenings activities.


Larry Hagman is on the ship, he is a load of fun to talk to with stories right back to "I Dream of Jeannie". It was so strict at the time that the USAF had to clear many of the scripts to ensure they were not too close to reality or gave away any military secrets, WOW..... now back to my martini.

Kuala Lumpar

After a calm trip up through the Malacca Straits, watching out for pirates, we dropped anchor at Port Kelang container terminal. We are within spitting distance of Kuala Lumpar (KL) population 25million. Like Canberra and Adelaide, KL is a fully planned city but inland so is a sticky 35+ degrees. Kuala Lumpar means, “muddy estuary” at the junction of the Klang and Gambock rivers. Of the 87 original settlers, 70 died from fever or tiger attacks in the first six months. Now, it is the air hub gateway to Asia and rivals Singapore as the most popular city of this region.

Having been to KL previously, the days’ agenda was more of a shopping trip. We rushed to the KLCC to Isetan Shopping Mall sitting under the Petronis Twin Towers, once the tallest building in the world. New socks, Italian underwear, jeans and work shirts at a fraction of Sydney prices. KL IS the place to shop!

With first priorities complete we headed to the massage parlour for a famous THAI sports massage and again limped out but feeling great. Time was running out so we walked the Jalan Bukit Bintang and took in the local culture.

Singapore in pictures

Off on an army duck....

Standing at the top of the Singapore Flyer, 42 stories high.....

Singapore looking past the observation car in front of us. The Singapore Lion is top right on the waterfront.

Sunset over the Singapore oil refineries where much of our aviation fuel comes from....

Singapore – Selemat Pagi!

Singapore is at the west most tip of the Malayan Peninsula sitting almost on the equator. It has a population of 4.8million with 77% Chinese, 14% Indigenous Malay and 8% Indian. We were warned not to drop any rubbish or to chew gum, as both of these are offences in Singapore. Jaywalking is also a highly policed offence that leads to arrest and fine.

We started the day with a city highlights tour in an old, but gaily painted, WWII Army Duck. It drove us around the city then slipped into the harbour for a look from the wet side. Whilst on the harbour we spotted the biggest Ferris wheel ever so headed for it next.

The Singapore Flyer, the newest and highest ferris/observation wheel in the world at 165 metres (higher than a 42 storey building) was our next tourist event. The “London Eye” Ferris wheel is only 130 metres.  Amazing is an inadequate description, the carriages are fully air-conditioned and large enough that you can have dinner in them if you wish. People get married in them! It takes 30 minutes to complete one revolution.

After this we needed rehydration so went to Raffles Hotel for a famous Singapore Sling at $US20, but you get to keep the glass. In early Singapore women were not allowed to drink alcohol in public so Sir Stamford Raffles invented this drink that looks like a fruit punch but contains lots of alcohol.

Lunch was at China Town that looks like every China Town in every other city of the world, nothing special but the food was actually Malaysian and excellent.

To wrap up the day we taxied over to Orchard Rd and walked its length window-shopping some of the biggest brands and most luxurious shopping centres I have seen. Singapore is almost the same prices as Sydney for nearly everything. The only discount is in the exchange rate of $AU1 = $SG1.20, not really enough to entice you to spend up.

Back to the ship and off to Kuala Lumpar