Shadows of the Pukka Sahib

Prepared May 20, 2012, at home Kona, Hawaii, USA

  


April 1, 2012 in port Penang, Malaysia:  Tea at the E & O

In the early morning of April 1, Silver Whisper entered the South Channel between Penang and the Malay Pennisula  and began to maneuver and dock at Swettenham Pier on Penang Island.  By 8:00am, the ship was tied up and cleared to disembark.

Butterworth Container Port and Local Junk from South Channel

Penang was the British Empire's original toehold in Southeast Asia, and along with Singapore, it made up the Straits Settlements.  Although it is now overshadowed by Singapore as a trading and shipping center, it is still the major port at the northern entrance to the Straits of Malacca.  Penang Island  and a small area across South Channel on the Malay peninsula make up the province of Penang.  It feels more Chinese than Malay and is, in fact, the only Malaysian province with a Chinese majority.


Since we had been in Penang before (the most recent time in 2010), we decided not to go ashore on a tour or walkabout.   A leisurely morning was spent on board the ship, and after lunch, we left the ship to join other world cruise passengers for a World Cruise event  -- Tea at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel in George Town.  The Eastern & Oriental Hotel dates from the 1880s and was established by the Sarkies brothers who, based on the E&O's success, opened the now much more widely known Raffles hotel in 1887 at Singapore two years after the E&O.  Like the Raffles in Singapore and the Peace in Shanghai, staying at the E&O on your grand tour east of Suez was de rigueur.  So, the guest book is full of the late 19th and 20th century social and political elites.  To drop a few names Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, Sun Yat-sen, Charlie Chaplin, Sir Noël Coward, Douglas Fairbanks, Hermann Hesse, and Lee Kuan Yew.

Eastern & Orient Hotel Street View

Eastern & Orient Hotel Oceanside View

For the short ride from the Swettenham Pier to the E&O Hotel, we were put on trishaws and sent out into the afternoon traffic of George Town.  It was a real thrill to see Honda and Toyota turning lights at eye level.  Being pedaled through the streets by a Tamil who appears to be less than a week from his next incarnation, makes a good case for cruelty-to-humans laws stronger.  Think tuberculosis and smoking!  The short trip was made in convoy with about 25 other trishaws containing other world cruisers.  It was a scene that could only be described as bazaar!  Two non-Asians in a trishaw is an overload,  two world cruisers in a trishaw after months of overindulgence onboard ship is way beyond overload.  Anyway, after passing under the guns of Fort Cornwallis, and by the offices/go-downs of the trading companies, and many banks, we arrived, sans car grill emblems on our bodies, at the E&O Hotel and were escorted by the staff and with drumming to a large banquet room.  (In earlier times, guests might have wondered if he or she was going to be served!)

All Aboard the Trishaw

E picked this one because she liked the flowers (plastic)

Trishaw on the Road

Note convertible top - down in this Image

George Town Clock Tower Roundabout

George Town City Hall (Part)

George Town Police Station

Reception Line at E&O Hotel

The tea was a testimony to why traveling in large groups can lead to food poisoning.  Tea was poured from large (~5 gallon) samovars that gave forth very weak tea, while the scones could have been used as weapons in a street riot.  Think of the E&O's tea as tourist bus "rest stop" offerings.  The good news is that all of us seemed to survive the experience with no ill effects.   Unknown to us, the "tea" included another cultural show with Chinese, Malay and Indian dancing accompanied by canned music played on a hyperactive sound system.  One advantage my fellow passengers with hearing aids have in a situation like this is that they can just turn them off!  Unfortunately, some had to suffer.  Gamalong and gongs at 90db are not for the weak of heart.  But, this too was survived.

Let the Culture Begin

Malay, Chinese and Indian hybrid dance. 

After free time, mostly in the hotel's gift shop, it was onto a tourist bus for the 10 minute ride back to the pier.  After re-embarking, we had a late afternoon sailing and a course set to cross the Bay of Bengal, around the tip of India, and on to Cochin, India.


About a half hour out of Penang, the Captain announced that the executive chef, Jean Marie, had acquired an exceptionally large fish to be served at dinner.   If any of us wanted to see it before it was carved, it was on the pool deck.  Of course, armed with a myriad of the latest in digital camera technology, the passengers rushed to the pool deck to photograph the fish.

April Fools!!!

Thailand and Through the Straits of Malacca

Prepared April 23 and 24, 2012, Gulf of Aqaba and Aqaba, Jordan and Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

  

March 28, 2012 anchored off Ko Samui, Thailand:  A Day in the Sun or Not

After an overnight cruise from Bangkok, we anchored at mid-morning in the Bay of Thailand off the small island of Ko Samui where we were joined by the M/V Europa.  Unless you wanted to lay on the beach or snorkel, it was a port visit without much to visit.  (When the local shopping guide's main item to purchase is pirated copies of Western CDs and DVDs, you know you are in trouble.)  Except for some Buddhist temples and a few tame elephants to ride, there just wasn't much to do. These were not an  attractive set of options to J and E, and coupled with the long run into shore on the ship's tender (in rather choppy water), we voted to sleep late, stay on board working on the blog, and reading.  About 6:00pm, we uped anchor and sailed for Port Klang, Malaysia.

Oh Great!  Now Two Cruise Ships' Passengers Looking for Something To Do

M/V Europa, Hanseatic Line

Thai Long-Tailed Fishing Boat Off Ko Samui

In fact, we were in such a low activity mode, we did not go to dinner in the dining room, because we would have had to dress formal, but went to the La Terrazza, the ship's Italian restaurant.  (J still had to wear a suit, which he claims has shrunk in the closet since the beginning of the trip.)  However, the formal gods struck back and gave J a night of communing with the commode.  Not a cruise experience to be recommended!

March 29 and 30, 2012 en route to Port Klang, Malaysia:  Here a Ship, There a Ship, Everywhere a Ship!

Our course, through the South China Sea, around Singapore, and into the Straits of Malacca, took us through some of the most heavily-trafficked sea lanes in the world.  Since we had little to do but play bridge and listen to excellent lectures by guest speakers, J photographed passing ships and created a mosaic that would give an idea of the variety of ships and their density in these sea lanes.  All of the photos were taken within the daylight periods on 29 and 30 March as we passed near Singapore and entered the Straits of Malacca.

Shipping Off Singapore

The ship's doctor, hearing via the ship's ever-active rumour mill of J's upset stomach, asked J to come in for a consultation with him.  The doctor pronounced that J had a case of gastritis (caused by hyperactive acid glands) and gave him some anti-acids, and sent him on his way.  Actually, the condition had passed by this time, but the long-term effect was that J was more prone to missing meals and less prone to over eating.  Sadly, it did not help the suit problem. 

On the evening of March 30, we had dinner with Fernando, the cruise director, and 7 other guests.  Dinner with Fernando in The Restuarant is always a great evening, because Fernando is a skilled raconteur and has many stories of his 30-plus years at sea on cruise ships.  He is also a diplomat and keeps even the most potentially hostile guest in a non-combative mood.

March 31, 2012 in port Port Klang, Malaysia:  A Birthday Party

Docking at Port Klang at 8:00am, we decided to sleep in, have a late breakfast, and stay on board.  Kuala Lumpur is a 30-minute shuttle bus ride from Port Klang, and we decided a bus trip was not in the cards.  Besides, we have visited KL several times and could not think of a single reason to suffer 60 minutes+ on a shuttle bus.  Picky, Picky.  We spent the day reading, working on the blog, chatting with friends, and generally lazying about.  We did bestir ourselves to the point of attending an excellent classical piano concert in the early evening.

Tug Along Side, Port Klang, Malaysia

Tied Up, Port Klang Cruise Terminal

At 7:30pm, we were off to a cocktail party (more club soda) and dinner to celebrate our bridge friends' (John and Pinky) birthdays.  It was all-in-all an entertaining evening at a table for 12 in the dining room.   Dinner and conversation continued into the late evening and we did not return to our room until about 11:00pm.  As a famous diarist said, "and so to bed."