HOME-IND - SRI - THAI - MAL - SING-HOME

 

We are closing out the year on another ambitious journey to the other side of the world that includes an incredible 13-night/14-day cruise throughout Asia that will check off five more countries visited for us.  This will be our longest cruise yet (Japan was 9 days, and South America was 12 days) and longest time away from home as well at almost three weeks. 

Friday, November 21 - We flew up very early today on American Airlines to the JFK Airport in NYC, and then boarded an overnight flight to New Delhi, India, on American Airlines also.  Since we had a long wait until our late evening flight, Ashlee had the great idea of securing us a Day Use room at a Courtyard by Marriott near the airport.  It was a quiet and relaxing way to spend the day instead of scrunched up in a seat at a noisy airport.  We both worked remote for a full day before heading back to the airport.

The 14-hour-plus flight to India (over 6500 miles from NYC) was very comfortable in our upgraded Premium Economy seats (thanks, Ashlee!) with good food and a lot of current movies and such to watch as well. 

Saturday, November 22 - NEW COUNTRY ALERT!  We landed in New Delhi in northern India, today (well, tonight there). It was the first time in this country for either of us.  We started our trip in New Delhi with one sole purpose: to see the Taj Mahal tomorrow before getting on our cruise farther south in Mumbai.   We stayed overnight at a nice Aloft Hotel (Marriott points for me!!) next to the airport.  There was an interesting amount of security around it with a check-station at the hotel grounds and our taxi being thoroughly checked before entering.

The air quality warnings were quite alarming, and the smog was very bad throughout India (even when they said it was just "mist" - nah, dude, that's smog).  We took masks with us but actually never felt compelled to use them throughout our stay in India.   It's summer here too, so the heat and humidity was ever-present as well. 

We purposefully stayed awake during most of our long flight so as to be tired and ready for bed when we arrived and it worked pretty well with neither of us suffering a ton of jetlag throughout this trip. 

Sunday, November 23 - As mentioned earlier, Ashlee had booked us a guided train trip to see the Taj Mahal today.  Since it's about 3 hours southeast from New Delhi in the city of Agra, and car travel can be somewhat crazy in India, taking the train there seemed liked a good call.   Our car to the train station was monikered correctly as a TOURIST vehicle (photo above).  Can't hide that fact, I guess! 

The sun tried its best to burn thru the smog of Delhi as we approached the chaotic train station.  Thank goodness we had a guide, or we would have never found the right train.  What a madhouse! 

Despite opting for "first class" seats on the Indian Railway to Agra, the train coach wasn't much to brag about.  But we had assigned seats that were roomy and fairly comfortable, and they gave us a bevy of fun and free snacks on the way and back.  

Our first glimpse of the dynamic wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal, was through the giant entry gate along with a lot of other people.  The crowds were large, but not overwhelming.  Our guide explained that the gate forms a pretty cool optical illusion as you walk through it and see the Taj Mahal as small in the distance when in actuality it's much bigger than the gate entrance.  

Our driver and our guide here were pretty good and efficient.  They even gave us fresh flower necklaces upon meeting him.  Although our guide did get us a bit duped into buying a ridiculously large photo package with a photographer onsite.  Our fault.  Didn't happen again.  "Nay-nay!!" became the first Indian phrase we learned.  

The ethereal beauty of the Taj Mahal only continues as you get close to it and see the amazingly intricate carving, etching and other stonework that was involved in creating this masterpiece from some of the hardest stone on Earth, Indian white marble.  
The fact that such a structure was built over such a long period of time (1631-1653) without the use of modern machinery makes it easily understandable as to why this mausoleum and one emperor's symbol of the love for his wife ranks among the greatest man-made wonders of the world. 
We were able to go inside as well, but no photography is allowed there.  

You rarely see photos of the back or Yamuna River side of the Taj Mahal, but it's rather grand as well and helps to show the scale of the sheer size of it.  

Yes, monkeys were numerous around the Taj Mahal complex and kind of cute, but evidently pretty brazen and very aggressive toward any open food and human interaction of any kind.  

The short video above is the traffic flow in a roundabout just few moments before our car showed up to take us back to the train station from the Taj Mahal complex.  It's organized chaos like this all over India, no matter the city or region, but especially up north.  There's a flow to it somehow, but how it works is beyond us.  We're just glad we got to experience some of it safely.  And the horns, constantly.  We don't miss the horns in Indian traffic! 

The amazement of Indian traffic also included almost constantly contending with animals.  Whether it was a small herd of water buffalo (nice pic from Ashlee above), sacred cows, stray dogs or the aforementioned monkeys, there was always something besides cars, motorbikes and tuk-tuks to contend with on the roads.  

Before leaving Agra, our guide showed us an interesting place commonly called the "Baby Taj" (photo above).  However, this mausoleum (the Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, the father-in-law of the emperor at the time) is actually older than the Taj Mahal (1622-1628) and looks to have been the inspiration for it was well with its extensive use of carved white marble also. 

While this historic and important piece of India's past has been saved, it was frustrating to us to see such little effort being put forward in the preservation and/or restoration here.  Even the world-famous wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal, was not pristine despite all the money flowing in from visitors.  The tourism dollars are flowing in India, but in what direction?  We saw this pattern continue throughout India.  

We sacked out at the hotel when we got back to Delhi and didn't explore more there.  It had been a long day and frankly we had seen enough of this area.  Let's move on.  

Monday, November 24 - We flew south to Mumbai, India, this morning on IndiGo Airlines, kind of the Southwest Airlines of India.  Nothing fancy, just decent and efficient.   We are staying the next two nights here at The Grand Hotel at Ballard Estate near the cruise port before boarding our ship on Wednesday.   At the airport in Delphi before flying out, we had lunch at our first McDonald's without beef (remember, cows are sacred here and not quarter pounders).  It was OK.  Chicken nuggets are chicken nuggets anywhere in the world, I guess.  

Flying in above the smog gave us this jaw-dropping scene pictured above of just some of the large areas of slums throughout the city.  That's our plane's shadow in the lower center of the picture.  

(Editor's note:  We just barely dodged a bullet by flying on IndiGo Airlines today as they began cancelling hundreds of flights just a few days later due to employees striking.)  

After settling into our decent "historic" hotel in Mumbai - you know what that means - tiny creaky elevator, weird room layouts and other oddities - food was on our mind as was some libations.  I found a craft beer microbrewery within walking distance, so we decided to check it out.  Two of our cruise companions, Karen and Angie, were staying at the same hotel and they met up with us later at Effingut Brewery along with Karen's old flame (and native of India), Tony.  The beer was decent; the food was good (and spicy): and the conversation and laughter throughout the evening was enjoyable.  

Tony and Karen met in the U.S., but Tony had to move back to India a few years ago to take care of his ailing mother.  He actually lives back up toward Delhi but came to Mumbai while we were here for a visit.  Tony quickly became our group's excellent impromptu tour guide since he could speak the language and could help us navigate around the bustling city.  
After dinner we visited the Gateway of India (left in the photo above) built in 1924 during British rule here and then left as brazen symbol of Indian independence gained in 1948; and the beautiful and historic (built in 1903) Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (right) and its opulent lobby (and really nice bathrooms).  

Tuesday, November 25 -We had a full day to explore Mumbai, and we felt more confident about it with our guide and friend, Tony.  We stopped for breakfast near the hotel at Araku Coffee which was clean and modern.  I had my first-ever mulled coffee here which was very interesting. Like mulled wine, the coffee is brewed with spices giving notes of green pepper, cherries and dark chocolate.  The food was excellent as well. 

After breakfast, Tony expertly negotiated our group a private boat ride out to the small harbor island that boasts the historic Elephanta Caves. I opted for a map picture here instead of any snapshots from the boat ride since sadly the water was very polluted and cloudy, and the smog enveloped us negating any decent landscape shots of value. 

It's a lot of steps up from the boat dock on the island to the Elephanta Caves themselves and with Ashlee facing a knee replacement after the first of the year, she gladly took the option of being "carried away" up to the cave entrance by four local porters.  It was a helluva climb and I realized pretty quickly I need to lose some weight!!  But I made it...just not as quickly as Ashlee!! 

The caves are man-made but given the time that they were carved out (somewhere between the 5th and 7th Century) is extraordinary.  They served as worship temples for mostly Hindu, but some Buddhist as well dating back even earlier. 

The scale and detail inside are quite striking.  While listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site this was yet another example of this country's minimal efforts to manage such a historic and meaningful location despite the tourism money flowing in.  For example, as mentioned before it's a very strenuous climb from the harbor to the cave entrances with 120 steep steps that a visitor (or religious pilgrim) must endure (unless carried like Ashlee!) and that process is supposed to be a time of reflection and rewarded effort for the visitor to the temples.  Instead, these steps are lined on both side with garish and sloppy souvenir stands of the same trinkets over and over all the way up.  Trash on the grounds is quite common also.  Not very reverent in our opinion.  

Back in the bustling city of Mumbai, Tony had hired us a car and driver for the afternoon to take us around to some scenic spots including the city's amazing train station pictured above. 

Outnumbered 3 to 2, Tony and I had to give in to the need for shopping by the girls.  But, I have to admit it was pretty good shopping in Mumbai.  Unlike the chaos outside, Tony and our driver found some really nice stores including the tiny San-Cha Tea Boutique that had a wonderful selection and tasty samples.  Both department stores including a Bombay Company that we went to had tons of lovely items for gifts and souvenirs at very reasonable prices.  

We just didn't have the "guts" to try the (infamous) street foods in India although some of it as in the photo above looked pretty good.  But it was probably for the best.  Neither of us fell ill in any way during the entire trip which was fine by us.  We had dinner tonight at the lovely and very American-sounding restaurant, The Table.  They even had a beef burger stashed deep in the back of the menu.  

After dinner, our driver took us across town to see the infamous billion-dollar house/skyscraper called Antilia (thanks AtlasObscura.com), the personal home of an Indian business tycoon and his family.  This was about as close as we could get to it in the photo above because you weren't even allowed to stop on the street where it's located.  There were armed guards and security everywhere and they were quick to tell us to get gone.  It was amazing and nauseating at the same time.  Acres and acres of slums nearby and you build this monstrosity?  And then you don't want gawkers on your public street after you build something like this?  What a mega-rich asshole.

Above is another fun look at the traffic at night in Mumbai and going by the beautiful train station again.

Wednesday, November 26 - We left Mumbai, India, aboard the Celebrity Millennium today. Our friends, Danny and Brenda, who went with us around the bottom of South America a couple years ago, joined us again on this big cruise as well.  We headed south away from the sprawling city and down the west coast of India.  We spent the rest of the day exploring the recently refurbished ship and partaking in some great food and onboard fun. 

Thursday, November 27 - We arrived in the port city of Mormugoa in the state of Goa, on the west coast of India today.  We did a "Best of Goa" cruise-sanctioned excursion that went north of the giant commercial port.  We visited the capital city of Goa called Panajim first and had some free time to walk around the city center, but other than the beautiful Catholic Church of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception pictured above, it was a bit of a bust.  

The afternoon consisted of two different historic fort visits.  We stopped first at the historic Reis Magos Fort (built in 1551 by the Portuguese) with its excellent sweeping views of the sea.   The entire fort is built of laterite stone, a reddish-brown type of limestone that actually gets harder with age which contributes to the fort's lasting durability and longevity.  
We also had a buffet meal prepared for us for lunch at the heritage hotel (built 1880), Panjim Inn, that was decent.  

The second stop was at the Portuguese-built (circa 1612) Fort Aguada and its massive Lighthouse (built in 1864) - one of the oldest in Asia.  

Friday, November 28 - Today was our first full day at sea as we continued south along the southwest coast of India in the Laccadive Sea/Indian Ocean.  Our next country to visit would be Sri Lanka to the south of India and we were anxiously watching the weather today as the northern part of the island nation was being hit by a deadly cyclone named Ditwah.  Cyclones are identified by men's names in the East instead of women's names for hurricanes here in the West.  

Our group of six opted for some specialty dining for dinner tonight on the ship at the fun restaurant, Le Petit Chef.  The excellent four-course meal (that's the salad course pictured above) was accompanied by some cool and hilarious animated projection onto our dining table.  We did this same presentation on the other Celebrity cruise we did around the bottom of South America a few years ago, but this show and presentation was totally different.  

Saturday, November 29 - Today's stop was the port city of Kochi on the southwestern end of India.   This was our favorite area of India that we visited.  This region at least seems to be trying with garbage and recycling programs, the use of solar power, and more serious preservation efforts of their historical and natural sites.  After a quick bus ride from the ship and port, we took a nice slow boat cruise around one of the several inner harbors that make up a good portion of the city. 

These historical and beautifully elaborate Chinese fishing nets are still in use today around the harbors of Kochi.  There is a large and lively fish market just behind these nets that we got to walk through and experience in some of the mildest weather we've encountered while in India. 

These recently caught hand-sized Leopard fish were for sale in the fish market we visited along with a bevy of types of fish from the harbor and deeper seas as well. 

An interesting stop in the afternoon while in Kochi was a performance of Kutiyattamno, an ancient non-speaking form of theater where facial expressions, body movements and a single drum beat help portray a classic story of good vs. evil.  The theater was small, but comfortable (with A/C, thank goodness) and while there was no speaking, there was some screaming at the end that we weren't expecting!  And that will wake you up!! 

Stepping inside one of the oldest (1503) European churches in India, the St. Francis, was well worth a look.  Besides its architectural beauty, we found it interesting that this was the initial burial place of explorer, Vasco de Gama, and that parishioners were initially cooled during services by the long fans seen in the photo above on the right and left side.  These fans moved by "toe-power" meaning indentured servants sat outside on each side moving the fans with their legs by a string tied to their big toes.  Jeez, tough job!! 

Sunday, November 30 - NEW COUNTRY ALERT!!  Today's stop was Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city on the southwest side of this new-to-us island nation.  We actually stayed in port overnight here.  We were also able to explore here on our own (they have Uber and it's CHEAP!!).   Our first visit was to the famous Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple.  It was an eclectic sort of mishmash of displays that looked more like a hoarder's warehouse than a temple.  Buddhas of every size and shape are scattered throughout here.  

Sri Lankan currency is the same as in India, the rupee.  It's beautiful in color like Monopoly money and only a little more valuable with an exchange rate of 0.0032 to a U.S. dollar.   So those 20's you see are worth about 65 cents each back here.  

Colombo is a very nice mix of the modern and the past as shown here with this shot from the pretty Seema Malaka Temple on the man-made Beira Lake downtown. 

Now THIS is more like it! Despite some smog drifting over from India (and yes, the folks here call it smog, but make sure you know it comes from India) we were able to start getting a few landscape shots on this trip that were pleasing to the eye.  This near sunset shot above is from the veranda of the beautiful and historic (1864) Galle Face Hotel where we had cocktails named after famous people who have stayed here (I had the "Indiana Jones" in honor of Harrison Ford) and snacks will enjoying the view and temperate climate.   Every evening at sunset they lower that Sri Lankan flag you see in a very formal ceremony that includes bagpipes.  A very cool thing to witness.  The odd hotel name comes from the fact that the property "faces Galle" - a historic city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka.

It continued to be a magical area at night as well with the waves breaking right up against the front of the hotel's property.  

From the Galle Face Hotel we walked north along the large oceanfront promenade called the Galle Face Green.  To our right was the pretty Lotus Tower all lit for the evening.  We would head that way soon thanks to another $2 Uber ride.  This shot is also a bit of an optical illusion.  The apartment building is only a couple blocks away while the Lotus Tower is a half mile or so away and actually much taller than the apartment building.  

Old and new again in striking contrast in Colombo.  We discovered that the beautifully lit skyscrapers pictured above were actually another hotel and private residences known as ITC One, and that the connecting skybridge is actually...

...a cocktail bar all decked out for Christmas!! We enjoyed a couple drinks here and even had a young Indian couple celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary share some of their cake with us.  

More Christmas fun awaited in the lobby of the hotel.  We were pretty surprised at how much Christmas is celebrated and embraced all around this area of the world that is dominated by Hinduism and Buddhism.  

Another two-buck Uber ride got us to the base of the striking Lotus Tower under a full moon.  The tower is over 1,100' tall and the tallest structure in South Asia.   

With a bit of contrast tweaking in the shot above, the sparkling city of Colombo burst out of the haze from India from the Lotus Tower's 360-degree Observation Deck.  

Monday, December 1 - Before leaving Colombo, Sri Lanka, late this evening, we had another almost full day to explore the area.  We spent the morning on our own back in town and then hopped on a ship-sponsored tour to a tea plantation situated a good distance from the port.  
Our neighbor at the dock this morning was the Ever Alot which is currently the third largest cargo ship in the world.  Check out the full-sized tractor trailer turning toward the ship for a real perspective of just how massive this old girl is.  

Thanks again to a cheap Uber ride, I filmed the video above which shows a fascinating tour through the open market area in downtown Colombo.  Our friends, Danny and Brenda, actually walked through this same area and said it was almost an overwhelming sensory overload of sights, sounds and smells.  

Our cheap Uber destination this morning was the amazing Red Mosque which is actually a Muslim place of worship built in 1909.  

We were having a little bit of buyer's remorse when we first started our tea planation tour since it was such a long drive out to it in the afternoon after a busy time in town this morning, but it turned out to be one of the most interesting and genuine excursions that we went on this trip. 

It started with a very nice and proper tea service on the grounds of the plantation manager's villa.  Sri Lankan "Ceylon" tea is considered by many to be the best in the world.  What we were given was smooth and delicious despite it being served hot in the sweltering afternoon heat and humidity.  

As we climbed into the mountains toward the tea factory on a tiny road that barely held our bus, the temps did start to taper off a bit along with the fact the sun was beginning to set as well.  When we met another bus or vehicle on the tiny mountain road it was a bit of butt-clencher, but we made it safe and sound up and back down. 

Every leaf of Ceylon tea here is still picked by hand for processing at the nearby Rayigam Tea Factory. 

The tour took us inside the Rayigam Tea Factory during full operation which was quite interesting.  We even got to go the quality control room where a human taster checks, identifies and grades all the tea coming out of the factory.   

On the way back from the tea plantation, we thought the bus had broken down when the driver suddenly stopped on the side of the road and jumped out urgently.  No problem with the bus, however, the driver just happened to spy of nice bunch of bananas on the side of the road and wanted us to indulge if we were so inclined.  And we did!  They were the sweetest little bananas I had ever tasted.  Much better than plantains.  I mean what other tour stops and gets you free roadside bananas?  

Tuesday, December 2 - Today we arrived in the port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka, on the southern end of the island.  Our destination inland today was supposed to be the well-known Yala National Park.  However, Cyclone Ditwah that we were monitoring earlier in the trip did have some impact on the national park and our tour had to be cancelled.  We were given a nice alternative and an actually more-expensive excursion at no upcharge to visit neighboring Udawalawe National Park for an elephant safari. 

Hambantota is another giant and busy shipping port.  There were acres and acres of new cars (photo above) parked at the port.  These cars aren't made here or imported here.  This port is just a transition stop for them coming and going throughout the world. 

Whoo-hoo!!  Our first real safari!  We got a sweet Toyota safari vehicle with four comfy seats situated up high for good viewing along with our friends, Danny and Brenda.  Our driver and guide were both great at seeking out and finding an abundance of wildlife throughout our time in the national park.  

Seeing elephants in the wild for the first time was simply amazing. 

Elephants are the stars of the show here.  There are over 400 in the park, and we saw a ton of them.  But we also saw several other inhabitants of this national park including a big crocodile on the other side of this small lake pictured above.  Also, on our winning nature bingo card we saw tons of beautiful birds including kingfishers, red and blue bee-eaters, peacocks and waterfowl aplenty.  There were spotted deer "spotted" as well as a mongoose crossing the road, and a huge group of monkeys frolicking in a large tree.  What a hoot!  Time to go to Africa now!! 

The buffet meal served on today's tour at the Centauria Wild Resort was one of the best we've had I thought. 

The video above shows some of the 2:30 PM feeding time for the rather large group of orphan elephants at the Elephant Transit Home which is also within Udawalawe National Park.  Human contact is limited with these guys so they easily return to the wild as adults. Damn if they ain't cute!!  

Wednesday, December 3 - We started two days at sea with today having us cross the Bay of Bengal.  The ride was a smooth as leather and lace which is just what the blue waters looked like below our ship.  

Ship-board activities were abundant, but I am not sure we enjoyed one more than the "Beyond the Podium" lecture series held by Ms. Linda Walker before each cruise stop.  Ms. Walker gave great insight into what we were going to encounter, the best things to see and do, and what to avoid with informative historical information about the ports, personal experiences she garnered from previous visits, and also some great humor included a rather X-rated monkey photo she took.  We were thrilled to actually meet Linda in person later in the cruise and gush over her fan-girl style!!  

Sunsets at sea are always so magical.   After enjoying the free show by Mother Nature tonight, we went to our second specialty dining experience of the cruise this time at the fancy Tuscan Grille.  The food and service were out of this world.   We enjoyed not one, but two bottles of the excellent Wairu River Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  It was quite a night! 

Thursday, December 4 - It was another day at sea that got us moving into the Andaman Sea with smooth water again.  The ship was all dolled up for the upcoming holidays as well with the grand staircase being turned into Ashlee's dream of a giant Christmas village.  We attended another good lecture today from the captain of the ship himself giving us some insight and behind-the-scenes info as to what he and his crew have to do insure smooth sailing for us passengers.

Another excellent sea day drops below the horizon.  We traveled over 1,000 nautical miles during this crossing.  

Friday, December 5 - NEW COUNTRY ALERT!!  We arrived in Phuket, Thailand today, a country both of us have had at the top of our want-to-see lists for a long time.  And look, Ma, no smog!!! Hoo-ray!!!  This was our first and only stop that required tendering in from the ship due to the shallow harbor.  

After a short bus ride from the port, we jumped on a much smaller sea vessel as we headed out across Phang Nga Bay to see the famous James Bond island by speedboat within the surreal Ao Phang Nga National Park. 

It's nothing but pristine nature porn here.  Wow! 

We cruised slowly past amazing giant deciduous limestone karst stalactites that have been preserved inside the national park.   

In terms of natural wonders, this stop beat all the others hands down.  

Our first speedboat stop was at "James Bond Island" named so since it has views of this incredible karst tower (known locally as Ko Ta Pu) which was the backdrop featured in the 1974 film, The Man with the Golden Gun.  

Our second stop was the floating fishing village of Koh Paynee.  At over 200 years old, the village serves more for tourists now than as a functioning home for Indonesian fisherman for whom it was founded for and by originally.  Every structure is built on stilts over the shallow bay including a mosque, restaurants, gift shops, homes and even a soccer field! 

The ride back was equally enjoyable with different views from a different perspective.  This day will be hard to forget.  Too bad we didn't have more time here.  But it's already on the We Gotta Come Back List.   

So, is that a problem here in public toilets in Thailand?  I guess so.  

As we tendered back to the ship just after sundown, we know we sure would have traded a stop or two in India for more time here. 

Saturday, December 6 - NEW COUNTRY ALERT!!  We arrived in Penang, Malaysia, another first-time-country for us to visit.   And to be completely honest, we've never heard of Penang which is actually the state we are in and the city here is known by the very English name, George Town.  Well, we were in for such a great surprise - very traditional and super modern combined, aesthetically beautiful, with incredibly warm and friendly people. 

We also loved that we docked right at the city, so no need to crawl across some giant commercial port or be bound to a ship-only excursion.  We decided to tackle the city on our own armed with knowledge from our most recent lecture with Linda.  We knew what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go.  Unfortunately (and surprisingly) Uber is not available here, so we decided to hire our own driver for the day from the throng of people shouting at as you come out of the port.  It's kind of intimidating and you kind of feel like everyone's just trying to rip you off in one way or another.  From the masses we locked eyes with man of short stature with a big smiling face and took the leap.  It was a very good jump!  Enter Ali into our lives with whom we struck a deal for $25 per hour with him taking the four of us (Karen and Angela joined us for the day) anywhere we wanted to go and then waiting for us when we were ready to move on.  And it worked perfectly, I am happy to say.  

First stop, UP TOP!!  It was easy to see how densely crowded this vibrant port city is from the 360-degree observation deck of the Komtar Tower that is simply called "The Top."  Ali agreed with us that we should do this stop first since the possibility of storms was predicted in the afternoon.  It was a good call as the tower was not very crowded on either the 65th or 68th observation decks. 

Looking west from The Rainbow SkyWalk, a semicircular glass bridge that juts you out from the 68th floor.  I was proud to see Ashlee and the girls do this one after chickening out on the glass floor a few stories below this.  

Next up was what we called "the battle of the Buddhas."  There are two exquisite (eat your heart out, Sri Lanka) Buddhist temples in George Town that are right across the street from each other.  The one pictured above is the Dhammikarama (easy for you to say) Burmese Buddhist Temple with its huge standing Buddha.  I left the worshippers in the photo above to give it some scale (no disrespect intended).   

 Wat Chayamangkalaram (easy for you to say) is the Thai Buddhist temple right across the street that features the gigantic Reclining Bubbha.  Again, spotless decor throughout. Once again, I left the worshipper/visitor in the shot for scale (no disrespect intended).    

One of my favorite shots of the trip.  This is Umbrella Street, obviously.  George Town is a whimsical and beautiful city with postcard shots around every corner.  

We spent some of the afternoon apart from each other - the girls went shopping, and I went in search of craft beer (which I found!).  And good ol' Ali was there waiting patiently when we met back up.  

Our last spot was the very cool Chew Jetty, a neighborhood of waterfront homes and businesses built on stilts.  Note the plastic buckets filled with cement as house supports in the photo above. Unlike the fishing village in Thailand that we visited, the Chew Jetty had real homes mixed in with the touristy gift shops making it feel much more authentic.     

Our Penang Gang along with the Awesome Ali.  We want him to go everywhere with us!! 

An amazing storm cell settled in over George Town as well sailed away this eveningd.  Our good luck with weather continued on this trip.    

Sunday, December 7 - We arrived at Port Klang, Malaysia this morning near the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.  This was bit of a frustrating stop because it's another gigantic commercial port and the city itself is nearly an hour away, so we were limited in what we could do other than excursions from the ship which weren't great.  We opted for a city tour much of which was while sitting on a bus passing sites.  The city looks great.  Very modern and a ton of greenspace, but a lot of our day was wasted getting to and from the city or just passing by interesting sites like their beautiful train station some of which is shown in the photo above.  

Our first stop was at the massive Petronas Twin Towers that have become the modern icon for the city.  We had a chance to pay to go up in the towers, but our excursion included a different tower later in the day with supposedly a better view of the entire city. 

At the base of the Petronas Towers, however, is a massive indoor mall which are definitely still a thing here in Asia.  We checked out the huge food court on the second floor for lunch, and the numerous choices were kind of overwhelming.  I settled on some Korean-style fish tacos that were pretty good.  Ashlee's fried chicken choice however was a greasy bust unfortunately.  We wondered around the mall for 45 minutes or so afterwards, but even the girls were kind of shopped out by this point.  We loaded back up into the bus and continued on to our next stop. 

The KL Tower we were promised was a much better vantage point for seeing the city than Petronas Towers, And it's 360-degree viewing platform at 906' off the ground is impressive.

The ultra-cool (and so new that it's not even open to visitors yet) Merdeka 118 skyscraper is the second tallest building in the world.   

As mentioned before, we were surprised at all the green space in this sprawling city.  It was very frustrating not to have more time here to explore.  I guess we will just have to come back and fly straight in to save time!! 

We had dinner tonight back on the ship in the fancy specialty dining upgrade at Luminae Restaurant and the star of the show was this flaming dessert in the video clip above.  It was as tasty as it was cool in presentation. The milk chocolate sphere melted away enough to reveal a decadent white truffle and more chocolate mousse inside!  So good! So rich!    

Monday, December 8 - Today was our last day at sea and it had us already missing our awesome ship.  She's a beauty from stem to stern.  Above is a full picture of her a few days ago anchored off the shores of Phuket, Thailand.   

We were continuing east in the Strait of Malacca today and on into the Singapore Strait tonight and into tomorrow.  It was more smooth sailing all day and night and we enjoyed more of the ship amenities including the outdoor pool, the outdoor hot tub, and even a showing of Elf tonight outside on the upper deck where they have a large movie screen mounted.  In our stateroom over the course of the trip, we enjoyed watching some fun (and hilarious at times) Red Bull Soapbox Derby Racing on our TV.  These races take places all over the world each year.  We are working on attending one of these in person as soon as possible if we can!  

Well, it looks like we dodged more bullets (literally this time) after leaving Thailand a few days ago.  We were actually nowhere near the Cambodian border, but it still made us feel a little uneasy.

Tuesday, December 9 - NEW COUNTRY ALERT!!  We arrived early in Singapore this morning to disembark from our floating home for the last 12 days.  We traveled over 2,900 nautical miles on this amazing cruise.  

Before flying home from here, we will be spent the next two nights at the famous (and cruise ship-inspired) Marina Bay Sands Hotel with its unique silhouette against the skyline and its giant infinity pool on the roof.  Even from the ship in the harbor this morning it looks impressive. 

The lobby of the Marina Bay Sands is pretty mind-blowing as well.  We disembarked from the ship pretty quickly after breakfast and it was just a short cab ride to the hotel in one of the nicest minivan/cabs we've ever seen.  It had captain's chairs in the back of it!   Our room wasn't ready yet, so we stored our bags and headed up to the top for a look. 

The rooftop infinity pool is only open to guests with room keys which we technically didn't have yet.  But we were still able to take a rooftop look toward the harbor where we spied our next two destinations. That's the Flower Dome is in the foreground and the Cloud Forest Dome behind it.  The whole area pictured below is called Gardens by the Bay with tons of attractions in it.  

The entrance to the Cloud Forest Dome is pretty jaw-dropping with one of the tallest indoor waterfalls in the world at well over 100'. 

Even though Jurassic World: The Experience is not a permanent part of the Cloud Forest Dome, it sure should be.  It's a perfect combination!  We fill fortunate to have visited while this was going on here. 

The walkways have your soaring up through the cloud forest full exotic plants and stunning views inside and out.  

 
Lots of beautiful and interactive displays were scattered throughout the dome as well.  This room's projections are activated by where you step on the floor or touch on the wall.  

The Flower Dome is equally impressive (and actually bigger than the Cloud Forest).   It seems like every type of flower in the world is contained in here. It currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for the largest glass greenhouse.  
In the background of the shot above is the Singapore Flyer, a giant Ferris wheel.

And the addition of Christmas Train Show at The Flower Dome only made our visit even better.  Timing is everything, I guess! 

Did we mention you just can't stop looking up at that crazy hotel! 

We got notice that our room on the 27th floor in Tower 3 of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel was ready.  It was so opulent and had a killer city view

The full killer view from our room.  The large, roofed building in the foreground is another giant mall.  The flower looking structure to the right is a science museum.  The lake is part of the confluence of the Singapore River flowing out to the bay behind us.  

Did we mention there's a giant infinity pool on the roof?  This is a Bucket List location that we've had on our radar ever since the hotel opened back in 2010.  Yes, it was pricey, hence why we could only stay two nights!  But, oh, so worth every penny.  Pictures just don't do this place justice at all.  

We had a great afternoon lounging by and dipping into the refreshing pool with its world-class views.  The poolside bar service was quick, and the Singapore Slings were smooth and delicious.  

Spoiler alert as to why swimming in the infinity pool isn't as scary as it looks.

Oh, and there are infinity hot tubs on the bay side.

Remember the crazy huge mall I mentioned earlier...

Eat your heart out Bellagio in Vegas.  This free light and water show called Spectra happens a couple times a night in front of the Bay Sands Hotel and blows yours away.  

The amazing hotel takes on an even more magical look at night.  

Singapore is known as The Lion City, but their mascot is a half-fish, half-lion, called a Merlion.

Meanwhile back at the zoo in Lebanon..our good friend, Leslie, was housesitting for us while we were gone and taking care of all our pets.  She brought her dog, Beaver, up to stay as well and her and Sunny hit it off.  The quickly became the best of pals.  Thanks so much, Leslie, for your help!! 

Wednesday, December 10 - Our last full day in Singapore started off as a beauty with this bayside sunrise.  Best we can figure all the ships at anchor out in the bay makes Singapore like a big ocean truck stop.  The big ships don't move, but little tender boats are constantly moving back and forth to them.  

We kept finding places decked out to the max for Christmas.  This is charity project called Charitree where local Singapore businesses and organizations sponsor Christmas trees displayed along the city side lake promenade.   

After lunch at Black Tap at the giant mall at the base of the hotel (we needed some American fare and craft beer), we headed over to Chinatown to do a little shopping a looking around.  There's no Uber in Singapore, but cabs are cheap and plentiful and clearly display your rate as you travel with them.  

Even when it rains in Singapore, there's beauty in it.  This might look like a charcoal drawing, but its actually an iPhone time-lapse photo during a downpour with the color saturation eliminated to produce the black and white effect.  

We FINALLY ran into some rainy weather this afternoon in Singapore (we've been really blessed on this trip with great weather), but we had a great place to wait it out at the historic and beautiful Raffles Hotel near Chinatown.  

Our goal at The Raffles Hotel was to have a drink or two at their famous watering hole, The Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling was invented back in 1915.  It was crowded with the rain coming down, but we got a table upstairs fairly quickly and enjoyed some cocktails, craft beer, and unlimited free peanuts (you can throw the shells on the floor - the only place you can legally litter in Singapore).

The weather cooperated again with us tonight after dinner (some excellent dim sum) as we headed back over to the Gardens by the Bay area beneath what they call the Super Trees.  These giant man-made trees actually have real flora growing in their trunks.  At night they glow beautifully and have their own coordinated music and light show which happened to be Christmas-themed tonight.   

Super Trees AND Christmas galore!!  How lucky were we to visit here during their Christmas Wonderland event??  

Heck, they even had their own flying Santa with a real dude in the sleigh!! 

Thursday, December 11 - We flew home today continuing east thru San Franciso which technically means WE'VE FLOWN AROUND THE WORLD ON THIS TRIP!! And it only took 30 hours of our lives!!   
The Singapore Airport continually gets awards for being one of the best in the world.  They were all decked out for Christmas today, of course.  

The airport has a huge area for travelers to relax in called The Jewel.  Unfortunately, the huge waterfall in the center doesn't come on until 10 AM when we were already boarded.  

It was another smooth 14-hour flight to San Francisco this time on United Airlines.  We sat in their own version of premium economy with wide comfy seats and even better entertainment than American Airlines had.  By the way, the white clouds you see sometimes on take-off and are called wingtip vortices created by condensation in the air.  
We also got a great deal to actually upgrade and sit in First Class form San Fran to Nashville which made the last leg of the long trip very nice.  

What an amazing trip!  In hindsight, we see that it got progressively better as it went along with our opinion being that India was probably a one and done for us, but that Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and definitely Singapore are on our list to revisit if possible.  Maybe even a cruise out Singapore and back??  We shall see!!  Until then we will close this chapter with a tribute video below to our best friend on the trip:  "Mr. Toilet" who always greeted you happily in our hotel room bathroom at the Marina Bay Sands...