2015 ADVENTURE – PART 6

Passengers aboard the MS Rotterdam VI come from many countries and backgrounds and, no doubt, have just as many reasons why they travel.  Some, though able-bodied, spend most days in the casino playing what used to be called ‘one-armed bandits’.  Others just sit by the pool, their skin slowly assuming that leathered look.  One couple spend their days in the library; all day, every day.  At the other end of the spectrum are those riding in wheelchairs, pushing walkers, driving motorized chairs, walking with one or two canes, and even one man who gets around on a scooter.  Yet, at every port, they’re the first ones to leave the ship.  One woman we met never goes ashore because she’s afraid she’ll fall.  She’s traveling with friends and would rather be here than freezing in Québec, or alone in Florida.

There are so many things to do aboard ship.  I’ve read a couple of dozen books since we boarded, the best being The Art of Fielding by Chad Harback.  Movies play three times a day.  There’s live entertainment twice every evening.  Dancers, singers, jugglers, acrobats, comedians - we’ve seen quite a variety.  But the best, by far, was a guy by the name of Pingxin Xu who plays an instrument called the hammer dulcimer.  It looks from a distance like a writing desk, has 140 strings, and is played with two hammers that look like chop sticks.  He played Joplin, Brubeck, Mozart, The Sabre Dance, The William Tell Overture, and many other pieces we’d heard before, but not on the hammer dulcimer.  He had us all spell-bound.

For those who like to dance or just listen to live music, three lounges are on the go every evening.  There’s the daily mass, an interdenominational service and a gathering of Jewish faithful.  We’ve come to quite like Father Lou, a retired priest from Michigan.  And that’s saying something for a heathen like me!

Some travelers take the easy way out and book excursions with Holland America.  At the other extreme are those ‘independent’ travelers who prefer to do their own thing and just hire a taxi or tuk-tuk driver when they reach a port.  Others do extensive prior research and hire guides.  We’re somewhere in the middle, budget-conscious but eager to see and experience new things.

One couple from Québec bought their trip at the last minute, boarding, like we did, at Southampton.  Without a visa, they weren’t able to go ashore at any of the four ports we visited in India.  So, from Dubai to Yangon they were stuck on the ship for 11 days straight!  They’d planned to disembark at Yangon, only to find out they couldn’t get a visa for Myanmar.  Were they ever pissed!  Sometimes, you can be too smart for your own good.

Our first stop in Indonesia was the capital city, Jakarta, on the island of Java.  The day we arrived was our first rainy day after 43 days without!  It also marked the half-way point of the cruise.  The country is composed of some 18,000 islands, only one-third of which are inhabited.  Over 240 million people live in Indonesia, 140 million on Java alone.

The highlight of the day was meeting up with our École Régionale Évangéline classmate (Class of ‘70), Jean-Paul Poirier, and his Russian-born wife, Galena.  They’ve lived in Jakarta for the past two years.  We spent the morning in their lovely apartment and then drove to a mall in the city centre where the girls did a bit of shopping while Jean-Paul and I caught up on things.  He’s worked in some very interesting places, including Haiti, Burkina Faso and Guinea.  He and Galena plan to stay in Jakarta until the end of his current contract in three years’ time.

Our next port of call was Samarang, east of Jakarta, on the island of Java.  The main attraction in this part of the country was the Buddhist temple of Borobudu, a long day’s drive.  While it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we were ‘templed-out’ and so decided to skip this one.  Instead, we took the shuttle into the city centre, walked around and did some shopping.  This is what a typical mall parking lot looks like in Indonesia.

After a day at sea, we arrived at the island of Bali.  While the dominant religion in Indonesia is Islam, the majority of Balinese are Hindu.  Many of the ship’s crew are Balinese.  Excited families waited on the dock for the ship to arrive, anxious to spend a few precious hours with their loved ones.  I’m sure it’s a tough life, being away from home for so long, but the money and working conditions are better.  Kind of like Fort Mac is to Islanders.

Bali is not a large island, perhaps 40 kilometres long and 20 or so wide, but 4 million people call it home.  Tourism is the main industry and the place is very busy, much like Phuket in Thailand.  Elva and I decided to strike out on our own for the two days we spent there, and taxied the first day to Jimbaran Bay, a beach recommended to us by the onboard location guide.  Our first impression was a bit disappointing as the place was covered in all manner of litter.  But, it’s also where these fisherfolk eke out a living.

As we walked toward what looked like the town, the beach got cleaner and we came to a row of seafood restaurants.  Further along, we came upon the Four Seasons Resort.  I decided to check it out up close and see what it would cost for a room if ever we decided to come back this way: $650 to $850 a night!  I don’t think so!  We ate lunch at Menega’s, a beachside grill that served up the most delicious fish I’ve ever tasted.

On our second day in Bali, we hired a taxi and drove to the city of Ubud, stopping along the way at a batik factory and a place that made silver jewelry, both of which offered excellent opportunities for Elva to indulge in her favourite pastime.  While in Ubud, we visited the monkey forest, home to a semi-wild population of Balinese macaques.  I bought a handful of bananas for the little critters and tried to spread them around as best I could.  But, the dominant male would have none of it.  The greedy bugger got most of them in the end, stealing from the smaller members of the troupe.  And Elva couldn’t resist capturing this interesting entre-deux!

Before returning to the ship, we had the driver take us to Sanur beach.  Here, finally, was the Balinese paradise we’d heard about.  We strolled the beautiful boardwalk and peeked at the beachfront hotels, imagining ourselves spending time here.  Two days weren’t enough for Bali; we’ll be back!

 

The captain announced very sad news to passengers and crew as we sailed toward nearby Lombok Island.  On his day off, the Rotterdam’s Beverage Manager, Marthinus van Schoor, lost his life in a surfing accident on Bali.  The news cast a pall over everyone onboard.  I didn’t know the man, but I couldn’t help but think how devastating the loss would be to his staff and colleagues.  Imagine having to leave him behind without being able to say goodbye; not being able to pay your respects to his family; and having to meet the sometimes unreasonable demands of guests while dealing with your own grief.

Lombok is the laid-back version of Bali, an island of similar size and landscape, but with one-third the population.  Paired up with the Crockers, we hired a taxi for the day and set off through verdant countryside on first-class roads with comparatively little traffic.  The dominant crop is rice.  We stopped at a village inhabited by the Sasak people who live in traditional houses.  The highlight, as is often the case, was this unexpected and spontaneous concert put on just for us by a group of local boys.

From there, our driver took us to an isolated beach.  We were the only ones there.  The picture speaks for itself.

“Here, there be dragons!”  Seeing the Komodo dragon in its natural habitat on Komodo Island was on my bucket list.  I can now strike that one off.  While it doesn’t breathe fire, the dragon, actually the world’s largest lizard, can smell blood from 5 kilometres away.  I made sure to join in with a group that included only post-menopausal women.  Better to be on the safe side!

We walked through the lush rainforest, accompanied by a guide and two park employees with long, forked sticks, intended to keep the deadly carnivores at bay in case we encountered an aggressive one.  The heat was oppressive.  We saw several deer and wild pigs in the underbrush, both of them favoured prey of the Komodo.  Finally, after walking about about two kilometres, we came to the watering hole where males usually gather.  Sure enough, five of them were lounging there, dying to chomp on a set of calves just like mine!  We stepped gingerly around the circular area, trying not to look too appetizing.  The largest male, about 35 years old according to the guide, was about 2.5 metres long.

About 800 people live on the island.  The last human killed by a Komodo dragon was an eight-year-old girl, in 2008.  A horrible thought, but the world would be a poorer place without the Komodo.  Many large animals in Indonesia face extinction due to habitat loss, including the orangutan, the Sumatran tiger, and a species of rhinoceros.

Komodo was the furthest east we’d reach on this voyage.  The MS Rotterdam VI sailed through a maze of islands toward the big island of Sulawesi and the port of Makassar.  We’d decided to hoof it since the ship was docked close to the city.  To put it as generously as possible, Makassar has few redeeming qualities.  We spent time at Fort Rotterdam, built in 1667, and considered to be one of the finest examples of Dutch architecture in Indonesia.

The highlight of the day was meeting Rahmah and Aswin, the two young people shown on the right in the picture below.  Both are students and wanted to practice their English with us.  Aswin gave us a tour of the Fort, before the two of them guided us through the market area.  They were delightful!

Our last stop in Indonesia was the city of Surabaya on the island of Java, the country’s second largest city with a population of 3 million or so.  We were pleasantly surprised.  Of the three big cities we’ve visited in Indonesia, it was by far the cleanest and most orderly.  Our taxi driver took us everywhere we wanted to go, and for a very reasonable price.  Like all Indonesians we’ve met, he was friendly and helpful.