The two pictures are of each of us and our wonderful Stewardess Rose. We took these pictures after we came back to the room this evening after dinner.
We wanted to mention how much we enjoyed last evenings entertainment. On this years World Cruise Crystal has brought on board significantly more outside entertainers than normal in order to provide more diverse entertainment for those who are on for one, multiple or all of the segments but particularly for those on multiple segments or the full World Cruise. Some of the regular production shows have been moved to the afternoon time frame so those who have seen them many times can also see other entertainers at night. But it’s been a good balance as some production shows are still shown in the evening. By bringing on so many first time entertainers, Crystal also is using this as an opportunity to test out new acts and those that are well received will be invited back for future cruises. It’s a great approach to continuing to change what is offered on the ship. To give you a feel for the number of entertainers that are brought on the ship, when Crystal brought on the entertainer that we saw last evening normally on a like cruise for another cruise line he would have performed at least three times. However, the initial plan was for him to perform once for the entire time since there were also many other acts on board. He would still remain on the cruise ship for the entire time. Given the audience reaction to his show last evening, (there were two standing ovations) at the end of the show the Cruise Director, Rick Spath, announced that the Comedian, Kenny, would be added to the program for at least another show. This brought on additional cheers and applause from the audience.
Keith met the comedian Kenny the other day and has seen him for a few days before last evening. Keith found him quite funny before we even went to the show. His act is Improv Comedy and boy was he quick on his feet. In addition to being quite funny he also sang about four or five songs and he was also quite a good singer. He really works the audience well. Over the years, we have found that some comedians and be a bit over the top and clearly it can be hard to be a comedian in this day and age as with almost any type of joke someone can be offended but we had to say that we found Kenny to be extremely funny, as we had tears rolling down our face, without being offensive. Yes, there was one couple who left during the performance but that will happen in any show. We really enjoyed him. In the end, entertainers who perform on Crystal as is the case with others such as the lecturers, depend on passenger feedback. At the end of each cruise there is a passenger questionnaire that requests feedback from the passengers on a number of areas from entertainment, to lectures, to shore excursions, to the room, to the food and so forth. If the lecturers or entertainers do not attain a certain positive threshold then they will not be asked back the following year. We think this is an outstanding approach as in the end the feedback of the passengers determines who will be invited back and who won’t be coming back to perform.
This morning we woke early as we continued to sail to Yangon, Myanmar. We worked out in the Fitness Room as we always do with Keith arriving ot the Fitness Center first and working about for over 90 minutes on the Elliptical machine and Anne Marie arriving a little while later and working out on the Treadmill. Another regular, John, was working out and a few other of our fellow passengers were working out.
This was our first visit to Myanmar. The ship has two overnight in this port of call, which is the only stop with two overnights. There are two factors for this. There are a number of overland tours that began the other day and will conclude by passengers getting back on the ship before we leave Myanmar. At the same time there are a few overland packages that begin and end while we are still in Myanmar. Also, there are a few overland tours that begin before we leave Myanmar and end by passengers rejoining the ship in a few days from now when we are in India. Also, the tides play a role as to what time we can leave and/or arrive to a particular port of call.
As we were working out this morning we saw a variety of little fishing boats clustered together. We saw several clusters of these boats along the way. After our workout, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room.
A couple of related notes about Myanmar. The ship has a curfew for its crew that they have to be back on board the ship by 10:00 PM each evening during our stay here. We suspect this is for the safety of the crew. Our experience is that when crew members go ashore when the ship as an overnight in any port that they stay together in small groups so they can look out for one another.
We will be unable to use Credit Cards in Myanmar as the United States has an embargo with Myanmar.
Myanmar used to be known as Burma. Many years ago very few people outside Burma could visit this area. While this country is now more widely open to visitors it still has tight rules and travelers are usually limited to the number of days they can remain in this country. This areas is quite unique from most countries given its ornate sites from the Pagodas to the Buddha’s.
Myanmar reaches stretches west near Bhutan, Bangladesh and touches on the Bay of Bengal to the Andaman Sea in the South and reaches to Thailand, Lao and China. As we mentioned the other day, China is constructing a pipeline through Myanmar for strategic reasons. When this new pipeline is on line in another eight years or so it will provide China with a key way to obtain its fuel and also provide Myanmar with important revenues.
The size of Myanmar is just about the size of the state of Texas. The dominant group in this country representing about 75% of the population is the Burmans. Eighty-five percent of the Burmans are Buddhists. Myanmar is composed of over 125 ethnic, racial and tribal groups.
Myanmar is a very conservative country and, as such, ladies have been asked to cover their knees and shoulders and gentlemen visiting from the ship have been asked to wear long pants when visiting religious sites. Whereas in the more conservative sites we have been asked to remove our shoes, in Myanmar when visiting similar sites we also have been asked to remove our socks.
Our ship docked at the Myanmar International Terminal and the distance from the ship to the city center of Yangon is about twenty-three miles.
Major sites to see include the Shwedagon Pagoda which is visible from distances of miles and is over 2,500 years old. There is the Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoad which is a reclining Buddha. It was first constructed in 1907, suffered major damage due to the climate and was completely destroyed in 1957 and was reconstructed in 1966. There is the Royal Kaudawgyi Lake which is a very nice place to relax and the Bogyoke Aung San Market which is the most famous places for shopping in Yangon for items such as arts and handicrafts at reasonable prices. Another famous place to visit is the Strand Hotel. The Sarkies brothers of Raffles fame originally constructed it in 1896.
We have a tour planned for tomorrow to see major sights in and around Yangon so we will share more thoughts on what we have seen tomorrow.
Later in the morning we walked around the Promenade Deck. There were several guests walking around as well. Even a couple of them were out jogging. Initially, the temperature was quite comfortable but after awhile it became humid. There was a mix of sun and clouds and we could see out to the distance various rain showers. Keith also played table tennis with a couple of World Cruisers and also the entertainer for this evening, Grammy Nominated Jazz Pianist, Judy Carmichael who has a show this evening. We played doubles table tennis for about 45 minutes until one guest needed to leave for Bridge Lessons and around that time Anne Marie came by and played one final game with us.
We enjoyed a very nice salad entrée in the Main Dining Room for lunch.
Before we were cleared in port we listened to a lecture given yesterday by Health Specialist Dr. Jon McMichan whose topic was called “The healthy Traveller”. It was a discussion of common ailments associated with travel, how to avoid them and what to do when they strike. Many of them we know but other were good to listen to. He was a fabulous speaker. One of the things he highlighted was the importance of washing your hands. We know this but he reinforced the need that when you are traveling even when you wash your hands to follow-up with using the small alcohol cleanser that many of us carry around or using the one on the ship outside many of the dining rooms. He really stressed the need to not touch you mouth, nose, face or eyes.
He also talked about various bugs including noro-virus. A few interesting points. He mentioned that the reason we hear about it on cruise ships is because if a certain level is reached in an outbreak then it must be reported but he said its more likely to occur in a nursing home and that you have a higher chance of getting them on an airplane or in a shopping mall.
But, let’s get back to the Noro Virus. Whereas a regular virus may last on a door handle for a few hours, Noro Virus lasts on a door handle up to 48 hours. That is amazing and reinforces the need to wash your hands constantly.
We also wanted to highlight another area, which really stresses the importance to others by covering your nose if you sneeze or covering your mouth if you cough. If you sneeze, the air coming out of your nose travels at eighty miles per hour and up to 30 feet. That is incredible. This really explains why it is easy to get sick when you travel and are in confined areas. How often do we see people who do not cover their nose when they sneeze, cover their mouth when they cough, touch their face after they shake someone’s hand, etc.
He also noted that in third world countries the importance of watching what you eat. Yes, some of this we know but some additional thoughts. He said to drink bottled water with gas as that is the only way you know if someone has not tampered with the bottle.
He said that when he was in Mubai, he was going to buy a coke in a bottle and can tell that these bottles were tampered with since they were all at different levels.
Brush your teeth with bottled water.
When you eat out no salads and only food items such as vegetables and other items that have been cooked.
Only eat fruit that you peel yourself.
Only eat nuts that you take the shell off yourself.
No ice in drinks.
No ice cream.
There are other items but these are some of the key items.
This afternoon we walked off the ship but there were no places close to the ship to visit. We look forward to seeing them tomorrow.
Keith spoke with the comedian for about an hour and one half this afternoon whose show we enjoyed last evening.
This evenings menu in the Main Dining Room Featured a Royal Thai Dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner.
Some of the items included;
Four appetizers: Golden Fried Shrimp Waapped in Vemicelli Served with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce; Spicy Minced Pork Served in a Lettuce Cup, Fresh Vegetables Glass Noodles and Thai Herbs Wrapped in Rice Paper with Peanut Sauce and Dragon Fruit and Rambutan Martini with Banana.
Five soups and salads: Green Curry Clam Chowder with Baby Eggplant, Game Bird Consommé with Lemongrass, Quail Breast, Rice, Thai Basil and Mint; Chille Coconut & Tapioca Soup with Mountain Apple; Toss Field Lettuce with Pomelo, Red Onions and Pear Tomoatoes in Lme-Soy Vinaigrette and Orchid Caesar Salad with Thai Herbs and Spices.
One pasta special: Thai Fried Noodles with Sliced Chicken, Shrimp, Scallions, Bean Sprouts, Lemon, Chopped Peanuts and Crisp Fried Onion
One salad entrée: Crisp Soft Shell Salad
Four main fares: Broiled Fillet of Grouper with sweet and sour vegetables, bok choy and crabmeat fritters; Sautéed Scallops on a bed of spinach with Red Thai Curry Sauce, Mushrooms, Baby Carrots, Snap Peas and Thai Pink Coconut Rice; Grilled Black Angus Sirloin Steak with crisp vegetable spring roll, grilled corn on the cob, spicy mango and cucumber salad and kaffir lime shallot sauce.
Pink Roasted Lamb Loin with macadamia nut crust served with wok-fried phuket vegetables with cilantro-mint vinaigrette and new potatoes.
Additional traditional fares were available such as Roasted Chicken and Broilded mahi Mahi Fillet. There were several side orders of Thai Rice and Vegetables.
There were lots of desserts to choose from and a couple that were just for this evening which was “The Thai Experience: which was Jasmine Rice Napoleon, Papaya Jelly and Rambutan Sherbet and another one called a Banana Banana Banana which was Banana Panna Cotta, Banana Cannoli, Blueberry, Banana Sauce and Banana Nut Ice Cream.
There were other items such as five featured cheese from the Cheese Trolley which included Delice Calvados, Entremont, Caprice des Dieux, Camembert, and Faume d’Ambert.
Each evening the featured cheeses change. For example last evening thee featured cheeses were Gouda, La Tur, Brie, Livarot, Pave d’Affinois, and Bresse Bleu.
Tomorrow, we look forward to going on a tour near and around Yangon.
Keith & Anne Marie
