COLOMBO, SRI LANKA TO PENANG, MALAYSIA

SRI LANKA:  After a two day sail we docked at what is by far the largest container terminal I have ever seen.  We and 12 others had pre-arranged to be picked up outside the pier and taken on a walking tour of the city of Colombo.  There was a slight glitch as we all got lost leaving the huge terminal.  However, that was eventually sorted out and we were first driven to the old colonial part of the city, where there are many beautiful buildings from the Dutch and British occupation eras.

We then walked to what our guide called the "Main Street" area where we traversed very crowded streets as we viewed temples, mosques and other landmarks.  Colombo is a clean city of 5.5 million and is now recovering from the economic collapse that followed the 30 years civil war between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils.  Although the Canadian government declared the Tamil Tigers to be terrorists, our onboard lecturer was more sympathetic to them than to the dominant Buddist majority.  Tamils are largely Hindu.

We jostled our way through the market area (spice, fish and vegetable markets) on streets that were more crowded than anything I have ever seen.  However, I have not been to India.  People were polite and there was no pushing or shoving, just there was no place to go; pedestrians, trucks, tuk tuks all blended together.

At the end of four hours of walking in the heat we were all tired and Betty was near collapse.

 However, an air-conditioned bus took us to a tiny restaurant where we were fed a variety of foods, none of which I could possibly identify.  Back at the ship a cold beer, and a sleep by the pool did a great deal to restore our life forces.

AGE OF PASSENGERS:  As a general rule the longer the cruise the older the passengers.  As this is a 30-day cruise there is definitely a shortage of young professionals.  However, to date only one passenger has died.

When I say there is a shortage of young people I perhaps should say there are no young men on the ship.  There are a few young women, whom Betty describes as "trophy wives".  However, they seem to be kept on short leashes, and never appear anywhere on their own.  I guess that fat and wealthy old men do not want their arm candy to socialize with fat and not so wealthy old men.

PHUKET, THAILAND:

 In 2013 we visited Thailand (Bangkok and Ko Samui) when it was still a democracy.  In 2014 the military took over and it appears that it is quite repressive.  One cannot have a political meeting with more than 5 people, and there is a 10-year sentence for insulting the king.  Like many places, children wear uniforms to school.  Here, however, that extends to include university students.

Phuket is a resort island (about 80 kilometers long) and it is very beautiful.  We were only here for the afternoon but did get to see some lovely sights.

GEORGE TOWN, PENANG:   We docked at George Town, a very clean and attractive city of about 1.5 million.  It is on the island of Penang which is part of peninsular Malaysia.  Ten of us were taken on a 7-hour tour in a snug, but air-conditioned van.  Our driver/guide turned out to be a former Buddist Monk, who has seen and done everything, including having once been married to Miss Penang.  He told us he was not a racist but nonetheless did not accept Chinese or Saudis for his tours (he himself is of Chinese descent).

 As today is the fourth day of Chinese New Year we spent quite a long time in Chinatown, including a visit to a mansion of a 19th century wealthy businessman.  After visits to "The Reclining Buddha" and other sights he dropped us at a Malaysian restaurant for lunch.

This restaurant was in a slightly downtrodden part of the city.  We sat around a table and not understanding anything on the menu asked the waitress if she would order for us.  Our only instructions were that each of a needed either a regular beer or a double-sized beer.  We were served plates of delicious chicken, pork bellies, rice and spicy and non-spicy vegetables.  The bill for the 10 of us, including tip, came to just over 200 Ringgits (which worked out to be about $48 US dollars).

After lunch we visited a chocolate factory, a small art gallery and then we hired jeeps to drive us to the top of Penang Hill (really a mountain).  All told this was one of the nicest tours of this whole trip and Penang is definitely a place to which we would love to return.