The home of Ceylon Tea

Day 18
Another hour back, so a more relaxed morning.  Earlier in the morning (about 2.00 am) there was a short, yet intense thunder storm, which initially woke us, but was over in no time.  The sea remains pretty calm as we sail at just over 20kts up the Malacca Strait between Indonesia & Malaysia.  The Commodore in his midday announcement advised that when we leave the strait there will be a 3-4 metre swell from a southwesterly direction, so something to look forward to.

We have started our preparation for pirate territory ahead, with high pressure fire hoses being attached along deck 7.   This is a bit earlier than on previous cruises, where preparation usually commences after Colombo.  The weather is still overcast, humid and 30°, which has become the norm now.  As we are in the middle of a major shipping lane, there is a continual procession of ships of all shapes and sizes.  Unfortunately there is also a lot of rubbish floating by.

Oh yes, yet another formal tonight (& a further one lined up for Saturday).  As usual we are hosting Marilyn & Ray to share our respective hors d'oeuvres before dinner.  We are not too sure what this formal is all about (apart from photographs) as we then have our Captains Circle cocktail party tomorrow night in smart casual attire.  Oh yes, funny things are happening - for example the passenger talent show is scheduled for 9.15pm, which really ignores the 2nd seating diners.  But hey, not a big deal.

Day 19
Yes, after we left the Malacca Strait the movement of the ship was quite noticeable and overnight the wind got up and I had to move the outdoor chairs as they were rubbing against the railings & the wind was whistling through the door.  Having said that, we slept very well and were thankful of yet another half an hour sleep in.

After breakfast we did our walk *very carefully*. The ship is certainly moving quite a bit and the odd wave was cashing over the bow.  It is very humid and our speed has dropped to 16kts as we are now heading due west.  On the Wake Show this morning, Corey confirmed the rumour going around that our internet mintues will expire on day 2, Dubai, a change from previous cruises and really just another small nail in the coffin perhaps.  I found it strange that Corey announced it publicly on TV rather than our Captains Circle hostess announcing it tonight.  Yes, 5.00pm bullrush is on for the late diners and I believe that there is a 7.00pm one for the early ones.  Post dinner canapes anyone?

It is now 5.50pm and we have returned from the cocktail party, which was exactly as expected.  Pretty certain that we won't be going to the next one.  Interestingly there are well over 1000 Elites & 500 Platinums on the cruise and as mentioned previously this will increase as we move between sectors.  The 2 most travelled passengers each had over 1800 days (both Americans travelling solo) and the 3rd was up towards 1100 days.  At that rate we have no show 😀. We were told that there are 3 more Royal class (3500+ passengers) being built and a whole new class of ship is due to come out in 2024.  Unfortunately I fear that there will no longer be any small/medium ships in the fleet in the next few years.

We hung around after dinner and went to the production show - yes, they have reverted back to the same old format and the dance routines are exactly the same, no matter what era the show is supposed to be featuring .  The lead singers are still  loud and shouty as before, not helped by the sound system being overly amplified.  One couple were going  down to Passenger Services for earplugs!

Day 20
Woke up really early as the clocks have once again gone back another hour.  However by the time we went for breakfast just before 8.00, the MDR was pretty crowded, mainly because this morning is pirate morning.   Yes, at 9.30 we had the scheduled pirate practice (no, not practising to be a pirate, but what to do if the ship is confronted with unwanted attention from undesirables).  At least this time it was relatively easy as we just sat in our cabin for some 20 minutes.  The Commodore did not put the ship through it's evasive maneuvers as Captain Kent did in 2015!  Pity.

The sea is still moderate, with 2-3 metre swell but the wind is described as gale force, so a little unpleasant and our speed continues at around 16kts.  The ship's information/location channel confirms the temperature at 30° but tells us that humidity is 1008% (i feel they are missing a decimal point somehow).  Went to both shows tonight.  The 6.30 in the Vista Lounge was chokka by 6.10. I think we got the last 2 seats.  NZ comedian Simon McKinney was OK but same material as 3 years ago.  9.45 in Princess Theatre was an operatic tenor, Brandon, who was very good.  So yet another late night.

Day 21
It wasn't even 6.00am when I got up to check on our location.  We are not due to berth until 8.00 and sure enough we are just rounding the "toe" of Sri Lanka.   The weather is overcast but I can feel a hot day coming on.  After breakfast we donned the backpack and headed off the ship.  Yes, there is a free shuttle to the port gates, just a few hundred metres from the Fort area that we intend to explore. 

On our way through the port area we came across a military helicopter, with the surrounding area secured by armed soldiers as well as Air Force vehicles marked "Bomb Disposal  Unit" - hugely reassuring.   Immediately outside the gate, where the shuttle discharged us into a horde of taxi/tuk tuk drivers, yet many more armed police, soldiers & sailors.  This was followed up with a passing motorcade of bikes, cars, vans etc.  Not sure who the dignatory was, but was impressive.

We marched onward, ignoring every tuk tuk & taxi.  On our journey we also met up with (separately) 3 suited gentlemen - one from the Parliament, one from the Australian embassy at the Hilton (!)  and finally one from the Tax department.  We'll, at least that was how they introduced themselves, but their common message was that we were in the wrong area and needed to go to the markets & temple some 3 or 4 kilometers away as there was a special Buddust festival and also the best jewellery in the world.  Perhaps each of them would have been better doing the job they were paid for (or of course, were they actually doing it?)

Undeterred we carried on, with the assistance of Mr Google Maps, which was a blessing in many ways as not always were the streets where they were supposed to be.  Our objective was the t Lounge by Dilmah.  I'd found this while checking out the map and thought that it would make a change from Starbucks coffee 😀😀.  It was just as weĺl I had my tablet with me, as we'd easily have missed the shop, which was pretty well in a back street (Um, yes perhaps everything looked like a back street).

We were a little apprehensive at first, but when we opened the door, we found a very pleasant environment, dedicated solely to tea (& light food).  We were invited to sit and were offered a cool blueberry drink which was very refreshing.  Unfortunately there was a strawberry on the top, so Vivian passed it up.  We were then presented with an extensive menu, which covered all types of tea both hot and cold.  We were fortunate that there was (at that stage) 1 other customer, an Englishman who had been in Colombo for a week and this place was his "local".  He recommended the First Ceylon Soochong, which of course we'd never heard of, so we had it and a piece of Butter Almond cake.

Both of these were delicious and the tea had a smoky flavour which left a very pleasant aftertaste.  The way the tea was infused was unique and the service was very, very attentive.  We took our time and as the time went by many other locals came in too.  A really great experience and all for the princely sum of NZD11.06 including taxes & gratuities.

We thought we'd look around a bit more but saw nothing of interest and the streets were in disrepair with a lot of construction and restoration going on, so was a bit of a mission to pick our way along, watching out for uneven paths and marauding tuk tuk drivers.   It was hot, but didn't feel as hot as Singapore, however we are not market types and have had our fill of temples, so headed back to the ship.

This was one area that Mr Google let me down - many of the streets shown were not accessible as they passed through either Interior Ministry or Police property.   So after a couple of false starts, we by good luck found ourselves at port security, who happily let us into the port area.  I should comment that the port area in Colombo is several hundred acres!  Onward we went, with Sea Princess in sight.  The only "problem" was that we were actually too close to the ship and had to head back to the port gates from inside the port.  Sounds silly I know. 

So past the helicopter & bomb disposal vehicle again - no-one took the slightest notice of us.  We could see the shuttle bus waiting, still some 1/2 kilometre away and then to our initial horror it started heading to the ship,  so we quickly crossed the road and thankfully the driver happily stopped to pick us up.  All back on board before noon.  We were very happy with our morning and have no wish to do anything further.

Lunch was up in the Horizon Court.  Fortunately almost 1500 passengers were still on shore excursions, so it was pretty empty.  That is until a film production crew took over the Amuleto Italian Cafe.  They were obviously filming a promotional video/film for Princess and there were over a dozen cast & crew.  The only slightly annoying thing was that as they were filming in the cafe so we were unable to get in and get our hands on the desserts!!  Fortunately there was a 5 minute break and we got to the cabinet (without as far as I know being captured on film).

Had a bit of a rest after lunch and next thing we know it had started raining. Not a lot, but actually cooled the air a bit.  As we'd had a good lunch we skipped afternoon tea but went down for a coffee.  As we are due to sail at 7.00pm, dinner is an open sitting, so we may (or may not) go down early.  One of the advantages of going up to the Horizon (which is infrequent) is that we've stocked up with cheese and crackers, so with the sun setting slowly over our balcony, that may be the better option.