Christmas Eve. Wednesday, sunny and pleasant most of the day, with clouds later. This has been a quiet day on the ship for me. The planned schedule is to weigh anchor at 2100. Still don't have an updated schedule after that. My Nikon chewed up and spit out its second set of batteries. Replaced the batteries, and uploaded the pictures today. Tomorrow, after the crew has recovered from the intense activities of unloading and loading, the holiday activities begin.
At the shopping mall last night, I bought 400 grams of unsalted cashews and a bottle of cabernet. Both are quite good. The grapes came from South Africa, but the wine was bottled in Thailand. By careful daily portion management, I got Ann's phenominal trail mix to last this long. I dumped the remains on my desk and sorted it into 2 piles, old cashew crumbs, and almonds and dried cherry pieces. I ate the few old cashew crumbs and put the remaining almonds and dried cherries in with the new cashews. Should last until I get home. Alecia, I have a picture of that store you like from Singapore.
Summary: Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand all have driving on the OTHER side of the road. Comfort level and cleanliness were very high in Singapore. Thailand has made good improvements. Thailand has kind and peaceful people. The crew tells me that Indonesia gets very high marks in other areas. Another tropical sunset. Well, we couldn't actually see the sun, but the bottom of the cloud ceiling was a striking orange and pink. The attached picture is of myself (on the left) and the other passengers; George, Hubert (with the beard), and Dieter in an ancient Siam park. Merry Christmas, everyone!
