Sunday February 26, 2023
Great excitement, today we see that enchanted island of Bali, OR NOT!!! A big disappointment as the winds and waves were too dangerous to lower the tenders (life boats) and take passengers on the 45 minute ride into the island. We were all ready, tour tickets in hand and rain gear, as the captain had warned that there was likely to be rain. As we were finishing breakfast, the Captain came on the public address system to say that he had reluctantly made the decision that it was not safe to go ashore and that his primary job was to our overall safety. After the disappointing party in Singapore and the general feeling of anger aboard by many of the guests after being closed up for two years with COVID, we feared a mutiny. Some complained, but most, after walking on the deck, realized that this was a wise decision. We enjoyed another coffee and started to plan out our day. The Entertainment staff rapidly put together an alternate program with a couple of lectures and alternate entertainers for the evening as the billed entertainers were stuck on Bali and could not get on. The Indonesian authorities aboard, did get off and the Australian authorities, that will process us on board for immigration and customs, were able to get aboard. Apparently one couple who we assume had medical issues were also able to get ashore, but the numbers on to and off the ship were but a handful. This however took the better part of the day, so we were not underway to Darwin, Australia, our next port of call until the early afternoon.
The Astronomer Charles Barclay, spoke again very informatively of the stories ancient cultures had with the stars and explained that most religions have feast days / festivals / religious days that are in some way associated with the alignment of the stars and most had Orion, the Pleadees / Seven Sisters / Big and Little Dipper or Bear etc constellations as part of their folktales as these can all be seen with the naked eye. He is particularly interested in the field of Archaeoastronomy, a field that is of great interest to me having spent much time with the Maya codices and the Venus and Eclipse tables in particular. I must try and speak to him.
The other more informal chat was by the Diplomat and nuclear expert – Mark Fitzpatrick, with whom we had chatted a few days ago about Myanmar (Burma) which we greatly enjoyed visiting a couple of years ago. He spoke of the life, his specifically, of a US Diplomat and how much he enjoyed the 27 years he was in the field. He is now with a think tank and ended the talk with a fascinating story about the time when he was head of the North Korea Desk in Washington, where he had daily dealings with the North Korean United Nations Mission. One of the senior leaders of the North Korean delegation, whom he had got to know well over time, called on Mark to help him defect as he was disenchanted with the Kim administration. He had lots to tell and would like to get out of North Korea. After some subterfuge and disguise, he was able to meet with the CIA and things were arranged, but he had to continue working with the North Korean UN Mission for another six months to get enough money to send back to his family so they could bribe the officials into sending them to a more gentle prison. As families of defectors are automatically sent to prison to discourage others. A good end to the story was that he was able to get him to South Korea where he has and is still helping the south against the north and had been elected to government in South Korea. This was very interesting as the only other time I have heard directly from someone who has interacted with high ranking North Korean officials was when I was at a small dinner with General Colin Powell, in New York, the day after he had returned from talks with the dictator.
Anne booked us into dinner at the Verandah, which was a great way to spend Sunday evening. A delicious spread starting with Lobster cocktail, followed by a superb seafood plate for 2, containing King Crab, Langoustines, Lobster, Giant shrimp, clams etc with wedge salad, creamed spinach and truffle potatoes, finishing with a delicious berry Pavlova, and accompanied by a Dry Martini and French wine. A big hanks to our travel agent for the invitation. A perfect way to end the day in Bali!!!
We did go to the show, which was the back up – Duo Yalba – a Swedish man and a Latin man who played a wide variety of musical instruments from Peruvian flutes, Pan flutes, piccolos, guitars (electric and classical), violins, percussion instruments and more. Very talented and covered music from around the globe although predominantly from Latin America and Ireland!!
So near to Bali, but not to be!!!
Roger & Anne Travels 