Praslin and La Digue, Seychelle Islands

Well, I think we've truly found a piece of paradise here in the Seychelle islands! Wow – stunning blue and turquoise waters, white sugary sandy beaches, green lush hillsides, and quiet lifestyle. We arrived in Praislin early this morning and tendered ashore with a few friends. We hired a taxi driver who took us across the island to the most beautiful beach. Only 8,000 people live here – one of only five of the 200 Seychelle Islands that is inhabited. The languages are Creole, French and English. There's a single lane, hilly road that winds itself along the coast past coconut and vanilla plantations and cute simple (yet super expensive) resorts. The island government won't allow foreigners to own land nor build homes, so the integrity of the island remains simple and quaint. We then visited another spectacular beach known as Cote D'or and had the chance to walk along – although no time for a swim here.

We returned to the island jetty and boarded a ferry boat over to La Digue, a neighboring island. It was only a 15 minute ride over – and wow – another “pinch yourself” destination. The island of 3,000 people has no cars. Cobblestone streets only have bicycle riders and wagons pulled by bulls. The main square had the bank, post office, general store and souvenir stand – that's it! We stopped for lunch near the tiny jetty of fishing boats overlooking the bright blue waters. After renting bicycles, we rode a little over a mile along the quiet streets into plantation grounds, past rows of coconut trees. On the grounds we came across a holding area of giant (and I mean giant) tortoises. They were so tame that you could feed them by hand and pet their heads. When standing they were probably two feet tall – amazing. Further on we came across the most stunning and beautiful beach called L'Anse Source D'argent. The sandy path took us around enormous granite boulders and rock formations. They were smooth, obscure shapes perched one on another. Here we swam and snorkeled for a couple of hours, before riding our bikes back to the tender. On our way back we had to slow down and follow a funeral procession, with mourners riding their bikes behind the casket.

That night we sailed to Mahe, Seychelles, and we'll go ashore tomorrow. A local dance troupe boarded the ship to perform native (Creole) dances for the passengers.

Day at sea and Pirate drill

We're on our way to the Seychelle Islands and will arrive in 3 days. Today the ship prepared itself, and us, against the risk of a pirate attack. We did the requisite drill - where all the passengers assembled in the lower reception area to await further instruction. Barbed wire, water canons and cameras surrounded the lower decks, with certain sections cordened off. A scary thought, but hopefully the crew knows what they are doing and will get us there safe and sound! Of course, all the passengers are making light of it! Yikes!

Male and Kudo Bandas, Maldives

The Maldives consist of hundreds of islands, all atols surrounded in turquoise blue
- just stunning. As you may know, there's talk that the islands are sinking with the rise of the world's oceans. We arrived into Male - an island of some 100,000 people all crammed into an island that only takes a half hour to walk across. It's "sea to sea" buildings, people, bikes and cars. Stephen was feeling a bit under the weather today, so I tendered ashore for a quick walk around the island. Visited the fish market with the day's catch all laid out on the stone floor for merchants to sell. (Appeared to be only men out on this Islamic island - I guess the women were at home...). Passed through a vege market as well. Narrow streets with barely enough room to pass. We tendered back to the ship and sailed to a secluded and remote island an hour away. The sail there was amazing - passing huge circular atols so incredibly blue in color. We tendered out to the island and spent the afternoon there snorkeling and swimming in the warm waters. Felt like "Giligan's Island" or a scene from Survivor! Really beautiful and could see why it's such an attractive spot for honeymooners to visit.

Colombo & Kandy, Sri Lanka

We arrived in Sri Lanka with much anticipation and excitement - when Stephen was just ten he had a penpal from the island and had sent him a small mask. We still have that mask. Also, Adam & Sera were here five years ago to help with tsunami relief and we were anxious to see it for ourselves. Again hard to believe that 48,000 people in Sri Lanka lost their lives in such a horrific disaster.
We took the road to Kandy - a 60 mile trip that took us over four hours to travel. It was a horrendous drive - dodging oncoming cars, trucks, buses, and trishaws - not to mention people criss crossing the streets without even looking! The countryside was amazing - filled with shops selling pineapples, crafts, cashews and daily goods - busy busy.
We stopped first at the Temple that housed Buddha's tooth - a relic of great importance. It was a magical place filled with worshippers and families bringing offerings. Monks were out as well chanting and playing instruments.
We overnighted in Kandy - a beautiful city high in the lush mountains. Our hotel was first class - imbedded into the side of the mountain overlooking the lakes below. Our dinner was a Sri Lankan delicacy and we were entertained by a cultural show of dancers and firewalkers. (Stephen had originally booked this night away from the ship just in case Miriam was sick of being on a ship, and/or terribly sea sick - but luckily neither is true).
The next morning we headed to an elephant orphanage - definitely a "can't believe I'm here" experience! There were hundreds of elephants in their natural setting - and we were able to get close to them eating, drinking, bathing and throwing dirt on their backs. They even paraded them up the road right where we were walking. We spend a few hours there and was just incredible to watch them at play. (This would never be allowed in America - where you could get that close and not be absolutely terrified!).
We headed back to Colombo and were given a city tour. A very busy busy chaotic city - with some remnants of it's British past. It was a delight to see the school children all dressed in their crisp white uniforms - how did they look so cool when we were sooooo hot and sticky?!
Our sail out was beautiful - amid the harbor and busy port. We'll be a day at sea again before our next stop, the Maldives.

Phuket, Thailand

Phuket is Thailand's largest island - 30 miles long and 10 miles across. A popular vacation spot for people from around the world, we were anxious to see it for ourselves. We negotiated a taxi ride around the island for four of us, for four hours, at a super rate (or so we thought!). We zoomed around the windy streets past loads of cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops. Our first stop was a pier on the southern tip of the island, where many small boats take folks out to yet smaller outlying islands and secluded beaches. It was such a picturesque stop. We then drove to a view point, and worship site surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of elephants made out of wood, porcelain, pewter, or whatever you could imagine. The view down to the beach below was gorgeous. At Ko Man Beach we could see the impact the tourists have made - a town not resembling Thailand at all anymore - just loads of shops, hotels, etc. The beach itself was stunning though, and we stopped to cool off and take it all in. We had to be back on board by 1:30 pm and we've now set sail for Sri Lanka. As we sailed out, we could see the bay where the Tsunami had come in and resulted in so much death and devastation. Hard to believe it could have happened in such a tranquil setting.
It will be nice to have a few days at sea after six days of touring! Time to relax, read and digest everything we've seen. We're crossing the Andaman Sea, and so far the water has been incredibly smooth.

Penang, Malaysia

Our last stop in Malaysia took us to the Island of Penang. We were greeted on arrival by colorfully dressed entertainers, as we were in most ports. Today each of us received New Years bags of a shirt and souvenirs. With a population of 1.6 million people, Penang is connected to the mainland via a 5 mile long bridge (with a newer one under construction farther south from Georgetown, the capital – it will be 15 miles long at completion). We hopped into a taxi and the driver took us first to the vernacular tram – an hour journey up the side of the mountain. (Our young driver told us he was married to his wife, who he didn't know prior to their wedding. The groom at the wedding didn't show and he was asked if he would be the groom to save her the embarrassment!) The vernacular was jam packed because of the Chinese New Year – filled with families, young and old. The trip up was half an hour, with a wait half way up for the continuation of the trip. We were so hot (and crammed), we decided to just cross over the track and take the train back down the mountain again. Pretty spectacular view. Our driver also told us the main industries were now an Intel and Dell plant on the other side of the island and an Apple plant across the bridge. Our next stop was the 150 year old temple of Kek Lok Si, the Monastery of Supreme Bliss. The giant Buddhist goddess towered over us, and we had another wonderful view of the city below. After lunch we ventured out again with a tour of the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. It was the former opulent and ornate home of a Chinese businessman some 100 years ago. (Although, a couple of Chinese girls wanted their picture taken with us, and we later found out they were descendants of the rich owner!). From there we wandered through Little India to China town. There were massive street festivities celebrating CNW- as people poured in and out of a temple with lit incense sticks, torches and lots of smoke. Large cauldrons of fire and smoke sticks provided an ethereal mystical event. The 100 plus temps finally had us finish our full day back at the port nearby - exhausted!

Port Kelang (Kuala Lumpur) Malaysia

We sailed in early this morning and boarded a shuttle bus (just over an hour) into the city. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaya and a large modern bustling city. It's made up of mostly Malay people and Islam is the major religion. Other groups include Chinese, Indians and Indonesians and it truly looked like a kaleidescope of peoples and cultures. We were dropped off at a mega mall and walked over to the Petronas Towers, the world's largest twin towers and pride of the city. These were quite impressive with the walkway between the buildings from which visitors can get a great view of the city. Unfortunately when we arrived it had already sold out for the day! Only 1,000 tickets are given per day and we would have had to be there by 7 am to be in line – shame! We made our way over the the Central Market, a busy place to see traditional arts and crafts. Chinatown surrounded the market, where again it was crazy with people buying for the upcoming new year. The bus station nearby was also insane with travelers heading out of the city for the holiday! A few shopkeepers had warned us about pick- pocketers and people who might snatch my purse or camera from passing motorcycles, but we had absolutely no problem, thank goodness. Just happy, smiley, friendly people!