New plan

The current plan is that Silver Spirit will call at Penang, spend two days in Port Klang for Kuala Lumpur and then proceed to Malacca and Langkawi in Malaysia. TSH and Diva have been to these places before but have booked some excursions.

The mood on the ship is cheerful and even defiant, although first time visitors to Myanmar are disappointed. The captain is still shaking hands without gloves but he announced that he would be washing his hands afterwards. All the crew are making special efforts to please - although that is difficult to distinguish from the normal high level of service.

Compensation has been offered - 50% refund for this leg of the cruise and a further 25% as a credit against a future cruise. Generous, considering that none of this is the fault of Silversea and everyone is being well fed and watered.

The hope is that Sri Lanka, although they will not allow anyone to disembark, will allow a 'technical stop' for supplies. On the previous cruise, when no ports would accept Silver Spirit because of recent calls to China and Hong Kong, both rose wine and shiraz ran out. TSH and Dive do not often drink rose but they hope that supplies of shiraz are now adequate,

Malacca

The chaotic visit to this World Heritage city convinced Diva that she will never feel comfortable in the third world. The tour schedule was unachievable in the time allotted and there was a vote part way through the tour as to what activities would be carried out and which would be omitted. The reasons for the overrun given by the charming guide was the rain ( which caused the group to omit the free time in the very attractive traditional Dutch square), the need for explanations in the museum (which is what Diva thought guides are for) and the visit to the toilet by some of the guests. Diva expects North European efficiency at all times and gets very stressed when it does not happen.

The most interesting part of the tour was the beautiful Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum. There was also an outside visit to a mosque. The local trickshaws were the most heavily decorated which TSH and Diva had ever seen but in view of the high level of traffic, they were glad not have a ride in them.

The guide told the guests that his great ambition was to visit Graceland, which is likely to prove difficult as he has a serious flying phobia. In lieu, he performed the Elvis song ‘Can’t help falling in love’.