Diva's excursion

In Langkawi, Diva decided to take a separate excursion. There were two words in the description of TSH’s tour which influenced this – ‘bat’ and ‘cave’. Diva and TSH left the ship by tender together but then separated to go on different tours. The first time they have ever done this.

Her excursion was not the most organised event. The visit to the Makam Mahsuri

Mausoleum consisted of a walk through the exhibits and, surprisingly, the shop, with no time to pause, and a viewing of half the film which explained how the unjust execution of the princess led to a 7 generation curse on the island. The 8^th generation has now arrived and the curse is over. The visit to the Malay house never happened because a tropical downpour started and everybody refused to walk through it.

On arrival at the beach – 20 minutes for a photo stop at an almost deserted beach – many guests pricked up their ears when the new luxurious Four Seasons hotel was mentioned. Cold drinks and clean toilets seemed within grasp. However, entry to the resort was not possible and disappointment prevailed.

The rubber tapper did not arrive for the promised demonstration and Diva wondered if this had been booked at all.

Langkawi means ‘Eagle Rock’ and there is a huge sculpture of the eagle – technically a kite – which was included in the tour specification. The guide informed the guests that it was not possible to take the bus near to the sculpture and he doubted that there was time to walk to it. Diva was put off by this but eventually set off and walked part of the way. If the guide had not wasted time assuring the group that it was not possible, Diva, and most of the rest of the group, would have made it.

By far the best part of the excursion was the visit to Galleria Perdana to view exhibits of over 2,500 state gifts and awards presented to Malaysia's longest serving former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. This gallery consisted of a beautiful modern Islamic style building the size of a very respectable museum. It was difficult to pick out the interesting bits and the guide had never done a guided tour of the building and did not know where anything was. The gifts were magnificent, with many sculptures and jewelled items and several new cars.

Diva thought it was sad that the guide was a university qualified engineer who had returned to Langkawi because he so much hated working in a design office in the city.  He had since spent around 10 years in tourism, which seems a terrible waste. He worked for a period at the afore mentioned Four Seasons, saving up his bonus points for years until he could afford to spend a night in one of its beach villas.

Langkawi is the most scenic place on this segment of the cruise – a beautiful sail in through islands and inlets. A bit like Norway but most of the hills are rounded and lower. It is a holiday island and there is a lot of modern development. Diva was informed that this is in the top 7 places in the world to visit but this is probably a matter of perspective. Royal Caribbean  ‘Mariner of the Sea’ was also also visiting.

Some people saw a large monitor lizard. Another common animal is the monkey, which has learned to open doors, steal items and take the top off a canned drink.

The next island

Silver Whisper anchored in a beautiful bay off Bequia island which is part of the Grenadines. After a light breakfast, TSH and Diva took the shuttle boat ashore and spent an hour walking along the shore.

The island is only about 16 square miles with 5,000 inhabitants. Local fisherman are active - one tried to sell lobster to people on the shuttle and a group of them were seen unloading large fish from a little boat. Many of the children travel the 9 miles by boat to St Vincent every day to go to school, giving them a very long day.

TSH and Diva went back to the ship for lunch which in this case was a sandwich because of the quick turn round – its all go! The ‘a la carte’ sandwich took thirty minutes to make but was very good.

The trip round the island was on the back of an eight seater variation of a wildlife park vehicle. Some very steep and narrow roads were negotiated in a convoy of said vehicles – the brakes are said to be checked twice a year. On the steepest parts, passengers were asked to hang on to overhead bars to prevent them sliding off the back. It was as near a white knuckle ride as Diva ever wishes to get. The tour visited a couple of view points (everybody photographed the ship), with views of other islands, before going to a turtle sanctuary to see hornbill turtles of all sizes.

There was a brief stop for refreshments – rum punch (Diva is developing a taste for this) and local beer.

In view of the light lunch, afternoon tea was essential after arrival back on the ship.

TSH and Diva seem to have acquired their next trainee butler. A very charming Chinese man, who is trying very hard and sometimes missing the point. He keeps begging for shoes to clean (yes, really) but does not always remember things requested. TSH and Diva told him they drink a lot of water so he turned up with an industrial sized container of distilled water, which is probably intended for the engine.

Wildlife spotted today:  boobies, frigate birds, crabs, lizards, large fish, goats, cows

No tigers yet.

Little England

Pasta night at the Barbados Hilton is a little bizarre. The pasta dish is designed and cooked to order. The guest chooses ingredients (fish, chicken, onions, prawns, beef, a variety of vegetables) and the chef puts them all into a pan in the manner of a stir-fry. Ready cooked pasta, chosen from three varieties, is then added to the mix, with a choice of cream or tomato sauce. Because this takes a long time, and the queue is building, the assortment is not fully hot by the time it is turned out on to the plate. Diva was not very impressed.

The Little England tour seemed to be the best leaving on Sunday morning and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Only four passengers in a minibus with an informative local guide. The tour covered a large part of the island, including the coral Caribbean side and the shale, sand and clay Atlantic side. There are sugar plantations, sweet potatoes and a field of pigeon peas. Northern English readers might remember that back in the 1950s when there were travelling fairs, everyone used to eat black peas. No-one from anywhere else has ever heard of them (they are fairly disgusting, by the way). Well, black peas are reputed to be pigeon peas and Diva has seen them growing!!

Highlights included Hunte’s garden, dense tropical undergrowth in a collapsed cave. Very beautiful but a bit of a nightmare for Diva when the owner described the pack of Rottweilers and rescue c*ts he keeps on the premises. Mr Hunte’s family owned several plantations and now, at the age of 78, he spends his time developing this one as a garden.  Bathsheba is so called because the sea has so many white horses it is like the milk she used to bathe in. At St Nicholas Abbey, TSH and Diva watched a fascinating 1935 film about the plantations and tasted rum punch and rum. Passed the golf club where Simon Cowell used to stay before we bought him a Barbados home of his own.

The charming guide had a notice in the vehicle suggesting he was carrying a Glock pistol, so perhaps Diva’s fears about the crime rate are reasonable.

Animals spotted include several mongoose, large millipedes, large snail and lizards. Black bellied sheep were bred in Africa and carry no wool. Traditional British sheep die of heat exhaustion. The early indefinite sighting has now been put down as a monkey. Another monkey was seen today but it was captive and posing for pics so probably does not count.