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| This is a floating oil rig we spotted in the harbor in Singapore. |
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, we’re not getting off the ship today. With a three-hour round trip bus ride to Kuala Lumpur from Port Klang, it wasn’t appealing to us, especially when all of the tours were centered around three or four hours of shopping in the capital city.
With the ship departing at 4:30 pm today and disembarking the port not allowed until after 8:00 am, it left little time to feel safe doing something on our own, risking not returning to the ship on time for departure.
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| This is a tug boat pulling a floating oil rig in the bay, unrelated to the freighter in the background. |
This morning when Tom took a walk to check out our arrival in Malaysia, he came back to the cabin coughing. He explained the pollution was so severe it was hard to breathe outside.
We’re used to some of the freshest air in the world in New Zealand and out to sea. The thought of spending an entire day having trouble breathing held little appeal. As we always say, our health is our top priority.
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Through the haze, we could see Singapore
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Besides, at the moment approximately 25% of the ship’s passengers have colds, flu, and bronchitis, many of whom have been to see the ship’s doctor for antibiotics, so we’ve heard.
For the second morning in a row, we were seated at a breakfast table in the dining room, only standing minutes later apologizing for leaving, when we heard diners at the table coughing and sneezing. We don’t want to get sick this time.
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| Singapore looks interesting even through the haze. |
Out of 13 cruises in 42 months, we’ve been ill five times catching colds and flu often lasting for many weeks after we were off the ship. The worst of this was when we arrived in Australia this past June and were sick for six weeks after the cruise ended.
We avoiding taking antibiotics during that illness but for both of us, it was the worst case of flu either of us ever had with a horrible cough, fever, and lingering weakness that was unlike anything we’d ever experienced in the past. On a few occasions, we went as far as wondering if we had contracted malaria in our travels.
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| We wish we could have had a clearer day to show how many boats were in the harbor in Singapore. |
For this cruise, I started taking 2000 mg of powdered vitamin C in its purest form a week before we left continuing each day aboard the ship. It tastes terrible but so far so good. Tom usually gets sick after me, catching whatever I get. If I stay well, most likely he will also. I‘m not about to say we’re safe from illness this time and need to wait until three days after the cruise ends to rest easy.
Yesterday, we sailed by the port in Singapore which we passed on the way to Malaysia in the South China Seas. It was one of the most amazing sites we’ve ever seen. There were literally hundreds of cargo ships, tugboats, junks, and small fishing boats in the immediate area.
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| This adorable hanging towel monkey was hanging in our cabin when we returned last night. |
I attempted to take photos in Singapore but the dense fog, humidity, and smog made it difficult. Also, the camera kept fogging up from being inside air conditioning and then outside in the humid climate. By the time the camera’s temp stabilized we’d moved far from Singapore. o please bear with our less than ideal photos today.
In less than 48 hours and we’ll be on the flight to Bali. Tomorrow morning, we’ll arrive back in Singapore where we’ll spend the night to disembark the following morning. On this upcoming June 28th, we’ll be back in Singapore for a week’s stay departing on July 5th.
When we return for that week, we’ll explore the city and its amazing sites both day and night. It’s hard to believe that’s only two months away. How the time has flown!
Hopefully, I’ll be able to upload today’s post sooner than yesterday’s when we were unable to get a signal until later in the evening. We’ll see how that goes.
Have a fabulous day! Thanks for “hanging in there” with us during this poor WiFi period aboard this ship!
Photo from one year ago today, April 28, 2915:
We’re unable to post a year ago photo due to a poor wifi connection aboard the ship. Thank you for your patience.