13 I say Ceylon, you say Sri Lanka.. Lets just go to Galle!

This is our third visit to Colombo and each time we have docked at a different pier. 

We managed to snag the first shuttle out to the port gates, and this time it was not that far.

Preparing ourselves for the onslaught of Tuk Tuk drivers as we walked through to gates, you could imagine our surprise to find no one was in sight.

Suddenly, with the realisation that we had arrived, a tsunami of drivers came charging around the corner towards us. We were only interested in the one that was booked to take us to Galle for the day.

Having survived the first challenge of getting past all the touters, the second was facing the traffic of Colombo. We are not sure if we were taken along the back streets on purpose or maybe there are no direct routes, but it took quite a while before it even looked like that we were on the outskirts of the city.

13a I say Ceylon, you say Sri Lanka.. Lets just go to Galle!

Elephants! Did you say elephants?, I know where there are elephants!  We made a slight diversion to a temple that kept elephants as pets… well they cared for a few older retired elephants that come out and are decorated for ceremonial events.

When researching Sri Lanka, a must-see stand out, are the traditional Stilt fishermen.  An tradition where the older fishermen, who no longer go out in boats, sit on these crudely made platforms and fish the waves as they break on the sand.

Stilt Fisherman - Commercialism has taken over this time-honoured tradition.  Pulling up, there was just one lone fisherman surrounded by many empty stilts, sticking out of the water like crudely made crucifixes. 
Suddenly there is a call and a few others jump out of their make shift shelter, wrapped sarongs  around their rip curl shorts, grabbed a stick and ran onto the beach.  Like little birds they scampered up and perched themselves upon their stilts. But hang on, there are no lines nor hooks on those sticks ….  OMG they are fake!!   Having read trip advisor I had already read that so it came as no surprise.…  For the bargain price of $5 each you can take as many photo's as you like…

13b I say Ceylon, you say Sri Lanka.. Lets just go to Galle!

Next stop was the Koggala Sea Turtle Conservation Centre.  A haven for injured turtles.  Turtles of different ages, some held until they are well enough to be released back into the sea, others whose only survival could be within these walls.  

 

What looked like a turtle graveyard was actually a protected area for buried eggs awaiting incubation.  Wow this Olive and Ridley are very productive turtles as many of the “headstones” had their names on them. It took a while before the penny dropped that Olive Ridley was a type of turtle!

13c I say Ceylon, you say Sri Lanka.. Lets just go to Galle!

Galle is a holiday coastal area whose claim to fame is the Fort built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, then taken over by the British in the 18th century. The Forts' wall still stands tall even after withstanding the Boxing Day Tsunami, which destroyed so many other places.

We walked a short distance along the top of the rampart with views of the waves crashing on rocks below on one side and the thriving town of homes, restaurants, museums and shops on the other. This is the first of many walled cities we will visit on this trip.

13d I say Ceylon, you say Sri Lanka.. Lets just go to Galle!

Our last visit to Colombo introduced us to the delicious flavour of Buffalo Curd. A creamy, silky yogurt style desert with a hint of lemon topped with honey treacle. So delicious and traditionally sold in clay pots. No matter how much you eat, you just want to eat more. Well I did drop a couple of  hints at the beginning of the tour, and sure enough our guide sourced some for us from the Dutch Markets just outside the Forts walls.

Making sure that we were leaving enough time to get back to the ship, we were once again back on the main freeway on the way to Colombo. With a little time up our sleeve we felt very posh having a spot of tea at the Pagoda Tea Rooms. Situated in a Colonial style building complete with high ceilings and whirling fans, we felt as if we were taken back in time only missing white gloves and safari suits.

The markets on the pier were a little sad by the time we got back, but the diehards were still there offering specials for the last sale of the day. With a last minute change of sail away time it was no surprise that urgent calls were made around the ship for a few missing passengers, but we believe, with all on board safely the lines were dropped and it was full steam ahead for our next port of Muscat

Step count 227,961... well on track with 772,039 to go

12 Happy Happy Singapore - Flower Pavilion

Sailing into Singapore was not as spectacular as it should have been. The skies were grey, and the haze deadened the colours so your photos looked like they were taken in Greyscale.

   
Docking was at the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal, and it has come a long way since we visited in 2014. Access to and from the port is now easier with the opening of the Marina South Pier MRT station, but be aware that it is an approximate 600m walk from the Terminal.

 
If Singapore is trying to discourage visiting ships, they are doing a good job about it. Immigration required face to face processing in the Terminal and the dreaded zero count before anyone was allowed back on. Another little Singapore gem was that you were only allowed to disembark and board
just once throughout the whole day. An hour of our port time was lost as a result, and that is not counting the 30 minute earlier all on-board time, which we are sure is a result of the departure formalities.

 Not wanting to waste too much time we jumped into a taxi and headed to Gardens by the Bay. Our plan was to visit the two pavilions. It was a well spent $12 (Sing $) for the taxi ride, and as there were 4 of us, quite economical.

 
We visited the Flower and the Cloud Forest pavilions at a cost of $28 per person. Senior tickets only apply if you are residents. The Flower pavilion was magnificent with gardens representing different regions of the world. A massive undertaking considering many of the olive and boab trees looked hundreds of years old.

 

It was begonias being showcased in the Flower dome today, and the display theme down the centre of the hall was "Under the Sea". The heat, humidity and greyness of outside was soon forgotten with the cooled temperatures and displays bursting with such vibrant colours.

The Cloud Forest pavilion was quite different with a more Jurassic feel. A man-made mountain rises up in the middle covered in plants that you would expect to find in any lush rain forest. A waterfall spanning from top to bottom sprays water to keep you cool. An elevator takes you to the top then
you follow the spiral walkways with different displays of flowers, crystal and other vegetation, that eventually brings you back down to the bottom. Reluctantly we left the coolness of the pavilions to venture out for the rest of our day.

I can't visit Singapore without purchasing at least one pair of shoes.. not to worry, I bought three!!
We caught the train to Chinatown where I knew exactly the shop I wanted, then it was on to Clarke Quay where we had a lovely lunch on the river before embarking on our little Singapore tradition, a Bumboat river cruise.

For the 45 min river cruise the cost is $25 (Sing) per person. Such great photo opportunities of many of the Singapore highlights - we would recommend this trip to everyone. Time was not in our favour today, so it was back on to the train and back on the ship for our 5pm all on board, but a 6pm sail away.

Step Count: 184,370 . An impressive 44,000 steps over target.

11 Hello, Hello, Hello Komodo

Beautiful Sunrise as we approach Komodo Island

If there is one English word that all Komodians know, it is "Hello." Be it adults or children, everyone is calling out to you to grab your attention to stop and look at the goods they are selling. 

It is the children that you first encounter as they hover on the pier and grab you as soon as you disembark the tender.

Once you reach what is affectionately called "the Komodo Mall", the stall holders call out in hope that you will stop at their stall.

Komodo Island is a national park where the famous Komodo Dragons live.  Access to the island is limited to those who are either doing a ship's tour  or you can prove to the ship that you have a legitimate Private tour organised. This is not a ploy to make money, but a system of keeping you
safe.

 
Komodo dragons run free around the island. They are quick, venomous and love the smell of blood. It is not so much the bite that will kill you but the venom in the saliva that will get you if not treated immediately. 

So why do they take Cruise ships full of passengers well and truly on the mature side? 

Luckily these dragons only eat when necessary and there are plenty of deer bred on the island to fill their appetite. Needing only to feed around once a month, unlike most of us passengers, they know when to stop!

 
As independent tour passengers we were asked to meet in the Legends sports bar where we were marked off the approved list and given tender tickets. It is a short tender ride to the pier, but a long walk to the park entrance. Once our whole group was gathered, Martin our guide took us to the mandatory
briefing by the park rangers on what not to do. Travel in packs they said, as dragons love to stalk their prey and prefer to hunt those who wander off on their own. Our only protection are two rangers, one in the lead and one at the back and a forked stick to keep any aggressive dragon at bay.

 
Our short walk took us up to a look out across the bay where the Sea Princess was anchored. The island is beautiful and yet rugged, which we assumed is volcanic. 

From there we started to the dried up water hole where we are guaranteed to see a dragon or two. We became a little concerned when suddenly we could hear a lot of screaming and yelling in the distance: "hmm that can't be good."

 
Apparently two dragons got into a bit of tussle, from reports, like kangaroos they reared up onto their hind legs for a bit of a wrestle. The screaming was a result of one of the aggressors deciding to chase a fellow female dragon who happened to be walking towards a group of people - everyone went running in all directions, contrary to the instructions of group together and stay still!

 

By the time we got there the rangers were encouraging the more hostile dragon away from the area. The only evidence of the fight we saw was the blood stains around the mouth of the dragon who we assume came second in the fight. 

When we visited in 2014 the dragons around the water hole were much older and had no intention of moving, bit like us after a big night.

 
It was then on to the boat that would take us over to Pink Beach, an area deemed safe to swim. Anchored off shore we were ferried to the beach in little runabouts. The water was lovely and refreshing against the heat and humidity of the day. The beach gets it name from the sand and at first you think "that is not pink", but as the waves wash ashore you can see the pink hue on the wet sand. It is not until you grab a hand full of sand that you see the real colour. Small flecks of red coral are what gives the sand it's colour.

 
Lunch was served during the ride back to the main pier. 

 

  Some chose to return to the ship; the rest of us walked back to the mall, just in case there was something we just had to have. They were happy to take US or AU dollars if you didn't have the Indonesian Rupiah. Items on sale were T-shirts, freshwater pearls, dishes and bowls made from paua shell and of course Komodo dragons carved out of wood.

 

The most popular item brought back onto the ship were the large bottles of Bintang that sold for $5 a pop! 

A little extra bonus whilst heading back to the ship. a Komodo decided to take a stoll along the beach just in front of the markets.

Our Tour information:
Komodo Mas Tours
komodomastour@gmail.com
Komodo Dragons and Pink Beach
$100 AUD Per person
Accepted Currencies: AUD, USD and Indonesian Rupiah

Step Count: 146,045 . Another successful day!