Thankful Lady

There are so many things that I am thankful for and this blog won’t begin to cover it, but I am going to try.  It all starts with Cochin, India.  Unfortunately, we were not able to get off the ship in India because crew was not told that we needed a visa to get off the ship.  But I took some pictures from the ship and even saw a little ferry boat get pushed into a big air carrier by our bow thrusters.  You can see the picture below with the people grabbing for lifejackets.

View of Cochin from both sides of the ship

Ferry Boat Crash

In Malaysia we were able to get off the ship and were planning on going to a water park, but then things went wrong.  It is the first time that Celebrity ships are sailing down through this part of the world and Malaysia wasn’t prepared for all the guests and crew.  There were practically no taxi’s and the shuttle bus didn’t have room for crew with all the guests getting off the ship, so we were advised to just get back on the ship.  We had a great day on the ship relaxing on deck 6 and hanging out with each other. 

Excited for the Water Park!

Boo, Malaysia

On Thanksgiving Day we were in Malaysia and had a show that night so we Americans didn’t have a ton of time for a real Thanksgiving dinner, but we all decided that we would have a real dinner a couple days earlier on one of our nights off.  Twelve Americans from the cast and hot glass team went for Thanksgiving dinner in the Grand Epernay main dining room.  It was a lovely meal…no blue cheese brussle sprouts or stuffing, but we all shared what we are thankful for and ate until we were full to the brim!

My Thanksgiving Dinner

American’s at Dinner (Clockwise from Bottom Front: Kevin, Tom, Andrew, Jessica, Brad, Ricky, Natasha, Chris, Kenny, Catherine, Jenny, Isaiah)

Our overnight in Singapore is definitely the highlight of this blog!  Singapore is such a hopping city.  I spent the first day in Chinatown, eating, wandering around and buying seaweed by the sheet and wasabi peas.  After walking around a bit the sky started to cloud over and suddenly get really dark.  Minutes later the skies opened up and it poured for a good hour.  We made it back to the ship on the extremely clean public transportation system without getting too wet.  Littering, chewing gum and J-walking are illegal in Singapore and are cause for a huge fine and possible jail term! I think that is one reason that the train system is so immaculate and efficient. 

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel from the bus

Hong Kong Fried Noodles in Chinatown

Jessica and Emanuel running from the rain clouds

That night Maarten and I decided that we wanted to go up to the SkyPark at the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  It is an amazing structure that was the most expensive hotel to build.  We had a very expensive drink at the top, but the view was priceless.  From the top we saw all over Singapore, including a water/light show, a huge concert by SMTOWN and the Singapore Flyer.  After that we walked around the harbor to have some dinner and got poured on when we tried to hail a cab back to the ship after dinner.  It was an unforgettable day.

View from the top of the Marina Bay Sands

 

Singapore Skyline at night

Maarten and Jessica with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel laser light show

 

The second day in Singapore Maarten and I took public transportation to the Singapore Botanical Garden.  It was so green, humid and such a nice escape from ship life.  Part of the botanical garden is the National Orchid Garden.  It is the world’s largest orchid collection.  We were even able to get in for free because it was some special day and I had my student ID.  There were so many orchids, different colors, different shapes and different smells.  My dad would love it there.  It was a beautiful way to spend a day. 

Walking in the Singapore Botanical Garden

Orchid picture for Dad

Maarten and Jessica at the National Orchid Garden

And so begins my last cruise aboard the Celebrity Solstice.  I will sign off December 9^th and fly home.  I will have spent 274 days living on the ship, visited 40 ports in 20+ countries and took 4,300+ pictures.  A truly priceless experience that I am so thankful to have.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!!