at Sea
We are on our way to Sri Lanka and our traveling today between Indonesia and Singapore. Very calm waters. It is quite a hike to our next stop so the ship is going near top speed.
Still finalizing some details on shore excursions. Seychelles requires a travel permit that the hotel told us about. Immigration says we don’t need it if we arrive by cruise ship. Not sure of the logic but I hope there are no hang ups there.
Afternoon trivia. Which Pulp Fiction star went on to make 44 movies in the 1990s? Which state has as many military personnel as tourists on any given day? What was the fusion bomb better known as in 1952? What was the name of the character on Family Ties that would wear a necktie to gym class? What did President Jimmy Carter mistake for a UFO?
It is close to 90 in this part of our travels. I sat on the balcony when it was shady.
We invited Brian and Janet to join us at dinner. We shared stories about China, Vietnam and Singapore. They do almost all HAL excursions. They shared stories about all of the complainers aboard the bus. This is the reason we avoid those tours and only take them when there is not another choice.
Our waiter and assistant left for home during our Singapore stop. We have two new replacements for Ari and Tomi. Franciskis and Francis. We will give them some time but I think they were DEI hires. It reminds me of affirmative policies we used to have and in some cases still have. The placing of people that do not have the qualifications based on some real or perceived wrong of the past does not work. It hurts both parties involved. Putting someone in a college where they did not meet the requirements is wrong. The student will not be able to compete intellectually with the other students and in many cases will fail or drop out. There are so many other colleges where that student could have success competing with those with a similar intellect. Likewise, I have a hard time believing that our new waiters graduated near the top of the HAL training center in Indonesia. They are really struggling with their jobs. 2 hours for dinner is a little much when the food is all waiting to be picked up. I feel sorry for them. They are not ready for this position. More training or a different position would be best.
The evening entertainment was vocalist and comedienne Rebecca Kelly. We saw her on the Africa trip in 2022. She has a beautiful voice and her comedy has improved slightly. She performed similar numbers from a few years ago and covered Adele’s Sky Fall and finished with some Sinatra. It was great. Powerful voice with all the right nuances. As I recommended before, I would dump the comedy act. Her voice could take her through many full sets. 10 on vocals!
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