Wednesday May 29 – At Sea

Today we sailed through the Bay of Bengal towards Sri Lanka. The big event of the day was pirate drill for all passengers and staff.  We will be entering pirate waters soon as we sail through certain parts of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman.  They use high pressure water hoses and echo sound to ward off anyone who tries to board the ship illegally.  The passengers had to wait in the corridor where there were no windows or doors.  We were told that the ship would do manoeuvres so there could be quite a bit of movement.  It was suggested that we sit or lie in the corridors if this was the case.  We heard of some passengers bringing beach towels and pillows with them into the corridor for a comfortable lie down.

I found some Chinese people who spoke no English doing Tai Chi on deck so I joined them.  They had a recording with instructions in Chinese and music.  One person who joined the group late and had some English said that they were chanting, “I am beautiful, I am healthy.”  I have never had such a vigorous warm up for Tai Chi.  We then did Beijing 24.  Lots of fun.

Today I had a bit of pampering up in the Lotus Spa.  Now I have feet ready for lots of walking at our next port.  They use the hot stones to massage the body. 

We had a Scottish dancing class today.  The teacher was dressed in red Scottish tartan and taught us the type of dance that they did in the movie, Four weddings and a Funeral. We also did the Virginia Reel, which I remember from school days.

Sue McGarry and Bill and I had dinner in a special restaurant on the ship last night after pre dinner drinks in the nook.  The Sterling Steakhouse food was superb.  Sue and I went to school together. The choir is making steady progress on its preparation for a performance to be held in 3 days time. Thank goodness for the downloaded backing tracks that make us sound so much better than we really are! We are expecting a big crowd who will enjoy it and have a good laugh at the same time. The programme:

1.   Cabaret

2.   The Longest Time

3.   Don’t Stop Me Now

4.   Crazy Little Thing Called Love

5.   Beatles Medley: Do You Love Me, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, From Me To You, Twist and Shout

6.   Thank You For The Music

7.   Que Sera Sera

8.   Do You Hear The People Sing?

9.   Bohemian Rhapsody

10.                This Is Me.