Job Requirement: Must Attend Magic Show (Chan May, Vietnam )

My coworker and I were both kind of having a sluggish afternoon, so we decide to run to the local (onboard) bistro for a coffee. On our way we are stopped by the Cruise Director who tells us we have to (to bolster audience size) attend the magic show, starting in five minutes.

So we go, and although I was not sawed in half by the magician, I was asked to think of a card.  The first thing that came to mind was the fifteen of diamonds. Don’t know about you, but I have never seen a deck of cards with a fifteen of diamonds. Nonetheless, that was what came to mind.

The magician, a regular at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, looks at me and says, “You aren't playing fair are you?”

I get that look on my face like a kid playfully caught stealing cookies.

He pulls a card out of the deck and puts in on the table.  Then he asks, “What card are you thinking of?”

I say, “The fifteen of diamonds.”

He turns over a fifteen of diamonds.

All in all, a pretty awesome run for coffee.

Stupid: Mid-afternoon sluggishness.

Cool: Being required to go to a magic show.

I leave you with sunrise at sea while I did laps on deck.

Lunch Break in Laem Chabang, Thailand (March 11, 2013)

Despite my romanticizing of my life, I do work out here. (No, really, I do!)

Lunch break came and while most people were off the ship, I decided to enjoy my pool. I say my pool, because it was, my pool.

The only company I had was the boys stopping by occasionally to ask for a drink order.

Yes, life is hard.

Cool: A quick run to the pool for lunch break.

Nap Time in Vietnam

I think at some point we have all caught a cat nap in our car at lunch.

And when you don’t have a car?

Nap Time in Vietnam

I am impressed by their balancing skills.

Cool: Human ingenuity, especially in napping.

Also cool: The amazing mango smoothy like drink I had yesterday; it was the best drink I have ever had. The cool drink had the smoothest and silkiest texture, beyond what I have ever imagined and far better than anything I have ever had, and the flavor was fabulously rich and robust, practically exploding with intensity. Absolutely divine. Mmmmm, yummy.

Spring Forward You Wussies! - Thailand

So, around 7am, my Monday morning, I open Facebook to see a plethora of spring forward complaints. Oh my gosh people, you had to spring forward one hour!

The following is an approximate list of the fourteen times I will “spring forward" one hour in the next three months.

Date	Location	Relative to GMT	Complaint
11-Mar	Bangkok/Laem Chabang	+ 8
14-Mar	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	+ 7	Hour Back Yeah!
22-Mar	Hong Kong, China	+ 8	Hour forward Boo!
9-Apr	Nagasaki, Japan	+ 9	Hour forward Boo!
15-Apr	at sea	+ 10	Hour forward Boo!
17-Apr	at sea	+ 11	Hour forward Boo!
18-Apr	E/B Date Line Xing	No time change
Leaving in the fact that I will be living April 18th, 2013, twice.
18-Apr	Petropavlovsk, Russia	-12	Hour forward Boo!
21-Apr	Dutch Harbor, Alaska	-11	Hour forward Boo!
24-Apr	Seward, Alaska	-10	Hour forward Boo!
26-Apr	Glacier Bay, Alaska	-9	Hour forward Boo!
29-Apr	Vancouver, British Columbia	-8	Hour forward Boo!
12-May	Caldera, Costa Rica	-7	Hour forward Boo!
15-May	Cartagena, Columbia	-6	Hour forward Boo!
19-May	Key West, Florida	-5	Hour forward Boo!
28-May	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	-4	Hour forward Boo!
30-May	St John's, New Foundland, Canada	-3	Hour forward Boo!

You freaken wussies with all your daylight savings day complaints for the ONE time this year you will "spring forward!"

Stupid: Hours and hours and hours forward.
Cool: The opportunity to go hours and hours and hours forward, not to mention living April 18th, 2013, twice.

Paying Bills

My view, as I log onto pay my credit card this morning, pulling into Laem Chabang, Thailand.

When You Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of The Planet

Stupid: Being called a bitchy little terrier that woke up on the wrong side of the planet.

(I had tried to say I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. But being that I am in Asia and how astronomically I had blown something out of proportion, it kind of was the wrong side of the planet.)

Sort of cool: Trying to be adult enough to acknowledge the person was right and apologize for being a complete wicked witch that morning.

The Value of Destination Known - Singapore

I have been a serious world traveler for over a decade and have long been aware that thematic travelers tend to enjoy their travels more than those whose destination is unknown.

There are the more common themes, gastro-tourists, night clubbers and art museum connoisseurs.

But there are also more unusual themes, the guy who played a round of golf in every port (Mark Dugger), the girl who manages to find the farmer's market/street food region of every city (Kathy de la Cruz), the geocacher at every opportunity (Darren). 

I have always envied them their sense of purpose and destination, the intrinsic convenience of knowing where to go without having to think about it.

As I wandered Singapore’s Garden by the Sea, two days after Malaysia’s Penang Botanical Gardens, it dawned on me, after near decades of travels, what my theme is.

I like gardens. 

A realization spawned by one of the most spectacular gardens of the world.

I guess this should not have surprised me. My first vacation, where I chose the destination, was backpacking in Hawaii. Recently, where was I happiest, Malaysia in the rainforest. My job takes me from city to city, which is exciting, but not my natural domain. I am happiest outdoors. Now I know, apparently, that means city gardens.

I left the ship in search of hair gel, stumbling upon the gardens completely by accident. I returned to the ship, enchanted.

Cool: Gardens and discovering my urban touristic theme.

Stupid: Despite perhaps hundreds of acres of beauty, the Singapore Gardens by the Sea has by far the worst postcards I have ever seen.

It Is A Hard Job, But Someone Has To Do it

Cool: I was required, for work, to hit two bars before 11am.

Stupid: How unexciting it actually was.

But it sounds cool.

The details: On a cruise ship, some of the largest spaces onboard are bars. So naturally, large meetings are held in bars. That kind of kills the alluring illusion.  Nonetheless, nothing like starting a Tuesday at 8:30am in “Luxe,” a luxury bar.

Cool: Walking down the corridor at work, around 2pm, to find waffles and an ice cream sundae bar set up.

“Why?” you ask

“Why not?” I ask.

Stupid: The required lecture on BMI tomorrow.  (BMI meaning body mass index, and the lecture meaning “Are you fat?” Oh the irony….)

Not That I Needed A Reason, But Here Is A Good One

Today was one of the most amazing days of my life, for reasons I can’t really explain.

When you live aboard a ship, which travels from port to port daily, days are not dates or days of the week. Days are places.  Thus, today was Penang, Malaysia.

I left the ship, went to the mall where I grabbed a Starbucks Frappuccino, and from there hailed a taxi to the Botanical Gardens.

I had read to beware of the cheeky monkeys at the gardens. So my first stop when I arrived at the gardens was a bin (aka trashcan) to toss my Frappuccino in.

Monkeys are not stupid. They hang out between the bins and the entrance. Seeing this naive, white tourist approaching, clearly with yummy drink in hand, one charged for my Frappuccino. 

Startled by this fast approaching, small, but no doubt ferocious monkey, I kind of shrieked and the Frappuccino was thrown aside as a diversion tactic.

Mission accomplished! The monkey grabbed my Frappuccino and high tailed it up a tree to enjoy.

I was outsmarted by a fifteen-pound monkey. But it was worth the photo op.

My cheeky friend, playing it coy, up the tree:

From there I wandered the gardens and was blessed with miles of Malaysian rainforest trails.  I love hiking, heat (85 degrees F), humidity, lush green growth, a blue sky, solitude, in a world away from home.

 

Before leaving home, my girlfriend somewhat ordered my return to travel writing, with the twist of post-cancer (times two), cognizance.

As I dripped sweat and gained altitude, I honestly could not think of a place in the world I would rather be.

 

Today was a reason I survived cancer.