Tuesday, March 9, 2010
NOTE: The bottom fourteen pictures are from yesterday in Kuwait. Several are from the fish market. We also included a picture of the World Cruise Choir. The first set of pictures are from our visit to Manama, Bahrain earlier today. Don't you think those Camels are cute?
Today has been another wonderful day as we have had the opportunity to visit another port of call that we have never visited before.
We wanted to start with some additional thoughts about Kuwait City and then move into last evening.
Like us, most everyone we spoke with enjoyed his or her visit to Kuwait City. For us, it was very rewarding to see this city up close and in person and to have an opportunity to speak with some of the locals.
We think this is a port of call that can develop very nicely in the years to come in terms of tourism including passenger cruise ships. We believe that overtime the tours can continue to be enhanced and this would make a very nice port stop for Crystal on those Middle East itineraries that involve this area of The Middle East. We applaud Crystal for taking us to new places that either Crystal has not visited before or like Kuwait that passengers cruise ships have not visited. As we have mentioned, we enjoy the opportunity to see things through our own eyes and to increase our knowledge of this very large planet that we live on and also to create memories that will last for a lifetime. As we visit so many diverse places we are reminded that our country while very large differs from so many other places in terms of customs, practices and even beliefs and in a wife range of other areas from education to cuisine to health practices to dress. We are so very thankful to have this opportunity and to see so many places first hand that our parents could only dream of or many can only learn about from books and television.
We did learn yesterday that the first shuttle that ran from the ship to the area that the people were being dropped off involved a three hour ride as the bus driver was not familiar with where to go. In Iran, there was a similar experience where the first shuttle took two hours. Of course, on the lighter side, how often does one get such an extensive city tour involving two and three hours of drive time and not having to pay a fee since the shuttle is complimentary. J Since this is the first time that tours were provided in the last two ports of call for Crystal and likely in general it is to be expected to have a few minor items such as a drive a little confused as to the drop off route. In the end, all of this adds to a humorous story for those who were on the shuttle and a reminder to take the shore excursion and to skip the shopping. J
We had a wonderful time on the ship last evening.
Before dinner we attended a concert in which guests sang three songs. They refer to this program and those participating in this event as the World Cruise Choir. The chorus who sang last evening was composted of around 20 passengers who are on one or more legs of the world cruise along with a few entertainers. They sang very well and we were very proud of them. They met every couple of sea days to learn the songs and the Pianist from the Crystal Orchestra aided them. It was very touching.
We dined in the Main Dining Room at the table with another couple who is on two legs of the World Cruise. This couple sat at our table on one evening last week and reciprocated by hosting us last evening. We enjoyed a very nice dinner and a delightful conversation with the two of them. Their headwaiter is Giuseppe who was our headwaiter for the seven-day voyage that preceded the World Cruise and our headwaiter for half of the 2008 World Cruise so we know him very well. He knows how much we enjoy salad so as soon as we were seated he told us he would be happy to make each of us a nice Caesar Salad which each of us enjoyed. Anne Marie had the Broiled Dover Sole “Almondine” which was accompanied by Parsley Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and Glazed Carrot Sticks for her entrée. Keith enjoyed the Grilled Striped Bass along with Brussel Sprouts and other steamed Vegetables. We each enjoyed mixed berries as our dessert. The good news is that there are plenty of blueberries back on the ship again. J
After dinner we enjoyed the 7:45 PM show which featured Bob Arno in an act called “The Art of the Steal with Bob Arno”. Bob provides interactive comedy by showing first hand the art of the pickpocket. He went up to several people at the beginning of the show including Keith but the good news is that he didn’t select Keith to come up on stage. As he walked up to certain members of the audience (all men) he said a few words and either looked at them carefully or in a few instanced patted them down. He did pat Keith but did not take anything and may not have chosen Keith given that he is quite trim and probably more sensitive to touch. In just a few minutes he removed about five watches without anyone knowing including a couple of Rolex Watches and other expensive watches. Yes, he removed watches, wallets and guest cards from various guests without them knowing. At the same time he removed belts and ties from multiple guests without them knowing while they were on stage. He also removed a couple of items that we will not mention as they were on the rather personal side. He was truly amazing. Before Bob Arno performed, we watched the Dynamic Duo of lead Crystal Cruises dancers Curtis Collins and Beverly Durand perform for us. Their dancing was amazing. They are so graceful and a pleasure to watch.
Once again, Keith awoke relatively early today and began his day with a wonderful workout in the Fitness Center. He was the second person to arrive to the center as fellow passenger Brian arrived a few minutes before Keith. Later on fellow passenger John arrived. Keith had a great workout on the Elliptical Machine. This is such as wonderful way to begin the day and Keith enjoys getting this exercise behind him. After the workout, Keith stopped by the Lido Café to bring coffee back to the Room for himself and for Anne Marie. He spoke with several of the Lido Deck Stewards including Nat, Richie and Clark.
Alexander brought our breakfast at 6:30 AM and we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast as we viewed the scenery from the ship. We had our usual breakfast of oatmeal and fresh fruit. Keith showed Alexander our blog and also showed him the cruising forum Cruise Critic.
Today was not only our very first visit to Manama and Bahrain but this is also another Maiden Port of Call for Crystal Cruises.
We were asked to wear conservative clothing and no short were permitted.
Manama is the capital of Bahrain and offers a mix of local culture and world influences. It is diverse city in culture as almost one-third of its residents come from other countries. Manama is well known for its shopping dining and luxury hotels.
The population of Manama totals approximately 175,000 residents. Arabic is the official language of Bahrain but English is also widely spoken. The Bahrain Diner is the local currency.
Manama dates back to at least 1345. It was conquered by Portugal in 1521 and then by the Persians in 1602. Since 1783 it has been under the control of the Al-Khalifa dynasty.
While crude oil is still an important ingredient to its economy, Bahrain is promoting itself in the area of sales.
We took a shore excursion offered by Crystal Cruises. We met our friends Lynn and Allen in the lobby area so we could go out to the bus together.
As part of our tour we visited Bahrain’s largest mosque, the Al-Fateh Mosque. This structure was built in the early 1990’s and it was named after Ahmed Al Fateh, who was the conqueror of Bahrain. It is considered to be one of the largest mosques in the world and it can accommodate approximately 7,000 people.
We also visited the Bahrain National Museum, which is known for its rich collection of Bahrain’s ancient archaeological artifacts. The museum collection covers 6,000 years of history. The museum was first opened in 1988 and truly focuses on life and history
We also stopped at the Jasra Handicraft Center. This center displayed a large selection of traditional handicrafts from numerous industries.
As part of this excursion we visited a privately owned camel farm.
Some additional comments and observations.
We had a wonderful tour and day in port. The tour guides was exceptional and the tour was organized very well. The weather was also exceptional.
Once we got into the city we were truly amazed by all of the modern day buildings and all of the construction.
The tour guide and others who spoke with the group at some of the places we visited were very well educated, were very knowledgeable on their subject matter and communicated very effectively.
The major drivers of the economy are oil which makes up 60% of the economy, followed by tourism, furniture and aluminum. While the economy appears to be flourishing, there is 12% unemployment.
This country does the refining of oil for Saudi Arabia and has oil pipes that carry the oil between the two countries.
Many from Saudi Arabia visit this country for two or three day weekends as drinking of alcohol is permitted so many will drink and also go to clubs.
Our visit to the Mosque was quite interesting. Another person from the Mosque conducted the tour and provided a lot of interesting information. On Friday’s many of the Mosques in the city are actually closed to encourage people to go to this Mosque.
The Museum was excellent. Our tour guide gave an outstanding tour. At the same time each exhibit contained very nice write ups in both Arabic and in English.
The Camel Farm was interesting. There were various areas to the farm. There were a few areas that were sectioned off which included those camels who were pregnant along with newly born baby camels. We saw some newborns as young as a few days. Unlike Dubai they do not have Camel Races in this country. Very few Camels are eaten as they have to be the young ones and the costs are quite high. Many of them are used for Camel’s Milk.
We saw many hotels throughout the city so it was apparent that tourism is quite a big driver of the economy. We passed by several shopping malls. At first we didn’t see any United States Restaurants but towards the end of the tour we came across several such as McDonald’s, Ponderosa, Subway and a few others.
Since tours were arriving back to the ship late this afternoon, the Lido Café was still open when we returned so the four of us had lunch together at the Café.
Afterwards, Keith read and wrote and ran a few errands on board the ship while Anne Marie took another nice walk on the Promenade Deck.
This evening we will dine at the Main Dining Room and will post more about it tomorrow.
This evening we will move the clocks forward one hour as we sail into a new time zone. The ship is scheduled to leave the port at 12:00 Midnight.
Tomorrow is a day at sea which will be great.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY….
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
Keith and Anne Marie
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