Return to Singapore

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<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 28px; line-height: normal;">On our return to Singapore approximately 900 Malaysian/Asian passengers disembark and the same number of mainly Australian and British Embark. Once again the nature of the ship changes.



<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li4" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">Ian goes of to do a battlefields of Singapore tour, so over to him.



<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li4" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">The tour is really a visit to two museums, Changi Prison Museum and the Former Ford Factory Museum.



<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li4" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">In the first we see the conditions the allied prisoners endured in the hands of the Japanese. Horrific as I am sure most people know. But it also casts light on the Japanese treatment of the Chinese civilians which was even more brutal. I for one was unaware of the slaughter of 50,000 Chinese civilians within weeks of Japanese occupation and the continued high levels of violence throughout the occupation.



<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li4" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">The Former Ford Factory was a factory built in the late 1930’s, think Art Deco. It was the site of the British surrender to the Japanese in the factory board room. Really quite a small and insignificant place for such a major event. Interestingly in 1945 General Percival (the surrendering British Commander in 1942) was present at the signing of the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and was then flown to the Philippines following day to be present when General Yamashita ( the Japanese general who forced the Allied surrender in Singapore) signed his own surrender document.



<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li4" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">The final stop was the War graves Commission Cemetery. These are always moving venues, row upon row of headstones, each with a story. Almost universally young men but with the occasional woman, a nurse normally. Always immaculately kept and a tribute both to the fallen and those who maintain them.



<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li2" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 28px; line-height: normal;">It is also the night of the round the world gala party. All passengers who are travelling the entire journey (936) are invited to a party at the Gardens by the Bay. Usually such gala events are formal, however this one is different, due in part to the fact that it was rearranged from Hong Kong which was part of the original route. However, that was dropped due to issues with the Chinese and Covid (they wanted the ship to quarantine for 14 days before landing). As a result everything is slightly less formal and last minute in terms of planning than might have been expected.



<ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: circle; caret-color:� color:� -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><li class="li4" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">Getting ashore was pretty chaotic because of the Singapore Immigration process, putting many passengers in a foul mood. There was then free alcohol (just take a glass from a passing waiter), what could go wrong? While the food was reasonable, prepared we are told by a celebrity chef, it was a buffet service and the bad mood turned even more sour for some passengers. Anyway, the inevitable happened, angry drunk people becoming ever more aggressive. Points of conflict and poor behaviour escalate until we are treated to the sight of OAP’s squaring up for fights and trying to throw the occasional punch but missing, drunken matrons falling over, a severely obese man unable to climb the steps up into the bus being poured into a disabled friendly taxi. Don’t let anyone ever tell you the older generation are an example to follow.



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Ian and I avoid the worse of this and see the light display which is truly spectacular. The soaring giant steel structures covered in plants illuminated by dancing lights with classical music playing, superb. We follow this up by using the private access Cunard passengers have to one of the huge greenhouses. There are only about a hundred of us using this opportunity so it often seems we were the only people in the entire place. (Most are still trying to get the next drink in the main hall.) The lighting was subdued, the temperature perfect and in the background melodious Chinese music. We had about 45 minutes in a fantastic venue with a marvellous atmosphere.



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As we were leaving we tried the fortune tellers who are there for gala attendees. One had a trained parrot, he told the parrot your name and it selected an envelope from about twenty. Opening the envelope you of course are told everything is going to be wonderful. But the Chinese palm reader was brilliant. He inspected my palm and pointed to one line. With a serious face he said ‘this indicates you have health problems’ (I was walking with a stick and needed helping into the chair). His next insight was that this year, I would be doing a lot of travelling. (We are all on a World cruise!!!!!) Finally he pointed to another line and solemnly said ‘you are in a good relationship’. Happily both he and we managed to keep straight faces and avoid laughing as he came out with these powerful insights.


The following day many we spoke to complained bitterly about the gala, when we told them what we had experienced many seemed even more cross that they had not used the opportunity that they had been told was available. Still, why enjoy the environment when you can grab yet another vodka fruit juice?



If nothing else the gala evening was different from the other such events we have attended. A number of the more excitable passengers seem to keep a low profile for several days.



There then follows two days at sea



sorry about the format of this blog problems with the layout and font.

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