March 14th, 2024 Day 16 of 24 Sea Day 2 of 3

Ahhh…another lovely Sea Day. This morning it was gym day to start the morning. Up and ready to release those endorphins to get the day started. Then we headed to project Linus so we could “sit and knit”. Actually we crochet but that rhymes so that’s what they call it in the When and Where brochure. Today was also my groups turn to do arts and crafts. We made a cute Panda notecard and a pair of Panda earrings. There was also an option to buy an additional craft kit from a different group so I purchased it and made a pair of pearl drop earrings and matching necklace with pendant. I love having the kits all ready and the instructions there to follow along. Easy Peasy. We had dinner tonight in the Main Dining Room and hosted crew member Joost. Last year he was a cadet and this year he has since been promoted to a third officer. It was nice to share dinner with him and catch up. Tonight was also the Zuiderdam Ball and Megan and my only opportunity to participate in a formal event on this segment. It was an evening filled with lots of live music and a special time dancing along with DJ Nyron. There was a special time of introductions of the officers and their significant others and the Captain and his wife were invited to take part in the first dance of the evening. Everyone was dressed in their best attire. It is always a fun evening when we get to see the crew relax and join us in the festivities. Drink flowed freely and Megan and I stay out until about 11:00pm. We were exhausted and our feet hurt a little from balancing on our heels on the rocking boat, but we really do love it. So much laughter, so many smiles and everyone looking their best. It really filled my heart to see.

I am going to take a little detour from my regularly scheduled broadcast here to talk about our least favorite part of our visit in China. Can we talk bathrooms for a second? If you analyze the photo below what can you see is missing? First of all, there is no toilet. If you seek hard enough you can occasionally find a handicapped stall in China, which means it has what they call a “western” style toilet. But those are few and far between. So this is the manner which one must go the restroom. Secondly, there is no toilet paper. If you’re lucky there is a communal dispenser in the entrance into the restroom but more than likely even if there is one, it’s empty. So you can imagine the balancing/cirque de soleil acrobatics that are required to do what you need to do, while keeping anything your own from touching the floor. No railings for balance. And don’t even get me started on the splash factor. I have to say I now fully understand why they don’t wear their shoes in the house. Ewwww. Oh and lastly, most bathrooms don’t have soap in them. So after all the wall touching and the balancing act has come to a conclusion you can not even properly wash your hands. I will not be caught unprepared when we get off the ship in Hong Kong in a couple of days. I will have my bathroom “kit” on the ready for any trips to the loo. Consider yourself warned for any upcoming travels to China.

Ok. That’s my post for today. I hope you all had a most wonderful day. We are cuddling in for a good nights rest. Tomorrow is another wonderful Sea Day. Ahhh…