Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang) & Penang, Malaysia

Putra Mosque

            Friday, 10 March 2017 – Already the next morning, the ship stopped at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Much of our 4-hour excursion was spent on a bus, but the high point was between noon and 1:00 PM when we were walking through a botanical garden.  This was the “Taman Botani Putrajaya,” the “Mother of All Gardens” with rainforest trees and unusual vegetation (such as heliconia, red pointed flowers) and various types of bananas (some bananas are actually poisonous).  In spite of tall trees, much of our walk was in the sun.  When Sally commented to the tour guide, Kapin, about how quiet it was, he replied that the birds and insects don’t come out during that time of day when it is so hot.  (No, only humans do that!)
            By 2:00 PM we were back on the ship.  After a light lunch, Sally napped for four hours until dinner.  We were later than usual for dinner, the dining room was already filled to capacity; therefore, we were given a buzzer and a coupon for free champagne in the Spinnaker Lounge.  Since the Exotique Band was playing there, we danced to a few songs until our buzzer went off.  After dinner, we danced to another four songs or so before retiring for the night.

Penang, Malaysia

            Saturday, 11 March 2017 – Today, the ship stopped at Penang, Malaysia.  Since the big attraction there seemed to be the beach and not a lot else, we didn’t sign up for an excursion.  But we did get off the ship to walk.  However, within a few blocks of the ship, there wasn’t much to see – not even any shops except for a few tiny tourist places with postcards, etc.  One hour of hot sun and heavy traffic was enough for us!
            In the afternoon we went for a swim in the ship’s pool, which turned out to be heavily chlorinated salt water, and between 5.2 and 5.7 feet deep.  Afterwards, Sally lay down for a nap while Jesse visited the buffet for a light lunch.
            We shared our dinner table with a friendly Canadian couple and talked so long that the band was playing their last dance by the time we got to the Spinnaker Lounge.  Although the band would be returning later, it would be too late for us.  Before bed, we set our clocks and watches back one hour.