Three entire days at sea were required to travel from Fremantle, Western Australia to Bali, Indonesia. We could see the western coast of Australia as a shadow on the starboard (right) side of the ship far in the distance. After the first day, there was only ocean in all directions.
The Silver Whisper arrived off the coast of Bali shortly after dawn on February 17. The sail in was incredible. Fishermen stood lining the way into the harbor in seawater up to their waists. It was low tide and they looked like a line of buoys quite a distance out from the shoreline. The colors of land and water were beautiful. The spectacular dawn was marred somewhat by the odor of burning garbage as we docked at the Benoa pier. A troupe of Balinese dancers and musicians greeted us as the Whisper tied up to the pier. They performed for us until the ship was cleared and passengers started down the gangway.
Michael and I decided several days earlier to celebrate our second anniversary on the 17th in Bali with a day at the beach, as it was still the 16th in the U.S, our actual anniversary. We had been to Bali in 2010 and seen most of the traditional tourist sights. This time we planned for a quiet day of relaxation. Michael and I took a taxi to a public beach right next to the Bali Hyatt in the resort town of Sanur about five miles from the port.
Bali seemed a bit run down compared to three years ago. There was road construction near the port. The highway to the airport is apparently being enlarged with a new bridge under construction. Despite this, there were few tourists on the sreets although our taxi driver complained about the Sunday traffic. The buildings we passed appeared dirty and not well maintained. I noticed, especially in Sandakan, that a tropical climate requires that people perform constant maintenance or mold and mildew will appear everywhere. Not much fresh paint was in evidence on Bali buildings. The ancient stonework appeared black. Bali may well be suffering a decrease in tourism due to the global recession, and the mainstay Australian tourism has fallen off since a terrorist attack at a resort hotel a few years ago.
Our pre trip research indicated that a day pass to the Hyatt Hotel would cost us about $90.00 each plus we would be required to purchase of an expensive lunch. Instead we paid the local taxi driver $50.00 for transportation anywhere we wanted to go and four hours of his time. He suggested the public beach next to the Bali Hyatt. We rented beach chairs with pads and towels for both of us and an umbrella for a total of $10 for the day. Our beach chairs on the public beach were less than 50 feet from the much more expensive but very similar Hyatt chairs. We waded in the same water and walked on the same sand. The day was warm though it threatened rain. We had a wonderful time. Total cost - $60.00
Sailing out at sunset, we got a glimpse of Bali's almost 11,000-foot volcano, Mt Agung, rising out of the mist. I tried my best to get an atmospheric photo. My efforts are included here. Seeing the mountain in the mist was a favorable start to a romantic evening.
Michael and I returned to our suite after our special order veal marsala dinner to find it decorated with balloons and towels twisted into hearts and swans, topped with a sign saying, "Happy Anniversary." The folks in the customer relations department and our butler and housekeeper had gone all out on the presentation. I don't remember much more of the evening but I think chocolate and cognac were involved.
Following another two days day at sea we reached Sandakan, Malaysia in the province of Sabah on the north end of the island of Borneo.
The Silver Whisper's stop at Sandakan was perhaps the most exotic of the trip. Not many western tourists visit remote northeast Borneo. Those that do, visit for the wildlife. The Malaysian province of Sabah occupies the northern part of the island of Borneo. Northern Borneo is divided into two Malaysian provinces. Indonesia owns the south, and the small oil-rich Sultanate of Brunei is independent on the west coast.
Sabah, Malaysia has a population of about 3 million people spread over 28,000 square miles. Most live in towns and villages on the coast or on the riverbanks. The land around Sandakan is lowland floodplain covered in mangrove forest. Sabah was a British protectorate from the late eighteenth century until WW II, which it spent largely under Japanese occupation. The Allied offensive to recapture the territory essentially demolished the city of Sandakan. Most of the buildings date from the nineteen sixties and seventies. Sabah joined the Malay Federation in 1963 and it has remained part of Malaysia since. The city, unremarkable in itself, is the jumping off point for wildlife viewing visits. The Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center offer tours and are accessible by tour bus. Riverboat rides to the Kinabatangan River to see primates, lizards, river snakes, crocodiles and other tropical jungle life are another option.
Michael chose to take the tour titled "In Search of Wildlife." This five-hour tour involved riding in a powerful riverboat at high speed up the Kinabatangan River making periodic stops to observe the various wild creatures the guides pointed out. We were in the third of four riverboats working their way upriver. Our guide, "Ben", mostly followed the other boats and had our captain pull in wherever the other boats gathered near the shore. Everyone in the other boats was generally pointing to whatever creature had been observed. It was a great experience. We really did see wild things in their natural habitat. Plus the fast ride with spray flying and a large wake to our rear was great fun. Michael and I both have pictures of long tailed macaque monkeys, a river snake in a tree, exotic birds, and salt water crocodiles. Michael photographed a shape in the trees that he later enlarged to reveal a real orangutan and another monkey shape when enlarged was a proboscis monkey and baby. He took better photographs than I did.
Michael's hat blew off his head and landed in the water at one point. The boat captain circled around and Ben retrieved the hat before it sank. We both went hatless after that. When I got back to the ship, my hair was all tangled from whipping around in the high-speed wind.
Several hours into the tour, all the boats stopped for refreshments (mango juice and banana fritters) at an up-scale lodge on the riverbank. The lodge and the riverboats are owned by the same company. The lodge specializes in eco-tourism. Guests sleep in cabins in the jungle, get tours of the river, the jungle, and the animal sanctuaries and also attend a feast at a nearby village. The company generates additional income by providing tours for the very occasional visiting cruise ship (us).
The riverboats returned downriver even faster than they had gone upriver. We only slowed down so as not to raise too large a wake passing villages and other boats. We returned tired and happy to the Silver Whisper only a few minutes before the scheduled departure time.
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