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| Bethlehem Nativity Scene |
We had one thing to do today, and five hours in which to do
it. (No, it doesn’t end badly!) We woke up early (again) and finally got up,
showered, and headed to breakfast. After
a leisurely breakfast, we walked to the Cathedral (Good Shepard), where we had
heard they have a very nice “Bethlehem” scene.
It really was nice, but also amusing as the dress in many of the statues
fit the middle age Europe, not so much the Middle East about the year 0. But, they had a nice write up on the
beginning of the Manger tradition. It
was introduced by St. Francis, as a way to bring the Birth of Jesus to the
people in a tangible and physical way. For
the first Manger (or Creche or Crib), he used live oxen, to drive home the
point of the lowliness of Jesus’ birth in a stable.
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| Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus...but now a shopping center! |
On the way to the Cathedral, we passed what used to be a
Convent and orphanage and school. It was
heavily damaged in WWII, but rebuilt and continued until the 1980s, at which
time it was converted into an upscale shopping plaza. Something kind of unsettling about fancy
stores in a Convent, I think.
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| Memorial to the civilians killed in WWII. |
On the way back, we stopped at a Memorial for the civilians
killed between 1941 and 1945 during the Japanese occupation. The memorial is four pillars representing the
four ethnicities (Malay, Chinese, Indian, and “other”). It intentionally equates the suffering to all
of the groups. It also looks like four
chopsticks, as it is locally called!!
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| Looking up between the "chopsticks". |
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| Our Stateroom on the Azamara Journey. |
About Noon, we checked out and found a cab to the docks to
check into our cruise. This is the same
ship we took on our 2010 Atlantic Crossing, from Italy to the Bahamas. So, parts of the ship are familiar, but it
still amused us how small it seems!! The
ship only carries about 700 passengers, so our walking tour took about 45
minutes at a mild stroll. But, we were
sure to stop into the exercise room, with our drinks in hand, of course!! The package we bought for the cruise includes
a “Premium” liquor/beer service, so most of the beers are included, and the low
level booze (yes, “premium” is the lowest level!). I’m working my way through the beer
alphabetically, so I started with an Amstel Light. Our package also includes internet for one
device, so we will be able to continue posting for the blog while adrift…er, I
mean “at sea”!!
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| My view of the departure...from Deck 11 (the top deck). |
Our ship set out about 6-6:30 PM. Theresa wanted to watch, so we got a couple
of drinks and found a spot to watch. For
me, that meant somewhere near the front, the middle, and a seat! I found just the spot! On my way, I heard a guy exclaim (in a
British accent), “He’s got a Boddington!!”, referring to my Boddington Ale
(second on the list alphabetically). Getting
out of Singapore meant passing through a narrow channel, into a heavily
travelled ship lane. In fact, we watched
two ships go before us, and got in line after them.
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| Rudolph!! (There is piano in there somewhere.) |
We had a quick dinner at the buffet, before unpacking, just
before seeing the evening show. It was a
piano show of some sort. He wasn’t too
bad, but piano music is, well…just OK.
The stage though was busy with Christmas decorations!! My favorite part was the stuffed Rudolph,
which looked just like the Claymation one from the TV special! Speaking of Christmas…our stateroom attendant’s
name is Emmanuel. Hmmm…..
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