Saturday, May 5, 2012

At sea.............

Reflections during my days at sea.

Thought you might enjoy seeing what we did to pass the time crossing the Arabian Sea from India to the United Arab Emirates.......including taking some photos of course.







Those lovely blue chaise lounges with the British crown logo were calling to me each time I took a jaunt around the promenade deck.................I gave in and plopped down for a brief rest while doing laundry.  Oh yes, domestic  chores follow one around the globe.......


...............and people actually cram into these tiny laundry rooms while on posh ocean liners. Many passengers were on QE's 107 day World Tour and needed clean undies often I guess! 
The 'launderette chronicles' were rife on board. Horror stories circulated such as the one about the irate woman who threw the iron at a man earlier in the voyage. They were both removed from the ship at the next port of call. We managed fine, surviving unscathed, after a good hour's search walking what must have been miles of endless corridors - good exercise - to actually find an empty washer. Squished between two German ladies fresh from the pool deck, baked to well done, and a delightful Brit ironing her endless yards of silk sari to wear at the formal Raj Ball that evening......we all had a few laughs, got along well, and did our washing amicably.  


Bob's 'domestic side'.......the ladies loved him.

I seem to recall the old ocean liners had gorgeous teak wood decks.........but it looks like that manmade stuff is being used on ships as well as in backyards these days.  The rails were teak though and they were being re-varnished as we sailed.

So, a bit worn out from all that walking, washing and ironing, we passed up the jogging invitation, took a nice hot shower and dressed for dinner............




Life at sea...........lots of great memories!

7 comments:

  1. A fantastic glimpse into cruise life. Thank you Mary.

    I love the detail, never thought about laundry. It can be an issue on some of my 'rough and ready' trip and we do handwash. That was very satisfying when camping in Nambia.

    Bob is so good, very much like Mr Sft..one of life's keepers.

    Sft x

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  2. What an extremely smart and cosmopolitan international couple! Thanks for the pictures that the glossy brochures won't show.

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  3. Those blue-cushioned loungers would be calling out to me, too. What a place to daydream! Love the glimpse into the practicalities of life at sea.

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  4. Caught up with your past posts again – your photos are fabulous! What a dream cruise you had. Your photos of the butterflies were amazing – so clear and brilliant. We went to the butterfly garden in New Orleans and I saw some butterflies but nothing like the ones you showed. I had never heard of the island of Langkawi – what a truly enchanting island. Since a teenager I have always wished to travel to Ceylon/Sri Lanka so I enjoyed your photos a lot. Loved the pictures of India – so many people, sounds, smells – make me a bit scared but your pictures were really full of life.
    Your plants look so lovely. We have too many pine trees and much shade so there are not as many flowers we can place in our pots, but we are pleased with what we can get for the shade.

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  5. Spending time this rainy afternoon catching up with some of my favourite blogs and really enjoyed seeing the "other" side to life aboard a luxury liner!
    Great descriptions of your fellow washerwomen!

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  6. You look so classy and elegant in that black suit....always a pleasure to read your blog. Thanks.

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  7. Makes me want to go to sea! You are so stylish, Mary, even doing the laundry and ironing.

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