Hello from Port Kelang. Malaysia, the gateway port to Kuala Lumpur! We are well, happy and eating too much! I know Disney World calls itself “The Happiest Place on Earth,” but for me, on board a Crystal ship fits that title!

I am so glad we were able to visit beautiful Bali. Our friend, Terry, just sent us a message with the information that Celebrity has bypassed Bali due to the threat of terrorism. The warning was sent by the Australian Government and the British Government. Interesting that the US State Department has not issued a warning. In fact, the US has issued very few warnings. I receive an email anytime there is an Australian travel warning, and they have issued alerts in several of the ports we have visited and will visit. Perhaps the US government is too caught up in the political shenanigans of the presidential race. I am particularly sad for the primarily Indonesian crew onboard Celebrity Solstice, because so many of them were planning to visit friends and family in Bali. The ripples of terrorism extend far beyond the violent aspects.

Our dear friend Cruise Director Rick Spath enjoys a dozen egg salad sandwiches with us for lunch.

Since the last time I posted was March 1, I need to step back in time and bring you up to date. Currently, it is Sunday, March 7, while for most of you in is still Saturday.

March 2 was a sea day en route to Semarang, Indonesian. It was another full day, but with a pleasant surprise! David actually went with me to Odyssey Art at Sea! This segment is being taught by Linda Pearlmutter, who founded Odyssey Art at Sea and Odyssey Knitting at Sea. Linda is a lovely woman and a talented artist, and she has asked us to dinner later in the cruise. The first three segments of her class were jewelry making, and David agreed to go. I think he really enjoyed it and has showed a real aptitude for choosing beads and colors. He made a bracelet, necklace and two pair of earrings. He draws the line at wearing them, so I reap the benefits of his labors! He was not the only man attending the class, there were several more. Our next art classes will be water colors and then we will merge into acrylics. The art classes at sea have always been a special part of my sea days on Crystal. They are taught by high caliber instructors and have been a step above art classes on other lines. Since I am doing art for the next few weeks, I have had to miss memoir writing because of a time conflict. See what I mean about too many options on a Crystal sea day!

We have enjoyed Ken Rees' presentations as a Destination Lecturer. He speaks on the history of our stops as well as the highlights of things not to miss. His long history (25 years) as a foreign correspondent for the foremost British radio and television network gives him a broad perspective and that, along with a terrific dry sense of humor, allows for an interesting and humorous presentation. We have known Ken, and his lovely wife, Lynne, for many years and will be having dinner with them on March 13.

Thursday, March 3 found us docked in Semarang, Gateway to Central Java, an area with 31 million people. We opted for a day long tour to Borobudur, a 9^th Century Buddhist Temple tucked deep into the jungle of Central Java. It is the largest Buddhist temple and measures 403 square feet, almost a block long and block wide, and is more than 100 feet high. The temple was abandoned in 1006 after a powerful earthquake occurred nearby, followed by a devastating eruption of Mt. Merapi, one of the four volcanoes bordering, Borobudur. After 8 centuries, in 1815, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (recognize that last name?) recognized the temple's significance and began work to free the temple from the jungle vines that had swallowed it up. His work was followed by a Dutchman, Theordoor van Erp, who developed the early work to stabilize the structure. Finally in 1983, with the assistance of UNESCO and private funding, the temple was restored to its former glory.

In true Crystal fashion, none of the buses were filled to capacity, so there were fewer people climbing on and off the bus. The drive was approximately 3 hours from Semarang each way. As we drove through the city, we saw evidence of new development, but were struck by the severe poverty we saw as we journeyed away from the city. Houses are literally shacks, and as they fall down, the residents continue to live in them. The same is true for small businesses, fruit and vegetable stands, auto and scooter repair shops, etc. Many of these were perched on the edge of steep ravines, which made a step out of the back door very dangerous. As we climbed into the mountains, we reached the coffee growing region. Famous, or infamous, in this area is coffee produced in part by civets. The civet, a type of mountain cat, eats the coffee berries, and then workers go through the cat scat and rescue the beans. It is then roasted and used to produce a unique coffee. Neither David nor I were excited to try any. We stopped a very nice coffee shop for tea and other coffee and refreshments, including jack fruit and lichees still in their pod. We continued on our way to Boroburdur.

The first sight of Borobudur inspired a “WOW!” from me. It is huge and amazing! The ground surrounding it has been turned into lush gardens, a setting that a work of this magnitude deserves. It is thought that if you climb to the top, you will achieve true enlightenment. I don't think that was achieved by any of the guests on our tour—more like “true sweat!” It was very, very hot, but we still enjoyed the many carvings of Buddha in his various lives and the largest stupas in the world. The building is made of stone, but no mortar was used, and it is similar to the Pyramids in effort and construction.

Following our tour of Borobudur, we walked down the hill to a beautiful hotel for a buffet lunch and Indonesian dancing. The grounds of the hotel were so gorgeous and lush! The pavilion where we had lunch was carved teak with intricate designs and ceiling.

Following lunch, we boarded our buses again for n a shadow puppet show and the obligatory shopping opportunity. We drove for another hour and stopped again at the coffee shop for refreshments and a bathroom stop. Our tour began at 7:45 am and we didn't return until after 6 pm. We were fortunate to have a police escort for the caravan of buses. The police car drove in front with his siren blaring to clear the road clearing the traffic off to the side, and we followed behind down the center of the road. Without this escort, the trip would have taken twice as long because of traffic. We were actually “out-escorted” by a police car leading the cars belonging to a two star general, and had to pull over to let them pass.

Two sea days followed our visit to Indonesia, and it was a welcome change of routine rather than long tours. En route to Port Kelang, we passed Singapore on our port side, and we look forward to our visit there in a few days. We passed through the Strait of Malacca, which was filled with hundreds of ships in all types, sizes and conditions. This strait used to be quite dangerous in terms of piracy. But since 2004, there has been a movement to deter pirates in a joint effort by the surrounding countries and Australia, Japan, India and the US now traverse the area as a deterrent. Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia have constant air and sea patrols since 2005. The pirates are primarily interested in cargo and oil vessels, which have goods that they can re-sell.

Yesterday morning found us docked in Port Kelang. We had reserved a private guide and minivan through Crystal, and along with two other couples we have become friends with, Ken and Sharon and Jim (Pat had the “Crystal Crud,” the bad cold that is circulating among the guests. Unfortunately, she couldn't join us.) This was a terrific idea! We traveled in comfort with a great guide and a driver in a large minivan with plenty of room. It was ideal to see the sights in Kuala Lumpur this way. First, I must tell you that I had no idea what to expect with Kuala Lumpur—and I was totally surprised at what we saw. It is a vibrant, clean, new city exuding wealth! The new building is evident and there are many, many new, strikingly beautiful condominiums, office buildings and hotels. The architecture is cutting edge. We had a list of things that we wished to see, and our guide and driver made it so easy. Our first stop was the Batu Caves. This was awe inspiring in its uniqueness! There are three caves and several smaller caverns, and at the top is a Hindu shrine reached by climbing 272 steps. Next to the steps is a statue in gold leaf of the Mother Goddess at least 10 stories high. Young children are blessed at the shrine at about one year of age. We saw many Indian families climbing the steps, barefooted with their young babies in their arms. Many of the adults and babies had shaved heads and a coating of whitish-yellow ocher on their heads as a tribute to the Goddess. Surrounding the steps were a series of smaller temples with brightly painted images of Gods and Goddesses. It was a rare and unique experience. We climbed some of the steps, but did not go all the way up, in part due to the cheeky monkeys who are quite aggressive. Monkeys are not my favorite animals!

From there we went to the Royal Selangor Pewter Company. This was established in 1885 by a Chinese immigrant and has been kept in the family ever since. It is an amazing operation. We were assigned a guide and taken through the museum of early and later pieces and trophies made by the company. Then we were escorted through the plant to see the workers finishing the pieces by hand, and finally to the shop were, of course, pieces could be purchased. The workmanship was amazing and they also sell sterling and gold pieces as well. Even more interesting than the factory were the busloads of Chinese visitors: student groups, championship ping pong groups, etc., all from mainland China and dressed in matching shirts. One woman asked to take a photo with me. I am unsure if it was because I am foreign or because of the blond hair.

We drove through the city of Kuala Lumpur, and visited the War Memorial Monument, designed by Felix De Weldon, the same man who designed the Iwo Jima Memorial. It is a peaceful setting with a reflecting pool and it pays tribute to those who died in WWI, WWII and the soldiers who died defending the country from the Communist insurgency in the 1950's.

Our next stop was the King's Palace where we saw the guards on horseback. From there we drove past the gardens in the park in central KL. This park, surrounding a lake, is home to a deer park, a bird park and beautiful flowers. We soon passed the railroad station, built by the British in a European style that belies the fact that this country has no winter.

For lunch, we stopped at one of the MANY luxury malls in downtown KL. They are all interconnected and have every luxury, high end shop you can think of: Chopard, Gucci, Bvlgari, Michael Kors, Rolex, etc. It even had a “Jewelry and Watch Concierge!” We descended several levels below street level to a selection of restaurants in Star Gallery, and decided on a Vietnamese lunch. Ken and I had a chicken soup with rice noodles and fresh vegetables, Sharon had a stir-fry, David and Jim had combinations of spring rolls, shrimp, beef and noodles. We had Tiger Beer to drink and lunch was excellent! At ground level, there was a super busy Sapora store (I may be spelling that wrong, but you female readers are familiar with it in the US for cosmetics, skin care, etc.). We saw very observant Muslim women, less observant Muslim women and women in short skirts and high fashion shows, all elbowing each other to buy make up.

Following lunch, we were taken to a Chinese Clan House. It is the one that our guide's grandfather belonged to, and one he goes to. The Clan House was ornately decorated with shrines and incense and it serves as a clearing house for newly arrived Chinese immigrants. Each area of China has it's own Clan House and they help new arrivals find housing, jobs, even lend money. They also had prayer services and special events. In the past, however, these Clan Houses were the headquarters of the Chinese “Mafia” with hands in drug smuggling, etc. We did see a table of men chatting with one another reminiscent of the tables of men in the “Sopranos” and were careful not to take photos of them. We were welcomed by the female “auxiliary members “ who were very helpful. While we were there, we were fortunate to see a group of visiting members from Penang, who participated in a ceremony to honor their ancestors before proceeding to the social part of their get-together. It was a rich and unique experience.

Our guide and driver took us through Chinatown, little Bangladesh, past the National Mosque and then for a photo opportunity at the Petronas Twin Towers, the world's tallest “twin” towers. They were surpassed by single towers: the Taipei 101 and the Burj Khalifa, but are still magnificent! They were built by two separate firms at the same time, so that they would rise up together.

Our day came to an end in Kuala Lumpur as we headed back to the port and hour and a half on smooth, modern toll roads. As we traveled, we passed new housing developments that could easily be at home in Southern California, for example. Many of these people commute to KL for work. Our guide explained that growth had slowed down somewhat, but that the city and surrounding areas have become a huge financial center for Malaysia, funded in part by Saudi Arabia.

Tomorrow: Panang, Malaysia!