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Our Travel Adventures - Cruising Fulltime
Welcome to the Adventures of Larry and Connie Farquhar as we cruise fulltime around the world.
We're "Steaming" - not "Sailing", not "Cruising"
In my previous blog, I jokingly mentioned my confusion about using the term "sailing". A reader, who has been a mariner for over 45 years emailed me and let me know that the correct nautical term is "steaming". This is also funny and outdated, as I don't think there are many ships powered by steam anymore. I may stick with the incorrect nautical term of "cruising".
Below, you'll read that we had many sea days "cruising" to the various ports. I think I've gotten into a pattern for most sea days. Wake up and have breakfast about 25% of the time, otherwise I just enjoy my hot chocolate while sitting in the hallway near the library. If the timing is right, I can make a video call with Connie. Currently, it's a 15-hour time difference (I'm in the future). 9:00am my time will be 6:00pm yesterday in her time. Then I'll play video games on the tablet until lunch time, which I have about 50% of the time.
Breakfast can be a full-blown eggs and bacon or sausage with hash-browns meal. They also have all the fixings for a continental breakfast, oatmeal, cold cereal, or just toast or a bagel. We can order eggs specially cooked or order an omelet. The grill rotates each day between a fruit crepe, pancakes, or French toast. I love the thick and soft French toast with real maple syrup that they prepare.
I don't usually have a heavy lunch and that's what they mostly serve. It's like having a full dinner in the middle of the day. We do have the option of getting a hot dog, cheeseburger or grilled cheese sandwich. But that can get old fast. What they don't have is cold cut or sub sandwiches. Soup and salad are always an option. Today was BBQ pork ribs with a couple free ice-cold beers.
Dinner is always on another level. We usually get a choice of 3 or 4 main courses, with potato and vegetable choices. There's a pasta station to have spaghetti or alfredo specially made for you. They also offer several vegetable only dishes. We also always have the option of getting a steak, grilled chicken, or grilled salmon. We could pay extra for the high-end steaks. Two beers or glasses of wine are included with each meal. Deserts! I love the deserts here! Usually 3 or 4 choices, including a sugar free (tasteless) choice, and several flavors of ice cream. Today at lunch was a delicious chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Yumm!
Fellow residents Lanette & Johan have been making YouTube videos of life onboard the Odyssey. Coincidentally they just happen to come out with a new video on eating meals on the Odyssey:
Back to my sea day routine. If I don't have lunch, I'll grab sone cheese or a small sandwich from our living room (the Morning Light Lounge). Then it's back to the room to catch up on the day's email and computer work. By now, it's usually time to go the pool deck and enjoy some sun and hot tub time. 60 - 90 minutes later, I'll grab a free soda and go back to the room to work on this blog or other computer jobs. Around 4:30pm, I'll head up to the Observation lounge for happy-hour and enjoy a $2.40 rum & coke drink and mingle with the other residents. Around 6:30 - 7:00pm it's time to head back for more food and the full dinner. I usually go to the buffet but also visit the Thistle restaurant and share a table with other residents for some good conversation with the various interesting people on board! But I'll save that topic for a future blog.
Travel Log for May 7th to May 13th, 2026
Lawang Sewu
Most of this week was spent slowly cruising from one port to another. After leaving Surabaya, Indonesia, we spent three days at sea until our arrival in Semarang, Indonesia. Even though Borobudur (UNESCO), the largest and most iconic Buddhist temple in the world, is located near here, I decided not to visit it. The first day on arrival, I went on a day tour visiting several other sites in Semarang. Semarang is the capital city of Central Java, Indonesia
Joining 45 other residents, we boarded a large bus for our day trip. Our first stop was at Lawang Sewu, an historic colonial‑era building built in the early 1900's. It was the head office of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company. "Lawang Sewu" is Javanese for "Thousand Doors." The name comes from the building's design, which has many doors, arches, and window‑like openings. It was also used by the Japanese as a prison during World War II. We were greeted by dozens of locals who sincerely seemed happy to see us visit their city. I'm just not sure why so many of them want to have their photo taken with us. The building and history were interesting, but nothing spectacular.
Our next stop was at the Great Mosque of Central Java, Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah in Indonesian. This Mosque is a significant religious and cultural landmark, attracting both worshippers and tourists alike. The architecture was interesting. Outside were six large, hydraulically operated umbrellas in the courtyard providing shade for worshippers. Unfortunately, they were closed during our visit. The tour also touted that we would be able to climb the Asmaul Husna Tower, a prominent 325-foot-tall tower and get a good view of the city. However, this was also closed during our visit. We removed our shoes and were able to walk around inside the mosque. Again, interesting, but nothing spectacular.
Great Mosque of Central Java
Great Mosque of Central Java
Inside the Great Mosque of Central Java
Umbrellas Folded Up at the Great Mosque of Central Java
Buffet Lunch
The View From Lunch
By now, it was lunch time. We headed off to a restaurant at the top of the city hill and had a catered buffet Indonesian meal. It was delicious! I don't remember the name of the restaurant, or the name of the various foods, but we had a good view of Semarang from the hilltop.
The next stop on our day tour was to the Vihara Buddhagaya Watugong complex. The main site here was the 148-foot-tall pagoda, which has been recognized as the tallest pagoda in Indonesia. Its striking red-and-gold multi-level tower design makes it one of the most iconic landmarks in the city.
Next up was the Sam Poo Kong Temple, also known as Gedung Batu Temple. This was a complex with multiple halls, shrines, and courtyards. Even though it serves as a place of worship and cultural site for people of different religions (Buddhists, Taoists, and even Muslims, it's also advertised as a "tourist destination". The multi‑layered pagoda roofs, dragon ornaments, statues, and courtyards were interesting. We were also treated to a 30-minute video of the history of the temples. The highlight of this stop was to learn the story of Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho), a famous Chinese explorer who arrived in Java in the early 1400. This temple was originally built to honor him. Our final stop was at the old-town section of Semarang. I walked around a little but was already pretty tired from the day's events.
For our second and final day in Semarang, many residents climbed onto busses to visit Borobudur. I was tired, had already seen many temples, and wasn't looking forward to a 3½ hour bus ride each way. I decided to pass. The ship was departing this afternoon, which meant this tour had to drive 7+ hours to see the temple for less than 90 minutes. They made it back in time, but barely. A few residents got off the ship to spend a few nights here before flying to Singapore and catch the ship there. They had more time to visit Borobudur. and other popular places, plus they missed 4-days at sea. Smart.
Vihara Buddhagaya Watugong
Vihara Buddhagaya Watugong
Vihara Buddhagaya Watugong
Vihara Buddhagaya Watugong
Sam Poo Kong
Sam Poo Kong
Sam Poo Kong
Sam Poo Kong
Sam Poo Kong
Sam Poo Kong
Sam Poo Kong
Old Town Semarang
Old Town Semarang
Travel Log for May 14th to May 20th, 2026
After leaving Semarang, we spent 4-days at sea cruising to Singapore. We took our time, conserving fuel. We even arrived early and had to float around for a few hours before we could head into the port. This is the first of a three visits we'll make to Singapore over the next couple of months. It seems marine oil (fuel) is available in Singapore, but scarce everywhere else near here. Our itinerary has the Odyssey visiting Singapore, going out to visit several other ports in Malaysia and the Philippines for a month, returning to Singapore, then heading out again to visit more ports in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand for 5 weeks, then returning again to Singapore for the final time (at least for a few years).
Knowing I'll have several more days to deeply explore Singapore, I decided to make this trip an "exploration" visit. I took the hop-on hop-off (hoho) bus for the day. Unfortunately, it was raining very hard the first half of the day making it difficult to view the city well. The hoho for the day consisted of two different routes. Due to the weather, it was just the first route that wasn't that great for viewing.
Shop in Singapore
At the end of the first route, I got off the bus to walk around the marina and enjoy lunch. I was glad to have a raincoat and umbrella with me! Eventually the rain let up, and I could enjoy the views more. I then jumped on the hoho bus again for the other route. This time, I was the only passenger on the top level of the double-decker bus. The seats were wet, but I had a much better view of the city.
Over the years, we've taken several hop-on hop-off bus tours around the world. Some have been good, some okay, and some were terrible. I was glad to have experienced the best hoho bus tours here in Singapore. The buses weren't crowded, they were in good condition, the headsets worked fine in every seat, and the recorded voice tour was educational and entertaining.
The Merlion in Singapore
The Merlion - the Official Mascot of Singapore
In addition to the hoho tours, I had also booked an evening guided tour. It was a package deal with the hoho buses. My last hoho bus tour concluded at a large mall. I walked around and stopped for a few drinks. I'm not a big fan of mall shopping, but I've really enjoyed the malls I've visited in Indonesia and here. Unlike many malls in America, these malls are thriving. There are no closed down or empty stores, they are huge, modern, clean, full of people, and have several interesting businesses.
After relaxing for a couple hours at the mall, I boarded my evening tour bus. The weather was great now. This tour had a guide giving live commentary. The tour included three stops: 1) view, 2) food, and 3) show.
Our first stop was at Marina Barrage. The Marina Barrage is a tidal barrage (dam) in southern Singapore built at the confluence of five rivers. It was bult to keep the salt water from mixing with the fresh water from the rivers, creating a freshwater reservoir. Okay, I admit this doesn't sound exciting. What was interesting for this stop was the relaxed atmosphere of the park visitors. Dozens of families were having picnics on blankets, flying kites, and recording videos of the sunset over Singapore. The location gave a wonderful, unobstructed view of the city.
It was starting to get dark, and the city was starting to light up. Our next stop on this tour was at Lau Pa Sat. This is a historic "hawkers" market. Dozens of vendors (hawkers) were preparing and selling a diverse array of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and international dishes. The place was exciting and full of people. We got a sampling of Satay, which is a Southeast Asian dish consisting of small pieces of seasoned, skewered meat or fish that are grilled over an open fire. It was delicious. Many hawkers were grilling and preparing satay. I walked around admiring the activity but didn't get anything to eat. I will definitely return here on our next visit to enjoy some satay.
Our final tour stop was at the Gardens by the Bay, one of Singapore's most iconic attractions — a massive, futuristic nature park built on reclaimed land in Marina Bay. We didn't come here to walk the gardens. Instead, we were here to watch the Garden Rhapsody "Supertree" light-and-music show. The show was good, but very similar to what you see at Christmas when people decorate their house with a light and sound show.
A "Supertree" is a metal structure with live plants in the trunk. These tall tree shaped structures have solar panels on the inside, they collect rainwater down the inside of the trunk, and they have fans to expel hot air from the green houses. All of this, in addition to lighting up for the show make them a Supertree.
Lau Pa Sat
Lau Pa Sat
After spending my first day in Singapore with the hoho bus and the evening tour, I was exhausted! I had planned to stay onboard the Odyssey for our second day but decided to jump off the ship and visit the Harbour North Mall, located right off our ship. Yes, another huge mall that I got lost in. It was just as interesting as the others. I thought about getting lunch, but a free lunch was close by on the ship. Instead, I replenished my snack supply. Gotta have some chips for those upcoming sea days. I was glad I stayed indoors, as it was raining very hard today.
For our final day in Singapore (this visit), the weather turned wonderful. Today would have been a great day to take the hoho bus around town. Oh well, I can't predict the weather. I stayed onboard and enjoyed the sunny weather from the ship.
I really liked Singapore. I'm not normally a fan of large cities, but this one thrilled me. Perhaps it was learning a bit more about the history of Singapore and learning that it's an island country and small city/state. I didn't realize Singapore is its own country. It's a young country, separating from Malaysia in 1965.
Supertree at Gardens by the Bay
Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay
Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay
Preparing Satay at Lau Pa Sat
Lau Pa Sat
Supertrees
A Supertree
Even though there's over 6 million citizens in Singapore, it didn't seem crowded. Busy, but not crowded. They don't allow additional vehicles to be allowed on the highways. To own a vehicle, you have to pay for and win a "Certificate of Entitlement" (COE) in a state lottery to own a car, then wait until a slot becomes available. This means the number of private vehicles on the road can only increase if existing vehicles are removed from the road (e.g., through de-registration). Since 2018, the number of vehicles on the road has been kept to a zero-growth rate. In addition, many major roads operate on an Electronic Road Pricing method. It costs money to drive on many of the roads, similar to most roads being on a toll system. Unlike the other Asian countries, there's not many scooters or mopeds on the road. They are expensive and also fall under the same Certificate of Entitlement system.
Singapore is known to be an expensive city. I saw the very high prices on many items but also saw very low prices on other items. I wanted to try a "Singapore Sling" drink, but they were around $35 in the main bars. Another interesting aspect of Singapore is their strict laws on some subjects. Smoking or vaping is illegal in most indoor and outdoor public places. With a few medical exceptions, the sale, import, and distribution of chewing gum is also illegal. This is the result of a major problem they had up to 1992 with gum being stuck on public infrastructure like subway doors, elevator buttons, and mailboxes, which caused costly maintenance issues. Another complaint I have about most cities is the abundance of graffiti. Some call it "street art" and some of it is artful. To me, it's mostly vandalism. I think Singapore is the only major city that I've visited and saw zero graffiti. It also must be nice that 75% of the population only pays a 2% income tax. The government gets most of their revenue from the vehicle lottery and the road pricing scheme. It can cost around $90,000 USD to buy into the COE lottery, just to get permission to buy a car! Then, if you buy a car, you can't drive it on the roads until a slot becomes available. Then, you have to pay to use the streets. No wonder there's no overcrowding of vehicles on the road. Luckily, their mass transit system is excellent.
Okay, we've left Singapore and will return mid-June. We're now on 4-days of cruising to our next port. We're going to visit Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia for a couple days. Another new country for me. Hopefully, I'll see some orangutangs in Borneo!
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