Life on Board – 2/ and on the River Cai.

My second blog “Life on Board” will be illustrated with general views taken around Queen Mary 2 during her current World Voyage. This lower view is of the Britannia Restaurant taken during a midday meal on 2nd April 2018. I chose the Canyon Ranch Spa selections for lunch today. beginning with Tandoori Chicken Kebabs (255 k.cal), followed by Dumplings Bok Choy and Sweet Chilli Sauce (431 k.cal) and for dessert, Vanilla Creme Brule (114 k.cal). That is designed to be the healthy option. Lunch in the Britannia Restaurant usually offers a choice of four starters, sandwich and salad of the day, various entrees and desserts. One generally has the choice of either dining alone or with others at a larger table at this time, or at breakfast when it is open sitting. Tea or coffee is offered at the end of lunch, as are drinks from the bar at the beginning. Looking towards the staircase and main entrance of the Britannia Restaurant. A general view towards the Grand Lobby from stairway C, just in front of the Britannia Restaurant. Grand Lobby. This is often the first area one sees when boarding QM2 at the start of a voyage. The Purser’s Office adjacent to the Grand Lobby on Deck 2. This functions more like hotel reception desk with several personnel available during the day when it is usually busy. There will be more from around the ship in the next few days. This morning, April 2nd, we were anchored close to the city of Nha Trang in Vietnam. Again, it was an attractive port of call. Recently, a cable car was installed to connect the mainland with a nearby island, thus necessitating the need for tenders to be used. Our port lecturer advised NOT using the cable car; it has proved unreliable too many times. My excursion today was “Life on the River Cai”, and was highly recommended by Graham, the Port Lecturer. It was a good choice. About 10 of us boarded a Ford minibus close to where the tenders had dropped us off. We travelled along a coast road, passing the statue of Tran Hung Dao, a Vietnamese hero. 100 steps were required to reach the Po Nagar Cham Tower just above the Cai River. These three towers are dedicated to the Divine Lady, Mother of the Country and date back to the 8th Century. We then walked through narrow and dusty back streets to the place we would board a small motor boat. We were taken to Vinh Thai Island to see traditional farming and other local activities. We visited a private dwelling, and stopped for refreshments of tropical fruit. I discovered I didn’t dislike coconut milk! I took few pictures on my phone. With luck, photos from my main camera can be added later. We covered much in the four hour excursion, but being a fairly early start, I felt tired and returned to the ship where I had the lunch described earlier in this blog. Later in the day, the sun went down and as darkness gathered, three long blasts on the ship’s horn heralded the start of our return to Singapore where we arrive three days from today. And as darkness fell on the now distant Nha Trang, buildings would gradually light up, a distant leisure park would spring to life and once again the sail-away would be magical. Sunset. Sail-away. Thanks for reading. Best wishes, David.