Cruising at the High Sea

Whisperingsand

Ever since our first cruise trip to the South Pacific Islands 7 years ago, our family falls in love with the cruising. Can you imagine the following scene? standing on the deck, the wind blowing my hair and kissing on my cheek; looking to the far distance, gazing the red sun setting into the blue sea; sitting in a luxury dining room, enjoying a beautiful 5-course meal; laying under the dazzling stars, watching the movie story unfolding; or sitting in the Princess theatre, having a taste of Broadway, listening the sound of music played by the musicians.... My mind and soul relaxed, and thoughts lost in such wonder! This is no longer a holiday in the dream but a reality on a cruise ship! Cruising away, particularly during the Christmas and New Year Holiday season, has become our family annual holiday tradition.
       自从7年前我们第一次乘船游览南太平洋群岛以来，我们一家人就爱上了游轮旅行。您能想象以下场景吗？站在甲板上，任海风吹抚着我的头发，亲吻着我的脸颊；遥望远方，凝视着炎红的夕阳落入蔚蓝的大海；坐在豪华餐厅，享用精美的5道菜式西餐；躺在璀璨的星空下，观看电影故事的由来； 或坐在公主剧院中，欣赏百老汇风情，聆听音乐家演奏的音乐……心灵放松，思绪沉浸在无边的海洋，乐而忘返！这不再是梦幻中的假期，而是实实在在的，在游轮上的每一日， 都是这样的一番景象！游轮度假旅行，尤其是在圣诞节和新年假期期间，已成为我们家庭年度假期的传统。

This year, continuing our family tradition, we onboard the Sun Princess crossing the Indian Ocean to the Indonesia islands. As usual, we traveled with our family cruise buddy Hank & Helen’s family, enjoyed the 15 nights onboard of the Sun Princess and many beautiful memories. 

       今年，继续这个家庭度假的传统，我们又登上了公主-太阳号游轮，穿越印度洋， 游览了印度尼西亚诸多群岛。像往常一样，我们和我们的旅游老搭档，汉克和海伦一家，在公主太阳号上度过又一个难忘的假期，留下了许多美好的回忆。

This is my 6th Cruise trip on the Princess. I am very familiar with the settings. On this cruise trip, my daily routine started with a morning sun rise stretching class at deck 12, followed by TaiChi and Zumba classes. After my morning exercise, I went to the Horizon food court at deck 14 to have a light breakfast and checking the programs for the day from the cruise app. For port days, we went to the shore and visited the local sceneries, however on sea days, I usually spent some time reading, writing and attending interesting seminars or chating with fellow passengers and friends. At dinner time, we all dressed up formally to be served in the formal dining hall with delicious 5-course meal! To be able to continue feast on such beautiful food on board every day and not to get fat, we walked around the deck for 6-10 circles (3 circles=1 mile) after dinner every day! We usually spent our evening time together, watching shows in the Princess theatre or movies under the star or fun talk shows in the Vista lounge.
      这是我的第六次乘坐公主号游轮出游，对船上的设置非常熟悉。我在船上的每一天是这样度过的。日出之时，我到第12层的健身房做伸展健身，然后是太极和尊巴舞。早上运动后，我去14层的Horizon美食广场吃些清淡的早餐，并在Cruise App检查了当天的节目。如果是“港口”日，我们一定要去上岸参观当地的风景。如果是“海洋”日，早餐后，我通常会花一些时间阅读，写作和参加一些有趣的研讨会，或者与其他乘客和朋友聊天。晚餐时，我们都会身着正装，在宴会厅中享用美味的5道菜西餐点！为了能够每天在船上继续享受这些美食并且不发胖，我们每天晚餐后都会在甲板上行走6-10圈（3圈= 1英里），消食健身！晚上我们通常会一起度过，在公主剧院看演出或在星空下看电影，或在Vista休息室看有趣的节目。

The first 3 days of sailing in the Indian Ocean, the sea was so unexpectedly calm, like silky waves, so soft and waving. I lean against the ship rail, looking at the distance endless of seabed, my mind totally lost in the beautiful nature of the universe. Let me share some beautiful moments and onboard lifestyle with you.
       在印度洋航行的头三天，大海出乎意料地平静，粼粼闪闪的波浪，像条银白滚蓝的丝缎， 绵延，翻卷。我靠在船舷上，注视着远方无尽的大海，我的心灵完全沉浸在美丽的宇宙间。让我与你们分享一些我们在游轮上的美好时光吧！

Chapter 1: Delicious Food (第一章：美食篇)
The best part of cruise holiday is the opportunity to enjoy hundreds different type of beautifully prepared food. Cruise ship dinning is the one of the best ways to experience different exotic food. There are 354 crew members working on the Sun Princess dining department! From elegant dining rooms completed with dazzling chandeliers to the more relaxed buffet-style restaurants on deck or the specialty restaurants, it is well-know that you can always eat and eat well on a cruise holiday. All food is freshly prepared from scratch using tantalizing ingredients. Dinner at the formal dinning room is the highlight of the day for us. I have selectively collected a few examples of the variety of food we had.
      邮轮旅行最好的部分是有机会享受数百种不同类型的精美食物。游轮用餐是体验各种异国美食的最佳方法之一。公主太阳号的餐厅部门共有354名工作人员为大家服务！众所周知，无论是在装满耀眼的吊灯的优雅餐厅，还是在甲板上较为轻松的自助式餐厅，或是特色餐厅，在邮轮上总是可以吃得饱饱的。所有食物都是使用诱人的新鲜原料从头开始制备的。在宴会餐厅享用晚餐对我们来说是一天中的重头戏。我有选择地收集了一些我们所吃食物的例子， 与大家共享。
Chapter 2: Entertainment onboard (第二章：娱乐篇)
Entertainment on a cruise ship is the big part of cruise activity. Many people may still remember the movie “Titanic” and the first-class entertainment on the voyage. They say the show must go on and when it comes to entertainment on the high seas, it's full steam ahead. The cruise ship entertainment features concert-style performances in a way never been seen before at sea. Hear live music all over the ship, day and night. Take part in contests and competitive games. You are never run out of things to do onboard a Princess cruise, from stage shows, piano bar, live music karaoke, nightclub, to movies under the stars. Princess theatre has always been the mainstay of nautical entertainment and give us a taste of Broadway with all its razzmatazz. My favour places onboard was the Vista Lounge and Princess Theatre, where I watched Broadway production, comedy and magic shows every night, and the Central piazza on deck 5 and 7, where music melodies were played all the time. For people who like to try their luck onboard, there is also the Grand Casino on deck 8. Also, there is large collection of Arts onboard, art auction is also a big thing onboard of cruise ship.
      游轮上的娱乐活动是游轮生活的重要组成部分。许多人可能仍然记得电影《泰坦尼克号》，船上一流的娱乐给我们留下了很深的印象。人们说“娱乐”是漂游在海上的豪华游轮上的核心节目，无论时节， 都将会如火如荼地进行下去！游轮娱乐节目多种多样， 有音乐会风格的表演，还有歌舞剧，歌唱比赛， 喜剧，脱口秀，马戏团杂技， 魔术表演等等。无论是白天或黑夜都能在船上看到现场音乐会。从舞台表演，钢琴酒吧，现场音乐卡拉OK，夜总会，到星空下的电影，在公主号游轮上，从不会无所事事。公主剧院一直是船上娱乐活动的中心，让我们体验到在百老汇看音乐剧的滋味。我在船上最喜欢的地方是Vista Lounge和Princess Theatre，每天晚上我都在那儿观看百老汇的音乐剧，喜剧和魔术表演，有时， 我也会坐在甲板上中央广场，聆听美妙的音乐。 那里经常有独唱，独奏等音乐演出。对于喜欢在船上尝试运气的人，第8 层甲板上还有大赌场， 可以尽情的赌一赌你的运气。此外，船上还有大量艺术品收藏及画展，我还参加了一次艺术品拍卖呢！
Chapter 3: Shopping onboard (第三章：购物篇)
Luxury shopping on the high seas! It’s duty free! It’s cheap! So it was said by the sales men/women. There are shops selling top brand Jewries, bags and cosmetics onboard. One of ex-models onboard as the shopping Ambassador/Concierge, he was very good at taking you into buying things. There were many functions to enticing you shopping onboard like fashion show modelled by passengers, sales, winning prizes etc. Somehow, my mind set onboard were somewhat different when I am on land. Maybe I was hypnotized by the sweet talking of the shopping ambassadors or too relaxed, I did buy lots of unnecessary items.
       在漂游于海上的豪华游轮购物也是一大特色！“免税！很便宜！”推销人员总会这么说。船上有商店出售顶级品牌的珠宝，包包和化妆品等。船上的购物大使/礼宾部主管以前是一位模特，他非常擅长推销， 让你觉得非买不可。船上还有 许多吸引你购物的活动，比如说让旅客做模特的时装秀，大甩卖，抽奖等。在某种程度上，我在船上的购物心态与在陆地上时有所不同。或许是我被购物大使的“甜言蜜语”催眠了，或者是精神太过放松，我的确买了很多不必要的东西。
Chapter 4: Beautiful Scenery (第四章：美景篇)
Apart from the exciting luxury “life on board”. We also visited many famously and historical places in Indonesia islands during this trip. We onboard the Sun Princess from Perth (Fremantle Port), initially sailing along the Australian coast towards Geraldton, then cross the Indian ocean to the Indonesia Islands. Over the 16 days journal, we had 6 port stopovers, visited many places and appreciate the local customs.
       除了令人兴奋豪华的“船上生活”。在这次旅行中，我们还参观了印尼群岛的许多著名和历史景点。我们从珀斯（弗里曼特尔港）登上公主太阳号，最初沿澳大利亚海岸航行至杰拉尔顿，然后越过印度洋到达印度尼西亚群岛。在16天的航行中，我们停留了6个港口岸，参观了许多地方并欣赏了当地的习俗。
Geraldton (杰拉尔顿)
Our first port stop after leaving the Fremantle port in Perth is Geraldton. Geraldton is a coastal city and the capital of the coast of Batavia in WA, 424 kilometres (263 mi) north of Perth. This commercial port, founded in 1850, serves the Northampton lead mine. In 1692, the Dutch East India Company's Batavia sank in the offshore area of the Ablojos Islands. Immediately following this disaster came mutiny and killings. This horrific history has also named this part of Western Australia the coast of Batavia. Geraldton is located between Chapman and the River Gino, with a mild Mediterranean climate, picturesque landscapes and pristine beaches. Coronation Beach is an international destination for windsurfers.
       离开珀斯的弗里曼特尔港后，我们的第一站是杰拉尔顿。杰拉尔顿（Geraldton）是一个沿海城市，是西澳州巴达维亚（Batavia）海岸的首府，位于珀斯以北424公里（263英里）. 杰拉尔顿是巴达维亚海岸的首府，这座建立于 1850 年的商业港口服务于北安普敦的铅矿。 1692 年，荷兰东印度公司的巴达维亚 (Batavia) 在阿布洛霍斯群岛的近海区沉没。 紧接着这场灾难而来的是叛变和杀戮。 这段恐怖的历史也让西澳大利亚的这部分地区被命名为巴达维亚海岸。杰拉尔顿位于查普曼和格里诺河之间，拥有温和的地中海气候，如画般的风景和原始沙滩。 克罗内申海滩 (Coronation Beach) 是风帆冲浪爱好者的国际目的地。

Our group hired a car, heading to the Pink Lake at Port Gregory. Pink Lake also called Hutt Lagoon, the pink hue created by presence of carotenoid-producing algae Dunaliella salina, a source of ß-carotene, a food-colouring agent and source of vitamin A. Depending on the time of day, the season (time of year) and the amount of cloud cover, the lake changes through the spectrum of red to bubble-gum pink to a lilac purple. The best time of day to visit is mid-morning or sundown. We arrived at mid-day after ~ 1 hour drive from Geraldton, captivated by the beauty of the pink lake.
        我们租了一辆车，前往格雷戈里港的粉红湖。粉红湖也称为赫特泻湖（Hutt Lagoon），粉红色是由一种藻类杜氏藻（Dunaliella salina）产生类胡萝卜素 （β-胡萝卜素，食用色素和维生素A）。不同时间， 不同天色，湖水会从红色变为泡泡糖粉色到淡紫色紫色。最好的游览时间一般是上午或日落。我们从杰拉尔顿（Geraldton）开车约1小时后到达，恰是中午时分，粉红色的湖水在太阳光照下， 闪闪发光，漂亮极了！

Komodo Island 科莫多岛

After 3 days cruising at the sea, we arrived on Komodo island. Komodo Island is the home for Komodo dragon, a type of supersized lizards, which quietly thrived in the harsh climate of Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands for millions of years until their existence was discovered about 100 years ago by Dutch sailors. It was described as 10 feet in length and weighing over 300 pounds, fire-breathing dragons. Komodo dragons are the world's largest and heaviest lizards.
       在海上航行3天后，我们到达了科莫多岛. 科莫多岛是科莫多巨蜥的家，它在印度尼西亚小苏打群岛的恶劣气候中悄然繁衍了数百万年，直到大约100年前被荷兰水手发现, 被描述为长10英尺，重300磅的喷火龙。科莫多巨蜥是世界上最大，最重的蜥蜴。

Visiting Komodo dragons at Komodo island like going through a time tunnel. Watching the beast wondering on the island, time freeze, back to the “dinosaur ages”. Komodo dragons mainly feasted on deer and meat, also occasionally attack humans and baby dragons. Komodo dragons have shark-like teeth and poisonous venom that can kill a person within hours of a bite.

      在科莫多岛上参观科莫多巨蜥, 看着巨蜥在岛上游荡，就像穿越时光隧道，时间冻结，回到“恐龙时代”…… 科莫多巨蜥主要以鹿和肉类为食，也偶尔袭击人类和幼龙。科莫多巨蜥具有鲨鱼般的牙齿和有毒的毒液，人被咬后的的几个小时内就会死亡。

Can you ever imaging yourself lay on a pink beach with dragons? Yes. it is not mistake! The pink hue of the sand comes from the crushed shells of a tiny sea creature called Foraminifera. Foraminifera have been thriving for around 500 million years on the sea floor, evolving around the same time as the first coral reefs.
       您能想象自己和科莫多巨蜥一起躺在粉红色的沙滩上吗？对， 没错！科莫多岛上除了“喷火龙”， 还有美丽的粉红色沙滩。 粉红色“沙子”是压碎了的贝壳来自一种叫做Foraminifera的微小海洋生物。Foraminifera在海底已经繁衍了大约5亿年，与第一批珊瑚礁的进化时间相同。
Ujung Pandang 乌戎潘当

Our 3rd port is Ujung Pandang. Ujung Pandang, also known as Makassar, is the capital of South Sulawesi (the world’s 11th largest island). Although it rains nearly half of year round (~187 raining day/year), Makassar is a cheerful city, hustling, bustling, peaceful, lively and cosmopolitan.

       我们的第三个港口是乌戎潘当（Ujung Pandang），又称为望加锡（Makassar），是南苏拉威西岛（South Sulawesi）（世界第11大岛）的首府。孟加锡虽然一年四季都下雨（每年下雨天约187个），但它是一个开朗的城市，集市喧嚣繁华,、和平，活泼和国际化。

Indonesia has 17,508 islands. Most of them without names, only ~400 islands have names. Overview the Makassar strait from the deck onboard, there are a number of islands in the viewing distance, amazingly, most of them are barely just above the sea level, any big waves would whip through the islands.

       印尼有17,508个岛屿。其中大多数没有名字，只有约400个岛屿有名字。从船上的甲板上概览望加锡海峡，在可见距离内有许多岛屿，令人惊讶的是，它们中的大多数仅略高于海平面，大的海浪海啸都会把这些岛屿淹没。

Semarang - 三堡垄
Our ship continue cruising on the Indian Ocean, we arrived Semarang on New Year’s Eve.
The city of Semarang, capital of the province of Central Java, sits precisely in the centre of the northern seaboard of the fertile and densely populated island of Java. Today is the last day of 2019. The streets of Semarang are full of people. The cruise organised a shuttle bus transfer us to the downtown shopping centre, from there, we start our explore of the magic city. We hired a taxi taking us around, mainly visited a few temples, the Sam Poo Kong Chinese temple, Giri Natha Temple (Hindu temple) and the Great Mosque of Central Java (Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah). However, due to time limit, we missed to see one of the world's greatest man-made wonders: Borobudur. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. It was built between AD780-840, It has been buried by volcanic ash for nearly a thousand years until 1814.

      我们的游轮继续在印度洋上航行，我们在2019的最后一天抵达三宝垄。三宝垄市是中爪哇省的首府，正好位于爪哇肥沃且人口稠密，是沿海北部地区岛屿的中心，也是一个繁忙贸易港口。今天是2019年的最后一天。三宝垄的大街小巷到处都是车辆及人群。游轮给游客们组织了去市中心的购物中心班车，从那里，我们租了一辆出租车， 司机带着我们参观了几座寺庙，比如三宝岗华人庙宇，吉里那萨神庙（印度教）和中爪哇大清真寺。但是，由于时间有限，我们错过了去参观世界上最大的人造奇迹之一：婆罗浮屠。婆罗浮屠是世界上最大的佛教纪念碑。它建于AD780-840之间，1814年之前，它一直被火山灰掩埋了将近一千年。下次有机会， 一定要去这里参观。

We wondered around the Chinese quarters and the Dutch commercial district, you could see the influences of Dutch culture everywhere. However, I haven’t seen a single Chinese writing or sign on the street of Semarang apart from the Sam Poo Kong Chinese temple, which commemorates the Chinese emperor’s emissary Zheng He, the China's most famous maritime explorer, who set foot on Java at the 15th century. From the 17th century onwards, Semarang became an entrepot for spices, also a busy harbor for trade and passengers when travel was made predominantly by sea.

      我们在中国区和荷兰商业区四处游荡，虽然商业区随处可见荷兰文化的影响。但是三宝岗华人庙宇特别壮观瞩目，它是为纪念中国最著名的海上探险家郑和而建的，郑和下西洋途中（15世纪）曾数次经过爪哇岛。据说三宝垄的城市命名由来起源于郑和（小名三宝）。三宝垄也是世界唯一一个用华人命名的城市。每逢节假日，三宝公庙佛香缭绕，以表对郑和的敬仰。

Lombok 龙目岛
Lombok is an island full of crazy adventures. The island possesses great natural beauty, from the dramatic rice terraces and plantations of the south to the tropical rain and cloud forests of the north. unfortunately, we only had less than 8 hours over there, didn’t have time to explore them all. We managed to visit the Senggigi beach and the monkey forest! We saw so many monkeys haunting the grounds of a sacred temple in a forest,

       龙目岛不仅是一个探险家的乐园， 岛上还拥有绝佳的自然风光。从南部的水稻梯田，种植园，到北部的热带云雨森林，美景多不胜数。不幸的是，我们在那里只有不到8小时的时间，没有时间去探索它们。虽然时间短，我们还是参观了几个著名的景点， 比如圣吉吉海滩，猴子森林。猴子森林里的猴子们特别的可爱，它们成群结队，戏弄玩耍在林间的神庙间。根本不怕游客们。

Bali (Benoa) 巴厘岛（本诺阿）
Our last destination before heading home was Bali. People say that Bali is like the backyard of Australia. You see so many Australians in Bali, wondering around the beaches and pubs here. the landscape of Bali is very similarly to Lombok. As this was our last stop for our trip, we decided to do the most foreigners do while in Bali: shopping, shopping and more shopping.

       我们回家之前的最后一个目的地是巴厘岛。人们说巴厘岛就像澳大利亚的后院， 到处都可见澳大利亚人在这里的海滩和酒吧里徘徊。巴厘岛的景观与龙目岛非常相似。因为这是我们旅行的最后一站，在岛上也只有5-6个小时的时间，所以我们决定在巴厘岛只去购物，购物， 再购物。没有去逛景点。

Our cruise trip ended after another 3 days sailing at the sea. However, the return journey wasn’t as smooth as before. Big waves hit on the ship, produced horrible sound, and the rain fall heavily onto the deck. I was very seasick, with the help of my miracle seasick tablets, I survived and was still able to enjoy the last day of the trip on board. Goodbye My Princess Cruise, and see you until next trip!

       在海上航行了3天后，我们的邮轮旅行结束了。但是，回程并不像以前那么顺利。大浪撞击船上，发出可怕的声音，大雨倾泻在甲板上。我当时严重晕船，还好，我有特效的晕船药，幸免于难……仍然能够享受船上旅行的最后一天。

再见，我的公主号邮轮，下次再见！