Lanwkai, Malaysia

We arrived in this morning around 06:30 taking some 36 hours from our previous port Singapore. Once again we never heard the ship arrive in her berth and awoke to the announcement that the tour buses were now leaving for their daily tours, and passengers had to make their way ashore to board the transportation. I guess we slept in! We decided days ago to do our own thing, this meant that we were able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, meet friends and decide where to go on this beautifully tropical island. On leaving ship around 11am we hired a car and driver to show us some of the local sights. First port of call was to a duty free shopping centre, where we quickly told him to keep driving. Carol has already purchased an additional suitcase so no more shopping. After sightseeing at some beeches, we agreed to take a cable car to a vantage point some 2300 ft above sea level. Due to the number of coaches from our ship we had to wait in line for about 1 hour before boarding the cable car. If only we did not have to put up with these dammed tourists! The views from the peak were quite stunning and the pictures are not too bad either. With the humidity and temperature very high, we decided enough was enough and returned to the ship for some snacks and a rest before getting ready for their sail away party. On the stroke off 17:30 Arcadia sets sail for Cochin in India, We were informed by the Captain that this two day crossing will be a fast run through the Sea of Bengal. As i write this we have only been sailing for around 30 minutes and already we are touching 22 knots with an outside temperature of 32C. So once again it is goodbye Langkawi and hello Cochin.