Lois in the Far East - Part 1

Hello from the South Asian Seas. I am aboard one of the ships in the Oceania Cruise Line -- the Nautica -- sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong with stops in Cambodia, Bangkok, Saigon, Hanoi and Canton. This is the first time in 29 years of business that I dared to be physically away from the office for so long. The “what will be, will be” attitude was involuntarily casted on me after several close friends and dear family members died all too early in 2004-2005. The final straw was losing my mother last June. Still trying to put the pieces together after that.

I fear airplanes and boats so naturally my husband Eliot and I, along with two friends, Ruth and Howard Greenberg, decided to fly 24 hours to our first destination, Singapore, spend a few days and then board the ship. Most people on the cruise are 60 plus. While at first I thought I entered Del Boca Vista (Seinfeld’s parents condo in Boca Raton), it turns out that this crowd defines the new meaning of Active Adults. I imagine that most of the 450 people aboard the ship are very accomplished, and I would love to know what they do. I will probably find out more as the days go by. Most of the passengers are from the west coast of United States, a big group from Ft. Lauderdale, and lots from England, Australia and Canada.

I am just starting to get used to not being on email 24/7. I am paying 60 cents a minute for email so I am typing fast. I also have an expensive satellite phone with me so if you hear from me I will be talking fast.

I want to write often because I would like some of my impression logged somewhere so I guess this blog is the best place. My next installment will be my thoughts about the journey here and my impressions of Singapore. We stayed at the Singapore Oriental for four days before cruising so I am going to go backwards before I go forward. The story of my life.