Ahoy Paloy!!

Finally made it to Singapore!!  Last week after the World Future Energy Summit, my dad had health emergency.  He had terrible stomach pains caused by a faulty insulin pump, which allowed his blood sugar levels to get out of whack.  I had to drive him to the closest hospital, a brand new Indian hospital, so they could monitor him, better to be safe then sorry when dealing with a diabetic!  While in the Hospital he had a mild heart attack and spent two nights in ICU.  For obvious reasons, I postponed by trip until he was stable and back home.  We both left Abu Dhabi, my father for Denver, and I was bound for Singapore. 

Flying over Abu Dhabi is like nothing I have ever seen before.  There is nothing but desert, which is pitch black in the middle of the night, cut through by bright orange paths connecting series of strangely lit geometric shapes.  On every road stands a powerful street light spaced every 30 yards, causing every street to be continuously lit by a sharp orange glow.  The developments are all built up in quadrants, causing each one to form the shape of a rectangle (which includes perfect squares).  Inside each illuminated quadrant is a series of smaller rectangles perfectly placed equidistant from one another.  Amazing geometry created by the lights of the infrastructure of a soon to be metropolis.

Singapore Air is quite the airlines.  Friendly flight attendants, all Asians dressed in Asian style clothing with Asian designs, superb in-flight entertainment, over 900 videos to choose from (about 30% are Kung-fu), over 300 audio channels, and even language tutorials…I received a 96% in Level 1 Indonesian, learning phrases (“Apakah nomor telepon anda??  Anda cantik…”), numbers, vocab, and days of the week!!

We started our descent over Northern Indonesia and Malaysia, BEAUTIFUL coastal waters!  Finally we circled around to the coast of Singapore; we were met by a large bay full of tankers and cargo ships waiting to pull into the harbor to offload supplies. 

The weather is overcast and warm (32 C, around 88 F).  Leaving the terminal, I took a train to baggage claim and was accompanied by a pack of tiny people.  I believe the average height out here is 5’, and every man has a camera/video camera attached to his hand.  I flew over with the national Singapore Bowling team and was in a picture with them when they were greeted by their loyal fans outside of customs!  The Airport is located on the far east coast, which meant I had to take a taxi (or ‘taksi’ in Indonesian) the furthest distance you can travel in the country, to the far west coast where Raffles Marina is located.  We drove by the NEW most expensive hotel in the world (which barely surpassed the Emirates Palace) and the HUGE shipping harbor.  When we were approaching it I thought it was a large construction site because there are so many cranes waiting to move cargo.  I arrived at Raffles Marina and was greeted by Carol, the Brit who has been alone onboard Mir for a few weeks now.  She is very nice and easy to get along with.  She took me out to the end of Dock G where the 113 ft Steel hulled boat sat tied up at dock.  She is a beautiful boat, a bit of rust giving her blue hull personality, and outfitted with a 30 meter wooden mast in the center and an all wooden deck and interior.  Entering the cabin there is a lounge area, followed by a kitchen (with pantry and bathroom located aft of the cooking and eating area), and then a corridor leading to the bow of the ship where there are 5 private berths.  One has been converted into a study, two containing larger beds (for Gaie and Laser), one double, and a room with 4 bunks furthest forward (where I will be staying).  Behind the living quarters is the helm (a giant wooden wheel), and the ports to the engine room and scuba room.  Off the port side I can see a bridge (one of two) connecting Singapore to Malaysia, supposed to be a beautiful country.

For the next three weeks (roughly), I will be acclimating to the heat/humidity, getting my sea legs, and helping prepare the boat for her voyage.  There is another crew member arriving tomorrow, she is Bolivian I believe, and 5 more over the course of the coming weeks.  

I hope Everyone is Well!!