We embarked Silver Shadow in Singapore on 25 February 2016, the registration process being as faultless as expected. The ship has been waitlisted in all cabin categories for months with 370 passengers sailing, comprising 107 British, 82 American and a veritable League of Nations beyond that.
The senior team comprised Captain Marco, HD, Lester and CD Kirk, with RM Antonio. It was good to renew acquaintances amongst the above and reminisce about old times. Inevitably, there were some old and some new faces amongst the staff and crew, Rosie having been our butler on a previous sailing.
After a rainy spell in Singapore, the first day - at sea, was fine and sunny and the pool deck crowded. The lunch time buffet proved very popular and Rommel and his team worked extremely hard and efficiently in very hot conditions; we told Lester how pleased we were at these efforts.
This cabin is a standard veranda suite on deck 8, pool deck. It offers a good amount of living space for two adults who spend only a limited amount of time there. The bathroom is a very good size, with two sinks and separate shower enclosure, also with a large bath.
The main disadvantage is the very narrow balcony which offers limited space to position the two metal chairs, whilst the small table is too low to make dining on the veranda a practical proposition.
We know Singapore extremely well, and this little island has a lot to offer, particularly in the shopping stakes, with possibly more malls per head of population, than anywhere else in the world. There are also a myriad of hotels, and before booking a particular hotel, one needs to decide what you wish to do with your stay in Singapore, and then choose accordingly.
Manila Intramuros - old town
We were berthed at the usual Pier No 15 and planned to visit Intramuros, the oldest part of Manila, allegedly ten to fifteen minutes’ walk from the port. We decided to take a taxi instead and were quoted 700 PHP each, say £20 or $US 28!! We politely declined this generous offer, and walked outside the dock gates, and were accosted by a guy saying taxi? Exchanges were made and a fare of 200 PHP for both of us - £3 or US$4.20 was agreed.
We were dropped outside the Cathedral, and being Sunday, morning Mass was in full flow - surprisingly in English. We were told that the Tagalog (the language of the Philippines) service is held at a different time. Although we are Anglicans, we did not need the screen prompts to guide the relevant responses during the service. When it came to "peace of the Lord", whereas we either shake hands, hug or kiss depending on the degree of familiarity, here the congregation signalled the V peace sign to one another.
Unsurprisingly there were quite a few hawkers, and peddle cycle carts outside. Surprisingly, the owner of one of the latter - Andy, spoke the best English of anyone we encountered in Manila. His cycle had pictures of the main sights in Intramuros and we agreed his quoted 300 PHP for a half hour tour. Whilst this was "overpriced" he had charmed us by his humour. He told us that he came from the USA, which he expanded as The United Squatters Association! He pointed out his "residence" area during the tour, though did not suggest we paid a visit. This resembled a jumble of higgedly-piggedly narrow alleys, and little shack-like shops, with an air of dilapidation yet a bustle of activity.
Sweat dripped from the slightly built Andy, continually wiping his face with an old towel, but running down his arms, showed the amount of exertion he expended to pedal our combined 18 stones around the streets, and we felt we should get off and walk!! We paid a visit to Fort Augusta, which Andy was not allowed to enter, so he did have a short respite. Interestingly horse drawn carriages were allowed access on a one way system driving around the perimeter of the gardens. By the time we returned to the cyclo, Andy pointed out that we had gone past the 30 minutes, (actually by only five minutes) and did we want to make it an hour all told, however not asking for more money, but the inference was obvious. Declining this, we asked to be returned to the Cathedral, which was only just round the corner.
Deciding to give him 400 PHP, rather than the agreed 300, he was extremely grateful, and said that he would now be able, not only to buy food, but also milk for his daughter who was two years old!
We then hailed a cab for another 200 PHP to go back to the ship.