Capt Kong's cruise down under and the meet up

[Doc Vernon]

Hi Brian
Thanks for the post,have a good time wherever you go from here,and we will hear from you when you get back home!
Hope Anne and Babara are also enjoying the rest of the Holiday!
Now dont go shhoting too many things on that Safari haha!
Take care "Have Fun in the Sun" No Sun here still raining and cold!
Cheers
Doc

[Lou Barron]

Hi Brian just read the post on your visit to aussie and meetiing up with all the guys over there.It seems they gave you,your wife and her friend a right royal welcome i bet there was some good stories told while the beer flowed.Have a safe and happy journey back home .

[happy daze john in oz]

Roger, what can one say. Not only do you have a wonderful wife with fantastic foresight, organising an hotel so close to the filed of battle, but you have kept the good image of the British Merchant Seaman alive. I am sure you conducted yourself in the best traditions of those who sailed, and are still able to withstand the pressures of a modern day bar. Your ability, like so many of us, to converse in a language foreign to your tounge is indeed a compliment, as I know so many of us over the years did aquire such skills. Roger you are the true blue Mechant Seaman who plans well ahead and allows nothing to come between you and the amber fluid. Well done sir.

[Captain Kong]

Hi Men,
I have arrived home today, Friday, after eight fascinating weeks round the planet.
First I am knackered, I left Singapore last night and didnt have any sleep homeward bound,
.
I must say right away that I cannot give enough thanks, to Lou in Dunedin, a great man, and many thanks for the presents for me and Anne.
Then to Happy Daze John and Neil, who both travelled long distances to meet me. It was real good to meet up with them and have a few beers and tell a few yarns,
Then a Big thanks to Vernon, I was at Echo Point in the Blue Mountains and not expecting to meet him until later at the Sky Way, there were a thousand or so Tourists there and Vernon recognised me and appeared at my side. Wonderful, and many thanks again Vernon for the presents, greatly appreciated and a great surprise.
Then a big thank you to Roger, Vernon and Joe for taking time out travelling for such a long way to be in Monty`s
with me, A really good afternoon, a few lamps were well and truly swung. I staggered all the way back to Sydney as the heavens opened up and it poured down in torrents, I was like a drowned rat by the time I found my hotel. I didnt care I was happy, after being with two women for six weeks it was good to talk again with good Seafarers.
It was difficult to communicate while I was in OZ as there was a lack of computers where I was.
I am knackered at the moment, and a whole stack of mail was awaiting for me to sort out, and all the shopping for food and stores and a big Dohbi session is waiting.
I will give a full report of the trip in a few days when I am sorted out.
So thanks again for the Welcome both in New Zealand and Australia.
Cheers
Brian.
.

[Willie Saunders]

Welcome back, Kong, we have been missing all of those interesting posts of yours !

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Capt
Well glad that you have arrived back safely,after that long time away from home,i am sure although you really enjoyed your Holiday it is good to now be able to sit back relax,and recall all the Mayhem! haha!

After the meltdown Capt,i am sure too that Tonight you will have a good rest,all snuggled up in your own Bed,theres nothing like ones own Bunk is there!

Well that trip now over and behind you,no doubt in the near future you will once again be planning the next one,but do take some time on it Capt haha!

To you i would like to say a big thank you for the oppurtunity you gave me and the Lads the chance to meet up with you,it was great to say the least and an Honour as well. Of course not forgetting Anne and Barbara,hope they too enjoyed the trip as much as you did,i am sure they did!

I still can see that surprised look in your Eyes when i picked you out in the Crowd at Echo Point,i have a tendancy to do that as i love it when People get a good surprise!
And the other sincere look when i presented you with the little Gift!
It was more than a pleasure Brian!
Now dont forget that invitation next time here!

Just a great pity that i was not able to stay a wee bit longer!
Anyway we will await a good writeup of all your experiences on your Travels! I know for sure that it will be something well worthwhile reading,as always!
So for now,you just relax,take time to recoup,and get all that has to be done behind you
Take care
Vernon

[happy daze john in oz]

Brian mate it was a pleasure and an honor to meet up with you. It is a pity so many more of us cannot meet but the tyrany of distance stuffs us all at some time. Pleased to hear you arrived home safely and do not worry about all that mail, most of it will be hate mail, you know the stuff with the little window on the front and inside a demand for money!!!!!

[Captain Kong]

Thank you for all your comments men.
HD John, I opened a letter from the Tax Man, I was shocked to see a cheque for £385, overpaid Tax. the first time in 62 years as a Tax payer I have had a rebate. So there is a fairy godmother somewhere. A start to my next adventure.
I will write my observations on the trip and post as I complete them.
Thanks to you all again.
Cheers
Brian.

---------- Post added at 08:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 AM ----------


OBSERVATIONS ON A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD 2012.
Observation number 1.
This trip involved, a few bob and Eight Plane flights, 13 Hotels, guest in three friends homes, several cars, buses, trains and two ships, around 35,000 miles. Also visited by a total of Seven members of this site from Long Beach Cal. to New Zealand and Australia and two other mates in OZ and a relative.

The two ships were, Queen Mary, in Long Beach, California. In my estimation still the best ship in the world even tho` she does not sail anymore,
and the new Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen Elizabeth is not my favourite ship, she was 15 months old when I joined her in San Francisco. She appeared to be just another Carnival cruise ship.
I was not impressed by the catering, could have been a lot better than it was.
I ate a piece of bad tasting fish and was sick after, I was charged $75 for an injection.
No comparison with the old QE2, The Hotel Staff seemed to be novices at the game. I never saw one British person in the Staff, who were made up from the
Filipines, Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe, many had language problems.
The only competent ones were the Filipinos. My bedroom Steward, was from Manila and was excellent, he got a large Dropsy.
Even after the Costa Concordia debacle, safety was not what I would have expected. We had one muster in 25 days. In an emergency, Fire or sinking etc,
we had to Muster in the Grand Theatre, which was down below on One Deck.
The Lifeboat Deck was on Three Deck. Two decks above. My cabin was on Six Deck. So in an emergency I would have to go down the staircase to One Deck and sit in the Theatre until a young Shop Assistant, with a stick with a sign on top, would lead us all in an orderly fashion up the stair case again for another two decks to the Boat Deck on Three Deck. Can you imagine that?, Hundreds of passengers in a ship that is listing, or filling up with smoke being lead in an orderly fashion up the staircases to the Boat Deck.
We were not given a boat to go to, that would be allocated as and when we
got there. The Boats, there were eight on either side, were mainly tenders for taking passengers ashore and would be used as Lifeboats in the emergency.

Now as for flagging out to Hamilton, Bermuda. The President of Cunard,
when I asked about it, informed me that it was to be able to have weddings
on board and that it was a multi million dollar business.
I asked the Purser, `How many weddings have you had so far.`
he replied `None`. I guess that says it all.
I asked a Very Prominent member of the seagoing Staff, `Why did they flag out.
He replied in confidence, `The European Labour Laws are changing so everyone
on a ship within the European Union would have to be paid on a similar pay scale
This would then cost Carnival Cunard a lot more than it does now. So to avoid paying the crew the new pay scale they flagged out to Bermuda, which is outside the European Laws.`
I asked my Bedroom Steward, how would this affect him. He replied that on his next contract his wages would probably be Cut.
How Bent and disgusting is that when a Company as big as Cunard, Carnival tell lies to its Customers. Obviously nothing to do with a Million Dollar business of
having weddings on board but a means of cutting wages of an exploited crew to maximise profits.
I also wondered, they now have an excellent, well experienced British Seafaring Staff on the Bridge, How long will it be before an Italian or Greek Captain `takes charge` of the once famous name of Cunard Queens.
A point to ponder.
Cheers
Brian.

[Doc Vernon]

A good start to your Homecoming Capt with that Tax windfall,funnily enough for the past 10 or so Years we have been getting back on average $3000 Aus a Year from them.so no complaints there!

Also a good start to your recent Holiday writeup,and i for one am loking forward to reading the next episodes!
Thanks !
Cheers

[Captain Kong]

OBSERVATION Number Two..
.
On my trip around the Planet, I observed there were more pretty girls than I have ever seen before.
It was most frustrating. They should not be allowed out, with their long tanned legs and rounded thighs, with bare midriffs and low, low cut blouses.
They are a health hazard, my Blood Pressure was sky high, no amount of Blood Pressure tablets could bring it down.
Australia was full of them, walking in and out of Flinders Street Station, I could not get into Young and Jacksons for a long time as I stood and observed them. It was disgusting the way they dress, they were not like that in the 50s, then they were so modest. I had to have a few beers to get over it.
On the Gold Coast, in Surfers Paradise, They were almost naked, wearing just a thong and naked breasts. I almost collapsed, I was gasping for breath and clutching my chest as the Blood Pressure surged through me. I had to get out of there fast and flew to Perth.
They were just the same there, all I could see were long tanned legs and thighs of young girls in tight shorts.
I hired a car and went to Norseman at the end of the Nullabar road, that was a lot easier, nothing there but a few tired old ladies sweating in the heat, one barmaid in the only pub. The Barmaid was too tired to talk so I drove up to Kalgoorlie, the Gold Mining town.
I was happy to see the famous Exchange Hotel on the corner of Hannan Street had closed, I was in there five years ago and they had Topless and Bottomless Barmaids on alternative days, I was happy they had gone, my blood pressure was coming down nicely.
I drove the long trip back to Perth and flew to Singapore, That was awful, Singers was full of long tanned legs and round thighs in skin tight skimpy shorts I thought I was going to die, my Blood Pressure banging away to new heights, they were everywhere, there was no escape from them. The Singapore Government really should ban them. My health was now suffering.
I staggered into a bar without looking and found I was in Hooters, the same as the one in Honolulu, with lots of young nubile waitresses in very tight skimpy orange coloured shorts with long tanned legs and tight, tight white T shirts.
I don’t know how I survived that experience, it took me over two hours to get the strength to leave. One even let me take her photo, the brazen hussy.
The last straw came as I was on the MRT, the underground train. I was stood up clinging to a strap when a beautiful young lady, with those long tanned legs with rounded thighs who was sat down, smiled at me.
I thought my luck had changed, I smiled back, she stood up and approached me,
`Sit here` she said, pointing to her seat. `No, you sit there`, I replied, `No the seat is for you.`
On the back of the seat was printed, “Please save this seat for the elderly or infirm”. I sat down, I asked her to sit on my knee but she declined the offer.
I then realised that I was not the young, good looking, virile young man I used to be in the 50s. I had to admit to myself that I was now a 77 year old man and well past it.
What a sad moment. The words of George Burns came into my head,
.
“I wish I was 18 again”
.
.He said, I'll never again
Turn the young ladies heads
Or go running off into the wind

I'm three quarters home
From the start to the end
And I wish I was eighteen again
George Burns - I Wish I Was Eighteen Again - YouTube

the young lady in Hooters in Singapore