In December 2019 I began a cruise in the
Arabian Gulf. The ship visited two cities of the United Arab
Emirates and followed that up with a day in Muscat, the capital
of Oman. Although we think of this area as centered on the
petroleum industry, Arabian traders were historically
brokers of the spice industry and brought products of their
commerce - spices, minerals, textiles - into and through the
Gulf. It seemed obligatory that the shore excursions would stop
in at at least one spice market, one gold market, and one
textile market, as well as the live fish market.
Sabang is an island city on the north coast of Sumatra. It's a
lovely place to wander through and a friendly photo stop. Sabang
and Kuala Lumpur each has contributed several photos to the
gallery.
The cruise is an experiment. It's another approach to travel
that I've been considering as an alternative to the rigors of a
tour or of independent travel. The advantages: there is plenty
of time to rest and breathe the sea air while the ship chugs
along, the stateroom is very comfortable, the bed is clean, the
hot shower is so refreshing, the food is good and safe to eat,
you can engage in the many activities or not - in other words, I
was not worn out two days in.
On the downside, I'm not comfortable with fermentation
consciousness - either my own or in those I have to engage with
- and drinking as the companion of meals and entertainment seems
to be a trait of cruise passengers. The approach to shore
excursions is likewise not particularly appealing. They seem to
be designed for people who want merely a taste and not a morsel
more. You can get used to that (and I did) but it is limiting -
formal shore excursions are, however, dispensable, and my most
entertaining days were when I went off on my own.
Another experiment on this trip was the camera I used. The ten
pounds of full-frame Canon and three big lenses plus carrying
cases would be fine if I were younger or had a porter. I tried a
new, high pixel count, crop-frame Canon with one light zoom lens
- two pounds, maybe two and a half, good looking, small, easy to
carry and use. The photos it takes, however, are not close
enough in quality to the full-frame photos to justify the trade
off.
