Balikpapan, Indonesia

Saturday | November 26, 2016

“Either the harbor cops here don’t know how to drive or they’ve had a helluva tsunami.”

Although we had great intentions about going to the gym this morning, they were never realized. Instead, I began my morning at 9:00 AM having breakfast in Tides with two prospective residents. They are from Las Vegas and apparently have an interest in owning, although I do not think they are very serious at this point.

We also had intentions about leaving the ship to go to another orangutan and monkey preserve out of town – or to visit the local markets– but we chose not to do either of those. This does not seem like a dynamic metropolitan town at all so we chose to enjoy our status as residents on this beautiful ship.

Immediately after breakfast, I went to the simulator to play a round of golf with the pro. Today, I managed to win in sudden death on the 20th hole.

After lunch, I took a stroll on the 12th deck and it was there that I came upon this ship whose captain was obviously not as astute as ours.

These wrecked boats are all police boats, outside the police station.

It is possible that they were all victims of the latest tsunami.

Around 2:00 PM, I went to the pool and was the only person there. I listened to my book on tape and sat in the water enjoying the peace and quiet.

I went back to the apartment later in the afternoon and watched a bit more of the Ring of Fire series while I submitted to an allergic reaction from the foie gras I had earlier in the afternoon.

At 6:30 PM, I went back to Tides where I had a quiet dinner. Well, in reality, it was not that quiet because there were two tables seated near me who were quite boisterous.

After dinner, I went to the Plaza to watch a performance by a local group, BSBI.

The group featured the gambus, an Indonesian lute related to the Arabic oud, played by one of its younger members. The music was tolerable but we lost our appetite when one of the gentleman began to sing in English. Frankly, he could’ve sung in any language and it would’ve been equally as distasteful. I snuck off to bed.