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Sweet 70 golden girls on Superstar Libra cruise
(Left to right: Henrita, Margaret, Katherine, Hui Ching, Violet, Say Kim) |
Six sweet seventy golden girls
Went on a Penang-Phuket-Krabi cruise
We had a fun-filled four-day holiday
Joking and jabbering away
And gorging on food all day
Reaching 70
years is a milestone. When my 1965 batch of Convent Klang girls achieved this
auspicious age, we decided to go on a cruise to celebrate. The die was cast and planning
began in late January.
As many of
our golden girls live in different parts of the world, planning a holiday was
no easy task. However, with the help of email and WhatsApp, we managed to book
a four-day holiday on Superstar Libra Cruise for 6 ladies, one from England, two from
Australia and three from Malaysia.
Our 70th birthday celebration started on 1st July 2017 at a restaurant in Klang. The day started with 12 of us meeting up (11 classmates and Miss Vatchalu, former Science teacher). The hugging, talking and laughing was a little noisy - luckily we were in a room in the restaurant. When the din subsided, we savoured a sumptuous lunch, followed by a healthy birthday cake.
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Happy 70 -year old goldies
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Goldies celebrating 70th birthday
Miss Vatchalu is seated 2nd from left
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After lunch, six of us bade farewell to the others and got ready to go to Penang. Instead of taking a bus or plane there, gutsy goldie, Margaret, volunteered to drive us in her new MPV. assisted by navigator, Henrita.
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Margaret's MPV Photo: Say Kim
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We did not mind the six-hour long journey to Penang with intermittent drizzling along the way. This was because we were chatting non-stop, squealing with laughter like 17-year old students rather than 70-year old mothers and grandmothers. Our jabbering continued way past our bed-time at a hotel in Penang.
Next morning, we arrived at Swettenham Pier very early, all fired up and eagerly looking forward to the adventure awaiting us. We were joined by Violet's older sisters, Vera and Valerie, who are also Convent Klang gals.
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| 6 early birds Photo: Say Kim |
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Swettenham Pier - here we come Photo: Say Kim
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| 8 excited passengers: Vera (2nd from left) and Valerie (5th from left) |
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| 2 of our members were first in line |
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| One of the dining rooms |
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| Buffet meals |
What is a cruise holiday like? On Day 1, we had a Safety Drill, where we were briefed on what safety measures
to take in case of emergencies. We were told to grab 3 items (our lifejackets,
medicine and a pair of warm clothing) if we
hear the emergency beeps. I wonder whether we could remain calm enough to grab those three items at our age! Fortunately, we had a wonderful mishap-free cruise, thanks to the
efficient steering of the Captain and his crew.
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Our group-happily hugging our life-jackets Photo: Say Kim
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Safety Drill - listening to instructions
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On the ship, we reminisced on the things we did in our younger days, and at times, I wonder whether anyone was listening because everyone was talking at the same time! Our feasting, chatting and laughing was infectious. Sometimes the staff and other passengers joined in our laughter or shared our jokes.
Superstar Libra did not disappoint. There were many activities on board: cha cha line dancing, fruit-carving, swimming, gym, casino, bingo, massage, ship tour, well-choreographed shows, movies and many more. An ongoing sales with great discounts of liquor, cosmetics, watches, health products etc was available for avid shoppers.
Some activities on board are shown in the following photos.
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| Sail-away dancing event |
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| Chef carving a rock melon Photo: Say Kim |
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A rose carved on a Papaya
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| Bingo game with Jackpot of Rm 28,888 |
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| Sales on board for avid shoppers |
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| Socialising with a friendly Restaurant Food Services Supervisor |
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| Enjoying the evening breeze on deck Photo: Say Kim |
There was a range of food to satisfy all palates: Western, Indian, Oriental, Vegetarian etc - we were spoilt for choice. The variety of desserts was staggering. Desserts were creatively displayed and too tempting to avoid. We conveniently forgot our dieting resolutions for the 4 days on board. It is not often that we could get together at age 70 years - so we threw caution to the wind and feasted away.
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| Lobster Appetiser |
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| Main meal- A la carte |
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A welcome cake - very tempting
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| Black Forrest |
Superstar Libra made two stops at Phuket and Krabi Island.
When our ship arrived in Phuket, all those who had booked to visit the
island, disembarked orderly, got into two buses and had a quick half-day tour
of the tourist centres. These included a T-shirt shop, Cashew Nut Shop,
Wat Chalong Temple, Promthep Cape and Jungceylon Shopping complex at Patong. We were allotted a certain time for each stop which was merely for us to shop there.
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| Disembarking from ship |
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| T-shirts galore at the t-shirt factory outlet |
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| My favourite T-shirt with captivating caption |
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| T-shirts with Exotic designs Photo: Say Kim |
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| Our group in front of a cashew-nut tree Photo: Say Kim |
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| Cashew fruit and seed Photo: Say Kim |
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| A worker processing cashew nuts |
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| Wat Chalong Temple- most sacred temple in Phuket |
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| Wat Chalong Temple - different buildings |
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| Wat Chalong Temple - different buildings Photo:Say Kim |
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| Lighthouse at Promthep Cape |
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| Scenic view at Promthep Cape |
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| 3 of us at Promthep Cape |
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Fascinating Elephants Shrine at Promthep Cape -
with hundreds of elephant statues and carvings in all sizes and colours |
At the JungCeylon Shopping Complex, which was like any large shopping complex, we did some window shopping in Robinson's.
This quick tour of the island was great for spirited shoppers. Our group
of 8 was not keen on shopping but we did enjoy the bus ride in Phuket because we got
to meet other members travelling with us. We made friends with a group of
60-year old ladies from Penang Light Street Convent who were also celebrating
their birthdays together. We met a group of amicable young well-built guys and gals from Kuala Lumpur who were yoga practioners.
Next day, when our ship arrived at Krabi Island, the 8 of us decided not to go ashore for the organised
tour. We just took a ferry to the Island’s Passenger Port, browsed around for half an
hour and then took the ferry back to the
ship. At the Port, we were fascinated by a salesgirl making love letters biscuits effortlessly using a hot plate.
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Our Superstar Libra - picture taken from the ferry
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| 8 of us enjoying ourselves on the ferry ride to Krabi Island Photo: Say Kim |
I was glad to have Say Kim travelling with us. She was quick with the camera taking great photos along the way.
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| Say Kim the photographer |
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| Our group at the Passenger Port in Krabi Island |
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| Salesgirl effortlessly making love letters biscuits from a hot plate |
Back onboard, we lazed around on the ship’s deck, walked along the jogging
track, and explored other parts of the ship. I went to the gym to do some exercise and did some line dancing with the goldies.
In the evening, we had a joyous time preparing for Gala Night, helping
each other to dress up. We dined in style at the Ocean Palace on Chinese cuisine
for our final dinner together.
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All dressed up for dinner on Gala Night Photo: Say Kim
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Chinese cuisine at Ocean Palace Photo: Say Kim
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After dinner, we had an entertaining variety show. Before the show
started, there were some dancing and game shows which some of us sportingly
joined in.
Two of us took part as "best friends" with 2 other couples in a Game Show where we were tested on how well we knew each other. It was fun.
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| Six demure goldies ready to be entertained |
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Cha cha dancing with staff Photo: Say Kim
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Line dancing with other passengers Photo: Say Kim
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| Katherine and Henrita in a Best Friends Game Show Photo: Say Kim |
The show started with the Captain
of the ship introducing his crew. This was followed by an impressive “One in a Million" Variety Show. Dancers, singers, sensational stunts and magical illusions thrilled
us. As we sat there together, glued to our seats, it brought back sweet memories of us as teenagers watching movies together in the cinema in the
1960s.
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Captain of our ship
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The Captain introduced members of his Crew, one by one
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| Talented guy with great skills on the drum Photo: Say Kim |
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| Lady doing stunning stunts with the hula hoop Photo: Say Kim |
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| Sizzling Dancers |
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| Singers and dancers performing in harmony |
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| A Contortionist in action Photo: Say Kim |
Soon the cruise holiday came to an end. It was memorable for me because
it gave me a chance to get to know one another better and to share experiences as
well as dark secrets.
After the
cruise, more delectable food was in store for us. Margaret took us to a durian farm in
Balik Pulau where we had delicious finger-licking good Kunyit variety durians. Yummy!
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| Delectable durians in Balik Pulau farm |
The next day was the culmination of our birthday celebration. Jeya, another of our classmates, who resides
in Nibong Tebal, met up with us in our hotel. The meeting was extra-special for 3 goldies: Jeya, Violet and Say Kim. Violet and Say Kim were beaming with joy at meeting up with Jeya because they had not seen her since leaving school in 1965.
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| A happy reunion - Jeya is in the front row on the right |
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| The 4 shortest girls in class lining up as in school days |
Our Golden Girls 70th birthday celebration was unique and unforgettable! As we march onwards in
our golden years, we look forward to more birthday celebrations and travel trips together.
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