Genting Dream Cruise to Surabaya/Bali: Mermaids, Babi Guling & a Zipline over the Sea

[yflyer]

Other activities onboard including rock climbing...



Table tennis, located in the one spot on the outdoor decks where the air was perfectly still...



Basketball (No idea what that other game is with the clear inflatable body suit...)



Miniature golf...



And other adhoc activities, such as giant Jenga...



...and a fun form of archery, using safe rubber arrows aimed at plastic balls held aloft by a column of air...

[yflyer]

One of the most popular activities onboard was the rope course and zipline...



...where you traverse a rope course high above the deck while attached via carabiners to an upper wire for safety.

If done properly, this is perfectly safe...both adults and children were taught to use the a system of smart belays (Carabiners with a pulley system, so that at any one time only one Carabiner can be open, while other stays locked closed on the rope, which means if anyone falls, they are held by the Carabiner and harness.)



Maybe it was because our kids had done something similar in Singapore at Bedok Forest Adventure...they appeared completely at ease, and having fun, as they navigated the ropes...



...and at the end of the rope course...the main attraction: a 35m zipline that was installed over the side of the ship...that's right, over the sea...



There is something quite exhilarating about standing on a windy platform, high up on moving ship, with a majestic view all around you, and the waves far below, as the crew member on duty on the platform straps on the pulley onto the zipline.



When you are that high up, the 35m distance to the other end looks really far away!

And when the crew member says "Go!", the moment you push off, with just a rope thinner than your belt attached to the pulley and zipline, it does require some sort of leap of faith....

[yflyer]

That day, we also signed up for a tour of the Bridge...



It was all very high tech...the ship's nerve centre looked to be a combination of aircraft cockpit-style glass display panels, and Star Trek / Star Wars, although in reality I believe both these sci fi shows drew the inspiration for their starship command centres from ships...



The crew on duty politely answered all our questions (They must get the same questions all the time..."how do you avoid collisions?"..."how far can the radar detect objects?"..."How many years before you become Captain of a cruise ship?"...)

Suitable assured that the ship was in good hands, and in no danger of hitting an iceberg anytime soon, our tour group were also shown the part of the bridge used in docking/berthing operations, including a glass panel in floor of the bridge, which was used to eyeball the position of the ship relative to the pier...



An outside view of that part of the bridge...with the glass cutout visible on the underside of the bridge wing...



There is also an adjoining Bridge viewing room, which is open all day, for walk-ins who want to view the bridge, although there is no direct access to the bridge, just a large glass window overlooking the bridge. There is also a very impressive scale model of the Genting Dream in the viewing room.

[yflyer]

Later that day, we visited the Johnny Walker House at Sea...



...which had a beautiful tasting area, where our host, Frank, would introduce us to the brand and the whisky.





Frank was an amazing brand ambassador...hailing from Mumbai, he was warm, articulate, and gave a very engaging and professional spiel about the history of the brand, and also the finer points of whisky making and tasting.



Of course, this was pitched at a fairly basic level, which was fine with us, as we were quite ignorant of all of this.

Nothing fancier than basic Red Label, Black Label, and Double Black on offer as part of the basic tasting...



...but these were enough for Frank to introduce us to the tastes, flavours and aromas involved...



...as well as to the whisky flavour map...



We sampled each of the 3 JW whiskys in turn...both neat, and with just a drop of water...



That was great as a tutorial, but it didn't seem enough just to sample those three...we asked Frank to recommend another glass to taste, as a contrast...he suggested a glass of Blue Label, but we felt it would more interesting to try one of the single malts and asked him to suggest one...

He suggested the Oban 14 year...



..this was very distinctive...and a nice contrast to the series of blended whiskys we had just tasted.

To round off the session, Frank brought us to the promenade deck, where another Johnny Walker statue could be found.



That was a pleasant way to spend the better part of an hour. There would be more to drink later in the day, in the Genting Club...

[yflyer]

We spent a lot of time onboard in the Genting Club Lounge.



Apart from meals in the lounge restaurant, the bar there served a wide range of complimentary beverages, including wine, beer, liquor and cocktails.





While premium wines and liquor were available on a chargeable basis, we found the complimentary selection to be very generous, and stuck mainly to that.



Some of the cocktails and mocktails we had over the course of the cruise...



A free flow of all your standard drinks and cocktails were available, as well as others we had never encountered before...



...including a non-alcoholic Beautiful Dream mocktail, which was popular with the girls...



Some of the fine wine available onboard, including many top-end French selections...



I suspect the predominance of 1998 Bordeaux had more to do with the auspicious sounding year than any particular merit to that particular vintage...

[yflyer]

Another wonderful thing about the Genting Lounge was that, apart from buffet and semi-buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners served in the restaurant, they had a 24 hour menu with small selection of delicious hot meals, including char kway teow...



...and Hong Kong style shrimp wonton noodles...

[yflyer]

As for breakfasts, lunches and dinners in the lounge, these were prepared to a very high standard by a restaurant with a dedicated kitchen colocated right in the lounge.





This wasn't assembly line cuisine churned out by a central onboard kitchen, the lounge had it's own chef and team of cooks serving up meal after meal of restaurant quality cuisine...



Some of the starters in the buffet...



Salmon sashimi...



Assorted sushi...



Jelly fish and baby octopus...



Cold sliced duck...



Fish maw soup...



Both Asian and Western selections were served, including starters such as Maryland Crab Cakes...

[yflyer]

Buffet starters and desserts, as well as a-la carte main courses, were changed daily...

One of their signature main courses was a fabulous lobster fettucini...



Other mains included schnitzel...



...and Asian-style sliced fish noodles...



The dessert buffet had a good selection of Asian and western desserts as well...

[yflyer]

The breakfast selections in the lounge were no less impressive...





Cheese...



Smoked salmon...


Cold cuts...



Fresh fruit...



Bacon, sausages...



...and eggs cooked to order...





Congee with assorted condiments...





Dim sum...



In all, we could have eaten every meal in the Genting Club lounge restaurant and been very satisfied.

Downsides? On this cruise, the Dream Palace cabins onboard were running completely full, so there was sometimes a fairly long wait for a table in the restaurant at peak hours.

Of course the ship had many other dining options as well, and we did explore these during the course of the cruise.

[yflyer]

The evening before we were due to arrive in Surabaya, we dined at the Bistro by Mark Best...





We had a set menu which was complimentary, as part of our cruise package



...however we supplemented this with several a la carte items as well, with items such as...

Oysters Kilpatrick...



Duck foie gras congee with dashi...



Roast pumpkin soup...



The steak was tender and beautifully done...



...and this was accompanied by the house red wine, a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from Mapachi...



Rice pudding for dessert...



A wonderful meal with great modern cuisine and very attentive service...

We sailed through the night, and were scheduled to arrive in Surabaya the next morning...

[yflyer]

In the early morning, we approached Surabaya...



Initial impressions on this misty morning were that the harbour and port area were quite industrial looking and not particularly picturesque...



There was at least one wreck visible in the coastal waters...



The upper decks were quite empty in the dawn hours...



...although there was at least one person using the jogging track...



I was initially quite pleased to learn that there was a jogging track onboard, but that soon turned to dismay when I found out that each lap was just about 142 meters, and that it would take 7 loops just to cover 1km...



...that was too much like a hamster on a treadmill for me...I would need to find alternative running routes...

Not a particularly awe-inspiring arrival into Surabaya, I thought at the time...

[yflyer]

But as we approached the cruise terminal, things got very interesting...

I was dining at the breakfast buffet in the lounge when out the window, I noticed a small vessel spraying water from their water cannon into the sea ahead...what's this?

I grabbed my camera and raced to the bow...



It was a water cannon salute! This was the Genting Dream's first visit to Surabaya, and our hosts were making it a very memorable entry...



And there was quite a reception committee at the pier as well comprising staff, well wishers, as well as traditional dancers and musicians giving the vessel and all onboard a very festive welcome...









We disembarked and walked a long red carpet...







The live music certainly added to the atmosphere...



...as did the traditional costumes...

[yflyer]

We were in Surabaya for the day. There were several excursion options, but a popular one was a free and easy bus transfer to Tunjungan Plaza, a very large mall in Central Surabaya...





Surabaya is Indonesia's 2nd largest city, and it has a long history, not to mention many monuments and landmarks. A guide on our bus pointed out several of the landmarks, and also gave us a quick tutorial and intro on Surabaya as we drive into central Surabaya, to Tunjungan Mall.



Obviously Tunjungan Mall is not a historical landmark, but it was a convenient starting point to explore Surabaya, if one had the inclination to do so, and it was also the largest mall in the city, spanning many separate interconnected buildings. Of course, Singaporeans will be Singaporeans and many of them simply stayed within the confines of this mega-mall for the entire 3-4 hour period they were in Surabaya (The same was probably true of many of the other cruise passengers from other countries as well...).

I had decided, before disembarking, that I would head into Surabaya and go for a run around the city, while Mrs yflyer and the kids explored the mall. I must have been the only one who had that idea because I was the only guy on the bus (One of more than 10 buses...) dressed in PT kit...

But where to go? What route? I planned my route there and then, with Google Maps on my iPhone. Of course, some local knowledge would also be helpful.

Thankfully, the Tunjungan Mall complex included an adjoining Four Points Sheraton.



I did not stay there, but I did head up to the lobby to use the restroom, and also ask the concierge for tips on jogging routes...



This looked to be a fairly new property, with very helpful staff. I needed a drink of water before setting out, and the staff in the cafe were kind enough to give me a bottle of water at no charge...

As for the route, I looked at the map and rapidly settled on a route within the city that took me to several notable landmarks and green patches on the map. These were my checkpoints...



Exactly what those landmarks were, was not clear to me when I set out, especially since the names of the places were all in Bahasa, but the hotel doorman to whom I showed the route seemed to think it was ok, and so I headed out...

[yflyer]

I began my run by heading eastwards from Tunjungan Plaza...this took me past Gedung Negara Grahadi, an old colonial building in large pristine grounds, that was now the residence of the Governer of East Java...





When I arrived at Monumen Kapal Selam, by the bank of the Kalimas River, I was amazed to find that this monument was in fact a Submarine, the KRI Pasopati, a Russian Whisky-class submarine first built in 1952 in Vladivostok, before being bought by Indonesia in 1962.



The submarine served more than 30 years in the Indonesian navy before being decommissioned in the 1990's and turned into a monument and museum.



The interior of the submarine can be toured, although I did not have time to visit it that day.

I turned southwards, and continued my run parallel to the Kalimas River, taking in the sights along the way...





While I was close to the commercial centre of Surabaya, this part of the city was more industrial, full of auto and mechanical workshops...



The stretch along the river was not the easiest to run on...



For a start, I had to share the footpath with motorcycles coming in the opposite direction...



But there were interesting sights, such as this improvised river crossing...

[yflyer]

All along the way, I caught glimpses of day to day life...





My next stop, the Kebun Binatang Surabaya turned out to be the Surabaya Zoo...and right outside, an iconic sculpture of Suro and Boyo, or Shark and Crocodile in the Javanese language, which some say is the origin of the name of the city



There was no time to go into the zoo either, so I continued on...



...through streets that got increasingly narrow...



...and more hilly and residential, past homes with laundry hanging outside, and traditional foods being prepared by leaving it on trays outside to dry in the sun...



As on a recent trip to Bangkok, where I found myself jogging in parts of the city less frequented by tourists, I think some of the residents in the area were quite surprised to see me jogging past. That said, no one paid me more attention, than a glance in my direction as I went by.

Eventually, I reached my final stop, the Ereveld Kembang Kuning, which turned out not to be a monument at all, but an old Dutch War Cemetery, still pristinely maintained, on manicured lawns...



By then, it was just past noon, I set my destination on Google Maps back to Tunjungan Mall and jogged slowly in the mid-day heat back to the hotel...



...and along the route, more scenes of day to day life, including streetside satay being prepared on a charcoal grill...




The delicious aroma of satay filled the air...



"Photo, Pak?"...I smiled and snapped a picture before he had time to agree or disagree...