Sailing with Sara - Aboard the ' AP Moller'

The vessel tour is part of the training program and its purpose is to get us to familiarize with the working of a vessel and view from close quarters the daily workings aboard a company vessel. After much delays and disappointments – me and Sara had got permissions on three other vessels all of which had to be dropped due to one reason or the other - we finally got our chance on the ‘ A.P Moller ‘. It was with a mix of childlike excitement and bit of trepidation that we signed on to the Vessel at the Port of Singapore. Excitement because, we were getting a chance to sail on a ship, and trepidation because we were to spend a week aboard and we have heard from many friends and colleagues that 7 is too long a period and one would be bored to death. Also one was not sure about the exact nature of work required to be done on the vessel by us.

The vessel ‘AP Moller’ is one of the biggest in the Maersk fleet. With a length of 347 metres and say about 15 stories high, this one was one mean machine. A Danish flag vessel, it plied on the Asia Europe leg. Our trip was to take us to Kaoshiung in Taiwan and from there to Busan in South Korea. We got introduced to the Captain and the Chief Mate at the ships office and got our training schedule for the week. We were also given the boiler suit, helmet and safety gloves, essential while working on the engine room. First step was to move our belongings to the cabins allotted to us. Located on the C deck, the cabins were minimal but comfortable. A bed, a sofa, writing table, couple of chairs, a cabinet, a small fridge and an attached bathroom. Perfect.

We changed into our boiling suits and accompanied a deck cadet ( an Indian) on a familiarization trip around the vessel. The funny part here was Sara’s boiler suit. The smallest size available still measured double her size and she simply could not fit into one. She had to cut, tear and resize a brand new boiler suit and then get into it. We covered every nook and corner in the vessel, right from the bridge at the top most deck to the captains office, the radio room, engine room, the rudder area, the galley, the ships control centre, the dining salon, the DVD library, the TV room, the library, the gymnasium, infirmary, stores , the aft, the rear , the deck. Each and every part of the ship was covered in a few hours. We were also told about the timings for the meals, the do s and don’t s, the rules for purchasing of food items from the stores, timings for the movies and the like. After a pretty exhaustive session we retired to our rooms. The vessel was still at port and the expected time of departure was next day morning.

We got a call at 5 am next morning, asking us to report to the bridge for the sailing. With the aid of the pilot the huge vessel started slowly pulling away from the pier and into the channel. Being such a large vessel I did not feel the movement at all. You literally had to see it to belive that the vessel was on it way and moving. Singapore being such a busy port, the traffic was pretty heavy and the pilot was constantly on the watch advising the course and changes to be made. After a couple of hours on the watch, we got down, changed, had breakfast and started day one.

The meal timings were 7.30 am, 12 noon and 5.30 pm. And the chief mate had scheduled our sessions around these timings. So on any given day, we would have a few hours of bridge watch, a session with any one of the ships officers and also lots of free time. We learned about plotting the course of navigation on a map, the various life saving equipment, the plethora of systems, controls and indicators on the bridge. We had sessions with the Captain, the Chief engineer, the chief mate, the cook, the reefer technician and almost all the officers. Each session was enlightening in its own way. The evenings were

completely free. Usually that meant a movie or 2 in the TV room, or just sitting in the room enjoying some coke and chips and chatting about everything under the sun. With my agnostic irreverence towards religion pitted against Sara’s deep rooted religious beliefs there was enough and more heated debates centering around god, idols ,worship, rituals, superstitions and the like. There were no losers, as both won on the account of gaining some new knowledge about each others religion. I do not remember a time when I had so much time to kill, with no intrusion of the mobile phone, any newspapers or Television to turn to, no Internet to chat, no touch with the outside world. Just me, my colleague Sara, and the crew members. It was

just so relaxing..

On one of the days we had a lifeboat and fire drill. We were doing a mock training session on steps to be taken in case of an emergency. Putting on the life vest, recognizing the signals, getting to know each ones roles during an emergency were some of the training given. Also must mention that getting into a lifeboat all prepared for a drop into the ocean for not exactly funny.

If the bridge represents the calm, cruising, chilled out version of the life on a ship, the engine room is the opposite. Noisy, dirty and extremely hot the engine room and the engine area were extremely difficult sessions. One has to salute the engineers and officers working on the engine as they have to be constantly on the watch and monitor the controls and all that in extremely taxing and demanding en

vironments. By the way the engine room has more controls and monitors then a space shuttle (courtesy a Discovery channel documentary, which a cadet swears by).

Food was Danish all the way. We felt like being in the module centre in Copenhagen whenever we were at the dining room especially during breakfast. Bread, butter, jam, apple juice and yoghurt were the standardized breakfast for me. Lunch and dinner were okay and I managed to hang in there. Sara had difficulty finding her type of food and she compensated for that by having enough and more of Coke and Pringles, not to mention chocolates by the dozens. The DVD room had a collection of more than 500 odd titles. Since there were 3 Indians on board apart from us two, there were also Hindi movies to choose from and we ended up watching some Hindi movies on top of the English ones. The best thing for me was finally getting the chance to watch ‘The Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’ a movie I have dying to watch for ages now.

After 4 days of sailing on the South China Sea we reached the Taiwanese por

t of Kaoshiung. Since the port call was only for some hours, we did not venture out or anything. We just observed the cranes working on the vessel. Soon we set sail to Busan

Perhaps the best place to be in a vessel is the aft, the extreme front end of the ship. Remember ‘Titanic – the am flying scene ‘and you would know which part I am referrin

g to. With no sound of the engine there the place is extremely quiet. Just standing there and staring at the vast blue ocean all around you is such surreal an experience. Miles and miles of water, the silence broken only by the faint sound of the ship ploughing through the sea, the aft was an amazing place to be. Standing at the nose and raising your arms, you do feel as if you are flying. James Cameron was not wrong after all.

During our interaction with the sailors one could easily make out that life aboar

d was not that fun. Staying away from land and your family and kids for months together, working at odd hours, sometimes in tough and demanding conditions, these people have a tough time on board. It is only the vacation at the end of a trip that keeps them going. And of course the pay. Even though the company takes care of them well and gives them good facilities, bet each one of them is willing to trade this for a job ashore and being in the company of family and friends. But then now they have to be on board and run these mighty ships which carry more than half of world’s trade on them.

Soon we reached Busan and it was time to disembark. Contrary to my fears that it would be extremely boring, the vessel tour was very exciting. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and am happy that we could make full use of it. It was great learning as well as a much needed rest from the hustle and bustle of life on the land. The 7 days aboard the AP Moller, would always be a very special memory.

Vessel Tour - Singapore Diary.

Modern city state, shoppers paradise, food capital of Asia , clean , prosperous, lots of Indians and of course the Merlion at the Sea front … these were some of the images that I had associated with Singapore prior to leaving to the city state for my vessel tour. And after 3 days, the above images did get reinforced as also did I add many many more to the Singapore compartment in my mind.

Ones first experience of a city is always the airport and that is of not much help, since all the modern airports look the same. Scores of passengers criss- crossing , duty free shops and restaurants by the dozen, queing up for immigration, getting that quizzical look from the immigration officer ,waiting for baggage and the like. Since my colleague Sara’s flight in from Karachi was an hour after mine, I had some time to look around. I could have been in Frankfurt, Paris or Copenhagen. Airports all look the same. Of course, do not include Chennai or Mumbai. Ours retain their shabby identity even now.

Armed with every possible visitors brochure/ guide – metro, restaurants, shopping, Sentosa, electronics, beaches and what not – Sara and me set out to our hostel. Sleepy Sams was located on Arab Street, a famous shopping street where the main commodities hawked are oriental, Indian and Middle Eastern fabrics. Sleepy Sams was a typical hostel. Laid back, relaxed, shared bathrooms, lots of guests and incredibly small rooms.

First stop was Little India, not because I was dying to show off my patriotism - especially to a Pakistani and make a symbolic gesture, but because the district was walking distance from my hostel and also because the famous shopping Mall – Mustafa, was located there. Little India could be called Little South India – Amman temples, flower sellers, vegetable vendors and idly- dosa joints lined up the streets. Took Sara to a South Indian temple, but soon I had to lead her out as she was asking enough and more questions about Hindu mythology and symbols , for most of which I didn’t have the answer. Shopping complexes are one place girls keep quiet and do their thing and so Mustafa was the place to go. Mustafa is a sea of electronics, clothes, bags, chocolates etc, between which humans walk through having the barest space possible. Working 24 hours, Mustafa is manned entirely by Indians, or rather entirely by Tamilians. After the trip around Little India, Mustafa, the Tamil restaurants, I was feeling like being in Chennai rather than in Singapore. No surprise, after all Tamil is an official language here.

We went to the Clarke quay side in the evening. Situated along the Singapore River, the quay side is a dazzling array of riverside restaurants, pubs, shopping complexes. One could also go for a cruise along the river. The river cruise is awesome as it gives you a clear view of many of Singapore’s landmarks. With a pre recorded commentary giving guidance one could glimpse and also get the history about the Parliament house, the theaters by the bay, the Raffles landing site, Robertson quay, the Fullerton hotel, the cluster of skyscrapers along the Marina bay and of course the most endearing symbol of Singapore – The half fish, Half Lion Merlion.

Any trip to Singapore would be incomplete without a trip to Sentosa – the island getaway. Sentosa is a tiny island situated across the bay and is perhaps Singapore’s premier tourist attraction. It claims and it indeed does have all around and fun filled entertainment for people of every age. Sun kissed beaches, one of Asia s biggest aquariums, a jungle trail, a 4D movie theatre, a plant kingdom and much more. Singapore s tallest viewing platform – the rotating Carlsberg sky tower gives a panaromic view of the island as well as gives you a glimpse of Malaysia and the Indonesian islands. The ‘Images of Singapore’ tour takes you through Singapore’s history and developments till present date. The Cable car and Sentosa Luge are attractions giving you a thrill of adventure. The most popular event in Sentosa is the evening musical fountain and laser show. 30 minutes of hi-tech wizardry, left us completely in awe. The sharp laser lights emanating out of the Merlion’s eyes and seemingly stretching out forever is a sight to behold.

Singapore much like most other modern cities has an efficient metro system. Our trips criss crossing the city were made easy by these clean, fast and on time metros. With sufficient signs, maps and routes at display, a tourist could fend for himself easily and not end up confused or lost. We spent time walking through Bugis village, Singapore’s biggest street shopping complex and also spent time checking out a few malls in Bugis.Well, while traveling with a girl and that too one with a weakness for shopping , frequent mall visits are common.

Come night and it was time to check out the Night Safari. The world’s first and perhaps only Night safari, this was one unforgettable experience. Situated at the Singapore zoo, the safari takes you on a battery operated tram through a designed route where you view animals in their natural habitat. Compared to other normal safari rides, here the thrill factor is much more magnified by the silence and the darkness through which the ride takes you. Viewing Tigers, Lions, hyenas etc in the night, in extremely close distances, in an almost eerie atmosphere is quite an experience, scary almost. On the way back we passed through the famous shopping district of orchard road. High rise malls, food courts and 5 star hotels, Orchard road is dazzling to say the least.

Singapore is a good tourist place, but perhaps only as a one time visit. It may not pull you back again and again, as i would imagine a Paris or a Switzerland would. But still Singapore was a pretty good experience. Soon it was time to pack off to the port and get into the good vessel AP Moller. We were scheduled to spend 7 and half days on the vessel and were worried as to how boring it may turn out to be compared to the razzle and dazzle of Singapore