Day 52. Post-India Assassins

First, my India blog is coming along nicely. I had an incredible 5 days in a country that altered my perception of the world outside my 'bubble' of the US forever. It was a tiring, but worthwhile 4 days of traveling, and I'm happy to be back on the ship. I should finish up the blog tomorrow, and it'll be posted right here.

Ship life is back to normal, except for one thing, which I'll get to in a second. The crew is diligently cleaning up after India. The ship was caked in dirt and grime from sitting in the Indian harbor for 5 days. Everything from the carpets to the windows showed signs of dirtiness. The crew, though, is amazing. Every inch of the Explorer's carpets is being steam cleaned. The glass and brass is being shined, and every deck and window power-washed. It already looks like new.

Alright... so excitement. The ship has begun playing a game called 'Assassins'. For those who don't know, this is a real-life, role-playing game that goes on 24 hours a day. 234 of us signed up to play, and a few days ago the "Grand Master Assassin (head of the game)" sent us our first assignment. Each of us was given one name to 'kill.' You make your kills by throwing or touching your victim with a sock. There are certain exceptions: not during class, not in the library, etc... but it's pretty simple. Once you kill that person, you get their assignment, and you have a new person to kill. Of course, one person out there is looking for you... and you don't know who it is. Here's the catch, the "Grand Master" can assign immunities at any time during the game. For instance, the first day, we were told that if were wearing un-matching shoes then we were 'immune' and could not be killed. The immunities can, and do, change at any time. Right now, wearing a cape... yes, a cape... grants you immunity. The last man standing at the end wins it all.

Of course, if you know me at all, you know how intense I am taking the game. I'm already tracking down my 4th victim, and have yet to be conquered. The ship has exploded with excitement about the game. When an email comes out with a new immunity, about a quarter of all people on the ship get up and RUN to their cabin to get their immunity. You see, the times at which the immunities change is where you're most vulnerable... if you can catch your victim off guard, then victory is yours.

It's a great game, and even more fun because, well, you can't escape it. It's not like you can get off the ship, you know.

Other than this, life is great. We are approaching ominous Day 54... the halfway point of the voyage. I can't even bear to think about it. For now though, the seas are beautiful and calm, and we are approaching the Strait of Mallaca for our approach to Eastern Asia. We were informed the other day that we will be stopping for 8 hours in Singapore to get fuel (bunker), before heading north to Bangkok! We are busy planning our time in Bangkok, and can't wait.

For your information, the ship's clock pushed forward 1.5 hours since India. With daylight savings time in the US, we are now 11 hours ahead of the eastern US.

Look for the India blog tomorrow!

Greg.