When the Biggest Decision is What to Eat for Lunch

Day 25, Grand Asia 2017

Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 – At Sea

On Monday I declared I was tired of my cool weather clothes. Today it became official, and I broke out the white pants I was saving for warmer climes. I need to remind myself that I also get tired of the same old clothes at home in Texas.

After two long and busy days in port, everyone is ready for relaxed sea days. The daily schedule has gone from skeletal to chock full of activities. At 9 a.m., I can go to watercolor class, morning tai chi, aqua aerobics, Bible study or indoor cycling. At 11 a.m. the choices include the continuation of the North Korea lecture series or a cooking demonstration by one of the ship’s chefs. I somehow managed to miss all but one planned activity today.

I’m glad to report that a new lecturer promises to be better than the previous ones (who tended to just read their slides). I caught his “5,000 years of Chinese history in 45 minutes” lecture, which brought us up to 1949. I wish Holland America had offered similar talks on Japanese history during our long crossing.

Writing a blog is fun (if you like to write) and the blog will be a great way to remember this cruise. But it also is work. I’ve heard that there are 6 million travel blogs, and if you want to stand out, travel becomes a job. That’s not for me, but today writing two blog entries to catch up on my Beijing days took most of my time. Therefore, there is not much to report. But I can always talk about food.

There are people on board who never eat in the dining room, preferring the more relaxed atmosphere of the Lido buffet, open most of the day and evening. Others like to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room, where your ordered food and drink are delivered to your table.

I have yet to eat breakfast in the dining room. I’ve been up at least two hours by the time it opens at 8 a.m. I have only eaten lunch there a couple of times. The menu offers several choices, and it is good to see that you can order half servings of most items.

The Lido lunch buffet offers a variety of stations.

I usually start with sushi …

and frequently finish with a salad …

or stir-fry.

If you prefer a meat and potatoes meal, it’s available. So is pizza and pasta.

Fellow passenger Cheri said she always has a turkey sandwich from the deli station, because she can’t get turkey lunch meat in Ecuador where she lives now.

The longest line is usually for the ice cream, at the end of the long dessert bar. I’m partial to the fruit cobblers, but try to stay away.

At the forward end of the Lido deck is Dive In, the hamburger, hotdog and fries grill, along with a taco bar. I’ve seen some passengers load their salads up there with guacamole and salsa. And if none of that is of interest, you always can order from the 24-hour room service menu.