Like most onboard, I try to evade the problem people. After stops in Australia, we head northwest to Bali. We pass slumbering volcanoes flanked by terraced rice paddies. Farmers plow plots behind teams of water buffalo. Bicycle-riding barbers trim hair beside roadways.
Proud men hold babies, and colourfully dressed women offer food gifts to the gods.
Scenic, spiritual, gracious and cheap, Bali may be nirvana on earth. Here, the government assesses heavy fines for jaywalking, gum chewing or failing to flush toilets. Drug smuggling carries a death sentence. Back onboard, I chew an illicit stick of Juicy Fruit. As we move along at the ship's calming 15 knots, I feel as mellow as a taste tester in a Valium factory.