— m/v Asia ~ Sept 30 to Oct 28, 1957
September 30 ~ left Genova (Genoa)
We had our last Continental breakfast in the hotel on Monday, September 30, gathered up our bags, got into a taxi and it took us to Ponte dei Mille, the maritime station in Genoa.
Lindy was wearing a silver two piece suit and as she wanted to make an appearance when she came onto the ship, she dyed her hair silver to go with the suit! Quite the fashionista, my sister!
We all clambered out of the taxi and got into a queue for the passport officials and dad saw Dave Millar with his family (? no idea who he was) also queuing up for the Asia, and he was pleased that they’d be shipmates! Then we saw Dr and Mrs Boos (pronounced Bose, and who entertained us in Karachi in 1953) arrive with their kids so another lovely surprise!
That was the best thing about travelling by ship in those days … most people had leaves the same length of time so the friends we made travelling to Europe would often be travelling back at the same time as we were!
Passport and Customs formalities were easy and brief, the latter due to Thomas Cook’s office taking care of our luggage. We walked up the gangway and when we got onto the deck, there was surprise number 3! Cynthia and Roy Beynon were also passengers, heading back to HK with their new baby that they’d adopted! Then two other old friends from our outward journey on the Victoria, the Loves, came on board! Mom and dad had their group of friends already ?
At 1pm the ship started moving, leaving the pier and heading out to sea. We were on deck watching and Lindy burst into tears so dad suggested we all go down for lunch instead of standing there feeling sad.
After lunch mom went down to the cabin and started unpacking all the trunks and suitcases – it took her FOUR HOURS to get everything out and hung up in the wardrobes! Dad remarked that it showed that women really were the tougher sex ?
Dad had had a quiet word with the Maitre d’ when we boarded and slipped him some baksheesh so that I could sit with the family at meals. I think that was the only good thing about being tall and looking older than I was!! ?
We all had dinner together then Lindy and I shuffled off to our cabin to sleep while mom and dad stayed up chatting to the Loves and Beynons over a few drinks.
October 1 ~ arrived & left Napoli (Naples)
We arrived in Napoli at 8:30am and mom and dad went ashore to buy some provisions but couldn’t find the shops they wanted so they came back empty handed ? We had lunch then mom, dad and Lindy went ashore while I stayed on the ship. This time they were successful and came back with a haul of toothbrushes, shoes, and other personal stuff.
The ship left Naples at 10pm and mom told me to go to bed while she, dad and Lindy went to the Lounge for a couple of after dinner drinks. This I did do but it was pretty spooky walking down to the deck where our cabin was, then down a long corridor to the end and I was feeling very sorry for myself and so lonely ? They didn’t get back till after midnight and when they walked into the cabin, there I was, bawling my little heart out!! My poor parents – seeing me with red eyes, dripping nose and puffy face really made my folks feel awful and I think they felt soooo guilty they left me alone like that!! ?
The next day was a normal “Asia” day but it was too cold for swimming. People were lying in their deck chairs, or playing shuffleboard or quoits or whatever other games there was available. It was de rigueur for all First Class passengers to speak to the Purser (I think) and book the deck chairs which they wanted and, of course, pay for the privilege! And every day at 10 o’clock in the morning, the steward would come around with trays containing cups (and saucers) of hot bouillon (a clear, seasoned beef broth) for us to drink.
I confess that, as a kid, I didn’t want to drink the bouillon but when I was older, I really enjoyed having a cup every day!
Some people were in the Library, reading papers, books or, like us kids, doing school work so that we wouldn’t be behind when we went back to school.
Click to enlarge
That night there was a “Meet the Captain” cocktail party, which I didn’t attend, so just met the rest of the family for dinner before I went to the cabin while they met up with their friends for drinks. Wasn’t feeling so pathetic and was also slowly getting used to the ship, so finally was pretty happy to go to the cabin and sleep on my own! ?
The next day was warmer so I put on my bathing suit and was the first into the pool, splashing around and enjoying myself! The rest of the family decided to wait another day! Chickens!!!
Daddy said that Lindy was mooning around as there weren’t any passengers around her age (17) or just a bit older on board, unlike on the Victoria, so she was feeling a little fed up with the thought of 4 weeks without any fun!
October 4-5 ~ arrived & left Port Said
The “Asia” arrived at Port Said at 1:30pm and some passengers headed off to Cairo on a tour, others went ashore but we all stayed on board; however after dinner the Gully Gully man came on board to entertain us youngsters so mom and dad decided to pop ashore and take a look at the town.
They had a mooch about the place and saw the same kind of leather poufs and bags, the same kind of plates and music boxes which were brought on board for sale, and everything looked old and dusty. Dad did see a bust of Nefertiti which he liked so he bargained with the store owner and got it for half the price.
They weren’t particularly impressed with Port Said so came back onto the ship with a sigh of relief which implied … “Been there, done that!!” ?
The ship was supposed to leave Port Said at midnight but it was 3.5 hours late. We all slept like the dead and didn’t wake till 10:30am so had to have tea and orange juice in our cabin.
Arrived at the Great Bitter Lake at 9am and didn’t start moving until 6pm. It was terribly hot on deck and I think everyone was a little cranky about sitting there waiting to pass through Suez. We had lunch and then twiddle our fingers until dinner. Lindy and I went to the cabin after our meal and mom and dad joined their friends in the Lounge. Dad was asked to play the bass by Mr Sinclair (?) so mom nagged him to do so but he was tired and grumpy so they had a bit of a row about that. They came back to the cabin at midnight and were surprised to see me still awake!
We finally got into line and headed through Suez … going home to Hong Kong!
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It was very hot and humid the next day but Lindy and mom didn’t want to put on their swimming suits to cool off in the pool, however dad and I splashed around and managed to cool off. Dad and mom were keeping an eye on a Mrs Adair (?), who was saying things about me while I was playing shuffleboard with Inka Boos. She thought I was 12 and because I couldn’t talk to her like a 12 year-old, she thought I was a slow learner, and she’d say that to all and sundry on board, which rightfully got my parents’ back up! ?
That night there was a film show, “Flight to Mars“, a 1951 production for the first class lounge and after the movie ended, they cleared the Lounge and a band, that was on board sailing to Singapore to play in the cocktail lounge of Sea View Hotel, did a performance for the passengers. Poor old dad wanted to crawl into his bunk as he was exhausted but Lindy wanted to hear the band so he stayed with her like the good father that he was! ?
We managed to wake up and head to the dining room for breakfast and then dad and I went for a swim. Dad felt that the food on the Asia wasn’t as good as the Victoria and he noticed that for days we’d get practically the same menu, which made it rather unexciting. However he thought the service was a lot better on this ship.
There was the Children’s Party in the afternoon and at night was the Ballo Mascherato (Masked Ball) but mom and dad didn’t feel like taking part so they just saved a table for the Loves and Beynons to join them after they finished. The group doubled in size and mom and dad didn’t leave until 3am.
October 8-9 ~ arrived & left Aden
Another lazy day and the oldies stayed in their bunks until midday ? We got to Aden at 7:30pm and my parents went ashore to do some shopping. They came back at 11pm and joined the Loves and the Boos for drinks before turning in.
We left Aden in the early morning and as there was no more of that Red Sea heat and humidity, the weather was very pleasant. Dad and Lindy had breakfast at 9 but mom and I slept till past 11. Jumped in the pool and enjoyed splashing about before lunch and after eating, we went back to the pool before I had to go and study.
That night there was Horsey Horsey (horse racing with wooden horses) where the Purser, who was in charge, would roll dice and move wooden horses around a numbered track. People would bid to buy the horses (and got to name them), then other passengers would place bets (like in a real horse race).
The photo below, taken from the Daily Mail’s article, shows horse racing on an English liner. It wasn’t like the one on the Lloyd Triestino ships but it gives you an idea of what the game was like. I seem to recollect that there were green strips which the horses used to “race” down and the Purser would move the wooden horses according to how many moves from the roll of the dice.
I was allowed to stay with my family for the first two races and didn’t win anything both times! Got into a snit and stomped off to the cabin … I really am not a gambler ?
The next day was lovely, cool and breezy day and it was glorious to splash around in the pool during the morning. I had to study in the afternoon but daddy went to watch the passengers who were in the clay pigeon shooting competition. Lindy had made friends with a young man called Mark who was in the competition and they seemed to be getting along famously ?
It was the Captain’s Dinner that night so I went to the cabin to be on my lonesome while the adults enjoyed the music and dancing.
Another balmy day dawned and we spent it as usual, swimming, sunbathing, studying, and eating – we mustn’t forget eating! Then the oldies played tombola in the evening before retiring to the cabin.
Tombola was a game from southern Italy and the word is derived from tombolare meaning “tumble or fall upside down”. The purser would have a reel of brightly coloured strips of tickets and the passenger would buy one, getting one half of the ticket, while the purser kept the other half. When everyone had bought their fill of tickets, he’d put the other half of the tickets into a drum and spin it around before he put his hand in and picked out the winning tickets.
October 12 ~ arrived & left Karachi
Arrived there at 1:30pm and mom and dad went ashore as soon as the gangway was put down, and shared a taxi with the Stilianopouloses, a Greek couple, and their friend, Mike, (?) to the Asiatic Carpet Emporium, where mom had bought camel blankets on the outward voyage, and were shocked to find they didn’t have any for sale! Mom almost started crying she was so upset!
She walked up to another shop facing Dundas Street and, fortunately, found the blankets there! Phew! She bought 14 of them and when they got back on the ship, she gave one to the Bambinaia, the nanny in charge of young children on board.
After dinner the oldies sat up with the Booses and Schäfers yakking till 1am, and dad noted that we sailed from Karachi at 11pm.
The next evening dad seemed to be on a roll for champagne! He ordered a bottle of Pommery for dinner and then when they adjourned to the Lounge to meet up with the Booses, Mark (Lindy’s young man) and Roy Beynon, he ordered more Pommery! When the Booses called it a night, as they were disembarking in Bombay the next day, dad and mom joined the Wright Nooths‘ party and dad gaily ordered more Pommery!! ?
October 14-15 ~ arrived & left Bombay
Well the next day my darling daddy had the mother of all hangovers and was feeling very sorry for himself ? Talk about self-inflicted pain …!
He managed to limp to the dining room to have breakfast with me but afterwards he went straight back to the cabin to sleep till lunch. Lindy went ashore with Mark for lunch so it was just the three of us at the table. After lunch, I stayed on board to study while mom and dad went ashore, taking a taxi to Handloom where mom bought a sari, then they went to the Taj Mahal Hotel to look at the shops there. They had saris from Banaras which were exquisite in one shop but they were very expensive so mom didn’t buy any. They did a bit more window shopping then got a taxi back to the ship.
The Booses came on board at 8:15pm and wanted to take mom and dad out to a nightclub but dad couldn’t face it so cried off. Fortunately Mr Boos had a bad toothache so he wasn’t put out that the oldies didn’t want to have a night out on the town!
Dad also said he was astonished to see Wederkind (? no idea who this gentleman was) on board! He’d been to Germany and got on the ship in Genoa but since he was travelling Tourist, dad had no idea!
Sixty passengers got off in Bombay and twenty new ones came on board. Apparently there was an Indian man who joined the ship and it was known that he had a predilection for young girls, so my parents agreed to watch me like a hawk!! What a laff – I really couldn’t imagine some dirty old man finding me alluring enough to try and seduce me! ?
We were all happy when the ship pulled away from the dock at noon as the heat and the smell was really not very pleasant! The folks met up with friends for champagne cocktails before dinner and then had drinks after dinner but came to bed surprisingly early!
October 17 ~ arrived & left Colombo
We arrived at Colombo at 12:30pm and at 4, mom, dad and I piled into a private launch with John & Frances (?) and headed for the shore while Lindy stayed on board. Got a taxi to take us to the zoo, Mount Lavinia and back and when we got to the zoo, we met up with other Asia passengers! We watched the elephant show (it probably would be classed as animal cruelty in this day and age – or perhaps not. I can’t remember what they made the elephants do!) then went to Mt Lavinia Hotel for a drink before the taxi drove us back to the pier.
Dad said that he still found Colombo quite enchanting, the neat little bungalows are all clean and tidy, and the natives very friendly. He thought it’d be nice to live in one of those bungalows.
The oldies watched the Asia sail from Colombo at 10pm, and then came to bed.
Next couple of days were same old, same old – swimming, sunbathing, studying, and eating. It’s amazing how tedious life on board could be after a few weeks!
Roy Beynon and Mike suggested to dad that they plan cocktails before dinner on the 19th as a farewell to the Loves. This they did and just after midnight, the steward brought a bottle of champagne to the table and mom toasted dad on his birthday! It was a very happy celebration and everyone went to their cabins feeling the glow of brotherly love! ?
That morning I woke dad up singing Happy Birthday and gave him a leather bookmark and stud box which I got for him in Florence. He was spoiled by mom and Lindy with their presents and felt very content with his family!! He really was such a sweet man ?
October 21-22 ~ arrived & left Singapore
The oldies spent the morning in their deck chairs and after lunch the ship arrived outside Singapore at 1:30pm. No one wanted to go ashore but Lindy and Mark went for a night out on the town at 8. Apparently I had made friends with two older girls called Sylvia and Rose, and dad remarked that I appeared to be so much more mature having mixed with them!
The next dad went ashore and saw Michael (Koodiaroff?) at the Adelphi Hotel then came back on board. He met Ferdinand and his wife (?) on board the ship and at 6:30 the ship sailed, bound for Hong Kong.
October 28 ~ Hong Kong
HOME SWEET HOME!!!!!
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