Generally speaking, the Singapore City tour wasn't so much fun for me. The places, which attracted me, weren't included in the tour, though I knew that the moving distance and time were limited. Beautiful flowers and trees in the National Orchid Garden gave me a good time, but those plants were arranged by humans. They weren't attractive to me. I love wandering in the wilderness. This garden was so artificial to such a person like me. Some plants were donated by Japanese celebrities, but I didn't care for them. The tour guide gave a short lecture about flowers there. She knew lots of names of plants in Japanese, and I admired her for it.
By the same token, optional tours I had chosen didn't meet my high standards. The extremely high temperature was an unbearable factor, for which I don't mean to hold the travel agent responsible, though. I was really satisfied with the Diamond Princess, but I should have more elaborately planned the optional tours at every port of call. I heard from a newly-wed couple about their one-day trip in Phuket. They hired a taxi all day to avoid the scorching heat and visited several places of their choice. The taxi fee sounded like it was considerably low. I'll add hiring taxis into our option on the next trip.
(Vocabulary)
hold sb responsible (for sth) （＜…＞を）＜人＞の責任にする
I hold him responsible for everything that happened. 彼が起こったことすべての責任を負うべきだと思う．
of your choice 自分で選んだ, 自分の好みの
under the belt 所持して、身につけて
...workers with two or more languages under their belt are better-placed to land top-paying jobs. ２カ国語以上身につけている労働者は、高収入の職に就くのが有利になると言うことですね。
マラッカ海峡クルージング記：
シンガポール市内観光は総じてあまり面白いものではなかった。自分の興味のあるところはどこにも寄らなかった。移動距離や時間の制約を考えると仕方のないことではあるのだが。National Orchid Gardenに寄った。美しい花々が目を楽しませてくれたが、あまりにも人工的で山歩きを趣味とする自分には楽しい場所ではなかった。日本の有名人や政治家の寄付によって植えられた植物も有り、表示されていたが、興味なし。ここでもガイドの語学力に驚かされた。植物の名前を各言語で覚えているというのだから。
今回のツアーで利用したオプショナルツアーはどれも評価は低い。あまりの暑さで観光を楽しむことが出来なかった。船には満足したのだが、寄港地での過ごし方をこれからは慎重に考えてクルーズ旅行に出かけなければならないと思った。プーケットでタクシーを借り切ったカップルの話を聞いた。信頼できる仲介者を通じてタクシーを借り切って好きなところを廻ることを次の旅では考えたい。
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