Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Such a beautiful place with all of the wierd shapes of the limestone islands.We travelled by junk in the afternoon. We celebrated New Years 2007 on the ship in the evening.

Good morning Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) is a very busy place with huge traffic problems. The population is 7 million and the average age is 17. Everyone has a motor scooter/cycle. Pollution is a problem and so many people wear masks and scarves over their faces.

We went to the War Remnants museum and had lunch at the Rex Hotel where the American G.I.s used to hang out.

The visit to the Cu Chi tunnels was facinating. There ae 250 km of underground tunnels where the people hid during the bombing. The entrances are very small as are the people. With some fear and trepidation, we crawled in and it was quite an experience.

We had a wonderful dinner at the Haong Yeng Vietnamese restaurant. We were the only non vietnamese people there and the food ws fantastic.

The trip into the Mekong Delta was interesting . We had an excellent well informed guide who was passionate about his country.

Pattaya

This beach city is wild. The traffic, the shops, the vendors, the people. There is nothing like it.

Bangkok

The Chao Praya river is amazing and we really liked the royal barge trip. Lunch was great at the Shangri la Hotel . Merry Christmas.

Singapore

We are in Singapore and it is humid but not raining. The guests have disembarked and the ship is quiet. A new group will arrive in 2 hours. I can't believe that Christmas is just 3 sleeps away.

Cochin

Cochin was a surprise after Mumbai. The begging was not there and it felt less harried. We took a city and harbour tour. Cochin has one of the finest natural harbours in the world. The ancient mariners who visited Cochin from Arabia, China, Holland, Britain, and Portugal all left their mark in this port city dotted with islands. It was interesting to watch the fishermen with their nets.

Mumbai

The tour in Mumbai was amazing and the laundry system quite incredible. You have your laundry picked up and it goes to the central laundry (Dhobbi Ghat) where it is soaked overnight in lye and then beaten against a rock as it is washed, then hung to dry. One week later you get it back.

Dubai

We had the most amazing time yesterday in Dubai. Sailing in the city is just OTT.
Then, we went on a jeep safari into the desert over the sand dunes to the oasis where we rode camels and had a sumptuous buffet with the belly dancer entertaining us. We took a picture for the North Shore News. The colours of the desert were fantastic and the sunset over the desert was wonderful.

Muscat, Oman

We did the Nouvelle Nakhl Tour. Nakhl means date and there certainly are lots of date palm trees along the expressway. We visited Nakhl Fort sitting on a hill guarding the entire valley. This pre Islamic fortress was the stronghold of the Bani Kharous tribe.

Djibouti

Last night we traveled through the pinch in the Red Sea entering the Gulf of Aden bordered by Somalia on one side and Yemen on the other. It was a little bit tense because of the fear of pirates but the captain did a great job going though at full speed in the middle of the night.Today as we proceed toward Oman, security on deck will be vigilant checking out any fishing boats that come too close to the ship.

Luxor

The Valley of the Kings and the tombs, wow.

Cairo

The pyramids are incredible. How can all of this have happened 3000 to 5000 years ago?

Istanbul

We stayed at the Mina Hotel and it had a great lounge overlooking the city and specifically the Blue Mosque. I got some great pictures at sunrise and sunset.

The Grand Bazaar was amazing as was the Spice market where I bought the real saffron.