March1, 2025

Today’s stop is Singapore.

Singapore is an island country, City State with a  population of 6 million. Singapore got its independence in 1965. Dispite its small size, it’s one of the richest countries in the world. 

For today, we booked a City highlight tour to get a little bit of an overview of the city. Our first stop was at the iconic Merlion ( water spewing Lion), which has become the symbol of Singapore. From here we had a fantastic view of the Marina Sands Bay Hotel, with the garden and infinity pool on the roof. The next stop was in China Town, here we strolled around the numerous shops. This was definitely an exciting area to stop. On the bus again, off to the muslim area of town. Because of the start of Ramadan, most of the food kiosks were closed. They would open again after sunset. We walked through a street lined with Turkish restaurants, followed by a street with all Arabic restaurants. For sure an exciting place in the City, what a contrast to the modern highrises and hotels. On our last stop we made a visit to the famous Raffles Hotel, the home of the original Singapore Sling cocktail. People were lined up to fork out $42.00 USD. Sorry, not for me. I went for the $5.00 beer. From here we took a drive along Beach avenue along all the modern fashion store fronts. In Singapore most of the shopping is below ground housed  in massive malls. We noticed that there were very few cars on the road for a City of 6 million. In order to own a car you have to go into a lottery for a permit that sets you back a whopping 100k, and they are only good for 10 years. This will put car ownership pretty well out of reach of middle income earners. Most citizens make use of the extensive modern subway system. Our final stop was back at the pier to board the ship.

We would’ve liked to have another couple days in this exciting City. One day was definitely not enough to see everything.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

February 26, 2025

It was around 10 AM, that we docked in Benoa our port in Bali. Our sail into the harbour was interesting. Jet skis everywhere circling our ship greeting us. Today was a special day for the Indonesian workers on board the cruise ship. Around 800 family members were allowed to come on board to visit their loved ones. A special Indonesian lunch was prepared for them in the dining room. I am sure the kids enjoyed the ice cream stations on board. This was   very nice of HAL to do this for their employees.

Bali is one of the 17508 islands in the Indonesian archipelago. It is known for its beautiful beaches and culture. The population is approximately 4.4 million. Employment comes for 80% from tourism. Compared to most of the country which is Islam, in Bali the main religion is Hinduism (87%).

Today we were booked on a tour called East Bali Heritage. Our first stop was at the Royal Palace in Klungkung. Here we encountered a variety of ancient buildings. Our next stop was a Temple in Bangli. I would say this was a very impressive building. Men and Women had to cover up their shoulders and legs before they could enter the temple. The next stop was at a building surrounded by terrazed rice patties. Here we were served an Indonesian lunch (very good). During lunch the sky opened up big time. By the time we walked from the eatery to the bus we were drenched. Of course, when we got to the bus , the rain stopped. We had one more stop in the town of Blahbatuh, where we visited the Pura Agung Palace. Here they served us hot tea. After this last stop we were on our way back to the port. The traffic is very challenging in  Bali. Soon as you get more in the rural areas, the roads become very narrow. Besides cars there are thousands of scooters sharing the road and all day ,I didn’t see one bicycle on the road (strange).

Overall, an interesting place to visit with nice beaches and excellent food and many many temples and palaces.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

February 25, 2025

On our today’s stop we are visiting Komodo Island, Indonesia. Home of the Komodo Dragon, one of the largest lizards found on Earth. Komodo Island is part of the Coral Triangle, which contains some of the richest biodiversity on Earth. The population of the island is approximately 2000. The estimate is that there are approximately 1000 dragons on the island. There are smaller quantities of dragons on two neighbouring islands. In 1991 Komodo Island became an Unesco World Heritage Site.

Today , we had to use the tender boats to get to shore. The seas were very calm today, which was nice, especially with the limited infrastructure at the island docking site. In order to visit the Island, you had to be assigned to a tour or excursion. After we arrived at the island we were rounded up by our tour guide and shortly after that we were on our way walking along a path through the dense bush. We were accompanied by Three guides with sticks to keep the dragons away in case we encountered them. After walking for half an hour we came to a clearing in the bush. Here we saw a group of 5 dragons hanging out. After taking pics, we followed the path back towards the dock area. Beside the dock we spotted one more dragon hanging out near the beach. My guess is that he was working on his sun tan. After wrestling our way through the maze of vendors set up near the boat we got back onto the tender boat.

This was a very special place to visit, especially now that there is talk to shut down the tourism to the island in order to conserve the dragons and build up their population.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

February 22, 2025

First of all to follow up on my last post. In my last post I reported that my cough had come back, well it got so bad ,that I decided to see the ship doctor. He put me on some antibiotics and gave me a stronger cough syrup. Even with the medication I still cought up a storm through the night. Poor Carol, I kept her up too all night(sorry dear)  I checked with the lady in the cabin next to us if I kept her up, she said she shuts off her hearing aid and can’t hear a thing.

Today we are in Darwin Australia.Capital City of the northern territories. Darwin has a population of around 150,000. The Northern Territory as a whole has a population of approximately 300,000. The main industries are tourism and mining. The first impression of the City is that it looks very new and modern, this is because it was heavily bombed in the second world war. Then it  received a direct hit from tropical storm “Tracy” in 1974, which levelled most of the City. This morning we had a small tour to visit the museum shared by the attack on Darwin in the war and the work of the Royal Flying Doctors. First off all we enjoyed the 3D movie showing of the  surprise attack by the Japanese in 1942. After that we learned of all the work the flying doctors are doing bringing health care to the Australian outback. They also look after medical emergency evacuation from the outback. For those of you who are interested in this, there is a drama tv show on Prime highlighting the work of the “flying”  doctors. After leaving the war  museum, our next stop was the aviation museum. In this museum, we found a collection of retired airplanes . The highlight for me was the B-52 bomber. The plane was so large, that I couldn’t get a good picture showing the whole plane. After spending an hour or so at this place, we departed from here back to the ship. We had the option to get dropped off in the center of the city instead of going back to the ship. We chose the center. Our first stop was at a Chinese restaurant to have some lunch. Here I had some nice chicken satey with peanut sauce and Carol had a large bowl of Wonton soup. The next stop was at the supermarket for some more Tim Tans for the crew and cough syrup. The temperatures were very hot and humid today that’s very usual here for this time of the year. Having enough of the sweltering heat, we boarded the shuttle bus back to the boat. We sat down for our 5 clock happy hour with our friends sharing stories of outings for the day. Unfortunately, I am on Heineken 0.0 for the duration of my medication.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

February 18, 2025

Early in the morning we arrived in Cairns. Overnight my ugly cough from a few weeks ago intensified to the point, that I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to be in close proximity to other people riding on a bus and train. For today we had planned a scenic tour on the Kuranda Railway with a gondola ride down the mountain. We decided that Carol would go on the train ride and I would stay on the ship.

By 10:30 I had enough of the ship and decided to go for a walk into the City. On my walk I managed to pick up a few supplies like toothpaste etc. Cairns looked like a nice City, I noticed quite a few modern hotels and fashion clothing stores. On the way back to the ship I made a brief stop at a waterfront cafe for a flat white and a muffin. For the afternoon I laid low and tried to stay away from people. Just sucking on cough candies and drinking hot tea with lemon.

My adventure started with a ride on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. The railway line travels 33 kms between Cairns Station to Kuranda Station. Construction on the railway line started in 1887, it was built to bring supplies to the rich mining belt in this area of North Queensland. Gold was found in these mountains in 1873. The track travels through 15 hand carved tunnels, 55 bridges, 98 curves and past a stunning waterfall. I love trains and found riding in a heritage coach over a dense tropical rainforest that is over 135 million years old amazing. It is the oldest rainforest in the world.
We disembarked in the little village of Kuranda and had about an hour to wander through the town checking out the artisan shops. I chose to get myself a yummy mango shake which our guide had recommended.
We then headed over to the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and started our 7.5 km descent to Cairns. So much fun to soar above the ancient rainforest canopy. I kept hoping that I’d see a huge snake hanging from a tree below me. I did not see a snake but I did hear the call of many unusual birds in the canopy. The breeze on the ride down was lovely as it was a hot and humid day. One of the two stops on the cable car ride was a stunning view of Barron Falls. The mist from the falls seemed to be carried down into river gorge.
It was a good day! Australia never ceases to amaze me with its stunning and diverse landscapes and its unique animals.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

February 16, 2025

Today we arrived in a town called Airlie Beach, located in the Whitsunday area of Queensland. The Population for Airlie is +/- 1500. The main industry is tourism.

For today we booked a short tour on the bus to get an idea  what the town and neighbouring area looked like. Our first stop was an area called Shute harbour. This is a small harbour where smaller ferries leave for the numerous islands of the Whitsundays. This harbour area with its numerous buildings got totally leveled by a 2022 category 5 hurricane. Today it was all rebuilt to new hurricane building guidelines. Our next stop was a view point where we could shoot a few pictures. Unfortunately, we were seated in the back of the bus, and it took forever to get out, being behind a large group of very slow moving tourists. Next, we drove through a large area of sugar cane fields. After the sugar cane fields we made a brief stop at Boathaven Beach. This beach had Stinger fish netting in the water to protect the swimmers from stings. Stinger fish are similar to jelly fish. Following this stop the bus driver showed us a variety of expensive real estate. Instead of taking us back to the ship, we opted for being dropped off in town. I forgot to mention that it was sweltering hot today with very high humidity (30+ deg C). It might not have been the most exciting bus ride we took, but the driver did a great job educating us about the area.

Being dropped off in the middle of Airlie , our first mission was to find an establishment serving a cold drink. In this town that’s not really a problem as the main street is lined with restaurants and bars. It’s easy to see that this town is a popular hang out for young people and backpackers. After consuming a well deserved cold beer we walked towards the other end of town checking out the shops. On the way back we passed by the public man-made swimming lagoon. This is a large area for swimming and sunbathing and not having to worry about stinger fish and sharks. This lagoon is a very nice and popular facility. After circling the town we arrived back at the bus stop to catch the shuttle back to the ship.

For the night we first enjoyed a sail away get together on the back deck of the boat. For this occasion the crew had brought in several varieties of Aussie beers, which was a nice touch. For dinner there was an Australian Barbecue (Barby) with several stations cooking up prawns, chicken skewers served with rice. This was an Aussie Barby with a twist , having people wearing pink refering to the movie Barbie. After having enjoyed our dinner, for the rest of the night we laid low.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

February 14, 2025

Happy Valentine’s Day

Today we are anchored at Moreton Island. This is an island +/- 10 miles off the coast near the City of Brisbane. The island is mainly a get-away island for the Aussie’s to go camping. There are limited Services like restaurants and hotels. The main activities are snorkeling, hiking and  watersports. As there were no docking facilities for our ship, we were anchored a mile or so off shore. Our plan for today was to go over to the island and go for a hike and some beach time. at breakfast on the back deck we were greeted with a  torrential down pour. The plan was to wait till the rain stopped as there was limited shelter on the island. Well, at 11:00 the rain was still coming down. With the tender ride 45 min each way, we decided to give this stop a miss. For the afternoon I decided to pay a visit to the fitness center on board.

For the night we had booked a Valentine’s dinner at one of the specialty restaurants on board, where we were treated to a fantastic meal.

Looking back, we ended up making the best of a very wet day.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

February 12, 2025

Good Morning readers. First of all on my last 2 posts, the month should be February and not January .(Thank you for pointing this out Cynthia)

This morning we booked a short trip to Manly Beach. The bus took us through a variety of North Sydney suburbs before arriving at Manly. The beach is stunning. Nice large waves were rolling in from the Atlantic ocean. This was to the delight of the numerous surfers in the water. We strolled the beach and gazed at the numerous stores and cafe’s lining the boulevard and streets. We were given an hour to spend here. On the way back to Downtown Sydney we stopped at a few more viewpoints for pictures. We arrived back at the ship at 12:30.

After we departed our tour bus we went immediately into town for lunch and a cold beer. We were very lucky with the weather, as the original forecast had called for rain on both days in Sydney. Today it was exactly sunny and 26 deg C. After lunch we did some shopping in a neighborhood called the Rock. Around 4:00 we headed back to the ship.

At 5:30 we headed towards the back deck for an Complimentary wine and cheese event to welcome our new +/- 450 new passengers which boarded the ship here in Sydney. They replaced the 500 gasts who had departed the ship here in Sydney. At around 6;00 the ship started to move on to our next location.

Sydney is truly one of the nicest Cities to visit. It doesn’t matter how often you’ve been there, every time it awe’s you.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

January 11, 2025

When I woke up this morning we  were already docked at White Bay in Sydney. We had breakfast on the back deck and at the same time enjoying the view of the harbour and the City.

For this morning we had a day tour booked to the Blue Mountains. Before we could board the bus, we had to clear customs. Aus. is very strict with not bringing in fruit, food and plants. After we cleared customs we climbed on the bus and headed towards the freeway going west. We passed through a 12 km. long tunnel. Our first stop was at the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Blacktown. Here we witnessed a variety of animals which are native to Australia. We were allowed to spend 1 hour at the park before the bus was leaving. Back on the bus, we continued our trip towards the mountains. Our next stop was at an old hotel in Katoomba, where we were scheduled to have lunch. We had a chance to shoot a few pictures before we were called inside and sat on long tables. Lunch was served shortly and it was very good  There was a choice of chicken or Beef. After lunch we continued on towards the Blue Mountains. We stopped at a place called Scenic World. The views were spectacular. The Blue Mountains got their name from the blue haze hanging over the valleys. The blue haze comes from the oil on the eucalyptus trees. First we boarded a train which went down the mountain at a 60 degree incline. ( lots of fun) Having arrived at the bottom of the canyon, we walked across boardwalks towards a gondola to pull us back towards the top. During our walk through the tropical forest we were greeted by imitation Dinosaurs trying to scare us, make me think of the Stan Potty’s display in Lantzville. After having arrived at the top, we boarded another gondola, this time crossing the canyon.  All this time there was a chance to enjoy the views of the hills and a waterfall which was fueled by the recent rains. Our next stop was at a viewpoint called Echo Point. Very nice views of the hills here. There was also an opportunity to purchase souvenirs and use the facilities. Next we got back on the bus for our ride back to the boat. The trip back took a little longer due to a traffic accident on the highway.

If you ever have a chance to visit the Blue Mountains, I would really recommend it.

Back at the Ship, we enjoyed our Dinner on the back deck of the boat. af

After dark I went back outside to shoot some night pictures. The lit up City views were so spectacular, that I had to wake up Carol, who had gone to bed. We had a glass of wine while enjoying the night views, and to top it off there was spectacular lightning in the distance above the Sydney bridge.

Meanwhile Carol had gone back to bed, and I decided to stay up and witness the relocation of the ship to the downtown location closer to the Opera House. This relocation meant that we had to cross underneath the bridge. I was glad that I stayed up for this, because it was well worth it.

Overall another great day.

Cheers

Cor and Carol

January 7, 2025

After a rough day at sea we arrived this morning in Noumea. When I say rough day, it wasn’t really that bad. We  had approximately 10ft waves, that was a little more intense then we had so far on our voyage. After the ship’s staff had posted ” barf bags” all over the ship, we were prepared for the worse.

Early this morning we sailed through an opening in the reef which surrounds most of the island. We entered the harbour and docked in the commercial part of the port. As it was Saturday today, there was not much activity in the container port.

New Caledonia is a former French colony, but it is an independent country now,  still depending on lots of financial support from France . The population is approximately 280,000. Noumea is the Capital with a population of approximately 95,000.  Noumea is a very modern almost Western City. The main industry is the nickel mine. This mine is causing ongoing issues with local environmental groups who want to protect the reef surrounding the Island. There are calls to expand the tourist industry, but the shortage of hotels limits this expansion.

For this morning we had booked a city tour. After leaving the port area, we set off on the road following the shoreline. We came by beautiful sandy beaches and a Boulevard lined with numerous cafes and eateries. I noticed a lot of people swimming, jogging and biking. It was a perfect day for those activities, as there was a little bit of a cloud cover today with temperatures around 26 deg. C. After leaving the beach areas we drove up a mountain enjoying the spectacular views. After arriving at the top of the mountain we were given time to shoot some pictures of the scenic views all around us. Then we got back on the bus and drove through the City back to the Ship. During our ride through the City we didn’t notice any aftermath from the civil protest they had less than a year ago.

After getting off the tour bus, we got on the shuttle bus to get us to the port terminal building outside the port compound. At the terminal we did a little shopping at the market which was set up there. There were a variety of cafes and eateries along the water frontage. We ended up sitting down at a coffee place with the greatest selection of European pastries. (yummy) Having enjoyed this treat we returned to the ship with the shuttle.

Noumea is a port where I easily could spend a week enjoying the beautiful sandy beaches and working on my French Language skills.

Later in the afternoon we enjoyed a sail away party on the back deck while we sailed  out of the harbour onto our next stop.

Cheers

Cor and Carol