rcodel

Packing bags
Grand Rapids, United States
Alida has been packing and unpacking her bags for days and finally has decided enough is enough. Regent picks up our luggage on January 4 and we will next see it in our stateroom when we board on January 13. The excitement is building.
We are using this first blog entry to practice how to use blogabond and upload photos.
Alida packing
written by  rcodel on January 1, 2011 from Grand Rapids, United States
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011

San Francisco
San Francisco, United States
Alcatraz
Golden Gate
We are behind on making blog entries because we have been in the middle of the Pacific Ocean sailing between San Francisco and Hawaii. The satelites evidently are not focused in on an area where there is no land.
We arrived in S. Francisco fortunately after an uneventful flight. S. Francisco is a beautiful city with lots of hills. We stayed at a time share condo in a made-over 1900's vintage mansion in a posh upper class residential area called Pacific Heights. It felt like home since there was a common kitchen for all, a living room with a magnificent old fireplace where afternoon tea was sered.
In S. F. we used the wonderful public transportation and went to the Ferry building, Alcatraz, rode the cable cars, visited China town, etc.
On January 13 we boarded our floating Mobile home for a special world cruisers only event. On the following day we set sail and passed under the Golden Gate Bridge as we began our five-month journey around the world.
written by  rcodel on January 13, 2011 from San Francisco, United States
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011

Hilo, Hawaii
Hilo, United States
You are probably wondering why we are so far behind on making entries on our blogsite. After our San Francisco entry, the site became frozen and would not accept anything from us. After considerable research we finally found out how to contact blogabond by email.
They responded immediately saying that their spam filter had blocked us. Blogabond has now cleared us as a trustworthy user so we are back in business and we'll slowly catch up.
After five days at sea during which time we attended lectures, walked, had fun, we realized that there were many "old" frineds and a lot of crew and officers whom we already knew from the previous world cruise. They made us feel very much at home.
We made our first landfall in Hilo, Hawaii, It is a beautiful, lush island on the island of Hawaii, otherwise known as the "big island".
In Hilo we visited a macademia nut farm, toured a lovely botanical gardfen in a little train and
visited the Akaka waterfalls.
written by  rcodel on January 19, 2011 from Hilo, United States
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011

Honolulu
Honolulu, United States
Honolulu is on the island of Oahu. There was a very special event at the royal palace for world cruisers only with cocktails, lavish hors d'oeuvres and local entertainment. Back in the late 1800's Hawaii was a kingdom ruled by kings and queens. It was a period in history that Hawaiians would like to forget.
On the windward side of the island where Honolulu is they get 25" of rain annually, whereas the leeward side gets 140" per year. This phenomenon is typical of all the Hawaiian islands.
Royal Palace event
written by  rcodel on January 20, 2011 from Honolulu, United States

Maui
Lahaina, United States
Maui is a very beautiful island, quite different from Oahu and "the big island" in that it has fewer trees and the vegetation doesn't appear to be as lush. In downtown Lahaina we sat under a monster, huge banyan tree, supposedly the largest in the world.
written by  rcodel on January 22, 2011 from Lahaina, United States

Moorea Island
Teavaro, French Polynesia
Neptune
On January 25 we crossed the equator. To celebrate the crossing we had a special party by the pool where Neptune made the polywogs become shellbacks. Terry Waite was Neptune again. He gave lectures about his negotiations with freeing hostages from the kidnap takers with a more modern emphasis than his last lectures which concentrated on when he was held captive for five years. We have had a lot of fun and laughs with him onboard and one day he invited us to have lunch with him.
Moorea is a very mountainous island with beautiful jagged peaks. It is mostly uninhabited. We think it is the most beautiful island we have seen in the world, and, as you know, have have seen many.
written by  rcodel on January 28, 2011 from Teavaro, French Polynesia

Tahiti
Papeete, French Polynesia
Tahiti is much more populated than Moorea and Bora Bora, but, like them, the Interior is mostly uninhabited.
Alida and Dick
written by  rcodel on January 29, 2011 from Papeete, French Polynesia

Bora Bora
Povai, French Polynesia
Bora Bora is another gorgeous island surrounded by coral reefs like all the Polynesian islands. The colors of the water are incredible, ranging from deep blue, to tourquoise, to light green, etc. caused by the coral reefs. All of the hotels are built as cottages on stilts on the water on little islands which are only accessed by boat
.
written by  rcodel on January 30, 2011 from Povai, French Polynesia

Tonga
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
On February 2 we crossed the international dateline so February 2 never existed for us.
Groundhog day never existed for us.
Tonga is a small, flat, poor and very hot island. However, the color of the water is amazing.
This is us on a formal night during cocktail hour prior to dinner. Does anyone recognize the dress I am wearing? Where have you seen it before? This is a test.
written by  rcodel on February 4, 2011 from Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Paihia, New Zealand
The Bay of Islands is a beautiful spot in northern New Zeland. It is a large bay with over 100 islands, some inhabited and others uninhabited. We came here by car many years ago and stayed in a delightful motel for several days.
written by  rcodel on February 7, 2011 from Paihia, New Zealand

Whangamata
Auckland, New Zealand
The ship was docked in downtown Auckland for two days. We had arranged in advance to meet our friends, Judy and Barry, whom we had met on our Yangtze River cruise many years ago. They picked us up at the ship and drove us to their "batch", or Summer cottage in Whangamata, about a two hour drive southeast of Auckalnd. The drive took us through the mountains and we saw beautiful scenery. We spent the night in Whangamata and basically had a delightful time together. This is an experience we will not forget.
When we returned to the ship we learned that we have a new grandson. Congratulations to Liz and Adrian.
written by  rcodel on February 9, 2011 from Auckland, New Zealand

Sleepy Town
Tauranga, New Zealand
Tauranga is a typical small New Zealand town. We could walk downtown from our ship. It was basically a four block shopping and restaurant street.
written by  rcodel on February 10, 2011 from Tauranga, New Zealand

Beautiful City
Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington is a beautiful, hilly city that surrounds a lovely bay. It is like a mini San Francisco with lots of hills and steep streets. It's very near a fault line and has about 360 earthquakes per year, mostly quite small. There are qutie a few houses built on the side of hills not accessible by car with beautiful views of the harbor. Quite a few can be reached by either steep stairs or inclined elevators. Heavy furniture or replacement appliances have to be delivered by helicopter.
written by  rcodel on February 12, 2011 from Wellington, New Zealand

Christchurch
Christchurch, New Zealand
It was Sunday in Christchurch and most of the city was closed. However, the main square was a delightful hangout for street performers and people generally hanging out.
We learned in Wellington that rugby is a really big sport in New Zealand . They are extremely excited about hosting the rugby world cup later this year.
written by  rcodel on February 13, 2011 from Christchurch, New Zealand

Incredible Gorge
Dunedin, New Zealand
We spent most of Valentine's Day on a train which took us through the Taieri Gorge. This is a very old railway that is now privately owned and is used only for tourists going through the gorge. It was built by hand in the late 1800's and has about a dozen tunnels through mountains. It is truly an incredible feat that was accomplished. Most of the railroad cars are very old and made of wood. The train ride was 56 kilometers each way going to a maximum altitude of about 2,000 feet. The views were spectacular.
written by  rcodel on February 14, 2011 from Dunedin, New Zealand

Beauty beyond words
Milford Sound, New Zealand
We spent the day cruising through Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Sounds on our way to Hobart, Tasmania. These fjords have mountains with cliffs, some covered with snow, that fall straight into the water. This part of New Zealand is totally uninhabited and inaccessible by car.
As we leave New Zealand we have only one thing to say: It is a magnificent, beautiful, clean country with very warm and friendly people who are very proud of their country. Everyone should put it on their list of places to go.
DUSKY SOUND
DOUBTFUL SOUND
MILFORD SOUND
written by  rcodel on February 15, 2011 from Milford Sound, New Zealand

Tasmania
Hobart, Australia
It took us two days to cross the Tasman Sea. The wave conditions were unusually calm. As a result we arrived in Hobart 12 hours early. The last time we crossed the Tasman Sea we had 30 foot waves for two days.
The town of Hobart surrounds a beautiful harbor. It is a lovely, small, quaint city with a population under 100,000. This begins our Australian adventure.
written by  rcodel on February 18, 2011 from Hobart, Australia

Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne (pronounced "Melbun") is a big, modern city built around the beautiful Yarra River which is reminiscernt of the Charles River in Boston. The buildings are a tasteful blend of old and modern architecture. It is a well planned city with areas with specific emphasis, such as the entertainment area, sports complex area, museum area, etc. There are large, beautiful gardens throughout the city.
We took a one-hour ride on the "Puffing Billy" train, which is an old steam locomotive train, built in the late 1800's. It took us over old, wooden trestle bridges and through Mountain passes with beautiful views. It reminded us of Thomas the Tank train.
written by  rcodel on February 20, 2011 from Melbourne, Australia

Sydney
Sydney, Australia
We learned about the earthquake in Christchurch, which we visited about one week before. The earthquake happened about 1 pm and we were told that about one third of downtown was basically destroyed, including Christchurch cathedral. We were sitting in front of it at the time of the earthquake. The pictures in our blog were taken in front of Christchurch cathedral. The port city of Littleton, where our ship was berthed, was about 70% destroyed because the Mountain rocks came tumbling down on the little town. We learned that some friends that live in Christchurch are OK, but there is little communication available.
As you know, Sydney has one of th most beautiful harbors in the world and is one of our favorite cities. Alida remembers first being there accompanying Dick on a business trip about 30 years ago where she was royally entertained by Dick's Australian business associates, including a visit to the Sydney Opera House to hear a performance by Ann Southerland. We have both visited Sydney many times since, even once with Alissa, and continue to enjoy it here. This time we had the fortunate experience of leaving the harbor at night.
our floating mobile home
written by  rcodel on February 23, 2011 from Sydney, Australia

Surfers Paradise
Brisbane, Australia
Brisbane is still recovering from the floods caused by cyclone Yasi. The Brisbane River, which flows right through the city, overflowed its banks carrying with it a lot of boats that are normally moored in the river which people live on year round to avoid the high cost of housing on shore. The water has now receded but is still extremely muddy due to the silting problem from the flood.
We spent the day in Surfers Paradise on Australia's Gold Coast about one hour south of Brisbane. If you remember, we stayed at Surfers Paradise about seven years ago for a week. When you want to swim here you are told to "stay between the flags" where there are lifeguards. They move the flags daily as the position of the rip tides change. Surfers have their own designated area, but are not permitted to surf between the flags. Since we are travelling north, each day gets hotter.
written by  rcodel on February 25, 2011 from Brisbane, Australia

Australian Animals
Townsville, Australia
When entering an Australian port, we are reminded each time that no food, plants, animals, meats, etc. may be brought ashore (they call it a quarantine). To ensure that this law is not broken a professsionally trained sniffing beagle dog, affectionately known as the beagle brigade, checks each disembarking passenger's bags and there is a big fine for offenders. The sign reads: "we find, We fine."
We finally saw some kangaroos when we visited the Billabong Sanctuary, also crocodiles, koala bears, cassowary birds which have one big middle toe with which they can kick and kill you. We learned that koalas sleep 23 out of 24 hours a day because they are continuosly stoned from eating the eucalyptus leaves that they thrive on.
This area of Queensland was badly damaged by cyclone Yasi and they are still recovering. The damage was mostly flooding and major tree uprooting. The Billabong animal Sanctuary was badly damaged and was closed to the public until mid-April, but they opened it for us for a few hours. A lot of the animal cages were still destroyed by high winds and falling trees.
written by  rcodel on February 27, 2011 from Townsville, Australia

"Cans"
Cairns, Australia
We went to a rainforest and drove through it on an amphibious vehicle, an army duck, so we could see everything from both land and water. We learned a lot of interesting facts about how nature interacts to maintain a balance. While we were there we were treated to an aboriginal show, including a didgeridoo performance.
This segment from Sydney to Beijing is a long one -- 25 days -- a we will travel over 8,000 Miles.
written by  rcodel on February 28, 2011 from Cairns, Australia

Thursday Island
Cape York, Australia
Thursday Island is a HOT little island which is around 3 square kms. It consists of about one street and is very primitive. It's a lovely island surrounded by many others with beautiful turquoise water and a very strong current. Thursday Island is the northernmost town in Australia and is not accessible by automobile.
We sailed through the Great Barrier Reefs for a day with a special local reef pilot onboard who gave us a running commentary of the reefs. There is a very narrow designated shipping channel that navigates through the reefs. It is very shallow and dangerous to wander outside the shipping channel. The maximum ship draft allowed is 12.6 meters. Our ship draws about 7 meters.
written by  rcodel on March 2, 2011 from Cape York, Australia

Sleepy Little Town
Darwin, Australia
Darwin is a small, non-descript town. We wandered around downtown and basically saw it all in about one hour. We were cautioned not to swim in the sea because it is inhabited by many dangerous crocodiles. They often even roam into residential areas and are returned to the sea. This was our last English speaking port until we reach Southampton. We're looking forward to our favorite part of the world - Asia.
We go to lectures daily and continue to learn. Today it was about U.S. policy towards middle eastern nations.
written by  rcodel on March 4, 2011 from Darwin, Australia

Bali
Ubud, Indonesia
Today we were awakened by the clanging noises made by the engineers who were trying to repair the cable of our lifeboat which broke in Darwin. As we looked out from our balcony we saw a little home-made dugout canoe-like boat with outriggers carrying two men and a big fish in a basket. They were holding their hands up as if they wanted something ($???). When asked, they responded that they wanted soap. No problem. We threw them some soap, some shampoo and also some fruit, which they loved. If they didn't catch something they just dove into the water to retrieve it.
After a short tender ride to shore, we were basically attacked by Bali people offering us rides in their cars, selling watches, sunglasses, necklaces, pulling on our shirt. They are so poor.
We finally chose someone to be our driver after inspecting his car for safety and told him where we wanted to go -- to Ubud and the rice fields. Also, a stop at a batik processing store and a silver factory.
The Bali countryside is incredibly lush and green. Our drive around Bali took about four hours.
Our next port is Sandakan, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. The captain has told us that The Entrance to the harbor in Sandakan is very shallow and can only be navigated by us at high tide. At low tide the clearance under our ship is a little under one meter, which is too close for Comfort. At high tide it's two meters. Based on the latest tide information we have to leave Bali two hours early and travel at full Speed for two days. We'll let you know in Sandakan if we made it since everything is dependant on wind and sea conditions for ther next two days.
written by  rcodel on March 6, 2011 from Ubud, Indonesia

No such luck
Sandakan, Malaysia
Guess what? Even at full Speed we could not make it to Sandakan in time to take advantage of the high tide. Evidently the wind and currents were not in our Favor. So instead we are heading directly for Manila and will arrive there one day in advance. We will now be in Manila for two days with an overnight there which was unplanned.
We currently have the Platters on board for our entertainment. They have already had one show and it was excellent. Many fond memories of our younger life. One of them is an original and the rest are great. Last night in the lounge there was an impromptu performance by a few of them individually as passengers prodded them on. Tons of fun.
written by  rcodel on March 10, 2011 from Sandakan, Malaysia

Manila
Manila, Philippines
We arrived in Manila a day early and were given a big welcome by local entertainers at the pier.
Manila is just a big city. People are very friendly and smile a lot even though they are very poor. They really like Americans especially since we liberated them from the Japanese at the end of World War II. The American military left behind a lot of jeeps which the Filipinos really liked. They converted them into vehicles that carry a lot of people by extending the rear. They continue to handmake these vehicles and they are now the main form of transportation. They are called "jeepnies".
Wehn we returned from sightseeing in Manila we learned of the terrible 8.9 earthquake in Japan and the tsunami which followed it. Fortunately we are safe. The Philippines was under a tsunami warning. However, since we are on the western side of the island it was highly unlikely that we would be affected.
It is really amazing how many natural disasters we have come close to experiencing on this cruise. The earthquake in Christchurch, cyclone Yasi in Queensland as well as the floods there and now the earthquake in Japan not far from us. Now our next worry is a nuclear reactor blowing up since in several days we will be in Seoul, Korea, just west of Japan.
written by  rcodel on March 11, 2011 from Manila, Philippines

Taipei
Taipei, Taiwan
We were welcomed to Taiwan with a fireboat salute. In the evening we were treated to a performance by local entertainers. It was a traditional, local dragon dance.
What a privilege the following day to visit the renowned National Museum which houses about 700,000 items, many dating back over 4,000 years and stolen from China when Chiang Kai-Shek took the collection following his armies' defeat at the hands of Mao Tse Tung. The most impressive items were a bronze pot with Chinese writing inside, about 3,000 years old from the bronze age which came after the stone age, and an ivory ball which had about 12 balls within it, all hand-carved out of one piece of ivory. Each ball could be individually moved. You could see through each ball. Dick had been to Taipei about 15 times in the past negotiating and implementing a joint venture with a Taiwanese company, but he never had time to really sightsee. However, he had seen the National Museum and thought it important for Alida to see it.
National Museum
We visited the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial and the War Memorial where the guards were changing.
changing of the guard
Also, we visited a skyscraper called the 101 building because it has 101 floors. It was the tallest building in the world for about 5 years until the Burg Dubai surpassed it about 2 years ago.
101 building
We are now on our way to Seoul. We have been advised that it should not be a problem for us with the nuclear situation in Japan. Japan is far away from Seoul and the prevailing winds tend to be west to east.
written by  rcodel on March 15, 2011 from Taipei, Taiwan

Seoul
Seoul, South Korea
In order to get to the port of Incheon, we had to go through a set of locks. On the drive from the port to Seoul, we noticed that there was a lot of traffic. We saw that there are many stark-looking high rise apartment buildings that all look alike and, therefore, are each indentified with a number so that you don't go into the wrong building. There is a very high concentration of people per square foot in Seoul.
We went to the National Museum which houses some of Korea's treasures but pales into insignificance when compared to the one in Taiwan. The 10-Story pagoda made of marble was one of the highlights.
10 story pagoda
After a typical Korean lunch in a local restaurant, we went to the Royal Palace where we happened to arrive in time for the changing of the guards.
changing of the guard
When a baby is born in Korea, it is already one year old since its age is calculated from conception rather than birth. As a result, we'll bet there aren't any abortions in Korea.
At the port we noticed that there were 1,000's of new cars ready for export. We are looking forward to Beijing where we have a complimentary overnight at the Shangri-la China World Hotel.
written by  rcodel on March 18, 2011 from Seoul, South Korea

Beijing
Tianjin, China
We spent a beautiful overnight in Beijing which has changed so much in the past few years with beautiful new buileings everywhere. Some of them are architecturally very unsual.
dragon head building
On the two hour drive from Tianjin to Beijing we saw an incredible amount of construction going on with Tower cranes everywhere. The highways are new and large with many more under construction in preparation for future traffic. China is adding automobiles at the rate of 16 million a year. To obtain a new car you have to be on a waiting list since there is so much demand. Of course there are no used cars.
Our hotel was located in the new part of Beijing surrounded by new buildings. It was a magnificent hotel.
view from hotel
We went to Tianenman Square.
Tianenman square
Also to the Forbidden City.
Forbidden city
new tour guide
And to the Great Wall.
great wall
We also saw some of the 2008 Olympic venues.
bird's nest
water cube
written by  rcodel on March 20, 2011 from Tianjin, China

Shanghai
Shanghai, China
It was great to be back in Shasnghai again. The skyline cvontinues to change with new buildings popping up. We even saw the beginning construction of the new tallest building in Shanghai which will be 120 stories. We returned to many of our old haunts and had a wonderful time.
Bund at night
dragon hole
Capitalism is alive and well in China.
Bund bull
Just for the experience we took a ride on the new maglev (magnetic levitation) train which goes from downtown to the new international airport. We travelled 18 Miles in 7 minutes at a top Speed of 430 kilometers per hour (267 mph). This is the fastest train in the world.
Maglev train
top speed
Tomorrow night we have been invited to dine with the captain and his wife. They are very nice, and we are reaslly looking forward to it
Tsingtao time
written by  rcodel on March 23, 2011 from Shanghai, China

Xiamen
Xiamen, China
Xiamen is just another big Chinese city that no one has ever heard of and, believe it not, it has more than several million people living here. As with all Chinese cities we have visited it has Tower cranes building skyscrapers all over the place. We took a local Ferry to a small island that has no cars and is a pleasant place to walk around. There were thousands of Chinese going back and forth to the island. Most of them were with tour groups with the leader holding a flag. We have seen this in all the Chinese cities. They are the Chinese from the hinterlands coming to the big cities to experience city life. We had invited our Italian bartender friend to join us on our adventure and had a great time together.
Our dinner with the Captain was delightful, lots of fun.
Giulia opening defective Tsingtao
on ferry
written by  rcodel on March 27, 2011 from Xiamen, China

Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
We spent two days in one of our favorite cities in the world. We arrived at night and were docked in time to experience the nightly colored laser light show. Laser lights are installed on the tops of buildings and all the buildings in the whole harbor are lit up. Truly spectacular!
Looking down on Hong Kong
Peak cable car
There was a special event of the Rising Dragon for world travelers at the Four Seasons Hotel which included cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and dinner with a Chinese acrobatic and dance show. The color theme was black and red. We are both dragons in the Chinese astrolgical calendar. The dragon stands for power, energy and wealth.
Notice red and black theme
special performer
We continue to learn from the enrichment lectures on board. On at sea days there are at least two. For example, today we attended one on the history of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from the 19th century until now. Also, the one-time CBS news reporter, Morton Dean, shared his experiences on the ground during the Vietnam war, including news clips of him reporting from Viet Nam at the time.
written by  rcodel on March 29, 2011 from Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Halong Bay
Haiphong, Vietnam
The Halong Bay area is the port city for Hanoi. Hanoi is about a 4 hour drive. Since we had spent several days there in the past, we decided to stay in the Halong Bay area. We rented a junk to take us to a fishing villlage.
fresh fish
smaller boat
We also went into caves that are inside the lime stone mountains which are called karsts. It is believed that these caves with stalagtites and stalagmites were formed 700,000 to 1 million years ago.
We invited our favorite singers onboard to join us on our own private junk.
Kasha and Boogie from Poland
Dad's female friends
shopping onboard our junk
written by  rcodel on April 1, 2011 from Haiphong, Vietnam

Hue
Da Nang, Vietnam
Our port of Chan Mai is about 50 Miles from Hue that we wanted to see. Hue was once the capital of Vietnam. It has the typical walled-in city with a moat around it to protect it from foreign invaders centuries ago called the Citadal. About 70% of the buildings in the Citadel were destroyed by Americans during the "American War" as it is referred to in Vietnam. On the way to Hue we saw how poor and underdeveloped this counrty really is.
The pagoda here is a very famous symbol of the city and the biggest one in Vietnam.
Acrobatic friends onboard
The Perfume River flows through Hue. We went on a dragon boat for a short river cruise.
Dragon boat
Perfume river
Unlike China which has a one child policy, the Vietnamese tend to have large families with 7 or 8 children. The reason for this is that, by tradition, the children help to support their families. We got the impression that, even in south Vietnam, they Revere Ho Chi Minh and what he tried to do for their country and tend to wonder what the Americans had in mind dessimating their country. They still talk about the lingering effects of agent orange since vegetation still cannot grow due to the deforestation. A lot of people of that generation live with deformities caused by it.
written by  rcodel on April 3, 2011 from Da Nang, Vietnam

Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
This is the third time we have been in Saigon. It is showing signs of modernization with new skyscrapers downtown and a lot of high-rise apartment building construction.
The roads are still dominated by motor scooters with very few automobiles. It is HOT and HUMID here.
Reunification palace
Motor bikes everywhere
Are we lost?
Trying to sell fruit to ship
written by  rcodel on April 6, 2011 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Sihanoukville
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
In comparison to Vietnam which is just beginning to grow economically, Cambodia would still be classified as an underdeveloped country. We were told that the average monthly wage is about $40. People basically live off the land and the sea to survive. We went to the beach in a tuk tuk with our bartender friend Giulia and treated her to a one-hour full body massage on a beach lounge chair for $5.
Tuk-tuk ride to beach
written by  rcodel on April 8, 2011 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
Was I left behind?
We had a complimentary overnight at the Shangri-la hotel in Bangkok. The port is about two hours drive from downtown on a new expressway that did not exist when Dad used to do business here.
We went on a short cruise on the Chao Praya river into the little canals called klongs to observe how people live in little wooden shacks on the water.
Famous Buddhist Temple
Shacks on stilts
selling fruit to us on boat
Floating kitchen
Longtail boat
written by  rcodel on April 10, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Singapore
Singapore, Singapore
Singapore is a fne city. We escorted an elderly gentleman who has lived on this ship over five years to a medical facility for an eye treatment that is supposed to stabilize his macular degeneration problem in one eye. After the procedure he cannot see well, so we wanted to help him.
It was great to be back in Singapore. Lots of fond memories.
written by  rcodel on April 13, 2011 from Singapore, Singapore

Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Port Klang is the port for KL which is about a 2-hour drive away. Several years ago it had the tallest building in the world, the Petronas Towers. Then the tallest was in Taipei, the 101, and now it is in Dubai. We decided not to go to KL since we had already been there before.
written by  rcodel on April 14, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Penang
Bayan Lepas, Malaysia
Penang is an island in Malaysia with no redeeming features. It was very hot. There was so much traffic without any pedestrian crosswalks that it was difficult for us to cross the street, so we decided, after wandering around for a few hours, to return to our floating paradise.
written by  rcodel on April 15, 2011 from Bayan Lepas, Malaysia

Phuket
Phuket, Thailand
Phuket is a beautiful, international beach resort. It has been completely rebuilt and you would never know of the 2004 tsunami devastation.
Our itinerary has been changed. We were originally supposed to go next to Burma, but it has been canceled due to political unrest. Instead we are going directly to Madras, India. We have also learned that our Egyptian ports of call have been changed and we will no longer be stopping in northern Egypt for a visit to Cairo. The other ports of call remain the same.
written by  rcodel on April 16, 2011 from Phuket, Thailand

Madras
Chennai, India
Madras is now named Chennai. Most Indian cities changed their names when they became independent of British rule -- Cochin became Kochi, Bombay bacame Mumbai, etc. Like everywhere else in India it is very dirty, poor, polluted and smelly. The little rivers going through town smell like sewers, which they are, and the water is black.
India's infrastructure is so backwards when you compare it to China that we have no idea how it will ever become a developed country due to the growing, uneducated population.
If you remember, our last world cruise in 2009 was aborted because we ran into fishnets off Malaysia, which damaged one of the propellar pods to the extent that it was inoperable and our cruise was aborted. Believe it or not, we have been dragging a fishnet that we ran into off Malaysia. We could see it from a low deck. In Madras Regent hired a "professional" diving team to untangle the fishnet from under the ship. Mission accomplished, thank heavens, with no known mechanical damage.
Guys in white are ship's officers
written by  rcodel on April 20, 2011 from Chennai, India

Sri Lanka
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, has been in a civil war for decades and apparently there was a cease fire just last year. Trincomalee is basically a small village but the Sri Lanka countryside looks beautiful. It is known for growing spices like cinammon, rice and all kinds of Ceylon teas.
Our cruise ship was the first one to visit this port in over 30 years so we had a very warm welcome.
written by  rcodel on April 22, 2011 from Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Missed port
Galle, Sri Lanka
Happy birthday to Adrian. Due to rough seas it was unsafe for the lifeboats to be lowered for using as tenders. Therefore we skipped Galle and continued on to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
written by  rcodel on April 23, 2011 from Galle, Sri Lanka

Easter in a Buddhist country
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Easter flowers
Happy Easter to all. Since we were not able to stay in Galle, we proceeded on to Colombo where we arrived an evening early during a monsoon thunderstorm with thunder and lightning. Colombo is the largest city in Sri Lanka and is quite nice. It has been ruled by Portuguese, Dutch, British, etc., but is now independent although the influnce of these other cultures is still evident.
Golden Buddha
written by  rcodel on April 24, 2011 from Colombo, Sri Lanka

Cochin
Cochin, India
Welcome to Cochin
We hired a tuk tuk to take us around to all of the interesting sights of Cochin. We saw how the Chinese fishnets operate. These nets were evidently designed by the Chinese over 1,000 years ago and are still being used. They are manually lowered into the water from land and, after waiting for about 15 minutes, they are raised and voila, there may be some fish. Really quite primitive, but they work. You can buy the fresh fish right by the net.
Chinese fish nets
As we drove around we noticed that there were goats roaming around freely everywhere. Miraculously, when it is time for them to be fed, they return to their home.
Goats roaming everywhere
We also visited a typical hand laundry. Very primitive.
Hand laundry
Tuk-tuk with driver
written by  rcodel on April 25, 2011 from Cochin, India

Bombay
Mumbai, India
Mumbai is a huge city with over 20 million people. Among our adventures here we visited the Taj Mahal hotel which was bombed, burned and under siege in 2008. It has been restored to its original beauty.
Taj Mahal Hotel
Gateway to India
Today is the royal Wedding and since there are about 100 Brits onboard it was shown live on the large screen in the theatre from 3-6 pm. ll offer the same canapes that will be served at the Wedding reception for any guests who wish to participate.
We are off to another culture.
written by  rcodel on April 28, 2011 from Mumbai, India

Fujairah
Al Fujayrah, United Arab Emirates
Fujairah is one of the smaller United Arab Emirates. It is very barren and very hot. It seemed that the air had a lot of sand in it.
written by  rcodel on May 2, 2011 from Al Fujayrah, United Arab Emirates

Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Welcome back to Dubai, a city we enjoy. It is still growing fast. Since a few years ago many of the Tower cranes are gone and the buildings are completed. However, many of them appear quite empty.
On our first day we visited the neighboring smaller emirate of Sharjah. On our drive we saw that one city merges into another without really crossing a boarder. Many Dubai workers live in Sharjah since the cost of housing is much lower.
On our second day we went to old Dubai known as Dubai Creek and visited the gold souk where Dad wanted to buy some gold but Mom refused.
Tallest building in the world
Abra (water taxi) ride
The holy Koran
written by  rcodel on May 4, 2011 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Muscat
Muscat, Oman
Oman is a sultanate ruled strictly by a sultan who demands that everything be clean, which it is. You can be fined for driving a dirty car.
Dad finally got his dhow ride which he has been wanting for years. Oman is very mountainous but nothing grows on the mountains. However, where they irrigate there are beautiful flowers and grass growing.
Grand Isle marina in Oman
Dhow ride
written by  rcodel on May 5, 2011 from Muscat, Oman

Salalah
Salalah, Oman
There is nothing but sand and rocks in Salalah.
On this segment we are fortunate to have on board some incredible guest lecturers. Regent in conjunction with NPR and PBS has quite a few well-known news journalists on board. The intent is for them to have a lecture and then to meet with us in smaller group settings and have open discussions. We have already had two sessions with Charlie Cook who is one of the most respected political analysts in Washington.
We are off to pirate alley. However, guess what? We are having mechanical problems. One of the generators is not working so we cannot go as fast as we need to. They hope to fix it in Jordan but the necessary part has to be flown in from Germany.
written by  rcodel on May 7, 2011 from Salalah, Oman

Jordan
Al 'Aqabah, Jordan
We are in Aqaba, Jordan, and have successfully navigated through pirate alley without any incident in a convoy escorted by some war ships which we saw in the distance.
There were armed Israeli security people on board patrolling the decks with binoculars, etc. When we went through a narrow strait between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea we were told that it is called Hell's Gate and is the hottest place in the world which is probably true since it was very hot.
Jordan is a beautiful, mountainous country but with little vegetation. We went to Wadi Rum which is famous for Lawrence of Arabia. In fact, the movie was actually filmed there. We drove through the desert in a four wheel drive vehicle driven by a local bedouin and also visited a local bedouin camp. Dad was in heaven remembering driving in his jeep through the dunes in Rehoboth Beach. The landscape was spectacular with lots of sand and rock formations.
In the evening at the pool bar I recognized the voice of a man sitting next to me. It turned out to be Charles Gibson from ABC. He was most known for his long stint at Good Morning America. He said he also grew up in Washington and went to Sidwell Friends - small world.
Bedoin camp
written by  rcodel on May 12, 2011 from Al 'Aqabah, Jordan

Egypt
Bur Safajah, Egypt
We went to Hurghada, about one hour drive away, to the biggest beach resort in Egypt. It was very modern with 5-star resorts which cater to Europeans on holiday. It was very eerie since there was not a single person on the street, the outdoor restaurants, cafes, etc, were empty and most of the shops were closed. Our guide told us that the reason was due to tourist cancelations because of the Egyptian revolution.
The president of Regent joined us here and told us that when he arrived in Cairo yesterday,the large international airport was totally empty and that he was the only guest at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo. This country is going to have major economic probloems, more so than it already has had for many years.
The generator part arrived here from Germany and has been installed. We are back up to full power.
Ghost town
written by  rcodel on May 14, 2011 from Bur Safajah, Egypt

Sharm El Sheikh
Sharm ash Shaykh, Egypt
Sharm El Sheikh is located on the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula. It is an international resort where several world summits have been held. We realized from speaking with local people on the street that there is a strong anti-American sentiment. We drove past a hospital which was surrounded by military vehicles and learned that Mubarek and his wife were inside.
written by  rcodel on May 16, 2011 from Sharm ash Shaykh, Egypt

Suez Canal
Port Said, Egypt
Port Said is at the northern endf of the Suez Canal. We started transiting the canal at 6 am and arrived here at 4 pm. The Suez Canal has one way traffic and ships travel in a convoy. We were the first of 20 ships and were led by an Egyptian navy ship. Sand, sand, and more sand.
written by  rcodel on May 17, 2011 from Port Said, Egypt

Israel
Ashdod, Israel
Ashdod is an Israeli resort town that is quite beautiful. We were told that the French make this their Summer vacation retreat and have bought a lot of the condos which stay empty most of the year.
written by  rcodel on May 18, 2011 from Ashdod, Israel

Bethlehem and Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel, West Bank
We spent the day traveling from Ashdod to Jerusalem where we stayed overnight in a hotel. This special two day tour was a complimentary event for world cruisers. We first went to Bethlehem which is in Palestinian territory where no Israelis are allowed. We saw the wall that separates Israel from Palestine form the Palestinian side.
Entrance to Palestine
Wall from Palestine side
In Bethlehem we visited the Church of Nativity which is built on the spot where Jesus was born in a cave. Mary was living in this cave with animals because she was about to deliver and was turned away at the inn. The belief was that a woman is unclean for 40 days after giving birth so the inkeeper thought he would not be able to rent his room for 40 days -- so he made a financial decision to send her away. She gave birth in a nearby cave which also housed the animals of the shepherds.
Bending to enter church showing humility
Church of Nativity
Bethlehem
We had lunch in East Jerusalem. The guide told us "look East Jerusalem is not a war zone contrary to popular belief". We learned while we were here that Obama made a speech about giving up territory including where we had lunch today. His thoughts seem incomprehensible to us from our experience here.
In the afternoon we visited the Mount of Olives and Temple Mount, the place where Jesus was prepared for burial and buried in the holy sepulchre. We also went to the Wailing Wall which is in Temple Mount.
Temple Mount from Mount of Olives
Temple Mount
Old city of David from Mount of Olives
Young soldiers
Old town Jerusalem
Jesus' tomb - Holy Sepulchre
Wailing wall
Annointing stone
In the evening we had an exclusive outdoor dinner party.
Dinner party
written by  rcodel on May 19, 2011 from Jerusalem, Israel, West Bank

Tiberias, Nazareth and Haifa
Haifa, Israel
Today we drove from Jerusalem east to the Dead Sea, north along the Jordan River, which is the boundary between Jordan and Israel, to the Sea of Galilee, then west to Nazareth, and finally to the Mediterranean city of Haifa where our ship awaited us.
Jerusalem is at a high altitude. The west side of the city is green and the east side is desert. The Dead Sea is ther lowest place on earth at 1,500 feet below sea level.
We had lunch on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias. We could see the Golan Heights on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is really a fresh water lake and in Hebrew the world for it is lake.
It is unbelievable to us now that we are here and have learned so much that Obama would want to give up the Golan Heights because it would deprive Israel of its only source of water. As a precaution against this happening Israel is quickly building desalinization plants along the Mediterranean Sea to produce its supply of water, most of which now comes from the Sea of Galilee.
Sea of Galilee
Golan Heights
In Nazareth we went to the Church of Annunciation, one of Christendom's most revered shrines and the largest church in the middle east, where the archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Under the church we saw the cave where Mary had lived. On top of the front of the church is a statue of Jesus. By chance there was a live white dove sitting on his head. Our tour guide went crazy since this is almost miraculous. The dove signifies the Holy Spirit. Notice the dove in the photo. Inside the church there is a mural of Jesus with a dove over his head.
Church of Annunciation
Live dove over Jesus' head
See dove over Jesus' head
We also visited the Church of Joseph which is built over chambers where he lived and Mary lived nearby down the street -- friendly neighbors.
Joseph's bed
Haifa is a beaujtiful city on the Mediterranean Sea.
Haifa
To add a little perspective to Israel we were told that it is smaller in size than Lake Michigan.
We leave Israel with a totally new understanding of this fascinating and wonderful country.
written by  rcodel on May 20, 2011 from Haifa, Israel

Sorrento and Isle of Capri
Sorrento, Italy
Sorrento is a pretty little coastal town situated high on a rocky Cliff.
We took a fast Ferry to the Isle of Capri which is a beautiful island with a town high on a rocky hill accessible by car or funicular.
Isle of Capri from ship
Grand Isle marina on Isle of Capri
written by  rcodel on May 23, 2011 from Sorrento, Italy

Rome
Civitavecchia, Italy
Civitavecchia is the port town for Rome which was too far away to make it worthwhile to visit again.
written by  rcodel on May 24, 2011 from Civitavecchia, Italy

Portovenere and Pisa
Portovenere, Italy
Portovenere is another quaint coastal fishing village. Here we went to Pisa. Franklin, on our way to Pisa we were within 10 Miles of Lucca .
written by  rcodel on May 25, 2011 from Portovenere, Italy

Marseille
Marseille, France
We went to Aix-en-Provence which is about half an hour drive from Marseille. This area of France is very dry and it rains only in January and February.
The old town of Marseille is built in the shape of a U with a huge marina in the middle with literally thousands of sailboats and motor boats.
As we left the harbor the captain took us next to the fortress made famous by Alexandre Dumas' character, the Count of Monte Cristo, who was fictional and was actually never locked up here.
Count of Monte Cristo Castle
written by  rcodel on May 26, 2011 from Marseille, France

Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
We had been really looking forward to visiting one of our favorite cities, Barcelona, again. Wonderful weather for walking on Las Ramblas. Not much has changed, but we accidentally found ourselves near a demonstration, shots were fired, a police helicopter over us, so we decided to get the heck out. They were probably demonstrating against Spain's austerity programs brought about by Spain's dire economic and financial condition.
Las Ramblas
written by  rcodel on May 27, 2011 from Barcelona, Spain

Malaga
Malaga, Spain
We went to the beautiful, ritzy, international resort of Marbella, which is on the way to Gibraltar. It is truly a beautiful town. Of course the high-light is the marina which is filled with yachts ranging from 200 feet down to our size.
major Sea Ray market share
written by  rcodel on May 29, 2011 from Malaga, Spain

Cadiz
Cadiz, Spain
Cadiz is a really nice old town with very narow streets. Lovely typical Spanish old town.
View from balcony
written by  rcodel on May 30, 2011 from Cadiz, Spain

Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
Cascais and Estoril
It was fun being back in Lisbon. We were here about 7 years ago on a round-the-world trip. We went to Sintra, Cascais and Estoril which are all on the Atlantic coast. Mom got homesick since we drove past Caxias where she lived as a teenager.
Belem Tower
Coffee in Sintra
written by  rcodel on May 31, 2011 from Lisbon, Portugal

Bilbao
Santander, Spain
Our visit to Bilbao, where we wanted to see the Gugenheim Museum, was canceled due to rough seas. So, we stopped in Santander instead for a few hours. After wandering around town on our own we went to a very old cathedral. The construction began in the 12th century. Then, another church was built on top of it, and finally a third one. By chance there was beauriful organ music which, when it stopped, we met the "organist" who was a German man hired by the cathedral to tune the more than 2,000 pipes by blowing on them and banging on them to correct the sound. He has lived in the cathedral for 6 months so far and the plan is to increase the organ's pipes to 6,000.
View from balcony
written by  rcodel on June 2, 2011 from Santander, Spain

Wine country
Bordeaux, France
Bordeaux is on the Gironde River and is located 70 kilometers up river from the Atlantic. We docked right downtown. Amazingly enough this river has a huge tide of 5 meters so every 6 hours our ship was going up and down vis-a-vis the land.
Most of the buildings in old Bordeaux were built in the 18th century and they all tend to look alike with 4 Story sandstone structures withr rectangular windows. It is a really inviting beautiful city which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Of course the Bordeaux area is known for its Vineyards and wineries. Anyone who has a House and produced approved appellation wine is called a Chateau. There are over 6,000 of them in the Bordeaux area. One day we traveled about 1 hour North of the city of Bordeaux to the Medoc area. We visited the famous Chateau Margaux and went to the Chateau Paloumey for a wine tasting presentation. It was a great learning experience. Franklin, you would have loved it here. By chance the head sommelier was with us and agreed with us that the wine of this small Chateau was mediocre to poor.
Chateau Margaux
In this area the best wines are gorwn in Sandy, gravel soil. The individual vines can live up to 50 -60 years. Once a new vine is a year or two old, irrigation is prohibited by law.
written by  rcodel on June 3, 2011 from Bordeaux, France

Honfleur
Le Havre, France
Instead of going to Honfleur, due to tides, we docked at [[France/Le-Havre]]. We took a 30 minute bus ride to Honfleur which is an old, quaint fishing village. This was the last day of our cruise and we're off to London tomorrow for a few days.
written by  rcodel on June 6, 2011 from Le Havre, France

London
Southampton, United Kingdom
Buckingham Palace
It was great to be back in London again, especially for Dad who knows this city so well and loves it. We wandered around town and happened upon the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. We went to St. Martin in the Fields church which Mom loves because they usually have a lunch time musical performance. This time it was a lovely rehearsal of sacred music sung by academy choir students rehearsing for a service.
We also happened upon an American high school band touring group performing in the park for the lunch time workers in town very close to the Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Tomorrow we fly home.
written by  rcodel on June 7, 2011 from Southampton, United Kingdom

Home !!
Grand Rapids, United States
It's great to be back home again. The House survived the winter without any problems. What a wonderful experience we have had and have learned so much.
written by  rcodel on June 9, 2011 from Grand Rapids, United States

Royal Palace event

Alcatraz

Golden Gate