Category: Uncategorized

It's a wrap! Planes, movies, cars & pups!Idyllwild, CA Idyllwild, CA Ok, it’s a wrap!  All this time, by the way, we have had lots of wonderful eating, and many (too many) drinking opportunities, with complimentary wine at dinner! Additional blogs entries will follow with photos of these events! During our on-ship (fortunately) days at… Continue reading It’s a wrap! Planes, movies, cars & pups!

Penang – More temples plus spice & fruitPenang, Malaysia Penang, Malaysia One day left! We are stopping in Penang, an island and a state of Malaysia, on the way back to Singapore and our return flight. We have all decided Malaysia is a wonderful country, relatively unscathed by the wars that have plagued the other… Continue reading Penang – More temples plus spice & fruit

The golden Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon – Wow!Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar Waking up Monday morning to a dusty sunrise, we make our way to the same lovely terrace where we had dinner last night. It’s the standard “English” breakfast that is so prevalent on many of these tours – eggs, bacon, waffles, toast,… Continue reading The golden Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon – Wow!

Horse cart ride through the Bagan temples & SunsetBagan, Myanmar Bagan, Myanmar This is the second post (Part 2) detailing our amazing adventure in Bagan. As if what we’ve seen already wasn’t enough and we weren’t exhausted already, we now pile off the bus and climb aboard (2 people each plus the driver) rough horse… Continue reading Horse cart ride through the Bagan temples & Sunset

We arrive in Myanmar and head for the Strand HotelYangon (Rangoon), Myanmar Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar We docked here in Yangon this afternoon and walked across the street to check out the Strand Hotel, right on the main road that runs parallel to the docks. Walking on the road and getting across the street to the… Continue reading We arrive in Myanmar and head for the Strand Hotel

Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands – snorkel & swimPhuket, Thailand Phuket, Thailand Today we visit the Phi Phi Islands off the western city of Phuket, Thailand, transported to a tropical site of soaring cliffs and white-sand beaches. Just as Phnom Penh is pronounced as if the letter “h” does not exist – Pnom Pen,… Continue reading Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands – snorkel & swim

Kuala Lumpur – a very modern cityKuala Lumpur, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia One of the amazing things about ship cruises is that you leave one place and just magically show up in another. As far as we would know, we are still in Singapore harbor, but in truth the Captain has accepted our late arrival… Continue reading Kuala Lumpur – a very modern city

Singapore! Orchids, Flyers &Singapore, Singapore Singapore, Singapore There are so many highlights of today’s adventures in Singapore, I hardly know where to begin. How about with a few fun facts? It’s a city and a country all in one! Founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, the island has been enlarged over the years as… Continue reading Singapore! Orchids, Flyers &

Visiting Malacca – 1st time through the straMalacca City, Malaysia Malacca City, Malaysia We spent yesterday at sea, sailing around the bottom of the Malaysian peninsula toward the west and up through the Malacca Straits, fabled shipping passage, and past Singapore (we’ll be back later) on our way to Malacca, Malaysia. Today, we visit Malacca… Continue reading Visiting Malacca – 1st time through the stra

Malaysia – Hindu Temple,brief stop beachesKuantan, Malaysia Kuantan, Malaysia Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, meaning that while it has a king or queen, the power of the government lies in the parliament. Like the US, Malaysia has areas called states. There are two types of states in Malaysia, Federated and Un-Federated. There are 5 Federated… Continue reading Malaysia – Hindu Temple,brief stop beaches

A trip to Cu Chi Tunnels outside SaigonCu Chi, Vietnam Cu Chi, Vietnam This morning, before setting sail for Malaysia, we took a quick optional trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These were used by the Vietcong, the Vietnamese people in support of the Communist North during the Vietnam War. Apparently, if there were US… Continue reading A trip to Cu Chi Tunnels outside Saigon

War Remnants MuseumHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam One of our shipboard speakers did a lecture about how memories shape history and how, as our perceptions and feelings shift and change over time, so does our belief about what happened, who did what and why. This applies, of course, to the… Continue reading War Remnants Museum

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – ImpressionsHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Today, we sailed into Saigon. Of course, its current official name is Ho Chi Minh City so city signs and big red billboards showing smiling people working hard refer to it that way, but the locals and everyone else… Continue reading Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – Impressions

Phnom Phen, Genocide Museum, Killing FieldsPhnom Penh, Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia This was one of those very long days. We were docked at Sihanoukville, on the west coast of Cambodia, but the excursions today were based out of Phnom Penh, the capital – a two hour drive to the northwest. We would do the drive,… Continue reading Phnom Phen, Genocide Museum, Killing Fields

A Thai island, plus a strange celebration paradeKo Samui, Thailand Ko Samui, Thailand We had boarded our ship, the Aegean Odyssey, on Feb 19 and then spent the next day and a half at sea. Our first stop, on Sat, Feb 21, was at a small Thai island off the east coast of Thailand called… Continue reading A Thai island, plus a strange celebration parade

Boating the Bangkok Canals & then on to our ship!Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, Thailand This morning our group hopped on a couple small boats for a brief tour of the Bangkok canals. The day was overcast (mostly pollution, we suspect) and the water is quite dirty. This presents a problem when the boat speeds up and… Continue reading Boating the Bangkok Canals & then on to our ship!

More in Bangkok: Wat Pho & the Grand PalaceBangkok, Thailand Bangkok, Thailand Today was our first and only full day in Bangkok. Naturally it started out with buffet bacon. At some point this will have to end; I don’t know when. But we are leaning toward cutting back to where we might not have chicken… Continue reading More in Bangkok: Wat Pho & the Grand Palace

Off to Bangkok & Jim Thompson's HouseBangkok, Thailand Bangkok, Thailand Today was our first “Up at 6, bags out at 6:30, breakfast at 7, bus at 8” day. This is a common occurrence on trips like this, and the numbers change depending on the situation. You cannot be late for anything, so you have to… Continue reading Off to Bangkok & Jim Thompson’s House

A temple, a landmine museum, and houses on stiltsSiem Reap, Cambodia Siem Reap, Cambodia Certainly we had not seen enough temples yet, so this morning, after filling up on bacon and papaya at the Tara Angkor buffet, we were off to Banteay Srey, “Citadel of the Women”, an 11th century Hindu temple, one of the… Continue reading A temple, a landmine museum, and houses on stilts

Angkor Wat – what a way to start our adventure!Siem Reap, Cambodia Siem Reap, Cambodia On Saturday afternoon, we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We had survived the three plane rides in pretty good shape, although ‘tired’ only begins to describe it! We checked into the Tara Angkor Hotel – very nice – had a… Continue reading Angkor Wat – what a way to start our adventure!

Another brief stop hereSingapore, Singapore Singapore, Singapore We have a two hour layover here before our short hop over to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We are tired, but have been sustained by intermittent sleeping, vast numbers of movies to wander between and copious quantities of food.

Short stopover in Hong KongKowloon, Hong Kong Kowloon, Hong Kong We are just here for a brief security check and then we hop back on and off to Singapore.

The Journey Begins for RealSan Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA Wednesday, Feb 11:  We were all packed up and ready to leave. Here’s a photo of Louie and Rosie in the van with ONLY dog-related items – can you see how much stuff is in there already?  Amazing!  There is NOTHING of ours even in… Continue reading The Journey Begins for Real

SE Asia Trip Countdown: Minus 2 days & counting.. Idyllwild, CA Idyllwild, CA Sometime in the early part of last year, while we were still in France, we came across a wonderful-sounding Road Scholar trip to Southeast Asia. It was a month-long adventure, mostly on a small ship, that would venture to Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam,… Continue reading SE Asia Trip Countdown: Minus 2 days & counting..