Bangkok is now the most visited city in the world with more than 30 million international arrivals in 2025. We have had the privilege of being here many times and never get tired of it. The skyline is huge and gorgeous. We stayed at The Peninsula this year and never tire of the great dinner […]
We have visited Bali, a beautiful island in Indonesia, many times. Whereas Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country (87%), Bali is primarily Hindu, coincidentally also 87%. Having toured the island extensively previously, we decided to have a spa day, for which they are famous. We visited Zahra Spa, one of many high-end luxurious, […]
We spent our day here at The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and were thrilled that we did. Established 100 years ago, it now is home to 100 koalas and more than 70 species of native Australian wildlife. Koalas are cute as can be. Their name means “no drink” because they generally don’t drink water. They […]
Who knew? Greek identity is huge in Melbourne It has largest Greek-speaking population outside of Greece and Cyprus. 88% of Greek Australians (regardless of country of birth) speak Greek and 91% are members of the Greek Orthodox Church. Greek Australians had the lowest rate of intermarriage (marrying outside their ethnicity) than every other race in […]
We had not visited Norfolk Island before. All of us were impressed with its beauty and cleanliness. We learned much about its history while visiting the large cemetery. Captain James Cook discovered and named the island in 1774. Then two convict settlements were established – 1788 and 1825. The second one was extremely harsh and […]
Today we visited the KokoMana chocolate farm and factory in Fiji. Here cocoa is grown in environmentally sustainable conditions. We learned about the many processing steps used to develop the unique flavor of their chocolate in their small factory. Although KokoMana has several flavors of chocolate, they produce only 200 bars weekly. Compare that […]
The weather was so nasty in Tonga yesterday that most people stayed on board. Ultra-high winds and waves made it so we couldn’t even leave safely, and we immediately returned after departing and tied up for the night. However, Father Patrick, our ship’s resident priest, arranged to have about 50 of the folks have a […]
We have been sailing around The Pacific and visiting various islands circled in red. Each certainly has its own personality, but all have the same clear, beautiful, warm water surrounding them. We visited Rarotonga on a Sunday which means that stores were closed and no alcohol was being served due to strict religious observation. Since […]
If you haven’t been here, when you think of the romantic South Pacific, you probably think of Tahiti. It happens to be that it is the economic, cultural, and political center and is home to 70% of the population. It just isn’t what you saw in the movie South Pacific. It was quite pleasant waking up […]
We started our four-month cruise three weeks ago and have had a blast renewing friendships with so many folks onboard Crystal Serenity. This is the first port that is a new stop for us. Fewer than 1,000 people live here. It is clean, pretty, and quite serine. When we arrived on shore, I asked […]