http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/JudiMurdo/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from JudiMurdo en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:26:40 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:26:40 +0000 The last leg of the cruise from Spain through the Bay of Biscay to Southampton should have been a dawdle. However things didnrsquot go as planned nothing strange about that.We had planned to get all our packing done in the 3 days from Spain to Southampton. What we didnrsquot count on was the weatherhellip. Heavy sea swells and although not seasick we would have broken our necks trying to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Hampshire/Southampton/blog-400241.html Vigo in Spain If the last port of call was an acclimatisation stop Vigo certainly proved a good follow on and provided good UK weather. Rain rain and then more rain laced with cold wind and a hint of winter. The rainbow when we arrived in port was beautiful but then so was the one we saw as we left Vigo. The other noticeable things were the seagulls millions of them and the Graffiti tons of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Galicia/Vigo/blog-398663.html We arrived in Lisbon and it was raininghellip. Itrsquos an acclimatization stop for us or so we all believe from the tropics to the deserts of Egypt and then into the Med and its cold spring weather. On the way in to Lisbon we passed through the straights of Gibraltar and saw snow on the Spanish mountains. Brrrrrr.The ship parked under the singing bridge.... or as it sounds the verrr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-398366.html RomeThe ship was to dock in Civitavecchia Italyrsquos largest passenger port where about 5 cruisers were side by side. This port is known as the gateway to Rome. We had booked our trip into Rome a 1 journey by coach. The sun was shining and it was a pleasant 16 although rain was forecast.Again we were very excited about our first trip to Rome although we wondered if we would actually be abl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Vatican-City/Vatican-City/blog-390310.html SuezThe canal from the Red sea to the Mediteranian.This was a fascinating journey A convoy of big ships sailing up this narrow strip of water at a very slow speed. It took us all day to go from one ocean to another. The banks were so different The port side was full of towns villages and green vegetation the starboard side was stark desert as far as the eye could see.All over the left bank http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Indian/Red-Sea/blog-390307.html Safaga5th AprilWe were really exited about our return visit to Egypt and didnrsquot mind the crack of dawn early start to our day. We docked at a small container port called Safaga and to get back to the Nile we had to have a 3 hour coach ride through the desert. We were expecting the desert to be flat sandy and boring however to our delight it was mountainous sandy in parts and a feast for http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Red-Sea/blog-389865.html PiratesThe commodore announced as we approached the Gulf of Aden and the coast of Somalia about his counter measures in the event of a pirate attack. He informed us that if the alarm was to sound we were to lock ourselves in our cabins and not under any circumstances lsquogo have a lookrsquo reminding the ladies that not all pirates look like Johnny Depp He reassured us that the tricks he http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/blog-389864.html DubaiBetween Muscat and Dubai the photographic competition results for the cruise photographic ldquoslow and fast shutter speedrdquo were published. I have to crow and tell everyone I won the fast shutter speed competition. Now Irsquom sure you will think ldquogreat well donerdquo. However I will now crow louder I won the fast shutter speed one as well. Great eh I can now call mysel http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-387307.html Muscat Oman.29th marchWe had a later start to our day off ship so decided to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and natter with some friends. We thought that there was no rush to get off as there did not seem much to do at this port. It was a lovely sail in though pretty and moody. It was a very hot day32ish degrees. Murdo had bought me a foldup Vietnamese straw hat which worked a treat even if I di http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Oman/Muscat/blog-387304.html Cochin India 26th March 2009Despite the Commodore sailing the ship at full tilt we were running late and arrived one and a half hours late into Cochin port. This meant however that we did not have to get up at the crack of dawn. We enjoyed our leisurely breakfast and found a quiet spot on deck to enjoy the sail in. I never know what to expect when we arrive into a new country but then I say th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kochi-/blog-385474.html Langkawi Malaysia.We arrived during sunrise over Langkawi very pretty and similar although not as spectacular as Halong Bay. It was a scorching day 34 degrees. We had thought we had booked a fantastic island hopping tour to go on supposed paradise beaches simple surrounds and plenty of snorkelling. However we went into our little pile of excursion tickets to find we had not got around to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Langkawi/blog-385452.html SingaporeWe entered Singapore in the early hours of the morning and got the standard shuttle from the bus to its destination usually the town centre this time it was further along the seafront to the passenger terminal our ship was berthed in the container ship harbour. It is too big and needs a deep water harbour to dock in. We got out of the bus and were approached surreptitiously by one t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Bugis-Village/blog-385239.html ShianoukvilleWe had breakfast delivered to our cabin at 7.30am and enjoyed it on the balcony watching the islands pass as we made our way into the harbour.We got off and got shuttle bus into town. It only took 15 mins. We had been advised that the facilities were ldquobasicrdquo and that we shouldnrsquot expect too much from this place as it was relatively undeveloped for tourism. Most of t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Sihanoukville/blog-384661.html Phu My Mekong Delta Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam17th marchToday we were very exited as we looked forward to our trip down into the Mekong Delta. To get there we had to take a 312 hr drive. Lots of us had chosen this trip but to our delight they surprised us by dividing us into small groups of 6 and giving us a mini bus each complete with our own guide. It was great not being squashed up and Murdo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Chau-Doc/blog-384652.html Halong BayWhat an amazing entry into Halong bayhellip.. with its hundreds of islands it was like something out of a fantasy movie with the sun coming up and the sea mist one island after another came out of the mist all strange shapes and sizes. The Ship moored in the bay and we tendered in by the lifeboats. It was a lovely warm day and the place had not a lot to do just viewing awesome s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northeast/blog-383812.html The Hong Kong Experience Friday 13th MarchDay 1 It was a beautiful sail into the port and because we are in the photography club we had special invites onto deck 7 which is usually reserved the crew. It has the best al round views on approach privileged or what Everyone had an air of excitement we were all waiting for this stop except those who were ending their journey here as was our di http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-383798.html Shanghai and onwards.We crept into shanghai early in the morning. It was a foggy morning and the smell of the orient was all around. I will let you workout what that smells like. The dock was a container port as the ship we are on Arcadia is too big to fit in normal harbours not the cleanest places so we have to dock in deep water harbours like container ports. This sometimes involves a lengt http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-382708.html We steamed away for a year and a day to the land where the bam tree grows. hellip or China for short and it was only a day at sea not a year and a day. However at this point in time I am becoming delirious as will be explained later.After a day at sea and spotting all sorts of floating things in the ocean we arrived in grey darkness in China. The port of Xingang to be precise. It was an eerie http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Great-Wall-of-China/blog-380927.html 4th MarchGot up sharp had things to do and places to gohelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipAfter breakfast we attended the gym for a body constitution assessment and personal fitness plan. Told what to do to get fitter even though we seemed to be not to bad for our ages or so the machines said.. We have to go back towards the end of the cruise for a recheckhe hewe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Nagasaki/Nagasaki/blog-380190.html 24th FebWhile steaming away from Brisbane we thought that it was about timeas we had a couple of days at sea to become domesticated and properly unpack and place all those empty cases under the bed. Judi enjoyed watching the sea whilst ironing made it almost a pleasure.25th Feb Early rise as we were to be sailing through the Whitsunday islands. We were quite excited at the imminent visual delig http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Nagasaki/Nagasaki/blog-379540.html