Upon leaving Greece we went to another historical place, the Republic of Malta. It seems that at one time or another every country in Europe had a piece of Malta. The Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians, Ottomans, Arabs, Spanish, French and British all ruled this small, strategic outpost in the Mediterranean at some point. It is said that Malta has the oldest freestanding building in the world. It is a megalithic temple in the town of Gozo. The Maltese language is Semitic in origin but greatly influenced by the Romance languages and written in a type of Latin alphabet. Now English is taking [View Full Entry]

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We love traveling in Turkey. Since it is not yet part of the European Union, it is still a relatively inexpensive tourist destination and it is a place jam packed with ancient ruins, beautiful beaches, lovely villages and great sailing waters. We especially like Kusadasi which is on the west coast of Turkey and strategically located near what is said to be the best preserved classical city in the world. The temple at Ephesus was considered one of the Seven Wonders of World. The Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist stayed in Ephesus after the death of Christ. The Library [View Full Entry]

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After five days at sea we entered the Gulf of Aqaba and docked in Jordan’s only seaport, Aqaba. We were here two years ago and visited one of the most amazing places on earth. Petra is the rose colored wonder of the world. To get an idea of what Petra is like, it would be helpful to imagine the Grand Canyon with a whole city carved into its steep walls complete with amphitheater, houses, tombs, public baths and latrines. Then add camels, donkeys, horse carts and Bedouin merchants and you have the picture of what Petra is like. Many moviegoers have [View Full Entry]

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The United Arab Emirates are said to be moving ahead as they are attempting to stand still. That is Dubai in a nutshell. This Las Vegas on steroids has the biggest, newest, flashiest of everything except for the dancing showgirls. As we approached Port Rashid we could see the tall buildings glowing in the early light of sunrise. The iconic Burj Al Arab, which is modeled after the sail of a dhow, is purportedly the only seven star hotel in the world. The Burj Dubai, the tallest building on earth, is nearing completion. The three Palm developments are manmade islands rising [View Full Entry]

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Upon leaving Myanmar we were fortunate to have three days at sea. After nearly a month straight of big cities and touring and shopping, we needed some time to recharge and catch up on projects and paperwork. We had a dinner party for our group. It was such a nice event. We started with cocktails on the aft deck behind LaVeranda Restaurant. There was almost a full moon shining on the water and it was a fine tropical weather evening on the Bay of Bengal. We had an officer or staff person at each table and the Captain came for [View Full Entry]

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Most people around the world have seen the pictures and read about the situation in Burma. Last September in the midst of a peaceful protest by Burmese monks, there was a extreme response by the military government and the protest marches were harshly brought to an end. Since then many of the monasteries have been closed and severe restrictions have been placed on the monks. The main reason for the protests was that the regime raised the price of fuel by 500% over night. Myanmar, as it is called by the ruling junta, is one of the poorest countries in the [View Full Entry]

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Nha Trang is considered the Miami Beach of Vietnam. It is where all of the Vietnamese go for some beach time. This was our first visit to this southern port located just north of Cam Ranh Bay. Although I used to fly into Cam Ranh Bay forty years ago during the Vietnam conflict, beach going wasn’t a common activity at that time. We negotiated for a van and went sightseeing with Nilda, Larry and Dodi. There is a long promenade along the waterfront which was very well maintained and looked like a great place for a long seaside stroll. We visited [View Full Entry]

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We cruised up the Huangpu River into the heart of Shanghai. This booming metropolis is one of our favorite places in Asia and there is so much to do, that we hit the ground running. We got off the ship and tried to hail a taxi. The car stopped and the driver got out and looked at us very sternly. We kept saying “taxi? taxi?” Finally another Chinese man came over and said that the guy was a policeman—not a cab driver. We realized that having a light on the roof of the car didn’t necessarily mean it was a [View Full Entry]

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It is truly remarkable to pass from the tropical, palm tree swaying, sandy beach islands to falling snow flakes in a little over 24 hours--a change that even the weather forecasters didn’t exactly predict. Half way between Iwo Jima and Osaka we were hit by a gale which packed hurricane force winds and high seas. Several of the ceiling panels in our cabin were knocked loose and the metal divider between our balcony and our neighbors’ broke free, so that it pounded against the bulkhead all night. The upper restaurant and bar had to be closed until we reached smoother [View Full Entry]

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Upon leaving Australia we started retracing the path of the Navy in World War II. We crossed the Coral and Solomon Seas to reach Papua New Guinea. This enormous ocean which is sometimes referred to as the “Great Blue” seems to stretch to the ends of the earth. One of the passengers remarked that if this ship had a glass bottom, we would be able to see most of the Japanese Naval Fleet lying on the ocean floor. The battle of the Pacific was one of the epic conflicts in naval history. In 2005 when we cruised much of this same [View Full Entry]

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