Ron Darold

NOTE TO ALL: I am so sorry but I am having technical problems with my travelblog website. I can't upload photos so here is my first travel blog with only 1 photo. I will try another website and let you know if I continue with my travelblog. I may just do a couple of posts along the trip on Facebook. Once again - Sooo Sorry! Fort Lauderdale… or Wilton Manors actually! After a 24-hour grueling flight from Nanaimo to Fort Lauderdale, we arrived safely and exhausted into the Fort Lauderdale airport! An 8-hour layover in Vancouver was followed with a 3-hour layover in Toronto! But there was a bright moment as we saw a stunning sunrise as we raced through Toronto airport trying to get through US customs in time! We needed that 3 hour layover ... read more

Our next port was in Lautoka, Fiji where we did our first excursion – a sailboat to Tivua Island. This was a private island for the Captain Cook sailing company that operated the catamaran! They squeezed 156 of us onto this boat and started our sail by performing a Fijian song on the bow of the ship. The sail was less than an hour and we spent the day on the private island, sunning, snorkeling and reading. They served a delicious bar-b-que lunch, and it was all you could drink at the bar. This sounds wonderful but the only white wine they had was Sauvignon Blanc, so we definitely didn’t get our money’s worth at this bar!!! The return sail was filled with music and singing by the crew and Darold and I taught them a ... read more

Noumea, the capital city of New Caledonia was our first stop. It is located on Grand Terre, the main island, known for beaches and its blend of French and native Kanak influences. Not the most interesting city but I was intrigued as all New Caledonians speak French (it is a French Territory). Citizens get to vote for the President of France! The French used New Caledonia as the location to send prisoners (in particular political prisoners) after they annexed the islands in 1853. Napolean III made it a penal colony and sent around 5,000 Communard deportees to these islands. The islands were first discovered by James Cook in 1774 and named New Caledonia because the mountainous scenery reminded him of his native Scotland. We booked a hop on, hop off bus for the day and circled ... read more

We took a break from the fast pace of visiting a new city every 3 days and booked a home exchange in Nha Trang for sun and beach time. Nha Trang was a 1 hour plane ride north of Ho Chi Minh City (but it is not listed with this travelblog site so I had to use Saigon again). We spent 16 days here and loved it! I felt that Nha Trang was like the Vietnam version of Waikiki but with less people, cheaper prices and a much better beach – 6 kilometres of soft sand with no rocks and gentle waves! We loved splashing and sunning and watching the intriguing culture of this Vietnam beach. Our host, Khanh was wonderful! We loved staying at her studio apartment, right in the Nha Trang Centre across the ... read more

We had a full day of splendid sailing after departing Phnom Penh. Sailing the Mekong River during daylight was one of the highlights of this trip. We watched life on the Mekong with its many villages, temples, farmlands and we even spotted a reclining Golden Buddha near the shores. We captured a lovely sunset photo featuring a red sun! We had a long delay at the Vietnamese Border, I presume due to Vietnamese border issues. We didn't plan our trip very well as we started in Vietnam, flew to Cambodia then returned to Vietnam on the cruise. As a result, the Vietnamese embassy made us pay for 2 visas (one time entry only) which set us back about $900! So plan to do Vietnam in a one time, one month visit or you will pay the ... read more