The basic chores are done, our house up the Sunshine Coast survived the winter and the office stumbled along and maintained course and glad to see my return. So now is a good time to take the journey digestion of the past few weeks and summarize our incredible adventure to lands that for us, were once unknown. I will start with this statement, at the end of the day, we, we being the human race, are fundamentally all the same, we want to be treated fairly, we all want respect, we all look out for our family and friends and want a peaceful and happy life. So despite the small fractious of our society that find a way to screw this up for many, all in all we met incredible caring and friendly people that continue to make this world of ours a great place to get out to explore and experience. We have returned from visiting some 37 cities in 17 countries, traveling about 18,700 nautical miles, from the Middle East to India, to many Asian countries as well as several countries in the Europe. Although the incredible scenery helps to fulfill the visual appetite of the trip what really stands out in this voyage is the people, along our entire route we did find friendly, helpful, nice people in all these various lands living their lives in a peaceful manner, all conducting their day to day life’s business, so all in all a wonderful experience that has once again made the world an incredible place. I will breakdown a few of my highlights in categories:
People:
Mimie, David and Georgio...
Mimie along with her sister and friend took us through a journey in Makassar in Indonesia where we did not have plan for the day. Jan and I along with Jeff and Joy took a taxi into the city and wandered around where we stopped in at a Hindu/Budhist temple, this where we met Mimie and Co., after a brief chat they decided to give us a local walking tour of the city which was just amazing including a couple of food stops for sampling. She had me trying some foods I just would not usually eat in the real world. When I hesitated she simply said, “just eat it”, okay she was right, it was good. We had lots a fun on this day, by the way, I feel for the guy she will eventually meet as her t-shirt had the slogan “I want your best boyfriend”.
David - we met David in Columbo, Sri Lanka, he was selling necklaces on the street. Picture a little skinny guy, worn jeans and a worn t-shirt, just trying to sell necklaces draped over his arm. Nice guy, big smile. Well again Jan and I along with Jeff and Joy get off the ship and wander past the port gate - and this where it gets just crazy. First are the taxi drivers trying to get you to go with them on a “Tour”. Then you do battle with the Tuk-tuk drivers who also want to take you for a “Tour”. All we want to do is visit two temples and then come back to the ship - sounds easy - not so easy. We finally do get two tuk-tuks, yeah... but within minutes we are kicked out of the tuk-tuks. Why you ask well, Jeff indicates to his driver that he does not want to visit any jewelry or carpet stores - “get out of my tuk-tuk” is heard. So we are back on the street. Again why you ask, well, here in this part of the world where everything is on a kickback basis, tuk-tuk drivers will receive a $5.00 gas voucher for every jewelry or carper store they can stop at - we did not want to go to any of these establishments, just the temples and then back to the ship. “Out of my Tuk-tuk...”, this is where we meet David, on the street. Jeff is negotiating with David as we are getting some local currency. Long story short, for $1.50 US David will walk with us to one of the temples, awesome...On route we learn about David and his life, he lost his entire Family in the 2004 Tsunami - “ask anyone” he says. David lives a simple life, nice guy very personable. Jan is taken by him and his story and wants to up the anti by giving him $10.00 US, now remember the Tuk-Tuks, this amount would have taken us to temples and back, for a guy like David this would take him a week to earn. After some consultation with our traveling companions we all agree providing he get us to the temple that we really want to see. See our blog update for this incredible experience at this temple for these details. Outside we present David with the $10.00 US, he is amazed and now thinks that he really needs to take of us. Believe me we tried to shake him a couple times but he always found us, just to make sure we were seeing things we wanted to see. You want to use internet madam, he says to Jan, no problem, four flights of stairs in some obscure back alley place and we are at a great internet spot, four separate booths. The market, no problem what is it you would like to see. All the while we are thinking that this guy is just trying to get more cash, so we try to lose him. We understand later after we say our goodbyes - without his hand out by the way, that he felt obligated to us because what we had given him - to ensure our safe passage in this city, his city. At more than point while we walking through some sections of the Bazaar he casually walked beside me and told me watch for my wallet here. At the end of the day, a pretty amazing guy.
Georgio - like Mimie above, no obligation to us what so ever, once again with Jeff and Joy we wander into a Fado restaurant in Lisbon where they only serve food and have Fado late in the night, but after our ship leaves (which on our visit here is after 11:00pm). The restaurant where Georgio works in one of the authentic Fado place in the Alfama area of Lisbon, is where all the locals go after the tourists leave. Georgio wants us to come to his restaurant when we return for a longer stay in Lisbon but for tonight after hearing that we want to here some Fado, Georgio takes care of us, remember, no obligation... he takes us to a local restaurant that opens their doors for us - it is 7:30, restaurants don’t open until 8:00pm. We have an excellent meal, Georgio returns as if he knows the pace of our meal and takes us to another Bar to hear some Fado. Ah, this is about 9:30pm and the bar is empty (except the staff of course), the “real” night life here does not start until 11:00. So get this, with the Bar owner, Georgio is able to arrange an early Fado session for us, amazing, simply amazing. Georgio walks us back to ship (believe me the streets and alleys in the Alfama area are a maze), we say our goodbyes with promises to return to Lisbon for an incredible night at Georgio’s restaurant.
Sights
Although we do feel that on any of our adventures any and every place we visit has its our charm any beauty, and to be completely honest, we are just so very happy to be able to visit any of these amazing places. I have selected a few spots that, for me were highlight, bucket list moments. I will let pictures reflect each.
Petra - The “Rose” City, In Jordan
Simply spectacular - google it, get a private guide and go.
Elephanta Island, in Mumbai.
We happened to be visiting during a festival, wow!!!
Bali, well because it is Bali, if you have been you know, it you haven’t then please make this a bucket list destination.
Dubai, from the desert comes Dubai, no expense spared, from the tallest building in the world to the Palm resort and all points in between - amazing.
Suez Canal, our first time so for me this was a day out front on the bow with camera in hand, some spots looked as though ships were left in the desert.
The ship, the MS Rotterdam
We are very fortunate to be able to visit the many oceans, continents, countries and cities of the world under the care of Holland America. We have sailed on this ship a few times on shorter cruises, we have also sailed on Grand Voyages, they carry a lot of bells and whistles (which we love of course), so 68 days on a non Grand Voyage, we knew what we were walking or in his case cruising into too. We thought this was simply going to be a hotel on the ocean and suck up the rest. Well, gladly to say that this is not what we got on this voyage, no we did not get the bells and whistles but we did get an excellent cruise with some amazing people. Our Captain was just excellent, personable and involved, full marks to the Front Desk Staff and the Dining Room stewards and staff. The shows were much better than we had though they were going to be and finally the Glen our cruise director, again he was involved and was everywhere. At the end of the day it is the staff that make your experience and I will say that Holland America have figured this out as for time and time again their staff always shine and have always made our trips and voyages amazing. From the Cabin Steward to the Captain and all points in between thank you for an amazing time. DId I mention the food, again for a non Grand Voyage it was just excellent - I do not believe the menu repeated itself twice - once again amazing.
So what’s next for us you may ask, well we do have something cooking in the oven for the fall but for now we need to wait before we get ahead of ourselves. We are now back home and with that comes the medical situation. We are currently waiting for some tests for Jan, so once we get the all clear we are going to be good to go come the fall, so stayed tuned, I will be updated this blog at some point during the first week of each month in the summer. We will enjoy our summer here and up the Sunshine Coast and remain positive for the fall.
Thanks for tuning in we hope you have enjoyed this adventure and our blogging along the way.
Tip for this adventure. If I can offer one tip it would be to get a little confidence and try the public transit systems, especially in the more populous cities of the world. I could go on and on about this, if you use the transit in your home town, then well with the exception of the currency and layout the transit systems they are pretty much the same - take a moment and you will figure it out. If you don’t use transit at home then I recommend that you take a few trips on your system and learn the ropes. By using transit in many of these bigger cities you will have more freedom to explore and will save a whack of cash, cash you can use on some of the ships excursions that you really want to go on but the cost could just be a deal breaker. Pick your spots, do a few things on your own and then splurge a little. Keep smiling and please remember enjoy where you are and/or where you are going, you are where you are so you might as well have a great time...
David - we met David in Columbo, Sri Lanka, he was selling necklaces on the street. Picture a little skinny guy, worn jeans and a worn t-shirt, just trying to sell necklaces draped over his arm. Nice guy, big smile. Well again Jan and I along with Jeff and Joy get off the ship and wander past the port gate - and this where it gets just crazy. First are the taxi drivers trying to get you to go with them on a “Tour”. Then you do battle with the Tuk-tuk drivers who also want to take you for a “Tour”. All we want to do is visit two temples and then come back to the ship - sounds easy - not so easy. We finally do get two tuk-tuks, yeah... but within minutes we are kicked out of the tuk-tuks. Why you ask well, Jeff indicates to his driver that he does not want to visit any jewelry or carpet stores - “get out of my tuk-tuk” is heard. So we are back on the street. Again why you ask, well, here in this part of the world where everything is on a kickback basis, tuk-tuk drivers will receive a $5.00 gas voucher for every jewelry or carper store they can stop at - we did not want to go to any of these establishments, just the temples and then back to the ship. “Out of my Tuk-tuk...”, this is where we meet David, on the street. Jeff is negotiating with David as we are getting some local currency. Long story short, for $1.50 US David will walk with us to one of the temples, awesome...On route we learn about David and his life, he lost his entire Family in the 2004 Tsunami - “ask anyone” he says. David lives a simple life, nice guy very personable. Jan is taken by him and his story and wants to up the anti by giving him $10.00 US, now remember the Tuk-Tuks, this amount would have taken us to temples and back, for a guy like David this would take him a week to earn. After some consultation with our traveling companions we all agree providing he get us to the temple that we really want to see. See our blog update for this incredible experience at this temple for these details. Outside we present David with the $10.00 US, he is amazed and now thinks that he really needs to take of us. Believe me we tried to shake him a couple times but he always found us, just to make sure we were seeing things we wanted to see. You want to use internet madam, he says to Jan, no problem, four flights of stairs in some obscure back alley place and we are at a great internet spot, four separate booths. The market, no problem what is it you would like to see. All the while we are thinking that this guy is just trying to get more cash, so we try to lose him. We understand later after we say our goodbyes - without his hand out by the way, that he felt obligated to us because what we had given him - to ensure our safe passage in this city, his city. At more than point while we walking through some sections of the Bazaar he casually walked beside me and told me watch for my wallet here. At the end of the day, a pretty amazing guy.
Georgio - like Mimie above, no obligation to us what so ever, once again with Jeff and Joy we wander into a Fado restaurant in Lisbon where they only serve food and have Fado late in the night, but after our ship leaves (which on our visit here is after 11:00pm). The restaurant where Georgio works in one of the authentic Fado place in the Alfama area of Lisbon, is where all the locals go after the tourists leave. Georgio wants us to come to his restaurant when we return for a longer stay in Lisbon but for tonight after hearing that we want to here some Fado, Georgio takes care of us, remember, no obligation... he takes us to a local restaurant that opens their doors for us - it is 7:30, restaurants don’t open until 8:00pm. We have an excellent meal, Georgio returns as if he knows the pace of our meal and takes us to another Bar to hear some Fado. Ah, this is about 9:30pm and the bar is empty (except the staff of course), the “real” night life here does not start until 11:00. So get this, with the Bar owner, Georgio is able to arrange an early Fado session for us, amazing, simply amazing. Georgio walks us back to ship (believe me the streets and alleys in the Alfama area are a maze), we say our goodbyes with promises to return to Lisbon for an incredible night at Georgio’s restaurant.
Sights
Although we do feel that on any of our adventures any and every place we visit has its our charm any beauty, and to be completely honest, we are just so very happy to be able to visit any of these amazing places. I have selected a few spots that, for me were highlight, bucket list moments. I will let pictures reflect each.
Petra - The “Rose” City, In Jordan
Simply spectacular - google it, get a private guide and go.
Elephanta Island, in Mumbai.
We happened to be visiting during a festival, wow!!!
Bali, well because it is Bali, if you have been you know, it you haven’t then please make this a bucket list destination.
Dubai, from the desert comes Dubai, no expense spared, from the tallest building in the world to the Palm resort and all points in between - amazing.
Suez Canal, our first time so for me this was a day out front on the bow with camera in hand, some spots looked as though ships were left in the desert.
The ship, the MS Rotterdam
We are very fortunate to be able to visit the many oceans, continents, countries and cities of the world under the care of Holland America. We have sailed on this ship a few times on shorter cruises, we have also sailed on Grand Voyages, they carry a lot of bells and whistles (which we love of course), so 68 days on a non Grand Voyage, we knew what we were walking or in his case cruising into too. We thought this was simply going to be a hotel on the ocean and suck up the rest. Well, gladly to say that this is not what we got on this voyage, no we did not get the bells and whistles but we did get an excellent cruise with some amazing people. Our Captain was just excellent, personable and involved, full marks to the Front Desk Staff and the Dining Room stewards and staff. The shows were much better than we had though they were going to be and finally the Glen our cruise director, again he was involved and was everywhere. At the end of the day it is the staff that make your experience and I will say that Holland America have figured this out as for time and time again their staff always shine and have always made our trips and voyages amazing. From the Cabin Steward to the Captain and all points in between thank you for an amazing time. DId I mention the food, again for a non Grand Voyage it was just excellent - I do not believe the menu repeated itself twice - once again amazing.
So what’s next for us you may ask, well we do have something cooking in the oven for the fall but for now we need to wait before we get ahead of ourselves. We are now back home and with that comes the medical situation. We are currently waiting for some tests for Jan, so once we get the all clear we are going to be good to go come the fall, so stayed tuned, I will be updated this blog at some point during the first week of each month in the summer. We will enjoy our summer here and up the Sunshine Coast and remain positive for the fall.
Thanks for tuning in we hope you have enjoyed this adventure and our blogging along the way.
Tip for this adventure. If I can offer one tip it would be to get a little confidence and try the public transit systems, especially in the more populous cities of the world. I could go on and on about this, if you use the transit in your home town, then well with the exception of the currency and layout the transit systems they are pretty much the same - take a moment and you will figure it out. If you don’t use transit at home then I recommend that you take a few trips on your system and learn the ropes. By using transit in many of these bigger cities you will have more freedom to explore and will save a whack of cash, cash you can use on some of the ships excursions that you really want to go on but the cost could just be a deal breaker. Pick your spots, do a few things on your own and then splurge a little. Keep smiling and please remember enjoy where you are and/or where you are going, you are where you are so you might as well have a great time...
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