In 2010 eight of us (four couples) from Sydney thought it was time that we visited Indochina, and one of the countries on our list was Laos. We flew to Thailand (Bangkok) and then domestically to Chiang Mei. From Chiang Mei to Luang Prabang, which is in Laos, we decided to fly with Laos Air. […]
22nd February 1969 – it was cold wet day in Liverpool, UK. What to do to celebrate fifty years of happy marriage? We like cruising so how about a cruise around Cape Horn at the bottom of the world? So be it . . . . . Our plan was to fly to Santiago in […]
Unlike Christmas in the northern hemisphere, Christmas for us is the height of summer. It is the time to have our meals outside as often as possible, time for warm evenings to stretch an evening meal in to darkness, before switching on the garden lights.. The BBQ on the right near the fence – Table […]
BOAC I joined BOAC in 1969 and in 1971 an Act of Parliament merged BOAC with BEA to take affect from 31 March 1974, which would create British Airways. The UK had joined the Common Market, as it was called then, in January 1973, so the merger of the two government-controlled airlines made sense. BOAC […]
Our first ‘port of call’ was Bay of Island, which is north of Auckland. We anchored about fifteen-minute boat ride from the landing pier. The Bay of Islands doesn’t have any facilities for large vessels to go alongside. A very peaceful and quiet place, the above photo was taken from Waitangi wharf. Our mini-bus took […]
There comes a time that when you are offered something and it sounds great, you should be careful – but I wasn’t careful and agreed. As MV Juna reached Fremantle in Western Australia I agreed to supervise the loading of freezer and chiller cargo, on the understanding that once is had been completed I was […]
We arrived safely in Moji, and when off duty, I was free to walk around the town. It was 1967 and the lack of English language signs was noticeable, considering that all of the other Japanese ports (about five or six) that I’d visited, had some western symbols, even if it was only a neon […]
There were eight of us (four couples) and we’d visited Malaysia & Sri Lanka so where next. Because I was responsible for arranging the two previous holidays the question was aimed at me. I was reading ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Green, so I thought why not Vietnam to see the Continental Hotel in Saigon (now […]
London on a Spring day a few years ago. London Pride written by Noel Coward after a bombing raid in 1941. He was sitting in a damaged railway station and apparently he felt a wave of sentimental pride. Tulips Soldiers of the Queen On duty at Horse Guards Big Ben Tower Bridge ANZAC war memorial […]
This blog is aimed mainly at Australian readers, so I apologise to my other readers. I am tired of the multi-coloured banner across the top of my blog, even though I’ve tried to have it removed, and investigated how to remove it myself, but I don’t have the computer knowledge. It is obviously a banner […]
Muscat means ‘anchorage’ in English, and it is obvious why it got that name being protected by a rocky island. The above photograph is from the internet – it was taken in 1970, two years after my visit. This is Muscat harbour in 1903, the fort that can be seen is the Al Jalali Fort. […]
I was a deck cadet on the above vessel in 1963. Arriving in Singapore on Saturday the 14th September 1963, the cadets were allowed to go ashore and have a swim at the Seaman’s Club. The ship was anchored off the wharf area, and we would take a small junk and be rowed, usual by […]
You can sail the Danube or the Mekong or even the Amazon for pleasure, and not have a worry, but I doubt that you would choose to sail up or down the Shatt Al Arab for your annual holiday. The map will give you an idea of where we were heading – we bunkered (refuelled) […]
Travel often pops up in various conversations and those who know me have suggested that I should put down some of my experiences. At first I was reluctant, because I didn’t think people would be interested in the travels of an unknown traveler. When my grandchildren started to ask questions I thought perhaps I should […]
