Sydney, Australia

Our ship was docked right next to the famous Sydney Opera House. On our first day we took a harbor tour and saw the sights from the water. In the evening I went to a play in the small "Playhouse" in the Opera House complex. On the second day we took a ferry across the bay to the zoo. We saw koalas, kangaroos and lots of other animals plus great views over the harbor. We also walked through some of the city streets where there was a mix of old, historic buildings and giant skyscrapers.

Melbourne, Australia

We took an old-fashoned steam train trip through the "Dandenongs" (hills outside of Melbourne). We looked over the area from the top of Mt. Dandenong and visited a bird reserve and saw some colorful birds and a kookaburra sitting in a (gum?) tree. We drove through some small towns and through part of Melbourne on the way back to the ship. In the afternoon I took the city tram downtown and saw the Queen Victoria Market, historic buildings, interesting back alleys and many outdoor restaurants.

Perth, Australia

We docked in Fremantle at 8am and sailed out at 6pm so it was a whirlwind tour of this area. We took a bus tour of Fremantle and Perth then I walked around downtown Fremantle. Next we're on to Melbourne.

Bali

Here we are on the tropical island of Bali. We toured the island and saw some beautiful beaches, landscape and buildings. The street peddlers were very aggressive and persistent. The weather has been great with water and air temperatures around 85 degrees. There is high humidity but that is to be expected here.

Singapore

We had just one day in Singapore. We took a bus tour around the city and saw some highlights but there wasn't time for more than that. We saw the famous Raffles Hotel but, sorry, no Singapore Sling.

The next day we sailed further South and crossed the equator. I couldn't see that big line that's on all the maps but the GPS showed a longitude of 00.00 degrees.

Koh Samui, Thailand

We had a one day stop at the resort island of Koh Samui. I took a tour that involved a ride on a "long tailed boat" to another, smaller "desert island". We swam and snorkeled among tropical fish over a coral reef. We had an open-air lunch by the beach then we went back to the ship and sailed away again.

Bangkok, Thailand

It's a two hour bus ride from the port where the ship landed into Bangkok. I took a tour that went to Bangkok and took a boat ride on a river through the city stopping at a temple then at a riverside restaurant for lunch. Then we had a ride through the streets of Bangkok and back to the boat. The next day we took a shuttle bus into Pattaya which is a beach resort town near the port. We walked on the beach and around the town and had a bite to eat at, of all places, a KFC.