Tiomen and KL

Day 1, 3rd September 2014 – Disappointment, Trials and Serendipity

My day started at 2:30am as I will try and use some of our points to get an upgrade to Business Class for our trip to Singapore. With the ticket that we have purchased there is a rule that only allows us the opportunity to upgrade 24 hours before the flight is due to leave, which happens to be 2:30am on the 4th September. A bleary eyed David was up at the appointed hour but should have stayed in bed as alas there were no upgrades available. At least we still have our passes that give us access to the business class lounge.

Today is all about getting ready and remembering to pack everything we need for a trip to the tropics. The major disappointment was when I realized that I had lost my passes that will give us access to the Emirates Business Class lounge in Brisbane. Given that we have a limousine pick up (courtesy of Emirates) booked for 11:00pm it will mean a long wait in the departure area. I tried a desperation call to Emirates but alas the access card is issued by Citibank and that would necessitate a call that would not bring the joy that I was looking for.

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and thinking that I should have checked a few weeks earlier to ensure everything was up to date. My composure took another downturn when I noticed an email from Air Asia informing us that our flight to Yangoon had been cancelled. Obviously it was beyond their control but other options were on offer. The only good thing was that the notification arrived prior to our departure. With a sigh that could have been heard at Lang Park I embarked on an electronic journey of cancelling accommodation, booking new flights and finding some overnight accommodation in Kuala Lumpur. By the time I had finished this unexpected delight I was ready for a glass of cheer.

Jemma came to the rescue and took Alice and I out to our local restaurant, Soul Bistro. The company food and wine relaxed me as well as Alice to the point where my sad face had disappeared. We did not have long to wait before there was a knock on the door and a courteous good evening from our chauffer. Given the time of night we were soon delivered to the departure drop off zone at Brisbane International airport. We were more than 3 hours early but there was already a substantial queue waiting to check-in. As we had previously checked-in on line we were able to join a much shorter queue. It was only a short moment before we saw Gene and Trish who are travelling with us in the extended queue. We made some quick plans to meet them on the other side of immigration after they had checked in.

When we approached the check-in the hostess greeted us warmly. On spec I asked if there were any Business Class seats available for the flight as I had plenty of frequent flyer points. To my surprise she said that there were two seats available but she would have to check with her supervisor. My earlier disappointment turned into abundant joy when she gave us the thumbs up. Gene could see on my face that we were about to dump them for a taste of luxury. Trish and him told us to enjoy it so we toddled off and were soon enjoying the pleasures of smoked salmon and champagne. Ah serendipity!

Day 2, 4th September – Brisbane, Singapore, Tioman Island

The flight was running about 30 minutes late and we ended up boarding around 2:40am. The hostess offered us another glass of champagne before coming around with a mattress for our small sleeping pod. A quick sandwich and I was soon asleep. I did manage a few hours sleep but I still woke up too early to say that I had a decent nights sleep.  After a gourmet breakfast where I can’t believe that I declined the champagne we touched down in Singapore at around 8:30am. Alice and I were ushered off before those who had suffered the indignity of travelling economy class and waited for Gene and Trish to emerge. Gene had managed to get our previous seats which were a double at the rear of the plane. We were in no hurry and by the time we had reached the carousel our baggage had been removed. I went outside and located our driver who was patiently waiting for us. His name was Skye and he had been delegated to drive us from Singapore to the Malaysian town of Mersing on the east coast. The drive is approximately 150km and takes around 3 hours if you get a clear run through the border control gates. There was no problem exiting Singapore but the queue for Malaysia was a few hundred metres long. Nevertheless it only took about 15 minutes to have our passports duly stamped.

We stopped for some petrol and tried a couple of ATM’s for some much needed Malaysian Ringgit. Unfortunately to our chagrin none of the machines we tried would dispense the cash. Our driver made the decision to try for some money when we arrived at Mersing. It took about 15 minutes to leave the city precinct and for the next hour we enjoyed a pleasant drive in the country. My old bladder was starting to become irritated but I relaxed when I saw the Mersing city limits (motorcycles not allowed in it). As soon as he pulled up at the bank I made a bee-line for the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet and immediate release from my cramping inside. With our wallets full of Ringgits and Gene clutching a Malaysian Sim card we made the short trip to the jetty. The taxi trip cost us $S180 and the vehicle that we travelled in was first class. Being ever generous we tipped Skye $S20 for our tardiness and stopping to allow us to sort out our telecommunications and high finances. At the ferry terminal we found out that we had another 3 hours to kill as our ferry would not be departing until 4:00pm. We purchased our tickets to Salang Bay on Tioman Island which cost MR75 ($25) for a return ticket.

There was a nice little restaurant next to the water so we ordered up a variety of goodies to satisfy our hunger. To kill some time the girls walked back into town to look at a shoe store and buy some pharmaceuticals. At 3:30pm we joined the queue to register our names and provide our ID so that our relatives could be informed just in case the ferry sank. After registration it was off to another counter where we had to pay a marine park tax. Gene and I got ours for half price MR12 ($4) because we are good looking and over 55. The girls on the other hand had to pay the full price of MR25. We then had to get our boarding pass and wait in a covered area until the ferry arrived. The majority of the passengers decided to stand and form a line so that they would be first on board and therefore have first divvies on the best seats. It was a good plan but unfortunately for them the ferry was running about one hour behind schedule.

Eventually we were all on board and we departed the quay just before 5:00pm. Seats were scarce but the crew did manage to find some separate seats for us. The trip across was uneventful and about 1 hour 15 minutes later we pulled into our first of five ports of call. There were a number of passengers alighting which freed up some space for us. Our stop of Salang Bay is the last stop and we berthed around 7:15pm.

Our luggage was off loaded but unfortunately for Alice her bag had lost a wheel in transit. We managed to wheel it down the jetty before a second wheel decided to pack it in. I had to carry it on my shoulder for the last 100 metres to our lodgings the Salang Pusaka. I know we are on island time but I was not prepared to wait another 90 minutes for reception to open for the evening. The staff was polite and suggested that we sit down and have a seafood barbeque. I just as politely suggested that they find someone to register us and show us to our rooms. It really has been a long day! Thankfully someone emerged from having their dinner and kindly escorted us to our MR150 ($50) a night deluxe bungalow. I was not expecting luxury and they did not disappoint us.

The chalets come with air conditioning, hot shower and a small refrigerator that is good enough to cool down a cask of wine. I forgot to mention that we packed in 8 litres of wine and a bottle of champagne for the next four weeks. Gene and Trish who are only travelling for a week have a tidy 4 litres plus a bottle of rum. We won’t be going dry on this Muslim Island. Back to the room and it was easy to read the disappointment on the faces of the girls. It may have had something to do with the mould in the bathroom, missing roof tiles, blood on the walls courtesy of previous tenants who had been swatting the mosquitoes. The mattress and pillows had also seen better days. Well we sucked it up and went for a short walk along the foreshore where we found a duty free shop selling cold beer at a reasonable price. As we were sitting back on the balcony and downing a draft of cool beer there was an enormous bang on our corrugated iron roof which gave us all a dreadful fright. The noise continued intermittently before we realized that the bombardment was the result of mangoes falling on our roof.

Our first night’s sleep after what was a very long day was punctuated by buzzing mosquitoes and a thunder storm which caused a fresh avalanche of mangoes.

Day 3, 5th September – Diving Tioman Island

Gene and I woke up around 7:00am and went for a walk along the bay so that we could get a feel for what was on offer. There are some establishments that offer good sea views but most have been booked out for the weekend by locals from Singapore or KL. In addition from what we can see they are all in need for some loving TLC. Back at the room the girls finally emerged from their deep slumber a little after 9:00am. A late breakfast with some coffee was what we all required so we chose one with a seat overlooking the water. The omelet, juice, toast and coffee only set you back approximately $9 per couple which was excellent value. The flies that accompanied us were free.

There are plenty of dive shops to choose from but Gene and I settled on the small shop, Scuba-Naut that is vertically integrated with our hotel. They were going out that afternoon at 2:00pm so they happily accepted our verbal booking. When we arrived back at the shop to sort out our gear we discovered that they had a sense of humour as they had booked us in under the pseudonyms of Glen McGrath and Ricky Ponting. The double boat dive is costing MR180 ($60) and includes all gear which appears to be in good condition.

After cramming into our speedboat we were off on a 20 minute ride to the KM Sipadan dive site located of Air Batang beach. The Sipadan is a 1964 royal navy warship which was deliberately scuttled here in 2012. Gene and I surprised ourselves as between us we have had about 4 dives in the last five years.  The dive depth was about 30 metres and had only minor difficulty in equalizing. We were able to swim through the wreck which is home to a few big fish and some large schools of bait fish.

Our second dive was in much shallower water with a maximum depth of 16 metres at Soyak Island. It is located only 5 minutes from the jetty and is clearly visible from Salang Bay. This was an excellent dive as we were able to see a black tipped reef shark, barracuda and a small turtle. There was also plenty of coral with some deep purple fan coral in excellent condition. We enjoyed our dives to the degree where we instantly booked in for tomorrow at 10:00am.

Back at the room we found Alice and Trish still resting. It did not take long to convince them to join

us for happy hour and falling mangoes on the deck. By 6:30pm we were all ready for dinner so we toddled off to our hotel's restaurant which had looked promising the night before. Like our request for breakfast this morning they informed us that they would not be ready for at least another hour.

We ended up walking to the far end of the bay to a hole in the wall seafood barbeque place that had the requisite faded plastic chairs and the worn plastic tablecloth. Alice and I settled for a combo seafood BBQ which included rice, Tom Yam soup, whole fish, calamari and prawns for MR70 ($24). Gene and Trish ordered a variety of dishes that the waitress tried hard to remember. After a while a range of food from the BBQ and the kitchen arrived at our table. Only 2 soups arrived so Gene and I polished them off. They were extremely spicy and I doubt that Alice could have eaten hers anyway. Trish’s fish failed to arrive so she had to go and order another one which duly arrived. The place was starting to hum and I have no idea how they were getting the orders completed given their processes.

There was a storm brewing so Alice and I left Gene and Trish some money and the joy of working out the bill. The waitress had a pile of orders and had no idea which table they belonged to. Gene sorted her out based on what we received and in the end the total bill was under MR100. All good fun! We only just made it back to our deluxe accommodation when the heavens opened up. The rain and the ensuing mango bombardment provided a cacophony of noise on the tin roof. A couple of relaxing drinks on the balcony and we were ready for bed.

Day 4, 6th September – Unhappy Campers

Gene and I were once again up early, if you can call 7:00am early. We went and had a coffee with the locals before heading back to wake the girls. Once again breakfast was not ready at the hotel so we adjoined to the local food hall for coffee and an egg and onion roti. The roti is basically a pancake that is whipped up on a hot plate by a charming Malay man. The flies and local cats joined us at our water view table.

It was time for the boys to go diving so we left the girls to their own devices and headed off to the dive shop to gear up. There are seven of us diving so we have a slightly bigger, only just, boat than yesterday. We are heading off to Tiger Reef which is approximately 25 minutes west of Salang Bay. Gene and I were the consummate professionals as we had no trouble descending to our maximum depth of 21m. The visibility was not great but there was still plenty of reef fish and coral. We started off with a little swim through and saw a Moray Eel and some large Batfish. A little further into the dive and we were greeted by a turtle that appeared to enjoy swimming in our air bubbles. A couple of more Moray Eels and some Nudibanchs completed what was an excellent dive.

In between dives we stayed on the boat which was moored at our next dive site of Labas Island. For some reason the dive company supplies us with lunch when we stay on the boat. The chicken club sandwich that they supplied went down a treat. This dive was spent mostly around the 11m depth and had a variety of swim troughs to entertain us. Most of our time was spent just poking around the crevices and bommies looking for anything that took our fancy.

We were back on land at around 3:00pm and after washing our gear we met up with the girls. As we settled down with a beer they regaled us with the news of the day. They had spent the morning chatting with Peter a British expatriate and his Malay wife Reah. They also took the initiative and found a new hotel that met their expectations in terms of cleanliness as well as a view. As everything is still booked out for the weekend the super deluxe rooms at the Salang Sayang will not be available until tomorrow. We gave our nod of approval and they went off to book our new digs and cancel our old ones. The hotel was fine but they did want us out of our rooms by 8:30am and payment for the 3 nights. With the girls now happy we went off in search of an early meal. We ended up with some more Tom Yam soup, hamburgers and a variety of curries. The soup just about exploded my taste buds and I was in desperate need of some milk.

Day 5, 7th September – The Big Move

I was glad when the sun came up this morning as the mosquitoes were particularly ferocious. We all had a multitude of bite marks with Alice copping some nasty ones on her face. I think that the big move has arrived just in time. With our bags packed we headed out the door, past reception and the smelly stream to our new room. The rooms were not quite ready so we stored our bags and went for breakfast. Along the way we admired the giant monitor lizards that inhabit the creek. They are so big that they look like Komodo Dragons.

Time to check-in and Gene and I had the task of hauling the bags up a number of steep steps to our
new rooms. One word can describe the new digs, SENSATIONAL! Our tiled balcony overlooks the beach and the bay. The hotel rooms are set in a picturesque garden with palm trees. Our showers spurt out a constant stream of hot water unlike the trickle we received at the previous place. After unpacking it was time to head off for some more diving.

Our first dive today was at Layeng Layeng . This dive was a little ordinary as the visibility was atrocious. Gene did manage to spot a small Moray Eel which was the only highlight of the dive. The next dive at Tredau which is just north of Salang was probably the best one to date. Under a coral bommie  we saw a giant puffer fish and a little further on there was a green turtle. It was blissfully chomping on a piece of coaral and did not seem to mind all the divers posing for photographs with it. There was also some large blue ringed angelfish and yellow masked angelfish. To finish off the dive we saw a big school of bumphead fish which I think are a part of the Parrot family. These guys were huge!

Back at our new MR250 ($85) a night lodgings Alice and Trish had tales to tell of the local hooligans. In the early afternoon a large troop of monkeys headed into the resort looking for any tidbits that they could find. As part of this process they would climb onto verandahs and upturn rubbish bins or grab any food that might be lying around. Meanwhile Gene and I relaxed with an ice cold beer and enjoyed the view. Dinner tonight was at Salang Dream who do a pretty good barbeque. The waitress who happened to be a ladyboy was very helpful in organizing our meals.

Day 6, 8th September – Coral Island

Woke up reasonably early after a mosquito free sleep. Gene was on the deck and was being amused by the monkey that he found hand spooning into its mouth the dregs of his rum and coke. We are in no hurry this morning as Gene and I are having a lay day from the diving. The plan is that we will join the girls and embark on an all day around the island speedboat cruise. We have booked with Peter and his wife and are due to depart at 10:30am. Well 10:30 came and went and there was no sign of a boat or anything that resembled a trip. Time was dragging on and eventually we found out that the skipper had decided to travel to Mersing on the main ferry on what we assume was personal business. This basically meant that he would not be back on the island until 12:30pm. A quick change of plans was in order so we booked the boat for a 1:00pm snorkeling trip to Coral Island (MR70 for 4 hours) which is a 20 minute fast speedboat ride from Salang Bay.

This time when we sauntered down from our room the boat was waiting for us. There were two other guests on the boat who were both Malay girls and the skipper introduced himself as Captain One. The first snorkeling stop was fantastic. The boat was moored just off Coral Island and the visibility was great. The girls were quick to through on their masks and fins and they were soon skimming over the water admiring all the tropical reef fish and the abundant coral. There were plenty of anemones hosting clown fish and the occasional parrot fish. When Alice and Trish finally clambered back on board they declared it their best ever snorkeling experience. Captain One then drove us over to the other side of the island which had a movie set quality to it. The water was shallow, crystal clear and lapped at a white sand beach which had a near impregnable jungle behind it. We had another snorkel here which was okay but not as good as the previous one. The real entertainment was watching Captain One whom Gene has now named "Don One" (Juan) putting the moves on one of the Malay girls. It looks like they have been together before but nevertheless he is being overly attentive towards her.

Our next stop was at Malang Rock which is just off Coral Island. The current was strong so only
Gene and I ventured in. I’m glad that we did as the marine life was prolific. After about 20 minutes we were back on board and headed for Salang Bay where the currents were more favorable. There were plenty of sea anemones which were hosting all sizes of clown fish. With the snorkeling over it was back to the chalet for an afternoon tipple. In Gene’s case make that a nanna nap.

Day 7, 9th September – Planet Of The Apes

With the snorkeling out of the way it was back to the serious business of diving. Gene and I are the only divers today so we have plenty of room on the boat. Fan Canyon off Coral Island is the destination for our first dive. It is a drift dive with a maximum depth of 14m. As the name suggests there is a lot of coral to view on this dive. The visibility was once again in the 10m to 12m range which makes it difficult to spot the bigger species that may be a little further out. We did get a good look at a huge Moray Eel and a Cod. The dive lasted about 50 minutes before we surfaced.

Once we were back on board the boat scooted over to Malang Rock and anchored on the lee side. We enjoyed a sandwich before setting up our equipment for the second dive. I must be improving as the setup only took a couple of minutes. This is a great dive site but once again the visibility takes the edge off the experience. Our dive master Azzi pointed out a blue spotted stingray and a green turtle that was snacking away on a piece of coral. There were a couple of tight swim throughs and it was interesting to observe our bubbles trapped on the rock ceiling above us.

The girls meanwhile have taken a boat taxi to spend the day at Tekek which is the administrative centre for the island. They had a pleasant morning walking along the foreshore towards Air Batang. There was nothing exciting about Tekek except for the ATM machine so they ordered a taxi to convey them to the Berjaya Resort. Alice and Trish are not timid and it wasn’t long before they were swimming in the hotel pool and enjoying a cappuccino. Oh the decadence!

While we waited for them to return from their sojourn Gene managed another power nap. From our balcony we could see the girls arriving at the jetty. As they approached the room we could see that they looked bedraggled. Apparently speedboats are not much fun when the wind is up and the ride is bumpy. After a hot shower and a change of clothes they joined us to watch the local ape population indulging in some mayhem. For some fun I growled at one of the large males. He obviously took me as a threat and without any hesitation he leapt off the neighbouring roof and launched himself at me. I would like to say that I stared him down but such was the ferocity of his charge that I dived back into the sanctuary of our room. Alice and I went back outside to see if we could intimidate the villainous Koba (Planet of the Apes) but he would have none of it. Once again he charged us and I practically ran over Alice in my haste to get back inside. After our brush with Koba we will be treating these bad boys with more respect.

Tonight we are having dinner at Salang Dreams which does a very good barbeque. Like all the restaurants on the island they do not serve alcohol however you are welcome to BYO. One of the good things about Tioman Island is that it is duty free which means we can buy a can of beer for RM4. This is far cheaper than the prices on the mainland. Our meal of squid, grouper, chips, curry and rice was just under $20 a couple.

Day 8, 10th September – The Missing

There are no boat dives today but two shore dives will keep us occupied for most of the day. We headed up to the northern end of the bay and after gearing up made the slow swim out into deeper water. Our destination was an old wreck that lies at a depth of about 24 metres. The wreck supports a good array of marine life including a big school of yellow and black striped fish (Don’t know name). There were also blue banded angelfish, bat fish, grouper and a small turtle.

After lunch the dive location was the house reef. This entailed a short walk from the dive shop and entering the water just south of the jetty. Our luck with visibility has not changed as the change of tide has stirred the sand up. We can see for about 8 metres which is just good enough. There are a couple of small coral outcrops near the jetty but the highlight was swimming through a large school of baitfish. They were so thick that the light from the sun was blocked. After the jetty we finned across to an artificial reef. A large Batfish accompanied us like a faithful dog to the reef.

With our dive over we needed to settle up our account with the dive shop. We needed access to our room and luckily I found Alice down by the beach. She thought Trish was at the room so Gene went on ahead. When we arrived Gene was standing forlornly at his door. He jumped our balcony and luckily the door was unlocked but there was no Trish or evidence of a note. We settled up our dive account which cost us just under $60 for a double boat dive with all gear supplied. A large storm was brewing so we walked the length of the bay in search of the missing Trish. She was nowhere to be found so we could only assume that she had decided to take a walk over the mountain to a neighbouring bay. With the storm over we were heading back to the room when we saw Trish arrive on a small motorized dinghy. It turned out that she had walked to Monkey Bay and was trapped there due to the storm. There is only one family who lives there and they earn most of their income from conveying tourists for MR40 back to Salang Bay.

Trish was obviously happy to be back and Alice helped her celebrate with a bottle of champagne. It is
our last dinner tonight so it was off to the Salang Indah which has great water views. The food was great and ridiculously cheap at about $13 a couple. I love these prices!

Day 9, 11th September – Where’s The Bus

We are up nice an early this morning as our ferry back to the mainland is due to depart at 9:00am. A quick pack of the bags and by 8:00 we were sipping on a condensed milk Nescafe. I was thinking of ordering an omelet but a ferry pulled into the jetty at 8:20 am. On investigation it turned out to be our ferry back to Mersing so our breakfast was cut short. As Salang Bay is the first pick up point we have no problem with getting a decent comfortable trip. The trip back was uneventful and the boat berthed at around 11:15am.

On the previous day Gene had organized a taxi for the return trip to Singapore and his driver was waiting when we arrived. On the other hand I declined to book our bus tickets to Kuala Lumpur on the pretext that there would be plenty of seats available and it would save us RM20 in unnecessary booking fees. I wanted to get to the bus terminal by midday on the off chance that there was a bus at 12:30pm. We had plenty of time so we went across the road and purchased a few T-shirts before getting a lift with Trish and Gene to the bus station. On arrival we said our farewells and saluted what was a fabulous time.

My joy quickly turned to horror as each counter said that all the tickets for the 12:30 and 1:30 trips had been sold. Oops I forgot that this was supposed to be the start of school holidays! I checked with a couple of taxi drivers and found out that the taxi fare for the 351km trip to KL would be RM750 ($250). It was a reasonable price considering the distance but I declined and went back to try my luck at the bus counter. The not so good news was that there were seats available on the 10:00pm bus but the kind lady offered me an alternative. She ended up selling us the last two tickets on the 1:30pm bus to a bigger town called Kluang which is another 100km up the road. There are a number of bus companies travelling between Kluang and KL so she thought I should have no problem in getting an onward journey.

Our bus which is quite comfortable and luxurious departed about 10 minutes early. The journey was uneventful and reminded us of Sabah with all the palm oil plantations. We arrived a little after 3:00pm and after unloading our luggage dashed up the stairs to try and purchase some onward tickets. I tried the same company and my luck continued to hold as they had two tickets available on the 3:30pm trip to KL. The irony of all this is that the sum of the parts was less than the whole as the combined cost of our bus tickets was about RM8 cheaper (total cost for two of us was $25) than the direct bus. Our VIP bus was even more fancy than the previous one. The last 200km into KL was on a tollway and the driver who was suffering from boredom spent half the time on his mobile phone. Nevertheless I did not feel unsafe as he seemed to be aware of any changing traffic conditions. In the end we arrived at the main bus terminal in KL about 20 minutes later than the direct bus. The bus terminal at KL is a terrific transport hub with links to three rail lines other bus services and taxis. The facilities inside the terminal are first rate and makes Roma Street look like a slum.

Feeling relieved that we had made it to our next destination we hired an unmetered taxi and accepted the price of RM30 ($10) for conveyance to our hotel. I think a normal driver may have taken 30 minutes but with the pedal to the metal he made it 20 minutes to the Alpha Genesis Hotel in the area of Bukit Bintang. We booked this hotel on Hotelopia and are paying $249 for four nights in a deluxe room. Our check-in could not have gone any better as there were no queues. An even more pleasant surprise is that they have upgraded us to a business class room as they had run out of deluxe rooms. When we walked in the room I could not believe how big it was. There is a separate lounge room with an extra television a small eating area that has a large refrigerator as well as a microwave. Can’t help but feel loved!

After we settled in it was off for a short walk to get a feel for the area. It is a real happening area with night clubs, street eateries, massages and convenience stores. After being in an area where you could not buy a drink we were suddenly being offered two for one cocktails from nearly every establishment. We ended up having dinner at a no frills Indian style restaurant. Our total bill for a very filling meal with non alcoholic drinks was about $9.

Day 10, 12th September – Shopping, Hotmail and Contracts

Breakfast was included in the room rate and was reasonable but not exceptional. After it had settled we went walking in search of Skechers store and the Pavilion Shopping centre. A few wrong turns later we finally found this huge store that easily beats anything in Brisbane in terms of opulence. The prices were all similar to home so Alice was a little disappointed. She did however manage to find a good quality duffle style suitcase to replace the one with the broken wheel.

My Hotmail account had been hacked and as a result I was locked out. A code was required to unlock the account but I can only get it sent to my home email account. Luckily I could ring home on Skype and Doreen saved the day and retrieved the code for me as well as forwarding on our more important emails. The most important one was from Caloundra Real Estate who have signed up a prospective buyer for Alice’s unit at Dicky Beach. The fun started when we had to try and print out the twenty page contract, sign and initial the relevant pages, scan the signed copies and then send them back to the agent. Luckily the hotel had a business centre and we were able to print the documents but regrettably there was no scanner. We went in search of an internet café and after a twenty minute walk found an excellent location. The scanner could only do a page at a time but the lady in charge managed the job for us and then saved it to our USB.

When I went to attach the file to our email the USB did a back flip and all the files on the stick were lost. I was really frustrated but determined to get the contract back to the agent. Two trips and a different USB later I was finally able to send the files or so I thought. Stupid me I forgot that the email was forwarded from our home address and as a result of selecting “reply to all” I sent the file to myself. On the second attempt I got it right. By the time I had finished all this rigmarole it was time for dinner and an early night.

Around The World in 78 Days - The End

Day 74, 6th July – Up, Up and Away

This morning Alice and I were able to sleep in to 8:00am. We decided it was time to get up when we could smell the fresh coffee that Joan had been brewing. I was definitely in a go slow mode and was enjoying the fresh rolls that John had brought home after his morning exercise. He is more disciplined than me. Before I knew it Alice was telling me that it was time to go. Like Speedy Gonzales I jumped in the shower and finished packing in less than 20 minutes. John and Joan drove us to the airport which to our surprise took only 24 minutes. We had a really great time with Lissa, Joan and John and were sad to leave after such a short visit. Hopefully, we will see them Down Under in the not too distant future.

We have given ourselves plenty of time to claim our tax refund and to complete our self check-in. The queues I picked were of course the slowest moving and I managed to encounter a polite but officious female staff member. It did not matter to her that our first bag was under the maximum limit by 4kg as she set her attention to the second bag which was an incredible 2kg over the limit. I was given the option of paying extra for the overweight bag or redistributing the weight. The decision was easy but we had to move aside whilst I stuffed some items into our carry-on luggage. Given that they were willing to accept the original bag for an additional payment I am at a loss to see what was achieved except to annoy their customers. In the end we still had plenty of time to enjoy the Servisair lounge prior to our departure to Frankfurt. This has been the best lounge so far on this trip and the open liver paste sandwiches that we made were delicious. Our boarding gate was not far from the lounge so we did not have to rush when it was time to board. The one hour flight was uneventful except as usual the clown in front had to immediately recline his seat.

On landing in Frankfurt for our five hour layover we took a tour of all the terminals in search of a lounge. Eventually we made our way to the Luxxlounge where we can avail ourselves of wine and food until 8:30pm. This lounge was nearly as good as Copenhagen and we must say that the Germans know how to make a good sausage. At around 8:20pm we let the lounge and headed off in search of our flight which will convey us to Singapore. We discovered we were departing from terminal Z62 so off we toddled following the directions that were well signed. There was hardly a soul at the immigration and security sections so our progress was fast and smooth. Some last minute duty free was in order prior to us making the long walk down the very long terminal Z. Even with the aid of the travelator it still took 10 minutes to reach our gate. Our aircraft is brand new and seems to have plenty of leg room. The flight was delayed by one hour as Frankfurt was hit by a severe electrical storm that impacted on all the departures. The woman in front of me thought that this was a good enough reason to fully decline her seat. I immediately thumped her seat and politely asked her to refrain from reclining until after our take off. Thankfully she acquiesced to my request.

Day 75, 7th July – Singapore

Our flight time was just over 12 hours and I think we did manage 3 to 4 hours of broken sleep. The only downer was that the young guy next to me was suffering from a heavy head cold. The food was good but the blankets were a little on the short side. We touched down smoothly in Singapore a little before 5:00pm and spent the next 15 minutes taxing to the terminal. As we were near the front of the plane we made a dash for the immigration counter to avoid the long queues. We were processed fairly quickly and then made our way to the luggage carousel where we waited and waited. I should have guessed that with our 5 hour layover in Frankfurt that our bags would have been the first loaded and as a result the last off.

A $S20 taxi ride and 25 minutes and we were at our hotel the Parc Sovereign located in Albert Street, Bugis. It is a great room and on the same level as the swimming pool. After a quick swim we thought that we should eat prior to catching up on the lost sleep. In the elevator we met an Australian couple from Melbourne so we joined them for dinner at a food court in Little India. There was plenty to choose from but Alice settled on a $5 curry with rice and chicken which was sufficient for both of us. My large beer ended up costing more than the meal. The food was good but it was time for bed so bid adieu to our new friends.

Day 76, 8th July – Orchard Road

We had a well deserved sleep in this morning prior to heading off to the shops. Alice wanted to have a look at the shops on Orchard Road so we found a map and decided that it was within walking distance. Although the weather was quite muggy it was a pleasant enough walk. Within no time the first of the big shops appeared and I was looking for a suffering seat to pass the time. Alice managed to pass through countless stores without purchasing one single item. We stopped for lunch at one of the many Asian food outlets that seem to be permanently affixed to each mall. Korean BBQ beef looked appealing but alas it only just passed as edible.

It was late afternoon when we arrived back at the hotel and after a short break we hit the pool. Even though it was overcast the temperature and the humidity were high. The pool temperature was just right and the water was as refreshing as a Singapore Sling from the bar at Raffles. We did a few laps of the pool on the pretense that it was exercise.

Earlier in the day we had spotted a restaurant offering two chilli crabs for the price of one so we thought it would be worth a chance. After all you cannot have a meal in Singapore without trying their famous chilli crab. Our entrees of rice, beans and icy cold Tiger beer arrived at the table so we cleared a space and started sampling the very tasty beans. It wasn’t long before the main course was delivered for our inspection and ultimate consumption. The two reasonably sized fried mud crabs looked like they were swimming in a deep pool of thick chilli sauce. I immediately set myself to the task of extracting the succulent flesh from the claws and legs. Before I could start I had to suck the sauce off the shell so the crab would not slip from my fingers. Tasty work! We both beavered away at the crabs and by the end we looked like we had gone a few rounds with a crazy cook. There was sauce and crab all over our hands, faces and the table. It was a great meal and at $S39 a good price.

Day 77, 9th July – Serangoon Road.

There was nothing planned for today so we had another good sleep in. Eventually we ambled out of the hotel and went in search of a cheap breakfast. We found a small shop that was selling coffee, toast and two eggs for $3.50 so naturally we took a seat inside. I thought that the eggs were boiled so I went to great pains to explain that we would like them soft boiled. When they arrived at the table they were not boiled but were half cooked microwave poached eggs. With a little more cooking time they at least looked edible.

Alice returned to the hotel so I decided on a short walk through Little India and Serangoon Road. This road was the name of a HBO series that was set during the sixties and a turbulent time in Singapore’s history. As you may expect there was plenty of incense burning at the front of many of the shops. There were plenty of sales happening at the gold stores that propagate the sidewalks of Serangoon Road. After covering the majority of the area and resisting the temptation to buy a sari I returned to the hotel.

Alice had sorted out our luggage so that we did not overload our large suitcase and earn the wrath of the check-in staff. It was close to 1:00pm which meant that we had to vacate our room and store our luggage for a few hours. With that chore out of the way we went in search of some lunch. I tried some Vietnamese spring rolls which were truly horrible. I think that my old thong would have tasted better. Our hunger pains were easily solved with some Burger King indulgence which starred the junior burger. Afterwards we strolled around the Bugis Street stores and the alleyways of the busy market. Alice thought there were some bargains to be had but she had neither the patience nor the need to try on any of the garments.

Just after 5:00pm we took another $20 taxi ride to catch our last flight of what has been an incredible journey. The whole process took less than twenty minutes which meant that we had at least 3.5 hours to kill before takeoff.  The airport is so huge that we took the shuttle train over to terminal 2 where we had a light meal. After killing a bit of time we made our way back to terminal 3 and the twenty five minute walk to our gate. There were only a couple of seats available so we sat down next to a lady who was playing something on her IPad. Imagine our delight when it turned out to be a live broadcast of the State of Origin. The second half was underway and we were able to see the avalanche of Queensland tries. Finally they opened the security scanning area and started to let the passengers through. When it was my turn they pulled me aside and asked if they could search the bag that Alice had packed. Apparently the x-ray had showed that there were fluids in the bag. I told them there was nothing there and was happy for them to investigate. Imagine my horror when from deep in the recess of the bag they retrieved a bottle containing cleansing lotion. Luckily it was still in the duty free plastic bag so we were allowed to retain it. With no other dramas we boarded our flight for home.

Day 78, 10th July – Home

The flight home is just under 8 hours and could not be called arduous unless you manage not to sleep. Try as we might neither of us was able to drop off. A few movies, meals and trips to the toilet and we were touching down in Brisbane. Our flight was ahead of schedule and even with yet another long wait for our luggage we were in the arrival lounge before the scheduled time of 7:05am. Jemma and Telissa who were picking us up were nowhere in sight. Alice bought some coffee and just as we were about to take our first sips the girls came bounding in. Seeing their faces again brought some tears to our eyes and reminded us of how long we have been away.

Well in the end Phileas and his Princess made it home to Kawaku Lodge with two days to spare. It has been an epic and sometimes challenging journey that we were privileged to share with friends and family. To Julie, Tony, Doreen and Allan thanks for travelling the highways and byways with us and making it a memorable trip.

Rah, Rah Rasputin

Day 59, 21st June – The Longest Day

It was lucky that we had the blinds drawn last night as the sunrise was at 4:30am and will not set until around 10:00pm. When we wiped the sleep from our eyes the first impact on the sensory organs was the smell of freshly brewed coffee and toasted cheese sandwiches prepared by Jytte. It may be the longest day but we are turning it into a lazy day. Alice and I travelled with Jytte to the Super Brugsen store in Asnas to purchase some provisions for the evening meal. On our return the four of us took a walk down to the beach. Even though the sun is shining we have no intention of going for a swim as the wind is blowing with gusto. Once you were out of the wind your body temperature increased to the point where you had to remove a layer of clothing. On our way back we stopped at the local and purchased some more wine and fresh jordbaer. There were a number of serve yourself stores with an honesty box selling fresh tomatoes, strawberries and new Danish potatoes.

Later in the afternoon Alice and I took a walk through the back laneways and gravel roads. Despite the weather I was surprised by the number of people out walking. They were all friendly and responded to our twangy Aussie hellos. The landscape is very foresty and supports a large variety of bird life. Down at the beach the conditions were still rough which precluded us from a long walk along the beach. We doubled back via the centre of the village and contemplated a double scoop of ice cream. With great restraint we just managed to resist this delectable temptation. Back at the summer house it was time to put the feet up and watch another game from the world cup.

Jens had spent the day at a reunion with friends whom he started grade one. I’m flat out remembering which school I went to, let alone whom I went with. Jens had missed the ferry so did not arrive back until after 6:00pm. As Jytte was serving the evening meal she gave a startled shout. I thought she had dropped the dinner but to our delight she had spotted a doe with its fawn in the backyard. Unfortunately, they had been spooked by the neighbours returning home and they only stayed long enough to scamper through the backyard. With this impromptu visit over it was time to sample another one of Jytte’s culinary masterpieces. It was a casserole with pork fillet, bacon, small sausages, mushroom and onion in a Hungarian Paprika sauce and accompanied with boiled new Danish potatoes. Needless to say we did make short work of the Grenache Noir and a kilogram of strawberries with freshly whipped cream. 

Day 60, 22nd June – Danish Day in Denmark

The weather has improved slightly and the wind has abated leaving us with a bright blue sky. Jens has taken Doreen and Allan for a drive around the district to see the attractions of Roskilde and Dragsholm Castle. He is a goldmine of information and seems to know all the country lanes and back roads. Alice and I are staying back at the summer house and are helping Jytte prepare the various courses for this afternoons feast. As a reward Jytte has given me a can of Black Bird Gylden Classic lager beer which is brewed in Jutland.

The festivities or should I say lunch kicked off a little after 2:00pm with marinated herring (rollmops) and thinly sliced onion. Following the consumption of the herring the tradition is to shout skol and down a glass of Schnapps. It seems to enhance the flavor or it could be my imagination that is being fueled by the high octane schnapps. There was plenty of rye bread which we spread with liberal quantities of Bornholm salad. This was made with a mixture of smoked herring, mackerel with finely chopped onion, radish and egg which is then blended with mayonnaise. Course number three was smoked eel. Jytte gave Alice a lesson in how to debone and skin the eel. It is a soft texture and the flavour was delicious. We are resting in between courses and lubricating our throats with local beer and the occasional schnapps. Course number four was an unusual one as I think it is a Jytte creation. It was egg with a tomato hat with prawns in the middle which was then drizzled with mayonnaise. The other courses were procured from the local deli and they were a liverwurst paste and smoked salmon with cream cheese and dill. These were accompanied by fresh tomatoes and beetroot.

By early evening we were all a little merry but not yet merry. Jytte brought out a game called Cub which soon had our competitive nature in full swing. The game is hard to describe but is essentially played in the backyard with wooden objects. It was a great game and for those who are interested you can purchase the game on Amazon. A few more schnapps and we were ready for bed.

Day 61 23rd June – St Hans Day

The weather today is pretty glum. There are plenty of grey clouds with a strong chance of precipitation. This does not bode well for our chance to go swimming or the celebration of St Hans Day. The Danes take this day seriously and the tradition goes back hundreds of years. All over Denmark they celebrate by lighting giant bonfires. On top of the fire there is an effigy of a witch and when it burns the spirit is sent back to Bornhoff Island (salad fame) in Germany.

With the foul weather Jens has turned into an errand boy. He has transported Alice and Doreen into Asnas to purchase some needed supplies. I later went for a drive with him to another small town to purchase a new HP wireless printer. The store was like stepping into Harvey Normans with the aisles and products arranged in a similar pattern. There is something wrong in the corporate world when it is nearly as cheap to buy a new printer with ink than to purchase a replacement ink cartridge.

Allan and Doreen booked a table at the local restaurant as tonight there is a pork smorgasbord.  When we arrived after 6:30 there were no spare tables so thank goodness for the booking. It is simple fare with lashings of potato, roast pork, beetroot and white sauce with parsley. We all did justice to this mighty spread but Allan managed to get the best value with three plates. At 99 danish kroner it is a good value night out. Back home we watched some of the St Hans celebrations on television. One of the towns had entertainment which included an old English rocker Mungo Jerry. He managed to get a few of the oldies moving when he sang his old hit “In The Summertime”.

Day 62, 24th June – The Norwegian Star

The weather this morning has improved so Alice and I decided on an early morning swim in Victory Bay which is part of the Kattegat Sea. When we arrived at the water’s edge we nearly had a change of mind as the wind was still blowing. It was now or never so we whipped off our shirts and with more bravado than we actually had plunged into the water. The water wasn’t warm but it was bearable so we ducked beneath the waves and immersed ourselves in the kelp infused brine. We needed proof of our stupidity for Lilian so the camera was forced into service to take the ubiquitous selfie.

Back at the house Jytte has the coffee percolating and made some toast which was thickly spread with delicious liver paste. With the morning disappearing we bade farewell to Jytte who did spoil us. She even gave up her double bed for Alice and me. It is sad to be leaving but another adventure awaits us on board the Norwegian Star. Our luggage has been redistributed and each couple only needs one suitcase for the cruise. It can all fit into Jens’ car so he will drive us the 90 minutes to the port in Copenhagen.

The check-in process for such a large ship was smooth and it wasn’t long before we were all on board. Alice and I are in steerage class and have a inside state room (they are all called state rooms) on level 4. We can’t go any lower as the engines are below us. Doreen and Allan are slightly higher on level 5. We cannot complain as we are only paying $900 each for our 9 night cruise and that includes a bottle of wine, chocolate coated strawberries and a $50 dollar on board voucher.  You may ask why so cheap? If you are prepared to wait until the last minute then the prices drop significantly. The site we used is Vacations to Go and they have a 90 day ticker which lists most world cruises (Australia does not rate) with the latest discount rate, not including relevant taxes. We booked one month out and paid by credit card over the telephone and our tickets were emailed to us. I could have saved another $100 each if we had waited until two weeks out but I did not want to risk missing out.

After a quick bite to eat on deck 12 we had a walk around the ship. I managed a few swings in the golf net which is about my limit these days. The gym is fairly big and after meeting the personal trainer (Tony, he is engaged) I think I will need to burn off some calories here. My weight is ballooning and I now am up to 79kg. Alice and I have decided to be a little decadent and have splashed out $150 each to become VIP members of the spa. This gives us access to the steam room, sauna, hydro therapy pool as well as a quiet area with deck chairs. We did manage to have a relaxing session before dinner.

Day 63, 25th June – Warnemunde, Germany

I had a great sleep and the sea is so calm that it is hard to believe that we are sailing on the open sea. Dinner last night was great but now I have to pay the penalty and head up to the gym. A half hour on the treadmill followed by some pushups and stretching and I was ready for a relaxed breakfast. While I was exercising the ship berthed at the port of Warnemunde. There is no rush as we have not booked any tours and will be content to stroll around this UNESCO listed town.

Alice was a little unwell so I took a walk with Allan and Doreen into the city. The first thing we noticed was a large area that has been set aside for campervans. Jens would probably know if it was free and the location was right on the edge of the canal. There were plenty of ferries with names such as “Hafenrundfahrt” offering short sightseeing trips for 9 euro. The other activity which is relatively cheap is to catch the metro to the historical town of Rostock. It is only a 10 minute ride and you can explore the great churches and Gothic architecture. Warnemunde is basically a seaside destination and it has a long wide and white sandy beach. The town has cobble stone streets and the inns and small hotels are quaint. The local museum is in a fisherman’s house which dates back to 1767. Other points of interest are the Neo-Gothic church built 1866-1872 and the lighthouse. It was built in 1897-1898 from white glazed brick and is 32 metres tall. For the princely sum of 2 euro you can climb to the top for a great view of the surrounding area. The “Alter Strom” is an area where you can promenade past fishermen houses, cafes, pubs and boutiques. You can even try the daily smoked fish, eel or a fish sandwich.

After lunch Alice was feeling a little better so we took a walk around the Alter Storm. The boutiques and a spot of retail therapy seemed to lift her spirits. She did manage to purchase a new swimsuit and was able to resist the temptation of some rather nice slacks. We did find a supermarket where we bought some water, beer and some piccolos of champagne. One thing about cruise ships is that if it is not complimentary then you will pay through the butt for it. A litre of water is about $US4.50 which makes it three times more expensive than petrol. Alcohol is also outrageously expensive. We did not go, pardon the pun, overboard with our purchases as they do scan your luggage when you return to the boat. With our walk out of the way we had some time before dinner to enjoy the spa. The deck chairs are located in the aft section on level 12 which gives you a great uninterrupted view of the harbor.

Dinner tonight was once again in the Aqua Lounge. The menu is quite varied and thankfully the portions are not on the large side. Everyone knows that we like a drop of wine with our evening meal so we purchased one of the wine deals which reduces the price by about $6 a bottle. Even at this price the cost is still outrageous at around $24 a bottle. At least the meals taste good. It is an early night for us as the clocks go forward by one hour and we want to get up early.

Day 64, 26th June – At Sea

The six a clock alarm would never ring but it rings and I rise, wipe the sleep out of my eyes and head off to the gym for another session. There are no ports of call today so we are taking in a few of the ships activities. Whilst I sit around on deck 8 people watching and typing this tome, Alice is heavily engaged in the Battle of Bingo. At lunch she reported that she waited for 10 calls for her final number but unfortunately she missed out. I was going to do some research on the internet but at 75 cents per minute it is another example of exorbitant overcharging for basic services. After lunch Doreen, Allan and she will play Deal or No Deal. I on the other hand could not be bothered with such trivialities. Don’t rip my tongue out Lilian! My time will be spent at the spa and a cycling exercise class. Hopefully I will learn some techniques that will improve my fitness.

Well I did not learn anything that will help me get fitter but I did sweat a lot. Alice also spread some sweat with a good Pilates workout. Some hydro therapy and a session in the steam room was enough to take away any aches and pains. All that exercise stimulated our appetites so it was with great relish that we attacked another three course meal. We all finished the evening off with a show that featured a great singing foursome from Spain and Italy called Four Ever.

Day 65, 27th June – Helsinki, Finland

The weather this morning was slightly overcast but there is no hint of rain. After breakfast we ventured out of the cruise terminal onto Finnish territory. The terminal is far enough from the City centre to warrant taking a tour or one of the many taxis. There are another two cruise ships in port so it will fairly busy. We opted to take the hop-on, hop-off red bus which does a sixty minute loop for 20euro. The cruise ship uses the green bus and that was 25euro.

The four of us alighted at the Swedish Theatre in the city centre and strolled down one of the esplanades to Market Square on the waterfront. Alice and I decided to explore the markets and left Allan and Doreen to their own devices. Our next task was to hike up a small hill to the Uspenski Cathedral where we were rewarded with a great view of the City and harbor. The Tassie Devil was so impressed that he demanded a picture. From there it was a short stroll past the Presidential Palace to Senate Square. The architecture in this area is superb and you could spend many hours meandering through and past the buildings. My Chinese bladder was playing up and there was a dearth of public amenities so we headed into Café Engle which is supposed to be the oldest café in Helsinki. After purging my excess fluids I ordered two coffees and a piece of carrot cake. When I converted the Euros to dollars I figured out that my toilet break had cost $25. OMG!

Our map was pretty good so Alice decided that we should use Shanks’ Pony and pick up the bus on the other side of the City. Our walk took us past the historic railway station and some underground bus stations which was great for this old transport nut. We crossed a bridge that we thought was over a canal but it turned out to be huge bike path. There was even an Aussie Bar festooned with Australian paraphernalia and selling Fosters. We finished our walk at the Rock Church. Now this is not a music church but is in fact the most unique church in Finland as it is built into the bedrock. The impressive interior has a large copper domed roof and a magnificent organ. While I was inside Alice joined a long queue of desperate women who were in need of some relief. Even though the admission to the church was free they more than made up with it by charging one euro for use of the toilet. Alice was heard to lament “Here I stand all broken hearted, I paid one euro and only ….”. She did join me inside and was impressed by the wonderful acoustics and the simplicity of the layout.

It was time to catch the bus again so we took it through the suburbs to a park that housed the Sibelius Monument. It is an impressive stainless steel monument dedicated to the world famous composer Jean, you guessed it, Sibelius. We took a stroll down to the waterfront where there was a duck with a big flock of ducklings. I was not sure when the next bus would come so we walked to the next stop where the 1952 Olympics were held. In the surrounding park there were monuments to two great Finnish Olympians Parvo Nurmi and Lasse Virren. Our day was drawing to an end so we caught the bus back to the boat. Our view is that Helsinki is a beautiful but expensive City. The red bus was a good option for our one day exploration.

Day 66, 28th June – St. Petersburg, Russia

My research on Russia indicated that we did not need a visa to enter if we were arriving on a cruise ship and were taking an organized tour. The NCL tours were exorbitantly priced and a two day, 17 hour tour was $US450. On the web I found a Russian company, Kurs – Spb that had good reviews with Trip Advisor. I emailed them and arranged a tour for $US295 that included more site visits than the NCL tour.

The day did not start well as Doreen injured her back this morning and could not move. Allan has arranged for the doctor and as a result they will not tour today. Alice and I cleared the immigration line at around 9:15 and soon found our guide Svetlana. Our vehicle which is a new Mercedes van is of course being driven by Ivan. Our first stop was at the banks of the Neva River where we viewed a magnificent pair of granite Egyptian Sphinxes that were installed in the 1830’s. With all the interconnecting canals it is easy to see why St. Petersburg was referred to as the Venice of the North. Our next stop was at the subway which was built by the Soviets in the 1950’s. The station we boarded at is supposed to be the deepest subway station in the world. It was remarkably clean and there was no graffiti. Each station has huge mosaic murals that represent each particular station.

Back in the car and we were off along the Moscow Prospect then onto the Kiev Highway to the town of Puskin. After travelling through the Egyptian Gates we came to the Tsar’s Village and Catherine’s Palace. This palace ranks as one of the masterpieces of world art and was used as a summer residence by the royal family until the time of the last Russian Tsar. Our tour took us through a series of magnificent rooms, including the Picture Gallery, The Great Hall and the world famous Amber Room. Our guide Lana was able to get us past most of the large tour groups and still find time to point out the more interesting aspects of the palace.

We then journeyed to Peterhof which is known as the Russian Versailes. Built at the beginning of the 18th century it is one of the most brilliant palaces. It encompasses seven parks and more than 20 smaller palaces and pavilions. The Grand Cascade is fantastic and consists of three waterfalls, an avenue of 64 fountains and 37 gilded statues. The palace and Grand Cascade were extensively damaged during World War 2 and were under restoration for many years. There are no water pumps and all the fountains are gravity fed by a series of lakes and reservoirs. Lana had brought a packed lunch for us that we enjoyed on a park bench in the shady gardens. One of my favourite fountains was the joke fountain. You had to walk across some stones and depending on where you stepped you could be covered in water. Our transfer back to town was across the Gulf of Finland by speedy hydrofoil. It was such a smooth ride that I had difficulty keeping my eyes open.

We alighted from our boat at the Spit of Vasilievsky where we had a great view of the Hermitage Museum and our next destination the St. Peter and Paul Fortress. Inside the fortress we entered the Cathedral where we admired the marble columns and glittering painted chandeliers. The carved and gilded iconostasis create a great setting for the tombs of the Romanov monarchs. In 1998 the remains of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas 2nd and his family were also buried in the Cathedral.

A little after 6:00pm we bid farewell to our guide and made our way quickly through immigration. After such a long day it was enjoyable to relax at the spa centre and then have a quiet dinner.

Day 67, 29th June – Rasputin, Spilled Blood and the Hermitage

The good news today is that Doreen’s back has improved and she and Allan will tour with us. We started the day with a photo opportunity of St. Isaac Cathedral before heading off to an active Russian Orthodox Church known as St. Nicholas. It is Sunday and we were fortunate enough to witness a service and to listen to the chanting. An interesting fact with the Orthodox Church is that they are required to stand for the entire service. Allan could not enter as he was wearing shorts. It is lucky that we are in the van as Ivan has had to make a few detours to get around the marathon which is on today.

The next stop was at Yusupov Palace where the infamous monk Grigori Rasputin was assassinated. The palace was owned by Felix Yusupov whose wealth rivaled that of the Tsar. It was here in 1916 that Rasputin was killed: he was lured to the palace by several influential figures of the time, given poison cakes, which for some reason had no effect on him, then shot and thrown in the river. Our guide led us down a narrow staircase to the very spot where Felix and his accomplices assassinated Rasputin. I must say that Lana gave us a lot of information regarding Rasputin and for me it was one of the highs of the tour. Among the palace’s treasures are works of art by Rembrandt and Rubens, French tapestries, porcelain and Venetian mirrors. Our favourite room was the small theatre with its own stage and boxes for visiting dignitaries including the Tsar.

Our next stop was the Cathedral of spilled Blood or as it is also called the cathedral of Ressurection and was built between 1883 and 1907 on the spot where Emperor Alexander the 2nd was assassinated in 1881. The interior of the church is a memorial to Alexander and is decorated with different marbles and several thousand square yards of mosaics. They are far from ordinary as the surfaces have been left unpolished so that it reflects the sunlight. A late lunch was taken at a local restaurant where we sampled a typical Russian salad, Borsch (Beetroot soup) and the old special Beef Stroganoff.

Our next stop was the Hermitage Museum which ranks as one of the worlds most prestigious museums. It contains over three million objects of unparalleled importance. The museum was founded by Catherine The Great in 1764 as a private court museum and has evolved into one of the most remarkable collections of art in the world. Lana our guide led us through the labyrinth of rooms that features the art of Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Titan and others. There are Dutch and Flemish collections featuring Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dyck. The collection of French art is the largest outside France and displays work by Degas, Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gaugin and Matisse. Lana was exceptional as she singled out various pieces of art and gave us some detailed knowledge of the work. We obviously did not see a large proportion of the exhibits but one of the highlights was a Peacock clock which was handcrafted by an English master. I think we covered a few kilometers and encountered our share of pushy Asians. On one occasion I jumped in front of them as they were taking some photographs. It was music to my ears when I heard them bleating about my rudeness.

Our last port of call was a tour inside St. Isaac’s Cathedral which was built between 1818 and 1858. The outside structure is surrounded by huge granite columns. It is the fourth largest domed cathedral in the world and on a clear day you can see it from Peterhof which we did. Our touring was over and Ivan expertly had us back at the terminal a little after 5:00pm. Alice and I can highly recommend this company as they were passionate about their history and at the same time they made us feel as if we were part of their family. Compared to what NCL were offering we received excellent value for the money we spent. To finish off the day Alice and I adjourned to the spa area where we could relax and watch the scenery unfold as we cruised away from the port.

Day 68, 30th June – Tallinn, Estonia

The weather over the past two days was excellent however when we docked this morning we were greeted by a cold wind and fog as thick as pea soup. It was so miserable that we did not exit the ship until 11:00am. Given that we had to be back on board by 4:30pm it did not leave us much time for exploring the old historical city of Tallinn. Once again the four of us have opted for the hop-on, hop-off tour. A one day ticket that covers three routes cost us 13 euro.The main route travels around the outskirts of the old city and takes about 50 minutes. Alice and I alighted at the Toompea Castle stop whilst Allan and Doreen completed the loop and then transferred to one of the other routes.

The old city is particularly enchanting and we spent a lot of time wandering through cobble stone streets that were lined with medieval buildings. Some of the interesting landmarks were Tall Hermann’s Tower, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin. Alice donated some coinage to a busker of indeterminate age and doubtful skill who was passionately belting out some old classics. He was entertaining and deserved some largesse from the crowd. We continued downhill past St. Nicolas’ Church before stopping for a break in the Town Hall Square. I needed an establishment that made a decent coffee as well as having a WC. For the princely sum of 13 euro which was much cheaper than Helsinki we had a club sandwich and a couple of excellent coffees.

By the time we had finished our coffee the day was getting on and we still had plenty to see. We did manage to have a good look at the largest cathedral which is known as St. Olav Church but the main landmark for me was Fat Margaret’s Tower. I have no idea why they named it as such. We were going to have a look at Swan Lake and the Russalka Monument but decided that we may be pushing it for time. Rather than wait for our bus we decided to walk back to the cruise boat on the off chance that we may find a supermarket selling some of the local beers. As it turned out Alice led us to the main alcohol store that sells discount liquor to all the local cruise ships. We did manage to purchase some beer, water and of course some champagne piccolos. Back at the ship we finished the day at the spa, a Beatles tribute show and then a good meal.

In hindsight even though the bus tour cost only 13 euro we did not get good value from it. Our advice if you are ever visiting Tallinn is to take the 15 minute walk into the old town (get a map from the tourist information area) and spend the day exploring this great area.

Day 69, 1st July – Stockholm, Sweden

Once again the weather is a little dicey but we have all managed to exit the ship by 8:30am. We do not have any tours booked but the ever ready red hop-on, hop-off bus is available. There were buses everywhere and we mistakenly purchased tickets on the green bus. They also had red buses which led to the confusion. After being relieved of 27 euro each we headed off from the port towards the city centre. Rather than wait for another bus we trudged across the bridge to the old town where the Royal Palace was situated. Like Helsinki the stone architecture is marvelous and has been kept in excellent repair. We were lucky enough at the palace to witness the changing of the guard. It was time once again to find a toilet and rather than pay for it we decided on a couple of coffees at one of the many restaurants that surround the square. The Nobel Museum is situated in the square but unfortunately we did not have time to visit.

Once again we boarded the bus which took us through some interesting neighborhoods and past the impressive City Hall. This building on the waterfront is huge and is constructed from brick. We alighted from the bus near Central Station and went in search of the ice bar. At the end of a dead end street near the World Trade Centre we found the coolest place in town. Alice and I decided that the 20euro cost per person for 45 minutes in minus 5 degree temperatures would be worth it for a once only experience. We changed our minds when they informed us that the wait would be one hour and twenty minutes. Our back up plan was to have a junior burger from a Swedish version of McDonalds. They also had the requisite WC which I am always in need of. The food was good and the WC better. The weather seems to be fluctuating and there has been a hint of some rain.

Our next stop was on an island that has many museums and attractions. We did not go into the Vasa Museum which has the world’s only surviving ship from the 17th century. The reports from other cruise members are that it is definitely worth a visit. The museum that we were intent on seeing was of course the ABBA Museum. At the front of the museum there was a life size mural of the four members in their garish costumes. The heads of the group could be swung aside to allow you to become an ABBA superstar and pose for a lame photograph. There was never any doubt that the four of us would acquiesce to this ridiculous pose. Time was running out so we did not worry about spending the $25 on admission fees. We did however spend some time gazing at the memorabilia that was available for purchase. Those ABBA socks will look brilliant on Alice.

Today is only a short day in port so we decided to head back to the pier. I guess everyone had the same idea as the next two buses that came along were full. When the next red bus did not stop I started to get a little upset. On his return leg I jumped in front of the bus demanding to be let on. It was then that I found out that there were two companies with red buses and he did not stop there. As usual Murphys Law kicked in and while I was remonstrating with the driver a green bus with room on it sailed past. Luckily on the return leg the driver took pity on us and picked us up at a non designated stop. After two more stops our bus was full and heading directly back to port. This tour would have been better value if you are staying for 72 hours. As it was if you study the public transport map you can cover off most areas quite cheaply and with only a little walking.

Back on board and Alice is off to Bingo whilst I endeavour to torture myself with a 45 minute cycling course. After our individual workouts we headed to the spa area and relaxed as our ship sailed away from the pier. For us this was one of the highlights of our trip. Stockholm is surrounded by a beautiful archipelago of over 1300 islands. As the ship navigated its way through narrow channels you felt that you could reach out and touch the islands. Some were small with just a few trees and a navigational beacon while others were lined with jetties and beautiful summer houses. There were vehicular ferries connecting some of the islands and I was astounded when I saw one conveying an articulated passenger bus. I could have stayed on my deck chair for ages just watching the scenery float by however Alice and I must go for dinner.

At dinner I jokingly asked for a romantic table for two. I was flabbergasted when they seated us adjacent to a large window which allowed us to continue watching the islands of the archipelago. As dinner was drawing to an end the ship finally hit the open sea. Our guesstimate is that we sailed through these islands for about 4.5 hours. It was such a great finish to an outstanding day.

Day 70, 2nd July – The Baltic Sea

There are no ports of call today so the alarm has deliberately not been set. Alice and I did not make it out of bed until late which meant breakfast did not occur until nearly 10:00am. We were not the only ones enjoying a late start as Doreen and Allan arrived after us and had trouble finding a spare table. I spent the next few hours catching up on my diary whilst Alice was actively engaged with Deal or no Deal.

At 3:00pm I headed off for my cycling torture course. When I had finished my shirt was covered in sweat which I hope is a good indicator of calorie loss. With this strenuous activity finished that was the end of my training for the day. The spa once again beckoned and we will be sad that we will not to be able to take advantage of all the facilities. Our day finished with dinner in the Aqua lounge with Doreen and Allan.

Day 71, 3rd July – Copenhagen

The alarm this morning was set for 7:00am as we have to get up and pack our bags so that we are ready to disembark by 9:00am. After our last breakfast we were ready to leave and catch up with our Danish relatives. We said our sad goodbyes to Doreen and Allan as they are heading off to Ordrup with Jens. Meanwhile Alice and I were picked up by Lissa and Joan and were whisked through Copenhagen and onto Tune.  We are once again in the country and we are happy to be spending some quality time with them.

After a great lunch of herring, prawns, egg and meat which were spread on open sandwiches we relaxed and chatted in Lissa’s sunroom. As usual the sun is still high in the sky and it is hard to believe that it is already 6:00pm. Joan’s English son in law, John is currently staying here and tonight we are sharing a roast pork dinner with red cabbage. He was running a little late as he was stuck in a traffic jam which is unusual for this area. Perhaps it is because the Rolling Stones are playing a concert tonight at the nearby Roskilde music festival but it turned out to be an accident on the freeway.

Dinner tonight was another traditional Danish meal. Alice and I were both salivating over the smell from the oven of freshly roasted pork with perfect crackling. This was accompanied by red cabbage, new Danish potatoes and John’s delicious gravy made from the pork juices. We washed this down with some red wine and followed with fresh strawberries, cream and a little Grand Mariner.

Day 72, 4th July – Something Rotten in the State of Denmark

It may be Independence Day in the USA but here in Denmark the sun is shining and the wind has abated which makes it a perfect day for travelling to the seaside. Our destination today was the town of Helsingor where Kronborg Castle is situated. For those who know their Shakespeare this is where Hamlet uttered his famous soliloquy “To be or not to be….”. The original castle was built in the 1400’s and was subsequently added to over the centuries that followed. Much of Denmark’s wealth can be attributed to this castle and its enviable location which is only about 4km from Sweden. Any shipping that wanted to trade in the Baltic area had to pass by this point. All the Danish cannons were trained on the shipping lanes which meant some hefty taxes found their way into the treasury.

Lissa bought some entry tickets to the castle which allowed us to visit the chapel and the Kasematter (underground cavern). The castle is surrounded by fortifications that include an array of cannon and a moat. The walls are very thick and could easily have withstood an enemy bombardment from that period. Inside the chapel there was a section for royalty as well as a beautiful organ. We wandered across the square and then took some steps down for the underground tour. There were some torches available for rent but we forged on without them. One of the highlights of the caverns is the imposing statue of a sleeping “Holger the Dane”. Legend has it that he will awaken if and when Denmark needs defending. Some of the areas were quite dark and eerie so a torch would have been handy. You could easily imagine how terrible it would have been for prisoners kept in these dank and dark cells. I don’t know if Shakespeare ever travelled here but sure had plenty of material to work with. “Alas poor Yorich, I knew him ….”

Lunch was beckoning so we took leave of the castle and wandered into the little town squares in Helsingor. Tables were pretty scarce as they were taken up by masses of Swedes. They swarm across on the Scandlines ferry which depart every 15 minutes to indulge in some duty free shopping. They are easy to pick because most of them a hauling a trolley laden with alcohol. Alice and I had the open sandwiches with a beer whilst Joan and Lissa had fish and a non-alcoholic drink. Afterwards we took a stroll down the pedestrian only main street. Alice managed to purchase some Licorice Gajol, Danish lollies and some medication. The whole area was a great place to chill out as there were many restaurants with some having live jazz music. Before returning to the car Joan led us to a famous ice cream parlour where she bought us a double scoop in a freshly made waffle cone. On the wall there are photographs of celebrities one of which included Prince Charles slurping one down.

It was 4:00pm when we arrived back at the car but as you know we still had plenty of light left. With so much daylight left the girls decided to give us a treat and drive along the coastline towards Copenhagen. The road follows the coastline for over 40km and for the majority you have great views of the water. It is a long version of the Gold Coast’s Hedges Avenue as some of the houses would command in excess of $1,000,000. Near Humlebaek we stopped so we could visit the Louisianan Museum of Modern Art. To be honest I thought it would be a little lame however when we entered the grounds I was more than a little surprised. Being summer it was a perfect time to enjoy the unique interaction between art, architecture and nature. We did a short tour of the Sculpture Park and explored the hidden pathways, watched the masses sunbathing and picnicking on the grass and feasted on the panoramic views of the sound and nearby Sweden. There were even a few brave souls swimming in the shallow waters. The Louisiana collections are of international importance and well presented in the galleries. Alice and I would profess not to have too much knowledge of Modern Art but we were both impressed by the German painter Emil Nolde (1867-1956). There was also an exhibition of the later works of one of the most important American painters from the second half of the twentieth century Philip Guston ((1913-1980). The exhibition title Painting, Smoking, Eating implies that during the last ten years of his life Guston only drew and painted himself and his immediate surroundings. The other exhibition was the works of Hilma Af Klint (1862-1944). This Swedish artist used a lot of symbols and colours and was unlike anything I had seen before. Due to the abstract nature and references to the occult . Alice and I both agreed that it wasn’t our cup of tea. The Louisana was a destination where depending on the weather you could easily spend a day.

We continued following the coastline with its parks, sheltered bays and beautiful homes. There was even a museum for the celebrated author Karen (Out of Africa) Blixen. When we reached Copenhagen Lissa took us to see the resting place of her husband Erik and her son Lars. We felt particularly honoured that she shared this special place with us.

It was around 8:00pm when we arrived back at Tune. Given that we had such a huge lunch we decided to share a bottle of wine and some leftovers from the previous night. John had a previous arrangement with Lissa’s neighbour Erik for some world cup football, beer and some cooked goose and partridge.

Day 73, 5th July – Hop On-Hop Off Copenhagen

Lissa has a birthday that she must attend today so John has driven her to meet an early train from Roskilde. She has been a superb hostess and has overwhelmed us with her generosity and kindness. In between time we just grazed and had copious cups of coffee. Later in the morning we caught the train (every 15mins on Saturday) from Greive to Central Station in the heart of Copenhagen. The Tivoli is adjacent to the station but we wanted the hop on hop off bus. Along the way we passed the Astoria Hotel where Alice’s parents met over 65 years ago.

After purchasing our tickets at the discount price of DKK150 we were off on yet another tour. John and Joan decided that we would alight at a stop that was close to Jens’s heart, Christiania. Prior to walking there Alice and I took a fancy to the Vor Frelsers Kirke (church). We could see that the spire of the church had a spiral staircase on the outside of the building that went all the way to the top. The first section was an endless series of wooden steps that took you to an upper viewing platform. I think that this attraction would have a difficult time meeting workplace safety regulations in Australia. When we eventually reached the top we were rewarded with amazing views of central Copenhagen. Back in the interior of the church there was a magnificently carved wooden organ that dated back to the 1600’s. We continued on to Christiania which is basically a hippie conclave which started in the sixties. The area has its own rules and most of the inhabitants pay little or no taxes. Photography within the area is not allowed and of course the use of drugs is a no no. I can’t explain what those big fat, funny smelling cigarettes that every third person was smoking were! There were plenty of arty type things for sale and to complete the hippie theme the majority of clothing seemed to have been produced in Nepal. Prices however were not utilitarian and were marked up to ensure a good profit for the seller.

Our lunch break was taken by one of the canals and the serving was more than generous. Our next stop on the bus tour was only a short distance but one of the highlights. It was the Amalienborg Place where the royal family resides. The flags were not raised which meant Mary and her brood were not at home. The palace appears to have four buildings that are connected. The design means that there is a huge centre courtyard and at the front of each building there is a royal guard standing (not so rigidly) at attention. From here we walked along the river front and could view some new and old architecture. One of the more impressive buildings is the new Opera House. Further along was the huge Gefion Fountain and then of course The Little Mermaid. It must be famous because Alice, myself and Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones were just a few of the thousands of visitors who come to see this little statue. I was a little disappointed to see a little graffiti on the mermaid.

We only had a few minutes to wait and we were back on the bus again heading for the walking and shopping street known as Stroget. Alice managed to find a couple of souvenir shops that sold tea towels and other assorted paraphernalia. We did manage to avoid buying some rather large Viking helmets. Down near the Town Hall we stopped for a photo opportunity with the statue of Hans Christian Andersen. John ended a memorable day by shouting us all a double scoop waffle cone ice cream at the Tivoli. Like a well oiled machine we walked to the station and boarded our train with thirty seconds to spare. We made it back to Tune in time to see the majority of the game between Belgium and Argentina. None of us had the stamina to stay the distance with John who stayed up and watched the Netherlands play Costa Rica.

Blues - One in a row!

Day 52, 14th June – Exploration

Patmos is a relatively small island with not much traffic so Allan and Tony have hired motor scooters for getting around the island. I’m not as confident as them so I have stuck with the faithful quad bike. Our first stop was the Cave of the Apocalypse where St. John wrote the book of Revelation. There was a German tour group in the cave church conducting a service. We sat quietly in one of the pews and took in the biblical significance of the setting. As we were leaving another tour group was arriving. It pays to time your arrival as soon as it opens as it is a popular destination for pilgrim groups and tourists. At a fork in the road we left Allan and Doreen. They headed off in search of beaches while we went back to the hotel for our swimming gear.

We have chosen to ride to Agriolivadi Beach which is a few kilometres out of town. From the top of the hill it is a great view of the beach with its neat row of sun-beds and two white washed tavernas. After a quick bite to eat we joined the other sun worshipers. The sun-beds were a little expensive so we laid our towels out under the shade of a tree. The beach is pebbly but easy underfoot so it is easy getting into the water. The horseshoe bay is well protected and there is hardly any wind. Alice was soon in the water doing some sort of aerobic exercises while I settled for a long swim out to a yacht. There was still more exploration to undertake so it was back on the quad for more fun.

There was a sign indicating turn left for Lefkes Bay so we followed the road until it petered out into a rutted dirt track. It was way too bumpy for the quad so we gave up and headed up the mountain to Kampos. There were a couple of choices from here so at yet another fork in the road we headed for Ag. Nikolaos. The terrain was quite rugged and the barren landscape with the sea as a backdrop made it a stunning view. At the end of the road there was a little church and a track that led down to the bay. That was too far for us so it was back to the fork in the road and a trip down to Livadi Kalogiron Bay. There was only one other person on the rocky beach so we took a spot for ourselves and plunged naked into the sea. There was no point in getting our clothes wet again! Although this bay was not protected from the wind the water was quite warm. Alice did a bit of a plastic cleanup of the beach before we called it a day and headed back to the hotel.

Day 53, 15th June – On The Road Again

It was a slow start to the day as we were a little dusty after last night’s drinks. Alice and I headed North East and made our way to Panagia Beach which is situated below a beautiful Greek Orthodox Church. The path down to the beach passed by a goat pen before ending at a secluded bay. We knew it was secluded as all four patrons were naked. There was no shade available so Alice and I were soon in the water to cool off and enjoying the remoteness of the location. As we were leaving Tony and Julie pulled up so we went off to investigate Geranos  Beach and Apollou. This area is worth more exploration as there are hiking trails that take you to bays and beaches that are not accessible by motorized transport.

Lunch was calling so we found a little taverna at a beautiful bay called Livadi Geranou . The view would rival the Stradbroke Hotel but it is the simplicity of the surroundings that sets it apart. We enjoyed a couple of traditional dishes prior to walking down to the well shaded beach. Tony and I took a long swim to a nearby island while Alice and Julie cooled off in the shallow water. The afternoon quickly disappeared and it was back on the machinery to Skala town.

Tonight we decided to stay at the hotel and have a concert with the resident star Tony. There is a neat little courtyard where we can eat and Tony can perform his music. We have all prepared a different portion of the meal. Alice has put on cheese, figs, nectarines, olives and biscuits for the entrée. The main meal is potatoes, baked beans, tomato, onion and cheese prepared lovingly by Allan and Doreen. Julie and Tony have provided a traditional greek desert. Tony was in fine voice and the food which was well lubricated went down a treat.

Day 54, 16th June – The Monastery of St. John

The first thing you notice on Patmos is the monastery of St John the Divine or the Evangelist and that is our destination this morning. It crowns the hill of Hora. It looks like a Byzantine castle and was built like a fortress. Its presence is overwhelming and was founded in 1088 by Ossios Christodoulos following a grant by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I. Komnenos. The greater part of the monastery was completed by Christodoulos in just three years. Its heavily fortified exterior was necessitated by the threats of piracy and Seljuk Turks.

The monastery’s walls are over 15 meters high, its length from north to south is 53 meters and from east to west 70 meters. It seems even larger when you stand at the entrance, noticing its thick walls and heavily reinforced door. The monastery consists of interconnecting courtyards, chapels, stairways, arcades, galleries and roof terraces. Hidden in the walls are fragments of an ancient temple of Artemis that was destroyed in the 11th century. The main chapel is lovely, as is the adjoining Chapel of the Theotokos, whose frescoes date from the 12th century.

The Treasury has an impressive array of religious art and treasure, mainly consisting of icons of the Cretan school. The star exhibits are an unusual mosaic icon of Agios Nikolaos and the 11th-century parchment granting the island to Christodoulos. There is also a painting of Christ by the famous El Greco who was born on the island of Crete.

After taking a few pictures of the nearby windmills we headed down to the beach at Stavros Bay. It is an extremely hot day and the deserted beach was just what the doctor ordered. The water was refreshing and if not for the lack of shade we would have stayed longer.  A homemade lunch partaken on our balcony was a great way to wind down. Alice is so relaxed that she can just drag herself off the bed for a stint of window shopping. Tony and Julie are relaxing at Kampos beach on the four euro sun-beds. Doreen and Allan on the other hand are relaxing and touring around on their scooter.

I did not think it was possible but Alice managed to shop for about four hours and did not return until 7:00pm. She also managed to relieve a few shops of their merchandise. Doreen dropped by the room and told us that she and Allan were going out for a romantic dinner. Tony and Julie were also still out and about.  Alice was still charged after her shopping spree so we decided to take an evening drive to Aspri Beach. There is a great little restaurant overlooking the water but unfortunately they had no customers. We backtracked a little and stopped at Meloi Beach and the lone seafood restaurant there was doing a brisk trade. The beach has brown sand which we would call dirt and some shady trees. It would appear to be a quiet spot that the kiddies would enjoy. It was starting to get late so we took a drive to a point that overlooks Merika Bay. The local authorities have installed a couple of seats as it is a perfect position to enjoy a Patmos sunset. We were not disappointed as spot on 8:30 pm the sun dropped behind a distant island in a bright red orb.

I knew Alice was starting to get hungry as it was well past her dinner time. She directed me to a restaurant in the back streets of Skala that she had seen earlier in the day. When we arrived there was only one other customer but nevertheless we took a seat. It was a good decision because the oven baked lamb and the rabbit stiffado (stew) were both delicious. For me that was the first time that I had eaten Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd eat your heart out! Cost for the meals including a litre of rose was 27 euro. It was a perfect way to end the day.

Day 55, 17th June - On The Beach

We are spending so much time on the beach that I will have to pull out my old Chris Rea compact disc. Today we headed north to a beach at Lefkes Bay. The road in winds through a small fertile valley which supports a number of small farms. When the bitumen ran out we parked the quad and walked the last few hundred metres down a rutted gravel track. A couple of the houses in here could have been called mansions as they were huge and had great views of the sea. The beach was mostly gravel and was quite wide. There were plenty of trees that were obviously planted to provide shade for the sun worshippers which consisted of only Alice and me. The marine life around the rocks and sea grass was a little more prolific but the fish are quite small. We both had an enjoyable swim in the warm water before heading back for lunch.

Alice and Doreen went for a shopping walk so I decided to head south to Petra beach. The drive mostly follows the sea and you have a great view of the yachts and ships entering the harbor. The beach at Petra is mostly sand but as you enter the water there is a few metres of stone that runs parallel with the shore. This is probably my favourite beach as there is plenty of shade, easy access and a beautiful view. There is also a couple of tavernas with good sea views and reasonably priced food.

Back at the hotel and it was time for dinner. We chose a seafood option at the rear of the town and had a platter of assorted greek snacks. After the meal we had an after dinner drink at the Shirley Valentine beach.

Day 56, 18th June – State of Origin 2

Alice was on a mission this morning as she was investigating the cost of posting some of our excess baggage home. It was approximately 25euro to send 2 kilograms to Australia but unfortunately they don’t sell post packs. The others were checking out the Delfini Hotel as they said that they would try to get the big game on their satellite television. The weather was quite humid today so Alice and I thought we would get a swim in prior to the game starting.

It was back to Petra beach and a nice long swim. The beauty here is that you can swim parallel to the shore for about 500 metres without getting bored. The water is clear and warm which makes it easy to enjoy. Back at the restaurant the others are relaxing over a few drinks but unfortunately the game can only be watched on a delayed telecast. I joined them at half time with Queensland leading four to nil. Everyone was feeling merry but that turned to dismay when Doreen received a text that NSW had scored a converted try. I don’t think we needed an excuse but that text led to more consumption of drinks of the alcoholic variety. By 6:30 everyone had definitely had enough and retired for the night. Not to be outdone by the rugby league the Aussies lost to the Netherlands 3-2 after leading 2-1. It wasn’t a great day for our sporting heroes.

Day 57, 19th June – Last Day in Patmos

Today is our last day in Patmos and Alice and I still have to complete our goal of having a swim at all the accessible beaches on the island. We started off slowly as everyone was a little dusty after yesterday’s marathon drinking effort. Alice also wanted to lighten our baggage so she made a visit to the post office and discovered we could send two kilograms home for 25euro. Lilian will have to keep an eye on the postman for us. The only drawback was that they do not sell post packs or supply tape to keep it all together. Alice solved this dilemma by making a couple of trips to the supermarket for a box and then the gaffer tape.

Finally we were on the quad bike and heading north to Lambi Beach. When the wind is not blowing this is one of the better beaches. The beach consists of fine pebbles which is mildly therapeutic to your feet. The water is as always crystal clear and suitable for a long swim or just floating around. There is a sun-bed operator but we preferred a mat under the shady trees. With our swimming done we took up residence at a beachside table and ordered up some lunch. There is only one tavern and they grow a fair proportion of the produce that is on the menu. We opted for some boiled vegetables (potatoes, spinach and zucchini) and some cheese (saginaki?) that was grilled and then flambéed with raki. I would have liked to have tried the fresh lobster but at 80euro a kilogram we gave it a miss. We did notice that a couple of tables with a good supply of gold bullion had ordered them. The fried stuffed zucchini flowers were something we would have tried.

With lunch over it was time to hit Vagia beach which is the last one on our to do list. It is another beautiful bay with tress to shelter you from the sun. The wind was chopping up the water so we had a quick swim before heading back to the hotel. Tony was still feeling a little washed out so I convinced him that we needed a long swim. We made a cute couple as Tony sat on the back of the quad en-route to Petra Beach. He did look better after taking the plunge and putting in some hard yards.

Doreen and Allan whipped up a gourmet meal for our last dinner. The main ingredient is baked beans which have been infused with sausage, tomato, onion and potato. Some crusty fresh bread to wipe up the rich sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the meal. We were all full so it was back to our room for a little lie down. Our ferry tonight departs just before midnight so it was lucky that the hotel is allowing us a late checkout at 10:00pm. With a little under two hours to kill we left the girls holding the luggage and headed off to a restaurant to watch the England v Uruguay world cup game. After a couple of beers and the score at 1-1 we headed back to the port to comfort our women. The ferry was on time and it wasn’t long before we were in our sleeping berths heading towards Athens.

Day 58, 20th June – Happy Birthday Jemma

Eventually we did fall asleep and it was nearly 7:30am when the internal alarm clock went off. Tony and Julie were the last ones to emerge from the cabin. Julie was a little bleary eyed as Tony had kept her awake with some loud snoring. Imagine the volume if he would have had more than two beers. Alice and Doreen did not fare much better however it was the freezing air conditioning that made it a difficult night.  We berthed a little after 8:30am and as our flights are not until the afternoon we decided to have an American breakfast near the railway station. It wasn’t a bad breakfast but the fried eggs were a little greasy.

Our train trip to the airport involved a change of trains and cost 20euro for a 3 person group ticket. A single ticket from anywhere on the metro to the airport is 8euro. The journey was uneventful and took a little over an hour. Julie and Tony are flying home to Australia via Bangkok and were leaving from a different terminal. We said our sad farewells and as usual it has been a pleasure and a lot of fun travelling with them. They should have some fun in Bangkok figuring out how to get Julie’s last minute purchases into their bags.

After the four of us checked in we made our way past the first security point. At this stage I was heading for one of the lounges to take advantage of our priority pass. Unfortunately, in my haste I went through the next level of security and missed the opportunity. The girls changed into their warm clothing as the weather in Copenhagen is supposed to be a bit ordinary. My main concern was to find some wi-fi so I could activate my Skype. Lucky for me I was able to get a free connection and on our first attempt contacted Jemma. In the semi crowded waiting area Alice and I sung Happy Birthday in a voice that would have made the Three Tenors proud. A quick chat and we left her to enjoy her birthday dinner.

The airline gods once again have seated us in an ordinary seat. The seats were not reclined in front of us but we did have three young boys seated in front of us. Like all young boys they were easily excited and spent the whole journey jumping around in their seats. My stern face that cannot scare anyone did manage to keep them quiet for a few minutes. Alice thought there was a lot of flatulence emanating from their region and had to pull the air freshener out. As our journey was getting closer to the end the behavior became more rambunctious. Dad did endeavour to keep them quiet but it was only short lived.

Our flight landed at Kastrup, Copenhagen’s international airport at 4:00pm local time. After collecting our baggage which took 50 minutes to hit the baggage carousel we were met by Doreen and Alice’s cousins (Jens and Jytte) who will look after us for the next four days. The trip up to Ordrup took just over an hour. Jens took a couple of detours which allowed us to see some of the small villages and the lush green countryside. The weather is not being kind to us at the moment and we are being forced to endure dark grey skies with intermittent showers. Jytte prepared a delicious salad with marinated steak that we grilled on the weber barbeque. For desert we had fresh Danish strawberries (jordbaer). All this food was complemented by a 2012 Grenache Noir from the south of France. The little red fruits gave it a smooth yet powerful, liquorish taste and enough kick to make us sleep like babies.