Day 55 Laem Chabang, Thailand 7 hours GMT Today is Mothering Sunday (in the UK)We decided again not to go on an organised excursion to Bangkok but paid £12 each for the shuttle that took us to Pattaya, which is a beach resort fairly close to the port of Laem Chabang. As soon as we arrived, we decided to get the next shuttle back to the ship; it wasn't the best resort I've ever been to. The beach was long and really narrow, not unlike Waikiki beach in Honol...

Days 50 and 51 Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. We arrived at 13.00 expecting to see amazing skyscrapers but all we saw was fog and mist! We docked In Victoria Harbour on Kowloon side and were hoping and praying we'd pull up so that we on the starboard side would have a view of Hong Kong Island and we weren't disappointed! What a view (when the fog lifted!) As soon as we were cleared, we were off. Six days at sea is a long time and we couldn't wait to walk 'properl...

Day 4319 Feb Cairns I was confused with the number of days we've been at sea, but this is definitely day 43!Today was very overcast but dry. We anchored close to Trinity Beach and got the tender and free shuttle into Cairns. Again, we'd been before so we just looked at the shops and went to the Casino for a bite to eat. The last time we were here was the end of March 2006 when cyclone Larry hit and devastated the whole area. Our captain has just told us that we ...

Hamilton Island - Whitsundays As you can see it's pouring with rain and we're not getting off the ship, but at least I'm still smiling! Because of the bad weather, the captain decided not to drop anchor near the reef. So we're about 7 miles from Hamilton Island using tenders from their pier. Lots of passengers have gone ashore, but as we've been before and know that there's nowhere to hide, yet again we have the ship to ourselves! Here's hoping Yorkies Knob, nea...

Day 42 BrisbaneWeather not so good on awakening but it didn't matter as we were meeting the relatives today! We always make a point of letting them know when we're in Australia and we love seeing them for food! My second cousins have grown a lot since we last saw them and my uncle, aunt, cousin and his wife all look so well, that I guess, is the Australian lifestyle.I don't have much else to report on Brisbane because we didn't go into the city this time, case of...