Y'all may have noticed that I've not been posting our travel journals for a while--since 2012, in fact. Part of it was simple burnout, part was a lack of time to do it because of all the travel we'd been doing (see below, not an exhaustive list!), part because I had three major and two minor surgical operations (and Snookums one more) that we somehow fitted in between scheduled trips, and part sheer lazyness.

Well, I'm going to try to get up on the horse--or the camel, depending on the trip--again.

I'm putting this post up as a kind of table-of-contents to the upcoming travel journals and, in some instances, photo-essays, for various trips we've taken since the last quarter of 2012.

As I actually complete the posting of those journals/photo-essays, I'll turn the following journey names into actual links that you can follow to check them out.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam, September 20-December 5, 2012 (Journal)

The 2013 19-Day HAL Alaska Tourcruise, Holland America ms Statendam, July 20-August 11, 2013 (Journal) - Published in full January 4, 2016

The Belize Escapade, September 22-29, 2013 (Photo-essay) - Published in full January 6, 2016

The 2013 Incan Empires Voyage, Holland America ms Statendam, November 1-December 4, 2013 (Journal)

The Key West Escape, January 27-February 1, 2014 (Photo-essay)

The 2014 Caribbean Voyage, Celebrity Eclipse, February 7-22, 2014 (Photo-essay)

The 2014 Basketball & Cruising Extravaganza, NCAA Women's Final Four + Sydney, Australia & South Pacific Crossing, Holland America ms Oosterdam, April 3-May 11, 2014 (Photo-essay?)

The 2014 Quebec Excursion, July 15-23, 2014 (Photo-essay)

The 2014 Alaska Cruise, Holland America ms Amsterdam, August 23-September 7, 2014 (Photo-essay)

The 2014 Atlantic Crossing, Regent Seven Seas Mariner, October 12-November 5, 2014 (Photo-essay)

The 2015 Caribbean Voyage, Celebrity Eclipse, January 31-February 15, 2015 (Photo-essay)

The 2015 Basketball & Cruising Extravaganza, NCAA Women's Final Four + Viking Star European Cruise, April 2-May 31, 2015 (Photo-essay)

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam, September 20-December 5, 2012

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

The Itinerary

This is the table of contents for the online version of our trip journal. Here are the chapters:

Part One - Seattle to Hakodate, Japan.

Part Two - Hakodate, Japan to Yokohama, Japan.

Part Three - Yokohama, Japan to Kobe, Japan.

Part Four - Kobe, Japan to Nagasaki, Japan.

Part Five - Nagasaki, Japan to Hong Kong, China.

Part Six - Hong Kong, China to Singapore and back to sea.

Part Seven - Semarang, Java, Indonesia and back to sea.

Part Eight - Lembar, Indonesia to Komodo Island, Indonesia.

Part Nine - Darwin, Australia to Hamilton Island, Australia, and back to sea.

Part Ten - Brisbane, Australia to Eden, Australia.

Part Eleven - At sea, viewing a solar eclipse, to Auckland, New Zealand.

Part Twelve - At sea, to Fiji, Samoa, and across the Equator.

Part Thirteen - At sea, to Hawaii, to San Diego, and home.

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Thirteen

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)

November 24 (Saturday, Day 66, At Sea) -

Snookums went to Total Body Conditioning and then had a 75-minute massage that was concentrated on her left shoulder. After the massage she signed up for two more. Filbert spent part of the morning in the library doing his research on Honolulu until it was time for Team Trivia. Since Snookums filled in on Filbert’s team yesterday, she had to fill in on Sharie’s team today. Each team member earned one Dam Dollar and neither team placed.

Immediately after trivia Snookums had her third $29 floral arranging class and made a flat, round arrangement using dried leaves that the florist has only ever seen in Fiji. We each got five orchids, three roses, five stems of baby carnations and a few stems of mums to go with the greens and the dried leaf that was woven into an abstract design. After the flower class, Snookums and Sharie hurried to crafts and made a Hawaiian door hanger. It was the lamest craft to-date, but considering Nancy’s other crafts have been really nice, that’s okay.

Floral Arrangement, Another One

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Twelve

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)

November 18 (Sunday, Day 59, At Sea) -

Snookums went to Total Body Conditioning this morning and also went to “Things to See & Do in Lautoka”. Filbert played Team Trivia and he and Laura got the bonus question for the team so every team member won a Dam Dollar. (What is the largest mammal to make a nest? Gorilla.) Three teams tied for first and they got second but didn’t get any Dam Dollars for second since there were so many teams in first. Sharie’s team got first again for the second time in a row, though, and she has only played the last two times!

After lunch we looked at the art displays created by the passengers attending the watercolor classes. They are being auctioned off and HAL is going to triple the amount of money raised by the passengers and all of the money will go to the Educational Outreach Youth Program of Apia (Samoa). Snookums was really hoping to find a painting of Borobudur, but settled on being the $3 winning (and only) bidder for a “picture within a picture” of Macchu Pichu since that is on a future cruise itinerary. The talent of the artists on this cruise is outstanding.

Snookums went to crafts class and made a tapa cloth greeting card and later on went to “Fab Abs” and Laura and Sue (crafts classmate) were there, too. When she got back, she laid out on the verandah and read from 5:30 until 7:15 PM and enjoyed the bright sunshine. Filbert spent most of the afternoon writing inside although it was in the low 70s, sunny and calm. Tomorrow’s forecast at sea is for the mid-70s.

At dinner, Mr. K (our assistant dining room manager) gave us a jar of sambal. We still have the Korean chili sauce and the Vietnamese chili sauce in our room refrigerator (and have been bringing one or both of them on most nights) but now our waiter can be responsible for putting the jar of sambal on our table every night. Yum!

Dancing band, Lautoka, Fiji

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Eleven

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)

November 14 (Wednesday, Day 55, At Sea) -

Look! Up in the Sky!

Filbert set the alarm for 7 AM and we got dressed and went outside to the aft pool on Deck 8 for the eclipse. It started out cloudy, but it seemed like the captain was trying to take us to the sun. Around 7:30 we were able to easily see the eclipse using Filbert’s pinhole telescopes. (The paper glasses also worked, but the pinhole telescopes were easier to use.) Around 8:05 AM the maximum coverage occurred of around 60%. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, casting a shadow over the earth. After that scintillating show, we ate breakfast in Neptune.

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Ten

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)

November 9 (Friday, Day 50, Brisbane, Australia; 1 AUD = $1.04, $1 = 0.97 AUD) -

A Wary Brisbanite

Snookums went to the fitness class and after a fast breakfast, we left the ship. We took the shuttle from the Brisbane Cruise Terminal to the Treasury Casino which is in the heart of Brisbane’s downtown. Brisbane has a population of 2 million. It was partly sunny and a high of 80 was the forecast for the day. We walked to and through the City Botanic Gardens which was established in 1855 and saw ibis, eel and iguanas. Then we continued walking to the bohemian West End and ate gyros in front of one of the many sidewalk cafes. Filbert went in the Avid Reader bookstore while Snookums was content to sit on a bench outside and watch the world go by. Then we walked to Queen Street Mall and while Filbert was buying books in Dymock’s, Snookums bought some zip-on/zip-off pants that were on sale (and they were long enough!). After that we sat in Starbuck’s and each bought a beverage in order to have 30 minutes of free WiFi. Snookums found a receipt with the passcode on it and was able to use another free 30 minutes. We also bought two boxes of different flavors of Tim Tams (cookies that Australia is famous for) for tonight’s sail-away party.

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Nine

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)

November 2 (Friday, Day 43, At Sea) -

Indonesian dinner

For the first time since she hurt her neck last Thursday, Snookums went to the gym for Fab Abs. After showering and breakfast, she napped on the verandah for a couple of hours until Filbert came outside announcing that rather than overnighting in Brisbane, the ship was going to drop anchor in Hamilton Island, Australia which means a Great Barrier Reef snorkel trip. (Filbert was coming back from the lecture on “The Pacific: Hotbed of Volcanoes & Earthquakes” and the announcement was in the mailbox.)

The ocean was like glass all day and we saw dolphins once and flying fish several times. Filbert spent a lot of time on the verandah listening to his shortwave and he also attended the “Darwin, Northern Territory and aboriginal Australians” lecture in the afternoon. While he was there, Snookums attended crafts and made a pretty lariat necklace out of various green glass beads that she will actually wear. Snookums also attended Total Body Conditioning at 5 PM.

We attended the $69 Indonesian Dinner in Pinnacle Grill. Snookums wore the blouse she bought in Lombok and the necklace that she just made. We ate with David, Mary and Roberta (all Deluxe Verandah Suite guests, although four of us had never seen Roberta before and that was a standing joke during dinner) and we all had a great time. Tina, one of the Pinnacle Grill waitresses, was the cook for this superb dinner. Her mother actually brought her the various Indonesian spices (like Indonesian basil that she used in the beef rendang) when the ship was docked in Semarang. Tina enjoys cooking and made her mother’s recipes for all of us to enjoy. It was definitely well worth the $69. And, every woman received a handmade 2012 Grand Voyage commemorative angklung (Indonesian musical instrument). Snookums and Filbert both really enjoyed the steamed barramundi fish marinated in lemon grass that was wrapped in a banana leaf and the dish made of sautéed tofu and bean sprouts. All of the items were delicious, but these two were the best.

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Eight

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)



October 31 (Wednesday, Day 41, Lembar, Indonesia; 10,000 Rp = $1.04, $1 = 9,610 Rp) -

We took the first tender at 7 AM to meet our guide, Eko. Sharie and John also came with us. We drove to a Sasak village of 300 households. Women weave ikat cloth or songket cloth and each sarong takes about one month to complete. The village seemed to be a cooperative village where money from the tours or purchases is shared. We saw the outside toilet and the freely roaming goats and chickens.

Weaver, with kid

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Seven

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)

October 29 (Monday, Day 39, Semarang, Java, Indonesia; 10,000 Rp = $1.04, $1 = 9,610 Rp) -

View from Borobudur

Today was an exciting day since Semarang is very close to where a lot of the Indonesian crewmembers live. Over 800 family members were visiting the ship today to see their loved ones. HAL’s crew contracts are ten months long so the few hours that the family members could spend were very meaningful.

The 2012 Grand Asia & Australia Voyage, Holland America ms Amsterdam

Text and pictures by Snookums, webification by Filbert

Part Six

(Remember to click "read more" if you're looking at this from the main medary.com page to get the whole article!)

October 21 (Sunday, Day 31, Hong Kong, China; 1 HKD = $0.13, $1 = 7.75 HKD) -

Nan Lan Garden, Hong Kong

Snookums was the only person at the 7:30 AM fitness class so Hamish had her do a 23-minute “drop set” circuit on five machines. It was an absolute killer workout and although it only involved weights (and no specific cardio exercises), she burned 350 calories and was dripping wet by the time it was over.