Return to Southampton and a trip summary:

DKT

Blog 37  - Sailing into Southampton - a time for reflection on an adventure of a lifetime:

Well here we are!  - the homecoming back to Southampton - 126 days - a completed circumnavigation of our planet. Three ships, one plane, one train, 2 cars and countless other modes of transport on the way, but no camel or donkey ride, to protect my delicate posterior!

Thousand of miles travelled and still so many more blogs to write from those missing days following the emotional departure from Christchurch on 12th March and arriving at Petra (blog 34) in Jordan on 27th April. The constraints of time on shore excursions, lack and cost of ships' internet, a corrupted hard drive and a power lead failure causing some headaches and challenges. I was therefore very pleased to actually publish over 30 blogs from all over the world and hopefully you have enjoyed them.

(PIC) - Classic Melbourne buildings

A quick summary then of those missing blog days to give you an idea of how we got to Petra at the end of April... We left New Zealand and flew to Melbourne in South West Australia to stay a couple of days with one of Jacky's past students, Sonia and her husband Adnan. We had a terrific time in this wonderful city wholly due to our great hosts before having to leave all to soon for a 11 hour train ride to Sydney. 

(PIC) - Sydney bridge and Opera House

Ocean Princess in downtown Sydney

I had been to this City in 2005 working on a programme with Ian Wright; would you believe, climbing the very tall flag pole in Darling Harbour! Jacky used to live here back in the 70's so it was reminisce time all round. Another vibrant city so changed in the past forty years, indeed many changes since I was last there. What a great time we had here touring around and visiting old friends. Three days later we were joining the Ocean Princess, bound for Singapore.

Brisbane panoramic river view

This was a very nice 800 passenger cruise liner, small enough to get into tighter and shallower moorings along the way.  We stopped at Brisbane, Airlie Beach on the Great Barrier reef and Darwin in North Australia. All have good memories although I was disappointed with our coral reef stop as the 

The Coral Reef platform
and rough boat trip..

weather was not good and I was unable to see below the ocean. As this was the only real reason for coming here I had to be content with an internet cafe surrounded by hoards of young and keen backpackers, gosh I did feel my age that day! Jacky however braved the 2 hour rough boat trip and did her beloved snorkelling, although she did 

look a bit 'green' on her return! 

Brisbane cyclone damage

Darwin was a place I took to heart - It was heavily bombed in WW2, in fact it was the same Japanese squadrons that had wreaked havoc at Pearl Harbour only months before. Darwin suffered a greater tonnage bomb drop and many ships and lives were lost here. That goes almost unrecognised against the Pearl Harbour raid. 

        Brisbane Harbour mangroves

There was also a well publicised Cyclone Tracey that swept through here on Christmas Day 1974 and destroyed the entire city centre. Once again another disaster hitting the lives of many. How many times have I written about earthquakes and natural disasters, plus the adversity of the human race to recover and pick up the pieces afterwards? 

The Komodo Dragons

We sailed on towards  Indonesia and in particular Komodo Island, the home of the very big lizard affectionally know as the 'dragon'. We went on a hike and were lucky to find a couple of big ones out in the outback. Jacky went 

            Pink Beach  in Komodo

snorkelling again at the famous Pink Beach and pronounced it the best snorkel experience ever. The market stall holders there were just a bit too keen to sell us trinkets, which was a shame and soured 

the day somewhat. 

Ho Chi Ming City

Our Sanpan in the Mekong Delta

On we sailed across the South China sea towards Vietnam, into Ho Chi Min City and a day trip to remember in the Mekong Delta. Witnessing still the effects of one of the most infamous wars in history between the Viet Kong and the USA, an unbelievable  50 years ago - how I remember it as if it were yesterday - life is                                                         passing by oh so quickly!

Th Big Buddah

Around the Thai coast to the lovely island of Ko Samui where we visited a coconut plantation, watching the monkeys being trained to fetch down up to 900 coconuts of the right type and size in a four hour day shift. We also visited a temple and a beautiful beach voted as one of the world's top ten. A very nice holiday island out of the way                                                       of the busy mainland. 

Raffles Hotel - Singapore

China Town - Singapore

Then it was a few days at sea till we docked in Singapore and undertook all the classic tourist visits including the fantastic Botanical Gardens, China town and of course Raffles Hotel where we had a sumptuous afternoon tea. The city transport system is brilliant and very reasonably priced and we got around quite a bit here, Jacky as usual hiking around and filling every minute while I did a few things in small doses, as is my wont. 

The Ocean Liner QM2

We then joined the QM2, a big change from our little Ocean Princess, we were now two of 2600 passengers and in a wholly different ball game. Personally, out of the three cruise ships I preferred the P&O Aurora the best, but more on that point later.

An image of Crab Island

image of Fishing fleet  - Crab Island

Our first two ports of call on the QM2 were both in Malaysia - the first stop was our only disaster of the whole world itinerary. We wanted to go to the off shore delight and quaint fishing harbour called Crab Island to get away from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. We however got stranded in a shopping mall due to poor ship and shuttle bus information and never saw anything worth  seeing. Out of frustration we both bought even more clothes to bring home!  Just to be at Crab Island in spirt I have included a couple of web images...

The frighting Gondola ride

Rice Padi fies  & Museum 

The second destination in Malaysia was much better, a visit to Langkawi island which included a trip to a padi rice field and Museum and a ride to the top of the mountain on the world's steepest Gondola ride (at 42 degrees of gradient) and also the longest single rope (at 950m). Quite an experience and a bit daunting.

Tuk-Tuks by the score

The Swiss Hotel - Kandy

The temple at Kandy

It was then a few more days at sea straight across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka and a cross-island coach trip visit to Kandy, the ancient centre of the palace and temple of the Kings in the days of Ceylon. We had lunch here in the Swiss Hotel the former home of Lord Mountbatten. Our coach had a police escort there and back or we would never have made it back such are the traffic problems on this island, 300,000 vehicles (including masses of tuk-tuks) in Columbo alone. The guide told us that the traffic on this day was light as it was yet another of their 28 days of public holidays, the most of any country in the world! ( now thats a record that Dubai has not got!)

Burj Khalifa Tower
The world's tallest!

We then cruised towards the United Arab Emirates and the city of Dubai. What an unreal and opulent place this is. It's like a version of the Disney world of Hollywood. Don't get me wrong, it's a fascinating place to visit with lots to see. There are some amazing buildings, hotels and parks and the river trip was splendid. BUT! it looks like a bunch of very wealthy people needed to spend their cash and the only way was, "lets get in the Guinness Book of Records"- make us the tallest, the biggest, the best in what we do, whether it's the Metro, a skyscraper, a shopping mall, an airline, a horse race, even building whole artificial islands you can see from space! 

Opulent Dubai

All this size and opulence happened very quickly from a small fishing village. Believe it or not in 1900 the whole residential area was less than two miles by one mile in total area. Their whole world changed in 1966 when oil was discovered and to be fair they ploughed the profits straight back into infrastructure and welfare. You really have to visit Dubai; I guess you could stay a week and not see it all. I think we did jolly well in the two days we were there - the hop on hop off bus is the best way to get around.

The rocky desert of Oman

Then we cruised to Muscat in Oman and a visit to an ancient fort in the rocky desert. You know the rest of the journey from there, Petra, Suez Canal, Italy and Portugal to Southampton. We are arriving with the three Cunard 'Queens' all docking together to celebrate QM2's 10th birthday. A wonderful experience albeit at 5am on a UK May morning! 

the 'Three Queens' arriving
 in Southampton on May 9th 2014

There we are then, 126 days, 22 countries, over 30000 miles and still counting.

P&OAurora

The three cruise ships we travelled on were all different. Our preference was the middle range size of the P&O Aurora. Even though we were only on that ship to Auckland we were treated as round the world guests. There were also more varied activities and a very personal and friendly entertainment department who remembered your name, as was also true with the Ocean Princess.  

The Cunard Line  - the three Queens at sea after leaving Lisbon 

Cunard are in between, they are not sure any more where they sit in the hierarchy of cruising. In one breath they say they are the only true ocean going liner and a flag ship of guests and voyages and in the next breath they are doing leg to leg repeats where you feel as if you are not on a voyage at all. Except perhaps the very small minority of passengers who were travelling all the way round and had an exclusive lounge area at the bow all to themselves with a 'strictly no admittance' entry policy for the leg guests. Each to their own of course and everybody gets out what they put in so my opinion is purely personal.  I still loved the ship and the experience.

I will continue to write the remaining blogs in order to print out in book form to keep as my personal diary. I wrote these blogs for my friends who said I must write something of my adventure. A once in a life time experience made possible by the the wonderful creative itinerary that Jacky put together. I tagged along for the ride really, my main part being the driving in New Zealand.

Spectacular New Zealand

In summary I have to say something to close this chapter of blogs of our round the world adventure, the highlight of which was undoubtedly New Zealand's rich tapestry of landscape and culture.  The Maori Legend will always be with me and the kiwi triumph of life in the face of adversity is simple humbling.

The Maori legend

This wondrous small planet of ours that we call "earth" is mysteriously yet strategically placed in a vast vacuum of a universe in
order to preserve and cultivate life. Surely then it must not be abused and

The solar system montage 

neglected by power and greed and the pace of modern life, but rather sustained and cherished lovingly. Beauty such as I have witnessed on our journey should constantly remind us as Earth's fortunate human inhabitants that rare splendours were created for the good of all races, despite challenges of differing creeds, colours and religions.

Planet Earth

We are after all but temporary custodians of a very fragile planet and should be forever grateful for our gift, a gift that surely cannot just simply be a freak of nature or to be explained away by some big bang scientific theory.  I have been awakened again after years of doubt to believe that a superior force, or being, chose Earth's human race to look after, to love and cherish its world and its different cultures to work and live together for all eternity.

Thanks for looking at my blogs and posting some very special comments. God bless and go and see the world, spend the kids' inheritance, they will survive bless them. I promise deep down they would want you to enjoy yourselves!

DKT  - May 10th 2014

Portugal and a visit to Lisbon

Blog 36:

A trip to Lisbon in Portugal:

Mediterranean Sunset

The Rock of Gibraltar

After leaving Italy accompanied by a beautiful Mediterranean sunset we sail through the straits of Gibraltar and the 'Pillars of Hercules' towards Cape Trafalgar, passing the snow capped mountains Sierra Nevada (a reminder of New Zealand) before altering course initially north west around Cape St. Vincent on 

Portugal's most southerly tip then a slight compass change to                                                                north into the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Bridge and Christ the King  Monument

Close up of the monument

We then cruise slowly east 10 miles up the River Tagus past the Christ the King monument (Cristo Rei) built after WW2, which resembles the Corcovado monument in Rio de Janeiro. The plinth is 270 feet high and the statue a further height of 90 feet. Finger tip to fingertip is another 90 feet and these days it is adorned with modern technology for radio                                                                    and aircraft.

A Panoramic of Lisbon from our balcany

We glide underneath the main river bridge crossing and dock right in the heart of the historic city of Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese, pronounced Lishboa). The bridge was completed in 1966 and styled on San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge and has the 2nd longest central span in Europe at over 1000 yards. it is 230 feet to the road above and as in the Suez Canal the QM2 gets mighty close to taking the red livery off the funnel. 

Early morning convoy of the Queens

This is the 10th anniversary of the QM2 and to celebrate on the home leg we are joined by the other two Cunard Queens namely Elizabeth and Victoria. What an impressive sight it must have been for the locals on the quayside and those rush hour drivers and their passengers using the main road which runs parallel to the dockside. 

Lisbon like Rome is built on seven hills with the city centre, known as the Baixa, lying in a central basin surrounded by steep hills unsuitable for motor vehicles. Three funicular services and one elevator serve the higher districts, including the castle Såo Jorge (St George)in the old Arab area. The centre was completely rebuilt in a grid system in the late 18c following a devastating earthquake and Tsunami in 1755.

We are not going on any of the organised tours as we did in Italy; this time Jacky is taking me on a 'field trip' around the main central tourist sites as she has been here with her friend Joan a few years back. We have no time to go further afield and visit for example the fine King Edward V11 Park or the 4 square miles of Monsanto National Park which all but dominates the western side of the city.

Classic Lisbon

We are walking from the dock westwards, parallel to the seafront and immediately come across an example of Portuguese facade tiling called Azulejos, coloured tiles, cleverly fitted together to create entire scenes. I remember seeing these in Madeira and always admired the beauty they create. The idea descended from the Moors and by the the 17c the Portuguese were masters of the craft, which has since been almost entirely associated with Portugal. Abstract patterns now cover most of the older buildings, churches and many private houses, in particular in the older districts like the fishing port area we are walking through                                                            now.

The Military Museum 

We approach a bright open square which houses a military museum. 2014 is the 40th anniversary of the revolution which overthrew the Dictator Salazar to give democracy to Portugal for the first time. The uprising started in this square and there are posters and information everywhere on the various activities and concerts to mark the celebration of liberty. In fact the bridge over the Tagus we sailed underneath is now officially called the 25th April bridge after the date of the revolution..

The Fortress from the river

My 'Field Trip' leader is heading for the station as we are going on an overland train to Belem (Portuguese for Bethlehem), 4 miles west of the city centre. Most of this area is now on reclaimed land. We know this because the Torre de Belem, a five storey fortress once known as the castle of St.Vincent, was once right out in the middle of the river guarding the approach to the City. The Basement used to hold prisoners who enjoyed a neck high bath at full tide! The pavement in front of the fort is marble mosaic in the shape of a compass dial and map of the world as discovered by the 16th century, when Lisbon was indeed the world's centre of discovery. An impressive historic building which is well worth an internal visit, however the queues are long and our time is minimal so we move on. 

close up of Torre de Belem

What a spectacular sight it must have been here in the 1500's as intrepid Discoverers and Explorers set sail along this river to make Portugal one of the richest and influential nations of the period. Gradually Spain became more influential and it is said the the Armada was gathered here before travelling North to have ago at the British. In later centuries Portugal became one of Britain's biggest allies and are now entrenched in Europe and tourism is a major source of GDP in the 21st century..

Prince Henry Monument

The Prince Henry the Navigator monument is another impressive piece of architecture, built in the shape of the prow of a caravel which was invented at that time (16c). The Prince stands at the front holding a model of a caravel and followed by a crowd of important people including statesmen and explorers. 

St Jeronimas Monastery and Museum

Across the other side of the now busy dual carriageway on the reclaimed land is the original water's edge. The Maritime Museum portrays the great nation Portugal was in the age of discovery. It is housed in the wing of St. Jeronimas Monastery, a great example of the early Manueline gothic architecture, built early 16c from the tax imposed on the sale of pepper. Who says it was the UK that invented VAT! There again is a long queue to witness the fine church and cloisters housed inside.  

The elevator to the upper town

We have to move on and grab a tram back into the Baixa area, stopping for a coffee in one of the many quaint outlets in the side streets off the main road. We see one of the elevators (Eiffelesque Elvador de Santa Justa) which basically is a wrought iron carved lift that takes you up to the Upper town. You will never guess what we purchased  - yes another suitcase, now we have to find a shop that sells extra arms to carry the ever increasing luggage haul.

Statue of the black horse

We are heading back to the river side and enter the square of the Black Horse. This was originally named the Commercial Square and used to be the home of the royal palace that was destroyed in the earthquake in 1755. There is a bronze statue of Jose 1, the King at the time. The horse is now looking a distinct pale green due to cleaning and scrubbing. This was the place where King Carlos and his son were assassinated in 1908.  We pass through the Triumphal Arch into the amazing and very spacious square which complements the statue, with flower sellers, fountains, bars and cafes all adding to the now glorious sunny afternoon. The National Theatre stands at one end, its facade resembling a greek temple..

Looking to the arab district
and the Castle

One really needs to spend a week here and we did not manage to get up into the Arab district (Alfama) and the ten towers of the castle of St George. This is the oldest and most picturesque  quarter of the city surviving from Moorish times with its tangled narrow streets and cobbled alleyways. Jacky went on a challenge to get a photo of the three Queens from a roof top up in the Alfama streets while I went back to the QM2 suitably tired and hot after a woefully short but eventful day of sightseeing. 

Jacky returned with her objective completed, having persuaded a caretaker to let her get up onto a high roof for that magic and historic picture of all three liners in port.

I saw three Queens a sailing there!

I did enjoy Lisbon, steeped in the history of an age of discovery and exploration. It looks tired in places with lots of money required for restoration but one cannot deny the splendour of architecture, both in the old city with the castle and churches in the upper town that escaped the earthquake and also in the lower buildings and lanes rebuilt in the 18th century. In comparison with other European main cities it still feels 'homely', probably as it only has 1.5 

QM2 over the Lisbon roof tops

million residents. If you are thinking of a long weekend trip or a easy flight from the UK consider Lisbon; you will not be disappointed.

  

I am still going to try to get the last home return blog out before I get home, looking back on the whole trip, a fascinating adventure of 126 days, three ships, one plane, one train, two cars and a host of other unusual modes of transport.

DKT