Well, the 6th of December officially marks two full years since we left home and set off on this journey. There have of course been the obligatory pops home to tick the travel insurance requirements and an extended stay (3 weeks) to show off SE Qld to my cousin Jan (and his wife Suzanna) from Germany. But for the most part, we have been travelling the world constantly.

The aim of hitting 100 countries remains elusive, but we are still closing in on it, and it is almost in sight. Haiti will be the next country to add to our tally (in a few days).

So our first year saw us going to 56 countries and over 127 different cities and using 33 different currencies. We flew over 100,000 kilometres (on 44 flights with 19 airlines) or 2 and a half times around the planet’s circumference (not sure how far that is for flat earthers).

So what about in year two…

The first thing of note about our second year is that it had 367 days in it. The first reason for this was that it was a leap year, adding an extra day to our journey. The second anomaly was that we sailed eastward across the international date line, causing a groundhog situation where we relived the same day twice.

The next obvious thing is that there was a lot more cruising this time around. This was not originally intended but our year started going to Antarctica, which really can only be achieved by ship. The fact that we are becoming high-level (frequent fliers if you will) on a cruise line means that the inclusions and perks make them very cost-effective (we get free laundry and a few drinks). At the highest level, the perks are considerable. So the idea of ticking up as many cruising days as possible makes sense (especially considering that every now and then the casinos on board offer some free cruises).

To say that cruises can vary widely is an understatement. But if you are not extravagant and do not seek the newest of the ships and the flashiest of rooms and the elite destinations, it is possible to get a cruise for (slightly) under $100 per person per night. Which, when you consider the costs of transportation, accommodation, food and beverages and entertainment is often much cheaper than you could do it individually. Especially in places like the Caribbean where there are no effective inter-island ferries and plane travel can be prohibitive.

So what did we get up to…

Our second year started on the Ultimate World Cruise in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, climbing the peaks, hanging with Christ the Redeemer and taking in the famous beaches. Being New Year’s Eve the place was a blur of activities as people prepared for the upcoming evening festivities.

Due to the crime levels in Rio, the decision was made that we all watch the show from the ship, rather than the original plan of having us all on the ground on Copacabana Beach. In hindsight probably a pretty smart move. The New Year fireworks show was phenomenal and a good time was had by all.

From Brazil we kept heading south with a stop in Uruguay (Montevideo) and what would be one of many stops into Buenos Aires (Argentina). Now I absolutely fell in love with Argentina. For a country in so much financial turmoil, it really is one of the hidden gems of the planet. Once one of the richest nations in the world, financial mismanagement, political instability and a military junta have left it broke.

But all of the trappings of a once wealthy nation exist. The streets are wide, the buildings are both beautiful and imposing, the culinary scene is incredible and the people are friendly and welcoming. Leaving the Argentinian capital we got to sample the beach life in Puerto Madryn, Tierra del Fuego, and a special treat was to hang out in Ushuaia, the most southerly city on the planet.

But in between Puerto Madryn and Ushuaia we went even further south and into Antarctica and spent the better part of a week bobbing about on the ocean. This had us staring at whales (of so many different varieties) seals and penguins while watching amazing Antarctic landscapes fade in and out of view. Looking out the window and seeing walls of rock and ice cannot be adequately described.

While bouncing around at the bottom of the world saw some serious stuff and made attempts to see some of the other stuff around us, but extreme weather foiled even the best of plans. This saw us missing out on the Falkland Islands (even though we got close enough to stare at them) and Punta Arenas. Our way out of Ushuaia saw us having another couple of days cruising the Straits of Magellan past the Chilean Fjords, more walls of snow, rock and ice.

We hopped off the ship at Valparaiso in Chile and got to experience our first real earthquake (5.0 magnitude). Scooting away from the earthquake we headed back to Santiago (where we had come for my 50th) and made plans to head back into Brazil and Argentina to see the Iguazu Falls. If Antarctica was a true bucket lister, then this absolutely fits the same category.

We hit both sides (Argentina and Brazil) of the falls, riding boats, getting soaked by the waters and generally just enjoying the experience. From here it was back to Buenos Aires for our first international riot (in front of our accommodation) before heading off to Paraguay (Asuncion) and then Bolivia (Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Samaipata).

Leaving South America we popped into the US for a snappy Caribbean Cruise or two before heading towards home. But as it is us, heading home from Miami cannot be simple, so we headed from Miami to Paris (an obvious choice).

Portugal was next with a few days exploring the capital of Lisbon. This one was a favourite (with the exception of the mountain that we were perched atop). While only a teaser in Portugal, it delivered enough to put it on the go back to list.

From Portugal we hopped a flight into our least explored part of the planet, Africa. We had dipped our toe into Egypt back in the 2000’s but that is as far as we got. Our insertion point was into Marakesh in Morocco and after a few days bouncing around the Grand Bazaar and Souks we made our way to Casablanca and Essaouira.

Then off to Tunisia to take in the capital (Tunis) and off to the ancient ruins of Carthage. As nice as the sights were in both Tunisia and Morocco, it was the food that made the two of them stand out as the main reasons to go.

And the next was the most surprising of all, Malta. This place absolutely blew us away, how could we have come to Europe so many times before and never made it here. My suggestion is to get yourself here the first chance that you get, it is amazing.

From Malta we popped across to Turkey (a place that I had expected to love) to explore the capital, Istanbul. As nice as the sights were, and as impressive as the history of this city is, the place was spoilt by the rudeness of the people. I am certain that this will only apply to the main tourist areas around the capital, but it was not a welcoming place.

Sure the Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Basilica Cistern and the Blue Mosque are all very impressive and worth the effort to come and see. But the attitudes of the touts seriously turn you off coming back. We will return at some point and explore some of the areas outside the capital, hoping to get a more authentic experience.

From Turkey it was a quick dash to Asia (Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam) to catch up with mates, before heading into Australia for a snappy 48 hour turnaround before hopping on the next boat out again.

And that was it. New Year’s eve watching in the new year from Copacabana Beach in Rio De Janeiro and by the 12th of April we were in Australia having touched down on every continent. It was not something that we planned or aspired to do, just the way that the cards fell.

Our 48 hour stop off in Sydney saw us hanging with the bunnies (Jeremy and Claudia), feasting on seafood and dashing for our next cruise ship out of Australia. We hopped on in Sydney and aimed directly for New Zealand where we took in the Bay of Plenty and the Bay of Islands. Then it was off cruising in earnest as we headed towards French Polynesia. Our foray into French Polynesia was to take us into the Society Islands, particularly Raiatea, Tahiti and Moʻorea but missing out on Bora Bora and Huahine.

The first cruise stopped in Hawaii, but we stayed on and sailed through to Vancouver, where we stayed on again to Alaska, and then again once more to Alaska.

From here, the bride was missing her son, so a plan was hatched to go and see him (living in Bali at the time). The way transport hubs work, the easiest (and most cost-effective) way to get to Bali from Vancouver was to fly to Japan and then transit through the Philippines. So 19 hours of transiting (on my birthday) and we landed in Manila. Thankfully, we were welcomed by Brad and Nora, and we spent the next week or so hanging with them.

Having played in the Philippine Islands with them the year before, we had missed out on a bucket list item (for me at least), swimming with the Whale Sharks. So after a few days in Metro Manila (Brad working), the weekend came and we were off, to the island of Cebu, to swim with the Whale Sharks (Butanding). As it turned out we also swam with turtles and a massive school of sardines.

From here it was back to Manila and off to Indonesia, but about 6 weeks later Brad was to have a milestone birthday, so we would be back for another round.

But in the meantime, we had 6 weeks to kill and Indonesia and the boy were just a short plane ride south. The boy (and his bride) had set up camp in the Balinese suburb of Jimbaran. Out of the main tourist areas but close to everything. They had rented an entire villa (with a swimming pool) which would be our base for the next 6 weeks. Having been there for 4 days, he had to take off so we did too. We dumped our big bags, packed our swimming gear and went island hopping.

This became a pattern over the next 6 weeks, where we would hang with them for a few days and then took off exploring. This way they got to live their lives without us (too much) underfoot, and we got to explore the Indonesian islands.

But getting there was not as simple as just heading there, we had to transit through many of the 17,500 islands in Indonesia. So our time in Indonesia saw us visiting: Bali, Flores, Padar, Komodo, Taka Makasar, Kanawa, Penida, Gili (Air, Meno and Trawangan), Lombok. Bima, Sumbawa, West Papua and  Belitung.

Raja Ampat deserves a special mention, situated in Eastern Indonesia and West Papua. The second most pristine reefs on the planet (behind the Great Barrier Reef) Raja Ampat is truly spectacular.

With 17,500 islands in Indonesia, we visited more than most but nowhere near enough. What did become apparent was that once you get outside of the main tourist corridors, there is very little English spoken, and very low levels of facilities, restaurants and amenities. We tried going off the beaten path and very quickly found ourselves struggling.

July came and it was back to the Philippines for Brad’s milestone birthday. This saw the confluence of many old and close friends all coming together for a common purpose. While not everyone knew everyone, we were all suitably connected by common people, bonds, and interests. So for about a week, we flowed in and out of social occasions, meals and events, all culminating in the birthday bash. Bobbing about on Subic Bay on a privately hired boat was a great night.

From the Philippines we popped north to Japan. While we transited here seven weeks earlier, we never got out of the airport (not counting as having visited). So this time we came back and took in the place a little more reasonably. I had wanted to come for a long while but the cost was prohibitive. But recent currency movements saw us getting more than double the Yen in exchange rate. This took our trip from exorbitant to very reasonable, and the food was magnificent.

From Japan it was off to Mongolia, not (originally) high on my list but a key place for Jill. She was right, it turned out to be fantastic.

Our time in Mongolia was astounding with some of the most amazing landscapes, sculptures and wildlife that we have come across thus far. The open plains of the Steppe are something that can only be appreciated by visiting it. Mongolia was truly surprising and highly entertaining.

From here it was back into Europe. The original plan was to head into ‘the Stans’ but the political instability and war in the Middle East made this highly dangerous and not worth the effort. So instead we flew into Prague and caught the train into Poland.

The first port of call in Poland and Jill’s focus on coming was to visit Auschwitz. To say that visiting here was confronting is massively understating the power that this place holds. It is the site of the single largest mass murder event and has become a symbol of terror, genocide and the Holocaust. Having explored Auschwitz, we hopped the local train to take us through to Krakow where we went through a major hotel debacle before heading out via Warsaw. 

Leaving Poland we entered into the Balkan region making stops in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. We really enjoyed our time in all three of the Baltic nations. The food was good, and with one exception so have the beverages. By the time summer rolls around you are pulling low to mid 20’s with long days, so there is plenty of time to explore. Our August foray into the three Baltic nations was pretty much spot on. The volume of tourists coming here is way less than you will get elsewhere, so even at peak times, the place is really manageable.

From Estonia we hopped an overnight ferry northward into Scandinavia. Here we managed a whirlwind tour of the Scandinavian nations, taking in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. With the exception of Sweden, the majority of these were incredibly expensive, and having limited time was a blessing. The places themselves were all very nice, if a little sterile. They were clean, safe and had interesting architecture. But the proud Viking history had long since gone and the places were largely indistinguishable from any other modern city.

Getting out of Scandinavia we went back into The Netherlands to catch up with Michel and Sonja (dating back to the Philippines and Alkmaar). Sadly Michel was stuck working in the USA but Sonja opened her home to us and we got to hang with her for a few days. Alkmaar and its surrounds gave us an insight into life in a small village. Sonja was born, grew up and has lived her life within a 5km radius, and (much of) the rest of her family is within the same area. They have all travelled widely and experienced other things, but have chosen to stay rooted to a particular spot. And what a lovely spot it is.

It was a shame that we missed Michel, but Sonja was an amazing host and we had a really good time and are so grateful for the hospitality offered.

Leaving The Netherlands we hopped onto the last leg of the world cruise. We started our year on this 274 day journey and had the opportunity to catch up with friends to finish off the journey. We had skipped the Pacific, Asian, African and most of the European legs but would be on the cruise back into Miami. This would see us going back to Iceland, then a couple of stops into Greenland (Nuuk and Qaqortoq).

 From here it was back into Canada, touching base in some of the provinces that we had yet to explore (Newfoundland and Nova Scotia). Beautiful scenery, interesting architecture, and a thriving bar culture made this leg highly entertaining. From here we headed back into the USA, with our first port of call being New York City.

We had a couple of days here and took the HOHO bus taking in all the must-see sights of the city. It is nice to have ticked the ‘been there/done that’ box, but that is about it. Neither of us would rave about the place, or even for that matter recommend it.

After this it was back to Australia for a 3 week raid. The main purpose was that my cousin Jan (who looked after us brilliantly in Germany) and his wife Susanna wanted to come to Australia to meet the wider family for the first time. So we flew in the day before them and found that the family unit had kicked into full gear. Mother, sisters, niece and nephews and the grand nephews all floated in and out of family functions and outings maximising their time with the German contingent of the family.

My sisters got together (as they usually do) and put on a series of family spreads that would feed a large army (as they usually do). My role for the fortnight was as chief chauffeur, but I did chip in to cook the BBQ at Lynn’s new house (about 1% of the work and effort put in by all of the others). But most importantly, the German cousins got to meet everyone on the first day that they got here (after a sleep).

A huge family BBQ, some local beers, a multi-generational swim in the pool (with games) and just generally a great day. From here the plan for the rest of the week was discussed and people worked in activities around their interests and work schedules.

Jan, Susanna and I were joined by my nephew Nick and we rode from one end of town to the other (and back) with stops at the city, Southbank and even the new casino. Day three saw (almost) the whole family kick into full swing for a trip to Australia Zoo. A convoy of vehicles made the schlepp north for a great day out, ticking the kangaroo and koala must do’s for the European visitors. While we got rare photos of Jess, Nick and Ringo, my sister Karin somehow managed to dodge every camera all day though. Photos of Nees and the kids (Dylan, Will and Jackson) are more common, and Fleebs and Sean were stuck earning money.

Family functions, day trips, BBQs, seafood feasts, card sessions all intermingled with the usual tourist activities, showing off the highlights (zoos, beaches, mountains etc) of South-East Queensland.

The generosity of all (particularly in the time that everyone made available) was the highlight of the trip. Everyone got on famously and Jan and Susanna left with a great feeling about their broader family, and life in Australia.

Leaving Australia it was back to Europe (Spain to be precise) for a snappy transit through to Andorra. A tiny nation on the border of France and Spain it was one of the few European nations that we had not been to and it gave us the opportunity to tick up country number 94 for me. Perched high in the mountains, Andorra was too steep and cold for my tastes, but it was a tax haven, so if shopping is your thing then this is where you wanna be.

From Andorra it was back to Barcelona for some magnificent food and drink (I really do love the Spanish lifestyle) before hopping on a cruise ship for out ill-feted Trans-Atlantic Crossing (an earlier post).

A couple of tiny cruises into Mexico capped off our second year. So to sum up the second year we were in 53 countries (31 of which were new to us) 118 cities, all 7 continents and ticked some absolute bucket list boxes. The next few months will be spent exploring some US cities (that we haven’t been to) and experiencing some cruising.

Having left Andorra, we hopped aboard the Royal Caribbean Ship the Explorer of the Seas for a Trans-Atlantic voyage from Barcelona (Spain) to Miami (USA) via Valencia, Malaga and the Azores (a Portuguese territory). Before we even really got going, we had a huge win. At the welcome party Jill and I were looking around to see if there were any staff or people that we recognised (having cruised a bit now it is not uncommon to run into people that you have met).

And sure enough, there was Patrick. After an excited greeting, he disappeared and returned with Anna within minutes. We had exchanged details the year before and I had attempted to reach out when we headed to Sweden, but technology failed us and the communications never landed. This was fixed this cruise and you can expect to see them featuring again in future episodes.

We had actually done this cruise the year before on the same ship, with no incident. The 2023 version took in stops in Cartagena while the 2024 version would stop at Valencia, Malaga and the Azores. Having not been to the Azores (a Portuguese territory consisting of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,400 km west of Lisbon) we figured, well why not.

In the leadup to departure, the news had been consistently reporting on major flooding in and around Valencia. So when the call came that Valencia would be pulled from the itinerary it came as no surprise to anyone.

Cartagena

The alternative was that we stopped at Cartagena in Spain instead. We had been here the year before and found it to be a lovely town with great and cheap coffee, amazing churros and enough old buildings and Roman ruins to amuse yourself for a day.

We found the coffee and churros shop again and kicked back with Patrick and Anna in some bars, sampling the sangria, beer, tapas and just the generally laid-back Spanish lifestyle.

Malaga

Malaga was next and the weather gods smiled upon us (eventually). The birthplace of Pablo Picasso (obviously there is a Picasso Museum here), but the first obvious tourist attraction is the Calle Marqués de Larios, or Calle Larios. This is a massive pedestrian and shopping street that was conceived back in 1880 and has been the main thoroughfare and shopping district since then.

At the end of the shopping area, you run into the Cathedral of Málaga or Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación. A massive church started in the 16th century and evetually finished in the 18th.

In addition there is a Roman Theatre, the French Pompidou Centre (art gallery), Collection of the Russian Museum, the Alcazaba Fortress and an
Art District (Soho Málaga).

Next stop was (meant to be) the Azores. But the weather conditions made the Azores a little treacherous and the decision was made to divert to the Canary Islands instead.

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populated of the Canary Islands. Any list of things to do in Tenerife and the Canary Islands more broadly will pop up with a long list of beaches. Our foray into Tenerife (officially Santa Cruz de Tenerife was brief and hampered early by some pretty ordinary weather. But the weather cleared and a lovely afternoon was able to be had exploring the town.

Given the weather, we started a bit late and found ourselves dashing about a bit. But while we didn’t get to see all the sights, we certainly got a really nice and comfortable feeling about the place. It was laid back, relaxed, and reasonably priced. There was the usual tourist fare on offer but not at silly or obscene prices.

So why was it an ill-fated journey?

The Issue

On the evening of 7 November 2024, the ship was hit with a sudden and powerful squall that caused the ship to tilt violently. The captain steered into the wind and righted the ship within a matter of minutes.

The below video featured in many of the media articles. The guy in white holding the chair up was Patrick and Anna (seated) and on the right-hand side ( a few times towards the end) I can be seen in a blue shirt with galahs on it.

A lady had slid across the floor landing at my feet, having bashed her head. I gave her my seat as she was in shock and Jill kicked into nurse mode getting ice from our favourite waiter (Singh) and calming a clearly shaken woman down. I then tended (in a non-medical manner) to others around, some of which were shaken.

The effect

The effects of the gust and violent tilting were that:

• Tables and chairs (sometimes including the people in them) slid across the ship
• Drinks fell off flat surfaces (my beer landing in my lap)
• Alcohol (and glassware) on bars hit the floor
• loose items like plates and cutlery in the dining venues went flying
• Food and plates on tables hit the floor
• Shop merchandise hit the floor
• pokie machines in the casino fell over
• the piano on stage (supporting a Celine Dion tribute act) slid off the stage and
• One person was injured

Bottles of alcohol had shattered across the floor, mixing with spilled drinks and broken glass. While the stores weren’t completely destroyed, everything from T-shirts to postcards, magnets, and jewelry was scattered across the floors. Witnesses’ videos show furniture sliding across the deck, a man holding onto a counter, a sign hitting a man, glass breaking, and people screaming and running.

Afterwards, we were all ordered to our cabins so that a 100% headcount could take place to ensure that everyone was on board. We were thrown about pretty violently on level 5 indoors, the effect of anyone on higher decks or the smokers outside had the potential to be catastrophic.

While sitting in the cabin, several announcements were made seeking individual guests, sparking concerns of people slipping overboard. The next was for a 100% staff count. In the meantime, there was the odd medical announcement being made for injured or stressed out passengers.

Due to an injury the ship made a U-Turn and headed back to Las Palmas, Spain to complete a medical disembarkation. This caused a three day delay in arriving in Miami. Importantly it was a nightmare of logistics as people would now be 3 days late missing flights, other cruises, work commitments etc.

Media Reporting

The media reporting of the incident was absolutely rubbish. As two people who lived through the experience, the things that were reported as fact online and in the mainstream media was nothing but lies and speculation. This started the very next day as media outlets and online reporters were reporting us being hit with a massive wave.

This then evolved, over time, with some of our fellow cruisers making up stories in their own little heads about what had actually transpired. The day we got off the ship, it had evolved to the point where passengers were claiming that the Celine Dion tribute act was singing the Titanic theme song at the time of the incident (total Bullshit).

The desperation for notoriety, fame or even attention has fuelled a constant barrage of bullshit being jammed down our throats constantly. Media reports are published with zero fact checking, and are then republished. Then, over time the stories grew, anything for other people to grab their 15 minutes of fame. Jill and I played the ‘guess what crap they’re saying today’ game as this story continued to unfold.

Las Palmas – Gran Canaria

We had been here the year before and did not really like it. We found groups of underemployed African youths wandering menacingly around the streets creating an uncomfortable environment.

Our opinion, a year on, was much more positive. The underemployment issue seemed to be resolved (or at least moved elsewhere) and the wander through the streets was highly enjoyable and not in the least bit threatening.

And being with Patrick and Anna we wandered along the beach, found some establishments willing to quench a thirst, and all of a sudden all was right with the world.

Unlimited Dining Package

As a side note to the cruise, each cruise ship has the normal dining options (a main dining room, a buffet, and some snack options) in addition there are usually some specialty restaurants that offer a different experience (at an additional cost). This cost can vary dramatically, from cruise to cruise, depending on the popularity and deals on offer.

The restaurants can be booked as one-off ala-carte style eating, as a package (set menu) or as an unlimited package. Jill found the unlimited package on special for this particular cruise and for the first time ever we indulged. The unlimited package meant that every dinner (15 nights) could be at one of these. In addition, every day when we were at sea the lunches were also included (another 11 meals).

The restaurants on board (for our trip) were:

• Chops Grille – a high end steakhouse
• Giovanni’s Table – a high end Italian joint
• Izumi – a high end Japanese joint
• Johnny Rockets – a franchised burger joint

We had eaten at each of these restaurants before (with the exception of Johnny Rockets) but usually as a one-off so we always tended to gravitate to the things that we like. By way of example, my choice at the steakhouse always tended to be:

• GRILLED BLACK PEPPER BACON – Slow-cooked Berkshire pork, with a sweet and spicy glaze
• WILD MUSHROOM SOUP – with white truffle oil, chives
• PRIME BONE-IN RIBEYE – USDA Prime 16 oz. bone-in cut, well marbled for peak flavor, deliciously juicy

• A choice of sides that include

The unlimited package meant that we could try everything on the menu and be better informed for future cruises. This meant that my choices (at Chops at least) went from GRILLED BLACK PEPPER BACON to:

• COLOSSAL SHRIMP COCKTAIL – Horseradish cocktail sauce, lemon
• TUNA TARTARE* – Avocado, ginger, wasabi caviar
• JUMBO LUMP CRAB CAKE – Chipotle aïoli
• CHARRED BEEF CARPACCIO* – Rare charred beef, Parmesan cheese,
  arugula, truffle-mustard dressing
• and of course my GRILLED BLACK PEPPER BACON

My Mushroom soup was added to by:

• LOBSTER BISQUE – Brandy, tarragon cream,
• CAESAR SALAD – Romaine, shaved Parmesan, tossed in Caesar dressing, fresh baked crôutons
• CRISPY GOAT CHEESE SALAD – Green apples, candied walnuts, cranberries, balsamic dressing
• THE WEDGE – Iceberg lettuce, blue cheese crumbles, smoked bacon

And my 16 oz Prime rib on the bone had to now compete with:

• FILET* – 9 ounces of our most tender cut of lean, midwestern beef
• PETITE FILET* – A smaller 6-ounce cut, but equally tender and delicious
• PRIME NY STRIP* – A 12-oz. full-flavored USDA Prime cut, with a slightly firmer texture than a ribeye
• RACK OF LAMB* – Tender oven-roasted rack of lamb, seasoned with thyme and rosemary
• ORGANIC ROASTED CHICKEN – Half chicken slowly roasted, perfectly seasoned with thyme, served with au jus
• And some seafood options that include:
• GRILLED BRANZINO – Sautéed spinach, olive oil, lemon, sea salt
• SPICY JUMBO SHRIMP – Red pepper flakes, creamy garlic butter
• GRILLED ATLANTIC SALMON* – Whole grain mustard sauce
• BROILED 1 ½ LB. MAINE LOBSTER – with drawn butter and fresh lemon

And these sorts of choices were replicated across the 3 restaurants.

The sheer volume of food meant that we ate the majority of our meals at Izumi Japanese. Their meals were the lightest and (arguably) the healthiest of them all. Starting off with some edamame beans and miso soup is much lighter than the charcuterie board and breads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar at Giovanni’s. Don’t get me wrong, the charcuterie board was good, but maybe not every day.

The sushi and sashimi were also considerably lighter than steaks and pastas. Jill virtually inhaled raw fish and steak the whole time that we were on the ship. We have had the Izumi’s on several ships now and they are quite hit and miss. Not in a food sense, but certainly in an ambience sense. This one was high-end and lovely, but others that we have been to have left you feeling more like you were in a noisy cafeteria.

After all of this food there were elaborate dessert menus on offer to cap off the meals. The Italian (obviously) had a tiramisu and cannoli, while the Japanese had mochis, red bean sesame balls and the steakhouse had key lime pie, red velvet cake and chocolate self-saucing pudding.

To say that this experience was amazing is an understatement, but it was also too much. We ended up skipping every breakfast on the entire 15 day cruise (settling for just coffee) and swapped out many of the lunches for more simple options (with Patrick and Anna) in the main dining room.

I’m not sure that the exercise offset the food on offer, but we had to do something other than just eat. So the daily (weather permitting) exercise was our attempt. For those who caught up with Jill when we were in Brisbane, will remember the terrible pneumonia cough that she had, needless to say this made playing a tennis derivative a little on the interesting side.

We did not aim to do this, but it is just the way that it happened.

Starting our year off on a cruise headed for Antarctica (a long held dream) we found ourselves starting our year spending New Years Eve floating off Copacabana Beach in Brazil after having already spent some time taking in the sights of Brazil.

The South American bounce continued with forays into Paraguay (Asunción), Bolivia (Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Samaipata), back to Argentina and Chile before heading back up to the US flying into Miami. After some time in Miami we continued our journey on another cruise ship that took us into the Caribbean, South America and importantly into some previously unvisited Central American nations.

So leaving Miami our first port of call was into Costa Rica for an up close and personal experience with sloths, and then on to Cartagena (Colombia) for yet some more wildlife encounters.

A few more Caribbean islands (Bahamas, Jamaica) and it was back in Miami readying ourselves for a decent sort of Transit to Europe. Nothing too silly this time around just a quick visit to France and Portugal.

Before heading off to Northern Africa for bit to see Morocco (with a special stop off to visit Casablanca) and then on to Tunisia.

Leaving North Africa it was back to Europe to stop into, and be totally blown away by Malta. And then on to Turkey where we were shocked by the prices.

But despite the prices charged in Turkey, we did get to see some global bucket list items (Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia).

From Turkey it was a quick dash to Asia (Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam) to catch up with mates, before heading into Australia for a snappy 48 hour turnaround before hopping on the next boat out again.

And that was it. New Year’s eve watching in the new year from Copacabana Beach in Rio De Janeiro and by the 12th of April we were in Australia having touched down on every continent. Once again, it was not something that we planned or aspired to do, just the way that the cards fell.

But an interesting little sideline to our ongoing adventures nonetheless.

So when we started this leg of the journey, we set off from Brisbane on the 6th of December 2022. We have now ticked over a full year away and it seems like a good time to reflect on what we have done in this time away.

To start with, lets look at where we slept during those 365 days:

We were lucky enough to be able to stay with family and friends for a bit over a month of the time away, while two months were spent on cruise ships of various types. There were 83 hotels or hostels that housed us for 253 days. The remainder was spent in typically uncomfortable trains or on overnight flights.

In moving about to see stuff we travelled around on planes, trains and automobiles. Ignoring the little commute stuff around town we travelled enough by plane to almost circle the earth 3 times, we sat on trains enough to cross America ( or Australia and a bit eat to west), and we rode buses for almost the entire length of the east coast of Australia.

Having done this we then move on to what we saw along the way. We were able to visit 56 different countries or territories and visited or slept in 127 different cities. To do this we needed to access and use 33 different currencies.

The first thing that we did was to leave Brisbane and head to Sydney where we joined up with the cruising crew and took an Australian cruise that saw us in Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide with a side trip up the hills to Hahndorf. From here we headed to Perth (via Melbourne) and up to our block of land at Jurien Bay (I had bought it and Jill never even saw it so we went for a looky loo).

From here we went to the Philippines for another month. It was our first port of call when we took off last time but we really only saw Manila and the Taal Volcano. So this time we thought we would do it properly, bouncing around several of the islands and taking in many of the sights. What our month in the Philippines told us was that we need to come back and we need more time.

From the Philippines we headed to Vietnam for a yet another month where we took in the cities of Ho Chi Minh, Danang, Cham Island, Hanoi, Cat Ba Island and of course Ha Long Bay. We caught up with old friends, met new ones and revisited some old favourites and got to share our love for the place to some who had never been before.

The next thing was a quick 4 day cruise around Asia, leaving from Singapore and touching upon Penang in Malaysia and Phuket in Thailand before returning back to Singapore. Doing an Asian cruise was a very new experience for us. Usually the bars and pool decks are packed but not on an Asian cruise. The Casino on the other hand is standing room only.

Our next stop along the way was the Maldives. Oh my lord, what an amazing place to be. The colours of the ocean were truly awesome and the swimming and snorkelling was something to behold. Our trip saw us here during Ramadan so we had an alcohol free fortnight. Importantly, this was the place that saw my stupid ass jump in the water with about 25-30 sharks with the biggest one being around 3.5 meters.

Malaysia was next. This is a regular transit point for us and Penang is one of my favourite cities on the planet. But this time around we got off the beaten path and explored a little more widely than usual. This broader exploration saw us taking in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Tioman Island, Kuantan, Jerteh, Pulua Perhentian, and Kuala Besut.

We swam, we snorkelled, we ate amazing Malaysian food and had a very leisurely month kicking back. It is a good thing that we did as this marked the end of our relaxation. We popped home briefly (to satisfy a travel insurance requirement) and we entered into the whirlwind that was to be our European leg.

A monster flight took us from Australia to the Greek capital of Athens where we took in the sights for about a week before hitting the Greek islands of Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Santorini, and Crete. Our month in Greece was amazing taking in the history, scenery and food. Sadly, the usual tourist spots (Mykonos and Santorini) were our least favourite. Granted they are beautiful, but the volume of ignorant tourists (yes I see the irony) are ruining them.

Next was the Czech Republic, a place I had been to before and thought Jill would love. And I was not wrong. We spent a fantastic week wandering around the city of Prague taking in the castles, churches and the huge abundance of statues. Not to mention being able to sample some of the best beers on the planet.

From Prague we did one of what would be many stops into the Netherlands (more specifically Amsterdam) as this became our European transit hub. The reason for the first visit was to board a cruise ship to Iceland that would also take in Northern Ireland, England, Ireland and deliver us back in the Netherlands.

Coming from Australia, Iceland is possibly the most different place that you can visit, which was the attraction. Waterfalls, glaciers, volcanos, the Northern lights…why would you not want to come here. And we loved it. Apart from being brutally expensive, the place was fantastic and we are both so glad that we made it.

The other stops on the cruise took us to Northern Ireland, England (Liverpool) and Ireland (Cork/Cobh). They were not our main goals but we still got to see some iconic tourist attractions that included popping in to the Giants Causeway.

Sadly, my cousin Uwe was taken by cancer a few weeks later, but our memories are of a great fortnight hanging, laughing, eating and seeing the sights of northern Germany. Our arrival saw the whole family getting together and spending quality time with Uwe in his last month. If nothing else, our memory of him was great times, fun and laughter. And we are both glad we got to spend this time with him.

And just as importantly, the rest of the family could not have been more welcoming, friendly or generous. A great time was had. We even got to do a day trip up to Denmark taking in two more cities and adding a tick box to my countries visited list.

But if we were here, we were going to see as much as we could. So Vancouver was first. This is one of the world’s best harbour cities. Even taking in the Sydney example, Vancouver offers at least as much and possibly even more. We met new friends and were treated to some views of the city from the water thanks to Paul and Francesca.

From Vancouver it was up to Anchorage Alaska where we would spend a few days before training on to Seward to catch the cruise ship back to Vancouver. Once on the ship we headed to and stopped at the Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Haines, Icy Straight Point, Ketchikan, and the Inside Passage before being delivered back in Vancouver.

On this cruise, in Alaska and the various ports we for to see moose, bears, and eagles at almost every turn. Add to this the stunning scenery, rivers, lakes, glaciers, mountains and harbours. You are virtually guaranteed to have good time, and having done on of these trips, we would both happily do another.

After the cruise was a few more days in Vancouver seeing the bits that we missed and then another 7,700km flight back to Amsterdam to begin what was to be the biggest whirlwind trip that we have ever done. Starting in the EU we raced through eastern Europe at a pace that left us and our poor readers heads spinning.

In the 44 days from 19 July to 31 August we were to go to 20 different countries, visiting 29 different cities. It started on trains until they ran out and we then found ourselves on buses and just generally making a mess of the map and my poor little mind while I tried to work out where I was and where I had been.

In this period we went to:

While we saw all of the tourist sights, we saw them at a pace that made it almost impossible to keep track of what it was that we saw and often even where we were.

We saw so many castles, churches, forts, cathedrals, galleries, edifices and amazing architecture that our heads just swam. We walked through slums and palaces, inner city squares, parks and gardens.

After the whirlwind that was Europe we did a quick few stops in the Middle East stopping originally in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here we sweated more than we had in months and got to experience the pure arrogance of Saudi Arabians. This is where we found that Saudi’s treat all other nationalities with absolute disdain, particularly if you have any form of south Asian heritage.

From here we popped into Qatar (Doha) and the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai). Here we took in the sheer opulence of the Middle East where millions of dollars have been poured into the desert. It truly is an amazing example of what can be achieved when you have the will to achieve something and the funds to make it happen.

And despite all of the incredible things to be seen, it really did not appeal to us that greatly. The exception to this was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which was truly incredible. We officially hit our highest ever temperature that we had been in (52 degrees centigrade) and found ourselves hiding from the heat most of the day. On the up side, we managed to get upgraded to a suite in almost every city.

Oman for us was the exception and standout for the middle east. It was actually genuine. Our foray into Muscat saw us eating local foods (not the US chain stuff that many of the others had on offer), visiting old fortresses, and palaces. It was more than a huge bucket of money that had been dumped in the desert.

Heading home (for our obligatory insurance check-in) we pulled into Sri Lanka and Malaysia on the way in. Sri Lanka was once again incredible and we were fantastically looked after by Ruwan and Dilani. Ruwan had been tracking our progress in the earlier adventures and had planned something completely different for us. So we found ourselves glamping in the middle of a national park and photographing wildlife like elephants and leopards.

This was our second foray into Sri Lanka which has left us looking forward to and trying to plan our third. Apart from the sheer ineptitude and corruption of the previous government, the rest of the place and the people are fantastic. It is a shame that the poor residents need to pay the price for governmental misuse.

To say that the Pacific Islands are beautiful is an understatement and in reality, is probably pretty redundant. But a couple of weeks each in Samoa and Fiji was a fantastic way to recharge the batteries, especially after the flurry that was Europe. The hospitality that we received from Fiame, Pam and all the others we met was incredible.

A quick pop back to central Queensland and we were off again. This time it was a flight from Brisbane to Rome for a few days before we commenced what would become the cruising leg of our journey. This started with a 13 night Trans-Atlantic crossing (stopping in the Canary Islands) before a back to back Caribbean adventure that would see us going from Miami to 10 of the island nations and back and even included a pop into Colombia in South America.

But unlike Europe, we had the time between stops so that we could actually soak up the feel of each of the places. Our 12 month anniversary ticked up on the last day of the cruise as we rolled into Miami.

We met up with old friends and we made new friends, we shared good times and laughter, and all the time we kept seeing a little bit more of the world.

The year at a glance – by the numbers:

• 56 countries
• 127 cities
• 33 different currencies used

How did we get around?

Flying – we took 44 flights with 19 different airlines travelling over 106,000 kilometers. Frighteningly we spent over 160 hours in the air getting between one place and the next.

Trains – we took 17 trains travelling 4710 kilometers including two overnight sleepers

Buses – 18 buses travelling 3181 kilometers

Oh and by the way, this may surprise some of you but…I managed to sample the odd beer or two from around the world as we travelled around.

Well it has been a long time between blogs. The world finally caught up with us and forced us to be adults again. Doing all of those things that you must do to fund the things that you want and need to do. This has seriously curtailed our travels, a fact that I am seriously unhappy about.

Life should not be about the job that you do or the items that you own…it is about the experiences that you have and the people that you share them with. On this front both Jill and I have been blessed.

We returned to Australia after our last big overseas jaunt in debt and jobless…this necessitated a consolidation and some pulling in of our ears. Alas along the way we both found jobs (in completely new industries) that we liked and that it seemed that we were both pretty good at. Add to this the fact that we fell in love with the lifestyle that Perth has to offer and we kind of landed and stayed put.

But things change, as they always do, and we found that life was pulling us in different directions. The beauty of this is that other things were going on in the world that were also fuelling the urgency for us to get back into the travel sooner rather than later. Not least of these was the opening of the borders between the US and Cuba. The thought of Cuba being ruined by hoards of US tourists homogenising the place to oblivion was the trigger to act.

Cuba is a place that has long interested us but the 35+ hour flights/transit to get there has meant that we had continually delayed that trip. Our timeline was extended thanks to the election of Donald Trump who proceeded to wind back all of the border opening moves that Obama tried to bring in. Combine that with my impending turning of 50 and it was time to act.

Enter into the equation two new players…Jeremy and Claudia. New for you, but long term friends of ours. Jeremy and I first met in our late teens when we played rugby against, and later with, each other. Decades of interactions has seen us both simultaneously and interchangeably embrace the title of “Jimmy Lau Lau”. This title started as some rubbish spoken in a bar has endured for over 30 years. So with our respective birthdays only a month apart…so began the notion of “Jimmy and Jimmy’s Caribbean vacation”.

 

 

 

 

The domestic legs

So the first leg of this journey began with me flying to the other side of the nation to join my wife. This is one of those understated “things that change”. Work opportunities and changes has seen us living on opposite sides of the country for the preceding 8 months. Still happily married with no intention of anything different, just separated by around 3718 kilometres.

Princess took up a position as the CEO of an aged care company reporting directly to the board of directors. This was a move that she needed to make. Frustrated by being a middle manager and unable to make the improvement changes that she wanted. So if those above you are resistant to change…then be the boss…and she now is.

For my sins I landed a job (primarily) as a writer. It is a government style gig that focuses on the Emergency Management Sector. Specifically…if the world went completely wrong tomorrow (cyclone, flood, fire, storm etc.)…how well would we (as a state) cope…would all of the pieces come together as they should or would we flounder…

And this became my job…and it was awesome…while my main task was to produce a summary document of how prepared we were…the real work was in developing what we actually needed to be able to consider ourselves capable in the face of an emergency. The complexity of this is mind blowingly interesting, and has contributed greatly to us delaying our travels.

Anyway, enough catchup…I flew to meet up with Jill and spent the next 3 days helping her get squared away and ready to travel. Did I mention that she was a CEO…I guess they actually have a lot of things that they are responsible for. So skipping out for a month took some scrambling and organisation.

Once that was done, it was off to Sydney for a few wind-down days with Jeremy and Claudia before things started in earnest.

The usual routine kicked in the moment the 4 of us got together…a trip to the Sydney Seafood Markets. This necessitated loading up on tiger prawns, bugs, oysters, and sashimi quality fish. A quick trip to the bakery added fresh baked crusty sourdough. And the fruit shop gave us some avocado and seafood sauce. Jeremy added some homemade chilli sauce to the mix… and we were set.

Another couple of relaxing days in Sydney and we were out of the work mindset and ready to travel.