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Around the World

December 2014 - May 2015
A 137-day adventure by Ali and Jeff Read more
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  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    13
    Day 45

    Sydney, Australia

    January 31, 2015, Tasman Sea ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    January 29th and 30th.
    We spent the past 2 days in Sydney. It is a very vibrant city teeming with people. The Sydney harbor is the largest natural harbor in the world and quite breathtaking. We sailed in early in the morning through the headrocks that protect the harbor. The intricate small bays and lush hills greeted us as we moved toward our docking area. As we progressed, we saw what is probably one of the most iconic pieces of architecture in the world-and there was a collective gasp from everyone. No matter how many photos of the Sydney Opera House you've seen, it still takes your breath away when it comes into view. We were fortunate enough to attend an opera there preceded by a harbor tour. The weather could not have been better (we hear that is not always the case) which allowed us to explore the city and botanical gardens extensively. We also ferried to Manly Beach, which has some very dramatic waves and is a big draw for surfers. Australia's rugged, natural beauty is incredible with carved rocks and crashing surf.Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 45

    The Tasman Sea

    January 31, 2015, Tasman Sea ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    January 31.
    As we left Sydney Harbor yesterday, the captain used some words like "pitching" and "groaning" to describe our upcoming journey through the Tasman Sea on our way to Melbourne. So we quickly finished our Proseco (first things first) and battened down the hatches. The seas last night were 20' swells and we are going through a gale today. Talk about drama! It is a challenge to do almost anything - it's hard to keep your food on your plate much less to try to walk anywhere. There are crashing sounds at times that we simply can't figure out! We are all feeling fine except for being a little (or a lot) sleepy. Jeff has been taking some video so we can share it when we get home.Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 45

    Melbourne, Australia

    January 31, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    February 1
    Melbourne is a very cosmopolitan city with many eighteenth century buildings adjacent to modern, dramatic architecture. Multiethnic, it has a peculiar claim of having the third largest Greek population of any city in the world. Even on a Sunday, it was full of activity with coffee houses, pizzarias and chocolateries being very popular. They have an extensive tram system and the central loop with its quaint 100 year-old tram cars is free for use.

    We all agreed we had the best pizza we had in our lives at a streetside pizzaria. For those who are counting, we walked 30,000 steps today (almost 15 miles).    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 50

    Adelaide, Australia

    February 5, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    February 3.
    Adelaide is a smallish city compared to Melbourne and Sydney. About 1.5 million people. It has a mix of old and new buildings, the older ones being primarily from the gold rush days. There was a very lively market there that had a beautiful array of fresh vegetables, cheeses and breads. We had some Algerian food that was a treat.
    We are still enjoying great weather and good times.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    2
    Day 50

    Port Lincoln, Australia

    February 5, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    February 4.
    Port Lincoln is primarily known for it's tuna business and oysters. Jeff was brave enough to have a big plate of their famous oysters at 9:30 in the morning! The landscape is more like what I expected Australia to look like with it's sandy, scrubby hillsides. It was a short stop of about 4 hours so we all took the opportunity to walk about 6 miles on ground that wasn't moving.
    The evening brought a special treat. If you give the chef 24 hours notice, they will prepare any type of meal you would like. Since we have enjoyed so many ethnic and local meals on the ship, we asked for a Philippine meal-it was fantastic! And served by our favorite Philippine waiter.
    We are now sailing through the Great Australian Bight which is an expanse of windswept sea that is known for it's roughness. It is calm as can be and we are happy! The captain seems to be making a beeline west to get past it as quick as possible. We have heard that the temperature at our next port, Perth, is 101 degrees. Not a complaint, just an observation!
    The second photo below was in the "bait" section of the convenience store.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    1
    1
    Day 54

    Fremantle, Australia

    February 9, 2015 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    February 8
    Our final stop in Australia was in Fremantle/Perth, which has the distinction of being the most remote city in the world. Having said that, Fremantle certainly makes the most of what it's got. It is considered a suburb of Perth, but it held our attention for 24 hours without us feeling as though we wanted to make the train trip into Perth. It had some very lively night life, "cappuccino" row and a very interesting maritime museum. On the advice of one of our favorite staff members Guarev, we had some of the best Indian food ever which helped to negate the worst fish and chips ever.
    The first photo below is Mr. Napkinhead (Jim) who celebrated his birthday a couple of days ago.
    We are now headed north in the Indian Ocean with a following sea, leaving the organized and English-speaking Australia for our first stop in Indonesia which is Bali. We enjoy looking at the Southern Cross in the night sky and are headed into much warmer temperatures as we get closer to the Equator.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 58

    Benoa, Bali, Indonesia

    February 13, 2015 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    February 12.
    Benoa, Bali, Indonesia
    I’m not sure what I expected from Bali, but the magic of Bali enveloped all of us. The Balinese are Hindu and there are over 1,000 temples on the island that ascribe to their beliefs. Each temple is an individual work of art. I was aware that there would be a great deal of Asian and Hindu inspired decorative elements and architecture in Bali, but I had no idea how pervasive it would be. Literally every family housing compound, hamlet (multiple family houses) and villages (the group of hamlets) are covered with decorative elements and ornament. The roof peaks, the window surrounds, the gates, the fence posts, etc. are all heavily ornamented. Also, each house has it’s own shrine complete with “offerings”, fringes, statuary and fabrics. These fabrics (poleng), as well as curbs, light posts and other various public items are alternating black and white patterning, representing the balance between good and evil.
    The Balinese believe that every living thing has a spirit and will even pray to a flower as they pick it. Each day an offering is made to the spirits – it is a small leaf plate containing flowers, food, candy, etc. and it is placed at the entrance to the house or place of business.
    We visited 2 temples, a traditional, rustic inn at the edge of a rice paddy and a local woman’s house. We wound up our trip at an orchid garden. We all agreed that if all we had done was take the bus trip, we would have been happy even if we didn’t make any stops. It was truly a sensory overload and my head is still whirling with the exotic nature of Bali, especially after the ship hosted a group of Balinese musicians and dancers before we sailed.
    The first photo is of the inn along the rice paddy where we had lunch, the second photo is of a temple that we visited and the third photo is the front of a typical house you would see in Bali.    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 58

    At sea, sailing to Java

    February 13, 2015, Java Sea ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    February 13.
    Just a few more photos from Bali. Too much to share and not enough space!
    The first photo is some Balinese dancers that met the ship, the second photo is a temple by the sea, only reachable at low tide and the third photo is a woman placing the "offering" for the day at the street side of her home.Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    3
    1
    Day 60

    Semarang City, Java, Indonesia

    February 15, 2015 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    February 14th.
    Today we visited the country of Java, specifically the Borobudur Temple, which is the largest Buddhist Temple in the world. It was built of lava rock in the 9th century and was designed to blend the Javanese architecture with the Buddhist concept of achieving Nirvana. There are 504 Buddha statues as part of the temple. There is evidence the temple was abandoned in the 14th century during the decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java and the conversion to Islam.
    There are a number of active volcanos on Java, and it is thought that the temple of covered in ash and was undiscovered until 1814 and was then restored between 1975 and 1982. By the way, there seem to be volcanoes erupting either right before we get somewhere or right after we leave. I hope our luck continues to hold out!
    In any case, the temple was an incredible sight if only in the sheer massiveness of the building. The over 2000 carved panels serve to tell/teach a story as one walks around the temple and up the levels.
    The drive to the temple through Java’s cities, villages and coutryside was quite hair-raising at times, but fascinating in the variety of sights along the way.
    It is getting quite steamy as we approach the Equator again – not a complaint, just an observation. The Java Sea remains extremely calm – it almost doesn’t even feel like we are on a ship.
    We have learned to eat an Indonesian hot sauce called samba olec. It is quite hot and we have enjoyed putting it on many things here on the ship. When we were out to lunch yesterday in Java, Jeff and I spied a bowl of samba olec and piled it on our plates. WOW! It was a lot hotter and took a lot of rice and water to put the fire in our mouths out!    Read more

  • Ali and Jeff CarithersAround the World
    Day 63

    Muara, Brunei, Darussalam

    February 18, 2015 in Brunei ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    February 17th.
    Brunei was a very interesting stop. As we sailed near the coast, we were reminded of the economic base of Brunei – oil. There were dozens of drilling platforms and many boats affiliated with them.
    The city is extremely opulent while also being rather spare. Brunei is one of only two total monarchies in the world. It is a little hard to get a real feeling about the Sultan, but he does have some pretty specific rules that are to be followed. One is Sharia, which was instituted in May. We attended a dinner at the Brunei Polo Club that was very nice. We were offered an array of delicious fruit juices as there is no alcohol served in Brunei. That was a change!
    The third photo is of a “stilt village” that is on the waterfront in Brunei. It appears somewhat ramshackle at first, but it is actually quite nicely restored, with the owners having an interest in preserving the village as it had been.
    The second photo below is of the Mosque that was built by the current Sultan. The third photo is of the interior of the dining room where we had dinner. The musicians that greeted us played a very haunting and rather mystical song.    Read more

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