Christmas Cruise

           Hey guys, I haven't posted in a while, but I just wanted to tell you about the cruise we went on over Christmas. It was a Western Caribbean cruise and we went on the Costa Medditeranea, an Italian ship. All the ports were great and the excursions were really fun, but the quality of the overall experience was not great. The cabins were nice, the beds were comfortable, and the room cleaning staff was pretty good, but almost everyone, including me, was disappointed with everything else. The food was horrible, the entertainment lousy most of the time, and most of the pools were adults only.  Most of the fun on-board activities were for adults only, and the staff wasn't very concerned about kids.
            I thought it was great to be away over Christmas because it relieved the stress of the holidays, but I can't argue that there's something nice about being home with your family for Christmas.
             The cruise was 10 nights and left from Miami. The ports were all so nice, and we went to Nassau, the Bahamas; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Roatan, an island off of Honduras; somewhere on the coast of Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico.
               When we got to the Bahamas, we stayed on the boat and walked around town because we've been there before. In Jamaica, we did a dolphin encounter and climbed Dunn's River Falls. Jamaica was definitely my favorite port. In Grand Cayman, we took a tour of the island, then went to the beach for about an hour and tried Jerk Chicken. In Roatan, we went to Maya Key private island. It was sooo nice and snorkeling there was really fun (even though the coral reef was dead). In Belize, we went cave tubing, which was really fun, but then we ate some bad tacos and got sick. In Cozumel, we had to cancel our excursion because of the tacos, but later we left the boat to look around. While we were there, I got my hair braided.
               Unlike the other cruise that we've been on, this cruise was not freestyle dining, which means we had dinner partners, and we had to go to the dining room for dinner, at the same time every night. We ate during the first seating, which was at 6:15, and that's early for us to eat, so we would usually go around 6:45. Our dinner partners names were Shaz and Assia, and they were really fun to talk to during dinner.
                In my opinion, if you are going to go on a cruise, DON'T CHOOSE COSTA!!!!!!!!!!!!

A quick message

Hi guys, today we are in Stratford Upon Avon, home of William Shakespeare. We arrived last evening after three nights in London. We walked around this 14th century village last night, and saw very old shops, houses and taverns, including William Shakespeare's birthplace. We ate dinner at a local pub that has been serving food and beer since 1594. I had hoped to post some pictures of Vietnam, Bangkok and London, our last three stops, but the hotel computer has a virus so I couldn't use it to upload pictures. I'll have to catch up with you later. So far England has been amazing. aside from seeing the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and many other attractions, we managed to sneak in a visit to J.K. Rowling's inspiration for Daigon Alley in Harry Potter. We also had a fun dinner with my new in-laws Haresh and Gomathy ( we call her Gomy) at the National Portrait Gallery Restaurant in Trafalgar Square. However, I was a little jet lagged and almost fell asleep on my chicken dinner. I have to thank Gomy for recommending that I try the Sticky Toffee Pudding. It was delish... We have one last night in Oxford and then we are heading home I really hate to leave because I've seen so much, but do miss my dog, Sam and cat, Martha. I'm not sure that I'll have time to post again, but will cathch up with you at home with more pics and stories. Talk to you later.
CC

Cambodia

Hi guys, I'm still working on the pics for Malaysia, but I've decided to tell you more about Cambodia. This country is very different from home. It is still developing and many of the people are very poor. They have to work hard and don't have the same kinds of tools and machines that we do. They fish and farm, and work in the tourism business.  However, they have very different and interesting customs, ways of life, and traditions that we don't have.  They are very nice people who are gentle, calm and funny.  Their history dates back to at least the 6th century, when they were building cities to live in and temples to worship. One very sad thing is there are still many land mines in Cambodia, and you see many people who have been blinded by or have lost body parts by these terrible things.  Land mines are explosives that were placed in the fields, forests, and rivers during various wars, including by the evil Cambodian dictator, Pol Pot, and the Khmer Rouge.  One of the places that we visited was the Cambodia Landmine Museum and Relief Center, started and run by a man named Aki Ra, who was a former child soldier of the Khmer Rouge.  He has made it his life's work to tell people about the horrors of landmines and to help children who have been hurt or orphaned by land mines.  We talked to an American woman named Jill who teaches the children and lives at the Museum and Relief Center.  Her husband Bill is the Assistant Director of the Museum and Relief Center.  The Director is Aki Ra.  We also met many of the children who live there.  I hope that when I get home, I can help raise money for this cause.  If you would like to make a donation directly to them, their website is http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/.  A few other things that I saw, while in Cambodia, are interesting and ancient temples and ruins; the people who live (in houseboats) on Lake  Tonle Sap; and tuk tuks.  I will also mention that we stayed at an awesome hotel called the Angkor Village Hotel in Siem Reap.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 

Enjoy the pics.  Wish I had time to explain them all.

Talk to you later.
CC