My response to Bruce's reply...

My friend Bruce sent a compelling message to me in response to one of my previous posts about packing too much stuff.

I've considered my position again, and am sure that I can compensate for Bruce's earth-killing-carbon-footprint when he travels. Among the things I will consider in the future are:

• Travelling naked where allowed.
• Sleeping under a borrowed tarp - there is no need to bring your own. Everybody owns a tarp.
• A homeless dog makes a useful pillow. A dead homeless dog won't move and wake you up.
• Did you know that most restaurants throw out meals that haven't been completely eaten? Bonus.
• The police can chauffeur you most anywhere if you act up in public. Every sixty days or so, do something really outrageous, and you can get a free haircut (not to mention meals) when you are in prison.
• Movies are free if you watch them through somebody's window.
• If you borrow a knife, you can carve shoes out of abandoned tires. Radial tires work best. Attach them to your feet using tree sap (also free).
• Instead of a digital camera, just draw pictures in the sand or dirt. They are as available as most people's digital photos anyways.
• Did you know that they have these places that let you have books, and expect you to bring them back in a few weeks. Fools.
• If you need to learn how to wash in a public restroom (if you care about that sort of thing), ask for tips at the local Chevron station. As an added bonus, the odor of gasoline is an effective deodorant.

These tips are important for any enlightened traveler. Let the Bruce's of the world destroy the planet - I'll try to save it!

Home Sweet Home

Going to Sydney on a ship was a lengthy process. Sixteen sea-days and six time zones (plus crossing the International Date Line which was actually pretty uneventful - go to bed on Friday night, and wake up on Sunday morning).

Getting home from Australia was a short matter of a fourteen hour flight. But I'm sure the jet-lag will make it a multiple day affair to recoup (although right now I feel pretty good - even slept through the night until 6:30am).

Home is much, much cooler than where we came from - we're entering fall while Oz is well into spring - and spring in Sydney means 30C.

Now that I've had a taste of "down under", I will have to re-evaluate the places I want to go in the next few years. Europe is always attractive, but sometimes I'm convinced that the tourists outnumber the locals. South America really sounds interesting, but maybe it's a bit too "rustic" for me right now.

Oz is probably a place I want to go back to, and spend some significant time. Outside the cities. Circumnavigate the country in a "caravan". You can get a six month tourist visa really easy. Wanna come?

Goodbye Sydney

If this isn't an iconic city, then I don't know what iconic means.

Sydney, on our last couple of days in town, was spectacular ... moderate, warm weather together with spectacular views taken from a State Park located across from the Opera House.

Not much to say after that.....

Bruce's reply...

This was so funny I had to post it...

On Thursday, October 20, 2011, Bruce Chambers wrote: 

Doug,

It sounds like the trip is going well (despite the rain in Cairns) by the descriptions in your blog. I just read the latest installments to Sandra while we are having our morning coffee. In particular the entry entitled Smaller is Better. She had two responses to your write up on what you have and what you need for a lengthy trip such as this:

1. "He must smell real nice" ..... I get the feeling she was being sarcastic.

2. "It's some kind of sickness".

While I can't vouch for your personal hygiene or your apparent inability to carry more than five pounds in your luggage I have to say that we differ in our modes of travel and what we think we require for said travel.

I, personally, can carry 200 pounds in a back pack or 350 pounds in a suitcase with wheels. And this is why I like to take any items with me that there may be the remotest chance, a glimmer so to speak, of being required and of being put to use. For our recent trip to Italy, the cruise and Turkey I took the following. (The list is not inclusive).

• Pants (not zip offs .... only a dork would ..... oh,never mind .....,
• Shorts, lots.
• At least two bathing suits. Putting on a damp bathing suit from the previous day just will not work!
• Shirts (long sleeve, short sleeve collared, short sleeve collarless, various colours and fabrics)
• Hiking /walking sandals
• Shoes, casual and dress
• Boots, casual and dress
• Pool sandals
• Light jacket
• Wind breaker
• Rain jacket (packable to save space)
• Ski jacket (in case of freak snow storm .... it could happen),
• Portable BBQ in case of food cooking emergency.
• Some smoked meats in case of a lack of food emergency. Smoked meats travel well and don't need a lot of refrigeration.
• Hockey stick to show the 'natives' real Canadian culture.
• Three books - in case two are crappy, third time lucky. And they should be hardcover as they travel better.
• Norwegian hiking sticks  ... to be used in the off chance I succumb and buy zip off pants.
• Starbucks VIA coffee.
• Folding chair in case I need to sit down.
• Enough hand wipes to have an entire sponge bath (for two) in case of a lack of shower emergency.
• Spare automotive 12 volt battery. You certainly wouldn't want your taxi to fail to start if you were rushing out to an evening of washing your clothes at a laundromat. (This is just a suggestion for you as I would have enough clothes packed to last the entire trip+ and never have to wash any.)
• Screwdrivers (flathead, Robertson and Phillips, a crescent wrench and a pair of pliers.)
• Every AAA map in print.
• Other assorted necessities.

The sea was angry that day my friends....

It has been the wettest October in 43 years in Cairns. That's because Laura and I are visiting.

We had hoped by postponing our trip to the Great Barrier Reef till the last day we were to be in Cairns, the weather might improve. It didn't. 

The Quicksilver catamaran left the dock in Port Douglas at 10am precisely (if there's one thing these Aussies are - it's on time!). We had been warned that their 1 hour 30 minute crossing of the Coral Sea to their floating pontoon location on the outermost reef would be "rough". They were handing out ginger tablets (and, for those that ginger didn't work, some narcotic) for sea sickness. Even though I took two ginger before we left, Laura said I looked "a little green" by the time we arrived.

As soon as we tied up beside the pontoon, we headed over to their partially submersible submarine/boat to take a half hour tour of the reef - it's sort of a glass bottom boat, except the sides are underwater and you sit at windows looking at all the fishies. The tour was really quite good, and showed you what you could expect when snorkeling, without getting wet. Alas, the boat itself was quite claustrophobic, hot and bouncy (because of the choppy sea), so it didn't help my green-ness.

We got back onto the platform and Laura donned a rented Lycra suit for her first dip into the Coral Sea/Great Barrier Reef. They rent the suits, I imagine, because they can capitalize on a little "fear-uncertainty-doubt" with the passengers - they told us that nomally the jellyfish don't arrive until November, but because the water was especially warm, they were early. And a jellyfish sting is not something you want to experience. So we rented a couple of suits.

Laura enjoyed frolicking in the sea, despite the swell and the waves, and after she came out for some lunch, I decided that I better have a go of it as well. Donning the same (type, not actually the same) lycra, and attaching an XXXL lifevest, I went in the water for a half hour or so. I was worried the whole time that the waves would swamp the snorkle, but they didn't.

Overall, it was a fantastic, though expensive, day. We were picked up at 8:10am and dropped off at 6:30pm completely exhausted. Highly recommended.

Wet, wet Cairns

We arrived in Cairns on Tuesday morning (Monday for those in N.America) and it hasn't stopped raining since. They have received over 500mm of rain in the last 48 hours, with no end in sight. The rain here isn't the gentle stuff you get in Vancouver, it's the "oh my god run for shelter" type that soaks you in about three seconds. Think of a garden hose.

Regardless of the weather, though, we figure this may be a once in a lifetime adventure (hope not) so the advantage is that all the tourist spots are empty. We took the Skyrail to Kuranda and managed to stay more-or-less dry, but we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Tomorrow (Friday) we take Quicksilver to the Great Barrier Reef, and I expect much the same.

It's nice to know that even though it's really wet, it's also really warm. So imagine that garden hose with warm bath water. You are wet, but you're not cold. We still hope for some sunshine before heading back to Sydney for a couple of days, and then the long flight home to cold and damp...

Smaller is better...

I can't believe I'm saying this ... "I brought too much stuff with me". Although I did this 40-day trip with a 25l backpack, and Laura tires of seeing me in the same clothes, I brought stuff I could do without:

• I only need one pair of pants - I have a pair of zip-off's that do nicely. they even look presentable.
• I need one pair of shorts. For when I'm not wearing the pants.
• I need a pair of swim-trunks. These also double as pajamas.
• I need a pair of good looking sandals that look presentable in a dining room, but you can also wear to the beach. Boat shoes might works well too.
• I would leave the socks at home.
• I would leave the second pair of shoes at home. They take up too much room in the pack.
• I need a waterproof jacket that comes down far enough to cover the wallet in my pants/shorts.
• I'd add a small, compressible, light backpack for running around town - put the camera, passports, and jacket in it (like those shopping bags you can carry on your keychain, only with some shoulder straps).

My biggest problem, I know, is the amount of tech I carry with me - it takes up almost half the bag. One laptop with power adapter. One Kindle. One iTouch. One camera. The shaving kit takes up some room too, but it's hard to imagine ever trimming that down more than has already happened. Next time....

Cairns or bust

When we sailed to Hawaii from Vancouver, we met Peter and Marion by chance on a tender from the ship to the island of Maui. Laura struck up a conversation with Marion on the trip over, and we subsequently met back at the ship for drinks. They were from Sydney, and answered lots of our questions about what to see in our short time in Australia. They departed for their home after the Hawaii leg, but not before inviting us for dinner once we landed in Oz.

Dinner was last night, and it couldn't have been more wonderful. These were folks we'd met for a sum total of about an hour, spread over a few days on a ship. Turns out that we had much in common, and we were disappointed when the clock struck 11:30pm and it was time to catch a cab back to our hotel - we still had to pack for the flight to Cairns this morning. The dinner they fixed was spectacular - salmon, flat fish (an Aussie favorite), lamb, steak and two salads - followed by dessert and coffee - followed again by a selection of Australian chocolate bars that were strange to us, but turned out to be mostly small variations of North American favorites (O-Henry, Caramilk, and Mars Bars come to mind). We've had chance meetings that turned into a dinner invite before - with mixed results - but this was really a great evening.

This morning we were up and out of the hotel (or is it a hostel - hard to tell) with two backpacks and Laura's gigantic bag (which is slowly dissolving - it is now adorned by several strips of duct tape, and one wheel is held on by chewing gum and spit). We checked the huge bag into long term luggage storage at the Sydney Airport, and we'll collect it when we're back from Cairns. I've convinced Laura to downsize into her backpack for this short four day stint north to see the Great Barrier Reef, and once she was unencumbered she will admit that light and carry-on is the way to go.

So it's off to Cairns we go - a three hour flight from Sydney. I have no idea what to expect, except that the wallet will take further shrapnel from the Australian economy (it's expensive here!). What the heck, when in Rome....

Auckland, New Zealand

This is a huge city (geographically) with no people. Both islands of New Zealand (North and South) contain about 4 million people. Over a million of them live in Auckland.

When we stepped off the ship yesterday, our immediate reaction was "this is Vancouver". After touring around a bit, we'll restate as "this is Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle and San Francisco" - but without the people and the high-rises (outside the downtown core). The weather is the same as home - today it's cloudy, foggy, and raining - about 15 degrees C. The primary difference we can see is that there are very few apartment buildings, and almost everyone lives in a single-level, detached home. Apparently, up until a few years ago the standard lot size in Auckland was a quarter acre. Imagine a city the size of Vancouver where everyone has a detached house on their own plot of land - that's Auckland.

They have great infrastructure here - although no rapid transit (cuz they don't need it). The buses are clean and frequent, and their roadways are well maintained (most are newly paved for the International Rugby Finals on here now). Overall, the city seems very livable.

But I'm never one to talk about something without addressing it's shortcomings. Auckland (if you're a Kiwi, please forgive me) seems "quaint". It's almost like their the irritating young brother who just wants some attention. Because of its location, though, it never gets it. The city, seems to me, almost tries too hard to impress. They're proud of their circa-1975 shopping centre, and the museum is filled mostly with British stuff and memories of the war (if I was to place you in some parts of the  museum, and asked you to guess where you were, you'd likely say "Victoria"). The "trendy shopping area" is kind of like Kerisdale, and they're very proud of the fact that "Bill Clinton has been here twice."

And the city is also expensive. Housing is expensive (we hear $1M-$3M near the downtown), and when Laura and I stepped out to buy some cold medicine last night (she's got a cold), it was $22 for a few tablets - and the druggist helped us with the right selection!

Internet acccess here is like 1995. WiFi is available, but it's hard to find and it's slow and unreliable. I've heard the same thing about most of Australia - hopefully we have better luck.

At dinner last night we all (Cathy, Frank, Laura and me) all agreed that we shouldn't take our situation at home for granted. Reasonable taxes, good climate, great infrastructure, super food, and compared to most of the rest of the world - we live well for cheap!

Enjoy cruising?

My Dad sent me an email, and said that he'd been reading this blog and noticed that I hadn't ever really answered the question "do I enjoy cruising"?

That's a loaded question, which I'll answer here. The answer is "yes and no".

YES

• Who wouldn't enjoy a floating 4-5 star hotel?
• Our room stewards have been fantastic. They notice when we're in and out of the room, and somehow manage to make it up perfectly unseen every day. They introduced themselves the first day, and since then they've always addressed us by our first names.
• The dining room staff has been great. We've gotten to know our waiter well (we have "my time" dining, so if you want somebody's table you have to ask for it), and he knows all of us by our first names (Mr. Douglas, and Mrs. Laura).
• We've had a Norwalk virus outbreak on the ship, and the entire crew is involved in quashing it. Senoir Officers are manning the buffets to serve food for us. To prevent the spread of the virus, there is absolutely nothing handled by the guests themselves - coffee, dessert, ice cream, you name it. Every member of the crew must be working 18 hour days! They sanitize the ship deck by deck once during the daytime and once in the middle of the night. The Captain reports about the virus every day at noon, and we've seen the count go from about 100 passengers and a handful of crew about a week ago, down to 1 passenger yesterday. Their protocols, although a pain in the ass for the crew, work.
• It will take a few days at home to remember that nobody is going to pick up your dishes or make your bed.

NO

• While being at sea on a cruise ship is wonderful in smooth seas. But the higher off the water you are, the more you notice the motion of the ship in rougher water. Today, we have 6-9 foot swells, and you can sit on the 11th deck and watch the pool splash itself dry.
• There's absolutely nothing authentic about a 2500 passenger cruise ship arriving in a port of 1000 people. While the locals love the commerce, I hate the experience.
• It's even less authentic when a cruise ship pulls into a major port (Honolulu). You're at the mercy of the tour operators unless you've been there before and can figure out local transport (bus, taxi).
• I know they need to make something too, but the cruise ship generally charges 200% of what you could get the same tour for on the dock. I hate tours, but sometimes that's your only option in a new place.
• The cruise industry, I predict, will soon become just like a hotel. You'll pay for you're room and some basic entertainment at the start. Everything else, from buffet dinners to dining room dinners, to "headliner shows", to snacks, to booze, basically everything but the room and the transport, will be extra. The business is so competitive, and we consumers are so driven by the initial cost, that they'll have no choice but to reduce the "price" of the cruise and charge for all the add-ons.
• The demographic of cruising doesn't include me yet. Years from now, I can see it - but for now I see it as the "rich, white way to see places in an ultra-safe, cocooned, choreographed way". That's why I  call myself a hypocrite.

So there you have it. I enjoy the time at sea, and I enjoy seeing new places if I can find a way to escape the crowds and the local expectation that I'm going to spend money.

Two years, Bora Bora, and Steve Jobs

There is no possible way that I could have ever predicted that, on the second anniversary of my stroke, I'd be in Bora Bora, French Polynesia. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the stroke, it's unlikely I'd be here either. I'd probably be working someplace, and could never afford to take a six week vacation.

So perhaps there's a lesson in here somewhere. Whatever you want to do - do it. Now. You can almost never predict what will happen to you a day, a week, a month, or a year from now. So if you have the means to go do something - go do it. If you don't have the means, find some way to acquire it. And for the most part, the most memorable part of anyone's life is the part that costs nothing - friends, family, conversation, laughing. The travel component can cost some money, but if you're smart and frugal, you'd be surprised how much of this can be done on the cheap too.

Even this "once in a lifetime trip" has been made relatively inexpensive. A tough market is a good place to find travel deals.

We'v spent the last three days in French Polynesia. Day one was on the island of Tahiti (Papeete), the second a few miles away on the island of Moorea, and today on the island of Bora Bora. Yesterday was truly remarkable, a picture postcard of every tropical advertisement you've ever seen. And today topped yesterday.

Laura even openly admitted to me today that seeing these places without the crowds and the expectation of tourist dollars (a la sailboat) would be the ideal way to go.

When we got back to the ship, Fox TV was piped in to the rooms on the TV (the only real time satellite feed we can find - why is that?), and they were reminiscing about the life and career of Steve Jobs. Note that I wrote almost all of the above before we turned on the set and learned the sad news. Steve will be missed by millions. Carpe Diem never meant more than it does now. 

Norwalk Virus

The ship is in the middle of a Norovrus scare. A couple of days ago, some kids were seen in the infirmary with symptoms of the gastrointestinal culprit, and yesterday the ship went into their lock-down to prevent the spread. They've been asking that anyone who doesn't feel their stomach is normal go to the infirmary to get checked out. They've removed any costs to this (including any treatment that may be involved) and that tells me how serious they take it. They've stopped and self-service of food (they are using their officers and wait staff), and shut down all the kid's programs.   Rooms have been shut down and are being cleaned, and there's staff all over the ship wiping everything down that could possibly be touched - chairs, tables, elevator buttons, handrails - anything and everything. Apparently, if they cannot get this under control and eliminated quickly, they will stop the ship - not sure exactly what that means, but I'm sure it isn't good.

It's kind of intriguing (and impressive) to see a ship of this size handle a potentially huge health scare. They obviously know what they're doing...

This cruising life...

Laura and I were invited to a "repeat" cruisers reception last night. As we have now done four cruises with Royal Caribbean, we're a prime target market for them. So they ply you with a few drinks and appies, and then tell you all about the exotic destinations they carry 3000 people at a time to. They also reward and recognize their "really frequent cruisers"  at this same event.

They count your "reward" level based on the number of nights you've been aboard a RCI ship. So a 7 night cruise would net you 7 points. When we're done with this cruise, Laura and I will have 40 points or so each. The winner last night had 650. That's almost two years aboard a ship! Apparently their "top" cruiser has 1700 points! When I sat back last night and saw all the people at this reception, I thought again "you are such a hypocrite".

Rewarding someone that can spend money on a cruise ship is a great business strategy - but it should hardly qualify you as someone exceptional (except, of course, to the cruise company). Applauding this achievement is lunacy (except for the cruise company - spend, spend, spend!). The fact that I was there witnessing this lunacy is even more absurd.

So I'll chalk this all up as "I did it for my wife" ... Laura loves the cruise ship life. I was the one who said "sure" when she suggested the trip, and I appreciate the destinations we're heading to - I just wish that I was with a couple of friends instead of 2450 strangers. Then you might stand a chance of really seeing the destination instead of some commercial derivative. I can see doing this with no regrets if I was the age of Laura's mom and Frank - late 70's and early 80's. 

I was thinking last night that the most memorable, fun vacations we ever had were with our kids - and the Mitchener's and Devall's - in a tent on the beach. No money for fancy food or anything but a canvas roof over our heads. Laura and the kids have traveled with me and stayed at fancy hotels and eaten at nice restaurants - I would work while they would vacation - but they still all admit that the tenting days were the ones they most fondly remember.

OK - enough griping about the 5-star life I'm leading for the next couple of weeks. When we start planning the next one, though, I think it will be a bit more towards the tenting end and less toward the floating hotel.

PS on the Aussie thing from last post - I still maintain everything that I said with one caveat: individually, they are all wonderful, interesting, polite people. But when you get a gang of them together - watch out.