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One of the highlights of our Scandinavian trip was visiting Denmark’s Kronborg Castle, immortalised as Elsinore, the setting of Shakespeare’s renowned tragedy “Hamlet”. Having both studied Hamlet for our “A” Level English (school leaving exams) way back in the day, the castle held special meaning for us and it did not disappoint. We crossed over…

Our stop in Gamla Uppsala was just delightful as there were the wonderful ancient burial mounds to see plus a museum detailing the history of this enchanting and historic area. We were also able to cycle through fields and woods to the nearby town of Uppsala, famous for its University, established in the 15th Century.…

After viewing the Arctic Circle monument in Sweden – just over the border from Finland – we started to look for somewhere to park for the night. For some reason we just couldn’t find anywhere suitable so we decided to cross back into Finland where we found a very pretty camping ground on the shores…

Having spent way longer in Norway than we had planned, we decided to head for Sweden as quickly as possible. This entailed entering Finland at the border crossing just 37 kilometres from Kirkenes in Northeastern Norway and making our way quickly across the most northerly and remote part of Finland and then on to Sweden.…

After our harrowing trip the previous day when we almost ran out of fuel in the extremely isolated and lonely road to Kirkenes, the final leg was much more pleasurable and the scenery gentler and less dramatic. Kirkenes is a small town in far northeastern Norway, close to the Finnish and Russian borders and has…

Around 3.30pm we left the Sami capital Karasjok, in Northern Norway, for the 265 kilometre drive to Kirkenes across the Finnmárkkoduottar (Finnmark plateau) with an ETA of around 7 pm – arriving just in time for dinner. We were anticipating a pleasant drive through a reasonably uninhabited and maybe a little lonely piece of road…

For me, the highlight of our stay in the remote most northern Norwegian town of Hammerfest was becoming a member of the venerable Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society (member number 267,715). To become a member of the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society (established in 1963!) you have to have travelled to this isolated…

After a fascinating morning in the town’s War Museum we departed Narvik in the early afternoon headed for the city of Tromsø. Located 350 kilometres (217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle on the island of Tromsøya, Tromsø is connected to the mainland by the 1,036 metre long Tromso Bridge. By late evening we were…

The road trip in our camper van along the Helgelandskysten which follows the Norwegian Coast from Holm to Godøystraumen was truly spectacular. The longest of the 18 Norwegian national Scenic Routes, the 433 kilometre journey took us through such breathtaking scenery that at times we felt as though we were on a movie set. The…

All good things come to an end and so it was, that all of a sudden, it was time for our dear friends to leave us and depart Thailand.  We had loved their company and had very much enjoyed the luxury of their spacious and comfortable thatched bungalows and all the other facilities in a…

We had hired motorbikes for a week on Koh Yao Noi but because of the rainy weather had only used them for short hops. Not so Easy Riders! Although most of the others were experienced riders, riding a bike on my own was a first for me – I’d ridden pillion plenty of times in…

After days of rain, high winds and generally inclement weather, we woke up to find that the new day was quite fair although still overcast. Finally we could take our friends who had come to visit us from Australia and Ghana for a sail and show them some of the spectacular scenery which could be…

With bouts of heavy rain and more blustery conditions on the way, a day of sailing the beautiful waters surrounding Koh Yao Noi seemed pretty well out of the question.  Disappointed, we were wondering what to do when one of our group had the bright idea of attending cookery school.   We all love to…

There we were, our four visitors from Australia (one who had flown in from Ghana) plus luggage, aboard Bali Hai, ready to sail from Boat Haven Marina on Phuket Island, Thailand  to Koh Yao Noi, a charming island just a few hours pleasant sail away. We had requested a pilot to bring us in the…

Catching up with old friends after a few months apart is always great but particularly so when they have come all the way from Australia and Ghana to visit you! Bubbles on Bali Hai – still Peter travelling from Ghana, to come Boat Lagoon in Phuket was the perfect venue to meet up with our…

As usual, we were working towards a deadline! Bad weather had kept us in Telaga Harbour Marina in Langkawi when we should have been in Phuket preparing to welcome our good friends who were due to arrive from Brisbane any day.  Telaga Harbour Marina – with cannons! We were thankful to have had a berth…

Finally we had made it back to Phuket in Thailand and were on our way to Boat Lagoon Marina which is on the East coast of Phuket, and well placed for the airport which meant just a short taxi ride for our friends arriving the following day.  Boat Lagoon Marina The water in Sapam Bay…

Being back in Langkawi felt a little like going home. Everything felt quite familiar and comfortable – which shops to go to stock up, where to hire a car, where to leave the dinghy, the place to buy the best bread, the cheapest place to buy wine, where to have dinner, where the quietest and…

After the excitement of finding the elusive fisherman’s shrine at Koh Rok Noi, the rest of the trip back to Langkawi, Malaysia, was pretty uneventful.  The fishermen’s shrine at Koh Rok Noi We stopped overnight at Koh Lipe in the Butang Group and dropped anchor at Pattaya Beach.  Aproaching Koh Lipe Before we went ashore…

You get to make some unusual discoveries when cruising. One of our recent and most interesting ones was at an isolated beach on an uninhabited island that we had visited previously, Koh Rok Noi (called Koh Rok Nok in the SE Asia Cruising Guide).  Sarn Chao Bay on Koh Rok Noi We had heard that…

After the hype of James Bond Island we were looking forward to seeing some “real ” Thailand so we headed for the less well travelled island of Koh Yao Yai.  The longtail heading for us Just as we dropped anchor, a “long tail” boat (so called because they have second hand car or truck engines…

View of the mesmerising Phang Nga Bay from a small beach The trick to exploring the mesmerising Phang Nga Bay is to do it when there are no tourists about.  Another wonderful view Bali Hai and her crew were there in June and while the weather at times was rainy and blowing nine bells, there…

No trip to Phang Nga Bay in Thailand would be complete without a visit to what is now known as “James Bond Island” (Koh Phing Kan).   James Bond Island Although we usually try to avoid the most commercial and “touristy” areas we were very pleased that we gave this one a go.  The island…

The shallow lagoon outside the hong The Hong at Koh Hong can only be entered by dinghy or small motor boat from the shallow lagoon outside at high to middle tide. Fortunately for us, the day we entered it the tide was up early in the morning before any of the tourist boats arrived.  Tourist…

Having read some of descriptions of entering and leaving a “Hong” in Phang Nga Bay the thought of exploring one for the first time was making me nervous –  for fear of becoming trapped or worse, drowning.  The cruising pilot says: “These shallow water fully-enclosed lagoons, open to the sky, are only accessible through caves…

Cruising Phang Nga Bay is like sailing through the land that time forgot – ghostly sheer sided sea mountains rise out of the milky green water like a herd of petrified prehistoric sea monsters.  As we sailed towards the Bay from Koh Rang Yai the imposing limestone rocky islands quickly loomed into view on the…

We were on our way to Phang Nga Bay – home to the sheer-sided sea mountains, caves “Hongs” and coves. It never ceases to shock us that we see so much rubbish both in the water and on dry land.  Just a little of the rubbish that we see almost daily. ….. Rubbish of a…

One of the stunning views Phuket has to offer   Being tourists An unexpected overnight guest arrived – a school friend of our daughter’s who by chance was in Phuket having dental work done – so we had a longer stop in Ao Chalong than first anticipated. But it gave us a chance to do…

Ok It was like one of those dreams – you know you have to be somewhere but no matter how much effort you put in, you never seem to make any progress. Fortunately, we did eventually make it to Thailand and just in time to meet our daughter at Phuket airport the following day.  Nearly…

We were on a mission to get to Thailand to pick up our daughter who was flying in from India for a short holiday.  Koh Rok Nok   It was now 2 June and she was flying in the next day so even though the weather didn’t look the best we had no choice but…

We headed out of the eponymous Hole in the Wall and motor sailed a little further round the island of Langkawi hoping to find a quiet anchorage where we would be well protected from the South West Monsoonal winds.  The weather forecast was predicting high winds and rain so we wanted to tuck in somewhere…

The way to see Langkawi is definitely from the ocean. Until you view the island from the water you can’t fully appreciate its special rugged beauty.   Stunning view of Langkawi from the water We left Telaga Harbour on 16 May and headed for Datai Bay passing some spectacular scenery on the way.  On arriving…

It’s exactly a month since we arrived back at Rebak Marina and what a month it has been – some wild weather, unexpected meetings, new friends, many beautiful locations, and arriving in a new country.  Enjoying a meal at Rebak Marina But I am getting ahead of myself.  It’s good to be back. It was…

The cruising life is wonderful on every level bar one – there are just too many sad goodbyes.  Our son Ben and partner Sarah who came to Cairns to farewell us in June 2015 Our friends (and business partners) Bruce and Anita on Bali Hai First you have to farewell your loved ones at your…

We were up on the hard standing at Rebak Marina, Langkawi.  Bali Hai on the travel lift – always a nervewracking time! While Jonathan was doing battle with a multitude of minute but mighty barnacles that clung tightly to Bali Hai’s bottom, I took the opportunity to clean the teak trim (including seats, toe and…

So we have done it, bitten the bullet, thrown caution to the wind, jumped in with both feet, taken the plunge – packed up our little townhouse, had another big chuck out, given more stuff away and put everything else in storage. It’s official! Bali Hai is our home for the next couple of years…

It was 31 January 2016 and we were travelling on a wide bodied jet from Brisbane to Singapore at almost 900 km an hour, 38,000 feet in the air. Looking down at the boats strung like jewels across the Singapore strait, it seemed strange that in under eight hours we had completed a trip that…

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,600 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 43 trips to carry that many people. Click here to see the…

Sailing with thirty or so other yachts under a bridge that connects the Malaysian Island of Penang to the mainland, was an emotional moment. The first few boats to sail under the Penang Bridge The Penang Bridge goes on for ever! For us the “sail past” was like a full stop to the Sail 2…

Just under two weeks after leaving Indonesia we finally caught up with the tail end of the Sail Malaysia rally fleet, just in time for the last rally event at Pangkor Island Marina.    Saying farewell to Hannah at our last stop in Indonesia We left Indonesia from Tanjang Penang on Tuesday 17 November after…

In a repeat of our arrival at Debut Island, way back in July, when many of our fleet arrived in Indonesia at the same time in procession, about 20 boats sailed (or rather motored) like ducks in a row from Benan Island to our final destination of the Sail2indonesia Rally, Tanjung Pinang. Our chart plotter…

One of the highlights of the Sail2Indonesia rally has got to be the unscheduled stop on a deserted beach at Tanjung Kelit on Dasi Island for a pirate-themed Crossing the Equator party.   Our AIS on the chart plotter shows the boats leaving Penuba all in a line. off to the Equator Party! We were…

Our trip from Belitung to the quiet village of Penuba on the island of Selayar in the Lingga Group was memorable for a number of reasons. The distance we had to travel was a tricky one – too short to take two full days and nights and too far to set off early one morning…

In order to get a good head start to our next destination – Tanjung Kelayang on Pulau Belitung – we motored to an island, Pulau Serutu, a couple of hours away from Karimata, to spend the night. From there it would be easier to pull up the anchor in the dark and set sail.  …

We were reluctant to leave Ketapang where we had enjoyed a fabulous time. As well as attending the party of the year and a fabulous welcome ceremony, we visited a traditional Malay-style Sultan’s residence, wandered round an urban forest and saw monkeys and a few birds, were entertained at the Sultan’s palace and had a…

With scarcely time to recover from the party of the year at the Dayak village compound, we are summoned to attend the official opening festivities in the quayside at 8am the next day.       Bleary eyed and with a few bad heads we all park our dinghies and make our way to the stage…