Paul & Ruth's 2011 Overseas Trip Blog

Fiji 18-25 June 2011
On Friday 17 June we arrived at Honolulu airport at 6 am for our 8am flight to Fiji. We got out of the taxi and were in the queue straight away – virtually at the footpath. We asked a few people if they were flying to Fiji to check we were in the correct queue, and yes, this was the line. It took one hour to get passports seen and our bags checked through – then the next queue to go through security with our hand luggage. This took another 40 minutes. Once through this section we went to the gate we had been told (that was written on our boarding passes) and the gate was closed. It had been changed to a gate that was another 15 minutes walkaway. When we reached it there was nowhere to sit and we had to queue again to get passports checked, then a final check before boarding the plane – very inefficient and people standing for 2 hours unnecessarily – this was by far our worst airport experience, both arriving and leaving Hawaii.

But to save the day we were flying Air Pacific and they were great. Comfortable seats and we were lucky enough to get 3 seats for the 2 of us.

Our flight had a stop in Apia, Samoa. At the airport we were amazed to see many Samoans with huge blue plastic boxes full of food boarding the plane. We were told they travel to Hawaii to buy food and fly it home as excess baggage. We were in Apia for one hour and half the passengers departed, then just as many boarded to go to on to Fiji (Nadi Airport).

We crossed the date line and arrived in Fiji at 2.30 pm on Friday 18-6-11 after leaving Hawaii at 8 am on Thursday 17-6-11.
We hadn’t managed to book our bus transfer to our resort prior to arriving, but our internet research told us that a bus would be leaving the airport at 4.30 pm. We bought our tickets and thought it was very cheap at about $F24 for the 2 of us. We loaded our luggage and boarded the bus to find out we were on a local bus, not a tourist bus. This was a bit nerve racking in one way as we were not sure where our resort was and how far we would need to walk from the main road when we got there – and it was dark by 6pm. The bus ride from Nadi Airport to The Pearl resort at Pacific Harbour took 3 ½ hours. We met locals on the bus who were very helpful and friendly and assured us we wouldn’t be dragging our suitcases along dirt roads to get to the resort entrance etc. It amazed us that there were so few street lights, even when the bus stopped in Sigatoka for 15 minutes, and lots of people got off, and others boarded, the markets that were still operating were almost in darkness.

When the bus stopped at the entrance to The Pearl at about 8pm we were relieved. We got across the road in the dark and reached the hand operated boom gate. A tall Fijian came straight out and welcomed us with a cheerful ‘Bula’, grabbed our suitcases and took us to reception, about 300 metres away. We had booked an ocean view rom but of course could see nothing at this time of night. We were taken to our room, went to a restaurant for dinner then crashed. This had been our longest travel day during our trip and we were exhausted.

Next morning we woke early for Paul to discover we had a lagoon view room rather than an ocean view so we negotiated and change and settled in to room 203 for the next 6 days – heaven!!!!
This week was intended for relaxation rather than sightseeing and that is exactly what we did. We walked to the Arts Village about 20 minutes away to check out the immediate area and spent most of the rest of our time in the resort or the ocean. As Paul had been teaching me to snorkel all through our summer, we booked a day trip to an island for snorkelling. This was great day – it had rained heavily during the night, but cleared in time for the trip to go ahead and we boarded a catamaran with 26 others and headed to a remote island with a very basic surfers resort of cabins for snorkelling and a BBQ lunch. I am sure boats could go past this island and not even see the surf resort hidden among the trees.

We were lucky enough to meet lots of nice people while at The Pearl so we had lots of company. We met a group of Aussies holidaying next door at Fiji Palms time share resort and spent an evening with them for a lobster dinner. We enjoyed a Lovu night of traditional Fijian food and entertainment and another lobster dinner at The Pearl, and just spent our time swimming and enjoying happy hour each afternoon.

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On Friday 24-6-11 we returned to Nadi by car to stay at the Mercure near the airport so we wouldn’t have to get up at 3am to drive to catch our flight home. The driver kindly took us to The Warwick and The Naviti so we could have a quick look around. He also stopped in Sigatoka so we could have a rest break and buy souvenirs etc.
We were fascinated by the local Fijian village housing. The resort staff had told us most people have one light and a TV and not much furniture. As we neared Nadi, we noticed that houses had chairs on their verandas and some houses had cars outside. Most Fijians catch buses for transport.
We found the people of Fiji to be very welcoming and friendly. Everyone greets you with Bula and nothing seems to be too much trouble. The Fijian dollar is worth about ½ the Aussie dollar so prices were very reasonable for food and souvenirs.
Our flight with Air Pacific departed from Nadi at 9am and arrived in Sydney at 11.30 am ( 4 ½ hours). We had arranged to collect a rental car and headed home after our 9 weeks of adventure…
After a week operating on ‘Fiji Time’ we have found it difficult to get back into the swing of life at home…luckily we both still have some time before returning to work.
Time to plan the next one!!!!! We will definitely go back to Fiji and Hawaii.

US Hawaii 15-16 June 2100
On Wednesday 15 June, we flew from San Francisco to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines. We departed at 9.15 am and arrived at Honolulu Airport at 11.30 am even thought it was a 5 ½ hour flight – we are finally getting back closer to Australian time.
Our original paperwork stated we would get lunch on the plane, but instead we were served an inedible breakfast – luckily there was a warm blueberry muffin included which saved the day. There were no TV in the seats so we hired a small emovie viewer and headphones for $15. The hostie said we would have time to watch 2 movies. 40 minutes before landing they took them all away to lock up so no one would have got through 2 movies.
Once we landed we walked for what seemed like miles to the baggage pick up. It was hot and humid so we were not very happy with the airport layout. We approached the shuttle bus operator but that was very disorganised so we didn’t bother pursuing this option.
We caught a taxi to the Waikiki Aston Hotel on Kalalaua Avenue, directly opposite Waikiki Beach. Our room was on the 19th floor with magnificent ocean views. The Aston seems to be the most first major hotel in a string of hotels along the beach.
As we only had 2 nights and one day here we decided not to try and do all the sightseeing in a hurry – but rather to look around and plan a longer stay next time.
There were several bars in the hotel and good eateries so we didn’t venture far on the first evening.
In our room we found a small 6 pack size esky bag which is your breakfast servery tool. Breakfast is a buffet near the pool from 6.30 – 8.30 am (earlier than we are used to on our relaxing days!) – so we ventured down with our bright yellow bag to see how it all worked. There are no plates or cutlery – you select your food, place it in your bag and then decide whether you want to have breakfast by the pool or cross the road, carrying deck chairs and eat on the beach – great choices. We were lucky to get seats by the pool and were entertained by a guitarist and his beautiful wife who hoola danced all through breakfast – very enjoyable.
Later in the morning we walked the full length of the shopping hotel strip and checked out the area. Lots of duplicate shops – almost every hotel had an ABC Shop – which sells everything from liquor, clothes, souvenirs etc etc – and quite reasonably priced. It is amazing how much duty and tax we pay for liquor in Australia as Americans can buy what we drink so much cheaper.
There were also some odd shop names like a Ferrari shop, a Ukulele shop and The Stupid Factory. Also many places selling ‘thongs’, ‘flip flops’ or ‘slippers’.
In the afternoon we wandered next door to the Marriott for the Polynesian entertainment, but it was not very engaging so we went back to our own hotel where there was a much better band playing.
The views from the hotel were stunning and birds kept coming to our balcony. In the morning we were amazed to see the shadows of the palm trees on the beach – not a sight I’ve seen in Australia. It may seem very insignificant but was very distinct for us as it’s not something we are not used to.

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US San Francisco 10-14 June 2011
On Friday 10 June, we flew from Las Vegas to San Francisco on Virgin American airlines – far more comfortable than Virgin in Australia. Our flight left at 11am and we landed at 12.30 pm. There were no taxi queues, and our 100mph taxi ride had us at our hotel at 1.20 pm.
San Francisco’s development was influenced by the gold rush of 1848, when gold was discovered in the Sierra Leone ranges, 3 hours east of the city – we flew over these ranges on our way from Vegas. At that time the population boomed from 800 to 100,000. California became a state two years later, in 1850. The current population is 794,000, but this increases during the week as this city is the hub for commerce and business for a much larger area.
On 18 April, 1906, the city was devastated by an 8.2 earthquake, and 2/3 of the city was burnt. Again in 1989, a 7.0 earthquake liquefied much of the landfill that had been used to extend the shoreline into San Francisco Bay.
We have booked the Marines’ Memorial Club and Hotel at 609 Suttor St for 5 nights.
On Saturday 11-6-11 we enjoyed a 3 ½ hour bus tour of the city – we were very lucky it was not foggy so we had great views of the Golden Gate Bridge – our first stop. The water is 654 feet deep and very cold. The bridge is International Orange in colour, and is continually painted, each full coat taking 4 years to apply and using 10,000 gallons of paint. The bridge takes travellers from san Fran to Marin County and Sausalito on the western side. The bridge was constructed between 1933 and 1937 at a cost of $33 million. It is 2 miles across, including the approaches and is able to sway 22 feet to adjust to prevailing wind conditions.
In 1987, on the Bridge’s 50th anniversary, it was opened to pedestrians, however too many people took advantage of this and it was lucky the bridge did not collapse. The 75th anniversary is being planned within the city, with no bridge walk included.

The bridge has 6 lanes which are adjusted daily for peak hour – plastic cones are used to set the lanes – not a job we would like to have in foggy, wet or windy conditions. The toll into the city is $6 and this will soon become an electronic system to save wages.

On average, 1 person per week jumps from the bridge. Some for fun and some are suicides. Recently, a number of teenagers on school excursions jumped for fun – luckily they survived. Now that would be some risk assessment!!!

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As we left the bridge area, we passed through the Presidio, which is still the site of officers houses that now rent out for between $5000 and $10,000 per month, depending on the size.
We are amazed that there are so many eucalyptus trees from Australia evident in San Francisco. They were planted to combat the erosion problems.
Out tour took us through Downtown Chinatown, where 120,000 people inhabited 4 city blocks. There is also a new Chinatown in Richmond where the recent generations of Chinese have purchased properties.
We observed how close together the buildings are – there is a law ensuring at least a 1 inch gap between building so the fire brigade can fill the gap with water if the adjoining property is burning – our guide took us past a property that had recently been saved in this way – and yes, the neighbouring building had been destroyed.
We also toured through the Russian community and then to the beach front of the Pacific Ocean, – very fine sand and strong wind were not a good mix so didn’t venture far from the bus.
From here our tour went through Golden Gate Park, which contains many recreational areas, Botanical gardens and a Japanese Tea House.

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Next was Twin Peaks, and again we were lucky it was not foggy as we had beautiful views over the city. We could see the Bay Bridge, a double decker construction that takes commuter to Oakland.

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In the suburb of Castro, the rainbow flags were flying to advertise the Gay Pride March and celebrations set for later in June.
After this city tour, we caught the ferry to Alcatraz and enjoyed the head phones tour of the prison. Neither of us had experienced a tour like this before and would happily engage in this process again. It was so good to hear the whole commentary rather than being interrupted by people talking. Just by luck, the movie ‘The Rock’ was on TV the evening before so it made the geography of Alcartraz even more interesting for us.

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When our ferry arrived back at Pier 33 we walked up to Pier 39 to explore the tourist area. There were lots of shops, coffee shops and a few bars. We stayed for a few hours, then caught a taxi back to our hotel.

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For Sunday 12 June we had booked tickets to the baseball game starting at 1.05pm. We caught a taxi to the AT&T stadium just after 12 noon and were surprised at how few people were there. We then found out the game had been postponed to 5pm as the TV was going to cover the game. So we got a seat in the courtyard of The Public House that adjoined the stadium and waited. The time went very fast as there was a radio broadcast tent set up about 5 metres from us, so we were entertained by the pre-game commentary and interviews. This was probably an advantage as we had much more idea of what to expect after listening to this for several hours.
The main disadvantage of the delayed start, was the weather was much colder than we had planned on when we thought we’d be back at our hotel by 5pm.
Anyway, we entered the stadium at 4pm and walked the promenade level to check out the scene. The crowd attending the game was 42,000 and there were lots of vacant seats so we are unsure of the stadium capacity.
The San Francisco Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 – the game finished at 8.30 pm. Luckily I have played softball so it wasn’t too hard to follow – of course I had to buy a Giants cap and Paul won a T shirt in one of the promotions.

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On Monday 13-6-11 we took a tour to Muir Woods to see the mighty red gum forests – wow – what magnificent trees.
We left the tour office and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, but today, the fog was so thick we could not even see the bridge as we approached.
The road to Muir Wood was very windy and close to some very steep drops with no guard rails – there were hundreds of cars parked along the sides of the road as the parking areas were filled to capacity – so it seems strange that such a wel l patronised tourist attraction does not have better roads. Another highlight for us was to see a cheeky simona chipmunk at the coffee shop area – he kept running out from under the benches looking for scraps – very cute!
The sequoias and coastal redwoods use fog and fire to promote their life cycles and grow in family circles, new trees sprouting round older ones as they die.

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Next stop was the lovely seaside town of Sausalito. Our tour gave us one hour here, but we opted to stay longer and catch the ferry back to Fisherman’s Wharf. We cruised the main street and then found a lovely restaurant called The Spinnaker, built out over the water – very much like Scratchleys in Newcastle. The food was excellent and not too expensive – and the Sausalito Sunset cocktails went down very easily!!!
Our 30 minute ferry ride back to San Fran was very enjoyable – the weather was warm and the fog had lifted so the views were magnificent. We walked around Fisherman’s Wharf for a while before returning to our hotel. Fisherman’s Wharf seemed to be mainly shops and restaurants – it is documented as the second most popular tourist attraction in California behind Disney Land.

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Our hotel has happy hour each day from 4-6 pm and we have met some very interesting people during this time (when we have been able to attend). One couple were at the hotel to run a conference on ’blogging’ for 25 participants on the Tuesday. We spent ages talking to them about education, business and comparing US and Aussie life in general. Happy Hour certainly builds a sense of community within a hotel – similar to our experience in Beijing.
On Tuesday 14-6-11 we had a quiet morning then went out to ride the trolley cars. We caught the Powell/Hyde cable car just a block from our hotel. The cars were so packed we had to wait a while for one that would take more passengers. We went as far as Lombard Street, where we stopped to see the world’s most crooked street. Then we caught the trolley car back and had a late lunch at the Italian restaurant below our hotel.

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US Las Vegas, Grand Canyon 6-6-11
Grand Canyon
Monday, 6-6-11, was our Grand Canyon experience. The shuttle bus collected us from the Siren’s Cove bus stop next to our hotel at 6am and took us to a central depot. There we were divided into west rim and south rim travellers. We had chosen the west rim so we could view the canyon from the glad viewing platform and also take a helicopter ride to eh bottom of the canyon. This tour also included 20 minute float trip along the Colorado River at the base of the canyon.
Our west rim bus left at 6.40 am after our briefing and a light breakfast. We headed along Interstate 515 towards the Mojave desert. We passed numerous flood ways, and our driver/tour guide, explained these flood channels are for flash flooding that accompanies the rain. The valley floor only receives app. 5 inches of rain per year, and when it does rain there is often flash flooding. On The Strip, the worst places for flooding are The Flamingo, Harrah’s and The Imperial Palace. Normally the valley has 255 days of sunshine per year with the monsoon season being from late June to August.
We passed the oldest casinos in the region, then we came to Boulder City. It was founded in 1959 – this shocked me as I thought there was a Boulder City in many of the old westerns we used to watch. This city, with a population of 15000, does not like the Vegas influence of smoking, alcohol, and gambling. This city has a population of app. 15000 and has undergone a huge expansion since 1987.
Next we were on State Road 93, also known as the ‘widow makers’ highway. The long straight roads reminded me of my time living in Hay, but this is even drier and more remote.
We viewed Lake Mee, a large man made reservoir which is sitting 150 feet below its normal storage capacity as there has been a 12 year drought. This water is mainly transferred to the Imperial Valley in California for irrigation.
We passed the Hoover Dam, our driver explaining we would return there in the afternoon for a tour of the area. As we crossed the bridge we moved from Nevada to Arizona.
We noticed fences beside the road – they are to keep big horned sheep off the roads. There are 3 bridges crossing the highways fr the sheep to cross over – they are actually called ‘Big Horn Sheep Overpasses’.
We could see the Colorado River in the distance. The temperature stays at 52 degrees Fahrenheit all year so you need wet suits to swim in the river. This river passes through 7 states before reaching the Gulf of California.
At 8.15 we had a pit stop at the Gateway Trading Post – a small shop on the side of the road, still 49 miles from the Grand Canyon.

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A little further up the road we turned left (quite a significant event on these long straight roads) and headed to Dolan Springs. Paul took lots of footage of this as it is a very isolated community of app. 2000 people. There used to be work in mining (e.g copper) but now most of the community don’t work and are looked after by the state of Arizona. I was amused by some of the shop names e.g. Mail and More and Pizza Wings and Things.
The vegetation beside the road changed markedly in this area, with lots of Joshua trees in view, many of which can be 800 years old.
Next turn was right onto Diamond Bar road, owned by Nigel Kelly who owns a helicopter company in Las Vegas. He farms Argentine cattle and there were lots of vultures flying around. Here we hit several miles of dirt road which was a shock as wee in a luxury coach. Not sure w how long the coaches will last doing this every day. I now understand why this section of road is not paved. The local Indians are trying to get possession of the road to pave it, but there is lots of politics holding up this process. My guess is the Helicopter Company doesn’t want any the road traffic going to the Canyon as they provide heli-tours direct from Vegas to the Canyon. We met some people who did this helicopter tour from Vegas, but they missed all the sites we viewed on our bus trip.
We arrived at the Canyon at 9.30 am to be told our helicopter flight was could not occur due to the winds. We were very disappointed as we had been looking forward to this experience for months.
There were shuttle buses to take us to 3 sight seeing areas so we headed to Eagle Point , where the glass viewing platform is. This was not Paul’s cup of tea, so I donned my beautiful paper socks over my joggers, and headed out onto the glass – it was spectacular. You cannot take any loose objects like cameras, so each group is escorted by a guide/photographer – very smart money making venture. I bought one photo for $30. There were many people who bought the $100 or more packages of photos. The guide said it was 2000 feet or 12 seconds to the closest ledge below us – the air was crystal clear and the colours amazing.
Near the viewing platform there were signs telling people not to go past – there are no guard rails of fences. However, people were nearly hanging off the sides of the canyon taking photos, way past the signs. I wasn’t venturing there – you only need one tourist, not watching what they are doing to bump you and it would all be over!!! Its amazing there are not lots of fatalities, considering how many people fall of cliffs in Australia.

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Next stop was Guano – another rocky outcrop that many people were climbing to get views over the canyon. We decided to have lunch in the picnic area overlooking the canyon – what a view!!!

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We could see helicopters moving in and out of the canyon and were quite confused since we were told they had been grounded. When we finished the shuttle bus ride to the ranch area and back to the base, we n made inquiries, It was only our tours helicopters that were grounded as they were l older and single prop helicopters. Luckily, we were able to book with another company (for $300) to take a ride to the bottom of the canyon before we left. Our bus was due to depart at 1.45pm, but there was a group of about 10 of us from the same bus who all took helicopter flights jut after 1pm – so the bus was late leaving, but it was worth it.

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The view was magnificent, we didn’t realise how different it would be, going down into the canyon, rather than viewing it from above. We didn’t get the boat ride on the river, but that seemed so insignificant once we were at the base of the canyon.

Descending the Canyon (Helicopter)

Scenes from Bottom of the Canyon (Colorado River)

Ascending the Crand Canyon

On our return journey we stopped at Hoover Dam, which was built in the 1930s. Primarily the power produced is sent to California. Border guards boarded the bus to do a security check before we could proceed into the tourist area. The architecture is amazing. The dam wall and new bridge structures are well worth viewing. The bridge is marks the border between Arizona and Nevada, but all the security checkpoints are now on the Nevada side, which makes it more difficult for Arizona visitors.

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We were surprised to find that with this dam so close to Las Vegas, it is not their water source, Las Vegas has 27 underground aquifers for water and Nevada’s power supply is mainly solar.
From Hoover Dam we returned to Treasure Island, via multiple hotel drops for other travellers – this gave us another good tour of Vegas.

USA Las Vegas 3-6-11 – 10-6-11

Viva Las VegasToday we ventured out of our room at 12 noon and walked up through several of the other resorts.
The Mirage, Caesar’s Palace and the Bellagio….it just kept going. There were so many beautiful shops with no customers. We were at the Bellagio in time for the 3pm fountain show – spectacular. Then we made it back to Caesar’s in time for the Moving Statue show. A story from ancient Greece. This was not so spectacular, but worth a look. Even though we only went to several resorts, they are so huge it is difficult to estimate the return walking time.

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That night we went back to the Mirage for The Beatles Love Show at 9.30 pm. Wow – what a show! I don’t think there would be a theatre in Australia that could house this show with all the moving stage floor areas and the aerial acrobatics. I can see why people revisit this show – there was so much to see you couldn’t take it all in at once. The show is in its 5th year of production.

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ShoppingOn Saturday we went to the Premium Shopping Outlets (North). It was quite hot and the walkways between the shops were not sheltered. This was a great place for me to shop, but Paul was not impressed. After 1 ½ hours we caught a taxi back with all my bargains.
Ruth also explored the Miracle Mile of shops at Planet Hollywood – didn’t buy much but it was well worth a look. Paul opted out of this experience – he much prefers the bargaining side of China shopping!

Jersey BoysOur next show was The Jersey Boys at The Pallazzo – again, very close to Treasure Island. We had now worked out the overhead pedestrian crossings which made it very easy to get to the Casinos across the road. As The Jersey Boys did not start until 9.30 pm we explored The Venetian along the canals and watched people being serenaded in the Gondolas. The impact of the ceilings making it seem like evening in The Venetian and Caesar’s Palace is very relaxing and calming.
The Jersey Boys was great…I loved the whole show, Paul would have preferred the music alone without the story line…

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To avoid all the walking in the heat on Sunday, we caught the $7 bus in front of Treasure Island and thought we would hop on and off as we needed to see different areas of The Strip. This was not a good idea on the weekend. It was standing room only. We got off at New York, New York and didn’t get back on the bus. We explored the M&M Shop – a must for all Vegas visitors – thanks Mel and Glenn for this tip. We also tried all the coke varieties at the Coca Cola store and bought few souvenirs. This time we opted for a taxi back to Treasure Island.

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Monday 6-6-11 we went to the Grand Canyon – see separate blog post.

Tuesday 7-6-11 we decided to try the open topped hop on bus service. This was a much better option for us – plenty of seats, good views and we were able to work out which bus stops we could use from our hotel to avoid doing the whole circuit to get somewhere.
We decided to explore The Luxor and found this to be a very relaxing building – less hustle and bustle than many of the other casinos. Perhaps it is the pyramid shape – or maybe we just enjoyed some time out in the lobby bar…

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Our favourite place to eat in Vegas was the Italian Steakhouse at the base of the Eiffel Tower – great food, We tried to take the Eiffel Tower ride but after being in the ticket queue for over 20 minutes, and then realising there would also be queues for the lift as well, we gave up and went elsewhere.

Paul has his photo taken with some lovely Aussie girls who have been working on the Strip for 13 years …

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Human NatureWe had already booked tickets for Human Nature at the Imperial Palace and when we arrived our eats were right at the stage. The waitress warned us that the show required the singers to walk on our tables and we would need to keep our drinks out of the way. Well it turned out the front 2 tables were all Aussies and we had a great time. What a terrific show from our Aussie band…. They had everyone up dancing and entertained us with the group’s history in film clips as well as giving a great ‘Motown’ performance.

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Fremont StreetThis is an experience we almost missed. Luckily some people on our helicopter ride in the canyon told us about it so we took the $7 bus down there for an evening. We didn’t know what to expect – we arrived at 6.30 which was a bit too early as the show starts at 8pm. So we would recommend arriving about 7.30 pm. Drinks were half the price they are on The Strip and there are billboards everywhere saying how the casinos pay a higher percentage here. It was a great family atmosphere, with lots of street performers providing the opportunity for photos ( at a cost), then on the hour, a spectacular light h show is presented to music in the covered mall. The music is all 80s with artists like Queen, the Doors etc featured – very much our style…. We were going to stay an hour or so, and ended up leaving at 10.30 pm. It was easy to get a bus straight back to Treasure Island, where we then waited for the 11.30 Sirens Cove Show .

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USA, Las Vegas 2-6-11
We flew from Vancouver to Las Vegas today. We went to the airport early to beat the cruise ship queues which was a good move as we were through customs by 8.15 am and then sat in a coffee shop near our boarding gate until our 10.30 am flight.
What a change in location – from the cold, snowy conditions of Alaska to a very temperate comfortable Vancouver to the desert scenery of Las Vegas. As the plane circled the airport we couldn’t tell if we were looking at city housing blocks or farmland. It turned out to be housing blocks – once you are away from The Strip most of the buildings are single storey and the roofs are similar colours hence us confusing this site for crops.
There was quite a taxi queue as we left the airport and then another queue at the Check in desk when we reached Treasure Island – but it wasn’t long before we were in our room. We are on the fourth floor and our room doesn’t have a view, but like most things in Vegas, our room is huge. After 23 nights on a cruise ship, this feels like a whole house. The bedroom is huge and there are 2 large bathrooms. One has a shower, the other a spa – I’m sure this will be put to good use!
We went downstairs to explore Treasure Island – We like the atmosphere at Gilly’s bar so I’m sure we will come back to this regularly during our stay – even though they serve beer in plastic cups.

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We are really happy with the central location as it is right next to The Mirage and close to Caesar’s Palace, The Bellagio, The Venetian etc etc. We went exploring and ended up at Harrah’s by the time we got thirsty – so we sat at the bar and played Blackjack – and enjoyed free drinks while we sat and lost our money. But I think we came out roughly even as we traded drinks for what we lost – and we had 2 hours of fun.

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Back to Treasure Island for dinner at Gilly’s and to watch the women’s bull riding event – very funny – but not my type of activity. There are all ages and all dress codes in evidence so we felt at home. What a week ahead of us!!!

Canada, Whistler 30-5-11
Today at 7am we were collected from our hotel for our day in Whistler. I was very excited about this as Michael spent 6 months in Whistler a few years back.
We boarded the Rocky Mountaineer Dome train at North Vancouver Station, after crossing the Lions Gate Bridge. The train departed about 8am for the 4 hour trip to Whistler.
Breakfast was served about 8.30 am and from 9.30 there was full complimentary bar service.

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The views were spectacular. You stay at sea level until you get to the township of Squamish so most of the viewing is of the coastline and the fast running streams coming down from the melting snow. After Squamish, the train begins to climb at the steepest allowable grade so the views change to snow topped mountains, waterfalls and a different range of trees and grasses.
We went past the very top of Shannon falls and kept our eyes peeled for bears and other wildlife but were not lucky enough to spot any.
We arrived in Whistler at 12 noon and met out Land-Sea guide for a shuttle bus ride into Whistler. We decided to stay on the bus while people were dropped off for the Peak to Peak gondola, the Cultural Centre and the sea planes. Then we returned to the village for a look around. We had lunch at the Irish Pub (Dubb Lihn) at the foot of the mountain where Michael used to work. Then we just looked around town and did lots of people watching.

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Our guide told us Whistler is in a state of bankruptcy so it was interesting to see the range of tourists here for the summer. The accommodation deals are all ‘get a 3rd night for free’. There were some tourists with colour co-ordinated clothes, snowboards, skis etc. These were in the minority. The main people passing us were young people in their twenties, here for snowboarding and dirt bike riding, walking around with very dirty clothes and sunburnt faces. We were unsure how many of these people would be paying guests, or, workers on the days off. We saw a few ex Diamond Princess cruisers from our ship doing ‘the day in whistler’ like we were.

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We had 4 hours in Whistler, before catching the bus back to Vancouver. We assumed this would be a coach so we were disappointed to board the same type of shuttle bus that had taken us to Vancouver North railway station at 7am.
However, our disappointment was soon converted to delight when the driver turned off the highway to spot bears. We soon saw several bears right beside the road and snapped lots of photos and movie footage. The most delightful was the mother black bear and 2 cubs (one black and one reddish brown) that grazed next to the road for ages while we all ‘gooed and gaahed’ from behind the bus windows. They were not perturbed at all by so many visitors in their ‘space’. We also saw about 4 other bears on their own at different spots along the road.

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We then returned to the highway and enjoyed the scenery which was quite different to what we had seen on the train in the morning. The driver stopped at lookouts so we could take pictures of the stunning glacial valleys. We also had a stop at the bottom of Shannon Falls which was quite spectacular after passing the very top of the falls in the morning.
As we descended the mountains, the highway took us back to the coast – this was a better view than on the train as the road is higher than the rail line.

When we approached Vancouver, the driver announced one more surprise. He took the bus along Marine Drive through West and North Vancouver past all the multimillion dollar houses, some as much as 55 million. This was a very narrow, tree lined street that we could not have traversed in a large coach, so again we were happy with the choice of vehicle. The views of English Bay and over to Stanley Park were stunning and the driver kept pointing out the poor residents of the area ie those who drive BMWs rather than Maserati’s.
Again we crossed the Lions Gate Bridge and entered downtown Vancouver for the hotel drop off. We arrived back just after 7pm – this was a great day out. We would highly recommend the train bus combination as the views are quite different from these two perspectives.

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Canada, Vancouver 29-5-11
Today we boarded the Big Bus hop on hop off bus tour of Vancouver. The pick-up was one block from our Hotel at 9.20 am – a very civilised time to start sightseeing. The bus is open topped double decker so it was great to have a warm sunny day.
The total tour took well over an hour so we decided to do a full lap and then choose places to revisit on the second loop.
The highlights were Gas town, Stanley Park, Robson Street and the beach area.
We spent some time in Gas Town and found a lovely restaurant for lunch. This is only 5 minutes walk from the cruise terminal and a bit like ‘The rocks’ in Sydney. There is a steam clock that operates on the footpath –neither of us had seen one of these before. We explored some souvenir shops and boarded the bus again for the next leg.

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Our drive along Davie Street is very much like Oxford Street in Sydney – especially the west end.
This time we went past the beaches and got a much better view– we are not sure how many swimming days you would get in Vancouver. There were lots of statues e.g. the laughing men in the photos. There was a also a large heated pool and playground areas with lot of families enjoying the amenities.

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Next stop was Stanley Park. This has a separate one hour bus loop that explores the park itself. This was great as it took us past the Totem Poles, The yacht club, where most of the yachts are moored in ‘garages’ on the water, the Lions Gate lookout and the beautiful gardens, There was also an aquarium and cultural centre but we are a bit over those now.

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Our drive along Robson Street was interesting. The west end of the street is your everyday ‘mum and dad’ type of shopping. As you head east the prices rise and there are a lot of restaurants. The street has 13 Starbucks cafes, with 2 of them diagonally opposite on the same corner. We ventured into a few Starbucks over the past few weeks but have decided they are not for us. In South Korea it was the best option we could find for a safe cup of coffee. Here in Canada and the US, we will look for other options.

We arrived back at the hotel about 4.45 pm which was a good time to walk back up Granville Street to find a nice restaurant for dinner. We ended up at Speak Easy – great steaks and salmon. It was so good we returned 2 nights later for dinner. The waitress was Turkish and has been in Canada for 8 years – this is a very multicultural town and everyone is very friendly. The football game showing while we ate was rugby league beteen the Knights and Eels – they certainly make you feel at home!

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We did however notice a number of people begging on the streets. The one w that amused us most was a young guy sitting on the side walk with a large sign that read ‘Loose change for two young bums’.

Canada, Vancouver 28-5-11

The Diamond Princess arrived in Vancouver Harbour on the morning of Saturday 28 May 2011 after 23 days of extremely smooth cruising from Beijing.

Disembarkation was fairly smooth, with some minor delays shore side as we waited to get through customs.

We then caught a shuttle bus for $9 each to our hotel, The Best Western Downtown Plus on Drake Street, Vancouver.

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Alaska, Ketchikan 26-5-11

The Tlingit people originally inhabited this area. The first white settlers, in the early 1880’s started industries like salmon salteries and canneries. A post office was established in 1882 and the discovery of gold and copper created the need for a mining supply centre.

The name Ketchikan means ‘outspread wings of an eagle’. Ketchikan receives app. 150 inches of rain each year – so naturally it was raining during our visit – but not heavily thankfully.

Up to 1859 the town had 18 bordellos, the most famous being owned by ‘Dolly’. The local story is that Dolly retired at the age of 72, advertising a closing down sale with all goods half price. Her house still stands in the Creek Street area. The other local joke was that children born to these working girls were called ‘brothel sprouts’.

Now Ketchikan’s economy is dependent on tourism, commercial fishing and marine and retail services. For tourists, it is known as the ‘First City’ as it is the first port if your cruise is heading north – for us it is our last stop.

The town is 4 blocks wide and 10 miles long and has a population of 13,000. Most of the buildings are constructed of wood so there are 5 fire stations. During its history, there have been 32 bars and 22 churches – the local T shirts say it is a ‘Drinking town with a fishing problem’.

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We had booked a Wilderness tour with a Crab Feast as we love to try the local food.

Our tour started by bus at 10.30 am – a very respectable hour for the end of a cruise! We headed south on the Tongass Highway, as far as the tarred road extended and came to the Crab Feast Lodge. Here we boarded a 16 seat vessel for our Wilderness cruise at 11.30 am. We did not see a lot of wildlife but we were both fascinated by the logging activity on the river. There was a small ‘tug boat’ bobbing around moving logs into position for the large barge that was moving down the river to add more to its load.

Our cruise took us to a crab pot area where we pulled up to crab pots. Legal size for crabs is 6.5 inches and you can only take the males. The cruise just record and release their catch as they are part of a research program.

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At 12.30 pm we arrived back at the lodge for our feast of beautiful dungeoness crab. We were first greeted with warm cider – lovely on such a rainy day. Then a small salad, then ‘all you could eat crab.’ Each table competed to pile their shells as high as possible – I think this was a good strategy to save the waitresses work – but it was also lots of fun. The winning table t got to learn the crab dance out the front – very much like the chicken dance – the waitresses worked the room beautifully – one of our best days of our trip so far!!!

Usually when we eat crab in Australia, Paul shells it for me as I find it difficult to remove the meat. Not so with dungeoness crab – the shells are softer and everyone was able to manage the task very well.

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When we returned to the Diamond Princess we both went to sleep – we were so thankful this was not formal night after such a huge, yet delicious lunch…