Flying home for Christmas
Up early. Korean Air had rescheduled the flight to more than 3 hours earlier than original departure. Yawn. Lugging two pieces of checkin plus hand luggage and shopping bags through the metro and train station resulted in a sweaty arrival at the airport. 14 hours, 3...
Poop cafe and Korean BBQ
Our last day in Korea and it’s still freezing cold and I still barely have a voice and a sore throat and cough. But we braved the weather and went to Insadong and Ssamzigil market. This market has a lot more traditional products than other markets. You can get a...
DMZ
We got up early and braved the cold with four, yes, four layers of wool and a hot pocket in each shoe. Maybe a little too much since our bus was only two minutes away and we had an hour drive to go to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. This was an...
Street market and light festival
Fighting through my sore throat and missing voice, I went to the Namdaemun day market with Terry. It was freezing cold today. So much so that the Korean government sent out warnings to all phones about the decrease in temperature and high gusts. We alternated between...
Crazy Korean theater and cat cafe
Our second attempt at local Korean food wasn’t as successful, but still an experience. I was slightly surprised at Terry’s choice, but followed on in. The one choice menu was sea snails with leek in broth, omelette, and a side of dried white bait fish and some kind of...
Discovering Seoul
Our first day in Seoul, and the first thing we do is stumble upon a small restaurant with an all-Korean menu where we were the only foreigners. It was wonderful! The lady boss sat us down and pointed at the menu and showed us two fingers. We nodded, and the food and...
Flight to Seoul
It was time to say goodbye to Australia, the southern hemisphere, and summertime with temperatures up to 40 degC, and saying hello to South Korea, winter and a temperature change of fifty fewer degrees…
Shelly Beach once more and Sydney Opera house
Even more beautiful weather today, so Shelly beach was the obvious choice. This time we got in the water and saw a fish or two. Our lunch was a different take on street food. We got a dozen oysters and hake fish and chips (and salad for good measure) to enjoy by Manly...
Zombies, Chinatown, Darling harbour and IMAX!
We dragged ourselves away from the beaches today and went to a different kind of escape room where we donned VR headsets before being let into a large empty room. The first game was Engineerium, a crazy disorienting puzzle game that made you feel like you were on your...
Manly beach and Shelly beach and beach turkeys
A late start to the day, and we strolled over to Shelly beach right next to Manly. A good snorkeling spot and a couple of cute cafes with a band playing. But what I liked the most were the turkeys roaming the beach just like seagulls. They are Australian Brush-turkeys...
Sydney, Australia
We got up really early, before sunset, to watch the arrival into Sydney. The captain had promised he’d do donuts, as in a 360 turn, but it didn’t happen… bummer. But the view was spectacular: The opera house, the harbor bridge, and the sunrise. And the entire ship was...
Final day
They pulled out all the stops at the buffet for the final sea day: shrimp tower, chocolate tower, cake display, and a separate chocolate buffet! Yum!
Dressing up for the final evening chic
Two more wonderful sea days before arriving at our final destination, Sydney. The day consisted of a free massage taster, some cake, a fabulous show and chilling in Eden watching Charlie, the guitarist. All the while dressed in our evening best: kilt with all the...
Airlie Beach
The boat was tendered today, just like yesterday so it took quite a while to get off the ship. We even considered just staying by the pool. But I’m the end we took the tender boat to shore and went to the Airlie Beach lagoon for an hour. Quaint place with lots of...
Cairns
Considering we’d both been to the Great Barrier Reef before, we spent today strolling around cairns and taking a dip in the lagoon in town. The stinger season makes it undesirable to swim in the ocean. The lagoon was beautiful and warm! 34 degrees in the air and the...
Party night
Another sea day before hitting Cairns and the most eventful evening of the cruise. Terry, aka Mr. James, entered the karaoke contest (they were actually waiting for him before they closed the signup!). He did quite the performance! The cruise director, activity...
Sleeping in
Two lovely sea days before Cairns and we slept in until noon missing the dance classes, the forensic lectures and the Sunday service. After a visit to the buffet, it was the pool and then dinner and watching the blackjack tournament between the captain and the cruise...
Darwin, Australia
The Celebrity Edge arrived in Australia for the first time ever. And what a welcome… We were woken up minutes before sunrise after 4,5 hours of sleep by what sounded like an entire welcome parade. It turned out to be a lone drummer and didgeridoo duo with a massive...
Pool and casino day
Another gorgeous sea day spent by the pool. It was nearly too hot to be out there, feet were burning on the deck and even the regular pool felt like a hot tub. But hey, I’m not complaining! We joined the cruise director Guiseppe’s noon stretch class for the...
Sea day equals chill day
A long lie-in started the day, and then chill, eat, sleep… late night show in the club “undercover” was amazing, again (third time watching it), with dancers and acrobats (doing human flags like it’s no big deal)
Beach and massage in Nusa Dua
The ship stayed overnight in Bali so we had one more day to explore. We stayed closer to the port in Nusa Dua where there are many luxurious hotels. We went for our first dip in the ocean in a long time before walking through one of the hotels and, after some sweaty...
Monkeys and temples in Bali
We reached Bali, another large center for yoga and Hinduism. We took a taxi from the port to Ubud. It took an hour and a half due to all the traffic, but cost us no more than 100 kr, so we thought he deserved a decent tip after getting us through that traffic jam....
Another sea day
Just another chill day as the Edge brings us closer to Bali and Australia - stretching, pool, buffet, nap, dinner, possibly some trivia, cocktails, entertainment and music. We watched the brilliant Tom Ward on his guitar. Mesmerizing. Look him up, he’s well worth a...
Black Friday shopping
Since today was a sea day, and this weekend still has Black Friday offers and my credit card offers double points, I spent the day online shopping for Christmas. At least whenever the ship wifi didn’t drop out…
Singapore and avatars
Our next stop was Singapore. Compared to the other countries we’ve been to, this one immediately appears cleaner, more organized and well run. We walked to the Gardens of the Bay, a large park with myriads of flowers, observations decks and a world based on the Avatar...
Cruisers…
After staying on the Edge for nearly a month, we’ve come across a lot of fun and interesting people. And then from time to time we come across one or two that are a bit odd. Here are a few stories about the latter. 1. The Friday after thanksgiving a couple were seated...
Phuket, Thailand
Getting off the ship today took quite a while, and has been the only downside of this cruise - that immigration into and out of ports has sometimes taken much longer than anticipated. We were tendered today too, which means we had to wait for shuttle boats to get us...
More karaoke and dancing
Another sea day and one more karaoke with a little dancing added in.
Sea day and karaoke
Another sea day! I love sea days. Nothing to plan but still lots to do. This picture is technically from last night when I finally convinced Terry to do karaoke singing “Stand by me”. People loved it and asked if he sang professionally! One person came up to him at...
More temples
The ship stayed overnight in Sri Lanka so we had a full day to explore. We went to the Gangaramaya temple (didn’t try to pronounce it) and it was amazing! So many rooms, colors, gold, buddhas and knickknacks. It was beautiful. There was even a wedding going on that we...
Colombo, Sri Lanka
The day after leaving India we arrive in Sri Lanka a little late in the day since there were 9 passports missing their departure stamps in India and the captain and his crew spent the evening looking for them before we could depart… In Colombo we waved off the swarm...
Kochi, India
Kochi is different from Mumbai, but it’s still India. Which means there’s a bit of chaos, plenty of smiling people and something to see on every corner. Luckily we got off the boat early and reached the Broadway market before anyone else and it was calm with few...
Laundry day
We have one sea day before arriving in Kochi, India. This is what happens when the cruise ship charges $59.99 for a load of wash and fold laundry. You can probably buy a washing machine for that in India. Fun fact: the clothing line is actually the free headphones...
Mumbai
My first time in India and we start with Mumbai! Summarized in one word: chaos. But so much fun. People everywhere. And all of them friendly. and half of them asking to take selfies with us. We felt like celebrities for a day. We visited the Gateway of India, a large...
Stephen Barry entertaining on the second sea day
Another sea day before arriving in India. We were lucky to experience Stephen Barry (@stephensings1) from Ireland’s got talent. And boy does he have talent. And not just can he sing, he entertains with an unparalleled charisma and humor from beginning to end. Far...
Another evening chic night
Leaving Dubai behind, we had two sea days before reaching Mumbai. Because Dubai to Singapore is a new cruise (people disembarking and embarking in Dubai), we had to change cabins. So now we’re on the 9th floor in an identical but mirrored cabin. The day was spent by...
Dubai
Today I got to show Terry my Dubai! It’s like a kaleidoscope, you can tell something is the same as before but it keeps changing all the time. It’s been 30 years since I lived here and it is unrecognizable but I still love it. (In fact the Harvard implicit association...
Abu Dhabi and one of the largest mosques in the world
We made it to UAE and its capital, Abu Dhabi. Everything was spotless and shiny and glittered in gold and crystals. I was transported back to my childhood in the UAE seeing all the Arabs in their attire. With limited time in each port, we have to decide on one main...
Lobster night
Another day at sea and we had a spectacular show at the theater and a fab dinner. The show was a “hot” summer night’s dream, based on Shakespeare’s play with a similar name. Backbreaking acrobatics and aerialists showed off their skills along with singers and dancers...
Oh man!
Oh, man, destination of the day is Muscat, Oman! The Muttrah souq was filled with the smell of frankincense and oud, and there were sellers every meter selling “cashmere” and “brand” merchandise. But what caught my attention more than anything else were the myriad of...
Propel our hotel!
Our hotel at sea continues on. We are getting closer to our next destination and this is our last day of the longest sea stretch. It was almost like I’d forgotten that this ship was actually going somewhere. I was getting quite used to lounging by the pool, having...
Evening chic
The cruise ship normally has one or more days where the dress code is “evening chic”. On this cruise they’ve managed to shove in four of these. Some people don’t do much while others pull out all the stops with tuxedos and ball gowns. We opted for something in the...
Room service
Since we haven’t been very good at getting up early, we normally arrive too late for breakfast and wait for the lunch to start, which means breakfast has normally comprised cake and coffee/tea. But today we ordered room service which we enjoyed on our veranda in our...
Big win at the casino
From time to time the cruise ship gives everyone $5 to play on the slot machines. And we are suckers for free stuff. Last time we won nix and nada, but today?! I went for the minimum bid machines so I could play for longer and hit the big win button and took home $20!...
More shows and drinks and fun
We made it through the Suez Canal without problems. The highlight today was the late night speakeasy show with dancers and acrobats. You had to be there. I’m not sure all the limbs snapped back in the right place for some of the contortionists. The Celebrity Edge...
Suez Canal passage
Today and tomorrow we are passing through the Suez Canal. Much narrower than I imagined but so far we are doing better than the Evergreen. All desert on one side and lush, green, inhabited towns on the other side. We pass through in a convoy with a hundred or so other...
The start of a week of sea days
Most people don’t like sea days. I love sea days. Why? No planning needed, or getting up early to explore the port and city. The day is open to do whatever you like onboard and there’s no chance of getting bored. There are activities from morning to long past sundown:...
Acropolis and Athens
Visiting Athens has been a dream of mine since I was a teenager and read Sofie’s world by Jostein Gaarder and becoming more interested in the Ancient Greek philosophers. It was odd to walk around the Acropolis with the Parthenon today knowing that Socrates, Plato and...
The first sea day
One of the reasons I wanted to go on this cruise was that there are as many sea days as port days. I used to think sea days would be boring but I’ve realized they’re the chance you get to relax and go to the gym or chill by the pool. I love sea days. We got to know...
Happy Halloween
Our first stop on the cruise was Sicily, Italy. We wandered the streets and checked out the old ornate churches and squares, and made a trek to eat arroncini and an enormous and tasty cannolo (we’ve learned from our Italian cruise director that cannoli is plural)....