Monthly Archives: February 2012

Hawaiʻi

Books, Nooks and Crannies (14 Waianuenue, Hilo, HI 96720) This charming little bookshop in Hilo opened in 2010 after the closure of the local Borders store (its owner even bought some of the old Borders furniture and book shelves). The … Continue reading

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Kuala Lumpur: a Tale of Two Cities

Our guesthouse in Kuala Lumpur (referred to as ‘KL’ by just about everyone in it) was a very laid back place and a good introduction to the beginning of our journey across South East Asia. It was here that we … Continue reading

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Wind Powered Cargo Ships and Arriving in Malaysia

Our last day at sea was spent slowly crawling up the Singapore and Malacca straits. The Captain called us at midday to come and watch Singapore emerge through the heat and smog haze as a strip in the distance. The … Continue reading

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Tropical Storms and Piracy Warnings

We went up to the bridge on New Year’s morning to be greeted by a worried health and safety officer, clutching a piracy warning which had just been faxed over. We had now reached East Timor which meant that we … Continue reading

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A Rock n’ Roll Christmas (of the non-musical variety)

Christmas at sea was not part of our original plan. We were supposed to have spent it with our friends in Melbourne, in the sunshine, probably around a barbeque which would perhaps have been on a beach. Sea travel, however, … Continue reading

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New Zealand

The first major difference that we noticed between life on passenger vessels and being a guest on a cargo ship was the food. Twenty men (and in this case a couple of passengers) are fed three meals a day by … Continue reading

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