The Diamond Princess left Singapore yesterday and will take the following route. Our first stop will be the largest port in Malaysia, Military Port Kelang, also known as Port Klang.  Kuala Lumpur is 24 miles away. We were here when our Regent Seven Seas Explorer stopped at Port Klang 3 years ago, so we we'll skip the tour and save $500.  These tours are not cheap.  On the Regent, all tours are free.  However, you pay a lot/night.   Click on this and read the details of our previous visit .  I'll show some highlight photos. The Blue Mosque. Hindu temple, Second tallest building in the world, Merdeka 118. A Kuala Lumpur street scene. Day 3 means a short stop at Langkawi. We might go on a tour, and maybe not. Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands Was a haven for pirates in the northern part of the Strait of Malacca. Ruled by the British until Malaya gained independence in 1957. Now gets 3.5 foreign tourists/year. I asked Google AI about Langkawi ...

SORRY, BUT THE PAST FEW DAYS HAVE BEEN FULLY FILLED, AND I JUST COULD NOT FIND TIME TO SEND OUT POSTINGS.  NOTHING IMPORTANT, BUT TIME-CONSUMING.  PLUS, THE WI-FI WAS ALSO VERY SLOW.  The next couple of postings will show photos and not say much. We docked in Penang, Malaysia, and you wonder if India can learn something from Malaysia.  We docked in 3 India ports.  In each, if you wanted to leave the ship, you first needed to get a pre-approved visa.  Several people on the ship failed to succeed.  They were stuck on board.  Thankfully, though, the pre-condition that you could not even board the ship in Dubai if you did not have an India visa was waived, so at least they could take this cruise. So, anyway, every time you left the ship, India had THREE check points in the port before boarding the tour bus.  Then, when you returned to the Explorer, THREE check points to insure that you were you and not a terrorist or something worse.  You ha...

Today, no pandemic, no Trump coup attempt, no gun rights...only pure joy.  I'll start with planning for our Fall trip.  We need to be in Okinawa at the end of October. Our initial thought was to begin on October 3 to catch the  Celebrity Eclipse  in Honolulu for an 18-night cruise to Singapore.  Then find a way to Okinawa and return home, Well, our current plan now is to go first to the Okinawa festival, then on November 3 fly to Tokyo, where we will have a home base at the Tokyo Westin. Do a one week Japan Rail Pass from November 6 to Nagoya, Hiroshima, Miyazaki, Kyoto, Nagoya, Sendai and back to Tokyo on November 13. Fly to Singapore on November 15. Fly to Dubai on November 18. 21-night cruise from Dubai to Singapore on the  Regent Seven Seas Explorer . Cost.  Expensive, but a good deal is being offered. Interesting stops. Doha, Qatar:  went there 12 years ago, and one of my postings while there stands as my most popular ever:   THE WO...