Part II: Australia (8-night cruise)
Part III: South Pacific Islands - New Caledonia & Vanuatu (11-night cruise)
Part IV: New Zealand (14-night cruise)
Part V: Cambodia
Part VI: The Philippines
PART I - Fiji
We're back from another great winter adventure!
This one was much more active and busy than last winter in Costa Rica & Ecuador, but also quite a bit shorter, which sucks because we came back to snow, with no end in sight! No fun.
❅🥶❅
Late the next evening...
| Stock photo of a house in Fiji - I'll take it! 🏠 |

Nestled in the heart of Tadrawai Valley and just a short drive off the Queens Highway lies Mango Bay Resort with its thatched bures. "Resort" may be pushing it a bit as it was quite basic and rustic (for this Princess' liking), but it was home for the next 4 nights - a little stop over in Fiji on the way to Australia

You had to walk quite a distance from the car to the resort with your luggage, but it was a lovely walk.

Our Fijian bure (wood and straw hut) for 4 nights - Mosquito netting worked very well, but NO air conditioning - understandably because it was basically open air to the elements in some places. That would be a crucial point later on...also, there were always geckos galore inside, but that's ok, I can live with them
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| Two local sweethearts on the property. They hung out with us in the open-air restaurant area overlooking the pool and ocean. |
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| Local woman walking around in the water with this plastic bucket collecting sea urchins |
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| I managed to get Craig out in a kayak a couple of times here in Fiji |
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| Gorgeous flowers at the market in Suva |
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| Can you find Waldo in there? |
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| Really? Welcome to Australia!!! We barely have stepped foot on Australian soil and there's already warnings of deadly snakes. I couldn't live in this country! Too many things that can kill ya!🐍 |
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| Brisbane is a beautiful city - very green with lots of parks designed for people to hang out in |
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| It's a giant pineapple! 🍍 |
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| We really enjoyed our time in Brisbane. For a big city, it had a more comfortable vibe to it |
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| Meet the "grey-headed flying fox" is a megabat native to Australia (largest bat in Australia). |
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| 15,309 km to Ottawa |
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| They were very at east until the stupid Ostrich terrorized them and they all made a mad dash to get away from it! |
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| And then they all just stopped and stared our way, it was a little freaky! 👀They were looking towards the ostrich, but it seemed like they were looking at us! 🦘 |
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| I was loving feeding the baby and then Craig says "don't move"...cause (we assume) it's mama was behind me, but she didn't do anything. Nothing to see here, it's all good! |
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| So adorable! Never did I think I'd be surrounded by kangaroos - an awesome experience! |
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| Ahhh, the baby holding Craig's finger, so precious! |
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| Watch your heads people! 🦉 |
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| Oh gross! I didn't realize it had that in it's mouth! Quite an impressive hunter! |
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| Craig bought me a ticket to get up close and personal (for about 1 minute) with this adorable creature! I was not able to hold her, but I was permitted to pet her back and she's very soft |
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| Brisbane is a really beautiful city with cheap transportation, lots of greenery and a diverse culture which brings some great restaurants! |
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| Southbank Park in downtown Brisbane is pretty amazing with lots of places to relax, eat, shop and even swim in the man-made beach pool. |
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| No, we did NOT buy a kangaroo scrotum bottle opener! Why? Just why? We really enjoyed our time in Brisbane - a great city for locals and tourists! |
with Great Barrier Reef
January 14/26 - Embarkation day in Brisbane, Australia on the Crown Princess
We were slightly concerned that a cyclone hit the Queensland area right before we embarked on a cruise, but the weather for our journey was amazing, thankfully!
As Calvin, the Cruise Director would say, it was a B-E-A-utiful day! (we came to be annoyed by him saying this every...single...day).
January 15th - day @ sea
We met up with Linda & Alan from Parksville, BC - she had arranged a tour with us on the 2nd cruise - little did we know at the time what an adventure that tour would be!
January 16th - Airlie Beach, Australia
The ship's tender boat took 45 long minutes to get to shore. Thankfully it wasn't too rocky or it could have been bad for me
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| See! Not a soul on the beach! We just wandered around and enjoyed the hippy vibe here in Airlie Beach. I bought a beautiful, green linen top here, which you'll see in Siem Reip at Angkor Wat (temple). |
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| Craig enjoyed the safety of the cruise pool deck! |
January 17th - Townsville, Australia
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| Views from the top of Castle Hill |
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| Even Craig was melting - the heat was NO joke on this Queensland region of Australia - which is hot and tropical |
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| The start of the trail down from Castle Hill |
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| Looks like we left Townsville just in time! Although, I think I would have appreciated getting soaked after that 8 km walk! |
January 18th - Cairns, Australia
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| Sweeping valley views from the train |
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| Barron Falls - a quick stop along the scenic railway tour - gorgeous! |
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| Barron Falls with our train in the background. You do NOT want to miss getting back on the train - because you'll be stranded here until the next train came along! |
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| Giant rhinoceros beetles (approx. 7 cm) were everywhere! Thankfully they're harmless despite the fact that they are huge and can lift 850 times their own body weight! |
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| This shop was unique with all sorts of skin and leather products from Australian animals. |
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| Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a 7.5 km scenic tourist cableway running above the Barron Gorge National Park in the Wet Tropics of Queensland's World Heritage Area of Australia |
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| An engineering marvel in the tropical forest |
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| Rainbow! 🌈 |
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| The same Barron Falls that we saw from the train. Where's your hat girl!? I see your forehead burning from here! 🌞 |
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| Having fun on the cable car |
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| Gorgeous views all around for the whole cable car trip - highly recommend this excursion! |
January 19th - Port Douglas, Australia
Here we had a tour organized to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef here. Sadly, this is where Steve Irwin died from a stingray incident. RIP Steve.
The marina area here in Port Douglas was lovely with shops and restaurants.
The weather for our snorkel excursion was very calm. The ocean was like glass as we headed out on a speedboat to near this cute little island with a lighthouse on it (Low Isles Light). Built in 1878, this lighthouse was the first to light the Inner Passage of the Great Barrier Reef.
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| Another "tender" port where we have to squeeze into one of the ships rescue boats. |
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| Excited to be seeing part of the Great Barrier Reef |
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| We did see turtles and fish, but apparently some others from our boat saw a shark - glad I didn't! |
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| The only underwater shot that sort of turned out - of a lovely turtle |
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| Tanya, would you like to live on this lighthouse island? |
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| Cool tour boat going out as we were coming back to port. Although our pictures did not capture the experience, we really enjoyed the day - and there were no injuries or deaths, so it was a great day! |
January 20th - Willis Island
We didn't stop here, just circled the island for a bit and kept going - so basically it was another sea day.
January 21st - day @ sea
After the ear infection, I had to also endure sea sickness - probably partially due to the ear infection. I was out by the pool and had to quickly make a run for it to the public washroom where I proceeded to projectile vomit! 🤮
Felt good afterwards, thankfully!
January 22nd - arrive back in Brisbane
We didn't have to unpack in between cruises, but we did have to get off the ship for about 1.5 hours and then were right back on - pretty easy transition.
Part IV: New Zealand cruise February 2nd - Embark in Brisbane (again) Once back aboard, we had to do a full muster station drill (not just the one on the app) because it needs to be done every 30 days. Weather conditions were poor with high winds. We were supposed to leave @ 4 pm, but we were unable to due to the windy weather and the narrow channel we had to sail through towards NZ. At 2 am, they reassessed the conditions and decided to proceed. It took us a while to actually get going, but somehow they made up the time to arrive at the next port as scheduled. February 3rd - day @ rough seas Possibly THE roughest seas we have ever experienced.
The pool was definitely a-rockin', and therefore closed for swimming. 2nd day at sea was still rough. February 4th - yet another rough day @ sea People from NZ are affectionately known as "Kiwis" because of this little chick - their national icon - a flightless and nocturnal native bird - the Kiwi I attended an information session about the Māori people of New Zealand, where I took a picture of the 2 photos (above). They are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland NZ and are descended from East Polynesian settlers who arrived in NZ by canoe between roughly 1320 and 1350. Excerpt from wiki: Early contact between Māori and Europeans, starting in the 18th century, ranged from beneficial trade to lethal violence; Māori actively adopted many technologies from the newcomers. With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the two cultures coexisted for a generation. Rising tensions over disputed land sales led to conflict in the 1860s, and subsequent land confiscations, which Māori resisted fiercely. After the Treaty was declared a legal nullity in 1877, Māori were forced to assimilate into many aspects of Western culture. Social upheaval and epidemics of introduced disease took a devastating toll on the Māori population, which fell dramatically, but began to recover by the beginning of the 20th century. The March 2023 New Zealand census gives the number of people of Māori descent as 978,246 (19.6% of the total population), up from 18.5% in 2018. Of those identifying as Māori at the 2023 census, 366,015 people (41.2%) identified as of sole Māori ethnicity while 409,401 people (46.1%) identified as of both European and Māori ethnicity. February 5th - day @ not-as-rough seas, but still rocking February 6th - Auckland, NZ from internet - picture of Katy Perry kissing the ground after returning from space - that's kinda how I felt too when the 3 days at sea were over between Brisbane and Aukland! Finally! Land! That's a rough stretch from Brisbane, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand! Not gonna lie, I was glad to get my feet back on solid ground. We chose to just walk around town and I ventured up into the Sky Tower "Genuine sheepskin nipple warmers" A little amusement while shopping around AucklandThe Sky Tower is a telecommunications and observation tower weighing 21 million kg Height: 1076 feet Date completed: 1997 It took 2 years and 9 months to build and cost NZ$85 million to construct It was a beautiful day to see the gorgeous views from the tower. Only I went up because it wasn't cheap $40 cdn) and Craig didn't care if he saw the views. I didn't stay too long though because there were just too many people up there for my liking. It didn't take long at all to get up, but I waited in line to get to the higher observation level - later wished I hadn't because it was the same view - duh. ![]() I didn't go on this because kids were jumping on it. lol Not the most comfortable bench! lol Views leaving Auckland
Bye bye Auckland!
February 7th - Tauranga, NZ In all the NZ ports, lumber was prominent as an export Beautiful scenery coming into Tauranga Surfers near Mt. Maunganui We really loved walking around the Mt. Maunganui area. It was a bit of a walk from the cruise port, but definitely doable. It's a really beautiful area. I remember thinking this would be a lovely place to live. On January 22, 2026, there was a deadly landslide on Mt. Maunganui triggered by heavy rainfall and claimed 6 lives. We were here on Feb. 7th. Our plan was to hike the mountain, but that was not possible because it was all roped off and access denied (for everyone's safety). Mt. Maunganui Mt. Maunganui - the blue arrow is marks the area of the deadly landslide of January 22, 2026 Cool rock formation that looked like two animals facing one another Beautiful scenery all around this area called Moturiki Recreation Reserve It looks like that chunk of rock is about to break off and fall into the ocean ![]() ![]() You look JUST like Daniel Craig coming out of the water in James Bond! February 8th - Napier, NZ Napier is the Art Deco town. Not really my favorite architecture style, but it was unique and was a pretty area to walk around 6-sisters buildings...they're a local landmark that is held in high community esteem, in part because they survived events that claimed many of the pre-1931 buildings in the city Another beach we weren't able to swim in. This time, because of powerful riptides from Wiki: Kia ora is a Māori-language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It translates literally as "have life" or "be healthy", wishing the essence of life upon someone, from one speaker to the other. It is used as an informal greeting or farewell equivalent to "hi", "hello", or "goodbye" and can be used as an expression of thanks similar to "cheers" The lady taking our picture says to Craig..."why aren't you facing the camera"? lol He was being a typical male...staring at the statue boobies February 9th - Wellington, NZ It's known as "Windy Wellington", but it was a beautiful day when we were in town! We walked from the cruise ship to where the cable car was - It cost $6.50 nzd per person for the short trip up the hill that drops you off in a lovely park area. We then walked down through the botanical gardens and back to the ship. Back on the ship, Craig enjoyed watching the Superbowl on the big screen by the pool while I had some quiet time in the cabin. About to get on the inclined cable car Whatch'u lookin' at Willis? Cute art on the way up Beautiful, sweeping views of the city A cute pic of the cable car with the city & ocean in the background Craig liked these trees The hydrangea garden Where's Waldo? Ha! I didn't even plan to have that sprouting out of his head when I took the picture! ![]() It was SUCH a lovely walk through the botanical gardens. Highly recommend the cable car + walk down through the gardens in Wellington, NZ (assuming it's a nice day) Gorgeous flower! Lots of bees! Tree hugger! The Rose Garden ![]() February 10th - Christchurch (Lyttel), NZ We had a lovely double-decker bus tour planned for Christchurch. Lovely scenery in the area, but it was pretty cold and windy that day. Christchurch has seen it's fair share of natural disasters including the Feb. 22, 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people and caused widespread damage. Over half of the victims were from a 6-storey Cantebury Television building (CTV) which collapsed and caught fire. Following the earthquake, they created a rating system of assessing all homes and buildings. They would assign colors red, orange or green to each building. If you received a green card, you could move back in, if a red card, you could not even go back into the building to recover your personal belongings! Can you imagine? The devastation took years to recover from - it didn't help that there were all the aftershocks as well as significant liquefaction From the front seats of the upper level in the bus, it felt like we were going to take the roof off our bus in this tunnel! The Sign of the Takahe is a historic building currently run as an event space. It was a cool and windy day, but at least it wasn't pouring rain or anything in Christchurch Bee doing his thang A lovely spot we stopped at on our tour for a snack Christchurch is an interesting city with lots of beautiful murals, but it has been through a LOT with earthquakes. On Feb. 22, 2011, a 6.3 earthquake hit near the city centre causing widespread damage and killing 185 people (115 from the Canterbury Television Building alone). Also, 361 aftershocks occurred in the first week following the earthquake. The buildings were already weakened by the 2010 earthquake and its aftershocks. Significant liquefaction produced nearly 400,000 tons of silt. Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) was established to oversea the disaster and recovery. By October, 2012, more than 1000 buildings had been demolished with a "red zone" of 387 hectares. By June, 2013, reconstruction began. If it was determined that your home or business was a "red zone" property, you could not even return to the building to collect your personal belongings. This memorial, gifted by the city of New York, is a firefighters' and first responders' memorial sculpture made of steel girders from the site of the 9/11 World Trade Centre terrorist attack. It was unveiled on Labour Day weekend, 2002. As mentioned, there are a lot of beautiful murals in Christchurch, NZ and this one is particularly interesting because it's an optical illusion - the building is just flat across Beautiful, scenic drive along the cliffs Funny poster in Lyttelton port area Craig enjoying some spa pool time after our tour February 11th - Dunedin (Port Chalmers), NZ More lumber at the port Not the best weather for our tour today, but still beautiful! The steepest street in the world - Baldwin Street in Dunedin, NZ! The fabulous Dunedin Railway station (Est. 1906) is a prominent landmark and tourist site. In it's day, there were over 100 trains a day at the station, but today just 3 tourist trains operate daily Beautiful tile floor and stained glass within the station ![]() A cute boathouse along the Otago Peninsula Harbour / MacAndrew Bay area of our tour Serene, natural beauty along the way Craig can make fun happen wherever he goes...even just entering a field to go see sea lions on the beach. Buddy on the other side does not, however, seem impressed. lol Our 1st sighting of a sea lion - but it was along the path we wanted to walk on, so we had to do a detour up into the brush. Luckily we were in NZ and not Australia, so we weren't concerned about running into any deadly creatures! Respect nature people! Can you tell by the expression on my face that I'm not 100% comfortable having my back to this big-ass sea lion!?! Craig just had to get a photo with that sea lion that just looks like a rock. He's alive - just resting. No swimming at this beach either - only 16℃ All of a sudden, this guy had a burst of energy and headed towards the path to meet up with his buddy Doo-pee-do, don't mind me, just walking along the beach - outta the way people! Yup, that's a sea lion also and he/she's alive I wasn't too pleased when that sea lion went up the path leaving me behind on the beach and the rest of the group up ahead, but it all worked out - we just all went up in the brush again to get back to the bus. You can see the sea lion eyeing the tourists...luckily he decided not to mess with them today Sea lion reunion on the foot path to the beach - not sure if they were buddies or partners, but they were playful with one another. So cool to experience being up close and personal with these creatures in the wild More lovely scenery along the way And, of course, while in New Zealand, we had to get at least one picture of sheep! Craig had a hunkering for a fresh seafood lunch, so we found Carey's Bay Historic Hotel where we enjoyed an awesome seafood meal! Yum! The town of Port Chalmers is approximately 2500 kms from Antartica. No wonder it's cooler, but so beautiful I believe this area, as we sailed away from Port Chalmers, was a huge albatross colony A random, goofy, flexible entertainer on ship February 12th - Fiordland National Park scenic cruising through a mostly inhabited part of NZ We were unable to go into Dusky Sound Fiord or Thompson Sound as the conditions were just TOO windy. Even our 2nd attempt entering Milford Sound resulted in us tilting 8.5 degrees because they have to stop using their stabilizers in the narrow fiord. We all were thankful we didn't have to abort, but I tell ya, from the 16th deck, it felt like we were going to tip right over! Apparently it was a 14 degree angle last year (glad I wasn't on that one)! The swimming pool emptied a ton of water into the buffet area! I looked it up, 45-60% is the tipping point (depending on the ship), so we were a LONG way from tipping over (thankfully)!Although it doesn't look that narrow, it felt very narrow for our large ship It was a little windy Pictures don't do it justice...it was very scenic End of the road for us...time to turn around. Doesn't look like there's enough room, but our captain knew what he was doing. He was old as dirt, so he had lots of experience. Craig caught a bit of a head cold, but nothing that stopped him from enjoying our vacation February 13th - rough day @ sea I felt mildly sea sick today and slept or rested most of the day while Craig lounged by the pool February 14th - less rough day @ sea Seas were a little calmer with less wind and the air temperature was warmer for us to be out by the pools (which were open again). Went to our 3rd Captain's Circle event (free drinks baby)! Top 3 traveled guests Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life 💘3rd - 1053 sea days 2nd - 1085 sea days 1st place - 2353 sea days (that's nearly 6.5 years) ![]() Our awesome dining room staff, Patcha & Sakka (both from Thailand). After 33 days together, they felt like friends and we definitely enjoyed getting to know them. We finally managed to see a sunset because it was later at night here (& not while we were in the dining room). February 15th - day @ sea Thanks to Craig's charm and charisma, an amazing staff member, with no prompting, gave us $1000 in future credit! Awesome! Thank you! February 16th - back to Brisbane - disembark the cruise ship after a total of 33 days!!! We took the CityCat water taxi to downtown from near our airport hotel (for only 0.50 AUS cents each) and just wandered around for our last day in Australia Some lovely architecture in Brisbane Bye bye Brisbane! Heading back to the airport hotel for an early night because we had an early departure for Cambodia the next morning Part V: February 17th - fly from Brisbane, Australia to Phnom Phen, Cambodia (via Manila) Brisbane - Manila (5800 km) Manila - Phnom Phen (1776 km)
I thought it was funny that the destination on the board just said "Cambodia", not the city in Cambodia Population: 2,425,800 in 2025 with a population density of 5700/km2 February 18th - in Phnom Phen From the air, that looks like those dwellings are very close to being flooded out. In the event of a tsunami, they are absolutely going to be destroyed. In Canada, we all need to be very thankful for our way of life. ![]() Our hotel - The Peninsula - was wonderful EXCEPT for the guy beside us who played very loud music until the wee hours of the morning Rooftop pool, bar and restaurant area with great views of the city Scenery/atmosphere up here was great! Check out this guy throwing the wires up onto the mess of other wires - interesting technique! Yummy lunch with great views (at our hotel) ![]() We were surprised there were no railings, but we didn't have any kids to worry about Ya, the electrical is pretty bad $5 USD for a haircut
Dinner with a view!
Strong drink! February 19th - still in Phnom Phen We took a full-day tour that was going to be via tuk tuk, but because there was one more guy joining us, we ended up in an air-conditioned van (thank goodness)! 🫠Choeung EK Genocidal Center is a site outside of Phenon Phen was used as a killing field between 1977 and 1979 by the Khmer Rouge to perpetrate the Cambodian genocide. This is a memorial stupa of over 5000 skulls of some of the victims. below is an excerpt from wiki: The bodies of 8,895 victims were exhumed from the site after the fall of the Rouge (but it is estimated over 20,000 were killed here), who would have been executed there—typically with pickaxes to conserve bullets—before being buried in mass graves. It is the best-known of the approximately 300 Killing Fields, where the Khmer Rouge regime collectively executed over one million people as part of their Cambodian genocide between 1975 and 1979, as has been called the "Auschwitz of Asia" This tree got to me...as it says that the executioners would smash children's heads against it! How can any human being do so horrific things?Excerpts from wiki: "Between 1975 and 1979, Cambodia was ruled by the Khmer Rouge headed by Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge sought to transform Cambodia into an agrarian socialist society, and one of their first acts were the emptying of Cambodia's cities where two million people became labourers on farms. Khmer Rouge soldiers targeted members of ethnic minorities, political opponents, and the educated among others as part of the Cambodian Genocide. As a result of poor conditions, starvation, disease and violence, around one quarter of Cambodia's population of 8 million died". Next stop: The Genocide museum If you can't read this sign, it says; Discipline of the Security 1. You must answer according to my questions. Don't turn them away. 2. Don't try to hide the fact by making excuses about this or that. You are strictly prohibited to contradict me. 3. Don't pretend to be ignorant as you are a chap who dares to thwart the revolution. 4. You must answer my questions immediately without wasting time to reflect. 5. Don't go on about your minor mistakes or infringements. 6. While getting lashes or electrification you must absolutely not scream or cry out. 7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet and when I tell you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting. 8. Don't make pretext about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your secrets or your betrayals. 9. If you don't scrupulously follow all of the above rules, you shall get many lashes or electric shocks. - for every infringement, 10 lashes or 5 shocks Actual survivors of the horrific Khmer Rouge regime. It was really disturbing when we realized that some of the survivors were on site, selling books that told the stories of their unimaginable experiences. Some of the cells that held the doomed prisoners I simply could not imagine. On the 2nd storey of this building, they had wire mesh - not to keep the prisoners in, but to prevent them from committing suicide to escape the torture A mother, without hope, being tortured, while holding her baby. It's difficult to see because of the reflection of the glass, but this is the actual chair shown in the picture of this poor woman It is, at this point, after visiting the killing fields and the genocide museum, that we went to lunch. Not the best timing, but the mango-chicken dish was so fresh and delicious. I ate my meal that day with extra gratefulness and a heavy heart The Royal Palace of Cambodia complex that serves as the official residence of the King of Cambodia. The Cambodian monarchs have occupied it since it was built in the 1860s, with a period of absence when the country came into turmoil during and after the reign of terror of the Khmer Rouge.This original palace was largely demolished and rebuilt between 1912 and 1932. We enjoyed the beauty, peace and serenity of this complex (not many tourists). Our guide wasn't even going to take us here - we're so glad we asked for more time to explore this area as it was well worth visiting too Thanks Casper, for taking this picture! Aunt Judy - another kitty cat pic for you The official residence of the King Beautiful complex area Another kitty cat pic for you Auntie Judy! February 20th - Drive (in a comfortable vehicle with a driver) to Battambang, Cambodia (296 km) & after lunch, head out on a tour They sure know how to pile stuff onto a vehicle! Cambana La Riviere HotelOld bamboo railway (the bamboo refers to the material we're sitting on, not the railway itself). It's not what I was expecting - definitely a made up way of earning money from tourists by the locals - I have zero problem with that, but I'm not 100% sold on the safety of it. Regular trains still travel these tracks, but apparently they know the schedule, so we don't get run over doing this. Meet our Mexican-American companions on this all-day tour The tracks ran right along where people were living. That's WAY too close to the tracks to live. Oh, and now we're going to cross the road! Ok, managed that safely Then they take us across a bridge ![]() All of a sudden, they stopped, told us to get off and then they proceeded to pick it up and turn it around to head back in the direction we came from. A bit of a weird, but interesting experience Holy smokes, that's close to the tracks. Next time you think you have it bad, remember there are people living like this around the world This gives you an idea of how this thing runs. When he'd let up on the stick, it would slow down, then stop A very common sight on the roads. This is likely the material to make brooms Ok, I didn't think he meant it when he said we were going to eat rats, but he most certainly did. We stopped along the side of the road (out in the country) where eating the farm rats is a common practice. I justified it because the rats were "cleaner" because they at farmer's crops - unlike city rats who eat anything. When in Cambodia... They still had their tails and some of their teeth! Craig wouldn't try it, but I did - just a teeny bit. When I didn't finish it, our guide grabbed it from me and finished it off. It just tastes similar to chicken. It wasn't bad, it was more the thought of what I was eating rather than the taste of it! 🐀 Then we stopped at a rice noodle "factory", but it was all open air with zero food safety measures and apparently this business sells to restaurants and grocery stores. Interesting! Picture above is the final product. This is the machine that squishes the large blob into noodle shape. You can see what I mean about basic facilities Doesn't seem sanitary to me ![]() Lots of monkeys around...they didn't bother us, but apparently they can be quite naughty and aggressive. Love the expression on his face. The beautiful rock carvings of a buddha ... we didn't know it at the time, but this is where we'd come back to see the bats come out of the cave to feed
At the Phnom Sampov complex, we saw the "killing fields" earlier and now this is the "killing cave" ... another site where the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed Cambodians. They would just throw them into this deep cave
Some of the skulls of the poor souls who perished at this site. This area is just a short distance away in the cave from where they threw them in
Aunt Judy...this was a beauty with the most incredible green eyes. I didn't quite capture the eyes, but you get the idea A beautiful stupa at the Phnom Sampov complex area We were here for sunset, but didn't realize we needed to climb up on some very sharp rocks to do so - glad we're still able to do those things. It was a lovely sunset and then we made our way back down the mountain - back to where the buddha is carved into the rock - for the bats coming out of their cave to feed
Sunset from the sharp rocks More cats for you AJ...although these ones were in need of some nourishment
This was a totally new experience for us! I knew we were going to see the bats at sunset, but did not know what to expect. At first, it was just a few bats and we were like "ok, cool, let's go", but then they started the mass exodus and let me tell you, it was VERY impressive and quite the sight to see! Hopefully you can see this video of the bats exiting the cave at sunsetFebruary 21st - Drive to Siem Reap, Cambodia (172 km, but took over 3 hours) Via VERY cramped "luxury" bus - Craig & I, plus our 2 Mexican-American companions from the day before had the back 4 seats in the bus (not all seats are created equal for the price) and it was SO uncomfortable for 3+ hours. If we were 4 small Cambodians, probably would be great, but 4 large people...let's just say that I had to sit leaning forward for the whole time. Not impressed. However, once we arrived, none of that mattered and we were excited to spend some time in Seim Reip and see the famous Angkor Wat (temple). The night we arrived we booked massages at the hotel. Craig enjoyed his, but I was in worse shape (soreness wise) than I was before! I was sore for days and it felt like she reorganized my organs! Sadly, that meant no more massages for me in Seim Reip - I needed to recover - but I did have other services instead, of course! Duh! February 22nd - Siem Reap, Cambodia The Golden Temple Villa in Siem Reap - lovely little boutique hotel with such helpful and friendly staff right in the heart of the action, but still peaceful and quiet. We truly enjoyed our 6-night stay here and Siem Reip as an incredibly interesting city. One special part of our stay was the unlimited loose tea available to us in our rooms and by reception. I thought that was a very nice touch. The most famous temple in Cambodia - Angkor ("city or kingdom") Wat "temple". We started our 2nd day in Seim Reip bright and early to catch sunrise at Angkor Wat. Was it worth starting a tour at 4:30 am? Yes, absolutely! What's one early wake up? It was such a peaceful tuk tuk drive to the temple, located not far from the city centre. I had to do some creative editing to block out the hoards of tourists, but honestly, it didn't feel that bad because people spread out at this sprawling complex. Yearly, over 2.5 million tourists visit this site. ![]() My handsome model husband ![]() The sun finally peaking up beside the temple's prang Our guide was great to take pictures of us and park us in a great spot to view the sunrise The complex covers a vast space of 162.6 hectares. Angkor Wat was constructed originally as a Hindu temple between 1113 and 1150 CE during the reign of the Khmer King Suryavarman II. From the late 13th century onwards, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple. It is a national symbol of Cambodia. After falling into disuse, but thankfully was restored in the 20th century and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992 (we really should have taken note of all the UNESCO sites we've visited). As of July 2025, there are 1248 World Heritage Sites across 170 countries. Cambodia has 5 sites on the list. After catching the sunrise, we were free to go explore the main temple (seen in the background) ![]() Beautiful carvings, called Apsara (celestial dancers) ![]() The sheer scale of this temple complex is very impressive and, for now at least, they allow us to walk almost everywhere ![]() Amazing architecture and quite well preserved! ![]() Peek-a-boo! So interesting, and probably unsafe. Some sites we visited in Cambodia seemed like huge rocks could fall on us at any minute! We visited several temples on this early morning tour that started at 4:30 am and ended about 11 am (6.5 hours). Our guide / tuk tuk driver (Geko) was awesome and had cold water and frozen facecloths for us (I took full advantage of these - they were soaked in a Cambodian green tea that was very refreshing). Forgive me, I may mix up the temples in the pictures, but in this 6.5-hour tour we saw: 1. Angkor Wat 2. Bayon Temple 3. Ta Prohn temple complex - the one with the trees overtaking the temple ruins 4. Takeo Temple After the tour we had lunch and then Craig had a 2-hour massage while I had a facial and 1/2 of a wrap (there was a scheduling mix-up, so I ended up not paying for the wrap as well as getting a free 60 min. service for free! ![]() Bayon Temple - a 12th century Khmer temple ![]() I feel so small next to these temples - which, when you compare to some ancient temples, are very well preserved. I can imagine it costs a LOT of money to keep these temples standing ![]() Ta Prohm is a 12th-century Buddhist temple known for its ruins overgrown by trees and its appearance in the film Laura Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001. ![]() It's beautiful with the trees, but you know it's ruining the ruins with the roots ![]() Amazing how strong the trees seem despite their root system being like mangrove trees growing over the ancient temples ![]() ![]() February 23rd - Siem Reap, Cambodia We did another tour with Geko + sunset on Mountain temple followed by a 2-hour massage for Craig and facial/wrap for me.
Takeo Temple It was a difficult climb in the heat, but we did it! Craig forced people to stop so we could get this shot with nobody else in it! Pre Rup Temple - mid tenth century! Ta Som Temple - does that look safe? Ta Som Temple Ta Som Temple
![]() Preah Khan Temple ![]() Preah Khan Temple I thought this was a cool pic showing how close the walls are together ![]() Preah Khan Temple - we had this guard chat with us and guide us to take this picture. Yes, he was expecting a little kick-back, and yes, we provided one. We appreciated it despite the fact that he was not supposed to be doing that ![]() Can't resist a good "mama & baby" animal pic ![]() Phnom Bakheng Temple - We hiked up quite along distance up a mountain just to catch sunset at the top, but, in my opinion, it was not worth the effort as there were a TON of people up here and the sunset was just "ok". ![]() February 24th - Siem Reap, Cambodia $2 city tour with banyon trees + old night market and Pub Street for dinner Our enthusiastic guide showed us how the buddha statues get swallowed up by the banyan trees, but that they don't cover his faceThis is a beautiful and sad mural depicting the suffering of the Cambodian people Lotus silk is a type of textile produced using delicate lotus stem fibers. The fabric first originated in Myanmar (Burma) and is now largely produced in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Due to the complexity and labor-intensive nature of weaving lotus fibers, lotus silk is considered one of the most expensive fabrics in the world. It uses fibres from a specific variety of lotus called padonma kya which produces large, fragrant pink flowers Can't get enough of this delicious and inexpensive food in Cambodia! February 25th - Siem Reap, Cambodia Hired a tuk tuk off the street who took us to the botanical gardens and hero rats (get their own passports, are named, do work in early morning due to heat and have sunscreen applied on their ears and tails Dinner @ Jungle Burger (owned by a Kiwi) and then wandered around the night markets. Craig bought a cross body bag
Just in case you'd like to train your rat This is awesome! They should be deployed to countries when needed for rescues! We witnessed a rat hero in action Rat getting his reward for doing his job well And then they let tour participants hold the hero rats! I left that one up to Craig! lol I love how they worship these rats and call them heros! They seem to live a pretty good life too! These stats are impressive! Ronin was the top hero rat! So funny to walk by and see your laundry drying out on the sidewalk for anyone to steal ![]() Awesome night markets in Seim Reap - LOTS of shopping to be done if you have room in your suitcase to do so?!? February 26th - Siem Reap, Cambodia We heard from our builder and our new house closing date is now in June (instead of August), so that's exciting! We also had to approve kitchen designs with the final measurements - comparing from one phone to the other - not easy Leisurely morning, went to pool, but were kicked out when they had to spray for mosquitoes. Had lunch in 3 stages - $1usd beer followed by $0.50 beer and $0.75 beer and food then night market pizza for dinner on Pub Street. When we walked back, we saw our laundry drying on the street and ladies of the night Cheap food and drink ($10 usd for a meal for 2 including a beer), cheap massages, cheap tuk tuks, millions of scooters and friendly people who are just trying to make a living Part VI: February 27th - Fly to Manila, Philippines (1854 km) Arrived late, went straight to bed, but it was a really noisy area - so much traffic noise February 28th - fly to Coron, Philippines (298 km) Tiny airport and small town. SO many tourists. We booked an all-day tour for the next day - island hopping. We stayed at a very lovely resort called "The Funny Lion". Highly recommend it if you are able to afford the room cost. Lovely scenery from the sky![]() The Funny Lion in Coron - we were really impressed with this placed. Although it seems simple in the picture, it was actually quite awesome
The night we arrived happened to be their special buffet night, so we reserved a table by the pool and really enjoyed the experience. March 1st - Coron, Philippines "ultimate tour" island hopping in a group ![]() You cannot deny the beauty of the scenery. If there weren't so many of us tourists (yes, we are part of the problem), it would be so peaceful and heavenly ![]() "Go between lagoons through the cave" they said...geesh! It was not an enjoyable experience because there was no crowd control of the flow of traffic (back and forth), so it got a little crazy and then I had to lean back (like Craig, seen here in pic above) over the hard kayak seat while we went under. I should have just got out of the kayak and swam through! As you can see, there wasn't much clearance AND the rocks were incredibly jagged and sharp. Some guy kept telling me "don't touch the rocks" (because they're sharp), but shit, I'd rather cut my hand on them than my face or body.
The water...so incredible! Everyone else went for a little hike to a lagoon, so we just stayed back and were nearly the only ones in this lagoon. Good choice!
Cool limestone walls of the lagoon
The lunch spread for us on the boat
A great time was had by all!
Craig trying to balance on the end of our boat! Look at that water! So beautiful it almost looks like a pool!
Yup, better if you lie down! Harder to fall off that way
Awesome snorkeling spot! Again, had camera issues, but managed to get somewhat decent photos
Just before our guide took a video...he had a rice cloth with rice in it and was squeezing it to get the fish to swim all around us Our guide took this awesome video...I had to trim it to fit on the blog...hopefully you can open it.
Awesome, clear & refreshing water March 2nd - Coron, Philippines That's you baby, the Big Kahuna!We met this lovely gang of Canadians (Ken, Lauri, Lawrence & Donna) at our hotel in Coron - they know how to have fun! March 3rd - Coron, Philippines March 4th - fly to El Nido, Philippines (124 km) ![]() Look at the scenery from the sky! Probably the nicest airplane pictures we've ever taken. Beautiful! ![]() This was hilarious! It'll fit! You didn't have much choice from the tiny El Nido airport - and all tuk tuks (or tri-bikes) were the same size, so...we can make it fit! Two large suitcases, 2 backpacks, us two squeezed into a little seat and the driver! Incredible we made it there with all that weight & just a motorcycle engine! ![]() Awesome views of Bacuit Bay in El Nido from "Piece of Sky" restaurant in the "H Hotel". We enjoyed this spot so much, we ate here twice. the high-end tour company "Mad Good" was not available, so we booked the regular tour. March 5th - El Nido, Philippines Beautiful morning view of the Bay from our hotel (Sea Cocoon Hotel) with all the tour boats ready to go![]() The scenery here is breathtakingly beautifulWe just love our adventures together! 🥰 Dramatic cliffs ![]() Those are incredibly sharp cliffs! ![]() The little lagoon area we crawled through the rock to was a little crowded and mirky, but still cool! ![]() I said "go stand in the crack"...he wasn't impressed ![]() The tour boats and Craig posing for a pic on the bow So many photo opportunities, hard to pick just one That rock just seems like a giant plunked it there. Just loved the scenery and the water. A beautiful day despite the many tourists My supermodel husband! Hold...it...just a little longer! This guy was like a mini kimono dragon...not sure exactly what he was, but it was cool! So grateful for the opportunity to see this beautiful part of the world Magnificent!We did a little exploring in the kayak ![]() Wouldn't try to climb those rocks! Sharp! We had an hour at this beach...I walked around a little and Craig took a little nap. The blue roped off area is where NOT to lay because coconuts would fall down on your head Another fantastic meal and view from Piece of Sky Restaurant March 6th - El Nido, Philippines We took a tuk tuk to Vanilla Beach to enjoy some down time, swim and catch a sunset before heading back to the hotel ![]() Craig taking some time to show his guns & cool off at this beautiful beach Believe it or not, I did not partake in the ziplining (from island to beach - you can just make out some people on the zipline cable). This was sad...he was alive, but people had to physically move him back from the water because he was passed-out drunk and would probably have drowned. Even after they moved him, he just lay there with his face in the sand It was worth staying for the beautiful sunset! Time to leave this beautiful beach That night we hit the night food market (steps from our hotel - which seemed to be the hub of all the action and the NOISE!). You just pick your food and they'll cook it for you on the grill and you eat it right there on the street ![]() Delicious and affordable Craig can't wait to dig in! 😋![]() This seemed to pop up every night - a favorite for locals and tourists alike. Unfortunately, this market as well as the community centre were INCREDIBLY loud at night for us. There were basketball games with loud announcers and one night, a concert that lasted until 6 am! No noise by-laws in this country. March 7th - Drive to Puerto Princesa, Philippines (269 km drive) We had a private driver, so this drive wasn't bad, but once we arrived there, we heard the underground river wasn't a great experience, so we kind of went there for no reason, but we already had flights from there, so we made the most of our experience (as we always do). We mostly enjoyed our stay at the Canvas Boutique Hotel. The food wasn't great, but the room was decent and the pool area relaxing. March 8th - Puerto Princesa, Philippines We went down to the bay walk area in Puerto Princessa, walked around a bit and then enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner March 9th - fly to Manila, Philippines (594 kms)
We ended the vacation in Manila on a high note staying at the swanky Admiral Hotel Manila MGallery Another great rooftop pool with a view Ruby Wong restaurant secret entrance Jake G, you would have loved the fancy drinks at this restaurant! I did not take the "herb cigarette" part of my drink (below).March 10th - 2nd day in Manila, Philippines Fort Santiago - Manila - this citadel was originally built in 1571 Wherever we go, I always have to get this shot in the little guard houses Again, be grateful for the way we live in Canada Manila Cathedral originally constructed in 1571 ![]() San Augustin Church was completed in 1607 and designated a World Heritage site in 1993 March 11th - Fly back to Canada Manila, Philippines → Vancouver, BC (10,547 km) → Ottawa (3539 km) Total travel mileage: Ottawa - Toronto = 365 km Toronto - Dallas = 1930 km Dallas - Nadi (Fiji) = 10600 km Nadi (Fiji) - Brisbane (Australia) = 2709 km Brisbane - Manila (Philippines) = 5800 km Manila - Phnom Pehn (Cambodia) = 1776 km Phnom Pehn - Battambang (Cambodia) = 296 km (drive) Battambang - Siem Reap (Cambodia) = 172 km (drive) Siem Reap - Manila (Philippines) = 1864 km Manila - Coron (Palawan Island in Philippines) = 298 km Coron - El Nido (still Palawan Island) = 124 km El Nido - Puerto Princessa City (Palawan) = 269 km (drive) Puerto Princessa city - Manila = 294 km Manila - Vancouver (Canada) = 10547 km Vancouver - Ottawa (Canada) = 3539 km |
























































































































































































































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