Vladivostok, Russia

Honestly, I had never heard of Vladivostok until this cruise, so I didn't know what to expect.

We got there and decided to try to take it on on our own, using the map the ship provided us to navigate the city.  However, the map was definitely not to scale and we ended up getting a little lost and confused.

Despite our inability to find anything, I enjoyed walking around and taking in the different culture.  The locals seemed really excited about our boat coming in, many of them posing in front of the ship for pictures.  Mother and I found this ironic, considering the fact that we were the tourists in this situation.

After walking around, we decided to check out the mall.  We got in our dose of free wifi before walking back.

Ship views

We boarded the ship after a short and uneventful day.  Vladivostok was never a place we had much interest in seeing so that was OK with us.

Busan!

I was excited for Busan, since I love Korea, and I knew we'd be doing more things than what we did in Incheon.

Brother #1 and #4 posing

We docked and waited for my Uncle and his girlfriend to pick us up.  The weather was perfect.  Every other port we'd been to so far was quite hot and humid, but Busan was sunny and breezy, and the air was surprisingly crisp for a city.

After Uncle picked us up, we took a look at the Jalgachi Market, which showcased a wide variety of different seafood.  It was like endless streets of just fish.  Being a lover of seafood, I found it interesting.  Conversely, the Brothers weren't fans, especially of the expected fishy smell.

We continued walking.  Uncle, unlike our family, is sort of a "foodie", always seeking out the top rated restaurants to eat.  So while our walk to the Korean barbecue restaurant was long and tiresome, the food was totally worth it.  Everybody ate happily.

Walking out and about

MMMM

Next on the roster was the Lotte Mall.  Uncle wanted to buy us gifts and the top of the mall has great views of the city, so it kinda knocked out two birds with one stone.

Views

The top was beautiful.  We got 360 views of the whole city.  There was a cafe at the top so we also got some coffee before saying goodbye to Uncle (for now) and returning to the ship.

Uncle goofing around with us

Incheon and Back to Beijing (Sorta)

Due to Super Typhoon Nepartak, there were a lot of changes to our itinerary. We ended up going to Incheon, Korea next, which is a part city near Seoul.  Unfortunately, Uncle couldn't meet up with us at Incheon, but he'd come when we go to Busan.

We decided to take it easy that port day and just have lunch.  We took the free bus shuttle the ship offered to the nearby Incheon NC Cube Mall.  It was impeccably clean, like most of Korea, and I was glad about that.  Of course, we had Korean barbecue, since that's a favorite of everyone, especially me.  

For dessert, we had bingsu, which was equally delicious.

Brothers #1, 3, and 2

We walked around the mall some more before heading back to the ship, excited for our next port.

Cruising around the world is great for obvious reasons; however, you do get limited time in each port, like in Incheon.  Luckily, our next port was Tianjin, a port city near Beijing, and we were docked there for two days. 

For the first day, dad had his assistant get a car to drive us around.  We got to walk the Pedestrian Street and have some much needed Asian cuisine for lunch because, if I'm being honest, the ship food was a little lacking in variety.

Pedestrian Street

For lunch, we settled on some hot pot, which was delicious.  The food disappeared quickly, so I think it's safe to assume that everyone else liked it as well.

Father had planned on us riding the famous Ferris wheel that was situated right in the middle of the road.  Unfortunately, it was undergoing repairs so we couldn't go on it, but we got to drive by it.

This allotted us a little extra time, so we got to see Father's assistance's condo.  It was interesting to be inside a condo again since we got a taste of what it's like last summer.

That wrapped up our day, so we headed back to the ship for the day.  The next day, most of the Brothers didn't want to do anything, but Brother #3 and I wanted to go to the Great Wall again, so Father took us two.  He got his assistant to get us an all day taxi so we could pretty much go anywhere we wanted.

It wasn't very sunny that day but it wasn't very breezy either and the humidity was just about as bad as Florida, so by the time we got to the top, we were drenched in sweat.  Luckily, the climb down didn't require as much energy.  Afterwords, dad had our driver take us somewhere to eat.  I was so hungry at this point that I devoured the food without taking any pictures.  That just tells you; the hunger was real.

We still had a lot of time left and Brother #3 and I didn't want to go back to the ship just yet, so we made yet another stop at a cave. 

We bought our tickets at the base of a mountain and once again, had to climb up.

The climb up

Luckily, the cave itself was very cool inside.  There were colorful lights that illuminated the formations.  The guide gave a tour, speaking in Mandarin.  Fortunately, Father could translate for us.

That marked the end of our time in Tianjin.  After leaving the cave, we had the driver take us back to the ship and we sailed away.

Hong Kong

For Hong Kong, we had yet another tour booked that was supposed to show us the highlights of Hong Kong.  

It began with a drive up the mountain, where we got beautiful panoramic views.  We could even see the ship from the top!

After that, the tour took us to the Stanley Market.  Nothing sold there was very compelling to us, so we decided to hang by the waterfront.  The landscape was very beautiful and different from what I'm used to.  Just as we were about to leave, it began to rain.  Luckily, we made it to the bus and the rain began to clear up before we made it to our next destination.

We got to ride in a boat called a sampan and see the city.

 That concluded our tour for the day, so we got back on the ship.

Ship views

My First Time in Malaysia

After two days of sailing, we had finally made it to our next destination; Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.  I had never been here before and I don't know anyone who has, so I didn't know what to expect.  

We took a tour, which took us to the Kota Kinabalu Mosque and the Sabah Museum.

The mosque was very beautiful and I found the architecture interesting since I've never seen a mosque before.  We got to gaze at it from across the water that surrounded it before the bus took us to our next stop.

We got to go to the cultural museum and see how people lived thousands of years ago, even going in replica houses from that time.

The museum was also very nice.  Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures inside.  However, the outside architecture was very different from what I'm used to seeing, so that was interesting.

After that, we got to walk around near the waterfront.  Of course, we made a stop by Starbucks for not only the free wifi, but also the special drinks you can't get in the US.

That provided a wrap on our short time in Kota.  We soon got back to the ship and boarded, sailing to our next destination, Hong Kong.

Views from the ship

Summer 2k16-Australia

Summer break has passed, and that means a new vacation has as well.

This year, we've gone on a 50 day cruise from Sydney, Australia ending in San Francisco and I have written the details of our journey along the way.   

It took two hours for us to fly from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Dallas, Texas and then another 16, almost 17 hours to get to Sydney from there.  The day we got to Sydney, we flew in early in the morning and checked into our hotel.  Since it was the first time in Australia, we wanted to stay in an area with great views, and Sydney Harbor Marriott fit the bill.  From our room,  you could see the bridge.  Father wanted to check out Chinatown so we decided to have lunch there as well.  We returned to our hotel in the afternoon since everyone decided they needed a nap.  

At the airport

Leaving the airport in our Maxi Taxi

Our view from the hotel

The jet lag didn't really get to me though, so I stayed up the whole day. Jet leg hit the baby and Mother the worst; they immediately fell asleep when we got back to the hotel.   When the rest of my family decided to finally wake up, we walked around to see Vivid Sydney.  We were lucky to have made our trip during the fun festival.  

The next day we actually got to do things.  I was woken up by my Mother at seven, who had been up since three a.m.  I suppose the rest of my family was sick of waiting for me to wake up.  The weather was a little gloomy, but the sky opened up by the time I was done getting ready for the day.  Father had bought an all day hop on and off ferry pass, so we could take the ferry to different areas.

The ferry ride

Our first stop was Watsons Bay.  We spent a little time at Robertsons Park, but the main event was Doyles on the Beach Restaurant.  We decided to go there for lunch.  I got fish and chips and calamari.  Everyone had some sort of seafood which was recommended by the locals and Yelp.  The food was really good in my opinion and according to Father, so was the beer. The best thing though was the view.

Next up the roster was Manly.  Of course, while there we went to Manly Beach.  By now the weather was warming up, making the beach more inviting. The Brothers and I took a walk by the shore.  

Me posing by the ocean

Me and the Brothers at the beach

We took the ferry back to Darling Harbour and walked to Chinatown for dinner.   Mother had read on Tripadvisor that Mamak, a Mayalysian restaurant, is rated the #1 restaurant in Chinatown.  We're not usually the kind of family to seek out top ranked restaurants, but I guess there's a first time for everything.  When we found the restaurant, we found a line already forming 30 minutes before the restaurant even opened. 

Waiting in line

Mother was introduced to Malayasian food on her trip to NYC with her best friend in April and really enjoyed it, so we decided to wait.  This was also the first time I had Malaysian food, which I now know is very delicious.  The food was definitely worth the 20 minute wait we had to endure until the restaurant opened.

By then, time was tight.  We hurried to the hotel where Mother stayed with the Baby.  The rest of us had to walk to the Sydney Opera House to watch our show.  Earlier that day, Father had bought tickets to Hollywood Rhapsody.

Our seats had a wonderful view of the inside.  I was grateful that I got to see the inside of the opera house rather than just the outside. It was my first symphony show and where better to watch it than at the famed Sydney Opera House?   Although I will admit, the jet lag was getting to me and I might've slept for a portion of the two hour performance.  It seems I wasn't alone though; I caught Father and the Brothers dozing off as well.

The Brothers waiting for the performance to begin

The inside of the Sydney Opera House

That night, the owner of the tour operator we booked our tour of Blue Mountain called and recommended that we cancel our tour for the next day since it would be too rainy and foggy to see anything.   Mother and Father appreciated how honest the tour operators were.  They aren't ranked #1 tour operator to Blue Mountain for nothing.  

In retrospect, it was a good thing we had a lazy day.  We stayed in the hotel, only leaving to grab lunch.  We had Japanese ramen and hotpot at Condor Japanese Noodle Restaurant. Everyone had various dishes of ramen and hot pot that was delicious.  

My food

The day after that was a little more jam packed.  We went to the Sydney Eye, which offered great panoramic views of Sydney.

Lastly, to wrap up our last full day in Sydney, we ate at the Sydney Opera House.  The food was delicious, but I think the portions were a little small for the Brothers.

Our last day in Sydney was also our embarkation day.  Mother and I took one last walk to the Sydney Opera House before taking a taxi to the White Bay Cruise Terminal.  

Sail away wasn't was loud and party-like as the Carribean cruises, but it was still amazing.  As we pulled away, we got great views of the Sydney Opera House from the water.

I was a little sad to leave.  It was never in our plans to visit Sydney until this cruise, but I think all of us were pleasently surpried by how much we enjoyed it.

However, this didn't mean we were done with Australia yet.  Our first stop was Darwin, which is on the northern part of the continent.  While at Darwin, we went to the Territory Wildlife Park, where we got to pet wallabies and look at other animals native to Australia.