Saunders Island, Falkland Islands, 18 Jan 2008
20080118 Friday Day 3 Carcass Island (Falkland Islands)
Saunders Island has a very rich animal population dominated by penguins and other birds, we saw plenty of Gentoo penguins and Rockhopper penguins, we also saw some Magellanic penguins and King penguins. The King penguins were not moving an inch because they are protecting their precious eggs underneath their belly! The Rockhopper penguins were busy hopping upwards from the sea through the beach and up towards the hill, at some point we were in their path and they waited patiently until the path is clear again. We also saw an amazing colony of black browed albatross, the chicks were sitting comfortably inside the nests and waiting for their parents to feed them. It was fantastic to see how these animals co-exist in harmony. On our way back to the boat via Zodiac, a dolphin paid us a visit.
Lyubov Orlova (Part4), Antarctica, 16 Jan - 3 Feb 2008
Lyubov Orlova was our expedition ship with a capacity of 110 passengers + about 80 crews (sailors, hotel staff and expedition team). Apart from guest cabin and catering, it has a lecture room, library, bar and gym. We love spending time in the library and on the deck. We were well fed, the food was excellent, with 3-course lunch and dinner everyday, tea/coffee was served around the clock.
There were plenty of lectures on Antarctica related topics in fields like marine biology, history, geology, birds life etc. We also had safety drill where we had to put on our life jacket and made our way to the lifeboat. We washed our boots for each landing making sure that we didn't carry foreign soil from one island to another. Each landing was done with Zodiac that carried 10 passengers at a time.
Lyubov Orlova (Part3), Antarctica, 16 Jan - 3 Feb 2008
Lyubov Orlova was our expedition ship with a capacity of 110 passengers + about 80 crews (sailors, hotel staff and expedition team). Apart from guest cabin and catering, it has a lecture room, library, bar and gym. We love spending time in the library and on the deck. We were well fed, the food was excellent, with 3-course lunch and dinner everyday, tea/coffee was served around the clock.
There were plenty of lectures on Antarctica related topics in fields like marine biology, history, geology, birds life etc. We also had safety drill where we had to put on our life jacket and made our way to the lifeboat. We washed our boots for each landing making sure that we didn't carry foreign soil from one island to another. Each landing was done with Zodiac that carried 10 passengers at a time.
Lyubov Orlova (Part2), Antarctica, 16 Jan - 3 Feb 2008
Lyubov Orlova was our expedition ship with a capacity of 110 passengers + about 80 crews (sailors, hotel staff and expedition team). Apart from guest cabin and catering, it has a lecture room, library, bar and gym. We love spending time in the library and on the deck. We were well fed, the food was excellent, with 3-course lunch and dinner everyday, tea/coffee was served around the clock.
There were plenty of lectures on Antarctica related topics in fields like marine biology, history, geology, birds life etc. We also had safety drill where we had to put on our life jacket and made our way to the lifeboat. We washed our boots for each landing making sure that we didn't carry foreign soil from one island to another. Each landing was done with Zodiac that carried 10 passengers at a time.
Lyubov Orlova (Part1), Antarctica, 16 Jan - 3 Feb 2008
Lyubov Orlova was our expedition ship with a capacity of 110 passengers + about 80 crews (sailors, hotel staff and expedition team). Apart from guest cabin and catering, it has a lecture room, library, bar and gym. We love spending time in the library and on the deck. We were well fed, the food was excellent, with 3-course lunch and dinner everyday, tea/coffee was served around the clock.
There were plenty of lectures on Antarctica related topics in fields like marine biology, history, geology, birds life etc. We also had safety drill where we had to put on our life jacket and made our way to the lifeboat. We washed our boots for each landing making sure that we didn't carry foreign soil from one island to another. Each landing was done with Zodiac that carried 10 passengers at a time.
Bangkok, Thailand, Asia 28-29 Dec 2007
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We have been to Bangkok several times, so this is not a sight-seeing trip, instead it is a good cuisine and shopping trip, and Bangkok is not short of it. In fact, the shopping malls are even more impressive than those in Hong Kong, the shopping experience is very nice.
Pakse, Laos, Asia 25-28 Dec 2007
Pakse itself isn't very interesting, but it is a hub to reach the scene sites around it, such as the numerous waterfalls, temples (including Wat Phu Champasak which is of Khmer style likes Angkor Wat), Four thousand islands, Laos coffee, Laos tea.
Vientiane, Laos, Asia 23-25 Dec 2007
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Vientiane is the capital of Laos, as for most capital cities, this place is not that interesting for travellers. You should visit Pha That Luang, a beautiful temple that houses a piece of breast bone of Buddha. If you have time, visit the national museum to learn more about the country.
We stayed at a nice small hotel called Beau Rivage Mekong, we also visited the best hotel in town for lunch, that is Settha Palace Hotel.
Luang Prabang, Laos, Asia, 20-23 Dec 2007
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We like Luang Prabang a lot, nice small town with some interesting temples, guest houses and fine cuisine. The sunset view from the hill is magnificent. Wat Xieng Thong is one of the most beautiful temples in Laos. We also took a boat trip to Pak Ou Cave which wasn't that interesting though. During the boat trip, we also visited two villages that make rice whisky and rice paper.
A week in Canada (Ottawa, Vancouver) 6-12 Dec 2007
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A short visit to Canada