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Monkeys, Birds, Lizards, Snakes in Sri Lanka — Oh My!

Posted on March 29, 2024July 7, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 85, 2024 Grand World Voyage Thursday, March 28, 2024; Colombo, Sri Lanka. I had lots of opportunities to see elephants in Sri Lanka. To feed them. To bathe them. Perhaps even to ride them, although not on any of the Holland America excursions. The practice is controversial. (Not so

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2024 Grand World Voyage, Sri Lanka
4 comments

Sketching and Eating My Way Around Singapore’s Marina Bay

Posted on March 27, 2024July 6, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 81, 2024 Grand World Voyage Sunday, March 24, 2024; Singapore. After my fun day on my own in Saigon, I decided to treat myself again today. My sisters, who hadn’t been to Singapore before, took an Iconic Singapore ship excursion that included a riverboat cruise to Marina Bay, a

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2024 Grand World Voyage, Singapore
7 comments

Three-Course Feast with a Side of a Stellar Singapore View

Posted on March 25, 2024July 7, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 80, 2024 Grand World Voyage Saturday, March 23, 2024; Singapore. Sailing into Singapore is another iconic experience. The Zuiderdam wove its way at dawn through a maze of anchored ships, heading toward what appears to be another ship flying through the sky. It’s the Marina Bay Sands hotel, with

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2024 Grand World Voyage, Singapore
3 comments

A Day Sketching, Exploring on My Own in Saigon

Posted on March 25, 2024July 7, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 78, 2024 Grand World Voyage Thursday, March 21, 2024; Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, Vietnam. One of my strongest memories of my first trip to Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 is of the War Remnants Museum. It showed a totally different picture of the war than I learned mainly

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2024 Grand World Voyage, Vietnam
4 comments

Journey Deep into Heart of Vietnam to Ancient Imperial City

Posted on March 22, 2024July 7, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 76, 2024 Grand World Voyage Tuesday, March 19, 2024; Da Nang, Vietnam During previous cruise port calls in Vietnam, I’ve come away thinking that I should book a week or longer in this country. It is a beautiful country – mostly lush green with stunning beaches and rugged mountains.

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2024 Grand World Voyage, Vietnam
2 comments

Searching for Hong Kong Skyscrapers in a Sea of Clouds

Posted on March 20, 2024July 7, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 74, 2024 Grand World Voyage Sunday, March 17, 2024; Hong Kong. Despite this being my third visit to Hong Kong, I had never ventured beyond Tsim Sha Tsui in west Kowloon and central Hong Kong Island on foot. So my plan for today was to take an easy ship’s

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2024 Grand World Voyage, Hong Kong
5 comments

Retracing Hong Kong Footsteps Under Low Cloud Ceiling

Posted on March 19, 2024July 6, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 73, 2024 Grand World Voyage Saturday, March 16, 2024; Hong Kong. Sometimes your visit to an iconic city is so memorable that you wonder if you should ever go back. I felt that way as we arrived this morning in Hong Kong. When I was last here in 2018,

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2024 Grand World Voyage, Hong Kong
3 comments

Cherishing the Gift of Time to Sketch, Paint, Read, Write

Posted on March 17, 2024July 7, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 71, 2024 Grand World Voyage Thursday, March 14, 2024; At Sea, East China Sea. I’ve been given the gift of a string of mostly unplanned days on the ship. My injured toe is healing nicely and with my sisters traveling overland in China, I’m pretty much alone – well,

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2024 Grand World Voyage, China
11 comments

Viewing Chinese Port of Dalian from Cruise Deck with Injured Toe

Posted on March 13, 2024July 6, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 67, 2024 Grand World Voyage Sunday, March 10, 2024; Dalian, China. Trivia can be a dangerous sport. I seldom play on board, but yesterday I joined a team that was short one person. We won, and they wanted a photo. As we gathered, one member adjusted his chair, and

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2024 Grand World Voyage, China
13 comments

Shanghai Still Ranks High Despite Distant Cruise Terminal

Posted on March 9, 2024July 6, 2026 by Jo Johnston

Day 65, 2024 Grand World Voyage Friday, March 8, 2024; Shanghai, China. When I first visited Shanghai in 2017, I wrote “what Shanghai does have in spades is a spectacular waterfront, and the MS Amsterdam docked front and center.” I couldn’t believe my experience would be topped, but it was

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2024 Grand World Voyage, China
4 comments

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I’m a writer in love with the sea, sailing, travel and sketching.

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