Farewell, Southern Hemisphere. 21st March 2028.

This morning as I write this blog, we continue north-north-west into South China Sea towards Singapore, where we arrive at an expected 18.30hrs on Friday. Right now the temperature is a welcome 82 degrees Fahrenheit. We are still just in the southern hemisphere, just 2 degrees south of the Equator. I wonder if the Captain is arranging to cross at 12.15hrs, the scheduled start of the long-tradional Crossing the Line ceremony. This will be “fun”! From our arrival at Singapore until 9th April, it will be another significant sector of the voyage as we visit Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, and Phuket before our westward journey to Sri Lanka. This is probably the most intensive sector with ports of call on five consecutive days. I was sorry not to call at Darwin, Bali and Brunei, the latter compensated by an opportunity to visit Bangkok. However, nine consecutive days at sea did provide the opportunity to enjoy a decent length of time to relax. The daily sunsets are spectacular and there are plenty more to come. This, I think is day 71. The remainder of this cruise is still longer than any period I have been away from home…the same length as my voyage next year on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth from Vancouver via Alaska and Iceland to the UK (49 nights), thus completing my overland and sea circumnavigation of the globe. But, for the time being, Farewell Southern Hemisphere!

Greetings and thanks for reading,

David.