Author archive
23 November 2025
Above: Only snacks served on a 5h55 international flight; unusual for Qantas. Flying to Auckland Today, I finish my trip with a flight back to Auckland via Brisbane on a Qantas redemption ticket. I was very lucky go get a redemption ticket as I wouldn’t like to have chanced a long weekly B737 flight on […]
22 November 2025
Getting started Today, I have a day at sea on the surface, rather than underwater which was yesterday. I was picked up by a lovely Japanese guide at 0845 and dropped at their waterside office to pay, collect our snorkel gear and check my permit for being at sea in the area (which was obtained […]
21 November 2025
My dive operator “83 Palau Dive Center”, picked me up at 0810. The staff were largely mainland Chinese even thought the boss appeared Taiwanese. We picked up a few more guests before going out to the boat. Our first site Ulong Wall was a longish ride out. Here the coral was gorgeous. We saw giant […]
21 November 2025
My dive operator “83 Palau Dive Center”, picked me up at 0810. The staff were largely mainland Chinese even thought the boss appeared Taiwanese. We picked up a few more guests before going out to the boat. Our first site Ulong Wall was a longish ride out. Here the coral was gorgeous. We saw giant […]
20 November 2025
Getting started I slept for 12h, on and off, from 2100 till 0900. My sore throat seemed to have gone but I was still a little feverish, sweaty and had slight shivers. It is very fortunate that I have the day free from any activities at sea. In fact, I have nothing booked for the […]
19 November 2025
Leaving Taipei Today I will head to a new country, Palau, not that I’m on a quest to count countries. I woke a few times through the night before the 0615 alarm. Not a bad thing, as often I struggle to adapt flying from west to east and oversleep. Perhaps the fear of missing my […]
18 November 2025
Breakfast hype Even though I woke at 0630, my tummy wasn’t ready for the highly-recommended breakfast that’s nearby. I waited till about 0800 before joining the queue which snaked up the stairs into a food hall. No other stall in that food hall appeared to be open at that time, so perhaps they are all […]
17 November 2025
Despite flying in from the west, I woke at 0630. However, with the cool damp weather expected outside, and no pressing hunger or plans, I stayed indoors till 0930. I checked out a place that came highly recommended, to try get brunch, but it was closed today. Leaving my room again at 1100, it was […]
16 November 2025
Transit in Chengdu Tianfu About an hour before landing in Chengdu Tianfu airport, the crew served sweet milk coffee or tea. It was a nice way to wake up from my doze of under 3h. It’s quite an achievement for a 6h30 flight, less take-off, meal and descent time. We landed on time at 0900 […]
