2025 - Wheels on the Go

December 12, 2025 – Singapore – Part I – An Ode to Pain du Chocolat – best in the world!

December 12, 2025December 19, 2025Lmnei

In 1980, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, where I cannot eat food that contain flours that have gluten in them such as wheat, rye, barley and some types of oats. While it has been an interesting journey for me and my family being diagnosed in my teens, and mostly a positive experience, the one thing that most people with Celiac Disease crave, especially diagnosed later in life is food that tasted like they used to eat. There are things that I do not remember what they tasted like 45 years ago, however one that has eluded me and I do remember are pastries – specifically croissants and pain du chocolat.

I have had the luxury to travel a lot in my lifetime and visit some pretty high end gluten free bakeries, especially in the last few years which have excellent products. Some were in Rome, Italy; various locations in Spain; Paris, France; various cities in Canada such as Montreal,t Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, where I live; Auckland, New Zealand; and more recently a brand new bakery in Manley, near Sydney, Australia. They all have wonderful products however each time I tried them something was missing – it was either an aftertaste or a gummy feeling that the flour used which lacks gluten, leaves in your mouth.

Until the morning of December 8th, 2025 when I had the extreme excitement of biting into a Gluten Free Pain du Chocolat at the Westin Hotel in Singapore for breakfast. It was exquisite, flaky and I thought I was eating a gluten item by mistake as there was no aftertaste. However the staff assured me that there was no mistake – they were gluten free! I was in heaven – well quite literally too as we were on the 35th floor of the building!

Here is my Ode to the Gluten Free Pain du Chocolat! I did have some help writing this…

O warm-hearted rectangle,
buttery vault of morning light,
you carry within your golden walls
a secret line of midnight—
two dark bars of chocolate,
quiet and intense
as a whispered confession.

Your layers sigh beneath my touch,
delicate as pages
from a well-loved book.
Each bite is a soft collision
of crisp border and molten dusk,
a duet of sweetness and smoke.

You are the thrill
the croissant only hints at—
a rebellion wrapped in pastry,
a promise that even dawn
can taste like indulgence.

Oh my gluten free Pain au chocolat,
you are the mischief of mornings,
the elegance of afternoons,
the small, perfect triumph
of joy to me.

My gluten free plate of pastries at Westin Hotel Singapore – Pain du Chocolat, Croissant and little Almond Muffin

December 11, 2025 – Singapore – Gardens by the Bay and MORE RAIN!

December 11, 2025December 19, 2025Lmnei

After a wonderful breakfast and now that we are experts at the subway in Singapore, we decided today to explore Gardens in the Bay.

We first took the elevator down to the underground passage and then over to the subway to get to the Gardens by the Bay station. Gardens by the Bay is another “complex” in Singapore that is mainly directed to tourists. It has several areas that can be explored of which we are going to do a couple of them. Again, torrential rains are expected later this afternoon, so we are out fairly early to try and get some sightseeing done.

Here is a map above of the Gardens by the Bay area which shows it sort of a pie shaped area in downtown Singapore. We walked from the Gardens by the Bay MRT station along the waterfront until we got to the Cloud Forest which is a HUGE dome – sort of like a thin egg – on its side. Next to it is a similar sized dome, the Flower Dome. We entered the Cloud Forest first and while I cannot remember how high the structure is, however, it is VERY high – more than 10 stories I would estimate. The entrance with the dinosaurs that were slightly moving like very tall giraffes, were an incredible sight to see! This currently is a Jurassic Park Exhibit and you will see why very shortly…

We could hear some roaring when we walked in, and when we walked up the left side of the Cloud Dome and around the corner what did we run into? This Jurassic Park Dinosaur!

Next, we walked across a bridge and to an elevator to go up into the Cloud Forest. Now, I had seen some structural elements to the building as we approached the building, however I did not realize they were walkways until we got UP to the top and realized exactly how high up we were! They again were metal and my walker was making all kinds of noises and I was NOT feeling well with the height and the walkway jutting out into the Cloud Dome! It was also VERY steamy inside which probably added to the effects I was feeling! There were some exquisite flower displays up top, which I have taken some pictures of:

Then we came to a pond of Italian glass flowers and the Carnivorous Plant display!

Most people at this time made their way down the Cloud Forest by escalator, however I was banned from them so we had to take the elevator down floor by floor to see the different displays on each floor. Some had more walkways out into the dome and one had a walkway to view the waterfall that was at the entrance of the Cloud Forest we saw – but now we were at the top of it! Again, a titillating experience looking down to take that picture! On one of the lobbies of the floors there were examples of some stalactites from caves and then another cute display where they are incubating dinosaur eggs and counting down until they are hatched. It was all animatronics however the kids sure liked it!

Back on the ground now, we exited the gift shop and got directions to our next attraction which was the Tour of Gardens by the Bay by open air bus. On our way there though I spotted a Shake Shack which is a popular American Chain Restaurant and we decided it was time to have something to cool down. Andrew had some custard ice cream while I had a chocolate shake. We then made our way to the Tour location where we got onto the little bus and we were driven around the different areas of the Gardens by the Bay. We took this tour as I knew I was not going to have the stamina in this heat to visit all the areas and I wanted to experience the full Gardens in the Bay display. In the picture I posted at the beginning of this blog, it was basically all the yellow numbered places around the Supertree Grove on the map at the top.

After that, we visited the Flower Dome which was MUCH less intensive than the Cloud Forest! It contained flower displays from around the world. It sure had an impact on all senses too! Especially the wonderful smells that flowers admit! I was so taken back by the number of different displays from countries (Canada was missing) from around the world that were mostly tropical – and all the different types of fuchsias in vast quantity on display! The lilies were also very beautiful too!

As it is also Christmas time, they had multiple train displays too which were fun to see! Andrew was in his element here! It also reminded me of my grandfather’s train display in his basement – however these were bigger trains and there were about 8 different displays – very intricate! When walking around the displays the buildings did not look like they were from Singapore though and I was right – the one building display was on loan from North Carolina!

Unfortunately, today the Observation Deck, which we had tickets to in the Supertree Grove was closed. They instead gave us tickets to the walkway between the towers which is pictured below. At this point in time, after experiencing the Cloud Forest and it was about to rain, we passed on going up to the walkway between the Supertree Grove structures and decided to just keep walking along to the MRT station at Bayfront which is on the Southern side or bottom of the map for the Gardens in the Bay. The pictures below do not capture the sky correctly – it was getting quite grey above us! Above the Bayfront Station there is a GIANT hotel complex which I took some pictures of – some of the architecture in Singapore does remind me of Dubai – they really do like to compete and outdo each other!

Back at the hotel now, we had a very nice dinner in the Westin Lounge again – Andrew partaking in the buffet provided and the chef cooking me a chicken sandwich again. The service in this lounge was impeccable! I have visited a lot of lounges in hotels around the world however this one takes the cake so far – the Orchid Hotel in Bangkok comes a close second, however this one is much better overall!

Tomorrow we are going to change hotels to the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport for two reasons – we are flying out of Changi airport on our way to Okinawa, Japan on our way home, and I wanted to spend some time at this airport as it is rated number 1 in the world by Skytrax Magazine, which does all the Travel Rankings for hotels and airlines each year. The Vancouver Airport is the number 1 airport in North America for many years running and Changi has a similar track record of years running, but best in the world! Lets see what they have to offer!

December 10, 2025 – Singapore – Sentosa Island Aquarium and RAIN!

December 10, 2025December 16, 2025Lmnei

Well, after a long day like yesterday, we did sleep in today however made it downstairs in time for breakfast! Again, I patronized the Gluten Free cart and found MORE GF croissants and GF pain du chocolat on offer plus some little muffins. We did not have breakfast yesterday due to the early start and I was so happy to have these pastries again this morning! They are a delight to eat! I have had the privilege to eat these types of pastries in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and France where they have the specialty bakeries to make such lovely delicacies, along with Canada, especially in Montreal where there is a fabulous gluten free bakery, however in all those travels I have NEVER had gluten free pastries these flaky and soft in my life! Also the croissant peels just like a gluten croissant does and flakes everywhere!

Due to this excitement, I decided that feedback, whether good or positive is due and this was very POSITIVE feedback! I sent a note through the Marriott messaging system to the hotel asking if they made these pastries in house or if a bakery provided them. I was aware of a good gluten free bakery in Singapore, however when I had looked it up, it was now permanently closed. Oh my, what a storm positive feedback caused! Very soon I had a response and a Food and Beverage representative AND the Chef de Pastrie were at our table in the restaurant where we were having breakfast! I tried not to gush too much however I did explain how long I have had Celiac Disease and how WONDERFUL these pastries are! They told me that they had brought a chef from Australia to teach them how to bake them (which makes sense) and part of the reason they are so wonderful is the water in Singapore is so good! Whatever the reason I agree!

We then retired to our room, primarily for me to digest my belly of pastries and omelette along with to plan what we were going to do for the afternoon. The weather forecast was not that positive, however there was a window of opportunity to go out without getting soaked, we hoped! We decided to go to Sentosa, which is basically a man made island that has some hotels, a beach and lots of attractions – such as Universal Studios, the Aquarium, a Skyride, lots of restaurants and a shopping mall. We went there for the Aquarium (Oceanarium) as it was a new aquarium and highly recommended. The previous Aquarium on Sentosa called S.E.A was closed last year and this new Oceanarium was opened instead. It is a HUGE complex, half of it we found out was underground!

First, we stopped by the Westin Lounge to get some help with using the subway / transit system. The system in Singapore is VERY complex and there are stations everywhere so I wanted to ensure that what Google Maps was telling me (Google Maps is known to lead one astray at times) was in fact accurate after our experience in Sydney! Sure enough, Google Maps was correct – for the time of day we needed to take 2 trains, 2 stops each and then switch to the Sentosa Monorail to get to Sentosa Island. Off we went! First we walked to the Downtown Line station, which was interesting as in Singapore, you can tell it can rain a lot as there are these gathering areas under cover where people congregate – there was one between the 2 buildings that made up the Asia Plaza 1 (where the hotel was located above an office tower) and Asia Plaza 2 which was an office tower. We soon arrived at the subway system and I was AMAZED how clean it was and also how easy it was to use! The turnstiles you just tap your credit card and then open (or use a card like the Compass Card in Vancouver), the elevators all worked seamlessly and did not stink, and then instead of standing on a platform, the area where the train arrives is actually enclosed and the doors open up at the same time the train doors open and you pass through onto the train! Seamless experience! Here are some pictures:

We got to the Oceanarium and paid to enter and what an EXCELLENT experience it was! I took some videos of the jelly fish exhibit as I found them just to be fascinating – they are way cooler than the plain jelly fish that we see near Vancouver!

Here is a video of the Pacific Sea Nettle – the “Fried Egg” one did not work out 🙁

Next we have the Purple Striped Sea Nettle (venomous), White Spotted Sea Jelly, and then a whole tank of small sea jellies! I did not realize that the plain jane sea jellies were such an important part of the ecosystem and keeping it in check – they eat plankton and small fish where they are eaten by the sea turtles which are very prevalent in this part of the world.

Here are their cool videos! The tank of sea jellies was HUGE – about 20 feet tall and wide!

Striped Sea Nettle – those streaming tails were really purple!

White Spotted Sea Jelly

The HUGE tank of Sea Jellies!

Next we move onto the Ancient Waters area – boy some of these creatures were UGLY! This was mainly a static display –

Now, we are in the aquarium display with LOTS of different fishes and creatures! Here are some pictures of some things that I have not seen before and some miniature ones that are VERY LARGE were we live!

Next we were transported into marshlands which were pretty interesting! There were three displays – two if which we looked at and the third, which I did not take a picture of, was a touch and feel display with marine staff that kids lined up for. Let’s say this area was VERY popular and noisy!

Next, we took another trusty cool elevator down another level (we are now 2 stories below the ground) to see the big fish display and what a display it was! It even included some human fish!

After going through the walk through passage in the tank, we saw some displays about sharks and how their skin has a unique texture that barnacles and algae cannot attach to making it basically bacteria resistant! This type of surface is being research for various purposes in hospitals and other public places. Also, the structure of shark skin has lead to the development of paint that reduced surface resistance thus improving the efficiency of transportation and a reduction of fuel consumption.

Next we entered the Coral Gardens. Did you know that coral supports 25% of the marine species in the world? Here are some pictures of the various coral displays with their fish.

Below are Hammer (with a few Brains) and Torch coral videos –

Red Hammer Coral with some Purple/Blue Brain coral

Torch Coral swaying in the current

Next we entered the Reef Animal Display – there were some different shrimps on display however they were moving FAST and my pictures in the dark did not work out very well! I did capture the following ones though!

They Sea Horses were so cut I just had to take a video of them scooting around!

Then we ran into the Aquarist area – now I thought it was talking about those who are Aquarius Zodiac sign, but no, they meant Marine Biologists! These are the people who are keeping these special populations of creatures displayed in the Oceanarium alive and going! They provide all the residents with a healthy diet, enrichment programs, and healthcare so that all the populations can flourish (this I got from a sign).

After the Aquarist area, we were surprised to enter an area with yet another HUGE tank of fish swimming around! Look at how big it is compared to the levels that people can stand! We took some pictures and then moved on as I was not able to get any closer than the top level. Now looking at it – I think the window you can see on the lower right of the first picture is where I took my shark photos earlier…

Then there was an area on Il Nino and Il Nina and their effect on the oceans and climate along with a display about garbage in the sea and the “garbage patches” which there are 4 – Great Pacific, Indian Ocean, Atlantic and Southern Pacific. Here is the picture of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch! Not a good thing to think about in the middle of the ocean all this trash has gathered!

Now we are into more aquariums with interesting fish from Asia which I have captured below –

Here is the ceiling tall fish tank in action!

Then we came to the eels – so creepy! There were two big eels in this display and they were roaming in and around the display through the holes like it was playtime! Why they were together in the same area I have no idea – the yellow one went back in as you can see below…

And then popped out up top and why the eel did not eat that fish that kept swimming into his mouth is beyond me!

Then we walked through the giant Aquarium with the sharks yet again (different passage way this time) where there was a shipwreck located and saw some more cool rays! This one has an angry face!

I thought we were done with the deep now, but not true! Next was a display of the Triton Submersible which is the first vessel to reach the deepest point on all 5 oceans. It is certified to dive to 3.350 metres! Along with it, in a very dark display, there were pictures of some fish that the submersible took pictures of – one of which is pictured below. Lastly, in the final hall, another giant submersible – the actual bones that you can walk through of a blue whale!

The last exhibit was a “modern” take on a fish bowl – a suspended living room filled with water and fish swimming around! After seeing that as we departed, our visit to the Oceanarium was over! What an experience! I have included only about 1/4 of the videos and pictures that I took – consider this post a highlight! We then took the elevator 2 stories up to the gift shop – all tourist places end at the gift shop and there we saw the torrential rain coming down! Not a surprise, however yikes! It was REALLY raining hard and bouncing off the ground by 6 inches!

We then aborted my planned next activity – to take the Skyride from Sentosa to the mountain top in Singapore and then the subway back to the hotel. Taking the Skyride would not be worth the money as it was completely socked in and pouring and not expected to let up in the next hour. Instead, the lady at the gift shop told me how to get back to the Sentosa Monorail Station under cover so that we could just take the subway to the hotel instead and skip the Skyride!

We arrived back at the subway station that is next to the hotel – we did not know we could walk underground to the hotel – so we went up to the street and then risked the rain crossing over to the hotel and at that point saw the elevator up from the concourse below! Noted for tomorrow! We spent another night in the Westin Lounge and Andrew had appetizers and some beer while I was presented with a lovely gluten free chicken sandwich! Who needs dinner after that?

Tomorrow our plan is to visit the Bay by the Gardens which is another tourist area in Singapore that is quite popular to visit! See you for some live action tomorrow!

December 9, 2025 – Singapore – LONG Daytrip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

December 9, 2025December 14, 2025Lmnei

Well, this day started off with a bang! Or maybe a loud alarm clock! Oh, no, that would be my cell phone yet again ringing at 3 am with someone trying to get a hold of me! Needless to say Andrew and I were both away for the 4 am alarm to get up and moving to be downstairs in the lobby of the hotel for our 5 am pickup for our day trip to Kuala Lumpur.

I had found this tour on Viator, one of the travel websites and it was highly recommended for people who are visiting Singapore who also want to see the sights around Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur and the Petronas Twin Towers which are there – the twin towers are the tallest in the world. For over 6 months I had corresponded with the day trip organizer who was very proficient and understood my extra needs in the fact that I was traveling with a walker and could not climb a lot of steps. He also helped me get our tickets to the Petronas Twin Towers when I was having some issues as people who use wheelchairs and walkers have to book extra “space” in the elevator (no idea why)!

So Max picked us up at 5 am – it was already about 30 degrees out including humidity so we knew it was going to be a hot day. I was also aware due to the high Muslim population in Singapore and Malaysia, that I needed to cover my shoulders and knees and bring along my sweater (only suitable long sleeved item I had to put on) and my head scarf as we would be going to a mosque too. Max was to drive us over the Malaysian border and then deliver us to our next driver, Allan, who would be a our driver for the rest of the trip, all the way back to our hotel. There is some Singapore “rule” that Malaysian drivers cannot pick up people in Singapore to take back to Malaysia, so thus the driver change. It was 5 am and as soon as I got into the car for the 45 minute drive to the border, I was sleepy! Max though wanted to lecture us on everything Singapore – from government and anti-corruption to how much people are paid and the list goes on. Needless to say, we were in these lovely business class recliner seats in his high end Toyota SUV and I thought it would be rude to fall asleep so I tried my best to stay awake! This is obviously something he does on a routine basis as he had us flying through the exit from Singapore and then into Malaysia in no time and soon we met up with Allan our driver in a less “fitted out” SUV but comfortable just the same!

First it was pitch black out when we were doing this and second, you cannot take any pictures when crossing the border! Singapore is separated from Malaysia by a bridge. The Immigration and Customs all are in buildings that we seemed to be underground going through until we went over the bridge and then back into some buildings, still in the car, to enter Malaysia in a place called Johor, which is also a port city.

Needless to say, once we were in the SUV with Allan, sleep did take over for me for two reasons – one I was tired and two he was driving rather fast – it was like being on the autobahn again! At one point we were being passed while he was doing 140 km/h. Mostly motorcycles and fast cars though. Watching the signs on the highway were interesting – they had LOTS of full service stops for gas and dining/fast food which was great and really promoted getting rest when driving. The other funny signs, which I never accomplished getting a picture of were the picture of a motorcycle and an umbrella – which meant that an overpass was coming up so if it started raining hard, there was refuge really soon. A lot of the motorcycle drivers drove along the shoulder of the road if they were not on a high powered motorcycle that could keep up with or go faster than the cars.

After a couple of hours we arrived a Batu Caves, which is where we also met our tour guide for the day named Mr. Sandran Vellesamy who was Malaysian and is a tour guide by profession. Allan dropped us off and left us in the care of Sandran to tour the caves. The Batu Caves name is derived from the word batu from Malay meaning “rock”. Formed over 400 million years ago, the Batu Caves consist of 20 recognized caves including four large cave systems with multiple inter-connected chambers. The complex is a mogote with a series of limestone caves which have speleothems were formed by the action of water falling on the surface percolating through the surface and interacting with the sub-surface, resulting in the dissolution of limestone rocks, resulting in the formation of stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites jutting from the ceiling and stalagmites rising from the floor form intricate formations of cave curtains, flowstones, cave pearls, and scallops.

The caves were used as shelters by the indigenous Temuan people. In the middle 1800’s, Chinese settlers began excavating bat excrement from the caves, to use as fertilizer. In 1878, the caves were visited by American naturalist William Hornaday and K. Thamboosamy, an Indian Tamil trader, promoted the cave complex as a site of Hindu worship. So, a Hindu temple dedicated to lord Murugan was completed in 1891 with the annual Thaipusam celebrations commencing in 1892. Further development of religious sites has happened ever since in the region. Housing development around the region began in the late 20th century and there are concerns now that the area is becoming over-developed.

As the caves have a HUGE staircase to get up into them and then another one once in there, Andrew and Sandran proceeded to visit the caves while I walked around taking pictures – here is what we both saw –

Now we departed, as Batu Caves are actually about 14 km north of Kuala Lumpur, into Kuala Lumpur city centre for the day. The first place we stopped was their town centre plaza where the National Cricket Oval or Pitch is located. Now the whole area was boarded up and I could not get in due to stairs, however someone I know was able to slide between the boards that were put up (with the permission of our tour guide) and take some pictures for us! While I was on the outside I took the following pictures – to note is the Malaysian Flag on the flagpole for those Engineers out there – this flag does NOT twist – the flag pole was engineered so that the flag goes around a loop or circle at the top and rotates with the wind so that it does not get tangled! Now that is a good use of engineering skills!

A couple of other things about the pictures below – the river looks low however when it rains in really rains and twice a year we were told, primarily when the king tides are also happening, the river backs up to the mountains. When this happens, all the underground tunnels in Kuala Lumpur are actually closed to traffic and are flooded too so the water has somewhere to go! They were designed that way. We actually traveled through one of the tunnels that is flooded about 2-4 times a year. It takes them about 3-5 days after the water recedes to clean the tunnel of debris and mud to allow cars back into it. The other interesting thing we learned was that the post office, which is across from the Mile Zero marker, was how all postage in the “olden” days was calculated. That was the Zero in the number of miles or kilometers that the postal mail had to travel and how it was thus charged.

These are Andrew’s pictures from when he snuck into the park. He was not the only one doing it – a whole tour group went in before him! It was just up stairs as I mentioned and then through a very narrow passageway that I decided not to attempt early in the day!

After visiting the National Square we got back into the van and drove to the Central Market where we are going to have lunch and someone 🙂 might do some shopping! The plan was to take us to a Malay restaurant, however when we got there it was closed for a school group to eat there (school holidays are next week), not a problem though as I had noticed a Thai restaurant as we walked to the Malay restaurant so our tour guide took us there and made sure that they understood my Celiac Restaurant cards (which I had in Thai and Malay) so that I could order safe food and then left us there to eat (and shop).

Now onto the Petronas Twin Towers where we have a 2 pm ticket to go up and visit both the bridge between them and then up to the observation floor! This again is NOT something for my mother who does not like heights! Even for me it was starting to push the limits getting near some of the windows up top!

The Petronas Twin Towers are iconic 88-story skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, known for their postmodern Islamic design and the double-decker Skybridge connecting them, offering stunning city views from the Observation Deck on the 86th floor. Once the world’s tallest buildings (1998-2004), they house the Petronas oil company and other global businesses, serving as a major landmark and tourist attraction. Their height are 451.9 meters (1,483 ft), designed by César Pelli, the two-story bridge (worlds highest) links the towers at the 41st and 42nd floors (engineering note: only 1/2 inch off when they went to connect the buildings together) and the observation deck is located on the 86th floor, providing panoramic city views. Another interesting fact is that the Skybridge between the two buildings is not attached to the main structure, but instead is designed to slide in and out of the towers to prevent it from breaking due to strong winds!

The site planning for the Twin Towers began in January 1992, where excavators began digging down 30 metres below the surface of the site in March 1993. The work required moving over 500 truckloads of earth every night. Following that was the single, largest, and longest concrete pour ever in Malaysian history; approx. 13,200 cubic metres of concrete was continuously poured per tower through a period of 54 hours. This record-breaking slab with 104 piles of concrete layers form the very foundation for the twin towers we see today.

From this floor rose a 21 metre high retaining wall, with a perimeter length of over one kilometre. This concrete shell and the basement area it encloses required two years and up to 40 workers on site all day and night. The construction of the superstructure commenced in April 1994 after passing multiple rigorous tests and simulations of wind and structural loads on the design. Finally in June 1996, the Petronas Twin Towers was completed with its encasing in steel and glass.

Time to go up to see them! First, we were dropped off at the mall connected to the Petronas Twin Towers – which we walked into and saw down a level and all the Christmas displays. Next we were taken outside (we were running early) and the HUGE Christmas tree and what was next to it? A fake ice rink made out of wax sheets so people could skate! Now, to go to the Twin Towers – we got the ticket for me (which was reserved as I had to show up with my walker so they could see that I needed “space”) and as we already had a ticket for Andrew we were ready to go! Unfortunately there was a school group ahead of us which made things a little slow and noisy! We watched a movie (below) and then went into the elevator to proceed to the SkyBridge to check out the view – which was fabulous!

Here is the movie we got to see while waiting for the elevator to take us up to the SkyBridge –

Note: Sound is not very good!

And now we go higher! Up to the top!

At the Petronas Towers we said goodbye to our tour guide, Sandran, and Allan, our driver then drove us to the Putra Mosque, which was the last sight on our list to see prior to returning to Singapore. I was looking forward to this stop due to my association with Maha and the things that I have learned regarding the Muslim religion. Due to that I was also prepared in what I needed to wear! The mosque was HUGE and beautiful! For those women visiting the mosque who were not dressed appropriately then gave out these red jackets with hoods so that the arms and hair are covered when you go into the main building. That is why you see people wearing red things in the pictures below. I passed muster with my sweater and pashima wrap. As in the Muslim religion, you do have to take your shoes off prior to going into the mosque, where other mosques I have been to it is right in front of the door – here it was at the entrance to the facility so we had to walk in bare feet all the way across the terrace to get to the main part of the mosque – I was REALLY GLAD it was not that sunny out! Inside the mosque was amazing and we had unexpectedly shown up at the time for the evening call to prayer, so the prayer was being sung by some members of the male devotees. I find listening, while I do not understand what they are saying, to be absolutely amazing and calming. We were only supposed to be in the mosque for 15 minutes but I think we were there a bit longer than that as one of the volunteers came up and spoke to us and wanted to know where we were from. We also were the only Caucasian people in the mosque! He was very nice and I explained that I was aware that it was the call to prayer going on and how much I enjoyed listening to it. I actually recorded some of it for Maha so she could hear it and then we left to meet Allan for our drive back to Singapore.

Well, needless to say, this was a VERY long day! We got back to the Westin Hotel at about 9pm – so we were on this trip for a total of 16 hours! Time flew by and it was lots of fun however we are both now exhausted!

Tomorrow I think AGAIN we will be sleeping in 🙂 See you later alligators!

December 8, 2025 – Singapore – Life on the 44th floor of the Westin Hotel!

December 8, 2025December 12, 2025Lmnei

Both and Andrew and I were exhausted after our day of travel yesterday. I was so looking forward to our trip on Singapore Airlines in Business Class as they are the number 1 airline in the world, however it was both a frustrating and tiring experience – not their fault due to the number of kids on board in business class, but it was disruptive. Also the turbulence that we experienced throughout the flight, where the seats were not as comfortable as we have experience on other airlines, added to the overall tiredness we are feeling. That said, the flight attendants on Singapore Airlines are first class in terms of service and hospitality and they do work hard! There were 24 flight attendants on the Airbus 380 flight which is the standard requirement for that type of plane – so it is not that Singapore puts extra people on to enable their world class service, it is they are so very efficient and seamless at their delivery – always with a smile on their face!

We did sleep in as long as we could this morning, however breakfast downstairs was calling so we made the “commute” from our 44th floor room down to the restaurant on the 32nd floor to the Westin Hotel restaurant named Seasonal Tastes. As we stay at Marriott enough, our breakfast is included and what a breakfast it was! The buffet was ENDLESS! There was a pastry area with again, ice cream, cereals, about 7 different juices, fruit, cold cuts, Japanese, Malaysian, Hindi, Egg station and of course my favourite one – the Gluten Free table! I took some pictures below to show you just how extensive it was!

Once we finished our WONDERFUL breakfast, which I will write about more a little later in terms of the gluten free selections, we decided to check out the rest of the hotel which was shrouded in darkness when we arrived last night! Granted, today it is cloudy, however it is fairly bright out!

Now let’s check out our room which we were upgraded to! It is a corner suite and it is every sweet! 🙂

Today was a day of resting, relaxing and resting some more! I have NO IDEA where the day went! I did some blogging from the past few days of travel and then we went to bed early as tomorrow we need to be downstairs by 5 am for our planned Day Trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! I am really looking forward to this exciting trip, including the sites and seeing the Petronas Twin Towers which are the tallest twin towers in the world!

December 7, 2025 – Travel Day – Sydney to Singapore – a Country and a City!

December 7, 2025December 8, 2025Lmnei

Today is an exciting day! First, the Whitecaps are playing Miami in the MLS playoff which means an EARLY start for us as the game is beginning at 6 am here in Sydney, Australia! I thought I might be able to push the snooze button and let Andrew watch the game on his phone but technology requires my laptop so I got it going and VPN’d back to Canada to load the Telus Broadcast on TSN and we were able to watch it just fine! I think some snoozing took place on my part in between some exclamations from the other side of the bed about how the Whitecaps were playing or not passing the ball…

The MORE exciting thing for me, is we get to fly on an Airbus 380 which was my dream that came to reality when we had to leave New Zealand in a hurry in 2020 during COVID, however I did not get to fully appreciate the experience due to the rushed way we had to purchase the tickets and get to the airport to get onto the plane. Also from Christchurch to Sydney was a short flight. This time, I CHOSE to fly Singapore Airlines, which is always the top rated Airline in the world, to Changi Airport, the number 1 airport in the world – to see a new country which many people have told me is a great one to visit! Our/my original plans were to fly to Singapore today and then fly home to Vancouver on Thursday, December 11th, on Air Canada’s new SIN-YVR flight, on a Dreamliner, which is Air Canada’s now longest flight that they do. However plans change! Now we return to Vancouver after our side trip to Okinawa and we will be flying home to Vancouver through Tokyo, which we have done previously.

First though, breakfast! Let’s see what this Moxy offers us! In Europe, the buffets are pretty well all the same – cheese, meat, eggs, danish and GF bread. Here there is the addition of fruit, a pancake machine (did not work properly – only know as we sat next to it – not that I was trying it out), and the chef would cook you an omelette if you wanted along with I was told “take care of my GF needs”. So I ordered a vegetable omelette with no peppers (forgot my distaste of mushrooms) and what did I get? A mushroom with a few greens and cheese thrown in! After I unloaded all the mushrooms as there was not much room in my stomach for all of them, I had the remains of the omelette. They pointed out some GF banana bread that the chef had made, however it did not taste very good – it was very hard and dry so I passed on additional slices. The omelette came with a peanut butter cookie though which I have packed up for a future dining emergency! My purse that I got in Fiji is really coming in handy for my “emergency” dining stash when traveling!

We then headed back up to the hotel room taking pictures along the way. We spent some time optimizing the luggage as to what we needed on the plane and what we wanted to have checked along with phoning my parents and sister and then we took the shuttle to the Sydney Airport.

I had some VERY high expectations of Singapore Airlines. Some they exceeded and in other areas, I was disappointed. They check-in went pretty well however I did realize we had a lack of communication with regards to my walker. They yet again wanted it in the hold of the plane and as this is a HUGE plane, I wanted it in a closet in the passenger area of the plane. I realized that they were serious about putting it into the hold when they brought me a plastic bag to put it into when I got to the door of the plane (which funny enough in North America airlines charge for these bags). Thy kept my boarding pass as they said I needed wheelchair assistance through immigration, customs and to the lounge, so we sat down and WAITED. And WAITED. After about 30 minutes and the first person who was in line for transport had been taken already, I asked how much longer and they said they are not allowed to take people to the gate until 3 hours until the flight. I pointed out that it WAS 3 hours prior to the flight AND that we were going to the lounge instead. Then they said 10 minutes which stretched into 30 and finally a supervisor came and got me and took us through security, immigration, customs and up to the lounge. The other person who was also waiting for an escort, was taken at the same time, as he was also going to the lounge.

The lounge was really nice – we looked down on the 380 that was going to take us to Singapore and we had some snacks – including 2 GF bars that Andrew found for me! I also saw lots of foreign air carriers arrive (we saw the tail of Air Canada leaving when we were driven to the airport). As we are now leaving Australia, I decided it was time to go SHOPPING. So I did! I got some Aussie things for people (not going to say what they are as that is a SECRET) and made it back to the lounge in time to leave with the other gentleman being escorted to the flight.

At this point in time, I was pretty confused. I could see the jet way from where we sat in the lounge and I knew that we were going to be on the top floor of the 380 but the jet way did not seem that steep! I remember coming off the Emirates plane in Sydney when we landed from Christchurch in 2020, where I was taken by wheelchair as our transit time was in negative minutes to catch the Qantas flight to Japan, where I felt like I was going to fall out of the wheelchair as the ramp was so steep getting off the upper deck of that 380. This jet way seemed pretty flat to me and surprise – it was! The people who are flying Economy and Premium Economy at this jet way (or stand as they call it in Aussie and British lands) have to walk DOWN a ramp to get onto the plane! How different!

Now onto the plane I walked and they put my walker in the plastic bag and took it to the belly of the plane – there is a lack of “cabinets” or “wardrobes” on this plane! We were in 96 D and F – right at the BACK of the plane. Some really smart bunny in the Medical Department must have thought it was a good thing to put me SO FAR back on the plane instead of near the door where I normally sit! Very strange! And of course, based on our luck, it was the revenge of the screaming kids behind us!

Yes, this is the 1st weekend of the start of summer holidays down under and the plane was PACKED. The number of kids in Business Class was unreal (which I saw when I had to use the washroom and needed to walk forward) however most of them were behaved except the 3 year old behind us who did not understand why he had to be seat belted into his seat when the plane was taxing and taking off instead of his mother’s seat! BOTH Andrew and I agreed that the fact that noise reducing headphones are provided to Business Class passengers is wonderful! While I could still hear the screams and outbursts, they were MUCH muted!

It is also interesting sitting in the tail section of this giant marshmallow of a plane! Kind of freaky when you have been on about 5 flights in the last 4 weeks on 737 planes which take off rapidly and this one lumbers along to take off and the tail end is the last to get off the ground. Very different sensation – I do not often fly in the tails of airplanes!

The seats in theory were wonderful! Mine had a small issue going back into position, which required me to stand up and the flight attendant to fix, however considering I spent most of the flight reclined, it only had to be fixed twice – once for take off (I had reclined while everyone boarded the plane and that is when we figured out it was broken) and then when we came in for landing. Those flight attendants sure know how to manipulate the seats and to hammer them back into position! It was a completely lie flat seat, however there was not a lot of padding, like other air carriers. There was a duvet, mattress cover and blanket however I am not sure how well I would have done on an overnight flight. We had minor turbulence for about 75% of the flight (which is unusual) and light turbulence where the flight attendants had to sit down for about 45 minutes, along with the ascent took 45 minutes with light turbulence so the service did not start on time, however they also provide these large pillows at your seat and that helped me quite a bit from a positioning standpoint. It also helped that Andrew’s pillow somehow jumped onto my seat too! There is a divider that would have made us each have our own pod, however they put it down as Andrew and I were traveling together.

From a funny standpoint – I have ALWAYS seen on an air carrier the NO SMOKING and SEAT BELTS signs – on this plane it was a NO CELL PHONES and SEAT BELTS sign! I thought this was strange – as long as your phone was in airplane mode you could use it – so why was it lit up? No idea!

Dinner was good – I had a quinoa/mango salad which was delicious once I took the unidentified meat off the top! The chicken with broccoli and rice was good too (forgot to take a picture) and the lemon bar and dried fruit plate was a very nice touch! I paired this with as always and vintage Coke Zero! The little GF buns were hot and so cute! I then watched 3 movies – one that I had not heard of before but I found really interesting! It was called Audrey’s Children – which was about a doctor at a Philadelphia Hospital in the 60/70’s who pioneered cancer chemotherapy for children – that was what the write up on the screen indicated. However in watching it she was VERY ground breaking and actually started the Ronald McDonald Houses so that kids parents and families do not have to be burdened with the cost of staying with their child when they are at a hospital. While I do not like to give away endings – I was really impressed with this movie and surprised I had not heard of it or had been advertised more widely. Then I watched a Star is Born (sad) and then Top Gun – Mavrick movie to keep me awake as we were getting close to midnight Sydney time when we were landing!

Arrival in Singapore was awesome – the flight attendants were very respectful and came immediately to get me when the man showed up with a wheelchair and told me where my walker would be found – they were right! There it was in it’s plastic bag on the jet way half way down. We put my backpacks on it and we went through immigration (all electronic) and picked up our bags. At this point in time I was laughing and the gentleman who was pushing me thought I was really funny! Here were all the suitcases coming along on the carousel QUIETLY, not thumping down on top of each other from a chute, nicely arranged with the handles and tags out all in order! It was very robotic looking! I almost though perhaps a robot was putting them onto the carousel, however the escort said that no, baggage handlers do that. The escort went and got us a trolley while Andrew got our luggage and then we thanked the escort and found a taxi to take us to the Westin Hotel in Singapore.

Singapore, I knew was going to be a bright city. It was after 10 pm though so I was surprised it was still pretty bright as I had read that most of the “light attractions” shut down about 8 or 9 pm at night. We had a very pleasant drive in a taxi who had not one but 4 electronic devices in addition to the car’s dashboard, displayed! Two phones and 2 small tablets! The taxi was well outfitted with technology! I paid by credit card and it also worked on the first try! Amazing!

While Andrew was getting the suitcases out of the taxi I said I would go check into the hotel. I entered the lobby and was confused – I saw and elevator and two very tall escalators. I turned around and Andrew and the bellman said we needed to go to the 32nd floor to check in! I guess my jaw dropped. The bellman said – “the registration desk is the highest in Singapore”! Sure enough, we whizzed up to the 32nd floor in an express elevator and checked into the hotel! Beautiful hotel! It starts on the 32nd floor and goes up to the 47th floor. Our room is on the 44th floor! Wow! Pretty high! My mother would not like this!

Join us on our adventures tomorrow! We will be sleeping in though first…

December 6, 2025 – Australia – Travel Day – Brisbane to Sydney

December 6, 2025December 7, 2025Lmnei

Well, today we are leaving the Gold Coast and driving back to Brisbane to fly to Sydney.

Not much going on today – we left the hotel, after a very nice, peaceful stay, and had an uneventful drive to the Brisbane Airport. Check-in went well and we made it eventually (security was an issue but I was better prepared this time) to the restaurant which was near our gate that had some fairly low, but comfortable chairs so we could relax prior to our flight.

It was interesting while we were sitting there that there was a flight to Mackay, Australia leaving from our gate 46 prior to our departure. Mackay is Andrew’s mother’s maiden name and Andrew’s middle name. Interesting it is a city with an airport in Australia on the east coast!

Like our last few flights, we did not have window seats as for some reason the accessible seat selection on Virgin Australia airlines are an aisle and middle seat – so no pictures of us flying however here are some pictures I took at the airport! The Virgin Australia side is currently going through some upgrades such as the security area (where you cannot take pictures anyways) and it will be nice once they get the new x ray machines like they had in Sydney and we have at YVR for the bags so you do not have to take electronic equipment out!

We had a pretty uneventful flight into the Sydney airport, other than we were delayed in landing and had to circle for about 30 minutes due to incoming weather. Once on the ground, we ended up being about 45 minutes late landing. We managed to get to the baggage claim just fine – it was ironic as we had been to this baggage claim area already in the Sydney airport when we were flying Qantas and I was looking for a suitcase before we departed (pre-security) and found that the Sydney airport does not have any stores pre-security so the information person suggested going to the Virgin Australia Arrivals area as there was a store there. It did not have what I was looking for. No issues! However it came in handy as when we needed to find the shuttle, we were aware of the walk between the two domestic terminals and where the shuttle stop was located!

The Moxy Hotel, which is a lower end Marriott brand hotel, that we are staying at overnight, sent a shuttle for us and it eventually arrived. We got to the hotel and got checked in. We had been “upgraded” from an accessible queen room to an airport view queen room – not accessible and it was tiny! No idea why they did that however it was only one night so no bother. I did notice there was an accessible room on our floor though so it was a bit weird.

We have stayed at a bunch of Moxy Hotels in Europe previously however this one takes the cake on “modern”! Yes, the room is small – not much space for a table and chairs – so they hung them on the wall! The sink for the washroom was outside in the bedroom and the toilet and shower were in their own room. Half the window area was a wall and the other half we could see the main runway of SYD airport which was cool!

As I had left a bag at a drop spot about 2 blocks away, while we traveled up north, Andrew and I then went and picked it up, also to get some exercise! The program I used was called Bounce and it cost me $50 AUD to store the bag for 2 weeks. Much cheaper than paying $80 AUD to check it each time on 2 flights! As Andrew indicated, I have no idea why I have an extra bag. When we get to Singapore, as we are traveling Business Class and the extra bag will not be an issue, I will delve into how my baggage seemed to have children and why I had to purchase an extra bag from Amazon.com.au when traveling! I know part of the reason why is I am traveling with gifts for Japan and the luggage weights, which was a surprise to me, are lower here in Australia (20 kg vs 23 kg), did require me to move some stuff around, however I am wearing all my clothes! What is going on puzzles me!

Here are some pictures of our room and the van that picked us up:

After we got back from the storage store (which was basically a 7-11 type store which stored bags securely) we hit the sack as tomorrow is a BIG day! We are flying on Singapore Airlines (new airline) on a 380 Airbus (plane that I saw being built) to Singapore (new country)!

Let’s go!

December 5, 2025 – Australia – Gold Coast – Australia Zoo – Cricky! as Steve Irwin would say!

December 5, 2025December 7, 2025Lmnei

There were only a couple of things that I really wanted to do in Australia and to visit the Australia Zoo was one of them. Others we have already accomplished, except one, which was the 12 Apostles Drive which we decided not to do as we went to Kangaroo Island instead. The Australia Zoo is about an hour north of Brisbane, and we are staying one hour south, so I knew that it was going to be a bit of a drive to get there however the review of my friend Nicole, who visited earlier this year with her family was phenomenal so we (more me and Andrew said he was up for the drive) decided to make the trek!

To make things easier we even paid for the tollways to get there – we have not gotten the bills yet however from the signs we saw they will amount to no more than $10 AUD. We did make one driving mistake, thanks to Google and it sometimes telling us to get off the highway prematurely which cost us about 20 minutes to turn around however eventually we got to the Zoo!

Some background information – the Australia Zoo was started by Steve Irwin, also called the Crocodile Hunter, who was a TV personality and conservationist in Eastern Australia. With his wife, they took over a 2 acre zoo called the ‘Beerwah Reptile Park’ from Steve’s parents, who had established it in 1970, which was home to native wildlife such as lace monitors, tiger snakes, freshwater crocodiles, magpie geese and kangaroos. The kangaroos were cared for in homemade pouches by Steve’s mum, Lyn. She was an extraordinary wildlife rehabilitator and was quite skilled in nursing injured and orphaned animals, rehabilitating them before returning them to the wild.

In 1991, Steve met Terri Raines, from Eugene, Oregon and their passion for reptiles and mammals was a match made in heaven! They married in 1992, and started filming the The Crocodile Hunter TV Series which was also seen in North America. The wildlife park’s name was then changed to ‘Australia Zoo’, with the mission for it to be the very best in Australia, if not the world! Extensive efforts were made to create habitats, so that all zoo animals could be exhibited in natural environments. In addition, from its humble beginnings as an avocado packing shed, they established the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. In 2004, Steve dedicated the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to his mum. This world-class facility continues to rescue, rehabilitate and release over 7000 native Australian animals every year. Australia Zoo now encompasses over 700 acres and employs over 500 staff, continuing Steve’s mission of “Conservation Through Exciting Education”. Steve Irwin was tragically killed in September, 2006 by a stingray barb that pierced his heart when out filming in the ocean on the Great Barrier Reef.

Here is a map of the Australia Zoo:

9773_VISITOR_GUIDE_MAP_SEP24_ONLINE Download

The zoo is by the Glass Mountains in a very open area north of Brisbane and it was a nice drive there once we got off the M1 highway. We quickly got parked and as I had bought tickets online, we entered the zoo fairly fast. We checked out some Komodo Dragons, Lizards and Alligators near the admissions area and then made our way to the Crocoseum as I had noticed that a show was about to start!

So, along we walked to the Crocoseum to see the wildlife show – I had not really paid attention to what the show was however I knew birds were involved! It was a pretty impressive structure that had a cafe on the 2nd level with a Dietary Section where you could get Gluten Free fries! I was WAY too hot for fries so I instead had some Coke Zero and ice cream – way better options! We then got seated in the accessible section and the show was to begin! There were two ladies down on ground getting the crowd warmed up and behind us there was an awful racket – the ever present seagulls and the gull with the long beak seemed to be in a fight for something and then I noticed that there was another bird – a beautiful blue bird that was doing all the talking – the parrot on the mans arm! He was coming down to take flight and the other birds I guess thought he was in their territory! So we saw a bunch of parrots fly around then a zookeeper lead out a wombat who really had a mind of her own and did not follow directions and then lastly, a falcon and a stork named Charles who was having a bad day! Charles sure has some long legs! He did not particularly like the fish he was being fed today.

After the birds and the wombat were put away I noticed that the staff put up ropes all around the stair cases so that the guests could not walk down to the water level and the exits were blocked at the water level – we soon found out why! Here comes the Crocodile! Graham was in good biting form – it was a respectful display of what crocodiles do in the wild to catch their prey – they used tapping the ground and water slapping noises to get his attention. He crawled through the water though until he came to the point he sensed the noise coming from and then he put his snout up on the side and walked out. It was amazing to see! There were 2 zoo keepers – one who was holding the fish/food and the other behind him I presume as a look out and safety person. They did mention that they recently had a close call with one of the crocodiles when feeding them.

After that show, we decided to visit some of the different areas of the zoo to check out some Australian animals. First, we headed off to the Quokka’s, Kangaroos and Wallaby’s. We had seen Quokka’s previously when we went to Rottenest Island where they are very present along with another island off the west coast of Australia. Unfortunately, the population is dwindling on the continent as their habitat is being taken over.

Next we moved into the Cassowary and Emu section to check those big birds out! While the Cassowary was not standing, we did get to see one a few days ago, the Emu’s were up feeding and I got some great pictures of them!

Then we continued on our journey though the park, next visiting the elephants, red pandas and the lions! I must admit, for all the zoos that I have been to, including the Vancouver Zoo, this one has the most homey feel and that the animals are in a natural environment.

Now we are well into the zoo lands and instead of walking back, we decided to take the tram as there is a talk going on at the Koala Nursery! On our way to the Shuttle Stop and waiting for the shuttle we were able to see some Giraffes, Zebras and Rhino’s who had just gotten out of their mud bath!

Now, onto the most important part of the day in my impression! The Koala Nursery talk! It sure was a highlight as the Koala mum was out and walking around instead of sleeping in the tree like Koala’s like to do for 20 hours of a day! The naturalist did an excellent talk also on koala’s – some we hard on Kangaroo Island and some information was new – like one Koala mum will take care of other koala “cubs” once out of the pouch so that other mothers can get food! I got some great pictures!

Then we walked back through the zoo to the Wildlife Animal Hospital, which is another part of the zoo and is where both the zoo animals and ones from the wild are taken for rehab. When we got there, RACO truck had just arrived with some birds that were being admitted to the Wildlife Animal Hospital. There is a viewing area for the public – you can see the small bird area which contains a bunch of incubators to keep them warm and then the surgery area and behind it the treatment and cage area for larger animals. Behind the building area also portable buildings which look like they house different populations such as Koala’s or other species that are under their care that cannot be accommodated in the hospital due to size or environment.

Now, that was a fun day! We now had to drive 2 hours south to meet our dinner reservation that I had booked at a restaurant across from the hotel that was recommended for it’s seafood on the Gold Coast – we made it on time (barely) and sat down and had a really nice dinner! I had my favourite salad – caprese (motza and tomatoes) along with an octopus entree! While I had creme brule for desert, it was nothing to write home about so no picture! On our walk back to the hotel, we found a very nice waterfall in front of the Sheraton, which was very cooling – at least in sound, for an otherwise warm night!

Tomorrow, we will travel to Brisbane Airport to catch a plane to Sydney to start our journey back to Canada! Let’s go!

December 4, 2025 – Australia – Gold Coast – Chill Day at the Pool and a nice Laundromat!

December 4, 2025December 4, 2025Lmnei

Okay, this I think is going to be my shortest blog post of our trip. Today is going to be chill day AFTER I get off the phone!

I was up early and had some lovely interactions for just over 2 hours with a Credit Union which will remain nameless, in the United States, in relation to the Estate that I am dealing with. This Credit Union (which are not like Credit Unions in Canada) has taken over the small Bank that was wonderful and helped me as a Canadian open an account in order to fulfill the requirements of the Washington State Probate Court. I do not have a Social Security Number (nor do I want one) and that is primary piece of ID needed to have a bank account in the USA. The Bank used to put in a “fake” number to allow me to do what I needed to do. Now that the Credit Union has taken over there are more RULES and the rules are not giving me access to the money that I manage as they do not deal with “fake” Social Security Numbers. Thank goodness I do get paid for my time dealing with these types of things! I told the lady, when we were about to miss the breakfast buffet I was on the phone so long, that it is in their hands to figure out as they have inherited me as their customer! We shall see what happens!

Here are my 3 thoughts for today. 1. Interesting bird with a nasty beak at the pool! 2. Andrew relaxing at the edge of the pool. 3. Doing laundry again in an open air laundry facility – just like we did in Thailand! Other than that – it was a chill day!

Tomorrow we are going on another road trip to see a zoo / animal refuge that comes highly recommended and has had some world wide exposure! More on that tomorrow! I hope you all had a relaxing day!

December 3, 2025 – Australia – Gold Coast – Make some Noise! Mount Tamborine and Sunset Cruise!

December 3, 2025December 4, 2025Lmnei

After a smashing good breakfast (funny pun for my dad) we are off to Mount Tamborine! It is about a 45 minute drive inland and has a walk in the trees which we can do along with a variety of other scenic views to look at, prior to driving to Surfers Paradise, which is the town/beach/area below the Gold Coast where we are going to take a sunset cruises tonight! It is a beautiful day lets go!

The buffet breakfast at this Sheraton hotel is also awesome – actually a step above! They actually provide the recipes for the dishes on the gluten free and vegan (not shown) areas of the buffet. There is a hot side, a cold side and then fruit along with as I mentioned a gluten free section and a vegan section. Then next to the gluten free section (which has its own toaster with a sign) and something I have never seen on a buffet previously was gluten free home made ice cream with toppings! Now that is how to get your sugar screaming high in the morning but also a way to cool down…. On the gluten free table below they have both a chia/coconut yogurt and a Spiced Breakfast bowl which contains GF oats, quinoa, milk, cinnamon, apricots cut up, raisins and honey. Now that is one good way to start your day! If anyone wants the recipe let me know!

We then made a beautiful drive to Mount Tamborine which was a bit like climbing half way up Cypress in terms of height from sea level where we are staying. Once on what I would call a crest, the sight looking west – so away from the Gold Coast was quite beautiful! It was hard to get a picture as it was on the other side of the road and Andrew could not stop anywhere. I have found some on the internet shown below, similar to what we saw during our drive.

Next we started a bit down the mountain and towards the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk which I had read was an accessible experience where you can walk among the tree tops of the rain forest, listen to the birds, perhaps see some wildlife and have basically a COOL experience! I was impressed when we got there that the lady at the admissions counter fully disclosed that the path is hard going for those with walkers and that she was only going to charge us a child’s admission which was basically half price or 1 adult and 1 free. I thought that was fair as I could only do one part of the trail. The Mossman Gorge needs to adopt this policy too as I was only able to go about 200 metres on a 1.5 km trail system – the rest of the trails had stairs and were narrow. Back on subject, they had a really interesting display about the environs such as the Aboriginal families who inhabited the areas, the fact that there are glow worms that hang out and night and that the “mountain” which I would actually call an escarpment or bulge was originally a volcano!

Then came the walk that one of my parents would NOT like! The walk in the trees where you could see DOWN about 900 feet! Yikes! I kept my focus forward despite the awful racket that my wheels were causing on the grids of the steel walkway. I would stop every once in a while and take pictures etc however we were nearing the end of the walkway and I could hear people behind us and I thought as my walker took up most of the width of the walkway, they might want to pass so I pulled aside and collapsed my walker. One man passed by but the other would not – he REFUSED to. He said that he was only on this walkway as he saw me doing it and figured that if I could do it and get to the end then he could too as he is scared of heights! His friend waited for him about 100 feet away. We then chatted a bit about the Sydney Harbour Bridge which he cannot walk over either due to the grid like walkway – I did not know about that – however I did let him know that he did not have to walk the Skywalk again to get back as the trail will take him back to the beginning – I have to take the Skywalk back as the trail has stairs and the only way for me to get back is to ensure the shaking arms and sounds again! I was okay with the height however I defiantly did not look down and I made Andrew take the picture looking down to the forest floor…

Next we drove into the village that is on the top of Mount Tamborine where the road is called “Gallery Row”. We stopped at a couple places – this first one I thought was really cute and reminded me of Coombs actually! I almost did not go into the stores though as they were down some stairs until Andrew found an unmarked ramp. I rewarded one of the stores with some purchases and provided the feedback that they would not have the sale if I could not get down there. We also went to a glass shop which was beautiful – we did drive by a glass blowing studio to see if anyone was there but it was closed.

Next we continued on our way to Surfers Paradise in order to get parked, to go grocery shopping for a snack for me on the boat and then to get to the boat! Despite going around the block once, we managed to find parking – Surfers Paradise has GROWN UP since I was last here 27 years ago! Holy cow! High rises everywhere and businesses lining the streets. We made our way to Wollies Grocery Store and then walked to the boat slip to get onto the evening cruise.

I am still struggling with picking activities that say they are wheelchair accessible and then finding out they are not! So this boat said it was wheelchair accessible – it was fine for me to get onto however a person in a wheelchair? Nope. The “lip” to get up onto the boat was about 2 feet high (a little difficult if someone is in a wheelchair) and the real kicker was when they phoned me, which was good that they did, they wanted to make sure that I did not have a power wheelchair as they cannot take them. I now see why – the slip that you want on to get to the boat (not pictured) actually sinks the more people that are on it! When I tried to get onto the boat, there were about 10 people on it and thus the huge climb onto the boat. If one was on that slip with a 300 pound wheelchair plus some people I am not sure what would happen. Needless to say, they need to indicate that on their advertisements! I must say, when I got off the boat, I waited for everyone to get off the slip, including Andrew and the drop down was only about a foot at that time. However to get into the boat, through the door, I had to collapse my walker and the washrooms on board are not accessible either. This excursion, while it was nice (despite having to sit on the lower floor while most people were up the stairs on the top deck), I would not consider recommending to someone who uses a wheelchair. Just not safe.

Other than that little dissertation, it was nice to be on the water, cruising the inner waterways of Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast! Jason likened to to Venice which we both totally disagreed with (but did not say anything) as one, the “public transit” only runs every half hour along the waterway for about 5 stops from dawn to dusk, not every 3-4 minutes, the waterways are MUCH wider and lastly it is wide open and not enclosed with buildings high up on each side. Oh, and there are cars and way fewer bridges! I think this area is more similar to the Miami Beach or the Inland Waterway that goes up the East Coast of the USA. Jason also talked about how “expensive” the houses are – which were in the 1-2 million dollar range for most of them. Now, coming from Vancouver, where we have kind of high housing prices, paying 1-2 million to be on a waterway in a medium to hot climate where it does not snow or rain that much is not that bad in my opinion! There were though some very nice mansions on the waterways too – some that rivaled what you see in the Point Grey waterfront area – of course with yachts out front just for show!

Walking back to the car in the parking lot, we decided to check out the beach side (South Pacific) of Surfers Paradise first. This area I had visited with Karen and it is SO MUCH more commercial now! The first thing we saw – which we actually first viewed from the boat, was Slingshot – another think my mother would not like! It is basically a ball or cabin strung on a huge elastic between two high towers and then somehow pulled down to the ground so people can get into the cabin. Then the cabin or ball is released and it sling shots way up high into the air and then it bounces around on the rubber cord until it is lowered back down to the ground. Barf bags anyone???

The width of the island where Surfers Paradise is located (the area we were in) is only about 6 city blocks wide – we were soon at the beach! The lifeguard towers have been strung with Christmas decorations and the one below had a Santa hat on top! There were several people on the beach – one man looking for metal! The waves were rolling in and I was really happy to see that there also was a nice wide ramp down to the beach where we sat for a while and I took some pictures of yet again another seagull management meeting! On the beach promenade there were a lot of vendors set up (I was surprised as it was not a weekend – just a Wednesday night) including one lady who had .925 solid silver rings. You might say I have a new ring for my collection of rings that I have obtained from around the world displayed on my fingers now!

Walking back down the street, which was closed to traffic, on Surfers Paradise, the normal fast food restaurants were there – McD’s, Walburgers and Burger King aka Hungry Jacks! For those who do not know, Hungry Jack’s is the Australian franchise of Burger King, operating under a different name because “Burger King” was already trademarked in Australia when Burger King tried to open their first store in 1971. To avoid a legal battle, Burger King’s franchisee, Jack Cowan, opened the first restaurant under the name “Hungry Jack’s,” likely inspired by his own name. The two brands are the same company, with Hungry Jack’s using the Burger King menu but adapting it to suit the Australian market. The same goes for McDonalds around the world too – there are variations in each country – such as in Scandinavia they offer gluten free buns at McD’s! I digress though…

Just as we were about to turn the corner to get to the car, I decided that I needed something to cool me down – gelato! The store on the corner looked good to me so I asked if they have any gluten free flavours. The young lady was really helpful and told me which ones were gluten free and that the ones in the display case contained cookies. I then asked for a scoop of mango and scoop of chocolate which she replied – cone or cup. Now, in Australia I know the rules are pretty strict and they really do not patronize the “trendy” gluten free eaters. However I was standing in a tourist spot so I smiled and said I have not had a gluten free cone since I was in Italy – mostly joking as I thought she was going to give me a cup and she made a mistake in offering me a cone. But NO. She was serious! They have gluten free cones and they are NO EXTRA charge! Yahoo! Look what I got to enjoy – I did share with Andrew a little bit but the cone was all MINE!

Well, after that excitement of having an ice cream cone, it was time to come back down to earth and find the car in the parking garage. It is interesting that Andrew usually has no idea where we park and he relies on my memory of where to go – again tonight that rang true – he had no idea where we were going! Good thing I was born with a good sense of direction! We made it back to the hotel – which was only about 10 minutes north and fell into bed after a pretty fulfilling day!

Tomorrow we are going to RELAX at the hotel and see what other trouble we can get into! See you later alligators! In a while crocodiles!

December 2, 2025 – Australia – Gold Coast – Day at Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast Hotel

December 2, 2025December 2, 2025Lmnei

Up early again! However this is not a bad thing when you can sit beside the hotel lagoon at a chair and table and blog away! I think I am going to be caught up as of today! Wahoo! Nothing like a train ride where I can just write and not have to upload and tinker away at the same time! This is my vantage point at the hotel right now – Andrew is in the room!

We then went for breakfast (it was awesome as normal) and then walked around the property a bit – first to find the ice machine on the South Wing of the property as the one in our Wing (North) seems to not be functioning. Then to check out the pool and beach areas! Here is what we saw –

After that little tour of the property, it was getting a bit hot outside and we had decided to take it easy today. We both phoned home and chatted with our parents and I also dealt with some appointment issues along with spent about 4 hours working on my upcoming visit to Japan with regards to the Estate that I am taking care of. Andrew was more than happy to just veg out!

In the evening, as we were not able to get him some cold beverages when grocery shopping yesterday, we decided to go up to the bar and use our coupon for 2 beers and 2 soft drinks! How perfect for us! The lobby was pretty busy with the group checking in (do not know what group it is yet) however the bar was fairly quiet at that point and we had some nice relaxation time while looking up possible things to do in the Brisbane/Gold Coast area. I knew one place that I am interested in visiting which is about a 2 hour drive from here, however we have 3 more days to plan! We ended up booking a Sunset cruise tomorrow night and are thinking about a drive tomorrow to Tamborine Mountain area.

As we were in the bar on the 2nd floor of the resort, we noticed the “fruit” on the tree next to the bar outside of the hotel was similar to pineapple. Thanks to Google, we figured what this unique tree was – it is a Screw Pine or Palm and sure enough – its fruit can be eaten and is similar tasting to a pineapple! I have a picture of it below:

We then decided it was dinner time so that meant a return to our hotel room! We decided to have dinner on our lanai or little terrace next to the lagoon. We had been told when checking into the hotel that the group who is currently blocked into the hotel has an event by the pool starting at 6 pm so that area was not going to be available which was fine for us. However we were able to take advantage of the music they were playing as it was just around the corner and the music was kind of nice to eat dinner to! However then the magic began… A didgeridoo started playing and the music stopped. It was haunting and beautiful, with the low notes just floating along the lagoon towards us. Then a lady started talking/singing in a low voice in a native aboriginal tongue – no idea what she was saying – however it sounded like she was giving thanks to the land and welcoming the people for the conference. Andrew went out to see if he could get any pictures from the other side of the pool while I remained on the terrace – it was a wonderful experience to listen to! Then as darkness fell, we moved inside before any mosquito’s could come and suck our blood! Here are the two pictures of the groups area that Andrew was able to take:

It was a very pleasant and relaxing both day and evening! Tomorrow we are going to check out Tamborine Mountain and see what we can visit and do there – it is just a bit south west of Brisbane so it should be a nice short drive for us. Then we need to be back by 5pm for our Sunset Cruise! See you tomorrow!

December 1, 2025 – Australia – Brisbane Arrival – Drive to Gold Coast – Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast

December 1, 2025December 2, 2025Lmnei

Good morning! The sun rose REALLY early on the train this morning! I seemed to be up for some unknown reason again at 4 am. Spent some time watching some downloaded Netflix videos on my phone and then went back to sleep! It is a beautiful sunny morning though so glad we got rid of those black rain clouds yesterday!

The train conductor just announced we are over 3 hours late now however they are hoping to make up some of the time over the next few hours. They cautioned the train passengers though that as we are running late that we will have to give way to other traffic on the tracks such as the commuter trains as we enter the various stations.

The car attendant was very nice and as the train was not going to be in the station by 9 am as originally planned, he said he could leave my Rail Bed down for me so I could get extra recline time! Here is a picture of my sitting on my Rail Bed along with the Rail Bed across the aisle where my walker rode during our trip, so it was close for me to use it to get to the toilet (there was an accessible washroom and shower on the train in our car too)!. A took some pictures of the various train stations we went through and then the conductor indicated we had made up 45 minutes due to some re-routing and would now arrived at the Roma Street Brisbane Train Station by 11:30 am – so only 2.5 hour late!

It is interesting that when planning our trip, I booked our car rental pick up at the Brisbane Airport for noon, as we need a car for 5 days and you need to return the car in 24 hour blocks. I knew that we were probably going to have to “entertain” ourselves until noon rolled around so we could go get the car as we would need to return the car about noon for our flight to Sydney on December 6th. However with the train being late, we are now running almost on time!

It was VERY easy to transfer at the Roma Street Station to the direct train to the Brisbane Airport. While I had to get a station attendant help me with what particular tickets to purchase, they were bought fast and we ended up on the correct platform and there was a platform attendant there to see what I needed to get onto the train. I just needed their little ramp as the gap between the terminal edge and the train platform was a bit wide! Finally the train arrived, he put down the ramp and we were off to the Brisbane Airport to pick up our car!

Once at the Brisbane Airport we found the temperature much more suitable for our needs! It is still warm but more like a hot Vancouver day with less humidity. We had to wait for the car rental van to pick us up for about 45 minutes – I think they were having lunch! I was kind of amused by this sign at the Brisbane Airport while we were waiting – it is so bizarre to be waiting in a warm climate and for a billboard to be displaying the Grinch at Christmas! Once we got the car we were then off on yet another highway driving through Brisbane city towards Surfers Paradise, which is located about an hour south east of Brisbane.

The Sheraton Mirage Hotel Gold Coast is a beautiful hotel – similar name to the one that we just stayed in up in Port Douglas, however this one is truly a step above! While the one in Port Douglas had “lagoons” that were for swimming, this one has lagoons that are for display and one big swimming pool/area along with access to the beach out front of the property which is not accessible to me due to the slope! I am happy with the pool or to dip my feet into the lagoon from our terrace!

We arrived at about 2 pm and I was greeted at the Front Desk by the lady who in the end helped me with my reservation over the last 2 days – she was very nice and has upgraded us to a Junior Lagoon level Suite. I had originally paid for a Lagoon Level room, so it was nice that she did that! The hotel she told me is fully booked (not quasi fully booked as rooms were out of commission like the last hotel) as there is a group checking in from December 2-5th, however she was pretty happy she was able to swing the upgrade for me. I was pleased too!

The most amusing thing that happened was when we got to the room was the “Happy Birthday” plate that was given to us along with Champagne by the hotel! I called them and the 1st plate was not Gluten Free (it is on my hotel record that I require Gluten Free food and most hotels figure this out) so they quickly replaced it with the platter above and AGAIN it said Happy Birthday! Hey, why not? We are living a day ahead of everyone at home – why not live 2 months ahead too?

We both had a nap to catch up on some lost sleep from the night before and then we went out to get some groceries for our stay at the hotel – again to the local Coles Grocery store! I scored some really awesome GF items which I will post later, and then we got back and had dinner in our room and went to sleep! Tomorrow we will be checking out the hotel in more detail and probably taking a day off to rest and recover! Until then!

November 30, 2025 – Australia – Sunrise Drive from Port Douglas to Cairns – Boarding the Queenslander Overnight Train to Brisbane!

November 30, 2025December 2, 2025Lmnei

Holy cow! I woke up before the 4:30 am alarm clock! Wow! Needless to say it is EARLY! We are almost packed except for our items in the fridge (snack food and beverages) and we left the hotel after checking out on time, before 5 am. Me and being on time in the morning do not normally go together!

We had a very nice drive down the Great Barrier Reef Drive along the coast to Cairns. We saw the sun rise and Andrew even stopped the car so I could take a picture at a beach! We were actually running early (but not speeding) – Google Maps said it would take 1 hour and 2 minutes and it took about 45 minutes including the photo stop. Perhaps it is because there were 3 construction stops that were controlled by lights again, however the waits were very short, where during the day they might have been longer. Here are our morning drive pictures!

Needless to say, we picked a gas station to fill up and funny enough it was around the corner from where the car drop off location was! At that point I called an Uber (it was about 6:10 am now and we were DEFINITELY running really early) to take us to the Cairns Train Station. The lady driving the Uber was in the neighborhood and picked us up almost immediately! We had a very quick drive to the Cairns Railway Station – we chatted about taking the train to Brisbane and she thought we were crazy for not flying as it is only an hour’s flight! It was rather interesting though after that discussion that she dropped us off at the entrance to the Tourist Train to Kuranda – we needed to be on the other side of the tracks! Good thing the elevator was working and there was an elevated walkway to get to the other side of the tracks to where the Queensland Train would pull into the station a few minutes later.

At 6:40 am (we got there just before 6:30 am) the baggage drop opened up and we then sat and sweated, just like we used to do in the evenings in North Carolina, however it was frigging 6:30 am and I was soaked with humidity! The train was in front of us but we could see them servicing/cleaning it. About 30 minutes later, after losing about a litre of water and Andrew NOT being able to find any coffee (not a good situation) they allowed us to board the train. They had a nice little ramp for me to use – not the huge thing that I was sitting next to pictured below! We were booked into Rail Beds on the train – this train had reserved regular seating (2×2 seats) or Rail Beds which were in a 2×1 configuration. Now this is where it gets REALLY stupid! My Rail Bed was number 2 – it was a single rail bed. In front of me was Rail Bed 5. Next to me was Rail Bed 1 which was also an accessible rail bed as it had extra space for a guide dog to lay down. The carer’s bed for Rail Bed 1 was Rail Bed 5 which was in front of me. Andrew’s Rail Bed, which he was traveling as my carer, was Rail Bed number 4 which was on the aisle next to the other Rail Bed number 3 which was at the window. An unknown lady was in Rail Bed number 3 and would be there for the majority of the trip. This is a VERY stupid setup. A carer needs to be able to HELP someone so sitting forward and diagonally from me is no use. Also, as the Rail Beds come with in seat videos, as soon as Andrew put his ear phones on (this did happen) I could not get his attention for assistance.

I was dreaming up what items I could start throwing at him when the car attendant came by with tea and coffee and biscuits as we had just left the station. She actually told me that the way these beds are set up is stupid as the people who need assistance (I am thinking more like if I was traveling with Karen) cannot get it! She offered to tap Andrew on the shoulder for me however I just smiled and said I would figure things out. Once the morning tea service was completed and they had verified everyone who was on the train, the car attendant actually came back and told me that there was another disabled person going to join the train overnight with a carer and they have an extra single seat up front in the car and she was going to see if the lady next to Andrew would like to move. Of course the lady next to Andrew wanted to move as she could see that we were together and she also suggested that I move into her Rail Bed. So I did! It worked out wonderfully as then later that afternoon, an elderly lady who was visually impaired got on the train with her daughter as the carer and some other family members who had Rail Beds more to the front of the car, and the two ladies could be across the aisle from each other which helped them out too! Now we were in business on our 24+ hour trip to Brisbane!

With our Rail Bed purchase came meals too – we were fed lunch, which I had a mango chicken with peas and rice and a gluten free toffee cake with custard! I had to ask a couple of times if it was REALLY gluten free as it was pretty good! We then settled in for a nice SMOOTH ride down the east cost of Australia! It was interesting as each day Andrew looks up the weather where we are going and we were aware that rain had been forecasted – sure enough it happened when we were on the train! That said, the landscapes we passed by were very beautiful despite the black clouds above and the occasional watering of the windows!

Andrew spent most of his time watching movies and listening to music – I do not know what ones Andrew he watched however I typed up what to say on my website (no online access unless at a train station) and watched 1 movie and several really funny Aussie TV shows! The movie that I watched was the “Making of Crocodile Dundee” which I did not know the background of and how big an impact it had on Australia! It was very interesting and timely considering we are in Australia! The TV shows were a bunch of game shows – however one made me laugh so hard that I actually passed out and Andrew wondered what happened to me! That was a bit of a bizarre moment for me!

Dinner was then served and Andrew had pork and my meal was some very well cooked Barramundi fish with veggies and squash. The best part of the meal though was in the little tinfoil package which had a GF label underneath – it was a garlic cheese biscuit! Mmm good! I actually consumed it without needing butter! The chocolate cake with chocolate sauce was good too – however after not doing anything all day having two desserts was a bit much!

After dinner we could select to have our beds turned down at 8 pm or 9 pm. I was ready to go at 8 pm as I was starting to find the Rail Bed seat a bit uncomfortable and wanted to recline a bit more. The seat did recline, and the foot rest did go up a little bit however not much and the seat bench pictured above worked wonders for Andrew as his legs are long, however my legs could barely hold it down. In fact when I passed out laughing my feet fell off and the seat went up with a bang which was loud Andrew said – that is how he noticed that I was in la la land.

The Rail Bed seats actually fold down into nice flat, firm beds. The back of the seat folds onto the seat and then another portion folds out which extends into a bed. It was all done electronically – you could not do it yourself – the carriage attendant had to do it with a remote that plugged into the seat. The bed had a mattress cover on it and they gave you a duvet to cover you for the night which was nice and warm! I was as snug as a bug in my little Rail Bed! The one funny thing we learned, which if we had known better we might change for next time, is that the window seat bed is longer than the aisle seat bed so that the window seat person has about 8 inches to pass by at the end of the bed from the aisle person to get out if they need to use the toilet or whatever on the train in the middle of the night!

At this point in time, the train was actually running about 2.5 hours late – no idea how it got to run that late – we seemed to be stopping and starting fairly fast at the various train stations – there were not a lot of them. When we stopped in Townsville where the crew changed and the train took on more water and possibly fuel (not sure about this) I tried to call my parents as I knew my sister was visiting them that evening and the train left the station sooner than planned so our conversation got cut off as I lost my data connection!

I must admit though I enjoyed this train ride WAY better than the Indian Pacific one in terms of rocking and rolling. These cars are meant for travel and are built for sleeping too where the Indian Pacific Railway, while a very beautiful and historic system, does not have the more modern technology that keeps the train cars from rattling and swaying through the night.

Lets see what tomorrow brings us while on the train!

November 29, 2025 – Australia – Port Douglas – Daytrip to Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation

November 29, 2025December 1, 2025Lmnei

Today we are going north, as far north on the highway that a 2 wheel drive car can go – which is Cape Tribulation, Northern Queensland! It is about a 90 minute drive in total to get to Cape Tribulation, with a couple of stops and a ferry ride on the way!

After yet again a wonderful breakfast of an omelette, chicken sausage along with some fruit, we were off on our road trip! Our first stop is Mossman Gorge, which is in the Daintree Rainforest, which has a raised walkway in the forest to see the gorge and also accessible transportation from the visitors centre to the entrance to the walkway to get there! It is only about 20 minutes up the road, so an easy drive to start!

Arriving at Mossman Gorge the rain forest is LUSH and thick – the Visitors centre is also very appropriate like most visitor centers we have encountered in Australia – not ostentatious and sticking out, but melding into the environment! Despite the humidity and temperature that was rapidly increasing, I passed by the ice cream freezers in front of the information counter and bought our admission to the Gorge. We could have walked the 30 minutes up into the gorge however $15 AUD was worth not having to do it in this heat! The first bus was not accessible so we waited for the next bus which had a ramp for me. Off we went on our 10 minute drive up the road to where the tree top walkways and entrance to the Mossman Gorge begins.

Mossman Gorge is part of the “Wet Tropics” UNESCO World Heritage site due to its exceptional natural beauty, outstanding example of evolutionary history and is a significant habitat for rare and endangered species along with unique plants and animals that are not found anywhere else. The Wet Tropics Area goes from Townsville, which is south of Cairns, to Cooktown which is north of Cape Tribulation and covers 894,420 hectares.

We walked through the tree tops to first the swimming area and then the view point – there were more trails that could be walked however they involved stairs and were not walkways so as directed by the bus driver, we stayed off them. At the view point here is my panorama view of what we saw – the water was so clear!

Water flowing down into the Gorge area where people are swimming. It has a sandy bottom too!

Most of the water that feeds the Mossman Gorge is not from rainfall, which I found to be very interesting! It comes from the moisture in the “wet” forest that drips down into the soil and then forming the various rivers that lead out to the sea.

After stopping by the cafe in the Mossman Visitors Centre to get some cold drinks, where the cafe also acts as a training centre for indigenous youth, we were on our way to Cape Tribulation and what I will call the most expensive ferry ride in the world!

On thing that I had read about in the Mossman Gorge and people are warned about are the Cassowary birds. These are fairly large birds based on what I had read and they are also fairly aggressive and one should stay away from them. Several people had spotted them based on my readings in the Mossman Gorge, however we did not see any. They are native to Northern Australia along with some other tropical locations such as New Guinea. The birds are flightless, and they are the third-tallest and second-heaviest living bird, smaller only than the ostrich and emu. Cassowaries are very wary of humans, but if provoked, they are capable of inflicting serious, even fatal, injuries. They are known to attack both dogs and people. The cassowary has often been labeled “the world’s most dangerous bird” however statistically the ostrich still kills more people each year (2-3).

Driving up to the ferry that crosses the Daintree River, which costs $51 AUD return for a 15 minute cable crossing in each direction (I think these ferries are free in the interior of British Columbia) there was a wooden image of a Cassowary that I took a picture of just so I could have a life sized image. Then shortly after that the small motor home we were following along the road stopped and we wondered why and guess what was in the middle of the road blocking the one lane bridge? A live cassowary bird just strutting about! Here is the wooden image and then the real thing! It is quite at LARGE bird! The 1M marker that you see beside it and the Oliver Creek sign is to let drivers know how high the creek is above the road – so that cassowary is at least 1 metre tall!

We then continued our drive up the highway to Cape Tribulation. It was like the road to Hana on Maui at times! Lots of turns and also driving through a cut in some heavy vegetation! Then came the speed bumps! Not sure which brilliant engineer invented them however I think they ran out of concrete when forming the speed bumps and so they decided to “fill” with huge rocks. Well, over the years the concrete has worn away and left what I would call “speed bump rumble” strips! Very interesting to drive over!

Here is my panorama picture of Cape Tribulation Beach –

View of Cape Tribulation Beach – lookout above located in trees around corner to the right

As we are as far north as one can do on the regular road, we are now heading south towards Port Douglas again! I did not know until I saw the sign, that this road is actually called the “Great Barrier Reef Drive” and it goes from Cape Tribulation down to Cairns! Interesting as in the next 24 hours we will be driving the complete 125 km distance!

Along we drove, past some very organized road construction, over some one way bridges over some very peaceful looking rivers, past the Daintree Tea fields and yet more “speed rumble strips” until we got to the Daintree Ice Cream company which was our reward for our excursion of the day! Wow – did they have some GOOD ice cream! I had chocolate coconut while Andrew stuck with the awesome plain chocolate flavour! Now, for the last little bit of our journey being some tourist busses who were also visiting the same Ice Cream stop on their way back from Cape Tribulation!

Back at the Sheraton Port Douglas now, we packed up as we have an EARLY departure for Cairns the next morning! We are taking the Queenslander Train from Cairns to Brisbane which is an overnight train that departs the Cairns Train Station at 7:40 am and gets in the following day at 9 am to Brisbane’s Roma Train station! We are an hour north of Cairns and need to gas up the car and drop it at the airport prior to taking a taxi or Uber to the train station… Departure time? 5am! Time to hit the sack for some quality sleep time – who knows what type of sleep we will get on this train ride tomorrow night!

November 28, 2025 – Australia – Port Douglas – Day at Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort and dinner at Harrisons

November 28, 2025November 30, 2025Lmnei

Lets go for breakfast and show you the where we eat breakfast and how bright and open the area is! For my Celiac friends – that is a gluten free toaster, toast, gluten free bags of Corn Flakes, GF Wheetbix and GF Granola on offer along with a bunch of apples!

Two buffet bars to the left and hot food / omelette station to right

Its time to sit and sweat on the beach! Okay, well not the REAL beach as there are no beach loungers out on 4 Mile Beach or more importantly to me, umbrellas (not the ones that go into the drinks although those would be nice!) to protect me from the EXTREME rating for UV rays that this area of Australia currently is rated, however it is the resort “pool” beach! Yes, in several places they bring in sand and place it at the waters edge and then it goes into the water so it feels like you are at the beach! Wahoo!

The “commute” to the beach was quite short – out around the pool to the other side – if I could walk on water it would have been even faster from our balcony! They had some really nice mesh loungers and HUGE umbrellas stuck into the ground that did not move which was great if there was any wind or breeze at all. Nope, frigging hot day again! We got our pool towels out and sat down and started sweating. I called my parents from the beach lounger and was talking to them, lying on my side, while wearing a tshirt and when I got off the phone Andrew pronounced that I was “sweating a lot”. First a lady perspires! Second – what the dickens was he talking about? My the back of my tshirt was completely soaked and I had done NOTHING but drink water and talk to my parents! Yikes! Very soon after that we ended up getting into the pool to cool down!

The pool water, which was supposed to be salt water, was highly chlorinated! Makes sense as it is a pool! The design of the pool was pretty cool though – the sand sloped down into the pool however it was kept from sloping all the way down by a gentle slope up – which Andrew figured out as he is taller than me – that kept the sand in that area of the pool. Then the pool dropped down in depth to about 6 feet and then back up where the balconies were with the ladders to get in. Interesting design! Here are some pictures:

We were QUITE parched after that sit and sweat and swimming session of a couple of hours and unfortunately the sun was moving and Andrew’s lounger was no longer in the shade! Time to move on. We went to the Pool Bar and got a carafe of water with lemons and sat down to have some nice cold water to drink! We actually had to refill the 1.5 litre carafe again we were both so thirsty! Here are some pictures of where we sat and the area (which I know is not accessible) for the Pool Restaurant. We sat instead in the Lagoon Restaurant area which was closed but then I did not need to go uphill climbing with my walker.

Now back in our room for some cooling down time, we eventually got ready to go for dinner. I had booked reservations as suggested at the hotel’s upscale restaurant called Harrison’s. It is a very well reviewed and rated restaurant in Queensland. Great for a treat! It was a lovely evening walk there and they had a table set up for us right on the lagoon which was great! Only issue with the restaurant? To get to that table required me to go down stairs! They said we could eat in the back corner of the restaurant instead which was a fairly dark area, however the ambiance was just not there! Sitting on a balcony surrounded by water as the sun set sounded MUCH more appealing!

The restaurant indeed was very high end and a special occasion definitely to dine there! While there was more on the menu for Andrew to eat – I quickly narrowed what I wanted for dinner – shrimp on the barbie – Aussie style! I had the 6 huge shrimp along with some brown butter mashed potatoes which I shared with Andrew who had pork tenderloin for dinner. There were quite a few wait staff at the restaurant, however our waitress had a certain “air” about her that I recognized but I could not place. I also could not place her accent but it sounded pretty familiar to me the Aussie slant to it was throwing me off! I finally asked her if she was from Australia and she said “no” and as soon as she said the word “no” I knew what she was going to say next – she was Parisian! It all fit together – she was kind of abrupt with the guests – polite but abrupt like we had experienced in Paris when we were there a few years back and that accent – if you took that Aussie layer away was the same as a person I volunteer with at YVR who is also from Paris! I then addressed her in French and explained we were from Canada which is bilingual and I am a volunteer at YVR airport and I am required to speak “plane” French. (that is not plain – but PLANE as in travelers) She thought that was funny! Off she then went – quickly and as abruptly as she appeared!

Next though she had the dessert menu and “oh la la” she said, there is a “sans glutin” item for me to enjoy! I wish I remember its name though – we think it was called the Volo! It was sheets of meringue, sorbet, fruit and whipped cream. Really it was a pavlova (national dessert of Australia) deconstructed! Andrew got a different desert whose name we cannot remember either however it was something like Mumu! It was basically a ball of cake, which they poured brandy over and lit it on fire!

Okay, so after that dessert session my Libra diabetes alarm was going off quite frequently however it was an AMAZING dinner! We completed the dinner by going to the lobby of the hotel using the GOOD elevator and getting some brochures to where we wanted to take a day trip to tomorrow – Mossman Gorge, Daintree Forest and Cape Tribulation! Looks like I have some planning to do overnight! Join us on our excursion tomorrow to the far north east corner of Queensland also called FNQ!