To My Fellow Travellers and their Followers

Welcome to my Blog

This is probably the last post I will write before we leave for Singapore, so thank you for looking in. I am posting now because some passengers are setting off early to spend extra time in China or Singapore, whilst others are taking a detour to visit family en route. A further group will join us in Beijing at the start of May. From the 15th April onwards, I will be posting daily with an update of our adventures. I will try to include at least one photo in each blog post and feature as many places and people as I am able to include. Although, I am fundraising for charity in the UK, it costs absolutely nothing to read and follow this blog, so please encourage your friends and family to have a look and maybe register as a followers. We will be travelling with a wide variety of shipboard companions from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and further afield. A minority of passengers will be from the UK, including a group of  'Welsh Dragons'. I already feel I know some of my fellow travellers, and especially our cabin neighbours from Yorkshire, and my new email friend in Colorado. I am particularly grateful to the trip organisers who have spent hours sorting out private tours for us all to enjoy at reasonable cost.

Have a safe journey everyone, enjoy your pre-cruise adventures. See you onboard.
Chris and Claire

DiabetesUK and 50 Bloggin'Days

In  October 2010, I celebrated receipt of my teacher's pension by booking a 'once in a lifetime' trip around the world. The start of this adventure is now less than a month away. Half the distance, admittedly, will be on an aeroplane, but, by the end of May 2012, we will nevertheless have circumnavigated the globe.
In recognition of our good fortune at being able to undertake such a journey, I set up a charity blogging challenge called '50 Bloggin' Days'....the final (and most important) 30 days starting on 13th April 2012. The challenge is to complete the 50 daily blog entries during the trip, keep in touch with family and friends, and see how many readers I can 'armtwist' into making a small donation to DiabetesUk. My target is to raise £1000 by the end of May 2012, possibly aspirational, but I'll give it a go!
The main link with Diabetes is the severity of my husband Chris's condition, which after 30 years leaves him with deteriorating eyesight, no driving license, and a tendency to drop out of consciousness at no notice. It sounds dramatic, but it isn't preventing us from travelling, and the charity DiabetesUK have provided some very useful advice, as well as offering to feature the journey on their website.
If you enjoy the blog, or are just feeling generous, then please visit www.justgiving.com/ClaireBaldry

(The Duck, called Sir Francis, will be travelling with us....watch out for him in the photos)