Thoughts from home

Coming home is always lovely, though having been away for six weeks, it's also quite a challenge too! Not only is there the jet lag, there's a strange feeling of being back to normal. No longer can I leave a bag of laundry outside my room and find the contents of the bag magically washed, pressed and back hanging in my wardrobe less than 24 hours later. I don't have a menu to choose from at mealtimes and there seems to be just the two of us on this Trivia team now.

We went up on the top deck after dinner that last night on board and counted our blessings.

We'd had a wonderful time since leaving home, seen some remarkable places and done some truly amazing things. We've been utterly spoiled by a team of delightful people whose smiles and perpetual good humour are legendary. Not only that, but we have been in great company the whole time, from the moment we arrived on board and sat down to lunch on that first day. Steve, sitting at the next table said he'd been saving that place for us and by the way, did we do Trivia? That was the start of further fun, of course! Later, we looked forward to reaching Papeete where we knew we'd be joined by friends we've known for years, too. It was hard to say goodbye in Sydney then, but a little easier knowing that we can look forward to seeing them again at some point!

But this time, two of those wonderful Regent staff are very much in my mind today. One of them joined Mariner in Auckland and though we'd not met her before, she was instantly someone we'd look out for, chat to and whose company we enjoyed. As I usually do, I asked where her home was and when the answer came back “Ukraine”, my heart was immediately with her. We chatted about her home city of Odessa for a short while; about the Potemkin Steps - “all gone”, until the thoughts became too much and the tears imminent. At that point I'd have loved to have given her a hug, but given the circumstances, she simply continued with her work, acknowledging that my thoughts were very much with her.

Returning home to the news of the earthquake in Mandalay then, I immediately thought of the happy days we spent in Myanmar, in particular in that city, where we'd ended a journey on the Ayerwady river. During our time on Mariner, we met a young Sommelier we have known for several years and whose home in in Myanmar. As soon as we spotted him on board, he came over with a cheery “Mingalabar!” and needless to say, I have spent the last couple of days thinking about him and his family and friends, hoping that all is well but knowing that he must be incredibly concerned too.

We never forget that these and many other young staff members spend so long away from their homes and families and we love to chat to them when we can. When I was writing this post I felt more privileged than ever, not only to have spent time in their company but also, to be safely home and be with my friends and family. We missed you all!