It is around 1,000 miles from Bali to Darwin and we broke the journey at Ashmore reef. This is an area of reef with very small bits of land above sea level, small sandy beaches and palm trees, and extensive reefs just below the surface of the water.

The area is about five miles square. It is Australian territory and patrolled by customs officials and conservation experts. When these officials visited our boat for minor formalities we learned that the night before '16 Afghans were let loose during the night'. My immediate thought was 'Why on earth would someone release 16 bloody great dogs on such a small island?' But he continued his story, saying that smugglers of illegal immigrants take money off these people promising to drop them on Australia.

The first indication of the Afghans' arrival was cooking fires being lit on the beach. When the customs men accosted them, they said: 'Australia?' 'Yes,' is the answer, 'but the big bit is 450 miles south-west of here.' They are taken to Darwin for vetting and most are accepted, few are returned.

The customs men told us the snorkelling here was splendid. They assured us the sea snakes were not a problem. Although venomous, their mouths are too small to bite. During snorkelling I saw two that ignored me completely.

Lighting fires on the beach to cook can have a devastating effect on the turtle population. The heat can affect the sex of the unhatched embryos and may cause too many of one sex or the other, which would drastically effect numbers for several generations.

Bali seems to have more than its fair share of artistic talent: batik (colour printing of material by waxing and dyeing), raffia work, metal work, painting, masonry and wood-carving. This was the best I have ever seen, from statues to furniture to three-dimensional wood pictures. They work with very long, fine chisels. They seem to have a penchant for the phallic symbol and sex features prominently in their art, but so naturally that I could not imagine anyone being offended.

We sailed in convoy through the Indonesian islands because of the threat of piracy. The day after we passed through the Malaka Straits ('Malacca' before Malaysia's independence) a large freight ship was attacked.

The islands, many uninhabited, are green and lush. There are said to be 13,000. If one wanted to vanish from civilisation, this area of the world would be ideal.

On November 3 we crossed from the southern to the northern hemisphere and had a celebration. I proved by experiment that an emptying sink rotates clockwise in the southern hemisphere, not at all on the equator and anti-clockwise on the northern side.

On November 5 we reached Singapore and watched airliners landing and taking off from the international airport, which used to be RAF Changi in the 1960s.

What a superb facility Raffles Marina is! The name 'Raffles' is synonymous with quality on Singapore Island. The marina has a hotel, bowling alley, games machine room, reception hall, air-conditioning, gymnasium, snooker room, squash and tennis courts and three restaurants.

The service was the best we have experienced. The captain welcomed us with free beer and an excellent free meal. The Singapore Times was delivered to each boat every morning. This has to be the best marina in the world. We all thought we had died and woken up in heaven.

I am not a lover of cities, but I must admit I was impressed by Singapore. It has certainly found the answer to traffic. With its tubes and buses it has provided a cheap, efficient public transport system preferable to travelling by car.

The place is litter-free. There are heavy fines for littering, as for many other things. We did not want to leave. Singapore is the only city I would like to re-visit.