Happy New Year!

www.ashleycarruthers.com

Welcome To The First Newsletter of 2015

Hello and Happy New Year! It’s been an amazing last month cruising on a few different ships around Australia and Asia. I spent Christmas and New Years Eve on the Azamara Quest cruising through Asia. Currently I am in Vietnam having a coffee and making use of some Wifi!

Before Vietnam I was in Hong Kong, it's an amazing place, it really makes Manhattan feel like a small place! There are over 14,000 buildings in Hong Kong that are over 14 stories high, the harbour is literally surrounded by them. The weather there is much colder than home at the moment. I boarded the Azamara Quest on the 22nd of December in Singapore with my girlfriend Samantha. We headed to the guest drill and I looked across the room only to see my cousin James sitting there with his wife! A complete surprise and it was great to spend Christmas and New Years with some familiar faces along with other friends we’ve made on the cruise. New Year’s Eve was a white themed party on deck whilst the ship was anchored in Hong Kong Harbour for the light show and fireworks.

One of highlights of the cruise was the Azamazing evening in Manila Philippines. It was so well organised and was a free inclusion of the cruise. We were treated to local music, food and at the end a party band and fireworks. Another highlight was HaLong Bay in Vietnam, an amazing place! We ventured inside one of the many pinnacles in the bay and took a tour through an enormous cave. See photos at end of newsletter.

Christmas day was spent in Borneo visiting the Orangutang sanctuary at the Shangri La hotel there. We had a Malaysian lunch and by the end of the tour we were ready to get back to the pool for a swim…but luckily we ran into Santa on the way! The Shangri La hotel is working together with National Park Rangers to care for orphaned Orangutangs.
They have an enormous enclosure and a couple of times a day the Orangutangs come down for feeding which gives tourists a chance to have a look. At the moment they have two young male Orangutang's who were orphaned recently.

On January 3rd Sam and I headed off to Disneyland Hong Kong. Sam and I actually met working for Disney in 2012 so it’s always nice to visit one of the parks. Hong Kong Disney was very similar to Paris Disneyland, not quite as big as the parks in the states but still heaps of fun and a lot newer too! Hong Kong Disney was only opened in 2005.

The night before we boarded the Azamara Quest in Singapore we splurged a little and stayed the night at the Marina Bay Sands hotel. We wanted to stay there purely because of the pool on the roof and it didn’t disappoint. Whilst at Singapore I put a post on Facebook that I was in town, within a minute I had a reply from a great mate of mine from London who was also in town, next thing I know he's in the lobby of our hotel and we had a catch up over a couple of Singapore Slings...note the very excited look on my face at the unexpected catch up below!

I've just checked my phone GPS and in the last 6 months I’ve travelled approximately 275,000KM, visited 20 countries and had a great time doing it. 2015 doesn't look like it’ll slow down either. My agent and I are looking ahead to the coming year and seeing where we can slot in cruises into my remaining gaps. This year will see the release of my first album in the coming months, which will hopefully be followed by the release of my own singles shortly after. I’ve got some weddings to go to in New York and London and hopefully I can combine that with some work and catch ups with friends around the globe. I’ll be seeing some new countries in the coming months including India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and others as I cruise with some new cruise lines for me…Regent Seven Seas, Oceania and Royal Caribbean.

I'm hoping to have my album finished in the next few months. At the moment it is in the post production stage and is in need of mixing and mastering before going to print. I just need to find some time on dry land to get to work on it! I've put a few of my favourite songs from my shows on it and a few more including Great Balls Of Fire, Liberace's Boogie, The Mess Around (Ray Charles) and even a Disney number in there too. Hopefully something for everyone. It's been really fun making it and such a learning curve. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you and I'll be sure to send out an email as soon as it's ready. It'll be available online but also I'd be more than happy to send out a physical copy to anyone who'd prefer that.

I've attached a few photos below from a few of the things I mentioned above and a few I didn't!

I hope 2015 brings everything for you and your family that you hope for, hopefully I’ll see you somewhere on the high seas!

A FEW PHOTOS FROM DEC 2014 AND JAN 2015

HaLong Bay Vietnam.

I want this piano at Tom Lee Music Hong Kong.

Breakfast with a view in Hong Kong.

Beach at the Shangri La Borneo Xmas Day.

Disneyland Hong Kong.

Cave tour, HaLong Bay Vietnam.

Dim Sum Hong Kong..yum.

In the pool at Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore.

Azamara Quest docked at Hong Kong.

Wine Tasting onboard the Azamara Quest.

WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW...

Where am I? HaLong Bay, Vietnam.
Next Ship? 15th January, Voyager Of The Seas RCCL.
Last Ship? Currently onboard the Azamara Quest.
Current Book? Roger Moore's Autobiography
Last movie? Taken 3...action just like the other 2!
Listening to? Taylor Swift 1989 (not afraid to admit it)
Looking forward to? One night in Sydney January 12
Not looking forward to? Packing up the cabin after three weeks onboard.
When am I home next (Newcastle)? 2nd February 2015.

Again thank you for signing up for my newsletter! If you have any questions, suggestion or just want to drop me a line please click the contact button below or send an email to contact@ashleycarruthers.com or if you are a fan of social please feel free to drop by Facebook, Instagram or any of the other options below.

Happy New Year again and all the best for 2015.

Until next time,
Ashley Carruthers.

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