How To Bypass Kerberos(kinit) Authentication

Whenever you try to setuid and impersonate as someone else to run something, it is very likely that you will run into kerberos/kinit issues. Example:-

userA:> ssh_as_userB hostC 'someCmd'

This happens because when userA tries to impersonate as userB, and tries to run something from 'hostC' , userB isn't authenticated (yet) at 'hostC', and thus, it requires password authentication from userB (the kerberos/kinit thingie)

Solution #1

In order to prevent it from asking for a password, we can ask userB to ssh to 'hostC'. Once this is done, hostC now has confirmed authentication from userB, and thus, running this command again from userA will now no longer prompt for password:-

userA:> ssh_as_userB hostC 'someCmd'

Solution #2

However, that solution isn't always gonna make sense. We sometimes need to run the command without the need to key in password. Here's what we can do (in layman terms):-

1. create an encrypted password file for userB (keytab)
2. every time, before running any command, we auto-login(kinit) userB with that password file, then only we run the command.

By doing so, we can be sure that the command will not prompt for password anymore (of course unless the password in the keytab file is incorrect :P)

Here's how to do it

###############################
#### To Generate keytab #######
###############################
>ktutil
ktutil: addent -password -p userB@GAR.CORP.INTEL.COM -k 1 -e rc4-hmac
Password for userB@GAR.CORP.INTEL.COM:
ktutil: addent -password -p userB@GAR.CORP.INTEL.COM -k 1 -e aes256-cts
Password for userB@GAR.CORP.INTEL.COM:
ktuil: wkt /nfs/site/home/userB/keytab
ktutil: quit

###############################
##### To run a command ########
###############################

userA:> ssh_as_userB hostC 'unset KRB5CCNAME; /usr/bin/X11/kinit userB@GAR.CORP.INTEL.COM -k -t /nfs/site/home/userB/keytab; "someCmd" '

 

 

setuid as someone (ssh as someone)

/* This binary is intended to be a setuid script wrapper for dbRsync.pl.

   

Usage:-

   >gcc setuid_swap.c -o newfilename

   >chmod 4755 newfilename

*/

int main(int ac, char **av) {

    int uid;

    uid = geteuid();

    setreuid(uid, uid);

    execv( "/usr/bin/ssh", av );

}

How To Run ANY COMMAND As The Owner Of The Script (setuid)

1. Save the below code as file a.c

    int main(int ac, char **av) {
        int uid;
        uid = geteuid();
        setreuid(uid, uid);

        char **arguments = av + 1;
        system(*arguments);

        return 0;
    }

2. As userA, compile it, ie

    gcc a.c -o aaa

3. As userA, set the sticky bit, ie

    chmod 4755 aaa

4. now you can run any command as UserA, like this:

    >aaa 'whoami'
    userA

    >aaa 'touch file1'
    >ls -al file1
    -rw-r----- 1 userA group

How To Create A Wrapper Script With Customized Environment

When working in a team, everyone will have to conform and work in a same environment. But there are times that, a certain script of yours needs a different environment in order to run. An example would be, everyone in the team has their python version set to 2.7.13. But for some reason, you have a python script that will only work with python 3. Having a wrapper script that customize the environment before running your script would solve this issue. Here's how the wrapper script will look like

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#!/bin/tcsh -f setenv BNR_PATH /some/special/path/ setenv BNR_BIN /another/special/path/bin setenv BNR_ROOT /special/root/path /path/to/your/script.py $argv:q

How To Post Codes In Blogs As Html Using Pygmentize

https://pygments.org/download/


For Command Line Help:-

>pygmentize -h
>pygmentize -H

To see all available lexer (language supported), formatter, etc ...

>pygmentize -L

To see all Options available for HTML formatter:-

>pygmentize -H formatter html

To convert lines of codes into html format so that u can post it to a blog:-

>cat report_waiverfile_errors.py | pygmentize -l python -f html -O noclasses

To include line numbers:-

>cat report_waiverfile_errors.py | pygmentize -l python -f html -O 'noclasses,linenos'

To Highlight certain lines:-

>cat report_waiverfile_errors.py | pygmentize -l python -f html -O 'noclasses,linenos,hl_lines="12 13 14 15 16 17"'

Example:-

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#!/usr/bin/env python import os import sys #sys.path.insert(0, '/nfs/site/disks/da_infra_1/users/yltan/depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python') import logging import dmx.tnrlib.waiver_file LOGGER = logging.getLogger() def main(): wf = dmx.tnrlib.waiver_file.WaiverFile() wf.load_from_file(sys.argv[1]) if __name__ == "__main__": logging.basicConfig(format='[%(asctime)s] - %(levelname)s-[%(module)s]: %(message)s', level=logging.DEBUG) main()

Fromatting Perforce Output For Simple Scripting

Perforce has a global option -ztag




If you run a normal perforce command like this

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p4 files -m3 ... //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/__init__.py#1 - add change 4491003 (text+kx) //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/audit_check.py#57 - edit change 5716075 (text+kx) //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/css/style.css#1 - branch change 4757380 (text+k)

With the -ztag ...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

p4 -ztag files -m3 ... ... depotFile //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/__init__.py ... rev 1 ... change 4491003 ... action add ... type text+kx ... time 1473325143 ... depotFile //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/audit_check.py ... rev 57 ... change 5716075 ... action edit ... type text+kx ... time 1556850031 ... depotFile //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/css/style.css ... rev 1 ... change 4757380 ... action branch ... type text+k ... time 1494905434

Now, say, I'd like to have perforce report out the following info in 3 columns, separated by :::, like this

1	depotFile ::: revision ::: type

All I need to do is run the following:-

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p42 -ztag -F "%depotFile% ::: %rev% ::: %type%" files -m3 ... //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/__init__.py ::: 1 ::: text+kx //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/audit_check.py ::: 57 ::: text+kx //depot/da/infra/dmx/main/lib/python/dmx/tnrlib/css/style.css ::: 1 ::: text+k

... and here you go :)

Europe Trip 2018

2018 Europe Trip - Prelude @ Singapore International Airport DAY 01: 1/Jun (Fri)

Prelude - long vacation starts from Singapore International Airport 🇸🇬 Ming fetched us to airport. PIA definitely needs improvement on F&B choice in international hall. Spent ~1hr flying with Silk Air, reached around 9:40 pm. Connecting flight at 1:20am. Impressively found butterfly garden inside Singapore Airport T3. Unfortunately it was too late to have butterflies greeting us on that night. Met S gang straight at boarding gate around 12:30am. First time experiencing ~12hrs long haul flight, which I would rate SIA offers better food than Cathay Pacific, cabin crews are very efficient. We were given complimentary earphone which comes with different ear plug sizes (PS: Iike the idea of non recycled earphones for personal hygiene reason), in flight socks & dental kit. Experience learnt that aisle seat is more convenient for long haul flight as we can easily move around during the journey without disturbing others.

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155308016327312&type=3

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2018 Europe Trip - Zurich > Lucern, Switzerland - Part2

Photo1: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155308034962312&type=3
Photo2: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155308058907312&type=3

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2018 Europe Trip: Rome > Florence, Italy 🇮🇹 _Part1 DAY 07: 7/Jun (Thu) Rome > Florence, Italy

Went to one Cafe to have breakfast & coffee, then left for Florence. Oh, Florence is totally different from Rome, at least the places we passed by are so well maintained and clean. I love this place 👍 Checked in to Casa Mia hotel (€80 per night +€4 for 2 pax city tax). We got a deluxe room and it's quite a nice hotel except for the basin at toilet got stuck. Friendly front desk staff, breakfast included, we can get water refilled at the cafeteria too. Lunch at one of the Market area food court, tried pizza, pasta, sausage, gnocchi, fried onion. Bought €13 ticket per person to visit bell tower which made us walked up 414 steps to reach the top, appreciating art work inside the church, museum. Unfortunately we didn't manage to visit duom domo as the reservation was full until Sunday. Spent €223 for a nice dinner for 8 pax at Trattoria 4 Leoni. We didn't make reservation, luckily the restaurant manager manager to find a table to fit 8 of us. Ordered octopus, mixed seafood platter, 1.5kg steak, salads and red wine. They offered complimented starter sparkling wine before the meal. Very satisfying meal 😗😗😗 After dinner, we hopped over to Gelato shop opposite the restaurant, it's definitely a hidden jewel in Florence as it has very nice pistachio and Cafe Gelato. You can see this shop won some Gelato recognition since 2017. Ma ma mia 😍😍😍 We walked to Ponte Vecchio, someone baskeering at the bridge, Lionel gave him some coins while enjoying his performance. When walking back to hotel, we passed by a David statue (not the real one by Michelangelo), took some wefie then back to hotel. GTO, H&M, ASK finally got the chance to enjoy cup noodles 😁😁😁

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2018 Europe Trip - Luzern > Mt. Titlis, Switzerland 🇨🇭 DAY 03: 3/Jun (Sun) Mt. Titlis, Engelberg, Switzerland 🇨🇭

Woke up 5:30am and wore couples of layers to get ready for Mt. Titlis. Bought some pastries and coffee at Backmann for breakfast again. It took around ~40mins train ride from Luzern to Engelberg. Nice weather which wasn't too windy and no rain. Public toilets at train station and tourist info counter usually needs to pay, it costs CHF1 per time. There is shuttle bus service from station to cable car ticketing center, yet walking is better choice as you can enjoy scenery during the walk. It's ~600m from Engelberg station to Mt. Titlis cable car ticketing center and entrance. Cooling weather & nice scenery. With Europass, we are entitled for 30% discount for cable car ticket, so we paid ~€130 for 2 pax. The ride consists of 2 types of cable car. 1st part each cabin fits up to 6 people. It stops half way which you may alight to stroll at lake area. We chose to go up straight to Mt. Titlis before it gets crowded. 2nd part is shorter one which offers paranomic view by having cabin rotates 360° angle. Upon arriving, we visited glacier cave which is - 1°C and making you feel like walking inside freezer. Afterwards, we go to canopy walk and the view is breath taking. The bridge gets shaking if too many people walking on it at same time. We took a lot of pictures there. Then we walked around the Mt. Titlis area before going for lunch. Lunch @ Titlis Panorama Restaurant. 6 pax ordered for pizza, Rosti, pasta. After lunch we left Mt. Titlis. We stopped by half way when coming down from the hill, took a stroll and photo session before leaving Engelberg ~3pm. Back to hotel and rest until 7pm then we took a stroll at Old Town area, visited Chapel Bridge and started to look for a place for dinner. Went to the ship restaurant, but could see much choice in their menu. Before settling down for dinner, We had some Gelato €3.50 for 2 flavor - pistachio and Cafe. Dinner at Mr. Pickwick Pub. Lionel ordered Indian vegetarian bread set and shared with me, we pair the meal with Erdinger beer. Mr. Pickwick Pub Rathausquai 6 | 6004, Lucerne 6004, Switzerland Went home around 9:30pm and do some final packing before going to bed.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155311154522312.1073741855.576862311&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM3oNm8TJfY&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=3&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Luzern 🇨🇭 > Tirano > Varenna, Italy _Part1 DAY 04: 4/Jun (Mon) Lucern, Switzerland > Tirano, Italy > Varenna, Italy

Sunrise ~5:30am ; Sunset ~9pm Woke up at 4:30am and checked out hotel at 5:30am to catch shuttle bus at 5:44am to go to Luzern train station. Again, we all went to Bachmann for some pastries & coffee take aways. Boarded to train and go on Bernina Express train ride. The seat reservation is required for Bernina Express train ride. The scenery is awesome just that a lot of electricity posts and transmission towers seen along the journey. Anyway, it worths a try as we captured a lot of picturesque scenery. Lionel didn't enjoy much due to motion sickness, so he slept thru the journey basically. Lesson learnt, I better buy the usually motion sickness pills that works on him next time rather than getting from clinic. There some refreshments sold in the train and we saw many local people are taking grappa as it was a bit chilling when we stopped by a small station for pictures. After completing Bernina Express train ride, we changed to another local train when reaching Italy border. Quite an old train compared to the ones we had in Switzerland, but the cabin is fully occupied by 6 of us 😂. Lionel slowly got better from his motion sickness after catching some fresh air when transit to Italian local train. Reached Varenna after ~1hr. Checked in Baretta hotel. Very friendly and helpful staff although some of them don't really speak English. It's OK as we can communicate using body language. We personally think that Italians are more friendly than Swiss. Lunch @ III Binario restaurant at Varenna Station. Tried crepe and dumpling pasta, Kaytee and black coffee. We all spent happily as the cost is much lower in Italy, just give you an idea, 1 black coffee (Cafe creme) costs CHF3.20 in Lucern, yet it is only €1.50 in Varenna. Settled down for 30mins and we walked up to Castello Di Vezio. 2km distance took us around 1hr to reach by walking up hillside. Tiring but satisfying trip. Entrance ticket costs €4 per person and it opens until 7pm that day. Took some pictures and went down via another steeper slope shortcut. Met a Japanese lady who was preaching near the castle. After the castle, we walked along the lake Como and explored the city. Sat down at one of the restaurant for some drinks (ordered Virgin Mojito, hot chocolate) & snacks (cheese platter). As time approaching 8pm, yet all of us still not hungry, we decided to go back hotel to rest.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155314875292312&type=3
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155314175547312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAoRSrj28TQ&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=4&t=0s
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnV10QQ1mSM&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=5&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Varenna > Rome, Italy_Part1 DAY 05: 5/Jun (Tue) - Part1 Varenna > Rome, Italy Sunrise ~5:30am ; Sunset ~9pm

Woke up ~5:45am and went for morning stroll with H&M ~7am. Breezy morning and barely seeing people in the street at that hour. We walked around Greenway dei Patriarchi, watching how the local live their simple life, enjoying the ducklings swimming or chasing, what a beautiful morning. Passed by real estate agency, the listed property costs from €95k ~ €650k, always finds it interesting to survey different countries property prices. Back to hotel and had breakfast ~8:30am. Nice pastries, cheese & ham platter, yogurt, coffee, highly recommended cozy place to stay at. Departed from Varenna and headed to Rome. Upon arrival, it's quite unpleasant to see dogs poo everywhere and urine smells. That's also the day ASK started joining us, yay 🤗🤗🤗 Took a while to locate the hotel but very convenient location and near to termini. It's an old building which has an elevator that you've seen from Sharlock Holmes movie. Slow but it helps a lot when we need to send up those bulky luggages to 2nd floor. The receptionist is a young friendly man who tried his best to meet our requests. There are 5 rooms at 2F which we already occupied 4 of them. Spacious room, dim lighting, shampoo, shower gel and hair dryer are provided. The receptionist kept reminding us not to things other than toilet papers into toilet bowl, guess they encountered a lot of cases of causing the toilet stuck. My room had cigerrate smell, I think tha T could be the reason of they let my room windows open when we checked in. Settled down and we went out to Coloseum station, the Coloseum is just outside the station, there are armed army forces guarding the area, very touristy and of course all of us kept an eye of each others to ensure no pick pocket would dare to come near to us. Then heading to late lunch early dinner, had pizza, pasta, lagsane. Learnt a new dish which is burrata salad, means salad comes with Buffalo milk cheese, not salty at all. The waiter there offered complimentary lemoncello liquor at the end of our meal. After the meal, some went for a walk at termini and some went for coffee near the place we stayed. Breakfast at McD, tried chocolate and plain croissant. Then took. €1.50 train per person to Coloseum termini to meet out day tour guide, Julie. A post graduate student who is doing her 2nd degree i.e. Fine arts & History, she did excellent job throughout the day. Very informative and she took very well care of us. **will add in our tour itinerary later** Back to hotel to bath and went out for pizza & pasta for dinner again.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155317562087312&type=3
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155317644572312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvZmnMwNzQ4&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=6&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Rome > Florence, Italy 🇮🇹 _Part1 DAY 07: 7/Jun (Thu) Rome > Florence, Italy

Went to one Cafe to have breakfast & coffee, then left for Florence. Oh, Florence is totally different from Rome, at least the places we passed by are so well maintained and clean. I love this place 👍 Checked in to Casa Mia hotel (€80 per night +€4 for 2 pax city tax). We got a deluxe room and it's quite a nice hotel except for the basin at toilet got stuck. Friendly front desk staff, breakfast included, we can get water refilled at the cafeteria too. Lunch at one of the Market area food court, tried pizza, pasta, sausage, gnocchi, fried onion. Bought €13 ticket per person to visit bell tower which made us walked up 414 steps to reach the top, appreciating art work inside the church, museum. Unfortunately we didn't manage to visit duom domo as the reservation was full until Sunday. Spent €223 for a nice dinner for 8 pax at Trattoria 4 Leoni. We didn't make reservation, luckily the restaurant manager manager to find a table to fit 8 of us. Ordered octopus, mixed seafood platter, 1.5kg steak, salads and red wine. They offered complimented starter sparkling wine before the meal. Very satisfying meal 😗😗😗 After dinner, we hopped over to Gelato shop opposite the restaurant, it's definitely a hidden jewel in Florence as it has very nice pistachio and Cafe Gelato. You can see this shop won some Gelato recognition since 2017. Ma ma mia 😍😍😍 We walked to Ponte Vecchio, someone baskeering at the bridge, Lionel gave him some coins while enjoying his performance. When walking back to hotel, we passed by a David statue (not the real one by Michelangelo), took some wefie then back to hotel. GTO, H&M, ASK finally got the chance to enjoy cup noodles 😁😁😁

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155317699542312&type=3
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155317842762312.1073741880.576862311&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgKoXi_OLc&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=7&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Florence > Venice, Italy 🇮🇹 DAY 08: 8/Jun (Fri) Florence, Italy

Woke up ~5:30am, get ready for breakfast. We deposited luggage at Firenze station, costs €6 per bag for 1st six hour then paid €13 per person a round trip to go premium outlet The Mall. It was 1hr+ bus ride including traffic. Shops are scattered, the most popular ones are Gucci & Prada with long queue. Bought some Prada & Tod's. The queue to pay at Prada was 1.5hrs, OMG. Then went to tax refund lounge to process refund, luckily H&M already there to take number and we just joined in to process the transaction. You must have a credit card printed in the same name as your passport and they don't accept debit card, else they can't help you to process at the counter there and you need to do it at airport. You must ensure getting the tax refund documents stamped at airport, else they will charge you back the refund. Had done quick lunch at dot.com Cafe, then we left The Mall. Collected luggages from the deposit counter and then took 5:30pm train to Venice. In fact there isn't train station inside Venice city, we alighted at one station which is 15mins bus ride distance from Venice. Checked in to Hotel and went for McD as dinner. The neighborhood of the hotel is surrounded by many foreign immigrants / workers it seems. Interesting yo see so many different nationality can mix in same neighborhood. Then went back hotel to rest.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155317924652312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXCmZTtMZdk&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=8&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Venice, Italy 🇮🇹 DAY 09: 9/Jun (Sat) Venice, Italy

Checked out hotel ~8am, took a 15mins bus ride to Venice city. There is no tram nor train direct to Venice, so we took shuttle bus. When arrived at the bus terminal, we have to change to another LRT - Pepople mover to access to the port. We were lucky enough to reach the port early which we checked in luggages and got number group 3 for cruise check in at 12:30pm onwards. When we walked out from the port, we approached on money changer to try enquire the rate for Japanese Yen to Euro, came to our surprise the rate was extreme low, ie ~¥121 + ~17% service charge for €1. We decided not taking the deal since it's too low. Then we took speed boat to Venice center. Luckily Lionel manage to take one seasick pill before departure, else I'm sure he will be ended up nauseous. Things ain't cheap at Venice. Had a brunch at Florian Cafe, spent €271 for 8 pax for a brunch (sandwiches & coffee only), which the bill included €6 per pax for the music fee (we didn't know sitting outside will have to pay for this music fee as there are band playing musics while you enjoying the meal), Gondole ride costs around €80 which we didn't try since Lionel will not be able to enjoy it, a simple postcard costs €1 vs Santorini €0.30, etc. Many shops selling venetician masks, colorful stones, fountain pen. I bought a set of feather fountain pen to add on to my collection 💕 @ €15 which comes with 2 types of nibs. When time approaching 12:30pm, we went to Port for check in.... The security crew will take a device with strong flash to snap your headshot. That's the part I don't like it as it hurts my eyes. Arhhhh.. Finally we are on the cruise. Our room doesn't have balcony, the room is decent and just nice for 2. As expected, it's like a maze and we took a while to familiarize the cruise map. Cabin steward by the name of Ilham came greeted us and took down special requests from us. Very friendly and made us feel like at home. Then we went up to level 9 for buffet. The went up to top deck to see the ship sailing out from the Venice port. We also went for a so so magic show which LG felt asleep and got caught by the magician. After the sow, everyone went back to rest.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155321569292312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-x_EWdQKok&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=9&t=0s
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXVscvndYcY&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=10&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Bari, Italy 🇮🇹 DAY 10: 10/Jun (Sun) Bari, Italy - Costa Cruise Excursion

Code: 0116 Length: 5 hours Difficulty level: Hard Type: Cultural Description An excursion dedicated entirely to Matera, the so-called "città dei Sassi" (literally "city of stones", its cave dwellings being dug out of the rock), which was declared both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and European capital of culture for 2019, to discover its exceptional historical, artistic and cultural heritage and its wholesome, authentic folk. Alleys and dwellings dug out of limestone "Sassi" and rock-hewn churches with frescoes Left the port of Bari by coach for Matera, an ancient city of prehistoric origins that will amaze us with its exceptional artistic and cultural heritage. We started our tour of the city, accompanied by our local guide, walking through alleys and dwellings dug out of the limestone, retracing the life of Man from the Stone Age to the present. We then proceed with our excursion to discover the so-called "Sassi", ancient quarters of the city that are steeped in archaic charm. They are an example of an urban structure that is not found anywhere else in the world, and have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, there are also more than a hundred cave churches. As we walk around the "Sassi" we experience the same enchanting atmosphere that so inspired the American actor and director, Mel Gibson, in 2004 that it convinced him to choose Matera, a city in the heart of the Basilicata region, as the set for his colossal film “The Passion of the Christ”. The tour of the Città dei Sassi involved walking over rough terrain.The journey from Bari to Matera takes approximately 1 hour. In case of heavy traffic, the excursion may last approximately 30 minutes longer.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155324787282312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-9_RIFDaNQ&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=11&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Kelafonia - Argostli, Greece 🇬🇷 DAY 11: 11/Jun (Mon) Kelafonia - Argostli, Greece

Costa Excursion Code: 00KE_PREMIUM EXPERIENCE: THE WONDERS OF KEFALONIA Length: 5 hours Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Cultural Family Friendly Description An intriguing itinerary to discover the wonders of Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands: from the enchanting Drogarati caves to the Melissani Lake, one of the most beautiful underground caves in the world. Mount Ainos Drogarati Caves Melissani Lake As the coach left the port, we were treated to splendid panoramic glimpses as we made our way up to Mount Ainos, and on to the Drogarati Caves. An unforgettable experience awaits us: a flight of steps leads us to a breathtaking vision of magical stalactites and stalagmites in an almost unreal atmosphere. Concerts are often held in the larger chamber, which is blessed with extraordinary acoustics. It has also seen a performance by the Divine: Maria Callas. Our tour continued towards the Melissani Lake: an underground lake, where the turquoise water is lit by the sun's rays. An artificial tunnel leads us down to the lake, where we climb aboard a small rowing boat to admire this incredible sight of nature. Ancient relics from the Minoan culture have been found in the cave, which used to be the place of worship of the god Pan. Before leaving the cave, we immersed ourselves in the enchanted atmosphere and admired the numerous stalactites and stalagmites. On our way back, we had a brief photo stop for a final glimpse of the cobalt blue sea and the beach of Myrtos. Again, the English language group that we signed to for was co-joint with Deutsch group. 2 guides were taking turn to explain the tour in respective language which most of the time we didn't enjoy such language switching. Also came to our surprise, our guide was asking us whether still wanted to go Melissani Lake before departure, I'm curious if we don't want to go there, where else she wpukd bring us to? 🤔🤔🤔😅😅😅 ps: Melissani Lake is one of the highlights in this excursion, guess no one will want to skip since we paid premium rate to visit. We spent 1.5hrs to queue for taking boat at Melissani Lake, which everyone had to queue under hot sun. The boat ride was less than 10mins, the boatman did his best to introduce the lake, also helped us to take some pictures, ended up we gave him some tips as appreciation.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155328559617312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7CQqbP00so&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=12&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Santorini, Greece 🇬🇷 DAY 12: 12/Jun (Tue) Santorini, Greece

Temperature ~31°C Costa Excursion Code: 1919_OIA VILLAGE - AFTERNOON Length: 4.5 hours Difficulty level: Easy Type: Sightseeing Good For Shopping Get lost among the narrow streets of Oia, marvel at the whiteness of its houses and discover its fragrances, relaxed atmosphere and traditional shops. Reality will exceed your imagination on this unique excursion. The caldera Oia Fira We travelled by motor boat to the port of Athinios, where a waiting coach took us to the northern end of the island to visit the spellbinding town of Oia. En route, admired the breath-taking landscapes of the caldera, the volcanic crater now submerged by the sea, surrounded by the high cliffs of Santorini. Our guide showed us the village's most interesting sights. We ventured into the wonderful marble-paved alleyways that wind up and down, lined with the typical ochre-coloured houses with blue domed roofs that characterise the island. The village surprised us with its peerless panoramic views of the neighbouring islands of Folegandros and Sikinos, as well as the now extinct volcano. After browsing the shops, where we're sure to find something original, we will set off again, this time for Fira. We strolled through the island's capital, its narrow streets lined with typical white houses, and, after admiring the stunning panoramic views, we will take an unusual form of transport back to the port: a cable car! We saw some couples shooting pee wedding bridal photos there, ust imagine how challenging for the photographers to capture the shots when the places were crowded everywhere. During taking cable car, there was a group of KLK trying to cut into our line, many were staring at them so they didn't persist. Anyway, we saw them still managed to squeezed behind of us. The cable car cabin fits 6 passengers at one time. Quite a short ride and it's very steep. Finally, another of my bucket list is checked ✔️

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155328597862312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkQk4vBa9M4&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=13&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Mykonos, Greece 🇬🇷 DAY 13: 13/Jun (Wed) Mykonos, Greece - Free & Easy

Temperature ~30°C It's wise choice not following excursion tour organized by the cruise agency today. We all had breakfast at Taurus restaurant for the first time, food & drinks offering are same as 9F buffet restaurant, the ambience is more comfortable than 9F buffet restaurant. It's a sunny and windy day. Bought bus tickets at the selling booth, then we took shuttle to visit Windmills, spotted some cats & some dogs around that area. Then went to Platis Gialos beach, spent €15 for beer & €10 a coke to get sitting at the bar and watching the guys soaking in the crystal clear sea. There are many small fishes swimming and they don't seem afraid of the crowds at the beach. After beach session, went to have lunch at Nikos Gallop Restaurant. The food and service are awesome. Very friendly staff and we rated them ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. We love their seafood spaghetti and fish cooked with salt. The owner even offer complimentary desert drinks. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g659660-d3443554-Reviews-Nikos_Gallop_Restaurant-Platys_Gialos_Mykonos_Cyclades_South_Aegean.html

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155328643492312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TazczNcXxw&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=14&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Katakolon - Olympia, Greece 🇬🇷 DAY 14: 14/Jun (Thu) Katakolon - Olympia, Greece

Costa Excursion Code: 0842_A SOUVENIR FROM ANCIENT OLYMPIA Length: 4 hours Difficulty level: Moderate Type: Cultural Good For Shopping Family Friendly Description What better way to create the perfect alchemy between the origins of history, the ethics of sport at its very beginnings, ancient culture, the great classical myths and the modern world? Our excursion will offer us a chance to get to know all these aspects in one single place: Olympia which invloved 1.5hrs walking. Ancient Olympia: archaeological excavations and ancient squares Modern Olympia In Olympia a guide awaits us who led us in our discovery of this ancient sacred city, full of temples, monuments, priests' houses, athletes' homes and public buildings. A gem set in a valley crossed by the River Alfios in the north-west Peloponnese, the city held the famous Olympic Games in honour of Zeus every four years. Here in 776 BC, a list of winners was drawn up for the first time, presumably the results of the very first Olympics in history. As we strolled around ancient Olympia amongst the archaeological excavations, it felt as though we could still hear the spectators shouting to encourage the athletes and breathe the festive atmosphere which accompanied those 5, very long days, during which the best athletes challenged each other in the various sports: wrestling matches, charriot and horse races, the pentathlon and pankration (a primitive form of boxing). Let's delve into the past and discover the little secrets of the competition, which was first accessible only for male athletes of Greek origin and was later opened up to young Romans. Perhaps not everyone knows that women and slaves were banned from the town, the sanctuaries and the terraces, at the risk of a terrible death by being thrown from a nearby cliff. Then, we stopped in the ancient squares, where traders and citizens once met to carry out their business. At the end of our guided tour, we had to wake up from the spell of the past and return to reality if we're not to miss the chance of discovering the streets of modern Olympia. We can taste a typical, strong, Greek coffee, savour a cool glass of Ouzo or, if we wish, pick up a souvenir to remind us back home of a piece of history which, for a few intensely emotional hours, made us live a dream. Initially we wanted to cancel this excursion as we didn't enjoy much during the past 2 ones. We had to wait for tour guides to introduce places using dual languages and most of the time we could catch the ascent. However, Olympia tour guide has better English ascent yet we still had to wait for Costa crew to translate all his words into Russian as it became a bi-lingual tour again 😪😪😪 The time spent in Olympia archaeological site was too short, half of the time wasted waiting for Costa tour to translate to Russian 😩😩😩 After the archaeological site, the tour dropped us at the town for drinks and shopping at own cost. Bought some souvenirs. The bus drove us back to the port. 6 of us went to a restaurant for lunch. Then do some shopping around the areas then back to cruise. It's Gala night at the cruise. We dressed up for dinner at Taurus Restaurant. They served complimentary champagne and the captain and chefs came out to greet us.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155328806702312&type=3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKJHYYlImSY&list=PLF_CqFyF1RC1CeiHoyHSrl8Fuoo535sKs&index=15&t=0s

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2018 Europe Trip: Whole day cruising Day 15: 15/Jun Cruising whole day

Went having breakfast at Taurus Restaurant after we found out they offered pre-order menu. The Benedict egg was nice. After breakfast, we went for disembarkation briefing to understand the procedure. When you are at sea whole day, only 2 things you can do, i.e eat and gamble 😆😆😆 Half of us went playing roulette and some playing slot machines. Then lunch buffet at 9F. Most of them liked the fried chicken and Lionel likes optopus. Then everyone went back to respective cabins to do some packing. 😭 😭 😭 That also undi acted the holiday is going to end soon.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155329397277312&type=3


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2018 Europe Trip: Venice > Milan, Italy 🇮🇹 Day 16: 16/Jun Disembarked from Costa Luminosa at Venice port

Woke up 6am and went to disco deck for final cash bill settlement. This time we did quite well budget control which we still got €4.70 credit refund. The process was fast, then we went back to room and found that Ilham had already made the bed and clear the fridge for us. We checked out the room at 8am, went to give Ilham €5 tops as gratitude. Afterwards, we went to meet the rest of us at Taurus Restaurant for breakfast before disembarkation. The process of disembarkation was fast and pretty easy to claim our baggages at port terminal, our luggage tags were in S group black color. After came out from cruise, we went to take People Mover to go and took shuttle to train terminal and bought ticket to go Milano station. Had quick lunch at train station during waiting time. The train took 2hrs 15mins from Venice to Milano. Walking 3mins to Canova Hotel, after checked in hotel, we went to Carefeur Express then visited Crazy Cat Cafe which is only 3 mins walking distance from hotel. The rest stayed at hotel to watch World Cup Argentina vs Iceland (final score 1:1). The cafe per pax cover charge is €1. We ordered a strawberry milkshake, an chocolate affogato, chocolate biscuits, total bill was €13.50. This cafe offers vegan menu too. The cats are fat and having their afternoon naps. Although the area we stayed seems quiet, could be due to it was Saturday, the cat cafe biz was really good and need to queue for entry. 5:30pm we met the rest for dinner. There is a Penny Market near the hotel, things seems cheap there. Dinner at one restaurant opposite hotel. Linguine with seafood tasted nice there. Then we continued to walk to another 24/7 Carefeur. Back to hotel to rest and some went down to watch another World Cup game Croatia vs Nigeria...

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.ho.9279/media_set?set=a.10155331282867312&type=3