October 17, 2010
We spent the day in Bangkok. The city is a bit tired and buildings seemed to be streaked with mold. We toured the Grand Palace which was well, grand. Lots of gold, gems, mosaics, Buddhas and tons and tons of people. We also took a really crazy ride down the Grand Canal on some kind of flat bottom boat. We went quite fast spraying water as we went. At one point we stopped to feed the fish which were very large and evidently very hungry. We passed on riding the "tuk-tuk", sort of a motor bike with a passenger wagon attached. We also didn't see any "lady-boys", at least I don't think we did.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Singapore
We love Singapore! I actually went to the Fish Spa until it freaked me out. BT took photos so we have proof of little fish nibbling on my feet. Then we had an ice cream sandwich. That means they slice off a slab of ice cream and stick it between white bread. It is a "sandwich" and really tasty. The city is beautiful with wide boulevards, lined with trees and lush foliage, massive shopping centers, great architecture, stairs, escalators, sculptures, fountains, lots of people, etc. Really awesome.
We had a Singapore Sling at Raffles a great plantation type place where the drink was invented. We also went to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel which you should google to see the infinity pool on the roof. Pretty wild. We saw Merlion, the symbol of the city, the Esplanade, the Double Helix Bridge, etc. We were on the route of the Gran Prix and saw the Fullerton Hotel which is always visible during the race. We spent some time in Chinatown which was really great with pretty shop houses. It started to pour when we were there and Brian ducked into a weird little place for a beer where the owner told him "short rain, short rain". It actually lasted quite awhile so we headed for a taxi.
It is polluted here because the Indonesian farmers are burning the rain forest and the smoke headed to Singapore. Other than that, it is fantastic. We leave tomorrow and our next stop is La Paloma, via Hong Kong and LAX. This has been a trip of a lifetime.
We had a Singapore Sling at Raffles a great plantation type place where the drink was invented. We also went to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel which you should google to see the infinity pool on the roof. Pretty wild. We saw Merlion, the symbol of the city, the Esplanade, the Double Helix Bridge, etc. We were on the route of the Gran Prix and saw the Fullerton Hotel which is always visible during the race. We spent some time in Chinatown which was really great with pretty shop houses. It started to pour when we were there and Brian ducked into a weird little place for a beer where the owner told him "short rain, short rain". It actually lasted quite awhile so we headed for a taxi.
It is polluted here because the Indonesian farmers are burning the rain forest and the smoke headed to Singapore. Other than that, it is fantastic. We leave tomorrow and our next stop is La Paloma, via Hong Kong and LAX. This has been a trip of a lifetime.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Ko Samui
Ko Samui is a small island in Thailand where 25% of the population is European, mostly retirees. We headed to Cheweng Beach which was beautiful. Brian swam and I waded in the water which was shallow for a long ways, warm and full of fish. We had lunch at Tropical Murphy. Imagine that, Brian found an Irish Pub in Thailand! It was a really relaxing day and the weather was great though at times a bit hot. The humidity is high, about 85% but with a breeze it was super. Most of the homes had "spirit houses" in front of them which look like highly decorated bird houses but are used to keep evil spirits from entering their homes. They added a lot of color along the road. Tomorrow is our last sea day and then we head for Singapore for a couple of days. I'm really looking forward to going there because there is so much to see and do but my next blog will be from land and a computer internet system that works!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Bangkok
We spent the day in Bangkok. We toured the Grand Palace which was well, grand. We saw lots of gold, mosaic and buddhas. We also took a funky, fast, flat bottom boat down the Grand Canal. We did pass on the "tuk-tuk", a sort of motorcyle/wagon sort of thing. We also did not see any "lady-boys", at least I don't think we did. Another interesting day.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Hong Kong and Viet Nam
We were in Hong Kong on the 12th, but I haven't been able to blog because of this frustrating internet service on the ship which has not worked at all for the last few days. Anyway, Hong Kong was great. It is a beautiful, organized and dense city. The harbor is framed by another bridge which we barely cleared. We rode a tram straight up to Victoria Peak in Aberdeen for a great view of the city and harbor. We also rode on a sanpam to see how the boat people live, then another boat ride to a floating restaurant. How fun was that! The food was delicious and very familiar. It was Cantonese-Chinese which seems to be what we are served in the U.S (much lighter, less frying, less spice & no eyes). We shopped in Stanley Park, a fairly upscale area near the beach, though the shops were great for bargaining - oh oh. Then we took a harbor cruise, so lots of boats today. All in all a fun day.
On the 14th we went to Nha Trang, Viet Nam which was a beach resort for R&R for the U.S. servicemen during the Viet Nam war. It's rather bleak though some new resorts are being built. Brian took a tender to get a 333 Beer (recommendation of Joe's) and I went on a short city tour to the Dam Market and Silk Embroidery workshop. Watching people on the street was the most fun. We don't need to return here.
On the 15th we went to Saigon and I can't begin to describe it. It was about a 2 hour bus ride from the port and that was the highlight. Unbelievable how some people live. Everybody was on motorcyles, living and working right on the street, selling food from tiny pots, etc. etc. It was like a movie. I'll just have share to photos because I took a ton of them. I had an interesting Vietnamese lunch and toured the city. Brian ventured out to find some old Army spots. That was partly sucessful, but at least he survived the traffic to tell the tale. More 333 beer helped.
Now there is a problem with the anchor so we are going to be several hours late leaving the port. Still having fun.
On the 14th we went to Nha Trang, Viet Nam which was a beach resort for R&R for the U.S. servicemen during the Viet Nam war. It's rather bleak though some new resorts are being built. Brian took a tender to get a 333 Beer (recommendation of Joe's) and I went on a short city tour to the Dam Market and Silk Embroidery workshop. Watching people on the street was the most fun. We don't need to return here.
On the 15th we went to Saigon and I can't begin to describe it. It was about a 2 hour bus ride from the port and that was the highlight. Unbelievable how some people live. Everybody was on motorcyles, living and working right on the street, selling food from tiny pots, etc. etc. It was like a movie. I'll just have share to photos because I took a ton of them. I had an interesting Vietnamese lunch and toured the city. Brian ventured out to find some old Army spots. That was partly sucessful, but at least he survived the traffic to tell the tale. More 333 beer helped.
Now there is a problem with the anchor so we are going to be several hours late leaving the port. Still having fun.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Shanghai
What a fun day! Yesterday, the 9th, we were in Shanghai. We powered up the Huangpu River for 4 miles to the port, about 60 minutes from town. In about 25 more miles it joins the Yangtze River. It's full of fishing and cargo boats and our Captain said about 1000 ships are on the river each day.
Brian rode on the Maglev train (surprise!) which got up to 267 mph (180 on curves). According to him it was elevated so it was difficult to get a sense of speed except when they passed another train. It was a short ride to the airport and back (about 7 min. each way), but different as it rides on magnetic rails. Then he bussed through the financial district, the Wall Street of China, where there are many very tall, beautiful skyscrapers. He stopped at Jin Mao Towers, the tallest building in China, and rode to the 88th floor observation deck. The view wasn't that great because of the smog but the inside view down the open center to the lobby was spectacular. (Tom, keep up the good fight. The air in China has been super polluted and it is nasty.)
I really wanted to ride the Maglev train but finally decided to do something else. I headed to the town of Suzhou, through Shanghai and then villages for about 2 hours. I saw quite a lot of Shanghai from the Expressway, even a bit of the Expo. Our guide told us that the citizens are allowed to own one piece of property at a time and that all of the land is owned by the government, thus when they want to build something new it is easy to clear the land. The people are given "some money" for their property and then they are moved. Many villages are being demolished and replaced with high rise condos. Some of what is gone appears to have been interesting (but maybe slum-like) but they are losing a lot of character and charm. The guide said now the people are free to do as they like, but I wonder if the new Nobel winner thinks that. He said that the older people don't like the new system because they have to pay for eveything and they have small pensions but the younger people are happy.
Suzhou is a UNESCO heritage site and unchanged from the 8th century. It's full of canals and bridges which were built for commerce from Beijing. I rode some kind of funky boat for about 1 hour through the Grand Canal which was mostly lined with houses. It was very pretty and a lot of fun.
I toured the Embroidery Research Institute where we saw beautiful one-sided and two-sided embroideries being created all by hand. The thread (all vegetable dyed) is very fine. I don't know the thickness but we were shown one that looked finer than buttonhole thread and were told it would be divided into 48 strands. To create two-sided pieces they work with two needles of different threads and a mirror to see the backside. Then they create two different images on either side of sheer silk at the same time. This takes lots of patience, nimble fingers and good eyesight. (Linda, want to find a workshop?).
Next, we went to the Bamboo Grove Hotel for a Chinese style lunch which was pretty good except for a couple of dishes. They served a fish (KO, here's a suggestion for Carl's next catch) with it's head cut off. Both pieces were dipped in a batter and deep fat fried (sort of like tempura). The two pieces were served "jack-knifed" on a platter with the mouth gaping open like a hungry koi. It was gross. I also passed on the shrimp with heads attached. I don't like my food looking back at me. Others seemed to enjoy the meal, so I guess I'm not adventuresome. The rice and Snow beer were great, though.
Then, we went to the Humble Administrator's Garden. It was created in 1509 by "Mr.Wang", a Ming Dynasty administrator, thus the name. It is a classical garden with a lot of meaning and a story to each part. It could have been very peaceful but it was jammed with tourists, mostly Chinese, but I'm glad I got to see it. It became funny trying to keep up with such a fast paced tour in this maze.
We did some shopping and a lot of bartering. That turned out to be fun and I ended up with stuff at great prices because I bartered so well. Of course, this was stuff (Judy - more SS) I didn't intend buying, but what a deal! I'm not sure who won this contest but it was fun to haggle.
I learned that Saturday is laundry day so there was laundry hanging out of everyone's window. This was most noticeable in Shanghai high rises. I wonder how often a piece of clothing floats many stories down to the ground. It looked odd to see big beautiful skyscrapers with various styles of laundry poles and clothes out the windows.
Now, today and tomorrow are sea days and then we are on to Hong Kong.
Brian rode on the Maglev train (surprise!) which got up to 267 mph (180 on curves). According to him it was elevated so it was difficult to get a sense of speed except when they passed another train. It was a short ride to the airport and back (about 7 min. each way), but different as it rides on magnetic rails. Then he bussed through the financial district, the Wall Street of China, where there are many very tall, beautiful skyscrapers. He stopped at Jin Mao Towers, the tallest building in China, and rode to the 88th floor observation deck. The view wasn't that great because of the smog but the inside view down the open center to the lobby was spectacular. (Tom, keep up the good fight. The air in China has been super polluted and it is nasty.)
I really wanted to ride the Maglev train but finally decided to do something else. I headed to the town of Suzhou, through Shanghai and then villages for about 2 hours. I saw quite a lot of Shanghai from the Expressway, even a bit of the Expo. Our guide told us that the citizens are allowed to own one piece of property at a time and that all of the land is owned by the government, thus when they want to build something new it is easy to clear the land. The people are given "some money" for their property and then they are moved. Many villages are being demolished and replaced with high rise condos. Some of what is gone appears to have been interesting (but maybe slum-like) but they are losing a lot of character and charm. The guide said now the people are free to do as they like, but I wonder if the new Nobel winner thinks that. He said that the older people don't like the new system because they have to pay for eveything and they have small pensions but the younger people are happy.
Suzhou is a UNESCO heritage site and unchanged from the 8th century. It's full of canals and bridges which were built for commerce from Beijing. I rode some kind of funky boat for about 1 hour through the Grand Canal which was mostly lined with houses. It was very pretty and a lot of fun.
I toured the Embroidery Research Institute where we saw beautiful one-sided and two-sided embroideries being created all by hand. The thread (all vegetable dyed) is very fine. I don't know the thickness but we were shown one that looked finer than buttonhole thread and were told it would be divided into 48 strands. To create two-sided pieces they work with two needles of different threads and a mirror to see the backside. Then they create two different images on either side of sheer silk at the same time. This takes lots of patience, nimble fingers and good eyesight. (Linda, want to find a workshop?).
Next, we went to the Bamboo Grove Hotel for a Chinese style lunch which was pretty good except for a couple of dishes. They served a fish (KO, here's a suggestion for Carl's next catch) with it's head cut off. Both pieces were dipped in a batter and deep fat fried (sort of like tempura). The two pieces were served "jack-knifed" on a platter with the mouth gaping open like a hungry koi. It was gross. I also passed on the shrimp with heads attached. I don't like my food looking back at me. Others seemed to enjoy the meal, so I guess I'm not adventuresome. The rice and Snow beer were great, though.
Then, we went to the Humble Administrator's Garden. It was created in 1509 by "Mr.Wang", a Ming Dynasty administrator, thus the name. It is a classical garden with a lot of meaning and a story to each part. It could have been very peaceful but it was jammed with tourists, mostly Chinese, but I'm glad I got to see it. It became funny trying to keep up with such a fast paced tour in this maze.
We did some shopping and a lot of bartering. That turned out to be fun and I ended up with stuff at great prices because I bartered so well. Of course, this was stuff (Judy - more SS) I didn't intend buying, but what a deal! I'm not sure who won this contest but it was fun to haggle.
I learned that Saturday is laundry day so there was laundry hanging out of everyone's window. This was most noticeable in Shanghai high rises. I wonder how often a piece of clothing floats many stories down to the ground. It looked odd to see big beautiful skyscrapers with various styles of laundry poles and clothes out the windows.
Now, today and tomorrow are sea days and then we are on to Hong Kong.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Nagasaki
Yesterday, the 7th, we were in Nagasaki. It is a nice town. Not stunningly beautiful, but nice. It's quite hilly and the hills come right down to the water. This makes a pretty sight at early morning and at dark because the lights sparkle all over the hillsides. There is a large, dramatically lit bridge that spans the entrance to the harbor. We sailed under it and cleared it at about 30'. It felt odd and would have been interesting to watch from shore. The terminal is new and long with a swooping roof with grass growing on top. That has created a nice park which seems to be popular and is a good use of limited landspace, a problem for Japan.
We took a tour to Arita, known for ceramics. It was about an hour drive through dense forest and big lakes. Arita is quaint and looks like a movie set. We visited the Genemon Kilns where all the pottery is made by hand. It was interesting to watch the craftspeople. Their products are perfection and really expensive. The retail store was fun to look at though. They also had a museum with many pieces they bought back from England. The early business between 1650-1750 was all for export to England. We walked down the main street where most shops only sold wholesale, then along a Tonbai wall made from used kiln brick to the back alley where the workshops are located behind the stores. We couldn't see in the work areas but could hear them and it was a nice walk with interesting architeture. We visited another shop which also had a museum/showroom with pieces bought back from England. When we left everyone working in the shop, from clerks to the owner, lined up along the street and waved goodby to us. I've seen this done before in Japan. We later stopped for lunch and the workers there did the same.
Back in Nagasaki we visited the Peace Memorial Park where there are many peace sculptures from different countries and a large open area with pleasant gardens. Many school children visit and they were happy to practice their English on us so we heard lots of "hello, hello". They made paper cranes to hang in the garden and one group sang a song about peace. Our guide said that the Japanese aren't angry with the U.S. for dropping the A Bomb but are (or were) angry with their military for their "arrogance" and with their journalists for not printing the truth. They had won all previous wars and the military were warned not to go to war against the U.S. We happened upon a survivor who told much the same story. Interestingly, there was no mention of Pearl Harbor.
At the end of the day, preschoolers came on board and performed some traditional dances. They were adorable. Then some really talented high school students beat on a variety of drums (forgot the name, Michael) and their brass band played. Many townspeople were drawn to the pier by the ship and also the loud music. The Diamond Princess was made my Mitsubishi in Nagasaki so people were interested in welcoming it back to it's "home". We passed the shipyard but it was dark so their planned water show for us was cancelled. We were late leaving because each country handles immigration differently and their are so many non-English speakers on board that somebody always get confused even though announcements are made in several languages.
Today, the 8th, it rained but was still fairly warm. We just relaxed and went to one lecture. This morning, we had to walk through a room past a machine that recorded our temperature. The machine was several feet from us and we walked at a normal pace. The point was that China won't allow anyone to disembark tomorrow if they have a raised temperature. (The Captain just announced that he is swerving to avoid Chinese fishing boats that seem to want to sell him some fresh fish. I hope that is the story and they aren't pirates. We are weaving all over the place to avoid the boats and their fishing nets.) Tomorrow, we spend the day in Shanghai.
We took a tour to Arita, known for ceramics. It was about an hour drive through dense forest and big lakes. Arita is quaint and looks like a movie set. We visited the Genemon Kilns where all the pottery is made by hand. It was interesting to watch the craftspeople. Their products are perfection and really expensive. The retail store was fun to look at though. They also had a museum with many pieces they bought back from England. The early business between 1650-1750 was all for export to England. We walked down the main street where most shops only sold wholesale, then along a Tonbai wall made from used kiln brick to the back alley where the workshops are located behind the stores. We couldn't see in the work areas but could hear them and it was a nice walk with interesting architeture. We visited another shop which also had a museum/showroom with pieces bought back from England. When we left everyone working in the shop, from clerks to the owner, lined up along the street and waved goodby to us. I've seen this done before in Japan. We later stopped for lunch and the workers there did the same.
Back in Nagasaki we visited the Peace Memorial Park where there are many peace sculptures from different countries and a large open area with pleasant gardens. Many school children visit and they were happy to practice their English on us so we heard lots of "hello, hello". They made paper cranes to hang in the garden and one group sang a song about peace. Our guide said that the Japanese aren't angry with the U.S. for dropping the A Bomb but are (or were) angry with their military for their "arrogance" and with their journalists for not printing the truth. They had won all previous wars and the military were warned not to go to war against the U.S. We happened upon a survivor who told much the same story. Interestingly, there was no mention of Pearl Harbor.
At the end of the day, preschoolers came on board and performed some traditional dances. They were adorable. Then some really talented high school students beat on a variety of drums (forgot the name, Michael) and their brass band played. Many townspeople were drawn to the pier by the ship and also the loud music. The Diamond Princess was made my Mitsubishi in Nagasaki so people were interested in welcoming it back to it's "home". We passed the shipyard but it was dark so their planned water show for us was cancelled. We were late leaving because each country handles immigration differently and their are so many non-English speakers on board that somebody always get confused even though announcements are made in several languages.
Today, the 8th, it rained but was still fairly warm. We just relaxed and went to one lecture. This morning, we had to walk through a room past a machine that recorded our temperature. The machine was several feet from us and we walked at a normal pace. The point was that China won't allow anyone to disembark tomorrow if they have a raised temperature. (The Captain just announced that he is swerving to avoid Chinese fishing boats that seem to want to sell him some fresh fish. I hope that is the story and they aren't pirates. We are weaving all over the place to avoid the boats and their fishing nets.) Tomorrow, we spend the day in Shanghai.
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