Cruising to Cambodia

The Long and the Short

2008-11-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

Friday, October 31, 2008

We were up early so we could get to the Phnom Penh airport by 8:15, two hours before take-off. Check-in was quick and painless and we had a lot of time to kill before boarding started around 9:30. We took off on time and landed a bit early, arriving in Singapore just before 1 o’clock. Jon and his family were about six rows ahead of us so we couldn’t see couldn’t see the children. On the other hand, they traveled well so we didn’t hear them, either.

As a group, we were the last ones out of the jetway and stayed together until we had to go through immigration and they had to start out for their new gate and snacks for The Boys. [We had been served lunch on the plane but nothing which would have appealed to the kids] So it was off to Burger King for them as we made our way to Baggage Claim and the rest of the bureaucratic dance. We arrived at the Marriott around 1:45.

Once the bags had been delivered to the room, we headed to "our" Starbucks for a drink and an e-mail session. The drinks were refreshing and the e-mail was dull. Back in the room, MA rested while D repacked the luggage so we would be ready in the morning. We were still tired from all of the walking we did in Cambodia and decided to have an early dinner at the hotel.
The trip, the journal and the blog are almost over.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

And so begins The Longest Day.

We stayed in this morning, skipping our last chance to visit the Paragon Starbucks. We almost expected a phone call from the staff inquiring about our health. We did the last minute toiletry packing and were ready to go around 10. The Front Desk called when we didn’t show up at 9:30, the time we had estimated we would check out. Our plane was scheduled for a 1:10 departure and we weren’t in any hurry. By 10:30, we were checked out and in the maxi-cab, a minivan large enough to hold all of our luggage. The Vanderbilts were returning to Newport. Or Newark.

The only day got off depressing note, though. When we turned on the cell phone, there was a text message from MA’s sister alerting her to the death of her next oldest sibling. It was not unexpected; she had been battling cancer for five years and recently began a rapid deterioration which brought a great deal of pain and suffering. Her children were with her, apparently, and two brothers-in-law had come to visit as well. We were saddened but also a bit relieved for her that the pain was over.

The trip home continued apace. When we got to the Singapore airport, we found our way to the EVA counter where we were redirected to the Business Class check-in area. We were able to sit comfortably while someone else schlepped our bags to be tagged. [It didn’t appear that the bags were actually weighed, but we were allowed three bags per person of 70 pounds and the staff didn’t seem too concerned about our motley assortment of five mismatched pieces.] After receiving our boarding passes and Lounge passes for both legs of the journey, we went through passport control and turned in our departure cards at the same time our passports were stamped.

We followed the directions we had been given and found the Business Class lounge. It was almost deserted and was very quiet after our week with The Boys. We got pastries and coffee/tea before checking our e-mail on the EVA computers. We thought we might have gotten a message from Jon or Emily, but the only message was from MA’s sister saying she had texted us the news about her sister. We had some Singapore dollars left over [how did that happen?], so D went shopping. He returned to the lounge with the latest Jeffrey Archer novel and $61 USD from exchanging the SGD.

Soon thereafter it was time to board the plane. As we sat in the boarding area, MA was paged to confirm her wheelchair for Taipei and Newark. She didn’t need it in Singapore because there were no steps and no long walks. We were first to board and settled in. The plane was an Airbus with multiple seat positions available including most-flat for sleeping. The flight crew was great and the ride mostly smooth although there was some rock-and-roll.

We arrived in Taipei around 5:45 after flying 4-1/2 hours. By the time we deplaned, it was almost 5:55 and our next flight was set to leave at 7 o’clock. We were met by a succession of wheel chair pushers [let’s call the "wheelies"] who raced to the Lounge where we really had only about 20 minutes to relax before starting for the next gate. The wheelie was there right on time and we retraced our steps [okay, no steps, just elevators] and then descended one more level [and one more elevator] to the boarding area. We were whisked right through and, again, were first to board. We were grateful for the very short layover, especially after last year’s eight hours in Narita. If not for the wheelie, we never would have had time to visit the Lounge; in fact, we probably would not have found it. Taipei’s airport is very large and there was a lot of walking involved in getting from the plane to the terminal proper.

This part of the trip is supposed to take 14 hours, about the same time as the flight from Tokyo/Narita to Atlanta last year. We pulled back just after 7, pretty much on time. One of the advantages of the flight this year is that there is a 12 hour difference between Cambodia & Singapore and the East coast. There is no need to reset our watches [except for the date function]. Still, it will be almost 9:00 p.m. when we touch down in Newark. By the time we get our bags; clear Customs and Immigration; recheck the bags and find our way to the Sheraton [at EVA’s expense], it will be after 10 p.m. Luckily, Daylight Savings Time ends tonight, so we get an extra hour of sleep. We will still be up early to catch our flight from Newark to West Palm, but every extra minute helps.

In deference to Jon, there has been no mention of food so far, but he knows from his travels that when you fly long distances over large bodies of water, you tend to eat your way from point to point. Today was no exception. Of course, we snacked in Singapore before boarding, but that was really our breakfast. Then there was the lunch served as soon as we were at cruising altitude. There were drinks for the asking all the way to Taipei. Even before we departed for Newark, there were drinks in Business Class. Then there was another four-course meal. There will be more food before we descend over the Garden State, a breakfast of sorts for the biorhythmically challenged. Continental should feed us, too, since we are taking off at 9:00 in the morning. This travel business is even more fattening than cruising. At least on shipboard and field trips we walked a lot; here, there is nowhere to go.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

The longest day was followed by the shortest night. We had little enough time to sleep, even with the extra hour, but we both slept badly. Maybe it was the stress of travelling or of being almost home. We were up at six and checked out by seven. The airport shuttle took us right to the Continental entrance in Newark’s Terminal C, so we got our boarding passes and went to Starbucks [where else?] for scones and drinks. We got to our gate just as first Class boarding was ending and walked right onto the plane. The flight was uneventful and we landed exactly on time.

Since the folks in the front of the plane were allowed to deplane first, we were among the earliest arrivals at the baggage carousel. We waited for our bags and Dominique, our driver, to appear. We decided that if only one showed up, we hoped it was the luggage. Of course, Dominique found us easily, but he had a sign with our names in case we forgot what he looked like or vice versa. On the other hand, the suitcases never raced around the magic belt. When all the luggage had been claimed and the belt was no longer moving, one of the employees told us to go to the Baggage Claim office. As soon as D walked in, he saw all five of the bags lined up and waiting for him. The bags were loaded on a cart, Dominique drove like the wind and we were home, sweet home.

Notes:

We love the smell of exhaust fumes in the tuk-tuk.

Sunshine is directly proportional to heat and humidity.

Corollary: clouds are our friends.

There is nothing like an ice-cold towel on a hot day.

Coca Cola is the drink of the gods.

It will be a while before we eat rice or noodles.

Private tours are the way to see a country and its people.

Being the only foreigner in a restaurant is a good thing.

There are seven more Mr. Otas stacked inside the one we met.

Water is really the giver of life; our most interesting tours involved cities on rivers.

Buddha loves me, this I know. Little ones to him are fed, first the feet and then the head.

Caiden looks just like the smiling Buddha.

D’s wall of masks may, just may, finally be complete.

Or maybe not.

Being in the U.S. means no more bottled water in the hotel room.

Unpacking is never as much fun as packing.

Dirty laundry multiplies in a locked suitcase.

The places with the most beautiful sights have some of the worst poverty.

A full answering machine is the only way to stop political phone calls.

Every country except the US has some version of the tuk-tuk.

On the other hand, there was the Gremlin.

Dorothy Gale was right. There’s no place like home, Toto.

Charm City, Cambodia

2008-10-30T10:13:00.003-04:00

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Today is the King’s birthday, another national holiday, and we are not sure if the Royal palace will be open for visitors. Everyone has an answer when we ask and none of the answers match.

We began our day by walking to the National Museum which was open. It houses a collection of antiquities dating back to the Eighth Century. Almost half of the displays are of Buddhist mythological figures including Buddha and Siva. Although they span one thousand years, they are remarkably consistent. There were standing and sitting figures, busts and Naga [the snake that shows up on bridges]. As they items got closer to modern times, there was more metalwork and tools, both agricultural and military; later displays included 18th Century teapots. We were only here for about a half-hour because of the heat, humidity and attention span of children and adults alike.

One of the highlights of the visit was lavender sticks. Lavender flowers had been skewered on wooden sticks and were offered by staff members as we walked through the exhibits. We were supposed to take the offering and place it in a receptacle in front of a Buddha. The hope was that we would also make a donation in the conveniently place box. We did the former but not the latter except for Caiden. He liked his flowers so much that the attendant indicated that he could keep them and they kept him busy and quiet for a long time.

We picked up tuk-tuks when we left. One of today’s drivers was the guide who took us around yesterday, so we knew he was reliable and spoke well. We went to the Russian Market which isn’t Russian anymore. It was like all of the other markets we have visited except it had wider aisles in spots. It had the usual conglomeration of goods for sale. MA and Briton both bought some Cambodian silk and Jon bought pirated copies of The Wire which are not available in Jakarta. Caiden slept through most of the shopping having fallen sound asleep again in the tuk-tuk. We wandered through the market past the fresh fruits and veggies and the proteins – chickens, fish, prawns, unidentifiable things – before exiting to find our tuk-tuks waiting for us.

Although it was early, we decided to eat and Danny, the lead driver, took us to a hole-in-the-wall near the FCC where we had eaten yesterday. The food was good [more curry and rice except for Jon’s Italian cold cut sub] but the exhaust fumes and street noise detracted from the experience. There was a brief rain “event”, as the TV guys say, while we ate, but it was done before we were. By the time we were ready to leave, a small tour bus had emptied out 10 or 12 tourists who piled into the restaurant. Then it was back to the hotel to rest before tackling the Royal Palace one last time.

It was worth the wait. The Thais and Cambodians are historically and culturally linked but not necessarily pleased about it. There have been conflicts for generations and political chicanery for decades. Indeed, Siem Reap is named in part for Siam [Siem]. Even without knowing of the historical ties, it is hard to miss the similarities in the two countries’ traditional architecture. The Thai temples and chedi are more rounded but still taper in layers as they climb skyward. The traditional roofs of the buildings are almost identical and the use of red and gold is common to both.

As a result, Phnom Penh is, or could be, a charming city. There is much French-inspired architecture, especially the use of wrought iron on balconies. There are many large, well-used parks filled with sculptures and fountains. And there are all of those buildings, some old and some new, resplendent in their bright colors. Many of these are newer structures built on the old model and used to house government agencies [such as the Ministry for Cults and Religion and the Council of Ministers, two which are near both our hotel and the Palace]. The poverty evident in many areas of the city detracts from its appeal, but Cambodia is a poor country and people crowd in from the agricultural areas looking for a better life which many don't find.

The palace grounds cover an area probably in excess of 10 acres; it’s just a guess. We walked around the perimeter yesterday so we have an idea of its size. The buildings are mostly in the “old” style with red tile roofs, uplifted corners and ornaments resembling stylized cranes at the end of the roof peaks. Of course everything is done in red and gold. The most amazing of the buildings is the formal reception hall. No pictures are allowed inside, or even through the windows, but the blaze of gold would obliterate any pictures anyway. Gold furniture and fixtures; gold columns, and Oriental rugs fill this enormous room. It almost resembles a Greek temple with flights of steps leading to a portico. Here, there are chairs so one can sit while removing one’s shoes for no one is allowed to wear them inside. There are “watchers” at all of the entrances and windows to be sure that visitors obey the rules. It is, in its own way, as beautiful as any of the temples we saw in Bangkok.

Another building of note is the Silver Temple [?]. This contains some displays like those in the National Museum – bowls, implements, etc. –but the piece de resistance is the collection of Buddha statues in all sizes and materials. The centerpiece is a green standing Buddha which may be jade [there was no explanatory material]. There must have been close to 500 Buddhas in this room, maybe more. It was a little overwhelming.

The grounds themselves are well maintained and beautiful. We wanted to stroll in the gardens before returning to the Himawari, but by 4 o’clock the gardens had been closed even though the buildings stayed open until 5:00 p.m. We walked back to the hotel glad for the chance to see the Palace complex and equally glad that we had avoided rain once again.

For dinner, we tuk-tuked to a Mediterranean restaurant that Briton had found and had shwarmas and appetizers [hummus, samosas, etc]. There was only one other table occupied and we laughed because the other couple had a three-month-old with them. At both tables, the parents alternated walking and eating. We tuk-tuked home and were packed for tomorrow’s departure by 8:30.

And so to bed.

Wat's Up, Siem Reap

2008-10-29T03:22:00.004-04:00

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Once again, we had a lazy morning. While MA showered and dressed, D went to Starbucks again for coffee and the internet. For better or worse, there was nothing really new for either of us. D also posted the latest entry in the blog. Once back in the room, he made last minute adjustments in the luggage. We have distilled our clothes for the next week to one suitcase so we can use the so-called “rolling carry-on” as checked luggage since it is twice the weight allegedly allowed by Silkair. At 15+ kilos, it would have been difficult to get in and out of the overhead bins anyway.

At 11 a.m., we called for a porter to fetch the baggage and then checked out. The porter brought our bags to the front and loaded them into a taxi, then rolled the ones we were not taking to Cambodia to the concierge area where, we hope, they will be held until our return in a week. The taxi whisked us to Changi airport without incident; the ride gave us another opportunity to marvel at the beauty of Singapore. We decided that it must be a city planner’s or architect’s dream location.

We checked our bags and cleared passport control on our way to the gate. The Singapore airport, or at least Terminal 2, reflects the city – beautifully designed, extraordinarily clean and bright, and filled with high-end retail stores. What other airport houses a Ferragamo store? We got directions to the free wireless area and sent an e-mail telling Jon where we were; he said it would turn up as a text message on his phone. It didn’t. Next, there was the text message directly to his phone, but, of course, it was to the wrong phone. Finally there was the text message to the right phone. Nada. He never received any of the messages.

By this time, it was 12:15 or so. We hadn’t had breakfast and were hungry, so we got pizza and Cokes and waited. And waited…..MA got tired of waiting and went looking for the family. She found them not 100 yards from where we had been waiting, playing in the “kids’ zone” nearby. She sent Jon to find D and we returned only to have Carter come running up yelling, Grandpa!” No more Peepah, just ordinary Grandpa. We talked and played with the kids until 1:45 when we could, in theory, board the plane for our 2:45 departure. In fact, we had to clear security at our gate [not a cattle call as in most other airports] and then fill out paper work for entrance into Cambodia.

We had hardly made a dent in the forms when the plane started boarding. This was good because there was no stampede but bad because we had that much more time on the non-moving plane. Caiden was especially vocal in his displeasure. The plane was full but left on time and we were fairly comfortable in an exit row for the two hour flight. We set down amid rice paddies, a reminder that we were not visiting a large metropolitan area.

The heat was stifling when we exited the plane. Siem Reap has a one-story terminal and we had to walk down steps to the tarmac and then wait for The Boys paraphernalia [strollers, backpack] to be unloaded. As a result, we were at the end of the line when we entered the building. A helpful staffer took pity on our group of six and walked us around the immigration/passport lines. Once we were in the lobby of the terminal, he collected our passports and $20USD for each of us and disappeared to take care of the entry visas. Jon and D collected the luggage while we waited for the official’s return. He reappeared in short order, distributed the passports and pocketed the “tip” [read: bribe] Jon handed him. We then left the terminal and found the driver from our hotel.

The ride to our hotel showed both the opulence of expensive resort properties and the poverty of many of the locals. There were road-side food stalls as there have been in several other countries; cattle grazing at the roadside; motorcycles and bicycles. The Casa Angkor is in the city proper but has the look and feel of colonial times. It is a sprawling 4-story complex with a relatively open first floor housing the front desk and a deserted restaurant. In this, it is like the Villa Lumbung in Bali where we stayed with the kids last year. It is a modest establishment when compared to others; indeed, we can see the back and elaborate swimming pool of the larger neighboring resort. The biggest problem when we checked in was that the air conditioning was not working in either suite [yes, suite – bedroom and living room for $100 per night, breakfast included]. Jon called and eventually both units in both rooms were running full blast.

Aside: An interesting peculiarity of most of the Asian hotels we’ve stayed in is that the electricity to lights and outlets is activated by inserting the room key card into a receptacle by the entry door. We discovered this the hard way in Japan last year. It held true in Bangkok and Singapore on this trip as well as here in Siem Reap. This system saves electricity and money, but it means that the A/C turns off when the key is removed. We solved the problem by removing the traditional metal key from its holder so we could go to dinner, take the key but leave the A/C turned on. Jon says that a credit card or even a business card will often activate the system.

We went to dinner around 6:30, Jon and Briton making the decision on our destination. When we inquired at the front desk, we were told that the best, perhaps only, way to get to the restaurant was to use the local version of the tuk-tuk [tewk-tewk]. We had seen tuk-tuks in Bangkok and a cousin, the bajai, in Jakarta. They are three-wheeled motorized vehicles which provide cheap transportation for two or three people. In Jakarta, they seemed to be powered by lawn motor engines. In Bangkok, they were more substantial. In Siem Reap, they are two-wheeled passenger compartments pulled by a motorcycle. For two dollars USD, the drivers would take us to the restaurant. We needed two tuk-tuks because there were six of us counting Caiden. The drivers not only took us, they returned in an hour to retrieve us. Tuk-tuks are as thick as New York taxis.

Dinner was good [pan-Asian], but Jon says there is too much space spent on describing meals and Cokes, so we’ll skip it tonight. And the whole Coca Cola thing has become a joke to us and, we hope, a running gag in the blog. We tuk-tuked home and said goodnight. We have to be up early tomorrow for our first day at Angkor Wat. We are praying for cooler, drier weather.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

We were up early today so we could be ready to meet our guide at 8:00 a.m. Jon has engaged this guide for two days. Like all tourist guides in Cambodia, he is licensed by the state, so he should know what he is talking about. In fact, once we met him, we found him to be quite charming and helpful. On more than one occasion, he took Carter’s hand or helped push Caiden.
We ate breakfast as a family which means Jon and Briton sort of took turns eating around their Caiden duties. Both of the boys are charmers, but they are also quick to change moods and change back again. The hotel dining room had big paddle fans and we waited for Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains and Sidney Greenstreet to appear; we hummed As Time Goes By.
Tuk-tuks seem to be our only exotic mode of transit in Siem Reap as we will be touring in an air conditioned minivan. The six of us barely fit despite the fact that Jon reserved a 12 passenger van. As long as the A/C works, we will be happy campers.

We spent today visiting the ruins of palaces and Buddhist temples in the area. Most of these date from the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Centuries, more or less. Now, they are largely in ruins with large piles of rubble prominent. The remaining stone work is magnificent. In most cases, sandstone has been covered by harder stone hewn into large blocks. These facing stones were then carved with elaborate displays including elephants, dancing women, warriors and kings. So much has been lost to time and erosion as well as antiquities thieves that we may never know what these temples and palaces looked like.

Our first stop was at the Angkor Thom which featured a long entryway over a moat. [Note: Angkor is the area, Wat is a temple, and we think Thom is a palace] The bridge held railings of stone and the railings were topped with carved heads. Surrounded by throngs of tourists, we walked along the bridge admiring the stonework. Once through the gate at the end of the bridge, we got back in the van for the drive to the site. Although much was been lost, it is still easy to see the 5 main towers. Four of them have faces carved on four sides while the fifth has faces on eight sides. There are, or were, 54 towers altogether with fifty-three having four-sided towers and only one having eight. Everyone but MA climbed to the top of this complex and took pictures; MA waited in the shade of the stairway until we returned.

The weather gods had favored us once again, sort of. It was hot and humid but not rainy although we are still in the rainy season in Siem Reap. The Bayon area had a lot of deep and steep stone steps, so the touring was tiring and occasionally treacherous. It was even more exhausting for Jon and Briton because of Caiden. At one point, Jon, Carter, Caiden and MA returned to the car while Briton and D continued with the guide. As Ed said in Kyoto, “If I don’t have a picture, I must not have been there.”

Our next stop had fewer steps but was still hard. We were at an almost-deserted temple which was known for its Secret Sword. On the approach to the temple, we saw a small musical group all of whose players were handicapped as a result of land mines. In the past fifteen years, Cambodia has cleared millions of mines placed by the Khmer Rouge, but millions more may remain. On the way out, we put money in the donation basket. Outside the temple, we found an old woman selling fresh fruit, so we gave her a dollar for about 5 bananas. Caiden and Carter ate most of them.

This temple had more of a linear design. There was a main “aisle” through the complex with only a few side “halls” visible. Like the gardens in China, in which each room was a separate building, this temple was a series of rooms. The doorways became increasingly small as we approached the center, then became larger.

Jon stayed back with Caiden and Carter while D, MA, and Briton walked through. MA stopped partway through and waited for us to return. Briton and D saw the whole complex although they encouraged the guide to move a little faster. We picked up MA and returned to Jon and the boys. We were all hot and sweaty, so we decided to return to the hotel to dry off and get lunch.
We ate in the hotel dining room and were the only customers for most of the time. Once again, Jon and Briton ate by turns while the rest of us enjoyed our meal. After lunch, we rested and then met the guide at 3 o’clock for the last tour of the day.

Angkor Wat. Even the name conjures up pictures of steamy jungles and remote places. It is actually only 20 minutes from our hotel. If the Royal Palace and Temple in Bangkok is the typical poster for Thailand, the buildings at Angkor Wat are quintessentially Cambodian. Tall spires behind a reflecting pond silhouetted against a clear blue sky. Saffron-robed monks. Japanese tourists. It wasn’t the mob scene of the Bayon, but it was plenty busy.

It is an immense complex with a straight path leading through ante-buildings. There are two libraries [in ruins, of course], one on either side of the path. The temple itself seems to be a series of hollow squares. Again, there were numerous horrendously steep steps, so MA, Jon and Caiden stayed back while the rest wandered through the ruins. There were friezes carved into the stone walls inside and out; the remains of four swimming pools; lotus-patterned ceilings; and more of the “Chinese style” doors with tall steps in them, perhaps to keep evil spirits at bay; these often had had three wooden risers added so tourists could walk through without the big step.

When we were done, we had some confusion finding the other half of our group but finally made connections. We discovered that Jon had twisted his foot rather badly after carrying Caiden and his stroller over one of the afore-mentioned risers. Caiden was fine but got scared when Jon fell. Other tourists assisted them and Jon was a bit gimpy but not seriously injured.

Jon’s injury was not the only one of the day. Carter fell and got a nasty scrape on his arm but recovered quickly. MA hurt her good knee when she tried to exit the van at the hotel and lost her balance. As a result, she sort of slid forward in the seat and jammed her knee past the normal bending point. We had to pull/push her back into a normal seating position before she could get out of the van. We decided that we were in trouble if D was the healthy one in the group.

We were all exhausted so returned to the hotel to wash up and get ready for dinner. We tuk-tuked into town again and ate at a barbecue restaurant. This is not what it sounds like but is more like upside-down fondue. We each selected what meat we wanted and it was brought out raw with a whole egg on top. It was accompanied by a plate of noodles and fresh veggies. Next, we were presented with a red-hot cooker and had to cook our meat ourselves. The eggs were broken up and stirred into the meat; broth was added to a channel on the edge of the cooker; and the noodles and vegetables were added to the broth. We had no real idea what we were supposed to do, but we grilled the meat, put it in a bowl and added broth, noodles and vegetables to make a soup. It was tasty but hot sitting near the cooker. Briton took the kids home at 8 o’clock and we cooked her supper and brought the meat home to her. It was definitely one of the most unusual meals we have ever had.

Tomorrow, we are to see more temples. Maybe it will rain.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Early to bed, early to rise makes people tired. We were ready for Bunta [Boohn-ta] at 8 this morning and were on the road around 8:15. We have decided that visiting the Cambodian temples is like taking a safari – you go early in the morning and then in the late afternoon to avoid the worst of the heat. In Siem Reap, of course, it’s always the worst of the heat and humidity.

We spent the morning at two temples whose names are unimportant and unpronounceable. Both were made of red stone and the oldest dated to the 8th Century. The decay and rubble were worse here than at Angkor Wat which is only natural considering their ages. The friezes were just as detailed but of different styles. Only pictures can do any of these temples justice.
At all of today’s stops [including the afternoon visit] we have been accosted by highly aggressive vendors. Despite our fervid refusals to purchase t-shirts, books about the temples and other handicrafts, the sellers persist. If we won’t buy on the way in, they ask, how about on the way out? Around the gateways to the temples are souvenir shops of every kind – textiles, wood work, tchotchkes and food. The assailants are unfailingly polite, but are very persistent. Since so many are children [a sure way to appeal to the guilt of well-off tourists], we wonder why they aren’t in school. Jon says their parents are too poor to afford the tuition which is a sad commentary on the central government.

After we had climbed and sweated enough, we drove back to Siem Reap for lunch. Bunt and the driver found a neice local place near the river. We couldn’t see the river, which isn’t particularly pretty during the rainy season, but the restaurant was quiet and cool and we enjoyed our typically Asian lunch. And Cokes.

We gathered in the lobby at 3 to visit our last temple of the trip – the Lara Croft, Tomb Raider movie site. As usual, we were beset with vendors who even followed through the temple gate. It was peaceful inside the gate, but we had a long walk ahead of us. We also had a small lake/stream/moat to cross. We knew we were in trouble when the entry led to sand bags on the ground. We realized the large building stones which formed the crossing over the water. Some presented deep steps and others were low; some of the stepping stones were almost at water level; and all had weathered over the years of tourist visits. MA was hesitant to cross because both of her knees were bothering her and insisted on sitting in the shade while the rest of us went on. D insisted on waiting with her. She almost won the contest of wills, but Bunt pointed out that he could not get hold of the driver to tell him to fetch MA and that the tour ended at a different gate. MA decided that she could make the crossing and then proceeded to prove it [with a little help].

She was glad she had. The temple was magnificent, even though most of it was a shambles of rubble and rock piles. Although we had not seen the movie, we could appreciate the cinematic possibilities of the temple. It has been deserted for so long that gigantic trees have grown over, around and through the remains. Each vista showed something even more fantastic than the last, and fantastic is the right word since the scene looked like something from Tolkien. Again, only pictures may convey some of the beauty of this site.

When we had finished this tour [with only one fall by Carter and no tears], we drove back to the hotel. There are lots of other temples and ruins to be seen, but we had seen enough; we were overloaded by carvings, temples, towers and humidity. We all washed up and then went to an early dinner in the hope of getting the children back on their normal schedules. We took tuk-tuks in a light rain a few blocks to the restaurant, had another fine eclectic Eurasian dinner and were “home” well before 8 o’clock [Note: MA had noodles and D had amok, the local curry]. MA and D went to their room where D caught up on the journal and they both watched CNN. Like Coca Cola, CNN is a safe bet world-wide.

This part of Cambodia, at least, has a high water table. Much of the land is flooded for rice production – and we saw plenty of rice fields – and Bunt says the there is enough water retained in the area to have three crops each year. We can’t understand what made Angkor such an important place since it doesn’t have any geographical advantages. It is not on a major river like Shanghai, Bangkok and Saigon or poised in a natural trading locale like Singapore. This area has always been strictly agricultural although now tourism is the major player in the economy.
Today’s temples were farther from downtown SR than yesterday’s. The country-side was definitely rural and squalid. There were store shanties along the road along the way, as well as several linear towns [i.e., they seemed to exist in a straight line along the road]. We saw rice paddies, of course, but also coconut and banana trees and lots of bulls and oxen; for some reason, we saw no cows.

SR is also undergoing a building boom. High-rise buildings would be out of place here where the tallest structures seem to top out at 4 stories. A number of mixed us buildings are under construction, all following the same basic plan: three stories with housing on the upper floors and businesses on the street level. The street level units might have been configured as parking in the US if these had been townhouses, but here they are fitted with ugly but functional pull-down steel doors. They will be rented as commercial space and, sadly, many will end up being “one stop” stores just like all of the others.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

We said “farewell” to Siem Reap today. We have grown used to this little town and its tuk-tuks, potholes and standing water in the streets. We did a bit of touring in the city today or at least tried to.

We started with a guided tour of an artisan workshop. Young people come here to learn one of several fine arts with the goal of apprenticing and then going out on their own. All of the techniques being taught here are aimed at preserving the native folk arts albeit with new materials. Skills include acrylic painting on silk; silk manufacturing and weaving; wood working; and antiquing. The participants are either handicapped or poor.

For example, all of the trainees in the silk painting program are deaf. They are learning to paint traditional scenes of temples and other things on stretched silk. Their work is beautiful if not really inspired. They are learning technique, not creativity, so they will be painters, not artists. In the same way, the wood workers are using laminated woods [think really thick plywood] which they carve in representations of Buddha and other mythic figures. They, too, will be skilled workers but not artists because they are using models and stencils to perfect their technique. At the end of their training, they may only be proficient in one figure and will recreate it endlessly to support themselves. Others are learning how to paint figurines and apply bronze leaf to create an antique appearance or how to carve stone to imitate the ancient temple carvings. It was fascinating to watch and reassured us that similar products are hand-made even if simultaneously mass-produced.

We tried to go to the local historical museum which is relatively new. It is housed in a stylized Cambodian building reminiscent of the temples but thoroughly modern in appearance. Staff gave Briton a hard time about bringing in the backpack with Caiden’s paraphernalia and then we learned that we would have to pay for both boys. Even at half price, it seemed ludicrous. Since the total admission for the group would have been $60 and the boys bored to crying, we left quickly.

Jon, MA and The Boys returned to the hotel while Briton and D took a tuk-tuk to go shopping. They went to two modern shops, one of which was run by the handicapped where Briton bought 2 scarves and D bought the final mask of the trip [that makes 4 so far]. They followed that up by going to the old market in the center of town for more shopping.

The old market was like the one we visited in Saigon although there was no outer ring of government approved shops. This one was one block square and had its outer stalls filled with vendors of textiles, wooden souvenirs and junk. The inner section was a native food market – poorly lit and poorly ventilated – filled with people selling vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, sea food, chickens and God knows what else. There was no refrigeration and we could only hope that the local restaurants did not purchase anything here.

We returned in time for lunch at a nearby restaurant which was classier and more expensive than we wanted but which we enjoyed anyway. The children got restless as it was Caiden’s nap time, so Jon and The Boys went back while D, MA and Briton got the check.

Our trip to Phnom Penh was uneventful. Our plane was only one-quarter full and the flight took less time than our wait in the Siem Reap terminal. We were met at the PP airport and then endured a half-hour of the worst traffic and pollution we have seen. Jakarta’s traffic may be worse but not by much. We discovered in Siem Reap that traffic control lines and lane markers are only suggestions; drivers of motorcycles and cars pass over double lines as if they didn’t exist and horns are more important than turn signals or brakes. We made it to the hotel without incident, but we were a trifle nervous when the horde of cyclists cam at us against traffic on the wrong side of a traffic island.

We ate in the hotel after we checked in because we were too tired to go out. MA was in bed and asleep by 9 o’clock and D went to bed around 9:45 when he finished today’s entry.

Singapore Fling II

2008-10-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

Friday, October 24, 2008

We started late again today. We had no specific plans, and it was rainy earlier this morning. We learned our lesson yesterday about coffee and muffins in the Lobby, so we headed to Starbucks for breakfast and free internet access. Actually, the internet was the deciding factor since there are several restaurants serving breakfast in the hotel. Once again we trudged down Orchard Road, marveling at the number of people who were out and about. We saw magnified versions of this foot traffic in Japan, Shanghai, Bangkok and Saigon – people scurrying along crowded sidewalks, everybody going somewhere, but where? Singapore isn’t as bad as those other places, but the walkways are still bustling.

We walked past Mt. Elizabeth Hospital [or at least its driveway]; this is the hospital where Caiden was born, but we couldn’t find the commemorative plaque. On to the Paragon mall again. We know our way around too well now and still have one more morning to use the internet. D got coffee and a muffin and MA got passion fruit tea so we wouldn’t feel guilty about the wireless connection. We checked e-mail and D uploaded the newest addition to the blog. It’s become somewhat Dickensian in its length and MA reminded D that Dickens was paid by the word.

Today was Tourist Day. We took a taxi to Suntec City, an office and convention complex on the East side of the city. The Marriott concierge had called ahead to make reservations for our ride on the “Duck.” We have used every other type of transport on this trip, so this was only fitting. The Duck is an amphibious craft developed during WWII. By definition, then, it rides the streets and the waves. Our trip was scheduled for 1 o’clock, but we were early, naturally. Suntec Center had 2 huge food courts which were crammed with diners. At one end, there was a tremendous fixed-price buffet, and at the other, there was a collection of “stalls” which specialized in anything Asian. We were brave and didn’t try anything although what we knew as Chinese bread [from our lunch on Ko Samui] looked good.

The one-hour tour ended up as 45 minutes during which we drove and swam around a small part of Singapore and Marina Bay. The vehicle was noisy, the ride was bumpy and we could only catch every third word of the narration. All in all, it was not a great experience. Still, we had a good time.

When we returned to Suntec, we hailed a taxi for the two block journey to Raffles Hotel. We could have walked, but our first cabbie of the day urged us to ride because of traffic and dangerous intersections. It wasn’t as bad as he made it sound, but the ride wasn’t too expensive and we are on vacation…

Raffles is an institution in Singapore which dates back to colonial days, probably the late Nineteenth Century. Other than being posh with a capitol posh [rooms start at $600USD per night], its Long Bar is the acknowledged home of the Singapore Sling. It’s not tourist tacky, but it was filled nonetheless with tourists. It probably hasn’t changed in almost a century. Dark wood. Ceiling fans. Free peanuts. Throwing the shells on the floor. All of these date back to the primordial mists. When in Singapore, act like a tourist, so MA had a Sling while D had his usual Diet Coke. We also ordered French fries and a satay sampler [four each beef, lamb and chicken skewers]. We sat and relaxed and soaked it all in. D took the requisite pictures and the videocam behaved, surprisingly. Once it was time to go, we caught a taxi at the Raffles Hotel taxi stand and returned to the Marriott to pack for tomorrow’s trip to Cambodia with the family. We talked with Jon who had called before we returned. He offered the use of his video camera but we decided to take our chances. We chatted for a few minutes and then let him go back to work.

Our last taxi driver suggested someplace called Lau Pasak for dinner if we wanted something local, not tourist, but we opted for Indian at Ras at Clarke Quay, the complex we visited last night. We were in the same general area again, so we could watch the light show and the boats even though we weren’t right by the water. Clarke Quay was jam-packed tonight. Most of the outdoor restaurant venues were pretty full as were many of their indoor areas. The sidewalks were almost impassable in spots, especially outside of the nightclubs. It is a happening place to put it mildly. After dinner, we came home and braced ourselves for tomorrow’s departure. We can hardly wait!

Singapore Fling I

2008-10-23T22:48:00.003-04:00

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

[Posted from Starbucks, of course]

We have arrived in Singapore. Yesterday was a sea day for which we were thankful on soooo many levels. We had time to organize our “stuff” prior to packing; we could spend time and money in the ship’s casino; and we could sleep in. After three straight days of shore excursions, we were tired.

Singapore is a big, Western city. There are high-rise buildings popping out of the ground like spring flowers. Most if not all of the apartment buildings are government-owned and are refurbished and updated on a regular basis, every 6 years according to one source. The infrastructure seems sound and the roads are well-paved. The Singapore government discourages private automobiles and has provided a modern public transportation system which includes the MRT subway; getting around is easy via the MRT, taxis and buses.

Because we were playing the Vanderbilt’s again, we could not take a regular cab to our hotel but had to use a minivan once we cleared the Cruise Terminal. We had left the ship promptly at 10 a.m. to discover that our checked luggage was waiting for us on a trolley. All we had to do was wheel it 50 feet to an x-ray machine. Security personnel unloaded the bags and then re-stacked them once they emerged from the jaws of the scanner. We wheeled ourselves out of the terminal and to the taxi stand where we were to back inside to get a driver of a big taxi. MA stayed with the bags while D did this; we were mildly aggravated only because we had not been warned about this prior to disembarkation.

Even so, we were on our way to the Singapore Marriott by 10:30 and arrived within 20 minutes. We found the city to be very green and clean with much parkland along our route. We also saw at least three schools which is noteworthy because we hadn’t seen many schools in our other ports of call. Check-in was a breeze; porters emptied the van of our luggage, gave us tags for the bags and told us not to worry about them. When we were registering, the clerk asked about luggage and was given the seven receipts. Within ten minutes of our arrival in the room, the suitcases appeared.

After resting for a bit, we ventured forth into the wilds of Orchard Street. Orchard Street must be the Rodeo Drive or Worth Avenue of Singapore. It is filled with individual high-end retail stores and tony multi-level shopping malls. We wandered on Orchard for a little bit taking in the sight of Gucci stores next to 7-Elevens and noodle shops. Singapore is such an amalgam of cultures that it all fit together despite the apparent incongruities. We were looking for a camera store because our video camera had been misbehaving, going to black when it should have been recording and jumping when there was no apparent reason. We decided to try our luck in the Paragon mall. Tres chic. Very upscale, with no camera store, it did house a Marks & Spencer department store from London, a Lawry’s restaurant; lots of high-end stores; a Toys-R-Us; and a basement filled with restaurants and drug stores.

As we walked through this lower level, we realized that we were on a collision course with Ed and Roxanne. We just stopped and pointed, unseen by the oblivious Roxanne. Once she recognized us, she practically shrieked. We all started talking and then repaired to [where else?] Starbucks. We had drinks and chatted for a while. They had had a busy morning tracking down their absentee ballots and delivering them to the US Embassy. They had also taken the cable car ride which carried them directly over the Amsterdam as it crossed the Singapore harbor. Once back in town, they had been caught in a sudden downpour and had sought shelter in Paragon mall to stay dry and pursue Ed’s search for more AA batteries.

We finally said goodbye for the second time [last night was the first] and headed off on our respective e quests. We found no camera stores in the mall but did find an allegedly Indonesian restaurant where we had chicken curry, steamed rice, nasi kuning [a yellow rice] and the ever-popular Coca Cola. Lunch was inexpensive but good and we congratulated ourselves on our good luck in finding the place.

We headed back toward the Marriott, still looking for a camera store. We had passed several on the way to the Paragon, so we stopped at one on the way back. The salesman [for that is what he was] said the problem with the camera was the humidity of SE Asia, and he would be willing to sell me a new video camera for only 1200 Singapore dollars [SGD]. He would even discount it, he was such a nice fellow. We left quickly. At the next store, the salesman also blamed the humidity for the lack of any image and explained that the change from cold [as in A/C] to warm and humid messed with the camera. The jumping picture was probably the result of dirty recording and playback heads. That made sense, so we agreed to buy a head cleaner. He tried hard to sell a wider-angle lens for the camera and was persuasive, especially when he included the head cleaner and an adaptor ring for about the same price, 150 SGD [about $100 US].

The day was still overcast and threatening, so we decided to return to the hotel and do some sight-seeing tomorrow in the hope that the weather gods would smile on us again. Jon called right after we got to the room, so we chatted with him before reading and resting. We ate dinner in the hotel tonight because of the weather but expect to be more adventurous tomorrow.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

We started late this morning with muffins and coffee in the hotel lobby. Veddy civilized, you know.

If this is the Year of the Cruise, this must be the Cruise of Public Transit. Since we have already toured by train, tram, subway, taxi, minivan and speedboat, we decided to try our luck on the MRT, the local subway system. It is a big help to us that the dominant commercial language is English and signs are easy to read. We were also lucky that the Marriott is situated on top of the Orchard Road MRT station, so all we had to do was exit the hotel and take an escalator underground. This underpass can also be used for getting across the huge intersection in front of the hotel.

The ticket machines were easy to operate once we watched someone else. The machine has an interactive map on which you simply touch your destination and watch as the correct fare is displayed on a screen. We used one-way tickets since we hadn’t firmed up our plans; there are package rates but we think we are better off buying on a “pay as we go” basis. All “regular” tickets carry a $1 SGD handling charge which is refunded at the same ticket machines upon exiting. Since the tickets are really magnetized plastic read by the turnstiles, the $1 guarantees their return for re-use. This is a much more cost efficient and environmentally sound system than paper tickets. Of course, the machines can also add additional funds should plans, and costs, change.

We duly followed the instructions given by a ticket agent and made our way into the bowels of the station, heading for track 5, the train to Marina Bay. We transferred, though, at the second stop, Dhoby Ghaut which we refer to as Dobie Gillis. If you have to ask, it won’t be funny. We made the transfer without incident and headed for HarbourFront, the station at the cruise ship dock. We had seen the office and shopping complex yesterday from the ship.

Our destination was the cable car which travels from Santosa Island to Mt. Faber. We had also seen the cable cars yesterday as they rode thorough an office building. The system has only three stops – Mt. Faber, Santosa and the HarbourFront office tower. We found our way from the MRT to the right office block, paid our fare and rode to the 15th floor to board the cable car. We rode to Mt. Faber to take pictures of the Singapore skyline even though it was shrouded in fog. We were able to take some video during one of the brief moments when the camera was cooperating and even photographed our hotel which was easy to spot on the horizon.

When we had seen what little there was to see at Mt. Faber, we got in a car to return to the HarbourFront station but decided to stay on to and around the Santosa stop. Since we weren’t actually getting off at Santosa Island [another two bucks], no one bothered us. We were able to get a closer look at the Merlion, Singapore’s icon. A combination of a lion and fish, it sits proudly on Santosa overlooking the harbor. It is historically synthetic, created simply as the city-state’s logo. We finally exited from the cable car back at HarbourFront.

On our way “home” we stopped at a Canon service center in the office complex to see if they could diagnose our videocam’s illness. We couldn’t wait five or even the three days it would have taken for a professional checkup, but the clerk suspected that there is a dirty or faulty contact buried in the camera’s innards. We’ll check in Florida and hope it works when we see The Boys. We returned to the hotel to retrieve the computer, then walked to the Paragon mall to check e-mail at Starbuck’s. Once that was done, we went to the Singapore Airlines office and got boarding passes for Saturday’s flight to Cambodia. The agent was a bit surprised to see our last name appear so often on her screen, but we explained that Jon and his family were on the same plane. They have the front bulkhead seats because of Caiden and we have seats in an exit row so we can have more leg room. We returned to the hotel to write the journal, read and do crossword puzzles.

Dinner tonight was magic. We had read Cruise Critic reports on Singapore which spoke highly of Clarke Quay as a place to see; Jon and Briton had also recommended it to us, so that was our destination tonight. We took a short taxi ride because we weren’t sure where the MRT stop was in relation to where we wanted to be. The taxi, naturally, took us right where we wanted to be.
Clarke Quay is a vast wonderland of restaurants and bars although there are a few stores mixed in, but very few. Food choices range from Scots to Cuban to French to Spanish to Asian fusion and on and on. There are as many bars as there are real restaurants. Each place has its own gimmick. The most obvious was the place which had wheelchairs at its tables and stylized hospital beds for drinking and chatting. Overhead are large plastic shields to keep the rain off the customers – they look like UFOs supported by stainless steel toothpicks. Almost all of the eateries and bars were busy by the time we left around 8:20.

We ate at a tapas restaurant, the Tapas Tree. We each had gazpacho then shared a basket of bread, mushrooms sautéed with garlic in olive oil and a red bell pepper filled to overflowing with a mixture of cream cheese and mint. There must have been a full 8 ounce block of cream cheese stuffed into that poor pepper, but it gave us the chance to spread some of it on the bread.
The setting was as satisfying and relaxing as the meal. We were seated on a deck overlooking a canal with a footbridge about 100 yards away. The bridge was lit with colored lights which changed regularly so that sometimes it appeared to be blue or red while at other times it was showcased in a rolling ROYGBIV display. Tour boats plied the waters regularly, appearing from under the bridge in a relentless parade; obviously, they disappeared under it, too. On the opposite bank we saw steps leading to the water, but these, too, were colorfully lit. Again, they were often just one color, but often they were lighted in multicolored patterns. Behind the steps were office towers which seemed to have even more restaurants as high as the third floor [much like where we ate in Hong Kong]. It was enchanting. We wandered through more of Clarke Quay before catching a cab back to the Marriott.

Singapore is an amalgam of cultures. Because of its strategic position at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, it has been fair game for invaders and colonials for centuries. The most prominent influences are Chinese and British and most locals speak some form of English although one of tonight’s cabbies was less than fluent. There seems to be a large Indian population, too, but most natives appear to be of Chinese ancestry. Of course, there is a large commercial American presence, too, but that may not be such a good thing. It is sad that what we are exporting around the world is mostly KFC, Big Macs, Coke and Pepsi. On the other hand, we are watching season 3 of The Amazing Race: Asia right now, so who are we to complain?

Final Field Trip

2008-10-20T12:53:00.001-04:00

Monday, October 20, 2008

This phase of our Cruise to Cambodia is almost done. We took our final field trip today with Ed, Roxanne, Russ and Patti, a tour of Ko Samui [Koh Sa-moo-ee], Thailand.

This is our first tender port; the harbor is too shallow for the ship to dock, so passengers have to take the lifeboats from the Amsterdam to shore. The six of us met at 8:15 in the usual place, then waited in the theater until we could board the tender. We reached shore after an uneventful trip almost on the dot of 9 o’clock. As we exited the tender, we could see a mere slip of a girl holding up the sign for our group.

Our first stop today was the Big Buddha. It could have been called the Really Big Buddha without exaggeration. It had been built about a half hour out of what passed for the town and stood on the crest of a hill overlooking the water. The men all ditched their shoes and climbed to the top of the hill to take pictures – if there is no photo, we weren’t there. There were several families there, too, enjoying the view as well as practicing a little Buddhism.

As we drove to the Buddha, we marveled at how much Ko Samui resembled Bali. The several towns we passed through were all crowded with businesses catering to tourists and there was much more English visible on signs than in other ports we have visited. We saw extensive and elaborate resorts next to tin shacks, even a Starbucks which we hadn’t seen in Bangkok although we are sure there are some there. Storefront business and markets lined the streets and motorcycles were numerous. Out of the towns, there was obviously less development and roadside “stores” were aimed at a more local market. Still, it all felt familiar in a good way.

The weather gods had blessed us today with tropic heat and humidity, bright sunshine and a threat of afternoon showers. Once we had cooled off, we climbed into the van and headed to a “Kodak moment” overlook from which we could once again gaze at the tropical blue waters; the blue was a pleasant change from the muddy brown river water we had seen the past several days. If we squinted a bit, we could even see the Big Buddha on its distant hilltop. Fortunately for us, Lexi, today’s guide, had brought ice cold bottled water and disposable towels which she had kept in the cooler with the water. They were even more welcome and refreshing than the “welcome home” towels HAL has been providing at the gangway in the afternoon. We drank eagerly and toweled off before once again getting in the van.

We stopped next at the Hin Ta and Hin Yai rock formations. Since Ko Samui is built on a volcanic base, these were lava outcroppings which had flowed into the cool water and solidified. Hin Ta and Hin Yai are the Grandmother and Grandfather rocks. Grandfather is a vertical formation at the shoreline which is overtly phallic; when the lava hardened, it really hardened. Grandmother is a collection of three rocks in the water about 30 yards off shore. Ed and I found another lava flow which looked more anatomically female, but that wasn’t grandma.

When we had parked at this stop, we had walked through a little market area replete with food stalls and souvenir shops. Lexi took us to one where women were preparing coconut sugar candy. Molten coconut sugar is spooned into plastic squares and tied off leaving a sweet tasting confection with a consistency a little stiffer than molasses. On the way back to the car, we made a special stop at that same stall to purchase some to take with us. It shouldn’t be refrigerated and should stay fresh for 2 weeks, so it will last through the rest of the trip; we think Briton and The Boys will like it.

We made a stop at a monkey exhibition, too. Yesterday, MA and Roxanne had seen a monkey show which exploited the monkeys, but today we saw a monkey trained to climb a coconut palm and harvest the coconuts. This is a less labor intensive way for the local growers to harvest the coconuts because the monkeys can climb the trees more easily than men and can work faster once they have reached the top. The monkeys also are more agile since they can use their tails to hold on or for balance. We tasted fresh coconut milk and shredded coconut before taking our leave and driving to a nearby waterfall.

Roxanne and MA stayed at the top of the hill which overlooked the falls. There was little to see from the top through the tree cover, so Ed, Russ, Patti and D climbed down the rock-and-root footpath to the bottom of the falls to take pictures [of course]. There were local kids swimming in the pool at the bottom and several were jumping into the pool from a rock outcropping next to the pool. While we were at the bottom of the hill, Roxanne and MA made an executive decision: it was time for lunch.

We returned to town and stopped near the dock. Lexi escorted us in an made sure we were comfortable but declined the invitation to eat with us. Most of the guides have left us to our own devices; only in Shanghai did a paid guide lunch with us. We ordered a variety of dishes. Ma had an Indian curry and D had pad thai noodles. No Coca Cola was available so we settled for Seven-Up and Russ had a large beer. The bill for six of us came to 560 bahts, about $17 USD. D had exactly 560 bahts and paid the check in an effort to get rid of them, but the others paid him bahts so he had gained no advantage and had to exchange them for dollars when he returned to the ship.

The tender trip back to the ship was interesting, too. After Lexi left us at the dock, we waited for the HAL tender but were told to board a rust bucket instead. Once aboard, though, we had to wait for several bus-loads of passengers who were returning from their tours. As we waited, we could see the afternoon storm approaching, low lying clouds gradually obscuring the hills outside of town. By the time we started to move, it was raining hard. Russ, Patti and Ed remained outside on the top deck; D went to the lower deck; and MA and Roxanne stayed under cover in the top-deck passenger area. D was the only one who was dry by the time we transferred to the Amsterdam because Roxanne and MA got wet not only from rain coming in the windows but also from a leaking roof. The three who stayed outside, of course, were soaked.

Once on board, we returned briefly to the room before adjourning to the Ocean Bar for the requisite post-trip Coca Cola, then checked e-mail. MA returned to the room for a nap and D joined Russ for trivia. After trivia, D finally finished reading World Without End, all 1000 pages of it. From there to dinner, the journal, the casino, the end.

Two Short Days in the Emerald City

2008-10-19T13:53:00.002-04:00

Sunday, October 19, 2008

“Come with me to the Emerald City.”
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to see the Emerald City!” [from Wicked]

There is no way to capture Bangkok in words. It is a mixture of beauty and grace, squalor and poverty. Perhaps as a result of its splendor juxtaposed against its crowded streets, it is even more magical than it would otherwise be.

Saturday started ominously, though. There was little coordination between the various departments on the ship resulting in a longer than anticipated wait to get our passports from the Front Office. All passports had to be checked and stamped by Thai authorities before anyone could leave the ship, but the documents of those spending the night off ship were not pulled for early perusal by Thai officials. All of us had notified ship’s personnel, but they still seemed surprised. Ed and D were patient, especially when every passport except MA’s appeared. We finally went ashore at 9 o’clock, right on schedule.

We were met by our driver and rode in a Mercedes minivan [ours for the next two days] to Bangkok, about a two hour drive. The Thai road system is so superior to Vietnam’s that there can be no comparison. The roads were decently paved, well laid-out and wide enough to handle the traffic, especially on a weekend. Much of the trip was on limited-access roadways; much of that was an elevated highway which we drove for about an hour.

After the smooth ride into town, we were a bit startled to see the traffic once we got off the highway and dropped into Bangkok. Traffic moved slowly, so we had a chance to see some of the city before we met our guide. We passed many parks; colorful divided boulevards full of plantings; Buddhist temples; and street markets, a staple of SE Asia. The sidewalks were crowded not only with stores and stalls but also with vendors with food carts. They were packed cheek-to-jowl amidst a sprawl of humanity. We also had our introduction to Bangkok taxis. They all have the same signs on their roofs – “Taxi Meter – but each company has a distinctive bright, almost electric, color of combination of colors. There were bright blue ones, yellow ones, green ones and our favorite, the shocking pink taxis.

Once we picked up Ka Ty [Kay Tee], we began the whirlwind tour of Bangkok. The first stop, where we met her, was near the Grand Palace. There may be a picture here eventually, but this area is what is usually shown when Thailand and Bangkok are pictured in posters or movies. The grounds include a complex of Buddhist temples and outbuildings as well as the Royal Palace. The most prominent building was the Phra Siritana Chedi, a large round building built in layers like a Dairy Queen cone topped by a spire like the DQ curl. It is probably the most recognized edifice in the mile-square Palace grounds. We spent a great deal of time looking at the buildings immediately behind the golden Chedi; there were three, each done in a different style, faced with glass tiles so that the buildings sparkled in the sun. Surrounding the last building were statues of elephants and stylized dragons and women. Again, words don’t really convey the beauty of these buildings.

We walked down the steps and entered the ante-chamber of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Buddhist custom requires long pants, covered shoulders and stockinged feet to enter the sanctuary. Before we left our shoes in numbered bins outside the temple and climbed the stairs, we tried to take photographs of the distant Buddha since photography was not allowed in this temple. We also saw worshippers dipping lotus flowers into water and sprinkling themselves, some leaving donations in conveniently placed boxes. Ka Ty baptized us, too, saying that anyone could ask for good luck, not just Buddhists. We all agreed that having another contemporary deity on our side couldn’t hurt.

The Emerald Buddha was much smaller than the jade one we saw in Shanghai in 2006 which, ironically, we were not allowed to photograph, either. There was a crowd inside but it wasn’t hard to find the Buddha high on the back wall. Ka Ty tried to explain some aspects of the temple and Buddhists, but we probably forgot most of it by the time we got to lunch. We did learn that one must never sit so his bare feet face the Buddha and, later in the day, we saw parents correcting their small children at another temple.

When we finally tore ourselves away from the Temple complex, we walked through part of the Palace grounds. Much of it is off limits to visitors and today there was extra security because the king’s sister had died. We all heard a reference to January but couldn’t agree on whether she had died in January or her ashes were going to buried in January. Buddhists practice cremation and a new crematory was built for the occasion. At any rate, only Thais are allowed to pay their respects and they were expected dress completely in black; it wasn’t hard to spot them in the crowd. The palace buildings a an amalgam of traditional Thai architecture and Nineteenth Century European. King Rama V wanted to modernize the country and started by copying European buildings. A replica of Buckingham Palace topped by a Thai tile roof gives the place a Disneyworld effect.

There were so many temples and statues of Buddha on today’s itinerary that they have all run together. In no particular order, we visited both the Reclining Buddha and the Standing Buddha. The Reclining Buddha is around 65 feet long and colored with the traditional gold leaf. The Buddha is so long and the temple so narrow that one can only see the entire statue by standing at either end. Buddha’s toes are always shown as perfectly straight, but he bottoms of his feet are marked into 108 sections [only visible, naturally, with a reclining figure]. Pilgrims may purchase temple coins to drop into 108 bowls stationed on the back side of the Buddha. Dropping the coins without dropping the coins is supposed to bring good luck, but we heathens decided not to do it. As we toured, Ka Ty continued explain what we saw, especially wall paintings depicting he Buddha’s life.

The Standing Buddha was not nearly as tall/long as the Reclining Buddha, but he was still impressive. Like the others, he was in a shoe-free zone, so we dutifully removed our shoes before entering the temple. We found monks rearranging the furnishings but never found out why. Ka Ty told us that monks may stay for a few months or a few years, but few stay for a lifetime. Being a monk is not a lifetime vocation in Buddhism but a phase many young men go through.

There was also a large standing Buddha outside. We could see him clearly without entering the sanctuary area, so we did not have to remove our shoes. We wandered around this small compound with Ed and D taking pictures, especially of a herd of cats since Roxanne is fixated on The Cats of Asia.

We had been up since before dawn and on the go since 9:00 a.m., so it was time for lunch. We knew that Ka Ty would recommend someplace for lunch but were not prepared for the floating restaurant which just happened to dock next to the boat we were to take after lunch. We could have done better here, but the meal had its high points. The food was offered as a buffet. We were careful to stick to cooked items although there were Westerners eating salads. We found spaghetti with assorted sauces; stir-fried veggies; chicken and pork dishes; and steamed and fried rice. Ka Ty brought us several Thai specialties we may not have seen or tried. The most memorable were the coconut pan cakes. That is not a typo – they were little cakes steamed in a pan. They had a coconut milk base other ingredients added; most of ours had corn and green onion tops. Yummo! The fried won tons were good, but these were sweet and moist and to die for. We hope we can find them when we get home. Dessert choices included petit fours sized cake squares and fresh fruit.

After lunch, Ka Ty tried to get us all into a long-tail boat but was unsuccessful. We had a boat to ourselves, but the restaurant boat was too high and the long-tail boat too low for MA to even attempt the transfer, despite Ka Ty’s pleadings. Ed, Roxanne and D went for the boat ride while MA waited in air-conditioned comfort with her MP3 player and Barry Manilow. Ka Ty joined us for the ride which took us through a canal off of the river. As boat trips go, this one was simple: go up the canal, turn around, come down the canal. The long-tail gets its name from its propulsion system. An automobile engine is mounted on the rear of the boat with a long drive-shaft attached to it. This makes it easier to use in shallow water since the propeller is far behind the craft, not directly under it. The name itself derives from the long plume of spray which is thrown when the boat is moving at high speed – it looks like a rooster’s tail.

There were lots of boats operating on this canal, so things go choppy every time we crossed another boat’s wake. We saw homes built over the water, often with no dry land beneath them. Utility poles were stuck in the water looking like trees growing. There were merchants traveling dock to dock selling food and a mail man is a motor boat. These houses, for the most part, had no road leading to them so the only access is by boat. We stopped for a water-borne huckster who paid a commission to our driver when Roxanne bought some tchotkes. There was even a land/sea fire station. The highlight, though, may have been the teen-aged boys jumping from the top of a railroad trestle into the river to swim.

We decided that we were Buddha-ed out and told Ka Ty that it was time to go the hotel. When we got there, she stayed until we were checked in and had our room keys, then told us that a driver would pick us up at 5:45 to take us to our dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River.
Our rooms at the Marriott were magnificent. We got the last two river-view rooms [which we had reserved months ago] and could watch as barges, long-tails and other boats went both up and down the river. We rested, showered and dressed in clean casual clothes. We thought the driver was going to cal the room when he got to the hotel, but that didn’t happen. MA and D went to the lobby around 5:50 to discover that Ed, Roxanne and the driver were waiting. Away we went.

Once again, the food left something to be desired, but we hadn’t signed up for this cruise for the food per se. Once diners were allowed to board, we were shown to our table. As soon as we cast off, appetizers and then soup appeared. The wait staff wanted to finish the service in an hour so they could present the folkloric dance program. The appetizers were excellent, the soup was very spicy and the Thai sampler dinner had its ups and downs, but the view of riverfront Bangkok intermittently lit from one end to the other was spectacular. The most breath-taking view was of the Royal Palace and Temple buildings ablaze in light. Like the long-tail this morning, we just made figure eights, circling back on a short course to we could continue to move without really going anywhere.

After dessert was served and cleared, members of the wait staff changed their roles and clothes to present the dances. It was amazing to watch the girls bend their wrists back and then their fingers so far that they could touch the backs of their arms. There were four separate dance numbers, but none was recorded by us because D had left his cameras in the hotel room. We knew this before we left but decided that he might enjoy the show more if he weren’t fiddling with two cameras, both of which had been erratic on the trip. So we enjoyed the show, found our driver around 9 o’clock and returned to the hotel through noticeably emptier streets. We were exhausted and, therefore, asleep by 10:15.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

My God! We’re in Bangkok! The morning started around 6 a.m. because breakfast was being delivered at 6:15 so we could be ready for a 7:30 pick-up. We must be out of our minds. And the weather gods have failed us. We watched a rain storm approach from across the river and by 7 o’clock, it was pouring. We gave fleeting thoughts to canceling today’s trip and returning to the ship, but Ka Ty, who returned at our request, explained that we were going an hour east of Bangkok and the weather might be better there. How could we turn her down after she got up on a Sunday just for us? And she was right. The rain tapered off the farther we went from Bangkok.

We were heading for another boat ride [more on that shortly] but made an unscheduled stop on the way so Ka Ty could show us some more of Thailand’s traditions. We pulled into a roadside stand which might have been selling grapefruit in Florida or barbecue elsewhere. The workers, though, were demonstrating uses for the coconut. Ka Ty showed us how, as a young girl, she had had to shred the meat of coconuts by hand using a method that looked a bit like juicing a orange by twisting it back and forth over a grater. There were three pots of boiling coconut in the various stages of preparation of coconut brown sugar. We watched the last stage – twirling – which resembled taffy preparation, and we tasted the finished product which was just oh so sweet and tasty. The girls, especially, were delighted. Ka Ty explained that every part of the coconut is used for something. The fronds are used as cooking packets; the husks could be burned instead of charcoal [just like the fires in Jimbaron, Bali]; the wood from the tree used for artifacts like spoons and decorative cups; and so on. It was an informative and tasty stop.

We completed our journey to the next boat in only a few more minutes. It was still raining but not as hard as when we left. Once again, the boat was not hospitable. Although MA could have gotten into it this time, seating was on cushions on the floor so she could not have gotten down or up without some serious discomfort. We couldn’t seem to make Ka Ty understand that we wanted a boat with seats, even if they were low. Did I mention the rain? Roxanne and MA stayed behind with the driver [whom D christened Mr. Kwan] while Ed and D, joined by Ka Ty, climbed in and down. Although the seat cushions had been dried as we boarded, we were wet in no time. Ed and D were wearing the famous red rain jackets, but they didn’t offer protection for legs or faces. It was especially wet on the right side of the boat. We wandered through a real water town similar to what we had seen on the canal yesterday. Again, these were functioning houses with few having land access. We zigzagged through a canal system for 30 wet, bumpy minutes taking pictures [of course] before ending up at the water market.

The market was a morning market. Vendors in boats, most similar to the long-tails but without the giant motors, were selling everything from vegetables to fruits to cooked foods. There were LP gas canisters lining the dock. The dock itself was really several blocks of canal with open buildings on either shore, a concrete sidewalk available for the pedestrian shoppers. Many customers came in their own boats; vendors jockeyed for position; and boats full of tourists added to the melee. It was marvelous. This market is a morning market because the vendors ply the canals making home deliveries and sales in the afternoon.

On the way from the terminus of their tour, D and Ed did some “window” shopping while Ka Ty ran an errand. Predictably, D bought a mask for “the wall” in WPB. As they walked through more of the pedestrian area, he bargained for another mask to the point that the seller ran after him in the crowd. The selling price was only one-third of the original asking price and even Ka Ty was impressed.

Once Ka Ty found MA and Roxanne, she planted us at a counter after we got the usual Cokes. We sat mesmerized at the panorama in front of us. We were on the canal’s edge watching everything and trying to capture it digitally. Suddenly Ka Ty reappeared bearing food! She had gone shopping for us at several of her favorite floating food stalls. We feasted on fried bananas coated with coconut; fresh-from-the tree mangoes and sticky rice; and something which looked like a miniature taco but was made from coconut and filled with cream. She brought so much that this became our lunch. Before we left, the four of us filled in questionnaires about our experience for a girl who said she was doing research for her Master’s thesis.

We finally dragged ourselves away after a little more shopping and drove less than 5 minutes before reaching our final stop of the day, one which was not on the original schedule. We went to an elephant park where D and Ed had a 30-minute ride on Ralph the Elephant while Roxanne and MA saw a monkey show. Ralph did well – he didn’t lose a single passenger – but it was a bumpy ride made worse by the muddy conditions. Ralph kept stopping for snacks and tried to drink water from deep puddles formed in the mud. Elephants lurch sort of like camels, so our backs were sore when we climbed off, but we were glad for the experience, so much so that we bought the souvenir picture of the two of us and Ralph.

Once the monkey show was over, we traipsed to the van and started home. We dropped Ka Ty in Bangkok and Mr. Kwan made good time and returned us to the ship just past 3:00 p.m.

This might be a good time to discuss Asian plumbing. Many places, such as the gas station where we stopped in Bangkok this afternoon, do not have Western-style toilets. In some places, especially Japan, there are holes in the floor with no toilets at all. In other places, there are low-rise toilets which are only a few inches off the ground. Most of these have a place designed for one’s feet, but they are still difficult for the arthritic to use because getting up and down is difficult. Just as important, they are often unappetizing [use your imaginations here] if not outright unsanitary. When we stopped today, Ka Ty offered the women Kleenex as a precaution, but they were prepared, having been in many of these facilities over the past month. Frequently, there is no flush mechanism; the user must scoop water into the bowl to clean up. Toilets, women’s toilets especially, are not for the faint of heart. While the same toilets may be in the men’s room, anatomy has made life much easier for them.

And so to bed. Our last field trip is later this morning [it’s closing in on 1:00 a.m. now] and we have to meet Roxanne, Ed, Patti and Russ at 8:15.

Saigon Sojourn

2008-10-16T13:06:00.000-04:00

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Who would ever have thought anyone would visit Vietnam? Yet, here we are spending a day in Saigon. Now officially called Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon is Vietnam’s largest metropolis which a population of approximately 10 million people. It seemed that each of them owns a motorcycle. Actually, our guide said that were about 4 million motorcycles or scooters in Saigon. They were all on the road today.

We had a little confusion at the start because our guide wasn’t at the dock, holding a sign, as promised. After we walked the length of the dock, D called the agency on his cell phone and was told the guide and car were already at the ship. We got it worked out – apparently she was at the souvenir stand rather than looking for us. This was not a good start.

The drive from Phu My [Foo May] to Saigon is about 70 km but takes almost 2 hours. The main road, the imaginatively named Highway Number 1, is a four lane road with a Jersey wall divider running almost its entire length. It is roughly paved and overwhelmed by traffic. It is crowded with cars, trucks and the aforementioned motorcycles and speeds never passed about 60 kph [36 mph] on the trip. The roadside was crammed with small shops and stalls selling everything to everybody. There were food stands which weren’t really good enough to be called restaurants; every type of commercial venture; and open-air markets selling primarily produce. The life of Vietnam could be seen on the roadside.

We’re still not sure if the guide gave us her name; the four of us agreed that we didn’t know it if she did. She also didn’t tell us much on the drive in. We did learn that the standard, government-approved building size for housing and merchants was now set at 5 m by 12 m [approx 16 ft x 38 feet]. This limitation resulted in the creation of three- and four-story buildings.

Our first stop today was the War Museum. Housed in the former United States Information Agency building, the museum presented the official Vietnamese perspective on their “recent unpleasantness,’” as our Southern friends might say. The people refer to the period as “the American War,” but the displays cast blame on everyone who wasn’t on the winning side. [Editorial: Is there ever really a winning side?] Not only the Americans, but the French and South Vietnamese are portrayed in a less than flattering light.

The first of the five buildings showed pictures and posters from the era. It was the History museum. Outside, in a central courtyard, were captured tanks, aircraft and helicopters while inside were articles damning the opposition participants. The exhibit showed, ironically, that history is in the eye of the beholder. The terms savior and invader depend on whether your side wins.

The second building housed exhibits of pictures by photographers who lost their lives recording the Vietnam conflict as far back as when it was the War in Indochina at the end of the French occupation. The fall of Dien Bien Phu ended one “war” but signaled the start of another. The photographers represented in this exhibit were both American and Vietnamese and included a writer/photographer responsible for Life magazine articles about the conflict as far back as 1964-65. This exhibit drew no overt conclusions but was all the more powerful because of that.

The largest exhibit was in the USIA building itself. There were sections on the combat; sections on Agent Orange and its lasting effects; sections on atrocities and the loss of life; and, finally, an art exhibit featuring pictures by teenagers which echoed the theme of universal peace. One could not be unmoved by the photos and text [which was in both Vietnamese and English]. Mass graves are hideous whether they are in Vietnam, the Sudan or Nazi Europe, and some of these pictures conjured up just that sort of brutality.

The fourth section was a recreation of the “tiger” cages used by the South Vietnamese forces to imprison special prisoners. The cells were small and crowded, packed with more captives in summer than winter. Prisoners were treated as poorly by the South Vietnamese as American captives were by the North. Included in the exhibit was a guillotine used on prisoners.

The last building contained anti-war propaganda from the period – photos, posters and home-made signs from anti-war demonstrations around the world but especially from the US. It was as if the government were thumbing its nose at the US and others for not listening to the protesters.

The guide had simply left us to wander on our own and reappeared an hour later with no explanation or reaction. She was definitely not on the same level as Pho from Hoi An. Our next stop was at an art gallery. We didn’t know why this was on the tour but we soon figured it out. Since the paintings were almost all impressionistic Western-style works, we knew that this was not a chance to see the history of Vietnam or its art; it was an attempt to sell us art work. We challenged the selection and left within five minutes. We drove to the main Post Office, done in the French style, and the Notre Dame Cathedral, which wasn’t open.

It was time for lunch by now, almost 12:30, and we wanted noodles. The guide directed the driver to an eatery which specialized in pho [fuh], the national dish. Pho is a noodle-filled broth which can also contained any kind of meat imaginable. It is served with cilantro, basil, mint, lime, bean sprouts, soy sauce and chili paste, and, ideally, the diner doctors the pho to his personal taste. We were a little leery of the fresh produce and we were relieved when the guide said not to use much of it because it might ot be cleaned to our standards. That was enough to keep us from using any of it although D did add chili paste to his. Ed and Roxanne both ordered pho with brisket, D got his with chicken and MA chosethe vegetarian so she got the most noodles. Ed had a beer and the rest had Cokes – no glasses, just straws. Better safe than sick. Anyway, we all enjoyed the meal. Once again, we were the only Westerners in the place, safely seated on the third floor where the air conditioner was. All three levels were packed, and we got the last table upstairs.

After lunch, Girl Guide reappeared and we went to the Ben Thanh market, a square block of indoor shopping. It was designed as a square-within-a-square. The outer square contained government sanctioned stalls where the prices were fixed. Goods for sale included handicrafts, clothes and textiles. We walked the entire outer square and assumed, later, that the guide had no choice. The inner square was full of private merchants selling much of the same type of products but more aggressively. Here, one was expected to bargain up to 40% off of the price, but we didn’t buy anything. We were fascinated by the produce available here because many if not most items are not readily available in the States. The odor from the produce was off-putting, to be polite, and we saw no meat or fish stalls. Lots of vendors tried to sell us shirts, pants, watches and textiles off the bolt, but we were brave and tired. After a short drive through the heart of Saigon’s European section – home to the opera, city hall and high-end retailers, we headed back to the ship and cold towels.

Hoi An, Vietnam

2008-10-14T12:27:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The weather gods tripped us up today but in a good way. We were prepared for overcast skies and rain showers but ended up with lots of sun, heat and humidity. We, of course, had neither hats nor sunscreen and our rain jackets were of dubious value.

The six of us met around 8:45 and headed off to meet today’s guide. Sure enough, once we cleared the ship and had our Vietnam entry cards stamped, we found Pho [Foh] holding a sign for us. We were quickly ushered into a waiting Mercedes minivan which could have held as many as 12 people, so we had plenty of room. Our driver, Tee, was in motion immediately and we started for Hoi An, about 45 minutes from the port of Danang. On the way to Hoi An, we passed by the famous China Beach where American service men came for R&R during the “American War,” as it is known here. [For those who remember, it also leant its name to a television show about the Vietnam war]

Hoi An is a town that is over 400 years old. Although not preserved in the manner of Zhouzhaung, China, it has maintained some of the old customs: The area is filled with “trade neighborhoods” where specific trades are practiced and products sold. The tradition is not as strict as it was since there is a good deal of cross-over, but it reminded us of Bali where individual villages specialize in certain crafts [wood working, masks, etc.]. Hoi An also reminded us of Bali because there was no city planning evident; we found livestock mixed with shops and restaurants. The roads leading to Hoi An were in good repair, but the closer we came to the old town, the worse they were. Many in town were torn up as if for re/paving and many had the surface appearance of Swiss cheese.

The old town features an outdoor market which is really no more than lots of contiguous store fronts selling the same goods – produce and textiles, mostly – making it not a whole lot different from the rest of the town. The fact that they were all on one square seemed to be what made it a market.

There are no cars or trucks in the old section, either. The only vehicles visible were bicycles and motorcycles, and there were more than enough of those. Also reminiscent of Indonesia, they were ever-present, swarmed like mosquitoes and did not yield to pedestrians. Crossing streets was an exercise in speed and agility.

We walked through part of the town with Pho pointing out “the sights” such as they were before making our first stop. We entered a small theater with stools about 2 inches off the ground [well, that’s what it felt like to our collective knees]. Soon, a young woman mounted the stage and explained what we were going to see and hear. She introduced each of the five acts prior to the performance. First we had a musical selection by the house band [uher, drums, electric guitar and two other native instruments]. The players were loud and enthusiastic, but the traditional Vietnamese music was not too pleasing to our ears. The musicians played for each act and it all sounded pretty much the same.

The second act was a pantomime/dance by a trio which had one man and two women. The man was made up to look old and he appeared to be “on the make,” but unsuccessfully. There was a more traditional explanation, but it has been lost to fatigue. The third act was a solo singer who screeched something no one understood. She was followed by a woman dancing the Vietnamese “fox dance.” The fox story is an ancient one – a female fox wants to become human and after many years is granted her wish. Of course, there is a condition on the wish: she must keep possession of a pearl or she will revert to her vulpine form. Naturally, she falls in love and her lover hides the pearl so that she can’t find it. Over time, she becomes a fox again. The dancing and writhing were accompanied by shrieks and moans befitting the Hallowe’en season, but it was confusing and not especially enjoyable. Finally, there was a trio of female dancers who balanced fake water jugs on their heads and waved flags. This, at least, was bearable. Everyone took a final bow and we were released to the tropic sun once more.

We visited the Phuc Kien Temple which is not a temple. In earlier days, the town not only had trades neighborhoods but also ethnic neighborhoods. There were Chinese and Japanese sections in addition to the native Vietnamese neighborhoods. The Japanese have disappeared [more on that later], but there is still a sizable Chinese population. The Phuc Kien Temple now serves as a meeting place for them as well as a reminder of their heritage. The architecture is typically Chinese with dragons, red and gold paint and raised doorways to keep out evil spirits. Hanging from the ceiling are spiral incense “sticks” which can take up to a month to burn. Visitors [and perhaps locals] place their names inj the spirals in the hope of living long, healthy lives. There are also small alters where people can leave incense [joss] sticks as an offering.

We visited an ancient merchant’s house. This house had been in the same family for nine generations. In fact, the patriarch died just several months ago. We heard about the house toured the first floor. According to our guide, the family still lives in the house. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the visit was looking at markers commemorating floods in the Thu Bon River behind the house. While last week’s flooding brought only 6 inches of water into the house, previous floods, going back 40 years or so, have flooded the house with as much as 2 meters of water. Last week, all of the furnishings on the first floor were hauled to the second floor by use of a pulley.

We wandered under Pho’s direction to the Temple Bridge. This is a covered bridge that traces its design to a bridge built on the same spot over 400 years ago. The original bridge joined the Japanese and Chinese neighborhoods and was meant as a show of amity. In the middle of the bridge, there is a Buddhist temple. The bridge has been replaced innumerable times for one reason or another but still stands at the same place, a testament to the endurance of Hoi An.

Next, we took a boat ride on the Thu Bon. We sat on hard wooden benches which were not secured to the floor and were subject to tipping if we weren’t careful. We motored up and down the muddy river for 45 minutes, glad for the respite from the sun and for the breeze which cooled us off. The best part of the trip was watching a native fisherman cast his net in the hope of catching dinner. As we approached his dug-out, he proudly showed us the net full of fish he had captured that day. We saw a variety of small boats, different kinds of , and cattle and water buffalo. It was interesting and refreshing.

We finished our day at a silk factory where we got the crash course on silk worms and farming. There was also a demonstration of an electric loom, but the point of the stop was to sell us silk goods and other handicrafts. Like good little tourists, we did our job, buying presents for the children and, later, a Buddha mask for David. The Buddha’s face looks remarkably like Caiden’s, so we couldn’t resist. All of the prices were marked in US dollars, but D used Vietnamese dong which Emily had gotten for him months ago.

After that, we were ready for lunch, so Pho directed Tee to a “good” restaurant where she was sure we would enjoy our meal while she and Tee went to a roadside stand for lunch. Her instincts were good on two counts – we would have worried about the safety of the “local” establishment and we did enjoy our lunch of Vietnamese and Chinese dishes. Double Cokes for everyone except Russ and Ed who had beer. After lunch, we drove back to the ship in Danang, arriving around 3:45, right on time. The highlight of our return, though, was the HAL steward handing out ice-cold towels to revive us after a long day in the sun.

Farewell Hong Kong

2008-10-12T11:18:00.002-04:00

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The weather gods have been kind to us again. Yesterday was bright, sunny and hot, perfect weather ofr our journey to the top of Victoria Peak. We were able to see for miles as we looked out over Hong Kong Island toward Kowloon. Today, on the other hand, is overcast and foggy, far from ideal for a trip to the Peak.

We started out around 10:30. Our only goal was to see if someone could explain a puzzling red indicator light on the video camera. As we walked through the Ocean Mall, we spotted Ed and Roxanne coming toward us. Roxanne was returning to the ship to shower after a passing pigeon mistook her for a public lavatory. Ed joined us because he needed extra batteries for his camera. Off we went, pretending to know where we were going. We discovered that the mall is divided into neighborhoods -- all of the women’s clothing stores were grouped together; sporting goods and athletic wear were together; and all of the electronics and camera stored were in the same area. We found our way to the third floor and went into the first camera store we saw. D’s video problem was diagnosed as a failing battery, so he bought a replacement as well as extra AAs and Ed bought more AAs, too.

We separated then and continued walking the mall. We tried to find the Toys-R-Us we had seen advertised but had no luck. We went out of the shopping center onto Canton Road and walked around before finding our way into the mall via a side entrance. We had passed other little junk stores as well as another high-rise shopping building but still didn’t see the toy store. We asked when we returned to the mall and got directions to the biggest Toys-R-Us we have seen. We did a little shopping [no hints for the readers in Indonesia] and decided to go to an early lunch.

MA had heard about a Chinese restaurant called the Jade Garden. She thought it was in the Ocean Mall but we realized, upon asking, that it was in the shopping tower we had been in earlier. Back we went to Canton Road. We found the restaurant without trouble – it was on the fourth floor and there were other Chinese restaurants on floors two and three as well. We were seated at a table for two, a change from yesterday’s adventure. English menus appeared complete with pictures and we selected, and shared, fried won tons and steamed dumplings.

The Jade Garden was several steps above the place where we ate yesterday. At no time did we wonder about our continued good health. The view from the windows was of Hong Kong Harbor. Like yesterday, though, we were the only Westerners present although a few others arrived while we were eating. The fried won tons may have been the best we’ve ever had because they were made with a very thin wrapper, not the heavy, doughy won tons we have come to expect in the State. The steamed dumplings were hot and flavorful, full of shrimp but a little sticky. Again, the wrappers were different from dumplings we have had in China and the US. We celebrated our adventure, for that’s what it was, with Diet Cokes. Do we know how to live?

There was only one show tonight, presented at 7 o’clock. This was a “tribute” to Chinese culture and contained four different acts. The first was a duet of piano and uher [sp?], the traditional Chinese violin which is played vertically, not held under the chin. Its sound was almost like the human voice and the musicians presented a varied program of four works. The first and last numbers were traditional Chinese but the middle two were definitely Western – Brahms’ Hungarian Dance #5 and Pachelbel’s Canon. This was a definite hit.

Next came the dragon dance. Accompanied by a rhythm section of drums and cymbals, ten young men made a forty-foot cloth dragon dance, chase a ball and slither over the stage. The performers were dressed all in black so they wouldn’t be visible while they worked, but so many people took flash photographs that it was impossible not to see them. As the dragon, held aloft by sticks, twisted and contorted, the handlers had to duck, turn and jump over the dragon. Since the dragon glowed under black light, it was really impressive.

The third act consisted of a pair of girls who did a traditional ribbon dance. The girls and their costumes seemed more Thai than Chinese to us and the routine they presented reminded us of the streamer portion of a rhythmic gymnastics competition. However, Olympic competitors would have been more synchronized. They were followed by an illusionist who moved about the stage waving his cape and changing his mask without blinking. It was impossible to tell how he did it which made his performance fascinating.

We were all at the table for dinner tonight [Patti and Russ had had other plans Friday and Saturday] and we exchanged stories about our adventures in Hong Kong. After supper, there was a farewell performance on the dock – another rhythm band and dragon performance. It was difficult to see because of sight lines and leaning people, but D thinks he was able to video enough of it to interest Carter.

Tomorrow is a sea day with plenty of time to work on that gigantic book and Tuesday we will be in Danang, Vietnam. Time to rest up for the hard part of the trip.

Hong Kong

2008-10-11T11:42:00.001-04:00

Saturday, October 11, 2008

It’s hard to believe that we will be disembarking in Singapore in just 11 days. It seems like we just came on board. Nonetheless, we have been to fascinating places already with even more exotic ports to come.

Today, we were in Hong Kong. Even the sound of it does something, doesn’t it? It’s no longer the seedy backwater portrayed in the old black-and-white films; it is a modern, thriving, vibrant city which rivals Shanghai for high-rise office buildings on its exciting waterfront. There are differences, of course. The Hong Kong roads are smoother; the highway system is more developed; and the people are definitely more Westernized. There is a hustle-and-bustle of a business-oriented city that escaped the Communist takeover. In other cities in Asia and Eastern Europe, there was a feeling of inferiority and depression, especially in Budapest. It was as if these places were still suffering from the mind-set of oppression. The Hong Kong attitude is anything but depressed.

Because we were here two years ago, we were the line leaders today. We had decided to introduce Ed and Roxanne to the highlights without paying HAL prices; we also picked up a Canadian couple at breakfast who asked if they could tag along. Places that must be seen include Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Aberdeen and Stanley. We were able to get to three out of four today. The Aberdeen floating village will have to wait for the Pettuses’ return.
We started around 9:15 by walking through the adjacent Ocean Mall [to which the Amsterdam is docked] and heading to the Star Ferry. This ferry service, which costs $1.70 HKD, connects Kowloon, the mainland where we are tied up, to the island of Hong Kong. The cost is really minimal since the Hong Kong dollar is only valued at 14 cents in US dollars; the one-way fare, therefore, is about twenty cents. The ten-minute crossing brought us to a terminal which incorporated a shopping complex, which we avoided, and a system of overhead walkways which took us over about six blocks of heavily trafficked downtown roadways. By following well-place signs, we had no difficulty finding our way to the Victoria Peak Tram station. The walk from the Star Ferry was probably over a mile, the last 3 blocks of which were very uphill. We felt like we were walking to the top of the Peak.

Because we were early, we had only a five minute wait for the tram to arrive. It is an upside down cable car – the cable lies under the tramcars much like those in San Francisco. We boarded the tram and were careful to sit on the right-hand side of the car. This afforded us the best view as we ascended 1500-foot Victoria Peak. The angle is so steep, almost 45 degrees at some points, that it appears that the highrise apartment buildings in the hillside are slanted. Of course, it created is an optical illusion by the steep pitch of the mountain.

Once atop Victoria Peak, Hong Kong’s highest point, Roxanne, Ed and the Canadians decided to pay extra to go to a higher observation point on top of the Tram building. While they did this, MA and D got cold drinks at the dread Starbuck’s. We shared a table with a young, apparently Chinese, girl who, we discovered, worked for in finance for Franklin Templeton; she had been in HK for a year after living for the previous sixteen years in the Fort Lauderdale area. In fact, she had gone to school at Florida Atlantic in Boca and University of Miami. It was like old home week. We were joined at the table by the rest of our group when they had taken enough pictures from the observation deck. Rather than walk the outdoor path to see Hong Kong from a slightly different angle, we rode the Tram back down the hill. At the bottom, there was a horribly long line waiting to board trams for the Peak. We felt smart for having arrived so early that we had no line to contend with.

Our intention today was to take public transit from the Peak to Repulse Bay and then Stanley. We found out that there was no bus service connecting the Peak to either place. We were disappointed but at least got to use the round-trip tickets for the Tram. When we reached our starting point, we split up because there are no minivan taxis in HK. We and the Pettii took a cab to Repulse Bay, leaving the Canadians to find their own taxi.

Repulse Bay is named for a British naval vessel which was stationed there for defensive purposes in the Nineteenth Century. It is now a public beach which we visited in 2006. Today was warm enough that the beach was busy, but not crowded, with locals who were enjoying a Saturday cooling off. We walked to the far end of the beach [our real destination] where there were Chinese and Chinese-inspired displays. There were also several little Buddhist shrines with burning incense. Mostly, though, there was a profusion of reds and golds, dragons and Chinese gods and goddesses. Ed took pictures so he would k now that he had been there and we headed for Stanley.

The Stanley Market appears to be a collection of storefronts selling knockoff and other cheap merchandise. While there some “legitimate” stores, most are selling junk. Before finding ways to enrich the local merchants, we decided to find someplace for lunch. We ended up in a dive on a side alley and were the only Westerners in the place. The employee who saw us walk in spoke passable English and asked if we minded sharing a table with four locals with spiked hair. Of course we didn’t mind! This was authenticity. We were handed menus in English with pictures as well as printed English menus. Eventually we got the young man’s attention again and were able to place our order – each couple ordered “mixed meat” dumplings and Singapore street noodles. And real Cokes! We have decided that high-test Coca Cola is the nectar of the gods.
Anyway, the Cokes came first, for which we were grateful, but the waiter did not bring glasses of ice as he had for our tablemates. We decided later that he was probably smart to serve the drinks that way. He also did not bring glasses of water, again probably a good idea. There is no telling what surprises might have been waiting for us in the water or ice.

The dumplings came in a bowl of soup and noodles with a vegetable stalk of some sort and a spinach leaf in it. The dumplings were a disappointment after the steamed ones we had had in Shanghai several days ago, and the “mixed meat” included shrimp which Roxanne is allergic to. The street noodles were good and very spicy. By the time our food arrived, the four tugs had left and a family of three had replaced them. The wife/mother spoke English and told us the food was okay. We assumed she meant that it was safe for us to eat, which was very reassuring. We ate as much as we could, then paid and headed out for shopping.

We bought several presents and a necklace for MA. We wandered some more and came to the Stanley waterfront, a markedly different area from the market. Here, there was a wide pedestrian-only esplanade fronting the beach. On the city side, there were countless tourist restaurants and bars. MA and D both said it reminded them of the bars and bistros surrounding the Old Square in Prague. They were full of Westerners and we were glad we had not eaten in this area. We had come for the experience, not for restaurants full of Holland America passengers.

We were going to take the bus back to the Star Ferry, but taxis were plentiful that we took their presence as a sign that we were to take one. Our cabbie took a slightly longer-than-necessary route to the Ferry terminal but avoided the heavily trafficked roads and came over the hills on a two-lane road that had more twists than we could count. Let it be said that there were no straight sections to this route. None. Nada.

Once again, we were lucky because there was no crowd for the ferry and less than a one minute wait for the gates to open. We enjoyed the ten-minute ride back to Kowloon [the mainland side of the harbor], found our way through the shopping center and were home. Once we had all had a chance to wash up, we met in the Crow’s Nest for another Coke before going our separate ways prior to dinner.

MA and D went to the Explorers’ Lounge for a drink before dinner and were joined by Roxanne while Ed went to Deck 8 [Lido] to take pictures of the light and laser show which starts at 8 o’clock. Every night, office buildings in HK put on a show which includes the aforementioned lasers and light displays on the fronts of many of the offices. We watched it with Roxanne from our dinner table while we waited for Ed.

We will be in HK again tomorrow, then we have a day at sea before making port in Danang, Vietnam on Tuesday

Shanghai Highlghts

2008-10-08T06:47:00.000-04:00

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

We did, indeed, meet Roxanne, Ed, Patti and Russ at 9:15 in the Ocean Bar for another Asian adventure. Once on the dock, we waited only a few minutes for Kiana and Mr. Wong to appear. Our first stop was the old Jewish Quarter, often referred to as “Little Vienna” because so many Austrian Jews settled there prior to WWII. According to Kiana, there were three distinct in-migrations of Jews to Shanghai, the first two occurring during the Nineteenth Century. The last, best known group came to escape the Nazis prior to and even during WWII. Despite public protestations of support for Jewish refugees, no government would set quotas or willingly accept large numbers of the Jews; Shanghai was the only city which would take them in. As things turned out, many went from the frying pan into the fire when the Japanese occupied Shanghai. As allies of the Germans, they established a ghetto about 1 km on a side for the Jews. They could leave during the day for work or whatever, but had to be in the ghetto from evening until morning. Several Jewish refugees joined the Communists in their fight against the Japanese, a move which may have protected all of them when the Japanese were pushed out.

Our journey back to the late 1930s and 1940s began at Huoshan Park. Although the park comprises less than 1 acre, it is currently a busy place, filled with elderly Chinese who come to relax, dance, exercise and socialize. During the Second World War, the Jewish refugees from Europe often came to this park to relax and socialize; the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the park is a monument commemorating the “Designated Area for Stateless Refugees.”

When we left the park, we walked through “the old neighborhood.” Although there are no Jews left, the basic architectural structures are still visible – Chinese style roofs with European windows. There are probably no Jews in Shanghai anymore, but their memory is being kept alive by the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission which has printed brochures about the area and which maintains the old synagogue. Among the residents of Little Vienna and the Shanghai ghetto are Michael Blumenthal, former US Secretary of the Treasury who is currently curator of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, and the late Rabbi Benjamin Steinberg, MA’s principal at the Bais Yaakov School.

We walked to the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, housed in the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue. In 2007, the government of Hongkou District budgeted the equivalent of $1 million USD for the complete renovation of the synagogue in accordance with the original plans filed with the city. We donned clear plastic booties before entering the interior of the building. The first floor was rather stark. There are few furnishings although the second floor, which we assumed was where the women prayed, contained some photographs of refugees as well as some artifacts including an old sewing machine. The main floor had a tall wooden ark to hold the torah scrolls, but the scrolls themselves are apparently in storage somewhere; the docent did not know where they had been taken. Park-style wooden benches were arranged in the first floor, too, but there was no seating on the second level. Whether that reflects the reality of the synagogue in 1928 [its date of construction] is an unknown –it is possible that those responsible for the 2007 renovation either were not interested in the interior fittings or had no way to know what they looked like. The third floor held more photos memorializing reunions of former residents or their children along with a conference table; no explanation was offered for the table’s presence.

We retraced our steps from the third floor to ground level and, still wearing our booties, went to an out building which serves as a museum dedicated to telling the story of the Shanghai refugees. After viewing a short film which placed the displaced Jews in some historical context, we were free to look at displays showing various aspects of life in the ghetto. There were reproductions of period photos with captions in Chinese and English. This is the first instance of full English transliteration we have seen in our five field trips so far. Even the film had English narration. After we had seen as much as we could or wanted to, we crossed the courtyard to a display of works by Canadian artists; the artists had used the Shanghai refugees as their inspiration in creating paintings and tapestries. We finished there and went back to the synagogue to return our booties and meet Mr. Wong with the minivan.

Our second major stop today was the Bund. MA and D had visited the Bund two years ago but thought it was worth seeing again. Besides, Roxanne, Ed, Patti and Russ had never seen it before. The Bund is a pedestrian esplanade which parallels the river in Shanghai. On the near bank, “behind” the Bund are many European-style buildings which represent “old” Shanghai, the city of the 1920s and 1930s when there was a distinct European flavor to this mercantile center. On the far bank stand many of Shanghai’s newest skyscrapers, representing the “new” Shanghai. The city’s signature the Onion, is directly across the river from the Bund. It is a 1500 foot tall television mast, the third tallest in the world. Its distinctive architecture is easily recognized around the world in advertisements and stories about Shanghai. Its tower consists of a series of spheres topped by the TV mast. It is visible for miles from shipboard as one sails up the river, and it is visible from much of Shanghai if one is willing to look through the construction cranes which are ever-present.

We did not spend too much time on the Bund. The vendors were thick and aggressive and there really isn’t much to do other than take in the two opposing skylines. There were too many other tourists, mostly Chinese, to just stroll, so we left and headed to the Yu Yuan Garden. Once again, this was a venue which we had visited two years ago but which the others in the group had not seen. Russ and Patti opted to wait outside the Gardens for us as we and the Pettuses, led by Kiana, paid for tickets and entered this sanctuary.

The Yu Yuan Garden is more “garden” than the house we visited yesterday in Zhouzhaung, but it is still basically a series of buildings in which a family lived and conducted business. Larger and more elaborate than yesterday’s, it is a zig-zag of paths, rocks gardens and buildings. Dragons abound, at one point appearing as a wall and at others as ornaments on the roofs of buildings. There are figures of other animals on the roofs as well. Add in several bridges, tree and rock formations, lots of water and koi which respond to hand-clapping, and you have some idea of what this place is about. Mostly, though, it is peaceful. After the hubbub of the shopping and food plaza outside, a recreation of old-style Shanghai, the calm of Yu Yuan is refreshing. Sadly, the exit takes visitors right back to the confusion of thousands of people, Chinese and Western, jostling for space at the food vendors, Starbucks, McDonalds, Dairy Queen and Quail-on-a-Stick.

We chose to postpone lunch and shop for pearls, so we hiked back to Mr. Wong and the car. Mr. wong is no Kusnadi, Jon and Briton’s driver, but he was skillful and alert and nobody died. Our kidneys and other internal organs may have suffered temporary damage on the streets of Shanghai, but Wong delivered us, eventually, to a building which housed a pearl “manufacturer.” We got the VIP treatment which include the sacrificial slaughtering of an eight-year old fresh-water oyster so we could see how the pearls formed inside the shell. These are cultured pearls, so the staff was confident the oyster would have a pearl. It came through like a champ with about ten distinct pearls plus some unformed ones which will become mother-of-pearl. The sales staff was attentive, but, once again, we were the only people there. MA bought a strand of pearls and matching earrings; Patti bought two necklaces and Roxanne bought a mother-of-pearl slide on a chain. The other husbands were not as happy as their wives about this stop.

Finally, we went for lunch. We waffled about staying out or returning to the ship but decided to eat in Shanghai since we could always eat on shipboard. Another factor was the fact that we had promised to take Kiana and Wong to lunch today. Kiana picked what she said later was her favorite restaurant and, in hindsight, we can understand why. The décor was authentic Chinese with lots of reds. We were shbown to a table for eight and Kiana began to explain some of our options. We decided to let her do most of the ordering but reminded her of all the food we had left uneaten yesterday. When the food started arriving, it was placed on a lazy Susan in the middle of the table; we spun it around to get the food within serving distance. And what food! Dishes included eggplant; chicken and cashews; sweet and sour pork; fried shrimp; pork in pancakes; street noodles and probably others. We had hot tea made by pouring water over whole tea leaves and soda by the can [not rationed]. The eight of us ate every scrap of food but were neither hungry nor over-full; it was just the right amount of food. Kiana’s timing was perfect, too. She explained that the chef left at 2 o’clock so we had to order quickly. Sure enough, we were the last patrons in the restaurant and watched as the staff started turning off the lights. We were fat and happy and really glad that we had stayed out for lunch. D paid the bill for the group and left a tip as well. Lunch for the group, including the tip, came to about $80 US! We thought that the bill was wrong because it was so low and Kiana was worried that we thought it was too high.

We drove back to the ship, then, and received a surprise when Kiana asked to be paid in cash for the two days’ excursions. D went to the cabin to get enough cash and returned to pay her the $660 due. We all made nice, made sure she had our cards in case she is ever in the States and boarded the ship. Roxanne and Ed went to their cabin; Russ and Patti went to play trivia; and we got yuppie coffees and sat on our verandah and watched the barge traffic on the river.

This river is amazingly busy. At one point, there were 20 barges coming toward Shanghai, a dozen heading toward the South China Sea and others anchored in the middle. And that’s just what was visible from the stern of the ship. Even when we ate dinner last night, beginning at 8 o’clock, the river traffic had not let up. We can’t figure out why there are no collisions [but we felt the same way while Wong was trying to kill us in the car for the past two days]. The barges are filled with logs, coal, sand and more. They just keep coming like lemmings marching to the sea. It is a fascinating and unending parade. Tonight, we will be part of it as we are scheduled to depart at 9 p.m. The tides in the river are tricky, so we may leave early – two years ago we left at 1 p.m. instead of 6 o’clock and all the tours for the day were canceled. Passengers have been warned to be back by six tonight to be safe because anyone who misses the ship has a long walk to Hong Kong.

We’ll be at sea for the next two days so we can recover from the last two.

The Good Old Days

2008-10-07T20:00:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

What a day! We were up before the wake-up call again, at 6:40 this time. Our breakfast tray arrived around 7:00, leaving us more than an hour and a half to get ready for today’s trip. D had e-mailed the tour operator yesterday to verify the pick-up time, but the ship’s internet service was lost until midnight, so he had no way to check for a reply until this morning. We were to be met by Kiana at 9 a.m. on the dock. We called Roxanne to let her know, then relaxed until 8:45 when we went to join them in the Ocean Bar. We proceeded to the gangway and were on our way.

We were early, of course, so started to obsess when our guide wasn’t there. Actually, we saw her and the driver pull into the lot a few minutes past 9, not really late at all. Considering the constant traffic in Shanghai, they did well to get there when they did. There were more than 20 full-size tour buses awaiting passengers this morning, so we had to wait for some of them to leave before we could get to our minivan and depart.

Our destination this morning was Zhouzhaung. It is allegedly South China’s best-known “water town,” about 35 miles outside Shanghai; traffic turned our journey into a 90 minute thrill ride. Zhouzhaung is surrounded by a large lake, rivers and canals. As they say, a river runs through it. The “new” town has become a vacation and resort destination judging from the number of hotels and villas nearby. Restaurants are everywhere. We stopped at a tourist rest area where Kiana bought our entry tickets for the old town itself. Then, we drove a little farther until we were at its entrance. Kiana handed over our tickets and we entered.

It was nothing like we expected. Once again, there were restaurants on both sides of the little river which ran through the town. They reminded us a little of the places in Jimbaran, Bali, where we had had a sunset dinner with the kids last year. Like Jimbaran, each restaurant had fresh seafood on display; swimming in the windows would be a better way to visualize it. There were several types of local fish, crabs, shrimp, oysters or clams and other creatures we didn’t recognize. The store fronts were all similar, too, because the originals dated back centuries, although these were undoubtedly re-creations.

There were stalls where vendors offered clothing, toys and handicrafts. Women sat by the side of the pathway selling prawns and other seafood. One man had live turtles for sale; we assumed they were intended as a source of protein since there were turtles in several restaurant windows. One woman was hand pulling taffy using two sticks the size of pencils; another stall had a real hand-operated taffy pulling machine. There were locals sitting on the concrete river wall fishing. And in the river itself was an endless stream of small boats being steered through the river while passengers relaxes and, in some cases, drank tea.

We had expected gardens similar to the Yu Yuan Gardens we saw in Shanghai two years ago, but in Zhouzhaung, a garden simply indicates a house. Even then, “house” conjures up something different from the reality. Each property was a series of houses which often became increasingly large as one moved further into the compound. There would be a formal entry, a receiving room, a formal living room, a dining room and, of course, a kitchen. Sleeping quarters were upstairs. In the example we saw, the “house” was over 20,000 square feet. It included all of the details above plus side passages for discreet exits and for use by servants who were to be invisible whenever possible. In the particular house we visited, there were also bronze friezes depicting the life and strife of the owner. The furniture was made in the style of the Ming dynasty and was simple but beautiful. It would not have been comfortable since it was all solid wood with no cushioning.

At another stop, we visited a children’s museum. We listened to a local flute player as he performed traditional tunes to an otherwise empty outdoor auditorium. When we went inside, we saw costumes from an earlier era. They represented the way lords and others dressed at the time Zhouzhaung was founded. It was a little like the exhibit of the First Ladies’ gowns at the Smithsonian on a iny scale because there were only about a dozen costumes all together.

We also visited a Buddhist temple which fronted on the lake. As we walked toward the temple, we saw an elderly couple working a fishing boat. She was in the stern using the tiller to propel and steer the boat while her husband was in the front apparently looking for fish. The temple itself was not as richly decorated as others we have seen. It reminded us of the Temple of the Jade Buddha in Shanghai. The Jade Buddha was more elaborate in its interior decorations, but the temple at Zhouzhaung had a more serene exterior since it was in the countryside, not in downtown Shanghai.

We wandered through more of the old town, feeling all the while that we were in the souk in Marrakech. Without Kiana, we might never have found our way out. Eventually, we came back to the main path and returned to the entrance where the driver was awaiting us. Time for lunch!

We drove for about one minute to a local hotel for our meal. The tour company thought this would be safer for us than one of the other local eateries, and, considering the health problems emanating from China, we were grateful. We were the only people in the room. Food began to arrive shortly after we sat down – rice [of course]; a chicken dish reminiscent of moo goo gai pan; beef with bell peppers; scrambled eggs and tomatoes; spinach; potatoes in a strong ginger sauce; fish soup and barbecued hams. We had seen these for sale in the old town. They were little pig shanks, really, which had been marinated and barbecued. They had smelled good in the markets and tasted good at lunch, too.

After lunch, we decided not to return to the old town and headed, instead, back to the Amsterdam. Traffic was not as bad coming home, but it was still 4 o’clock when we boarded the ship. We told Kiana that tomorrow we wanted to see the Bund, Jewish Quarter and Yu Yuan as well as have some time to shop. We also told her that we would take her and the driver, Wong, to lunch tomorrow. We are to meet them at the gangway at 9:30 in the hope that we will have less traffic to fight.

Sea Day

2008-10-06T19:50:00.001-04:00

Monday, October 6, 2008

Our semi-private verandah is now furnished with two chairs in addition to two stacks of loungers. We sat outside and read this morning before trivia and lunch, and again in the afternoon. It affords a nice view of whatever we have already passed [unless we go in reverse] which today included an increasing number of boats. Most seemed to be small fishing vessels, but there were some freighters on the horizon. The closer we are to Shanghai, the more boats we will see.

We are scheduled to sail up Shanghai’s river tomorrow morning beginning around 5 a.m. Two years ago, D video-taped our arrival in Shanghai aboard the Statendam, so there is no need to get up at dawn to do it again. Besides, we are reasonably sure that we will be docked farther from downtown than last time. This is not a major issue except as it impacts our field trip tomorrow. D sent an e-mail to the tour company this afternoon to double-check pick-up arrangements. Frustratingly, the ship’s internet connection was down most of the afternoon and evening. Rather than stay up past midnight to look for a response, he will check his e-mail first thing in the morning. Stay tuned for more details in tomorrow’s post.

The Chinese Passport Dance was much easier and quicker than the Japanese. We reported to the upper level of the dining room after breakfast, were handed our passports and led to the Chinese officials. They simply looked at the pictures in the passports and then at us and handed the documents back. We then turned them back to the HAL staff. We were in and out in less than five minutes.

We were tied for second in trivia this afternoon and will miss the next two contests while we tour the Shanghai area. D is trying to finish World Without End, as mentioned earlier, but it is almost 1000 pages long and he is only on page 250. Instead of reading this evening, as he intended, he was lured to the blackjack table where he spent 45 minutes breaking even. It could have much worse [and almost was].

We are to meet Ed and Roxanne at 8:30 tomorrow morning at the usual spot, the Ocean Bar, in hopes of being able to disembark for our tour of Zhouzhang, a village dating to the 13th Century, known for its canals and formal gardens. Lunch is included, but we will be careful not to eat raw veggies, etc., or drink the melamine-laced milk.

Only two days until the next debate – we will be ashore when it is broadcast live here Wednesday morning but should be able to see a rerun and at least snippets as the week goes on. My how time flies!

Land of the Rising Sun, Part 2 -- Osakan You See...

2008-10-05T09:35:00.000-04:00

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Children! Do not try this at home! Guiding tourists through your city should only be done by experienced professionals on a closed course. Taking trains without a schedule can be dangerous to your sanity.

Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t good, either. The six of us met in the Ocean Bar at “the trivia table” at 8:45 this morning. We and the Pettuses were still tired from our foray into Kyoto yesterday. Nonetheless, we ventured forth to meet Mr. Otah, our SGG guide. Keep in mind that yesterday he took us around half of Kobe getting from the adjacent Metro station to the JR, a distance of maybe 100 feet. We left the Metro, walked outside, up steps, down steps around a hotel and then back into the JR station. Today, we emphasized that MA, D and Roxannne could not tolerate walking too many steps. Wham! He discovered the short way to make the transfer from one to the other. When we were traversing the JR station, Mr. Otah magically discovered that there are, indeed, elevators and escalators available for use by the public. In other words, we were off to a better start than yesterday.

We did our usual dance at the ticket machines, Mr. Otah hindering more than helping. Regardless, we arrived at Osaka’s JR station with little trouble. Once he figured out where we were, Mr. Otah led us to meet Yoshi, his companion for the day. Yoshi, another Goodwill Guide, spoke much better English than did he, but she seemed to be relegated to a secondary role for the day. We could not decide if this was based on sexism, seniority in the Osaka SGG or to Mr. Otah’s being an officer in the SGG club. Our two guides seemed to disagree throughout the day about what to do, where to go and how to get there.

We think that we were every Metro line which runs into or out of Osaka. Our goal was the Osaka Castle, an edifice too big to miss, really, but Mr. Otah [whom we later nicknamed Elmer and Frodo] seemed not to know how to get there on the Metro. We did at least one about face, getting off one train only to immediately get on the same line going back where we started. There may have been some other roundabout routes involved before we arrived at our destination; we were too confused and amused to notice.

Once we emerged from the Metro station near the Castle, we still had a long schlep ahead of us. We approached the Castle from the rear, probably because we were just a little lost. As a result, we had a harder slope to navigate as we entered the grounds and finally approached the Castle than if we had come in the front gate.

Osaka Castle is over 400 years old, dating to 1580 under the shoguns who built it on a site which had held a large Buddhist temple, Osaka Hongani. Although the Castle “fell” during the Summer War of 1615, reconstruction started in 1620 and took ten years to complete. The main tower was destroyed by lightning in 1665 and other buildings were lost to fires over the years. The main tower was again rebuilt stating 1931 with the funds coming from a public campaign. The area around the Castle was damaged by bombs during WWII but have been at least partially restored and turned into a historic-site park open to the public.

Currently, the Castle houses a museum showcasing the history of the shogun and the Castle itself. We did not know this when we arrived there, hot and tired. We had stopped as a group on the bridge over the inner moat where Mr. Otah read us the history of Osaka Castle. It was yeoman-like, to be kind, and he plunged ahead despite the fact that we weren’t really listening. When we got to the Castle’s entrance, Russ and Patti decided to stay outside since they had seen it two years ago on the way from the Statendam to the airport. MA saw the steps required just to enter the building and quickly opted to stay with them. Otah and Yoshi had a little argument about who was doing what. Yoshi said that she would escort Ed, Roxanne and D inside [a decision we cheered] and then announced that she would be staying outside, leaving the three of us in Otah’s obviously oblivious ministrations. Once we paid for our tickets, we dragged ourselves up a long series of stone steps before finally entering the museum. We took an elevator to the top of the Castle and spent some time on its observation deck of the where we marveled at this architectural artifact set in the middle of modern Osaka.

The rest of the Castle was devoted to a celebration of itself. There were displays referencing the life and times of the first shogun [Hideyoshi Toyotomi], the Summer War and the Castle itself. We were surprised and disappointed that the interior was not a representation of he Castle as it would have appeared prior to its fall; we had expected that considering its history and the fact that the Nijo Palace in Kyoto had been preserved that way. We worked our way quickly down flights of steep stairs, stopping at each level to walk around the displays but not understanding a darn thing since almost none of the signs included any English. Mr. Otah seemed baffled by the whole thing to the point that he kept trying to descend by way of the up-designated stairways. It was at this point that D named him “Elmer” in honor of Elmer Fudd or, in this case, Elmer the Befuddled.

Ed, Roxanne and D met up with the rest of the group around 11:30 and headed for the Osaka Museum of History. Earlier in the morning, Elmer had presented us with an agenda. He anticipated showing us the Castle and Museum before lunch and then the Kuromon Market and something else before hitting Osaka’s shopping streets. His schedule called for us to return to the JR station for the hour-long trip back to the Amsterdam at 5:00 p.m. After yesterday’s late return from Kyoto, there was no way we were starting back at 5 o’clock.

At any rate, we walked out of the front gate of the Castle and started to make our way to the Museum. As we passed one building, we heard loud thuds emanating from the interior. We investigated and found what appeared to be kendo and judo matches between high school students. There were even several girls among the kendo participants. We watched and photographed for a few minutes before continuing on our trek to the Museum.

When we got to the Museum, there was more not-unexpected confusion over ticket prices with Yoshi and Elmer apparently working at cross-purposes. Yoshi seemed to know what she was doing and eventually we paid our way in and went to the top floor via elevator so we could again work our way back to ground level. Once again, everything was in Japanese, which was to be expected, but there was no attempt to explain what we were seeing. We took the escalators back to the first floor as quickly as we could.

We told our guides that we were hungry, thirsty and tired; travel may be enlightening but it is also exhausting. They suggested that we walk about 15 minutes to restaurant specializing in Japanese pizza [no cheese, mostly veggies]. We countered that the Museum had a restaurant which we wanted to investigate. We won. And the restaurant, though short on atmosphere, had good food. Roxanne, MA and had curry and rice which they really liked; Ed had a version of a bento box, a sampler which included soup, fish, pickles and other things; Patti had a bowl of something with meat; and Russell had beer. The guides also got drinks but did not eat. It was our usual $20 lunch [actually $21, but who’s counting]. More importantly, we all enjoyed both the food and the chance to rest. Yoshi presented us with a collection of postcards showing off Osaka, mostly pictures of places we had not visited; we will divvy them up later.

While we were eating, Yoshi gave D a form to fill out which mostly recapped our day and our request for services. He had filled out something similar on-line months ago, so this was a sort of evaluation. Where the form asked for the time frame of the services requested, he wrote “morning and lunch.” It was our way of saying that we had had enough and were ready to go home. We think Elmer and Yoshi were surprised and maybe a bit hurt, but we were really ready; Patti almost cheered when we made the point.

So, it was back on the Metro and then to the JR station and the usual befuddlement by Elmer at the ticket machine. He insisted on our buying tickets of the wrong denomination despite what Yoshi said, so we had to add to our fare cards we reached Kobe. We could get on the rapid-service train but would not have able to get through the gates to exit. The difference was only 10 yen, but none of us wanted to miss out departure tonight.

Everything worked out, though. When we exited the JR station near the ship, Patti knew exactly how to get to the Metro station. It wasn’t difficult, but she was the only one who had made a point of remembering everything including the train we needed to take for that final leg.

We met Ed and Roxanne shortly after we boarded for a celebratory real Coke and lots of laughs. Although the day had not turned out exactly as we had hoped, or even close to it, we had had an adventure unlike anyone else on board. [Roxanne told us at dinner that John and Mary Ann Darcy had had a good time with their Guide, but they traveled by themselves and could not have had nearly as much fun as we did since they used taxis, not trains]. Cunard is right: Getting there is half the fun.

All in all, our two days in the port of Kobe were unforgettable for soooo many reasons. As Roxanne wrote in her blog, for example, the distance between stops on any train is directly proportional to whether you are standing or sitting. And, if there is a Metro train that you haven’t ridden, are you required to before you can return to your starting point? And while we make fun of Mr. Otah, we have to remember that all of the Goodwill Guides are volunteers offering a valuable, if often erratic, service. For every Elmer, there are probably two or three Keikos. Now, there was a guide.

We set sail around 11 o’clock tonight for our next port and more adventures –Shanghai!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

We were lucky with the weather in Kobe/Osaka/Kyoto. If anything, we were too hot. On Saturday MA carried a jacket which matched her outfit and D packed a sweater. It was so warm that all we did was carry them from site to site. Yesterday, we were smarter although D did carry the rain jackets all day just to be safe. It was still hot, even indoors.

Today, on the other hand, was overcast and maybe a little rainy. Or they could have washing the windows and decks. We weren’t outside enough to know and couldn’t really tell from inside. Skies were dark with heavy fog at times. We wondered if this was the aftermath of the most recent typhoon in the area. Like hurricanes, though, it is better not to talk about them.

We spent the day as we have most sea days by reading and playing trivia with some penny slots thrown in for variety. The casino keeps opening and closing as we sail depending on our distance from shore and intrusion into territorial waters. We won at trivia this morning by winning a tie-breaker. That makes 6 wins so far, below our usual number but better than any other team so far. Since the ship’s staff isn’t keeping track of trivia winners, we do, especially since we are doing well.

Tonight was the captain’s reception where they acknowledge frequent sailers. It’s a cocktail party with speeches. The theater was filled to capacity as almost everyone on board is a repeat passenger. Some received pins and medals at the party, but most of the “awardees” received their rewards in their cabins since there too many to name individually. We lapped up free drinks [champagne and Coke] and hors d’oeuvres before dinner. Dinner featured escargot and lobster tails. As Rachel would say, “Yummo!”

Tomorrow looks like more of the same minus the lobster tails. We have had to buy more internet time so we can keep blogging and checking e-mail. Posting the blog is not taking as long as it did at first. Either the equipment is working better of D had too steep a learning curve. It still takes 10 minutes or so to post and format, so adding pictures will have to wait until we get home.

We asked the staff to move two chairs from the Lido deck to “our” verandah because sometimes we want to sit, not lounge. Manto, the cabin steward, is aware of the request and he and D checked out the rear deck prior to dinner. The deck staff had moved different lounges to the area, so Manto said he would work on getting it done right by tomorrow. When D first made the request, he gave the room number as 6221 which is on Verandah deck. The Guest Services rep said she would talk to our concierge [hey, it is Verandah Deck!] and D just laughed. Life on the upper decks does have its perks – we will be among the first to do the face-to-face dance with the Chinese officials tomorrow. This will be like the dance we did with the Japanese but tenser.

More tomorrow on the immigration dance, trivia and the weather.

Land of the Rising Sun and Falling Arches

2008-10-03T11:26:00.003-04:00

Wednesday, October 1, 2009

We are in Miyako, Japan, today but have no plans to go ashore. After a relaxed breakfast, MA had her nails done while D sat by the pool and began World Without End, Ken Follett’s gigantic [990 pages] about life in 14th Century England. Although not a sequel in the traditional sense, it is set in the same town as his Pillars of the Earth but 200 years later. Again, it will revolve around the building of cathedrals and the conflict between Church and State. Some things never change.

The town of Miyako is about 2 miles from the ship. A shuttle bus was available for those passengers who are “mobility challenged” as the announcement emphasized. The rest could walk – about 40 minutes we discovered—or take a taxi for 1000 yen. If you were reading carefully, you know that 1000 yen is about 10 dollars. Yes, there will be a quiz when this is all over.

We lost at trivia again today but have lost our motivation; apparently none of the “good” prizes are offered any more. We already have our fill of coffee mugs, mouse pads and key chains. With no mag lights, umbrellas, floppy hats or calculators in our future, we have lost our will to win. Besides, we have enough of all of all of those at home already. We’re trying to convince the staff to offer drinks or yuppie coffees instead but have not been successful thus far.

We opted not to walk into town and reports from others confirmed that there wasn’t much to the town itself. The HAL tours all went to the countryside, especially to a local beach famous for its rock formations. Roxanne and Ed took an all-day bus trip which visited not only the beach area but also the farming areas. They said it was an interesting but long day. We have no regrets.

Following tomorrow’s sea day, we will be docked in Kobe for two days. On Friday, we and the Pettuses [Pettii?] will be met at 9 a.m. by a Mr. Atoh who will escort us to Kyoto via the Japan Rail [JR] system. We will be met in Kyoto by Keiko Nagata with whom we have exchanged e-mails. She is set to show us some highlights of eastern Kyoto. We will purchase passes and travel on public buses all day. Keiko will return us to the JR station and make sure we get on the right train. We don’t know if Mr. Atoh is staying with us all day.

On Saturday, Mr. Atoh and another Goodwill Guide will meet all six of us and go to Osaka. There will be two guides because there are now more people in the group. We have no idea where we will go, but the ground rules are the same: We pay for the Guides’ expenses including transportation, meals and entrance fees; we bring them gifts as a ‘thank you’ gesture; and we will not offer them money. As may have been posted earlier, the Goodwill Guides are volunteers who belong to clubs dedicated to assisting foreigners to see specific areas of Japan. The Guides get the chance to practice their language skills and the visitors get to see Japan through the eyes of an ordinary person, not a professional. We are looking forward to the experience.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The whole Date Line thing is really confusing. When we are in Florida, it is easy to keep track of the time difference between us and Jon in Jakarta. In fact, D keeps local and Jakarta time posted on his computer. It only becomes important to us when we want to talk to the kids – we know that our morning is their evening and our evening is their tomorrow morning. Time zones are not important to e-mail.

Now, however, we are trying to live in two time zones simultaneously. Even as this is being written, at 10 a.m. ship’s time, we are watching CNN coverage of last night’s debate and vote on the seven gazillion dollar financial bailout. And yet the two are one, since Larry King’s evening is our morning. Very Zen, Grasshopper, but very confusing. When the vice-presidential candidates have their debate Friday night, we will be walking off the ship in order to travel to Osaka. Fortunately for us, CNN seems to replay everything every twelve hours, so we may be able to watch the re-run before dinner Saturday night.

The real trip begins tomorrow, too. We have been sailing, sailing for almost two weeks with only a few hours ashore. It is more like a trans-Atlantic voyage on the Queen Elizabeth than a trip to foreign lands. With our excursions to Kyoto and Osaka imminent, to be followed in short order by Shanghai, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Bangkok, Singapore and, of course, Cambodia, the real trip is only just beginning.

Friday, October 3, 2008

My feet hurt; MA’s knee is the size of a soccer ball; and we are exhausted. What a great day we had in Kyoto!

We were up early again and had breakfast delivered to the room to save a little time and walking, knowing it was going to be along day. While MA got dressed, D went on deck to take photos and video of our arrival in Kobe. Although we have no port activities here, it is an impressive city filled with modern architecture, bridges, rapid transit and bustling roadways. Much of this modernization is the result of WWII destruction. We were met by a fire boat spraying water in imitation of fireworks as well as a band playing Sousa marches on the pier and the typical Japanese rhythm band. We saw one of the drum bands two years ago in Nagasaki; the young people who perform as remarkably talented.

We met Ed and Roxanne at 8:45 at our trivia table in the Ocean Bar and headed to the Kobe cruise ship facility where we found Mr. Ota, our Osaka SGG representative holding a sign which said “Dabid Herstin.” Close enough. It’s the first time we’ve been hailed that way. Mr. Ota fumbled his way to the Metro station and showed us how to purchase tickets. Since the system uses pictographs and Western numbers, it was not difficult to master. For two dollars each, we had our tickets and marched to the train. We climbed stairs because there was no “up” escalator and decided, in retrospect, that this may have been an omen for the walking and climbing ahead of us today.

We had left the Metro after only two stops and hiked up, down and around a hotel to the Japan Rail [JR] station. JR is the national railroad and operates inter-city trains including the shinkasin [sp?] or “bullet train” which we were not riding. We purchased tickets for all of us including Mr. Ota who accompanied us to Kyoto [Tomorrow, he and another Guide will take us around Osaka]. Once in Kyoto, we were passed on to Keiko Nagata. There was much bowing and smiling. While Mr. Ota looked to be 107, Keiko was only a little younger than we – she has a 30 year old son – but looked younger.

A word about Japanese etiquette is in order here. The Japanese are unfailingly polite if, perhaps, seeming always to be in a hurry. The train stations are a sea of harried, hurried people of all ages. All of them seem to be late for a train. However, once they get to the platform, they wait patiently in line, often 20 deep. They do not push or show other signs of their impatience or rush. The train cars and buses may be crowded to the point of gridlock, but the passengers say almost nothing and don’t appear to jockey for a better spot. It really is a marvel to behold whether at a JR station in the midst of the rush hour madness or waiting for a local bus far from the crowd.

Meanwhile, back at the narrative: Keiko led us to a ticket office where we bought all-day passes for 500JPY each, about $5. The conversion rate of 1 yen [JPY] for a penny makes buying easy. Of course, Ed and Roxanne reminded us that they bought yen at 3 to the penny when they were last here, but that was 30 years bus stop ago. Anyway, we went from the ticket office to the bus stop and boarded a bus almost immediately. We were on our way to Nijo Castle. Construction of the castle began in 1601 and originally completed in 1603. Later additions and expansions were finished in 1626. Parts of the complex have been rebuilt over the years following a lightning strike in 1750 and a huge fire in Kyoto in 1788.

Nijo Castle reminded us of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Walled and surrounded by gardens, the Inner Palace [Honmaru] was used emperors and shoguns for many years. Although it has nowhere near the 9999 rooms of the Forbidden City, there are many rooms nonetheless. Many still stand empty; a few have been restored to their original state. There are offices, primarily, for the shogun and his assistants; not-so-hidden panels from which guards could emerge if there were any problems; living quarters; “grand” rooms and so on. The painted walls date from the 18th Century. Interestingly, visitors and employees must remove their shoes before entering the complex. And the building was designed using what are called “nightingale floors.” These floors make a faint but perceptible noise when walked on. The sound is somewhat musical [hence the name], but is distinctive enough to serve as an alarm and warning to the shogun. There was simply no way to sneak up on him or anyone in the Castle.

There was also the obligatory garden outside Honmaru. Called Ninomaru, it is a lovely, quiet area which appeared to be mostly a large pond containing several islands and bridges, plenty of conifers, and lots of boulders. Like the Chinese, the Japanese try to balance the elements of Nature; we shall see other examples when we visit Zhouzhang outside Shanghai later.
After another ride on the public bus, the next stop on the tour was the Golden Pavilion [Kinkaku] complex. The main building is a three-story structure covered in gold leaf. Keiko explained that this was the retirement home for the shogun while Honmaru had been his working home. There were paved trails through the grounds, but the steps were stone and not especially smooth. Both MA and Roxanne, having assorted orthopedic difficulties, opted to return the the entrance with Keiko while D and Ed followed the path up the hill. It was actually only about another 20 steps to the top of the hill, but the walk back down would have been a killer – broad uneven stone steps which slanted slightly down hill. It was tricky enough for us; it would have been an unpleasant adventure for the women. The grounds were beautiful and, once again, very peaceful. That seems to be the theme of World Heritage sites we are visiting today. We found each other at the bottom of the hill, near the entrance. After a short discussion, we agreed that it was lunch time. We had been on the go with Keiko since a little past 10 and it was now 12:30 or so.

Our choices, as presented by Keiko based on her knowledge of the area, were fast/buffet or good. We chose good food over expedience and began the walk to a nearby restaurant. When we arrived ten minutes later, we found a classically Japanese entrance which looked like the gardens we had seen earlier – an arrangement of shrubs and rocks designed to soothe. We were seated at a table by a window overlooking the entrance. We sat on backless padded stools which was certainly better for us than trying to get down to, and up from, the floor. We had wanted “authentic” food, so we each got the “tourist special” which included soup with udon [buckwheat] noodles and chicken; rice; creamy tofu; vegetable and [1] shrimp tempura and Japanese pickles. While we each enjoyed some aspect of the meal, we agreed later that the highpoint was the real Coca Cola. It hit the spot so well that we each had one with dinner later.

After lunch, it was back to the buses. While HAL’s tours may have spent less time travelling from venue to venue, at least we are not surrounded by large groups of rude American tourists. To be honest, we really enjoyed most of our experiences on the buses and trains [except, maybe, the first 10 – 20 minutes coming back to Kobe. More on that later]. Our next World Heritage site was the Ryoanji Temple. There really wasn’t much to it, on the surface, except more steps that MA and Roxanne refused to climb. Poor Keiko was beside herself, hurrying from the men to the women and back again. She had trouble comprehending that we were fine with the situation and, no, we did not want a refund on the unused tickets. MA and Roxanne sat on a bench near a stone Buddha, in the shade of mature trees, and talked while Ed and D went to see the “rock garden.” The Garden consisted of a plot 25 meters by 10 meters. The garden contains 15 rocks of varying sizes and a white gravel ground cover, carefully raked. According to the pamphlet describing Ryoanji, “It is up to each visitor to find out for himself what tis unique garden symbolizes. The longer you gaze at it, the more varied your imagination becomes. This rock garden…may be thought of as the quintessence of Zen art.” Ed and D could only find 13 rocks, but that is the whole point – the rocks are arranged so that all 15 cannot be viewed simultaneously. After looking at the rocks, they went to the side of the portico and sat on the edge and dangled their shoeless feet while looking at another little patch of shrubs, moss and rocks. The best part, by then, was being completely off their feet.

From there, it was back to the buses for the trip to the Heian-jingu Shrine. There really wasn’t much to see here. There were several buildings which looked more Chinese than Japanese, especially because they were painted a not-so-restful red. According to Keiko, the Shrine closed at 5:30 and it was just 5 p.m. when we staggered onto the grounds. We spent only 15 minutes here and could have skipped it completely considering the time.

By 5:15 or so we were heading to a bus stop for the long ride to the Kyoto JR station. It was rush hour and the streets and sidewalks were crowded with people shopping and/or going home from work. We had to transfer buses and rode a local rather than the express buses we had caught earlier. We arrived at 6 p.m. Keiko gave us instructions on which train to take to get “home” and we were off. We managed to purchase tickets, determine which train and track we needed [okay, she pointed that out to us before leaving] and find our way to the right track in the bustling station. The train was listed as “18:14” and promptly at 6:12 it pulled up in front of our queue. Sure enough, at exactly 6:14, it started to pull out of the station. The train was so full [How full was it?] that even if we had let go of straps and handrails, we could not have fallen. It was as bad as the train in Prague in May, but the ride was much longer. MA was very uncomfortable because [1] she wrenched her back during a “lurch” and [2] her knee had swollen to the size of soccer ball [well, maybe a softball]. After we reached the first stop about 10 minutes after leaving Kyoto, enough passengers got off to afford D and MA seats which were greatly appreciated. At the following stop, another 12 minutes later, Ed and Roxanne were able to join us.

They were able to see the lighted sign which listed each upcoming stop, so we were able to get off at the right station. By now, we had been on the JR “limited” train for more than 45 minutes. It was dark; we were exhausted; and we really weren’t sure we could find our way back to the Metro station, much less find the right train; so we found our way through the teeming masses and took a taxi. It cost about 15 cents more per person to do this, the best investment of the day. Once on board, we freshened up and went to dinner. MA went to bed almost as soon as she got to the room and D went to the library, as usual, to write up the day’s activities before he forgot everything.

Using the Goodwill Guide system was great. We had an experience unmatched by anyone on the ship. We may have gone to the same places, but we had a richer experience for using public transit and an amateur guide. The savings weren’t too bad either. We figured later that our transportation costs were $30 each [$21 for roundtrip JR train fare; $5 for the bus pass; and $4 for transportation to and from the Metro station]. We also paid Mr. Ota’s fare to Kyoto, paid for Keiko’s lunch and gave her 1000JPY [per our contract] to cover her expenses getting to and from the Kyoto JR station. Admissions probably cost another $15 each and the pro-rated lunch cost was $25 per person. So we had this experience for under $80 per person, much less than 10-hour trip HAL has to offer. On the other hand, it was a really long day, so tomorrow we’ll probably do a little less and get home a little earlier.

Land of the Rising Sun, Part 1

2008-09-26T00:30:00.007-04:00

Monday, September 29, 2008

At last, dry, unmoving land appears out of our window. Well, it would if we had a window. But it was bright and sunny off of the rear verandah which we are claiming as ours [although we may not use it until slightly warmer weather]. The harbor at Hakodate [HAH-ko-DAH-tay] is small and quiet. Only one pier is in use and that is for us. We can see a couple of overhead cranes on the far side of the harbor and several ferryboats. It is pretty deserted where we are.

This morning was the “meet and greet” with Japanese immigration officials. We were called to the show venue by deck number, starting with the high rollers on Deck 7. Our embarrassment of a cabin is on Deck 6, so we were among the earliest to go through the line. When we arrived at the theater, we were given our passports and then sat and waited. Once the officials were ready for us we handed over our passports while the officers pretended to be busy, then had our index fingers scanned so they can identify our bodies in case we fall in the harbor. One theory is that the Japanese [and others] are making this tedious in retaliation for increased screening in the US.

We were done with this dance before 10 and told Patti and Russ that we were going to try to catch the 10:30 shuttle to town since the ship was not docked close to anything other than a wasteland. When we went to the buses at 10:15, they were already in line, so we joined up with them and rode the shuttle to town.

We had originally planned to take a field trip through the ship but the tickets we were issued when we boarded indicated that there were lots of steps involved. Another part of the tour was the “rope bridge”; the ticket indicated we might have high winds which made us a little nervous. MA was fine on the cable car over the Australian rainforest canopy two years ago, but “rope bridge” and “high winds” did not sound like a good combination. We canceled the trip as soon as we could on Day One. Roxanne and Ed took the trip we canceled and reported at dinner tonight that the “rope bridge” was actually a cable car which could hold over 100 people; Ed said that people standing in the middle of the car couldn’t even see out [of course they were Japanese and Ed is over 6 feet tall]. And there was no wind. Oh, well, the ticket refund will allow us to purchase more internet time.

We rode on the shuttle for about 20 minutes on what we thought was a circuitous route and were deposited in downtown Hakodate. Immediately in front of us was a building which had been described as a recreation center, but we didn’t go in. Our target was the Hakodate Morning Market which reportedly closed at noon. We weren’t worried since we were downtown before 11 a.m. There were gaggles of school girls, all wearing navy blue middie blouses with matching skirts. They were volunteers who were handing out maps and directions. Their English language skills varied, but, after all, they were only around 14 or 15. Our Japanese skills were confined to “ohayo” [hello]; “domo” [thank you]; “sayonara” [goodbye]; and tempura and sushi terms. We were told that we could get to the market by taking the train which turned out to be a streetcar/trolley/light rail depending who was describing it. We had difficulty understanding where to catch the trolley but finally saw a group of people waiting at a little platform in the middle of the street.

The trolley system was unique. Upon boarding, passengers take a ticket which they turn in prior to leaving the train. It appeared that there was a “reader” which would flash the fare due and that passengers would then pay the amount indicated. Naturally, we screwed it up. Only D had seen the ticket machine, so he was the only one with a ticket [which he still has]. The trolley was not crowded, so the driver/conductor was able to help us when we were ready to exit. The one-way tariff for the 4 of us was 9800JPY, a little under $10. On the return trip, we did take tickets, but it was still 9800 yen.

We were only on the train for 3 stops. Once off, we wandered around, following others from the ship who we hoped knew where they were heading. In about 5 minutes, we were at the market area. Just as the “international” market in Busan, South Korea, had been several square blocks of stores selling cheap merchandise to the locals [think way worse than Wal-Mart with dogs], the Morning Market seemed to be nothing more than several blocks of tiny sushi restaurants and fish mongers. We saw crabs, crabs and more crabs. Some resembled Dungeness, some were reminiscent of spiny lobsters, some were live and many weren’t. There were large tanks of crabs like lobster tanks in the grocery stores in the states. There were live squid, sea cucumbers and prawns. There were even a couple of good-sized sharks. King crab legs were also available. Prices seemed high to us, even with the 100 yen to one dollar exchange, but business was brisk. Many of the vendors were selling identical seafood at identical prices, but the locals obviously had their favorites. At one stand, 2 girls were steaming open what appeared to be scallop shells by using a blow torch. At another, a woman was preparing sea urchin.

In addition to the outdoor stalls, each in front of a tiny store, there was a “store” with a large open indoor market. Here we found produce and flours primarily as well as the only stall selling meat. It was obvious to us that seafood, especially shell fish, were dominant in the local diet. There is also a fish market which we did not go to. We did, however, find a Japanese department store. Similar to the one Russ and I saw in Osaka in 2006, each floor was devoted to a specific type of merchandise with the “departments” operated independently. The assumption is that these are “lease” departments where a percentage is paid to the building owner based on square footage and dollar volume. We decided that we were not interested in the clothing floors and settled into the basement which sold mostly sweets – cookies and other pastries [fresh or commercially boxed]; candy; wine and tchotchkes. There was also fresh ground coffee available, teas and gift sets. And we even saw Halloween candy.

When we were done, we found our way to the light rail stop, hopped on [remembering to take tickets this time] and returned to the shuttle stop. We were back on board around 12:50, just in time for lunch, trivia [we lost but didn’t want more mouse pads anyway] and a nice long nap.

After dinner [vegetarian croquets v. broiled salmon], the six of us went to play quickie trivia. We tied for first but lost the tie-breaker. Again, what would we have done with more coffee mugs?

Tomorrow we explore Aomori which was added at the last minute when Petropavlovsk was canceled. We have no specifics in mind, so it could be quite the adventure.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The morning started with a mixture of clouds, rain and then sun. By the time we were ready to go ashore, it was sunny and becoming warmer, but we were dressed for cooler temperatures and were really schvitzy by the time we returned to the ship.

While at breakfast, we could see a school of jelly fish in the water by the ship. Even at a distance [maybe especially at a distance], they were beautiful. We watched birds wheeling overhead with Aomori’s modern silhouette in the background. The highlights are a modern suspension bridge which straddles the harbor and a 14-story building whose front is in the shape of an equilateral triangle. It is quite striking. [Someday photos will appear here, but the cost of internet time is too much to try to play with it now. There have been enough problems and time spent just trying to post the text].

Once we were off the ship, we stopped at the little information kiosk set up by the gangway. A volunteer gave us a map and off we went. The main shopping district was highlighted, but we didn’t really want to shop. We started by walking over to the triangular building which was fronted by a small gravity fountain. [See the picture here in November] It coursed down a concrete sluice which had statues of seals running all the way to the bottom. The Japanese, like the Chinese, have a love affair with water as one of the balancing aspects of nature.

We went into the building itself because it and we were there. The first floor was a collection of mostly little food stalls selling products representative of Aomori. The building also had an observation deck and more stores but its main mission seemed to be in promoting Aomori.

From there, we just wandered to “Main Street.” We passed a number of hair salons and barber shops, restaurants, bakeries, even a McD’s. Still no KFC or Starbucks stores but that will change once we get to Kyoto and Osaka. We stopped in a bakery to gawk and sniff but left before we could do any damage. As we walked down this main shopping street, we found a drugstore and decided to try to find nose spray to relieve D’s congestion. Through a series of pantomimes, the druggist/clerk understood what we wanted and we left $9 poorer but hopefully healthier. It reminded us of D wandering through several small German towns trying to find something similar for MA in May.

We started back to the ship having seen nothing of real note other than a street-front Buddhist temple, but made the find of the day purely by accident. The Utou Shrine was lovely, a haven of peace and quiet in the middle of the city. We wandered through enjoying its beauty – especially another fountain and a koi pond. There were only a few others there which made it even better.

Back on shipboard, we sat on “our” verandah and read before going to lunch and then trivia [We lost]. After trivia, D discovered that we had a call from Guest Services about our request for a room change When he went to investigate, he discovered that the available cabin was on Deck 2, not nearly as convenient as the current one on Deck 6 or the originally requested one on Deck 3. We decided that it was not worth moving [and packing and unpacking] since we had already passed the one-third mark of the cruise. The Guest Services officer promised to send the e-mail address for the Seattle office and encouraged us to write about our concerns as well as to ask for some consideration on our up-coming March voyage.

We skipped the comedian’s show and MA went to bed while D updated the journal, the trivia list for Ted and the letter to HAL about our room dilemma. And so to bed.

Land Ho!

2008-09-26T00:30:00.005-04:00

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Although today will be a day much like all of the other so far, it may be significant elsewhere. As this is written, it is 10:20 Saturday morning on the ship but it is still Friday in the States. The first of the McCain-Obama debates is scheduled to begin in less than 45 minutes according to CNN. This is perhaps as good a time as any to talk about politics on the Amsterdam.

Like the weather, everyone talks about it but no one is really doing anything. We have heard no real political discourse, just the occasional whisper. Roxanne and Ed are Obama supporters and have found a few more Friends of B.OB, as Roxanne phrases it; we think Russ and Patti are split. For the most part, there appears to be interest but no really overt partisanship expressed although we suspect the majority of the passengers are McCain supporters. Many will not even vote because they could not get absentee ballots before sailing; others are having them mailed to Hong Kong and hoping the ship’s shore agent delivers them. As for returning them, we have been spreading the word [learned on Cruise Critic] that ballots can be sent from Singapore in the diplomatic pouch. Of course, we will be home in time to pretend that our vote will count in Palm Beach County.

The day started out gloomy and a bit bumpy but has become sunny and clear. Even so, tonight’s formal night has been declared “optional” because the staff doesn’t want women to wear high heels. As it turned out, most people came to dinner dressed in formal attire; most of the women wore black and white since this was supposed to be the Black and White Ball. The wait staff was duded up and the dining room and lobbies were swathed with black and white drapes. There was so much material, in fact, that it was almost impossible to reach the Purel dispensers by the dining room doors; large flower arrangements made the task even more awkward.

Our dinner discussion was lively and included lots of early television memorabilia/trivia – Winky Dink, Marcus Welby, westerns, sci-fi shows and more. The six of us got on famously which bodes well for our impending shore adventures.

Menu Flash! For those of you keeping track, MA had meatloaf, not the vegetarian entrée, for dinner; D had lamb chops. After dinner we went to the casino and played the pennies again with moderate success, then returned to the room to read before bed. Seas have been calmer than predicted, but no one is complaining.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Calm seas and clear skies! It doesn’t feel like a Sunday, but then all of the days have blended together. We know it’s Sunday because [1] the elevator rugs say so and [2] it is time to refill the pill container. Because we crossed the Date Line, we are using Wednesday’s pills today.

We ate in the dining room again this morning. While the choices are more limited than they are at the Lido buffet, it is a little more formal and almost elegant. We shared the table with four others this morning and talked about our assorted home states, current states and the debacle that is the Palm Beach County Board of Election Supervisors. We still don’t know the outcome of the August 26 judge’s race but are not interested enough to look it up on line.

Our daily routine may end after today. We arrive in Hakodate, Japan, tomorrow and have to “walk the line” to get our passports approved. Everyone must go through this procedure, but passengers on HAL Shore Excursions will go first so they can board their buses with enough time to complete their tours without delaying departure. We have no plans but may go ashore if the town is within walking distance or HAL operates a shuttle. As for today, it will be trivia [where we are 4 for 8 so far], lunch, nap, drinks with the captain [us and 400 other people], dinner, casino, bed. What’s not to like?

Later -- We won at trivia again, making us 5 for 9 so far. D has begun collecting the questions and answers for Ted so he can study for his trip in November. Patti didn’t come to dinner tonight, a disappointment. We hurried out to play Name That Tune [with Russ, Ed and Roxanne]. We were second by 1 point but had a good time pretending to sing. MA and D went to hear the flute player after that, then returned to the room. MA read and then went to sleep while D went to the computer center to try to get the blog posted since it was recalcitrant this morning.

Time Marches On

2008-09-26T00:25:00.003-04:00

Thursday, September 25, 2008

We won again in trivia today. We now have 4 coffee mugs and 4 mouse pads. We are grateful that we didn’t win key chains or luggage tags. We do have our standards.

The seas finally got a little chop to them tonight, just enough to remind us that we were on board a ship. Dinner was a bit quiet tonight as it was just the 4 of us; Ceta and John have switched to the early seating. We asked them if their decision was final before asking Patti and Russ if we could invite Ed and Roxanne to join us. They were fine with the idea, so we told our dining room captain; they told theirs; and it was done. They even got a card delivered to their cabin the next day confirming the change.

After dinner [veggie for her, red meat and shrimp for him], MA went to the room to read. She is determined to finish her book soon so D can have it. If he finishes it before Cambodia, we will gift it to Briton along with some others which we schlepped with us. The more stuff we can palm off, the more space we have when we pack all of the HAL goodies for the long trip home. D visited the casino for too long before coming to the room for the night.

The Grand Voyages on HAL have a feel all their own. Because the trips are longer, the passengers tend to be more well-travelled and, as mentioned earlier older. As a thank you for spending 30-plus days with them, HAL showers travelers with “stuff.” In the first week alone, we have found a travel diary, travel purse and tote bag, slippers and sweat shirts on the bed at night. All except the slippers are personalized with the HAL logo and the name of this trip, making them one-of-a-kind items.

Friday, September 26, 2008

It was a dark and stormy night. The promised turbulence made itself know all night as the ship rocked and rolled. We kept hearing the hanging clothing sliding back and forth in closet. As if the ocean’s motion was not enough, we seemed to hit an occasional pothole in the water; the whole ship seemed to stop amidst a tremendous racket followed by dead silence. Then we would start all over again. At breakfast this morning, someone commented that the eggs were coming out of their shells already scrambled.
It is another quiet day. We read; D checked the e-mail for responses from Vietnam and China about adding the Waynes to some tours; and we got killed in trivia. Still, we are 4 for 7 so far. One of our opponents commented that he was glad to see a different team win each day; we did not talk about his powers of observation, at least not to his face. MA finally finished Ken Follett’s The Way of the World and started a new book after lunch while D caught things up.
Roxanne and Ed will join us for dinner tonight even though Ceta told us this morning that she and John were having second thoughts. If they want to return to late dinner, they can always go to Roxanne and Ed’s old table. The addition of the Pettuses is especially appropriate since we will be taking all of our tours with them. Both of our TA’s had tried to get us together without luck, but now it is a fait accompli.

We have been warned of the possibility of a bumpy ride and Force 7 winds for the remainder of our sail to Hakodate, Japan, where we dock Monday. We’ll just have to wait to see.

If it's Tuesday we must still be at sea

2008-09-24T18:26:00.003-04:00

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 [LATER]

We spent a quiet day again. That’s what we like about sea days, and we will have plenty more before we reach our first port in Japan on the 29th. Even with losing a day to the International Date Line, it will be a lengthy sea voyage just crossing from Seattle. After a late breakfast, we settled in at the Ocean Bar. D found a table by the windows near an electrical outlet and plugged in the computer so he could update the journal and philosophize [see above]. We stayed at the table until Trivia Time and settled in with Russ, Patti, Anne and Chet for the competition. Although we thought we should have done a little better, we were still good enough to win more HAL initial mugs. So far, there have been 5 trivia games; we have won 3 and been second once. It’s a good start. Most of all, though, we are having fun cheering as each answer is read, regardless of whether we actually had it correct. It’s starting to unnerve some of the other teams.

We had lunch in the dining room, shared our money with slot machines and then read until nap time. We had received an e-mail from Keiko our Goodwill Guide in Kyoto earlier in the day. She offered 5 possible sites to visit when we are there October 3 and wanted to know which 4 we would prefer to see. We arranged to have a drink with Roxanne and Ed before dinner where we discussed the choices. Roxanne had brought a guide book to Japan, so Ed read descriptions aloud. We voted informally to eliminate the Kiomizu Temple from our tour on the basis of its having a lot of steps and a steep hill. Our collective knees would have been most unhappy with that as a stop.

MA has caught her “I’m on vacation far from home” cold, so after dinner [stuffed pepper for MA, chicken for D] she went to bed after self-medicating and D took the computer to do the journal. He also submitted Japan’s entry/exit form to the Front Desk and played a few hands of blackjack [but not few enough!]. Before turning in, he e-mailed Keiko with our choices. Tomorrow promises to be interesting weather-wise, but we’ll have to wait and see. Oh, yes, we turned the clocks back again so that there will be an 8 hour difference in the morning.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Well, we slept away a whole day. Actually, we crossed the International Date Line last night and woke to find the elevator rugs say that today is Thursday. Yesterday, they said it was Tuesday. It is very confusing, especially since the pills we took this morning came from the compartment labeled Wednesday. For those passengers who are staying aboard until San Diego, there will be one day that repeats itself [Can you say Groundhog Day?], but we will not enjoy the return to “normalcy” at leisure; we will face “the longest day” again when we fly home from Singapore. We have more than a month to go, so it’s too early to worry. Actually, we will meet Jon et al. one month from today in the Singapore airport.

So far, the day has been quite quiet. Despite the dire predictions of the captain, the sky is clear, the seas are calm and we even saw sea gulls at breakfast, a sure sign that we are near land. Today will be another in the sequence of relaxing sea days – breakfast, read, trivia, lunch, read, nap. It’s as if our schedule were created by Garfield; all we need now is lasagna.

Sailing, Sailing

2008-09-23T18:13:00.002-04:00

Monday, September 22, 2008,

The skies are overcast today; temps are cool; and we have been warned about windy conditions on deck. It’s a good thing we had no intentions of going out and about. Breakfast in the Lido with folks from Northern California, both former teachers [and apparently other things as well]. We went to the Ocean Bar after breakfast where MA read and D wrote a polite letter of complaint to HAL about our stateroom. He e-mailed the letter to Seattle with a copy to Ted, checked the e-mail, then did the journal and read until it was time for trivia. We again tied for first but barely lost the tie-breaker and were unable to capture the HAL luggage tags. Darn!

We read in the Explorers’ Lounge until around 1:30 and then made our way to the Lido for lunch. We made poor choices [pad thai and stir fry], so we were forced to eat dessert. It’s tough being us. We read more after lunch, played a little in the casino and then went “home” for a nap. Tonight was called informal which now means coat-and-tie; we used to call it semi-formal. Ceta and John, our tablemates, went to the Pinnacle Grille for a “special” dinner, so Roxanne and Ed sat with us. When we go to the Pinnacle with Russ and Patti, Ceta and John will invite friends to take our places, so it all balances out. We rushed out of the dining room so as to be at evening trivia in the Crow’s Nest by 9:30. It is 4 decks up and at the other end of the ship, but we made it. Roxanne and Ed didn’t come, so it was just the 4 of us. Again with the ties! This time there were 3 teams tied and we were able to capture more cheap ship stuff, specifically mouse pads.

Russ and Patti returned to their room and we went to the casino where MA played penny slots while D played blackjack. He broke even tonight [but is down$10 at the tables so far] before he joined her in giving money to HAL. He lost $4 all told while MA was down just one. On the way to the cabin, there was stop at the Ocean Bar for a Bailey’s. D left MA to read before going to sleep; he went to the Port Lecturer’s desk, where there was an electrical outlet, to catch up the journal. As he was finishing, Russ came past on his way to bed. We set the clocks back another hour tonight. Pretty soon, we’re going to wake up yesterday.

Trivia count: 2 firsts, 1 second, 1 also-ran. But who counts?

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

It’s a gray, rainy day today. For the first time since we left Friday evening, there is a little rocking to the Good Ship Lollipop. Indeed, Anne [GG] on the trivia team has decided she will be more secure on her walker today rather than her cane. The weather is of little consequence to us since we have no intention of going out on the wind-swept deck. Today’s weather is more like what we anticipated in the north Pacific. We hope that the weather is better by the time we reach Osaka and Kyoto. Even lousy weather in Hakodate, Miyaka and Aomori will not present a problem since we have no shore excursions planned.

As usual, we think [hope?] that we lower the average age of passengers on this HAL cruise. When we were younger, we used to refer to the atmosphere on board as “sedate.” While Carnival ships are the “fun” ships aimed at 20- and 30-somethings and Crystal is for the really upper classes, HAL targets the 60-plus crowd. As someone said the other day, the average age is death plus two weeks. It may not be that bad, but it is reminiscent of the elephant graveyard. There are so many walkers, wheelchairs and canes aboard that it looks like a pit stop on the Lourdes 500. Someone will get rich operating the parking concession for the motorized scooters. It’s no wonder they leave lots of room in the ship’s freezers.
Okay, it may not be as bad as all that, but it is a more sedate group than many other cruise lines encourage. HAL hasn’t started serving Metamucil on the juice bar yet, but it is generally an older, more financially empowered population. Add to that the fact that we are part of a 65-day voyage and you can see that these are people who have time and money at their disposal. One good thing about a cruise of this length is that there are no children aboard; this is not the trip that grandchildren are taken on.

The fact that they are older does not mean that they are inactive [although it is a little sad to see some of them dancing]. There is always something going on aboard the ship. This cruise is featuring a culinary theme with guest chefs, cooking demonstrations, flower arranging and other aspects of entertaining. Add to that the usual mix of low effort athletics, trivia, duplicate bridge, port talks, shopping and the casino and there is always something to do if one wants to. Or there is nothing to do if that’s one’s choice. As noted before, sometimes the highlight of the day is perusing the dinner menu at 10 a.m. [which we did today].

Something else that seems anomalous is the profusion of laptop computers among the passengers. Indeed, between the laptops and the dozen PCs available in the Explorations Café/Library, it seems that everyone is on line. “Tune in, turn on” has taken on a new meaning for the 60’s generation. People are checking e-mail, reading their hometown newspapers, paying bills and blogging. It is amazing and amusing to see so many people crowding the web manager’s desk for help. They are staying connected in ways most of these seniors never imagined when they were young.

Cruising to Cambodia

2008-09-21T04:19:00.002-04:00

Thursday, September 18, 2008

We left home this morning around 8:40 for the trip to the airport. After checking the luggage, we went to the Delta lounge where we were told that only international passengers could use the lounge. We were disappointed because access to the lounge was one reason we were flying in the front of the plane. The staff let us stay, however, so we relaxed with coffee, tea and snacks until just before 10 a.m. when we went to the gate for our flight to Atlanta.

The flight was uneventful and we were a little early, so we had more time to kill in the airport while we waited for our 2:55 flight to Seattle. We wandered the “A” section of Hartsfield looking for someplace for lunch. Our first choice had no vacant tables because many were occupied by egocentric people working on their laptops but not eating or drinking. We ended up in a glorified bar and had mediocre sandwiches. We left as soon as we were finished so as not to hog the table. At the gate, we waited and read until it was time to board.

This leg of our journey was also quiet. We were served lunch [a choice of a spicy jalapeno pasta or pot-roasty beef short rib] and arrived in Seattle around 5 p.m. local time. We took our time walking to the baggage claim area, knowing that we would arrive there before the bags. Sure enough, it took Delta a long time to get the bags unloaded. As we approached Baggage Claim, we saw our friend Richard checking the Arrivals list to see if we had landed yet. We sneaked up on him and then did the “long-lost friend” stuff. He and his fiancée Donna had volunteered not only to pick us up at Sea-Tac but also to take us to dinner. Getting the luggage into Richard’s car was a challenge, but we persevered. Traffic out of the airport was horrendous – rush hour complicated by construction compounded by an accident. With Donna navigating, we traveled against traffic to downtown Seattle, passing both the baseball [Safeco] and football [Invesco]stadiums as we approached the city.
Richard and Donna dropped us and the Vanderbilt’s luggage at the hotel, parked and went for a drink while we checked in. We were to call when we had settled in and were ready for dinner. The hotel looked better on the internet than it did in person and our concerns increased when the elevator didn’t work properly. Once it became operational, D suggested strongly to the clerk that an adjustment to the bill would be appropriate; when the bill showed up the next morning, the room rate had dropped $20.

Diner was at Palisade, a beautiful venue across Elliott Bay [?] from Seattle. We could see the skyline and the Space Needle from our table as we at a wonderful meal. MA had scallops stuffed with king crab and D had a curry soup loaded with scallops, shrimp, clams, firm white fish and a king crab leg that was at least 8 inched long. It was all yummy. By the time we finished, it was past 8:30 which meant 11:30 to our weary bodies. A quicker trip to the hotel and right to bed by 10; we were exhausted.

Friday, September 19, 2008

We were in no rush to get up this morning but ventured out around 9 to find a Starbucks. We had to walk about 3 blocks! Imagine! MA had a cinnamon scone and a vanilla latte and D had oatmeal and a cup of decaf; we had a coupon for the oatmeal so we had a good and cheap breakfast. Back at the hotel, we finished repacking and had the desk call a cab when we got downstairs around 11:10. We were at the HAL dock by 11:40 after a pleasant drive through downtown Seattle. Our cabbie was a refuge from Somalia and we talked sports mostly, especially pro football. After 14 years in Seattle, he was a Philadelphia Eagles fan; go figure.

The driver horsed the bags out of the cab and stayed to make sure a baggage handler had loaded our bags before driving off. Check-in was a breeze and we were through the minimal paperwork and on board by noon. We schlepped the carry-on with the computer to the Lido deck and had a relaxed lunch. Cabins were available around 1:15, so we wandered to our stateroom on Deck 6. Right near our inside cabin is an almost private deck at the rear of the ship; we hope to take advantage of it in warmer weather. Our room itself was disappointing. Although HAL had upgraded us to an allegedly better stateroom [higher deck, near this rear deck], the room itself was cramped because it was sideways relative to the hallway. Instead of entering at the end of the room, the door was in the middle; there was very little clearance between the bed and the dresser and closets, and it seemed to have less storage space than normal. We were able to stow everything but may have to make a map to find it all gain.

We wandered around for a while orienting ourselves to the ship. D inquired about a cabin change but was told that nothing was available for the 32 days we’ll be on board. We certainly did not want to change cabins every time we came to a new port, so we declined the offer. We scoped out the casino but were disappointed in the slots selection; that by no means is to suggest that we won’t be in there every day, just that we didn’t see any familiar machines. Eventually we returned to the room and unpacked with about the normal amount of bickering over what to put where.
Dinner is at 8 p.m. each night. The alternative is 5:30 which is waaaay too early and smacks of early bird specials. We’re not ready for that yet. While we were unpacking, we received a phone call from Roxanne Pettus with whom we had struck up a friendship on the CruiseCritic.com chat room devoted to this specific cruise and arranged to meet before dinner for a drink. Our Travel Agent[TA], Ted, had requested we be assigned to a table with Roxanne and Ed and they had also asked their TA to make the same request. During our conversation with them, we discovered that we had been assigned to separate tables. Apparently, HAL didn’t want to mix 65-day passengers with the riff-raff like us who were taking a shorter segment.

We had explored the dining room on our walk-through earlier in the day, so when we arrived at the dining room, we knew where to go without being escorted. We were the first to arrive at the table and we waited and waited for someone else to show up. While D had his glasses off so he could read the menu, he saw people approach the table. He couldn’t see clearly and he and MA were astonished and ecstatic when Russ and Patti Wayne came over and sat down. We had met Russ and Patti 2 years ago on a cruise, had dined with them for the last 2 weeks of the trip and have stayed friends. They have visited us several times on their way to cruises from Ft. Lauderdale and traveled with us on a river boat cruise in May. At that time, when we inveighed them to take this trip, they begged off because of pregnant grand-daughters and financial constraints. It turns out that they have been planning to surprise us for months! Even Ted knew they were coming, but he never even hinted at it. When Ted and their TA tried to get a joint table assignment, they were again rebuffed, but Russ prevailed when he told HAL that the only reason they were taking this cruise was to be with [and to astonish] us. They had spent the entire day avoiding us, staying mostly in their cabin so they wouldn’t spoil the surprise.

There are supposed to be 6 at the table, but the last didn’t show up. If they are absent for another day or two, we are going to try to get Roxanne and Ed reassigned, especially since they said later that their dinner companions were boring.
Dinner was fun, naturally, and it was nice to have the usual HAL service. As has become her custom, MA chose the vegetarian selection and D ate tandoori chicken. Eating healthy isn’t too hard to do on a ship if you are determined. On the other hand, it’s just day one. After dinner, we visited the casino for a while and then went “home” because we were exhausted.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

We were up too early this morning after a restless night. We had to set the clocks and watches back an hour as we sailed westward into a new time zone. We went to the main dining room for breakfast but discovered that we were 15 minutes too early; they wouldn’t open until 8 o’clock, so we went to the Lido Deck for cafeteria, not sit-down, breakfast. We shared a table with a couple who live at sea – they schedule back to back cruises and only go “home” to South Florida once or twice a year. They have no house or condo but stay in hotels while they see doctors and attend to things which can’t otherwise be done from a ship. It’s a fascinating concept for people who aren’t too attached to their “stuff.”

After breakfast and the morning pills, we ventured to the Crow’s Nest on the top of the ship. The Cruise Critic group, organized by “Wowzo”, a West Palm neighbor, was scheduled for a “meet and greet” so we could attach faces to on-line names. In most cases, only one member of a group had been on line, so it was even more interesting for the spouses to meet people they had never even heard of. We ended up sitting with Ed and Roxanne and “met and gret” a number of people with whom D had exchanged messages and information. We also discovered that Roxanne had found a third couple to join us in daily, cut-throat trivia, but we had to demur because we now plan on playing with Russ and Patti. Altogether, there were now 8 people and teams were limited to six. There will be enough folks who hadn’t planned so far ahead that we’ll all have full teams.

Team trivia was scheduled for noon, so we killed time in the Explorations Café where the computers are located. Even though our laptop will work wirelessly, the desktop PCs may be a little faster and definitely have bigger screens. Around 11:45 we headed for the Ocean Bar where we plan to spend a lot of quality time, not all of it playing trivia. While we waited for Russ and Patti to show up, another CC couple asked if they could join us. TravelingGG and her husband Chet were delightful. We will be a team, we hope, for at least the next 32 days; after that, it’s not our problem.

We razzed Roxanne before the game and said they would regret not having MA’s Shakespeare knowledge to help them. As luck would have it, there was a Shakespeare question, but her team answered it correctly. This year’s quizzes will consist of only 15 questions as compared to the 20 we are used to. Nonetheless, we prevailed, tying for first and then winning a tie-breaker to take more of those Dam mugs, these with an A” for Amsterdam. We now have enough HAL mugs to host a third-party political convention.

After trivia, and more friendly condescension, MA, D and Patti went to the dining room for lunch where we shared the table with another couple. The conversation hinted at politics but stayed non-partisan and we enjoyed meeting more new people. If we meet 4 new people a day, we will have met 10% of the passengers by the time we disembark. We won’t remember them but we will have met them. Some more money lost in the slots brought us to afternoon reading. We watched as a Canadian government helicopter circled the ship to ferry off a passenger who may have had a stroke. The delay caused by waiting for the chopper will not affect our current itinerary since we can take a more southerly route now that Russia has been taken out of play. Everyone was fortunate that the seas are as smooth as glass today which made the rescue much easier. We returned to the cabin around 4 for MA’s pre-dinner nap while D caught up the journal. Maybe the mystery couple will appear tonight. We’ve already scoped out the menu and know what we are ordering - the highlight of our decadent day is often previewing the dinner menu at lunchtime. Busy, busy, busy.

The mystery couple did appear tonight. They were too tired yesterday to venture far from their room having just come from Houston and the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. They have had electricity for over a week and were franticly making arrangements and contingency plans for its return. As it turns out, they were also part of the CC message board and were known as 2Cruisers. After dinner, MA went to bed and D went first to the casino where he recouped some of our earlier losses and then to the library to finish the journal before going to bed. We will lose another hour tonight. My, how time flies when you have jet lag.

Take one step back, then one step forward

2008-09-11T16:29:00.008-04:00

It was bound to happen: Apparently relations between the US and Russia are delicate enough that our scheduled stop in Petropavlovsk, Russia, has been canceled. As you can see on the map below, Petro is on the Kamchatkas Peninsula, best known for its inclusion in the board game Risk.

In its place, Holland America Line [HAL from here on]is substituting Aomori, Japan. Past cruisers who have been to both seem to agree that Aomori is the better port-of-call anyway -- warmer people and warmer climate. While we are disappointed, we are still excited.

Skipping Russia means two things: First, we will have to remove a pin from the wall map which shows all of the places we've seen. Second, it puts us a little farther from becoming members of the Century Club, those travelers who have visited at least 100 countries; we still have a long way to go.

Here's the map of our planned cruise. Let's hope there are no more changes especially considering the political situation in Bangkok.

We leave in a week and haven't packed yet. Guess what we are doing this weekend!

Getting Ready

2008-09-02T14:33:00.007-04:00

September and hurricanes have come to South Florida, so we are preparing to escape in a little over 2 weeks. We will leave WPB on Sept 18 and fly to Seattle, then set sail on the MS Amsterdam the next day. We are heading to some of the most beautiful places in the world. Alas, several are also world trouble spots.

We don't know what kind of reception we'll receive in Petropavlovsk, Russia. Will the current tensions over the Republic of Georgia affect our ability to tour this section of the Kamchatka Peninsula? Will we even be able to dock? Just how much of a hassle will the Russians give us?

And then there is the unrest in Bangkok. We are due to spend 2 days there in Mid-October but, again, don't know what the political situation will be in 6 weeks. We are looking forward to spending the night in Bangkok and even taking a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya river.

Other ports include Osaka/Kyoto Japan, Saigon, DaNang, Hong Kong and Singapore. We will meet Jon and his family there, then fly to Cambodia for a week with stops in Siem Reap [Ankor Wat] and Pnom Penh.

In the meantime, we're starting to accumulate things prior to packing: batteries, cameras, MP3s, passports, etc. All of the paraphernalia of modern travel.

We'll try to keep folks up-to-date via this blog if the technology is available on the ship, so check in after Sept 19 to find out what we're doing [or not].