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.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Good Old Days
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.
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.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sea Day
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!
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!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Land of the Rising Sun, Part 2 -- Osakan You See...
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.
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.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Land of the Rising Sun and Falling Arches
Wednesday, October 1, 2009
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.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Land of the Rising Sun, Part 1
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.
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!
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.
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.
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