Day 75 – March 31 – At sea on the way to Halong Bay(Hanoi), Vietnam

The weather is still gloomy, i.e. cloudy, foggy and cool.  We do have a new lecturer on board, Morton Dean (TV news correspondent).  This morning his talk was on his time in Vietnam during the war.  He is a good speaker and uses news clips to illustrate his topics.  He will be doing two more talks before Bangkok.

We did get the new L’Occitane amenities today.  Soap, shampoo, conditioner, bath salts, shower gel, and body lotion.  They are ok but so far Jan doesn’t care for the soap very much.

Otherwise, it was bridge lessons, lunch, duplicate bridge, and reading for the remainder of the afternoon.

We had dinner with Michael Coghlan, the General Manager, and two other couples we had not met before.  He is very nice and does a great job of getting everyone included in the conversations around the table.  We enjoyed dinner at his table very much.

We decided to try the stand-up comic, Jack Mayberry, but we didn’t like him at all and left not too long after he started.

Day 74 – March 30 – Hong Kong, China

Today we are joining Jim and Pepper on an excursion of our own to Stanley Market which is on the opposite side of Hong Kong Island from the business section with the tall sky scrapers.  We talked to the Tourist Information staff again, and decided that we would take the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong, catch bus 6 to Stanley Market, visit the market, have lunch, and take bus 973 all the back to Kowloon.

The Star Ferry was easy – and we discovered that we didn’t have to pay since we were all 65+.  Next we purchased an Octopus Card with would let us ride the buses without having to worry about having the correct change (we should have bought one the day before).  After purchasing our cards, we set out to find bus 6 which was “just across the street”.  Well, after several attempts at asking for help to find it – all of whom pointed – over there, Jim asked a parking attendant at one of the buildings and he told us how to use a short cut through the parking garage to find the bus terminal.   After that finding the bus 6 was easy!

The ride around the island starts in downtown Hong Kong, then up the terraces (or hills) and over the top and down around Repulse Bay to Stanley.  Stanley Market used to be twice as large as it is now with a lot more stuff.  Pepper found a new jacket; Fred found some new polo shirts, and Jan brought a present for granddaughter, Susan.

We then decided it was time for lunch.  We walked the narrow alley of Stanley Market passed several small restaurants serving Chinese, one of which was extremely crowded.  But we ended up at Lucy’s, a very nice European restaurant that was quiet and calm – no Chinese food here.  Fred had a chicken wrapped philo, Jan had a lamb salad with beets, tomatoes and cucumbers, and Jim and Pepper had chicken Quesada’s.  Everything was very good.  Fred had a current meringue and Jim, Pepper and Jan shared a piece of chocolate cake.

It was time to make our way back to the ship.  We found bus 973 and went back towards Repulse Bay but then turned off to drive through the Aberdeen area (where the Jumbo Floating Restaurant is located), through the tunnel over to Kowloon.  We got off at the

Peiking Road

stop as  the driver had said to, and immediately where a bit confused as to where we were.  We knew we are in the right area but not exactly where we were.  We found an entrance to the subway which we needed because we wanted to cash in our Octopus cards and get the deposit back.  After just a short way into the subway tunnels (all underground), we came across the sign pointing to the Star Ferry terminal which is right next to the Ocean Terminal where the ship was docked.  Fred and Jim headed back to the ship and Jan and Pepper found the customer service center and cashed in the cards.

The last stop was the Chinese Arts and Crafts shop in the Star Building.   It is a shop with nice souvenirs, not the junk you see in the markets.  Both Jan and Pepper spent the last of their Hong Kong dollars then it was back to the ship.

Jan talked Fred into staying in tonight and having a light dinner which we did.  Rajib wanted to know whether our ordering a Turkey Club sandwich to split was a ritual since that is what we have ordered both times we have had a room service dinner.  We laughed and told him no---just a light dinner when we are tired and not very hungry.

Day 73 – March 29 -Hong Kong, China

Fred wanted to do something different this time in Hong Kong and he wanted to include a ferry ride.  After talking with the tourism representative on board the ship and the staff at the Tourist Information Center, we decided to go to Lantau Island where there is a Big Buddha, monastery and tourist village.

We first took the Star Ferry from the Kowloon side over to the Hong Kong side.  Then we took the MRT (train/subway) from there to Tung Chung on Lantau Island.  The train went under the water rather than over the ridge.  Lantau Island is where the new international airport and Disneyland are located.  There were lots of families on the train!

As we exited the train station, we could see the Cable Car that would take us up to the Ngong Ping village where the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery is located.  After standing in line about 30 minutes, we were loaded into a cable car that seated 10 people; we only had six so there was plenty of room.  The cable car is about a 30 minute ridge up the mountains.  It makes two sharp turns where the cable cars are detached from the cable and then reattached after the turn is made inside a cable station.   There were two kinds of cable cars, the regular one and the Crystal Car with a glass floor.  With Fred’s issues with heights, we got the standard car.

It was hazy so the view was a bit restricted.  The first part of the ride we got a great view of the International Airport including watching planes take off when we were higher than the run ways.  It is a huge airport and they are continuing to enlarge it.

We first walked through the Ngong Ping Village, a tourist village built to take advantage of the statue and monastery.  There were quite a few restaurants, including Subway and Starbucks, two theatres with presentations, souvenir shops, etc.  We walked as far as the foot of the stairs (way too many for us!), then looked around the entrance to the monastery.  Fred’s feet were beginning to tell him that we needed to find a place to sit down.

Most of the tourists were Chinese as this is a favorite tourist area when visiting Hong Kong.   After resting our feet for a few minutes of people watching, we walked back to the restaurant area and chose one with Chinese food.  You could have Chinese, Italian, Taiwanese, kebabs, noodles, pizza or a European bistro.  The food was good but not particularly different from what we would have eaten in Denver.  We had a soup, which we thought was a beef broth, bbq pork, chicken with chilies and other stir fried vegetables, rice and tea.

After lunch we checked out the bus terminal to see if we could get a bus from the top to the ferry dock on the other side of the island.  We didn’t find one, so we rode the cable car back down to Tung Chung where we found a bus to Mui Wo where we could get a ferry back to Hong Kong.  The ride across the island was interesting as we saw a bit more of the islands real villages and people.  It appears that there were quite a few Caucasians living there as one school was letting out as we drove by and there were quite a few western-looking children in the group.

When we arrived at the ferry terminal, we discovered we had two choices, i.e. the regular (slow) ferry or the fast ferry.  We had 30 minutes to wait on the regular ferry which would take one hour or we had 60 minutes to wait for the fast ferry which takes 30 minutes.  Since the elapsed time was the same, we boarded the regular ferry and arrived back in Hong Kong to catch the Star Ferry back to Kowloon and the ship.

Day 72 – March 28 – At sea then docked in Hong Kong

The weather is a little better but still cool.  We arrived in Hong Kong tonight instead of tomorrow morning.  We sailed in around 8:00pm so we got to see the laser light show from the Hong Kong side presented by some of the tall buildings.  It was very hazy so we didn’t see much else besides the bright lights as we docked at the Ocean terminal.

Day 71 – March 27 – Xiamen, China

It started out as a gray, cold and rainy day as we sailed into Xiamen, China.  This is the smallest city we have visited in China, only about 2.5 million people.  It was one of the first ports to open to westerners so there are some colonial sites to be seen.   The tour we selected was Charming Island of Gulangyu.  Fred decided to skip the tour and rest today.  Pepper called me to say they tours were leaving early so Jan ran down the stairs to join her since Jim was not going either.

It was a short bus ride to the ferry terminal where we had a dedicated ferry to take us the short 8 minute ride across the water to the island.  We had 4 buses that were broken into two groups going to each place at different times.  Our group first did the

Panoramic Drive

on the electric vehicles used on the island for transport.  They are essentially oversize golf carts.  They did take us around the island but they drove so fast that it was impossible to take any pictures or really see very much.  The carts left us at the Haoyue Gardens.  There are some small vacation cabins there but the main attraction is a very large statue of Zheng Chenggong, a famous Chinese General.  It was 51.5 feet tall.  We had seen it from the ferry boat before we docked.

We then walked a short way to a spot that had some benches and were given a Tai Chi demonstration.  The gentleman was introduced as the 20^th generation of the founder of Tai Chi.  He was very graceful and used a combination of the smooth movements we had seen before of Tai Chi and also some of the martial arts abrupt movements of self-defense.  Then a young girl demonstrated Tai Chi movements with a sword; she was very cute.

We walked up a small hill to an area that had been built on an overseas Chinese family.  It was called the Haitian Tanggou Villa.  It was a combination of European and Chinese architecture.  After visiting one of the main buildings, we were shown into a small theatre for a puppet show.  They had monitors with the story line in both Chinese and English so we could at last have an idea of what was going on.  They puppeteers were amazing in how they manipulated these small hand puppets including passing items between puppets, juggling, twirling plates on sticks and several other tricks commonly seen in Chinese Acrobat shows.  At the end of the performance, each puppeteer came out with one of their puppets and demonstrated how they performed some of the movements. It was a fun interesting show.

We then walked across the street to a special events center where we had tea and small snacks and a “family concert”.  Our guide said the most of the Chinese families who would have used these villas for vacations would have entertained visitors with music.  We had a very good pianist who played several selections and a fair viola player who also did a couple of songs.

Then it was back to the dock and our private ferry ride and bus ride back to the ship.

The Island of Gulangyu is a national park that is trying to preserve some of the buildings built by the European consulates.  At one time Gulangyu had two more consulates than Shanghai.  There are a few of those buildings still in use today, but the more basic use of most of the buildings are for holiday homes, apartments and hotels.  It was a pretty island and had the weather not been cold and windy, it would have been even prettier.

After the tour was completed, Jan was glad that Fred decided not to go because there had been a lot more walking that the description indicated.

Day 70 – March 26 – At sea on the way to Xiamen, China

The weather is still cool and cloudy but still a nice day at sea.  Bridge class in the morning, lectures, lunch, duplicate bridge in the afternoon is our standard sea day now.  We had dinner at Signatures tonight.

Day 69 – March 25 – Shanghai, China

Our day started early with Fred getting up before 6:00am.  But it was nice to have a leisurely morning to get ready for our second day in Shanghai.  The weather is a bit cooler but the skies are bluer.

Today will be a shorter day since we spent almost 11 hours touring yesterday.   Our first stop was the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.  It is one of the buildings in the People’s Park, the former British Concession race track area.  It has amazing scale models of Shanghai including one that has the entire area shown in miniature.  You had to walk around it from a platform so you could see all the different areas of Shanghai.

They also had an IMAX type presentation of the major areas which was very interested.  On one of the floors they had collections of photographs of Shanghai in different eras.  Some of the most interesting were the ones of before and now with photos of buildings as they were and as they are now.

Our next visit was to the Yuyan Gardens and Bazaar.  This area is still one of the older, more traditional areas in Shanghai and a popular tourist spot for both foreign and Chinese visitors.  We had visited this area when we were in Shanghai in 2006, but it was with a group and we didn’t get to really see things well.  Wendy took us through slowly and we got a lot more information about the garden and its buildings that we had.  Some of the spring plants are just beginning to flower, including the magnolia and camellias.  It wasn’t too crowded so we just took our time looking at all of the different areas of garden and the different pavilions.  After the visit to the Garden, it was time for lunch.

Today we had lunch at a Din sum restaurant, Lv Po Lan (Green Ripple Restaurant).  There was so much food!  Wendy again did a great job of selecting from the menu to give us a taste of Shanghai-style din sum and other Shanghai specialties.  The appetizer was smoked fish, but it was not like any smoked fish we have every tried before.  The fish was smoked crispy in a sweet sauce that probably had soy and honey in it.  It was a surprise how good it was.  Jan was thinking of other smoked fish she had tried and didn’t think she would like it, but she did.  Then we had a selection of different kinds of din sum, steamed dumplings with pork, with shrimp, with vegetables, other types of small din sum with dates, eggs, and other things.   Plus we had a bowl of steamed vegetables and a rich, rich soup of crab and tofu.  We had so much we took some back to the ship with us.

After lunch, we walked around the area outside of the Yuyuan Bazaar to find a couple of things we had been looking for.  Fred found the hand microscope he needed to be able to read the fine print in his Wall Street journal.  Jan found a particular gift she wanted.  After all the walking around, Fred’s feet were telling us it was time to return to the ship.

We really, really enjoyed Wendy.  She was the best guide we have had so far.  The way she rearranged our schedules and the flexibility she gave us were only part of the reason we like her so much.  We really enjoyed our conversations with her about many topics and felt we were leaving a friend in Shanghai instead of just a good guide.

We were back to the ship by 2:00pm, which was earlier than planned but with the long day yesterday, it was just the right amount of time.  And, I’m sure Wendy and our driver were glad for a little earlier stop to the day.

Shanghai again proved to be one of our favorite cities and there is always more to see there.

Day 68 – March 24, 2011 – Shanghai, China

We met our guide, Wendy, at 9:00am.  The weather was cool and a bit overcast from the fog/smog.   Wendy suggested a different sequence for our touring today and we agreed that it sounded like a good idea.

First we went to see the Jade Buddha Temple.  It is one of the largest Buddhist temples in the city of Shanghai and one of the most important.  It house two jade statues that were brought from Burma in 1882 by a Chinese Monk who had gone to study Buddhism.  The current temple dates from 1911 when it was rebuilt after being destroyed in the revolution that overthrew the last Chinese emperor.   The temple was very interesting and not very crowded yet.  The statues are white jade, not the normal green color.  One of the statues in large and is sitting and the other is small and is reclining.  Wendy was great at pacing our walk through keeping us just ahead of one of the other tour groups and providing a great deal of information about the temple and about Buddhism.

After finishing our visit to the Jade Buddha Temple, we drove about 1 hour and 10 minutes to the Ancient Water Town of Zhujiajian.  It is a smaller town that has maintained some of its older houses and character.  There are canals throughout the town with most of the house having a front door on the street and the back door on a canal.

This part of China has many rivers and lots of canals.  It is one of the largest agricultural areas in this part of China. 

We walked through the town looking at all of the small shops.  Some of them were offering the local foods which were centered around pork and sticky rice.  One of the port dishes we saw a lot of was the hock of pork that looked like it had been cooked slowly in an oven with a sauce.  It looked a lot like the pork hock in Germany that we have enjoyed.

Part way through our walk, we stopped at a small local restaurant for lunch.  Wendy told us we would be having typical farmer’s lunch dishes.  We started with small packets of pork wrapped in bamboo leaves which had been cooked in a hot oven with a sauce.  The pork was very tender and quiet tasty.  Then they brought a dish of Kung Pao chicken, chicken with peanuts and chilies, that was good and a bit spicy.  The next dish to appear was River Shrimp.  These are very small fresh water shrimp that are fried in their shells with a salt and black pepper seasoning.  You eat them by holding them by their little head and eating the rest in one bite, including the shell.  They were actually very good and we ate quite a few.  We also had a green vegetable that is available only in the spring that had been stirred fried and an excellent chicken egg-drop soup that also had slices of tomato in it.  Wendy ate with us and talked about her being a girl and going to school at the high school here in Zhujiajiao.  Her family still lives in the country but she lives in Shanghai for her work rooming with another girl whom she went to university with.

We finished our walk through the watertown, up and over several bridges and had a short boat ride in one of the small boats that used to be the main mode of transportation in the town.  There were fisherman using the same kind of boat to sell fresh fish and shell fish to the restaurants and to some of the local people.  There were a lot of Chinese visitors as this is a popular day trip out of Shanghai.

After a drive back into the center of Shanghai, we drove under the river through one of the tunnels to the Pudong Area on the east side of the river.  Our destination was the Shanghai World Financial Center building which is the highest building in Shanghai (not for long as they are building a taller one just across the street).  Wendy got our tickets for the fast elevator ride up to the 94^th floor.  Fred decided that the view there was good enough for him so Wendy took him to the lounge where he could wait for Jan and Wendy after their trip up to the 97^th and 100^th floors.

The building was built by Japanese money and designed by Japanese architects so it has a very space age feel - Lots of light shows, chrome and glass furniture, etc.   The elevator goes very fast and so high that your ears pop a little.  At the 94/95^th floor, an escalator takes you up to the 97^th floor and then a small elevator to the 100^th floor. 

The 100^th floor is the Sky Walk, a passage across the top of the building with glass in the floor through which you can see down to the street.  The entire floor was not glass so it wasn’t like walking on air.  The view was amazing and Jan wished it was not as smoggy as the visibility was not as good as it good have been.   You could see all of the greater Shanghai area.  The Pudong area was farming land until 1990 when the government moved everyone off of their land and began developing a new financial district.   There are large apartment blocks, each with different colored roofs, where the farming families were moved.  Each block is named after the village where the families used to live.  These apartments are about five stories high, with no elevator and there are hundreds of these complexes all over the Pudong area.  You could also see the Bund area along the river and a good view of our ship, Seven Seas Voyager, docked at the new cruise terminal on the Pu River.

After taking some pictures and enjoying the view, Jan and Wendy went back down to the 94^th floor to collect Fred who was resting comfortably on a couch in the middle of the room away from the windows.  He said that was close enough for him!

We went back under the river via another tunnel to the French Concessions area.  This is an area where they have preserved some of the colonial style buildings and turned them into office buildings, restaurants, shops and some very expensive housing.  We were originally scheduled to see the French Concession area on the second day, but we had time before our dinner reservations in the area, so we took the time to see that part of the city including a stop at one of the many restaurants in the Xintianda area for a pre-dinner cocktail.  It was nice to sit awhile and visit with Wendy about her life.  She was very interested in how we lived and especially about what we eat and how we travel.

Dinner was at a very nice Chinese restaurant in one of the old homes in the French Concession area, the Secret Garden.  It is beautifully restored and has many antiques. We are upstairs in a smaller dining room.  Wendy selected from the menu typical Shanghai-style food.  We had three small dishes of appetizers, including one that was seaweed, and the other two Jan never quite understood what they were, but they were all good.  Then they brought out a beautifully presented whole fish that had been steamed in a sauce that was very, very good.  There were mushrooms and other vegetables in the sauce that we really enjoyed.  The fish has been steamed just right and was a mild tasting white-fleshed fish.  The next dish was a duck dish done Shanghai-style.  It had been roasted and then cut into small pieces and served with a grain, vegetable mix that is hard to describe.  It was very good as well.  We also had a dish called Mushroom Soup which was a plate of various wild mushrooms in a very mild broth and a vegetable that was a bulb like vegetable, sort of like celery. 

Wendy said that these dishes were very typical of what would be served in a Shanghai’s family home.  They were all very good and there was way too much food.  We could not eat all of it even though we hated to leave any behind.

We were back to the ship about 8:00pm.

Day 67 March 23 – Shanghai, China

Today we will get to Shanghai in the late afternoon, after sailing up the river for about 72 miles.   Fred says he feels more rested now and is going to go to some lectures this morning.  Jan went to bridge class and learned quite a bit…if she can only remember it!

Duplicate bridge went very well for Jan.  Charlie, her partner from the previous day, was there and they decided to give it a try one more time…and were glad they did.  They had good cards and played much better.  In fact, they placed 2^nd in the east/west group.

We decided to stay on the ship for dinner since we would be eating Chinese food for the next two days.  We had a nice dinner at a table for 2 in Compass Rose.

Day 66 – March 22 – At sea on the way to Shanghai, China

After a good night’s sleep in our own bed (on the ship), we slept a little later.  Fred said he wanted a day off and just wanted to rest and read.  Jan went to bridge class where we have a new instructor.  She has a different method and it was a little difficult to keep up but Jan thinks she will stick it out. 

We had a light lunch since we are going to Prime 7 tonight and Jan went to duplicate bridge.  She partnered with a nice man but their bridge styles are not similar so probably both will try and find new partners the next time.

At Prime 7, we found Pepper and Jim at another table for 2 and asked the Head Waiter if we could have a table for four and they did.  So we enjoyed a good meal with good friends!

Day 65 – March 21 – Beijing, China – returning to ship in the evening

The next morning they picked us up at the hotel and we went to the Temple of Heaven where we met a local man and wife who tried to teach Fred and I how to do Taiji  Ball.  This combines Taiji movements with a small racket and ball.  Our Guide got some good pictures of us and I'll try and post one later.  It was a lot of fun but more difficult that it looked.  They gave us the rackets, balls and a carrying case to take with us including a CD with instructions.

Then we visited the Temple of Heaven which I think is better than the Forbidden City as it is more completely restored. 

Lunch was at a very nice restaurant called Heaven and Earth near the Forbidden City.  Leo came to meet us and brought us a beautiful wall hanging.  He had pre-ordered for us and we had, bbq short ribs, an interesting salad of greens and walnuts, chicken with peanuts, onions in a chili sauce, steamed vegetables, including lotus root and some I did not know, rice, followed by dragon fruit for desert.  It was all very, very good.

Leo and I had exchanged several e-mails about whether to order ourselves or let him order...I was extremely reluctant to have pre-ordered meals, but we are glad I let Leo do it as they have been wonderful.

The drive back to the ship in Tianjin was uneventful until we got close to the port.  On Sunday, when the driver and guide had come to get us, there wasn’t much truck traffic and they had followed other buses and cars in.  On Monday afternoon the truck traffic was horrendous!  Trucks were lined up for miles in both directions around the new construction sites.  The driver took a wrong turn and we ended up almost to the city of Tianjin.  He turned around and found one of the gates to the port.  He asked a policeman where the cruise port was and started off in that direction.  We finally saw a sign that said Tianjin Home Cruise Port and with only a few more wrong turns made it to the ship.   We were not worried as we arrived in the port area around 3:00pm and the ship didn’t sail until 7:00pm.  We had a lot of fun in the car during all of this driving around teasing our driver about being lost.  He was a very good driver and this port is so new that a lot of the drivers were having trouble getting around.

Day 64 – March 20 – Beijing, China – Leaving Ship for overnight in Beijing

The day started with the sail into Tianjin, the port for Beijing, China.  This is a huge area believe developed as both a port and an economic development zone.  They are reclaiming large portions of the sea to add land to the area.  As you might guess, the air quality was not good as well as it was cold, windy and cloudy.

Our company, Tina, from U China Travel Limited) and driver picked us up right on time from the brand new cruise terminal at the Tianjin Home Cruise Port.  We were a little delayed because the Chinese officials wanted all of the disembarking passengers off before the in-transit passengers.  However, one of the destination services staff was getting private arrangements off as soon as she could so we were able to leave just a bit before some of the others did.

The car was very comfortable, our driver great, and our guide, Tina, very good.   It is a 2 hour drive when traffic is good from Tianjin to Beijing.  All along the new streets within the port as well as along the “interstate” highways, they are planting or have planted hundreds of trees.  In the spring and summer, this will be a good thing as the rest of the landscape is factories, huge high rise apartment blocks and still some agricultural land.

The first thing we did was to stop and get some local money.  Then we went to visit a Hutong, some of the last areas of traditional housing in Beijing.  This is where the government officials lived in the time of the emperors.  The visit included a pedicab ride and visiting a local family who has opened their home for visits.  The daughter spent some time explaining how life was in the hutong.  She didn’t speak English but you could tell she understood a little, so our guide interpreted.  This family had open their home for homestays during the Olympics and were very proud that the family staying their was the family for one of the medal winners in swimming…I don’t remember which country.!   The designed is a central courtyard surrounded by several buildings.  One of the buildings was 700 years old but the others were built in the 1950’s.  This family had owned this home since 1948.

There are several of these areas around the center of Beijing.  Some of the Hutongs are being restored and saved while others are being destroyed.  One of the unique factors is that these homes are privately owned, including the land.  Almost all land in China is owned by the government and you only lease the land under your factory and/or home for 77 years.   After the visit, we were driven around the area, which was close by Qianhai Lake, one of the series of lake on the east side of the Forbidden City.  Along the lake were lots of small bars, shops, and restaurants where people were walking and enjoying the Sunday afternoon.   At night, they said, it was a busy place.

Then we went to visit the Summer Palace.  This is a very large area surrounding Kunming Lake.  It was built by the Ming Emperors in the 1700’s for an escape from the summer heat in Beijing.  There are quite a few buildings to visit and you could spend more than a day here.  Since it was cloudy, windy and a bit cool, we visited several pavilions including the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity and the Long Corridor.  There is a large complex of Buddist temples on the side of the hill which we did not visit.  Tina, our guide, had it well organized so we did not have to walk all the way back to the gate where we entered but could exit from a side gate.

There had been some confusion about lunch.  Our program had said we would have lunch with the family in the hutong, but Tina didn’t know that so we skipped lunch.  Instead we went to the area of the Bell Tower and The Drum Tower near another hutong.   Inside the Bell tower, we visited the Bell Tower Tea House where we tasted several very good teas.  Jan purchased some of her favorite and Fred some of his.  

By the time we finished with the tea house, it was about 4:30pm and traffic had become very heavy.  If we went to the hotel now and then back to dinner, it would cause a lot of problems for the driver.  And, since we had skipped lunch, we went early to the Dadong Duck Restaurant which is a very large and beautiful modern restaurant.  Leo had pre-ordered for us.  We had an interesting trio of appetizers that I have no idea what I was eating, but all were good.  Then there was a plate of wonderful stir-fried brocoli.

The duck was brought to the table side and was carved right there!  We had 1/2 duck but he started with a whole duck.  What precision!  He first took the strip of skin down the back of the duck and put it aside.  Then he proceeded to carve very small pieces of all 1/2 of the duck and arrange them on a plate that had lettuce on it.  He cut every piece one at a time and arranged them in a circle that grew until all the meat from the 1/2 duck was there.  Then he took 1/2 of the strip of skin from the duck and cut it into very small strips and laid it on top.

We had a condiments plate on the side that had sugar, minced garlic, small matchstick-size pieces of onion, celery, and a couple of other vegetables I didn't identify, ho sin sauce, and one other thing I'm not sure what it was.   The waitress brought the pancakes and prepared the first two for each of us.  The first one she used a piece of the duck dipped in the hoi sin sauce to spread it on the pancake where she placed a small amount of duck, and onion threads.  Then she folded the pancake around it using only chopsticks.  She said this was the traditional preparation.  I was going to try and pick it up with my chopsticks and she motioned that is was ok to eat with my hands!  Then she prepared another one with the hoi sin, duck, garlic, and celery threads.  She showed us how to eat the small slices of duck skin.  You dip them in the sugar...the combination of the crisp skin, fat and sugar was amazing and melted in your mouth.

We enjoyed eating the entire 1/2 of the duck.  Desert was fresh fruit served on a plate that had dried ice underneath so it was a beautiful presentation.  As we left the restaurant, it was very crowded and busy so we were glad we had gone early.

We then checked into the China World hotel which is a huge complex.  Our luggage had been sent by the ship and was in our room when we checked in. 

Day 63 – March 19 – At sea on way to Beijing, China

We woke up to a very foggy and cold day in the Yellow Sea.  Fred has some e-mail that needed to be answered and that took up the early morning.  Jan and Fred went to bridge class which was the last one with a great instructor who is leaving in Beijing.  Hopefully the next one coming on will be as good.

We had lunch with Eugene and Gail who are leaving in Beijing and we were happy to have had the time to get to know them a little bit. We will sail with them next year on the Voyager.

Tonight we are having a special order Mexican Dinner arranged by Pepper and Jim with our bridge instructor, Michael, and his wife Beverly.

The Mexican Dinner was especially good, both the food and the company.  Jim put together the menu: tortillas, tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, chicken Quesada’s, chicken fajitas, beef fajitas, sour cream, and flan for desert.  This was the third time they had ordered the Mexican dinner and everyone said it was the best food of all three.  Everyone enjoyed eating and talking and the evening went very quickly.  It was the last night on the ship for Michael, Beverly, and Carol (part of the ships bridge champion pair) because they leave for home tomorrow in Beijing.

Day 57 – March 13 – At sea on the way to Keelung, Taiwan

Today was a good Sunday at sea with bridge, lectures and good company keeping us occupied.  Tonight’s entertainment is Donald Cant, from Australia, who is one of the “phantoms of the opera” there.  We had dinner with Pepper and Jim, friends who we met playing bridge, at Prime 7.  I had sole this time and Fred had the Catch of the Day, a nice grilled grouper, both were very good.

Day 62 – March 18 – Inchon, S. Korea (Port for Seoul, S Korea)

We arrived right on time in Inchon, the port city for Seoul, South Korea

Our tour was the Grand Tour of Seoul, another all day trip.  This time the first stop was the National Museum and it was well worth it.  We had 90 minutes, which is still not enough time to see very much, but at least it was more time that we had in Taipei.  Our guide was not very good and kept getting way ahead.  He didn’t wait until everyone was off of the bus and there was only one door so it took time.   Luckily, he gave us the choice inside the Museum to follow him or to go our own way.  We chose going our own way and were happy we did.

The Museum was not crowded at all, in fact there were not may people there at that time of the morning.  When we left later, there were beginning to be more buses and more people visiting.  It is a new museum built on land that used to be part of the US Military base.  It is a huge complex and beautifully designed and executed.  We saw part of the pre-history galley and then went up to the ceramics.  The Koreas are known for beautiful pottery in a gray-green color.

We made it to the Museum shop in time to purchase a book about the Museum’s collection that has more information about the history of Korea and some small pottery pieces, one of which is a reproduction of a famous incense burner.

We went next to the area where we were going to have lunch and then some time for shopping.  The area is called Insa-kong.  There is one long main street with lots and lots of small shops and off of that street and many smaller alleys and lanes with restaurants.  We went down one small lane and had lunch at a Korean restaurant that we enjoyed.  We had bulgogi, which is a beef dish somewhat like sukiyaki, i.e. beef, onions and a type of cabbage in a nice sauce.  We also had a dish of Kim chi, the national dish of Korea, which is fermented cabbage..it was very spicy and not Jan’s favorite.  There were other dishes such as a soup, rice, and various condiments such as sesame beans, bean sprout salad, and other “little bites”.

We had about one hour to stroll down the street looking at the various shops but we didn’t buy anything.  Next stop was the Deoksugung Palace, the smallest palace in the city of Seoul.  We again made it in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony that was more elaborate than we say in Taipei.  This was had guards dressed in the traditional uniforms complete with a band and large drum.  The grounds were very green and it was interesting to see the throne that was mostly all there was in the audience hall of the Palace.  There were other buildings there but we didn’t have time to see them.

Last stop was the Namdaemun Market, a typical street market full of small shops and even people with goods just spread out on clothes in the middle of the streets.  Fred has tired and decided to stay on the bus but Eugene and Jan went together so hopefully one of them could find their way back.  You could buy most anything you wanted in the market and we only say a very small market.  The entire market is huge and we just barely stepped into one side.  Just as it was time to get back to the bus, we found the more interesting part where they had herbs and spices.   Eugene and Jan did make it back to the bus right on time with only one double back.

While we enjoyed all of the stops on this tour, we did not enjoy the guide.

We had dinner in our room which was great after the long full day trip.

Day 62 – March 18 – Inchon, S. Korea (Port for Seoul, S Korea)

We arrived right on time in Inchon, the port city for Seoul, South Korea

Our tour was the Grand Tour of Seoul, another all day trip.  This time the first stop was the National Museum and it was well worth it.  We had 90 minutes, which is still not enough time to see very much, but at least it was more time that we had in Taipei.  Our guide was not very good and kept getting way ahead.  He didn’t wait until everyone was off of the bus and there was only one door so it took time.   Luckily, he gave us the choice inside the Museum to follow him or to go our own way.  We chose going our own way and were happy we did.

The Museum was not crowded at all, in fact there were not may people there at that time of the morning.  When we left later, there were beginning to be more buses and more people visiting.  It is a new museum built on land that used to be part of the US Military base.  It is a huge complex and beautifully designed and executed.  We saw part of the pre-history galley and then went up to the ceramics.  The Koreas are known for beautiful pottery in a gray-green color.

We made it to the Museum shop in time to purchase a book about the Museum’s collection that has more information about the history of Korea and some small pottery pieces, one of which is a reproduction of a famous incense burner.

We went next to the area where we were going to have lunch and then some time for shopping.  The area is called Insa-kong.  There is one long main street with lots and lots of small shops and off of that street and many smaller alleys and lanes with restaurants.  We went down one small lane and had lunch at a Korean restaurant that we enjoyed.  We had bulgogi, which is a beef dish somewhat like sukiyaki, i.e. beef, onions and a type of cabbage in a nice sauce.  We also had a dish of Kim chi, the national dish of Korea, which is fermented cabbage..it was very spicy and not Jan’s favorite.  There were other dishes such as a soup, rice, and various condiments such as sesame beans, bean sprout salad, and other “little bites”.

We had about one hour to stroll down the street looking at the various shops but we didn’t buy anything.  Next stop was the Deoksugung Palace, the smallest palace in the city of Seoul.  We again made it in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony that was more elaborate than we say in Taipei.  This was had guards dressed in the traditional uniforms complete with a band and large drum.  The grounds were very green and it was interesting to see the throne that was mostly all there was in the audience hall of the Palace.  There were other buildings there but we didn’t have time to see them.

Last stop was the Namdaemun Market, a typical street market full of small shops and even people with goods just spread out on clothes in the middle of the streets.  Fred has tired and decided to stay on the bus but Eugene and Jan went together so hopefully one of them could find their way back.  You could buy most anything you wanted in the market and we only say a very small market.  The entire market is huge and we just barely stepped into one side.  Just as it was time to get back to the bus, we found the more interesting part where they had herbs and spices.   Eugene and Jan did make it back to the bus right on time with only one double back.

While we enjoyed all of the stops on this tour, we did not enjoy the guide.

We had dinner in our room which was great after the long full day trip.

Day 61 – March 17 – At sea on the way to Seoul, S Korea

It was St Patrick’s Day and Pepper gave Jan a button, that said Kiss Me, I’m Irish.  A couple of her favorite waiters in La Veranda gave her kisses on the cheek at lunch time at La Veranda.

The rest of the day was our usual bridge, lunch, bridge for Jan, reading for Fred, cocktails with friends.  We went to dinner again at Prime 7.  Jan had a very nice filet and Fred had the sole.  We had some time before Donald Cant sang again for the evening’s entertainment so we tried out the casino’s slot machines.  Jan’s first $20 took some time to spend, but the remaining $20 went very fast.  Fred didn’t have much luck at all.  But is was fun anyway.

Day 61 – March 17 – At sea on the way to Seoul, S Korea

It was St Patrick’s Day and Pepper gave Jan a button, that said Kiss Me, I’m Irish.  A couple of her favorite waiters in La Veranda gave her kisses on the cheek at lunch time at La Veranda.

The rest of the day was our usual bridge, lunch, bridge for Jan, reading for Fred, cocktails with friends.  We went to dinner again at Prime 7.  Jan had a very nice filet and Fred had the sole.  We had some time before Donald Cant sang again for the evening’s entertainment so we tried out the casino’s slot machines.  Jan’s first $20 took some time to spend, but the remaining $20 went very fast.  Fred didn’t have much luck at all.  But is was fun anyway.

Day 60 – March 16 – At sea on the way to Seoul, S. Korea

Just another sea day – great bridge and great friends.  Jan had a facial in the late afternoon.  We had cocktails in the Observation Lounge with some of the LCT group and then enjoyed another dinner at La Veranda with the Asian menu.  Jan just had sushi and sashimi for dinner.  Fred had some of the appetizers and a seared Tuna steak. 

Entertainment was Jon Darsk, a piano showman, who was really great.  Jan talked Fred into sitting down front and we could really hear and enjoyed him from those seats.

Day 60 – March 16 – At sea on the way to Seoul, S. Korea

Just another sea day – great bridge and great friends.  Jan had a facial in the late afternoon.  We had cocktails in the Observation Lounge with some of the LCT group and then enjoyed another dinner at La Veranda with the Asian menu.  Jan just had sushi and sashimi for dinner.  Fred had some of the appetizers and a seared Tuna steak. 

Entertainment was Jon Darsk, a piano showman, who was really great.  Jan talked Fred into sitting down front and we could really hear and enjoyed him from those seats.

Day 59 – March 15 – Keelung, Taiwan

After waking up in the morning to find it raining, we decided to abandon our plans to go into Taipei independently via the train.  Fred went down to the Destination Services and found there were tickets available for the Highlights of Taipei tour.  He chose the 1:15pm departure but Jan sent him back to get the early departure so we didn’t have to worry about getting back late.

It was about a 45-40 minute drive from Keelung into Taipei.  Taipei is a very large city and very modern.  Our first stop was the Chiang Kei-Shek Memorial, a huge complex in the middle of the city.   It had lovely gardens where the azaleas were in bloom.  While it was a little cool, the clouds were not too thick and the weather was great for sightseeing.

The Chiang Kei-Shek Memorial is a large building that houses a very large statue of the General.  They said it was about the size of the Lincoln statue in Washington, D.C.  There are also buildings located in the complex the National Concert Hall and the National Theatre.   There were quite a few tourists from China as well as Taiwan.

The second stop was the Martyr’s Shrine where we got to see the changing of the Guard.  This is Taiwan’s memorial to all those who has lost their lives in War.

Our final stop was the National Museum that is supposed to have the best collection of Chinese art in the world.  It was taken from mainland China when Chiang Kai Shek’s armies had to flee the communists.  Most people say that it is the best of the artifacts and art from pre-war China and that it is a good thing that they were removed from the mainland as they probably would have been destroyed in the Cultural Revolution of the Red Guards.

Unfortunately, the museum was very, very crowded.  There were lots of school children, other tour groups, etc.  We were late in arriving so only had 60 minutes from the time of leaving our bus to being back on the bus, which was a ridiculously short time in this important museum.  The guide gave us all earphone so we could hear him, but he moved so fast that we could not keep up and just decided to see what we could.  We saw a portion of the jade exhibits and they do have some spectacular pieces.  With the crowds and short time, there the only good thing about the visit was the quick trip to the Museum Store where we did purchase a small ceramic piece as a memento of Taiwan.

The drive back to the ship was uneventful and when we arrived in Keelung, it was raining and the staff on the ship said that it had been raining all day.

Tonight was Dinner and Show in Signatures where we had reservations for just the two of us again.  The food was the best we have had in Signatures this cruise, with the exception of a strange desert.  The show was an Australia female vocalist, Karen Beckett.  She is a cabaret type singer and we both enjoyed the show.

Entertainment tonight is a Tribute to the Beatles which we had seen, so we skipped it for an early bedtime.

Day 59 – March 15 – Keelung, Taiwan

After waking up in the morning to find it raining, we decided to abandon our plans to go into Taipei independently via the train.  Fred went down to the Destination Services and found there were tickets available for the Highlights of Taipei tour.  He chose the 1:15pm departure but Jan sent him back to get the early departure so we didn’t have to worry about getting back late.

It was about a 45-40 minute drive from Keelung into Taipei.  Taipei is a very large city and very modern.  Our first stop was the Chiang Kei-Shek Memorial, a huge complex in the middle of the city.   It had lovely gardens where the azaleas were in bloom.  While it was a little cool, the clouds were not too thick and the weather was great for sightseeing.

The Chiang Kei-Shek Memorial is a large building that houses a very large statue of the General.  They said it was about the size of the Lincoln statue in Washington, D.C.  There are also buildings located in the complex the National Concert Hall and the National Theatre.   There were quite a few tourists from China as well as Taiwan.

The second stop was the Martyr’s Shrine where we got to see the changing of the Guard.  This is Taiwan’s memorial to all those who has lost their lives in War.

Our final stop was the National Museum that is supposed to have the best collection of Chinese art in the world.  It was taken from mainland China when Chiang Kai Shek’s armies had to flee the communists.  Most people say that it is the best of the artifacts and art from pre-war China and that it is a good thing that they were removed from the mainland as they probably would have been destroyed in the Cultural Revolution of the Red Guards.

Unfortunately, the museum was very, very crowded.  There were lots of school children, other tour groups, etc.  We were late in arriving so only had 60 minutes from the time of leaving our bus to being back on the bus, which was a ridiculously short time in this important museum.  The guide gave us all earphone so we could hear him, but he moved so fast that we could not keep up and just decided to see what we could.  We saw a portion of the jade exhibits and they do have some spectacular pieces.  With the crowds and short time, there the only good thing about the visit was the quick trip to the Museum Store where we did purchase a small ceramic piece as a memento of Taiwan.

The drive back to the ship was uneventful and when we arrived in Keelung, it was raining and the staff on the ship said that it had been raining all day.

Tonight was Dinner and Show in Signatures where we had reservations for just the two of us again.  The food was the best we have had in Signatures this cruise, with the exception of a strange desert.  The show was an Australia female vocalist, Karen Beckett.  She is a cabaret type singer and we both enjoyed the show.

Entertainment tonight is a Tribute to the Beatles which we had seen, so we skipped it for an early bedtime.

Day 58 – March 14 –Keelung, Taiwan

We were supposed to be in Keelung, Taiwan this morning but the delay getting fueled has delayed us and we docked late afternoon.  It was a nice sail it and there are several beautiful temples around the dock in Keelung including one with the largest Lady Buddha.  We are on the opposite side of the harbor than expected, closer to the train station but further away from the night market.

We decided to stay on the ship and go to the La Veranda where the menu is Asian Delights, and it was delightful.  There was sushi and sashimi, lots of different Asian salads such as a Thai beef and or Crispy Lamb.  There were also Vietnamese spring rolls and chicken satay.  After enjoying appetizers (we had more than just an appetizer portion), we both had the Crispy Peking Style Duck.   It was good and even had the pancakes with Hoi Sin sauce.

Day 58 – March 14 –Keelung, Taiwan

We were supposed to be in Keelung, Taiwan this morning but the delay getting fueled has delayed us and we docked late afternoon.  It was a nice sail it and there are several beautiful temples around the dock in Keelung including one with the largest Lady Buddha.  We are on the opposite side of the harbor than expected, closer to the train station but further away from the night market.

We decided to stay on the ship and go to the La Veranda where the menu is Asian Delights, and it was delightful.  There was sushi and sashimi, lots of different Asian salads such as a Thai beef and or Crispy Lamb.  There were also Vietnamese spring rolls and chicken satay.  After enjoying appetizers (we had more than just an appetizer portion), we both had the Crispy Peking Style Duck.   It was good and even had the pancakes with Hoi Sin sauce.

Day 56 – March 12, 2011 – Manila, Philippines

Today we took the tour to Corregidor, the Last Bastion.   It was an all day tour but one of the best we have done.

In the morning we took a smaller, fast ferry from Manila to the Island of Corregidor.  The ferry was just the 3 buses from the Voyager so there was plenty of room.  It was about 1.5 hours over calm seas.   We got off on the South Dock and into the special open-sided buses that they use to transport people around the island.   Since it was a beautiful day, not too hot, but sunny, it made it easier to get everyone on and off the bus quickly as everyone had their own way on or off.

We first went to the Hotel Corregidor for lunch which was a nice buffet with Philippines food.  There were chicken, fish, pork, rice, and vegetables to choose from.  They also had a soup and salad.  The pork was the best of the dishes.

Our guide had asked if we would take a shorter lunch so that we could be first away and be able to see more…the entire bus cheered!   So we quickly ate lunch, reboarded the bus and off we went.

Our first stop was one of the gun batteries.  A battery can be more than one gun and this one had four guns.  They were large mortar-type guns and standing next to them, you really saw how really large they are.  After visiting that battery, the guide took us up a direct road that he said he wasn’t supposed to use to visit the hospital.   Most of the military buildings on Corregidor are completely destroying and the decision has been made not to reconstruct them or protect them in any way so they continue to fall down.

The hospital was huge but in very bad shape.  Most of these buildings had been constructed in the late 1920’s of concrete and steel.  The concrete had to cure for multiple days/weeks in order or it to become strong in this tropical climate.  So all of the buildings have the concrete pillars standing with the concrete floors either intact of falling down.

We saw the Middle Barracks, the Mile Long Barracks, multiple smaller buildings and sometimes just a foundation covered by the jungle.  Our guide told us that after the war, the island was almost completely bare of any plants.  In the 1950’s they dropped seeds from the natural plants on the part of the islands that had fewer buildings, i.e. the tail of the Island which is shaped like a tadpole.  Now the island is covered with lots of trees, vines, and all of the plants you would expect in this area.

We visited the lighthouse which was actually built by the Spanish but is still in use.  The next stop was the small museum and the monuments, including the Eternal Flame sculpture dedicated to the men and women who lost their lives defending the Philippines and especially those on Corregidor.  We also visited the Japanese memorial which was the cemetery that was discovered under all the foliage in 1986.  There are not any burials there now as they exhumed all the Japanese, cremated them and return their remains to Japan.  Our guide told us they have separate tours for the Japanese with the story more aimed at their side of the story.

The last stop before the visit to the Malinta Tunnel was the North Dock where McArthur left the island on the PT boat.  According to our guide, the PT boat first docked at the South Dock but because that dock was under the control of the navy and the north dock was under control of the army, McArthur made the PT boat circle the island to pick him up.   Sounds pretty stupid to me!

The Malinta Tunnel tour was interesting if a little difficult to walk through.  You start at one end of the tunnel, stopping every few feet at an opening to one of the side tunnels.  At each tunnel, there was either a panorama depicting an event, such as the Philippine President and his family arriving at the Tunnel for safety or McArthur telling his second in command that he had been ordered by the President to leave for Australia even though he didn’t want to go.

While there were only about 50 people, it was crowded enough that it was hard to see all of the panoramas or films.  Sometimes you wonder what people think they are doing when they stand right in front of the screen and don’t move….or when the 6 foot men stand on the front row and the rest of us vertically changed folks try to look around them.

At the end of the tunnel, you get back on your bus and are taken to the dock for the ferry ride home.  The ride home was a little bit more bumpy than in the morning but not too bad.

Back on the ship, the Captain told us that we would not be leaving on time but would be delayed until at least after midnight.  While the tsunami did not hit Manila or anywhere in the Philippines, because of the warning they had not allowed the fuel barge to load the fuel we needed.  So the barge will not be along side until late afternoon at least and it will take 5 hours to load the fuel we require.  So we will be docked here in Manila until the fueling is completed.   We did finally leave probably around 1-2:00 am, I didn’t get up and look at the lock.