Final day in Singapore

Again a wonderful, yet hot and sticky day in Singapore. We took the hop in hop off bus again as our mode of transportation in addition to walking. We started in little India, and we were ready for some lunch. Little did we know the first building we walked in to was an Indian food market. There were hundreds of small street like vendors. I enjoyed some freshly made naan bread and butter chicken with rice. Travis had a dish with mutton, chicken, tomatoes, onions, and chickpeas with spices of course. It was Indian. Very overwhelming and we just figured it out, but we were glad to have the experience. 

Just a peek at the Indian food market

Later we walked though the ethnic community. I got a henna tattoo which was fun.  Very Indian. Then later to the Malay community which is more Arab. We were very hot and sticky by this point, so we didn't do a whole lot other than walk through. 

We rode the Singapore Flyer and Travis did very well, took lots of pictures. 

Tonight we've packed and prepare for our trip home. See you on the flip side of the world...

Much love!

Singapore

Today we disembarked from our home for the past 13 days, the Diamond Princess. Disembarkation was a very streamlined process. Singapore really does things well. We arrived at our hotel by 10 am and were able to check in early and were in our room by 11am. We didn't head out right away, but by lunchtime we headed out. We found some food across the street in a shopping center. Boy are there a lot of shopping centers in Singapore. 

After lunch we hit the streets in the city hop on hop off bus. We rode it around to the Singapore flyer, which is a large Ferris wheel like the Eye in London. We will likely ride it tomorrow. We then rode a couple other bus lines, there are 4. We really enjoyed riding through the ethnic areas of the city. 

Singapore flyer

Little India 

Little India 

The founder of the modern day Singapore is a Sir Raffels and he divided up the city into ethic areas. It is very interesting to see the communities amongst the city. There are four main ones, Chinatown, little India, Malay, then the native Singaporeans. These area are fascinating and make it a wonderful place to visit. 

Famous Raffels Hotel 

A memorial to honor the cultures that died here in world war 2

Us on our bus.

This evening after the buses ended we walked around Chinatown. We found some food, which was very nice and enjoyed walking around the area. Tomorrow we'll head to little India and other places. 

So far I love Singapore, it's lived up to the hype I've heard from others. Very clean and efficient. 

Marina bay sands resort. On top is a pool...not where we are staying. 

One more day. Until then. 

Much love!

Phu My, gateway to Ho Chi Minh City

We started early today, Sunday with a bus trip into Ho Chi Minh City. Like the other two ports it was humid. We are in the single digits latitude. Travis and I can't imagine what it was like here during the war. I can only hope people get use to it, but in our short time here we did not become accustomed to the humidity. 

In Ho Chi Minh City we first got to witness a water puppet show. This was neat and is a historical form of art. The puppet masters have go under water, and sometimes they have more than one puppet on their sticks. After the puppet show we went through a museum with information about the history of Vietnam, even back to the prehistoric days. It was difficult to understand the tour guide at times, so I'm not sure I got as much out of it as I had hoped, but little by little I'm learning more about this country and area. It makes me want to go home and learn so much more. 

Water puppets

Temple

Next we drove around and saw places such as Chinatown and the old US Embassy where people were rescued during the war. It was interesting. Next was lunch at a hotel with traditional Vietnamese food and entertainment. 

Lunch entertainment 

After lunch we went to the reunification palace where the president of the southern republic of Vietnam lived and worked. They also housed the war effort. It was where Henry Kissinger met abot the war. A neat place, I learned a bit more about the war, but still leaves me wanting more knowledge. 

Reunification Palace

We finished the day at the French style post office and the Norte dame cathedral of Saigon. And a lacquer shop which was interesting. 

Making lacquer ware

We were happy to get back to the air conditioning on the ship and enjoyed an early dinner with our new favorite waiter Enzo from the Philippines and a movie. 

I enjoyed our first and most rural location in Vietnam, Hue. I enjoyed the city culture of Ho Chi Minh City the least. The history of all of the, is wonderful though. And thankfully we did not go to another market, we've had enough markets...not our thing. 

A day at sea tomorrow with packing for the end of the cruise. Singapore on Tuesday and back to free internet! Life's little blessings in 2014. 

Much love!

Nha Trang, Vietnam

  We started Saturday in Nha Trang, which is a little further south from Chan My. Nha Trang is a resort city with a lot of tourists, our guide said they had 3 flights a day to/from Russia. It is located on the coast with beaches galore. This was very different from our visit to Hue which was more impoverished and rural. One thing that remained the same from Chan My is the humidity. 

  In Nha Trang we set out to visit a few different temples. One was a large white Buddha on top of a mountain. It sits like 60 meters high. There were many many steps and while that was difficult with the sun and humidity, the period of time Travis and I had sweat dripping everywhere was at the bottom of this statue. 

  This city was changed when it was a French colony. And the buildings had very different architecture than the Asian cultural buildings. There were Catholic Churches around the city. Very interesting. We spent the rest of the time near the rivers that went out to the sea. There was another temple and we had a stop to have some coconut juice. I can't say I enjoyed the coconut juice, but I enjoyed the experience of having a coconut top cut off and the juice inside. Very different than I've had before. 

Coconut juice 

We also got to walk across a large bridge and take pictures. We saw the pedi cab tour while crossing the bridge. This was a ship tour that each person sat in a pedi cab and went around the city. Looked nice, but the heat and sun would have been a lot for me. 

We ended the day at an other tower and then an embroidery factory which showed the process. It was quite amazing work with beautiful designs. They were absolutely amazing, but a little more than we wanted to spend. 

Cham tower

Embroidery 

I had an unfortunate event in that my SD card in my phone became disconnected, which means I cannot access the images from the first part of the day. I have faith that my pictures aren't gone, just that my phone's ability to access them is gone. I'll have to figure it out when I get home. 

Tomorrow Ho Chi Minh City. 

Much love!

Chan My, port city for Hue, Vietnam

Today was our first day in Vietnam. And boy was it an early start to the day as well as a very sticky day. But first our day in Vietnam. I have to admit I'm a bit Vietnam ignorant. I did not realize that Vietnam was a communist country. I know very little about the Vietnam war, other than it happened and it wasn't popular in America ( if I'm even remembering that correctly). It was in history books, but we were lucky to get to 1900 in American history class let alone the 60's and 70's. I apologize for my ignorance and hope I don't offend anyone by my lack of knowledge. I can say I've learned some history today. 

On our tour today we traveled about an hour and a half by bus to the historical capital of Hue (pronounced hway). I was fascinated with our drive, we travelled through flooded rice fields, mountains, river deltas and population centers. It is not rice season as it's the start of the rainy season and everything is just flooded. We did see what they call buffalo walking around in the flooded fields. It is a very mountainous place, much more so than I ever thought. The homes and businesses along the street were so different from westernized ways and even the more modern ways of the Asian sites we've seen so far. It really makes me appreciate what I do have. Our tour guide said that some families live on $50-60 a month. The streets were just lined with what looked like shacks, but they were concrete narrow buildings, but right next to rubble. The guide said that they are rebuilding after the many years of war. 

We made it to Hue and we went to the forbidden city, which was the home of the emperors from the early 1800-1945. It was called the forbidden city because only the royalty and servants were allowed in. It was heavily bombed in the wars and the Americans took up camp here and fought against the communist party. They are working on rebuilding it and expect it to take many many years. On the way to and from all of the sites we were hassled by locals trying to sell us stuff. It is a cheap country to buy things, but they weren't things we really wanted to buy. They were relentless though, especially then following the madam's (i.e. me). 

Next we went to a market. Oh my gosh, that was so not for me! It was tiny pathways with a billion tiny shops and all of the people harassing us to buy something. We could buy in U.S. Dollars, which was nice, but still I didn't enjoy the small areas and the following me. We got back on the bus fairly quickly. 

Then we headed to the dragon boat to cruise up the perfume river. These are boats like they use to use, families live on them and run them. They even had things to sell, but did not harass. Next lunch, a buffet of local goodies before heading back out. 

We went to the Buddhist pagoda, which was interesting, then to the second emperor's mosuleum. He died in 1840. Then back to the bus. 

Pagoda 

A hot stick mess at the mosuleum 

The temperature was not to hot, but the humidity was terrible and the whole group was a sweaty mess. The bus had air conditioning, which helped when we were in there. I also found that me and my size were a bit of a spectacle. I can't understand Vietnamese, but my inclination was that they were laughing at me. 

I enjoyed the day and learning about Vietnam. I wish I had unlimited internet (free) on the ship so I could research more about these places when we got back. Our tour guide spoke great English and was very informative. A great day. We were tired when we got back and a shower and some relaxing were in order. 

Tomorrow more Vietnam. 

Much love! 

Hong Kong

Today we got to go into Hong Kong, with an early start to the day. Hong Kong is a fascinating city. It is the home of mainly Chinese people, but it is so large and populous and you can see the British influence as they were a colony for so long.  

7.1 million people live in just over 1000 square kilometers. I can't say that I have a frame of reference for that number, but they said NYC is slightly bigger in area. That is equivalent to over 6000 people per square kilometer. However they cannot inhabit the whole area, so it's even more densely populated than that. One area had over 50,000 people per square kilometer. It's just crazy to fathom. Well because of this, the city is filled with over 8000 skyscrapers. The mountains and skyscrapers are in harmony together, but it is just amazing how they are built. The Chinese believe in fung shay and are superstitious  (I know, bad spelling) so some tall buildings have holes in them to allow the dragon to get to the water. Dragons are a sign of power and wealth. Very interesting. 

We started today driving up to Victoria peak. Victoria peak is one of the tallest if not the tallest point in the city to look out. It was quite the drive up there, mountainous and on smallish roads. Travis made it up and eventually back down with no issues...he's afraid of heights. There were some amazing drops down while driving. We stayed at Victoria peak for a brief period to take pictures on the overlook. 

Victoria harbor

Victoria peak panoramic 

Then we headed down the mountain on the tram. This tram was very steep at times and we rode down facing backwards. It was short, but fun. We found a very long line at the bottom of people waiting to go up, so we were very glad to be riding down, with no line. 

Steepness of the tram going down. 

Next we drove to the old shipping village called Aberdeen. We learned that when British men found the village they couldn't understand the natives when asking the harbor's/cities name. The only thing they understood was Hong Kong, which actually means favorite pier. So that's how the city got its name and why the area of Aberdeen got its name...they had to name it something different. 

Next we boarded a small boat to go get Dim Sum lunch. We ate at the famous Jumbo floating restaurant. The Dim Sum was good, lots of new things to try. 

After lunch we went shopping at a couple of markets. At the last market, Travis and I had a scroll like thing made with our names. We watched them make it. An unexpected purchase. 

Created for us...love

Finished, or nearly finished. Jerilyn is on the left, Travis is on the right.

Then eventually we went on a harbor cruise around the famous Victoria harbor. Then back to the ship. This was a full day and we were tired upon our return, but we enjoyed sitting in the balcony as we sailed away from Hong Kong. 

Goodbye Hong Kong

It was a wonderful day learning and experiencing the city of Hong Kong. 

Tomorrow is another at sea day. There are a couple of things we want to go to, which should be fun. 

Until later. 

Much love!

Taipei, Taiwan

We spent a wonderful day in Taipei. We boarded the bus and spent a hurried day visiting temples, a museum, a wonderful buffet lunch and a memorial for a past president. 

We started out going to a temple. They have a lot of temples around the city, and we weren't really told the locations, but they were neat all the same. Taipei was a busy city, so we hustled amongst the locals to board the bus. Also it was very warm in Taiwan. We knew it was going to be warm, but the sun was really intense. The tour guide kept getting us out of the sun, which was nice and the bus had good air conditioning. 

The temples were similar to those that we found in Japan. There were lines of locals worshiping, very interesting. Next we went to the site where the honor their soldiers, unknown soldiers and heroes. At this place they have guards to watch over the soldiers and heroes. We saw the changing of the guard, which was a nice ceremony. They had some beautiful flowers around the city and at the sites. 

Next we went to another temple and then to the national museum. The museum housed beautiful relics of the Chinese history and Taiwan's history. We saw treasures of ivory and jade. They say all ivory belongs in museums, they don't believe more ivory should be taken from elephants. The carvings and works of ivory and jade were tremendous. 

Next we went to lunch. We ate at the best hotel in the country according to the tour guide. It was The Grand Hotel, it was very large, red and at the top of a hill. The buffet was very good, with many options, it was an Asian type buffet we were told. 

After lunch we went to another temple. After that we went to Chiang Kai-Shek's memorial which was a large building downtown. We toured inside where they have information about his reign. Finally we went to the handicraft shop for souvenirs. 

We did make one last stop, very briefly to take a picture of Taipei 101, one of the tallest towers in the world. It had a very interesting design, very flattering, not just a boring ol' tall building. 

We rested for a bit when we returned and then finished our night with dinner and the show. 

Much love!

Okinawa

Today we had an early day going to Okinawa. It was a nice day. We started at Shurijo castle. We learned a lot about the culture and island. Okinawa is different from main land Japan, it was ruled independently for a long tome before being taken over by Japan and eventually the US in WWII.  The island has a great deal of culture and heritage from in China. 

The castle was rebuilt 4 times due to fires and eventually bombing in WWII. It was recently finished in the 90s for visitors. The emperor would meet the king in the castle. 

Next we went to create our very own Ryukyu Bingata, which is the art of painting a dye on a cloth to make colored fabric. I was really looking forward to this part of the tour, but I'm not sure everyone read their guide when booking this tour as not everyone did the craft and yet they paid for it, silly. Anyway, I was very excited to create my very own craft that was like what they do in the island. 

We painted on small bags, learning the technique with a language barrier took time and patience which not all had. I loved the craft and was declared the number one on our group. It wasn't great, but I took the time to try to do a decent job, and I'm proud of my attempt. Travis also did a nice job, but has decided he's not a handi-craft expert and will keep his "day" job. 

After our craft time we had a brief period to shop before heading back to the ship. Once we arrived back we had a treat. A group of children, ranging from teen to 3 or 4. They did traditional dance with drums. And eventually dragons. Very fun to see. 

This evening we get a massage and I got my very first facial. It was fun to treat ourselves. We then had a nice night with dinner and the show. 

Off to bed soon as it's another early day tomorrow in Taipei, Taiwan. 

Much love!

Day at sea - Saturday

It's been difficult to keep track of what day it actually is, but I do believe it was Saturday today. We had a nice day relaxing, with little to report on. We've enjoyed meeting some folks and catching up with them from time to time on the ship. Sleeping in and watching a movie as well as formal night is the excitement for our day. We loved it. I'm busy enough at home I don't mind relaxing and enjoying the day at sea. 

Tomorrow Okinawa and up early! 

Until tomorrow...

Much love!

Kyoto

Today we got to sleep in, which I enjoyed! Travis went to a class about our stop in Osaka. Then we braved the hoards of people to get some lunch. 

At 1230pm we were greeted at Osaka bay by the local water fire fighters. That was neat, a fire fighting boat had about 8 different sprays in all directions that was really cool. Then we left on our tour to Kyoto. 

In Kyoto we went to Nijo castle. Nijo castle is where the Shogun who was the war lord that controlled the country of Japan. While there is an emperor, the Shogun controlled the lands and people. This was his castle. There were 5 different rooms, he lived at the back and guests were greeted at the entrances. The floors creaked as you walked due to metal rubbing together. This was done as a safety measure and they call it the nightingale floor as that is what it sounds like. We had to take our shoes off to walk through. 

Nijo castle

Rock garden at Nijo castle

Then we went to the Kyoumisu temple which was a Buddhist temple built on the side of a mountain. It was large and there was a large stage built over the side of the cliff. This stage had 163 pillars and wasn't built with nails. We drank water from the fountain of health and enjoyed a bit of shopping. 

Entrance to Kyoumisu temple

Kyoumisu temple

Tonight we had dinner with a couple of ladies from the NYC area and a couple from England. We had a very nice chat with them so much so we missed the evening show. 

Tomorrow is an at sea day and I look forward to relaxing. Travis has some classes he may go to, we'll just have to see where the day takes us. 

Much love! 

Embarking the ship

Wow was this an experience. I knew it would be busy with the change of days and everyone being available, but it was even more than I dreamed. And I don't mean that fondly. 

After a morning of chatting with some friends and family on the free wifi we went down and boarded the bus that would take us to the ship. We got on, it wasn't full and we headed out on our journey. We arrived at the cruise terminal and that's where things got crazy! 

Inside we left our luggage and got in a HUGE queue...doubled back around. We made friends with the British family in line behind us and we were so happ to reach the end it was a point where you sat and waited to go through a screen. Beyond it I expected a security screening and check in desks. 

I was right about what to expect, but I was very wrong about it being just that. Behind this screen was another even longer line...much to everyone's surprise.  So we got in it and kept on standing and creeping along. I do think Princess was doing all they could. They had 30 check in people (so we found out later), I just think the influx was way higher than the outflow. So we waited in a line for about 3 hours to get on the ship. Not near the smooth process we experienced last year. Which was ok, but we were ready to be on the ship. 

We did finally make it and did our muster drill and set sail. Travis and I watched from our balcony. We had a nice sunset and bridge as we departed. We turn took care of some business, one of them getting Internet, and we got some food. I didn't eat much as I thought we'd be on the ship long before we actually ended up getting to our stateroom. It's ok, my tummy is full with some yummy food. 

We arrive in Osaka tomorrow afternoon and our tour has had some changes due to the change in port time. Should be a nice day. Sleeping in and seeing Osaka. 

Either it's our location or the ocean here is a bit rougher, but we feel the motion quite a bit more than we did last year. It's not bad though. 

Much love!