Click photos to enlarge and see captions

Since this adventure covered seven countries, I won’t attempt my usual greeting in the language of the countr(ies) visited. Our cruise left in Singapore, then headed north to Bangkok, Thailand; Saigon, Vietnam; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Hong Kong; Shanghai, China; Nagasaki, Japan; Busan, S. Korea; and Beijing, China.

We had chosen this ship and itinerary precisely because the sea days were spaced perfectly to allow for rest between all the port days. Which enabled me to keep up with 90% of the excursions. The sea days also offered lectures on the various ports of call, from both a practical standpoint (where, what, when, and how in port) and a cultural one (history, demographics, social, economic, etc.

After four consecutive flights, we had spent 25 hours in the air, eight hours waiting at various airports, and crossed 10 time zones. Compared to that, flying to Europe seems like a puddle jumper. To the 16 days of the cruise, we added two days at each end to make the most of our trip, in Singapore and Beijing. It all amounted to three weeks, in a marathon which we knew to be our last to that part of the world.

The passenger list included mostly English-speaking people, from US, UK, Australia, S. Africa and Canada. Many Asians, too, but it was hard to tell whether they were from the mainland or the US. And, for all of you worry-warts who are still reeling from the Costa disaster earlier, I am glad to report that the safety drill procedure was duly and religiously conducted before we left port.

For people who usually don’t include cities in their various voyages around the world, we managed to visit nothing but cities on this trip. Since they are all in S.E. Asia, we found many similarities between all of them -- at least to our untrained western eyes and ears -- regarding culture, language, history, facial features, food, and customs. Every city was extremely crowded and noisy, with constant shoving and pushing in public spaces. China was the worst, where you see groups of Chinese people (such as you may have seen in high density areas in the US, like National Parks) follow each other closely, one behind the next, with a hand on the shoulder of the one in front, kindergarten-style. We wound up doing the same thing not to lose each other or our group when working our way through Shanghai’s Old Town, for instance.

Trivia: The Chinese subway system (like Japan's and Hong Kong's) employs “station attendants,” whose sole function is to shove as many human parts through the doors as physically possible before the train leaves.

Although cuisine varies from country to country, all of them are noodle- and rice-based, with lots of vegetables, chicken, pork and seafood, cooked with a large variety of spices, no salad, no bread (except for one kind, in China, which was like a round, white, sticky mass), and hardly any dessert (a definite deficiency in my eyes). Plus, of course, the Asian common denominator: the famed chopsticks. Robin had learned to use them properly from his first wife who was Chinese, but I humbly admit I never conquered the art. Many restaurants have no forks available for foreigners (such as in Shanghai and Beijing, when we had meals on our own outside of the tourist track), so I had to learn to use chopsticks in a most unconventional way but at least I could eat. Which can be a problem with real Asian cooking (unlike the American varieties) since dishes are served in mouth-size pieces, self-standing or floating in a liquid of some kind.

Another similarity they share, with China being at the top of the list: superstition is prevalent and an intimate part of their religion. It is so embedded in their beliefs and customs that it controls everything they do – or don’t do. To an almost comical point, at times. There is a high-rise with a big hole in the middle of it, in Hong Kong harbor, designed to make way for the feng shui to have free passage so its inhabitants will be blessed with good fortune.

In each country, the spoken language is a derivation of the basic Chinese language (which is, itself, comprised of the northern, official version, or Mandarin Chinese, and the southern, more countrified Cantonese version – although the written language is the same.) Interestingly enough, a bilingual Chinese lady on the ship told me that when Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking people want to converse with each other, they have to write down what they want to say because they really don’t understand each other verbally. I could imagine how it would slow down a conversation. Maybe good to curtail a fight??

I found I have no affinity whatsoever for “tone” languages (those where the meaning of words depends on where the tone is), and whose written version is based on phonetics and pictorial characters, such as Chinese. Over the very recent years (recent in the sense of millenary Asian cultures), the Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese languages created either a separate alphabet, or different characters. Thai letters look quite different from Chinese, and Vietnamese is the only one of the above languages that uses our alphabet, while Koreans created their own. My uneducated ears and eyes found them hard to differentiate.

Trivia: Another thing that we found in every country was a spontaneous and delightful propensity to smile often and at everyone. We know that any expression of displeasure or anger is severely frowned upon in Asian cultures, and all this graciousness and courtesy may seem contrived at times. However, we were very aware of how it enabled us to tolerate the overcrowding of public places and street life without feeling threatened by it. We never felt the aggression we often perceive in crowded public spaces in the US and European cities.

One area where all the countries we visited differed widely was the climate and weather during the northbound direction of our cruise.. By the way, we were unbelievably lucky with good weather throughout (except one night on the ship while we were asleep anyway), with no rain but that second day in Singapore. As I keep telling Robin and everyone who cares to listen, you want to have good weather when you travel, stick with me, kids.

Finally, which side of the road do they all drive on, you might ask? OK, Singapore retained England’s bad habits, and sticks to the left. So does Japan, though I don’t know that the Brits did anything to deserve that honor (is there something Robin hasn’t told me?). But the others sensibly stick to the right side.

We started out with 90F and 95% humidity in Singapore (all year around since it is just one degree north of the Equator), which continued in Thailand and Vietnam. From there on, each port-of-call on our northbound voyage was cooler than the last, until we got to Beijing which was definitely on the winter side. We managed with the layered clothing we had brought, but most people (whose homes are in colder regions) were better prepared with parkas and fleece jackets. It reminded us that Beijing is about the same latitude as Minneapolis and New York. It was the very first time we had a 50-degree difference between the beginning and the end of a cruise.

Singapore

This was our second visit to Singapore, since that’s where our Australia-to-Indonesia cruise ended a year ago. We liked it as much as the first time, a very clean, orderly and well-managed city. A wealthy one, too. And they don’t mess around with crime, either, especially drug dealers who get the death penalty when caught and convicted.

On the first day, we saw what we missed last year: the Botanical Gardens, and the Singapore Flyer. The Orchid Garden section of the former was absolutely stunning and the photographer in me was ecstatic. The latter is one of those big Ferris wheels that allow viewing the city from up above at a very slow pace (the equivalent of the Eye in London and the Grande Roue in Paris).

That night, we had dinner at the hotel rooftop restaurant, from whose terrace we viewed the Singapore skyline bursting with lights, and where we were treated to a dazzling laser light show illuminating downtown for five minutes every hour. We realized that the second visit somewhere is always more satisfying than the first, because of its familiar feel which makes you more skilled to move about. Both Chinese and English are the two official languages, before local dialects.

We spent the following morning (we were boarding our cruise ship early afternoon) in Chinatown under a light drizzle, first enjoying the exquisite Buddhist Temple, where we were allowed to take discreet photos from the back while worship was going on. The religion of choice is Buddhism whereas in Malaysia (directly to the north), Muslims prevail. The highlight was the Chinatown Heritage Center. Because it was early morning, we were the only visitors of this moving tribute to the many Chinese migrants who came by the hundreds, under unspeakable conditions, seeking better fortune and jobs in the late 1800’s. Their life in the 1950’s is depicted within the walls of three beautifully-restored shop houses. A very moving tale of yet another desperate migration to find a better life almost at any cost.

We embarked our ship the same afternoon. It took longer than expected because the ship was too big to dock at the city harbor, and had to park at the container port, farther out, where we had to be bused from the Cruise Center downtown.

Bangkok, Thailand

In a country twice the size of Wyoming, Thailand’s population of more than 65.5 million is twice as large as that of California, with six million cars and 600,000 motorcycles. Thai is the official and main language, and the currency is the baht (33 bahts to the US $). A democracy since 1936, Thailand’s main religion is Buddhism, but the Thais are very accepting of ethnic and religions diversity.

What makes Thailand unique is that it’s the only Asian country that was never colonized. One of the more stable and best-administered state in all of Southeast Asia, Thailand accepted the lead of a vigorous monarchy through centuries of its struggle with the West. South of Malaysia, west of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, and only 150 miles from the Chinese border to the north, Thailand succeeded in preserving its independence in the 19th and 20th centuries while all its neighbors were losing theirs. Its geographical position caused its wise and determined leaders to defend it by seeking ways to seek and develop trade with the West, becoming indispensable to the Chinese, who need the silk and spices Thailand is famous for.

Buddhist monk chatting with a local vendor near Wat Trimitr, Bangkok, Thailand

The capital of Thailand, Bangkok, has very little homelessness and alcoholism. Most families have one or two children, and 92% of women work outside the home. Everyone has a TV, 80% have cell phones and 40% have at least one computer. It’s a healthy and wealthy city, and a seemingly happy one. It was the capital of what used to be called Siam since 1782. Education is mandatory from age 6 to 16. Abortion is illegal, but contraception is taught in schools. So is English. Its national health care system is excellent, and so are its hospitals, with very liberal measures for maternity and post-natal care. But its cars are very heavily taxed, with a 7% VAT for the locals (none for tourists), and its income tax rates very steep. Luxury items are taxed 300%. The work week is five days in public work, but 5 ½ in private firms. Department stores and offices occupy 80% of all buildings, while the other 20% are residential condominiums. Its Chinatown is the biggest outside of China, before San Francisco.

One of many examples of electrical wiring in Southeast Asia

Since Bangkok is inland from the Gulf of Thailand, we docked at the town of Laem Chabang, from where we were bused from the pier to Bangkok for over two hours, through tapioca fields, rice paddies, coconut palms and rural towns.

Trivia: Early on, and on a very mundane, though vital subject, we learned from our guide that we should refer to “the happy room” when nature called. Although “W.C.”, or just an anguished look with your legs crossed will get you there as well. In passing, they were always “the squat type” (moans and groans from the females), except in facilities visited by Westerners.

This was a full and fun day, one of our preferred ports-of-call. Our tour included the Wat Trimitr Temple, home of the 900-year old, five-and-a-half ton Golden Buddha, one of the world’s largest statues of the Buddha, made entirely of gold. When the Burmese were about to sack the city in the mid-1800’s, it was covered in plaster to hide its real value. When, in 1957, the statue was moved to a new temple in Bangkok, it slipped from the crane moving it after a flooding storm, and was left in the mud by workmen. In the morning, a temple monk saw a glint of yellow through a crack in the plaster, and the original gold statue was revealed.

Thailand, Bangkok - The Grand Palace Complex

Then on to the famous Grand Palace, home of the Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha – made of natural green jasper --, one of Buddhism’s most magnificent monasteries, and one of the most celebrated sites in all Thailand. The statue sits on a gilded pedestal, and the clothes that are draped on him are changed at the beginning of each season by the Thai king in a ritual ceremony said to bring good fortune. Once the residence of the kings of Thailand, the palace complex is a series of exquisite and ornate temples, surrounded by and mixed with lovely courtyards. Crowded, it was. Very hot, and how. Lots of steps, yes. But what a visual cornucopia!

Thailand, Bangkok - Homes along the Chao Praya river

Next, we headed for a refreshing and very picturesque scenic cruise on the Chao Phraya river, which took us through many canals (Bangkok is called “the Venice of the East”), to a restaurant where we were treated to a buffet lunch of mostly Thai dishes. After a last stop at a high-end jewelry/gift shop, this photographer and her husband headed back to the ship after a full day, with tired feet and dazzled eyes.

Saigon, Vietnam

After another day at sea, we arrived at the coast town of Phy My, the port to access Saigon after a two-hour coach ride (like in Bangkok). Saigon was the capital of what used to be South Vietnam. For some reason, after it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1975, after the Reunification, everybody has unofficially continued calling it Saigon, even the Vietnamese.

Slightly larger than New Mexico, Vietnam is an agriculture-based country, with 80% of its population of 90 million living on farmlands. Its capital is Hanoi, and its currency is the dong ($US1 is worth 23,332 dongs. You read correctly, no error in the decimal point). North and South Vietnam speak the same language, but with different accents. Their climates are also very different. It’s easy to understand when you see a map, shaped a little like an hourglass, with two definite areas, united by a narrow, strangulated area. The southern half has the reputation of being more fun and easy-going than the northern one. (I find it significant that this specific difference between north and south seems to exist in just about every country, no matter the size or the latitude.) Our guide pointed out the acute rivalry, to the point of hostility, between Hanoi and Saigon. Vietnam’s main industry is tourism, and is the second world’s producer of rice after Thailand.

Saigon’s history goes back to the mid-1600’s, when it was a fishing village under Cambodian Khmer control. Its location on the Mekong River Delta made it a very important trading center. French influence can be seen everywhere, as reminders of France’s colonization from 1858 to 1954: from the Main Post Office – designed by the same Jean Eiffel who designed the famed Paris tower – to its own Notre-Dame Cathedral, and the wide tree-shaded avenues.

Vietnam, Saigon -Common sight in city streets

But good Lord, those motorbikes! What they can carry on the front, middle or back of these rudimentary machines defies not only the imagination but the rules of gravity. And what they add to the pollution! Since their many riders all wore long sleeves and facemasks, and typical cone-shaped straw hats, we surmised that, like in Europe in the 19th century, a tanned skin is considered a sign of peasantry, i.e. being exposed to the elements through labor in the fields.

Our young local guide was quite outspoken about his opinion of his country: education is neither free nor mandatory, low technology, poverty and ignorance, rampant corruption, poor health care system, no freedom of speech, no social welfare to speak of, no pensions, no insurance, no birthday celebrations. He never said it was because of communism, but it was abundantly implied. He was obviously angry, and his frustration was palpable. He mentioned that English is not taught in school (which is expensive, for those parents who can afford it), which is what keeps Vietnam further adrift from the world of social, cultural and political currents. He quoted a tourist from Indonesia: “Vietnam is now where Indonesia was in 1950.”

We first went to the National Museum of Vietnam which traces Vietnam’s cultural history, exhibiting ceramics, stone and bronze artifacts, Champa art and traditional costumes. Before leaving, we were treated to a lovely performance of a traditional Vietnam water puppetry show, steeped in Vietnamese beliefs and artistic expression.

Vietnam, Saigon - Long-lasting spiral incense burners at Thien Hau Temple

On we went to the Sea Goddess Temple, who travels on clouds protecting seafarers and travelers. It was built in 1885 by Chinese refugees and is home to special spiral incense burners which hold written prayers inside their coils, and burn for two weeks. Then was lunch in a grand hotel downtown to feast on an abundant buffet of Vietnamese dishes (less spicy than Thai), where forks were available for us Westerners. While we ate, we had the pleasure of watching a lovely folkloric Thai dance show in spectacular and colorful costumes.

Thus re-energized, we visited the Reunification Hall (formerly the Presidential Palace of the Republic of South Vietnam). With beautiful tended grounds, the Hall now celebrates the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1975, when the Viet-Cong, backed by China and Russia, won the war against the US and all of Vietnam became communist, with Hanoi as its capital. There are sumptuous receptions rooms which are still currently used for occasions of state. On those grounds are displayed the two tanks (one Russian, one Chinese) that crashed through the gates when US troops left.

Saigon - Meeting Room of the Reu… — Saigon - Meeting Room of the Reunification Hall

Lacquer being a specialty of Vietnam, we visited a lacquer factory and showroom on the way back to the ship. Impressive, with a dazzling array of exquisite objects, of all colors, from vases to furniture, boxes and plates.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

The next day, we were in Nha Trang, a short distance up the coast from Saigon on the South China Sea, and one of Vietnam’s most popular beach getaways. A small town but a busy fishing village, Nha Trang is well known to Vietnam vets for being their favorite R&R destination during the Vietnam War.

Beautiful Nha Trang sand beach visited by GI's on leave during the Vietnam War

Nha Trang’s rich historical past is due to its being the former center of the ancient Kingdom of Champa, which dominated the region from the 2nd to the 15th century AD, when they were defeated by the Ly Dynasty, founders of the independent Vietnamese state. In 1891, a French immunologist founded the town where fishermen migrated and turned it into a bustling village. It is now the capital of the Khanh Hoa province, with a population of 300,000 inhabitants, and whose airport was built by the Americans during the Vietnam War.

We had one of our most memorable and pleasant excursions there, starting with a visit of the Cham Towers in the Ponagar Temple complex, across the river Cai from Nha Trang. The Champa Kingdom flourished for over a thousand years, and the Ponagar ruins we visited is the best preserved of all Cham sites, with four distinct towers.

A local's boat on the Cai River, Nha Trang, Vietnam

Trivia: During a short ride down the River Cai to view the river people's homes, we happened by an empty boat, where our guide told us to wait and watch. A man broke the surface of the water, with both hands full of the sand he had scooped off the bottom of the shallow river. He then dumped the sand into a pile in his boat, smiled, took a deep breath and dived back down again. Our guide explained that it’s how the man makes his living: harvesting and selling to contractors and builders the sand from the river bottom to make cement. All in all, Vietnam felt very third-world to us.

At a last stop at a riverbank village for a refreshing fruit and green tea pause, while monkeys were entertaining us with their antics in the shady trees, I discovered how refreshing hot tea can be, even with 85F temperature.

Hong Kong

After a relaxing day at sea, we finally reached the destination I was most eager to be introduced to on this cruise, which Robin had visited on business in the distant past. Even though the pollution was bad enough to later spoil photos from the top of Victoria Peak, slowly pulling early morning into the Kowloon Public Pier (the one for containers, because our ship was, again, too big for the expected Aberdeen cruise harbor) was an astounding sight. Skyscrapers sprouting straight up from the water’s edge, all the way up the sides of the mountains, all huddled to surround the magnificent harbor.

At about 422 square miles, Hong Kong (which means Fragrant Harbor) is about six times the size of Washington, DC, with a population of over seven million people. The two official languages are Cantonese Chinese, and English. The currency is the Hong Kong dollar (US$1 = HK$7.74). Originally, Hong Kong was acquired by Britain from China in three stages: Hong Kong Island was gained in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842; the Kowloon Peninsula by the 1860 Convention of Peking; and the New Territories – consisting of the mainland area adjoining Kowloon and 235 adjacent islands – under a 99-year lease by the Second Convention of Peking in 1898.

Apart from the 1941-45 Japanese occupation, Hong Kong served as a staging post and entry port for trade between China and the West between 1842 and 1950. More than one million Chinese refugees fled to Hong Kong in the immediate aftermath of China’s civil war after the communist victory in China in 1949. It’s only on July 1, 1997 that, according to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, Hong Kong returned to being under China’s control. Since then, Hong Kong has been totally self-governed, except for Foreign Affairs and Defense which are handled by China -- as they were by the Brits when under British rule. Its first industry is banking/financing, followed by shipping, then tourism. Those of you who were there at some time past and seem to remember what Hong Kong was like would not recognize much. It’s more than ever a sea of humanity, all rushing to make money in this place that never sleeps, and where all shopping is duty-free.

Hong Kong - Juxtaposition of the old and the new at the boat dock to ride to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant

Another full day awaited us, with a glorious – albeit noisy and polluted – and sunny onslaught of sights, sounds, smells, impressions and reactions. Our first early stop was at the famous Stanley Market, an unbelievable labyrinth of small shops and street stalls, where we all had a lot of fun, even husbands.

Our coach then took us to Victoria Peak, which, at 1,811 feet, dominates Hong Kong for outstanding views of Victoria Harbor. The very top of the peak, inaccessible to the public, is a telecommunication center. The visitors’ area, which you can walk away from a bit to take better shots of the Harbor, is full of traditional tourist stuff, like shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, the pollution down below spread over the famous skyline like a murky blanket, and spoiled what I was hoping would be stunning shots.

Hong Kong - Jumbo Floating Restaurant in the harbor

From there, we took the funicular down to rejoin our coach which took us through the hills of Happy Valley (expats’ quarter) and Repulse Bay (high-rent district), on our way to the famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant (which can seat 2,000 at a time) which we reached after a very short boat ride across the harbor. We were overwhelmed by the frantic activity surrounding us on the way there, where we partook of a traditional and luscious dim sum lunch. Like in China, groups of people sit around very large tables, and the dishes are passed via a central lazy-susan rotating at will for each dish to be sampled by everyone. And there were forks!

Hong Kong harbor - The world of water people, on its way to disappearance

After lunch, we plunged bravely into the harbor frenzy after boarding one of the traditional sampans, which took us to see what is left of the “boat people”. Their culture and presence used to be most important several years ago, but they seem to be on their way to extinction, being continually pushed back or just eliminated to make room for the erection of more skyscraping giants, closer and closer to the water’s edge. It’s very sad, because their disappearance will be the end of a specific culture, not just the creation of more space for greedy builders.

Another harbor cruise, on a public tourist boat, gave us a chance to photograph ad nauseam the skyline along the eastern Hong Kong Harbor, including the residential building designed with open spaces, called Dragon holes. These holes are intended to let the feng shui energy flow through the building to achieve the necessary harmony. Another stop in an upscale jewelry store (Hong Kong is the place to buy anything), and we returned to our floating home.

Trivia: For people who wish they could live there, sales tax on cars is 35%, and 100% on liquor and cigarettes; the average apartment has 450 square feet; and only one in five families has a car (not surprising when you see the human density everywhere). However, the income tax rate is only 15% and investment income is not taxed.

Shanghai, China

After two restful days at sea, we were ready for our first taste of China. This vast land is slightly smaller than the US, with a population of almost a billion and a half. Its capital is Beijing (our last port-of-call), and its currency the yuan (CNY) which is worth 6.3 to the US dollar. China’s official language is Mandarin Chinese, as ordained by Mao Tse Tung to unify the country. However, Mandarin Chinese is spoken in the north, and Cantonese Chinese is the norm in the south, along with local dialects.

Though not its capital, Shanghai is one of China’s youngest cities – with a population of 23 million, comparable only to Tokyo and Mexico City, which makes it the third largest city in China after Chongqing (33 million) and Beijing (22 million). Shanghai spans the Huangpu river, a tributary of the Yangtze River, 25 miles below the confluence of both. Which made Shanghai the country’s third handler of all its ocean-going cargo. As part of the Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War with England, western merchants were allowed to trade and lease land on the west side of the Huangpu. With a limitless labor pool, Shanghai became one of the leading trading centers in the East. The financing for Chiang-Kai-shek’s National Revolution came from Shanghai, where the Chinese Communist Party was formed in 1921. Following the city’s peaceful occupation by the communists on May 23, 1949, Shanghai became China’s biggest port and most important economic center.

Our first and early stop in Shanghai consisted of a guided visit of the Jin Mao Tower, China’s highest to date, built to withstand #7 earthquakes and typhoons, with the top swaying 50cms = about ½ yard. However, another one is coming in 2014, with 110 stories. One-up-man-ship never sleeps! Then we visited the delightful Yu Gardens, where trying to stay with our group of 20+ people through the garden, following a guide who wasn’t tall enough to make clearly visible the leading flag she was carrying, was quite a challenge. We wound up making a human chain not to lose each other, kindergarten-style. As I said earlier, the calm and courtesy of everyone in the crowds accounted for my not freaking out, which often happens when I am in dense, crowded situations.

We had the rest of the day on our own in Old Town. It was, unfortunately, a Sunday, which added to the number of visitors. Plus we were completely alone among people who didn’t understand a word of English, while we didn't say a word of Chinese, and were unable to read signs or directions. But, after the fact, we decided that it was one of the highlights of the cruise, because we were on our own, and it was truly an adventure. It was lovely to be un-tethered from a group and guide. We walked, gawked, laughed, took lots of pictures, walked some more and took more pictures. Then we got hungry. We’d noticed that everybody was eating fast-food, i.e. bowls of rice or noodle soup, or fried something or other on sticks, while standing up, huddled in the midst of the endless ant-like clusters of humans. But I was too tired to follow suit, and we searched for a "regular" restaurant to sit down. After much ado, we finally located an upstairs cafeteria, where we went through the long line of various offerings, our choices based only on what they looked like. We were on target for the most part, even though there were no forks to be had. A lovely young Chinese couple joined our table, and I commented to Robin on one dish they had that looked good to me. All with sign language, they understood what I meant, and very kindly offered us one of the pieces off their plates. Which we thanked them for heartily, and enjoyed very much. Being good at charades comes in handy in such situations. By the end of the day, we were exhausted, on sensory overload, but delighted and proud of ourselves.

Multiple Trivia: The ring road or freeway crossing the city is built above it, at about the same height a light-rail system would be. It’s fantastic to get an idea of the city while riding around and to take pictures. The street signs are in both English and Chinese (although hardly anyone speaks English, except young people who now learn it in school). The pollution was so bad that we all had teary eyes and scratchy throats and itchy noses or ears. Security is very tight everywhere, especially at the cruise terminal, where we had to go through control not only once but twice, with dogs sniffing our day carry-on bags. They confiscated a fellow passenger’s guide book, we guessed from fear there was anti-communist texts in it, while they let my notebook go.

Nagasaki, Japan

Another day at see made us ready for Japan. Again, it was the first time for me, as were all the ports-of-call except for Singapore. Japan is slightly smaller than California, with a population of about 137 million. Its capital is Tokyo and currency, the yen (GPY), worth 80 to 1US$.

Since the pier was right in town, we decided to cancel the tour we had booked, and to just explore on our own. This gave us the opportunity to have a front-row seat for the pier-side concert before we disembarked, followed later in the morning by an official Welcoming Ceremony presided, in our honor, by the Province Governor. The celebration was due to our being the 1,000th cruise ship to visit Nagasaki, in whose shipyards ours had been built. A plaque was handed to our Captain and his three officers, speeches were delivered and interpreted in due form. A very sophisticated high school band did the honors of the music as well as the folkloric show, with traditional musical instruments, costumes and the famous Buddhist dragon, in the shape of an undulating serpent, believed to be blessed with the abilities of omnipotence and creation at will. Displaying a dragon banner is said to protect from slander and enhances one’s reputation.

Nagasaki, Japan - The Glover House, surrounded by extensive gardens

We had no desire to see Chinatown, nor the Atomic Bomb Museum, nor the Peace Memorial Park, so we climbed up the hills through the San Francisco-like streets to visit the Glover Gardens. Thomas Blake Glover was a Scot who came to Nagasaki at age 21 in 1859, where he greatly contributed to the modernization of Japan with his industriousness, sense of business, generosity and like for the country and its people. The house he built in 1863, now referred to as the Glover House, is at the center of the property, amidst many other ancillary buildings and various fountains and flower beds. He died at 73 in 1911, and is buried in Nagasaki with his Japanese wife, son and daughter-in-law.

Official ceremony and celebration of the Diamond princess being the 1,000th cruise ship to visit Nagasaki — Official ceremony and celebration of the Diamond princess being the 1,000th cruise ship to visit Nagasaki

We found the people to be very friendly and smiley, and the musical and folkloric send-off they also gave us when we left the pier in the early evening was almost moving in its enthusiasm and warmth.

Trivia: Japan is positively obsessed with security, and we had to be finger-printed before leaving the cruise terminal after we disembarked to spend the day in town. Nagasaki also has a Chinatown.

Busan, South Korea

The too short a period of time we were staying in port in this, the second largest city in S. Korea, made for a less enjoyable tour because of the time restriction. It felt downright marathon-like. The cityscape was a sister to the other large Asian cities we had previously seen, with the same pollution, crowding and noise. Our very interesting and middle-aged guide was born during the Korean War, and he expressed very sincere appreciation for the sacrifices made by the West in the Korean War. His perceptions and take on many aspects of his life reminded me of mine with WWII. In Korea as in Europe, only one generation is now left to remember, really remember. For the subsequent generations, it’s only history they learn in school.

S. Korea is slightly larger than Indiana, with a population of over 50 million, its capital is Seoul, and the won (KRW) is its currency (1,226 to the US dollar). The second oldest of the East Asian countries after China, Korea has a ry distinct, separate and unique cultural history as well as linguistic identity -- which it retained through centuries of conflicts with and occupation by its age-old adversary, Japan, and invasion by the Mongols, across the centuries. When the Silla dynasty, known as Korea’s Golden Age, collapsed, it was replaced by the Goryeo dynasty (10th through the 13th centuries), from which came the western name of Korea. It finally became independent in 1945 with the help of the US, while the Chinese helped free N. Korea of the Japanese, on either side of the DMZ which goes right through the middle of the peninsula.

Trivia: It seems that S. Korea is not looking forward to a reunification (though they seem to feel it’s inevitable) because of the extreme stress 25 million of N. Koreans will place on S. Korea’s economy and infrastructure once they start pouring south from the north after the doors open.

Korea’s largest port, Busan remains its gateway to and from Korea. Its popularity with tourists is due to its famous hot springs and gorgeous beaches. Outside of the city is the Beomeosa Buddhist Temple, one of south Korea’s largest temples, built in 678 AD, during the Silla dynasty which marked Korea’s Golden Ages. I went along on this first stop on our morning excursion, but begged off the visit of the Temple itself because of the prohibitive number of steps. Robin visited the graceful 7th-century stone pagoda which dominates the grounds for both of us.

While Robin was taking pictures within the temple walls with the rest of the group, I went walking into a wisteria park in the woods (bare since at that altitude and so far north, spring hadn’t yet made its appearance), and very much enjoyed this short interlude of communion with nature, after the onslaught of cityscapes. This past winter had been colder than usual, and nature was slow to wake up, so there were no leaves or buds of any kind.

Next on our excursion was the Ja-Gai-Ch’i Fish Market. Walking through only the ground floor of this gigantic, five-story building felt more like a marathon than a visit. We were just dazzled by the variety and quantity of fish on display, live, in oxygenated tanks. Talk about fresh! The second biggest fish market in the world (don’t ask what the first one is because I don’t know), it looks more like an aquarium than a market. We could name a few of the fish, shellfish and seaweeds we saw, but the others remained a mystery.

Busan - Comparison of Chinese and Korean characters on a street sign

Again, we were treated to a traditional folk music and dance concert on the pier to send us off on our way late afternoon. Their music and instruments sounded very different from the Japanese, and as plaintive and haunting as some of the American Indian’s songs we collected when living in the Southwest of the US.

Trivia: Korean buildings do not have a 4th floor in elevators because 4 is their unlucky number, and the city street signs are in both Korean and Chinese.

Beijing, China

Our cruise ended on a Friday morning, and we had decided to spend that day and the next exploring Beijing on our own, before flying home the following and third day. It was an experience we aren’t about to forget. We knew we wanted to see the Great Wall, and Tiananmen Square with the Forbidden City. We did take a Princess-sponsored tour to the Great Wall the day of our disembarkation, because that took care of the transportation to the Wall which is 40 miles north of the city.

Beijing - Arriving by coach from Tianjin

With an overall population of 19 million, Beijing has served as China’s cultural, political and administrative capital for over 700 years. It is surrounded by mountains to the north, west and south. Seventy miles inland, it is accessed from the Yellow Sea through the port of Tianjin, where a brand-new cruise terminal was built for the Summer Olympics of 2008. Tianjin, with a population of “only” 2.3 million, had been developed and hundreds of buildings built to house the workers employed at the many factories that were moved out of the city of Beijing to diminish the pollution in anticipation of the Olympics. All you can see, in the middle of absolutely nowhere, is row after row of block apartment buildings. Tianjin is now considered a suburb of Beijing, or a bedroom community, with workers commuting to Beijing daily on a high-speed train (140MPH).

The traffic in Beijing is unbelievable: cars, buses, taxis and motorcycles vie fearlessly for open space in a cacophony of horns honking and bells ringing, and crossing a street outside of an intersection is truly unfathomable. In order to remedy the situation, the law prescribes people can use their cars in the city only four days out of five – using a license-plate number game that works quite well. It helps during the week, but, unfortunately, it turns week-ends into free-for-all nightmares. Guess what days of the week we happened to be there?

Beijing - Front of the Forbidden City on Tiananmen Square

Before 1949, there were no high-rises in Beijing. After the 1976 earthquake, many buildings collapsed, and during the reconstruction in the 80’s, those very tall, streamlined, box-like high-rises were built, but in the business district only. Twenty years ago, there were nine million bicycles in the city. Cars have now replaced them, causing endless traffic jams.

Trivia: There are six, freeway-type, concentric ring roads around Beijing, marked from #1 (the closest in) to #5 (the farthest out). Originally, residential areas started at the second ring; now they have been pushed back to the fifth one.

To explain the overpopulation of China, you have to understand that Mao Tse Tung had declared the need to multiply as much as possible, to “restock” the male population which had been decimated in the war with Japan. By the time they realized they had more people than they could feed, it was a crucial problem. In a mere 20 years, China’s population grew from 400 million to one billion, with a medal given to women who bore at least 10 children. In 1978, a law was passed, limiting each family to one child. Our guide was born during that era, and grew up without siblings, same as all his friends. But they wanted boys, not girls; so when girls were conceived, they were simply killed at birth, and after ultrasound came about to determine the sex of an unborn child, they were aborted. Of course what nobody thought of, then, was that having only boys would do little to supply the other half of the equation necessary to promote reproduction. Duh!!! It’s only in 2010 that ultrasounds were banned, and the law was changed to allow two children per family, to reestablish some kind of balance. The size of the average residential apartment – which people only lease for 99 years, after which time ownership returns to the government --, meant to house a family of four, is as pathetic as it is in Vietnam.

The Great Wall was a wonderful experience. The sun was out but the wind was icy cold, and we wished we had brought our fleece jackets (which are hard to think of when you live in Florida). Even though we only saw the small but very accessible section of the Ju Yong Pass, I felt privileged to at least see it. There were many steep steps between towers and I abstained. While Robin did the walking, I had a marvelous time with my camera, observing and taking it all in: the people, the colors, the buildings all around, the architecture of the walls and its observation towers, the hundreds of tourists of all colors, nationalities and languages.

Beijing -  The Great Wall of China at the Ju Yon Pass — Beijing - The Great Wall of China at the Ju Yon Pass

The Wall is 6,000 miles long, and was built by manual labor, over seven different dynasties starting 2,700 years ago. The image of a snake comes to mind when you see it wrap around the low valleys and mountains that surround the area. It was considered hard labor, and many laborers died in the process, with their bodies simply buried in the piles of stone so work could go on. There is a tower every 100 meters, with five soldiers living in each tower.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a jade factory and showroom where we admired the phenomenal arrays of statues, rings, bracelets, pendants and myriad knick-knacks and objects of all sizes, made of pure jade of several different shades of green, gray, white, pink or light blue. The prices were just as phenomenal – i.e. very high -- unlike what they used to be 20 years ago. Considered “the Imperial Stone,” jade is endemic to China, where it was used as far back as Neolithic times.

On the second day, we confirmed what we already knew: it is not a good idea to strike out on your own the first time you visit a city, any city. We should have heeded our own advice and gone on a guided tour, although I don't remember seeing, either in Beijing or Shanghai, the hop-on-hop-off variety present in all western cities. The problem resided with the taxis. We had been warned that there were two varieties, the legal (with a meter and charging normal prices) and the illegal (no meter and crapshoot fares). Going was no problem because the concierge had gotten us a legal one at our hotel in the morning. And on we went on foot from there.

Trivia: Thank God for pictograms for males and females to indicate the appropriate “happy room” to enter, or we would have been in real trouble.

Beijing - Nothing can describe the vastness of Tiananmen Square, with its Monument to People's Heroes

Tiananmen Square is difficult to describe because of its vastness. No photo can do it justice. Impressive would be one qualifier. Awesome, another. We were surprised to see very few Westerners, visitors were all Chinese, and we were the ones who stuck out. We were duly and reverently impressed with the huge portrait of Mao Tse Tung on the wall of one of the entrances to the Forbidden City, and with the ubiquitous signs of a very vigilant security.

Not knowing our way and just armed with a rudimentary map, we wound up walking much more than we could or should have, so I wound up tiring out before lunch. Again, we proved we could manage by ourselves, and found a sit-down restaurant, again with the typical large communal tables and chopsticks. Thank goodness, the menu was translated in English, and all was well.

By the time we figured out how and where to enter the Forbidden City (which would have been another couple of hours on foot), we had yet to figure out how to get home. So we never did get to visit the Forbidden City (which we deeply regret), but we know that it’s a huge complex, with towers at all four corners, which includes 999 buildings (nine is their lucky number). According to the Qing Dynasty (China’s last dynasty, who ruled from mid-13th to early 20th century), no building in the city was allowed to be higher than those in the Forbidden City. Things, of course, have changed, and Beijing now boasts of several high-rise hotels to accommodate tourists.

Beijing - One of the Forbidden City's towers, seen from outside the walls

Things got hairy when we tried to find a cab to get back to our hotel. The legal cabs wouldn’t pick us up, and the illegal ones offered prices which we knew were outrageous. After much more walking, getting more or less lost, we finally negotiated a fare with an illegal for whatever yuans we had left, and we gratefully got back to our hotel, ever so glad to be “home.”

After a nap and a swim, we had a lovely last dinner in the hotel, by candlelight from 8 to 9 PM as part of their Earth Day energy preservation plan. Thanks to Robin who just had to have Peking Duck, we shared this traditional Chinese dish, and I was duly impressed by the tableside demonstration.

And so ended our stay in Beijing, and our cruise, and our last experience with Southeast Asia. I hope this has given you a little taste of it, but if you want to learn more, check Google or the latest Fodor guide! Sayonara…

Travelogues

Travelogues

S.E. ASIA CRUISE (Singapore/Thailand/VietNam/Hong Kong/S.Korea/China)

Click photos to enlarge and see captions