Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Yokohama, Japan
Yokohama, Japan
11/26 - 11/27/07
Just an overnight cruise from Kobe, brought us to Yokohama the morning of the 27th of November. The good news was that we were close enough to the city to avoid the hassle of hiring a taxi and trying to communicate in Japanese (plus we love the exercise). The bad news was that we learned that we were leaving that same day and were required to return to the ship by 4:30 PM to go with the agent to the Immigration Office to clear out of the country. So, we made the most of our day.
The weather was cool and crisp but sunny so we set off for the short walk along the waterfront. Being a weekday, the streets were busy but not terribly crowded and we saw groups of school children who were anxious to talk with us and take our photos. So cute in their very neat and tailored school uniforms (short pants and jackets and ties for the boys and short skirts and jackets and blouses for the girls and all with little hats). We stopped into the City Grand Hotel to purchase a few postcards and stamps and ask directions, while we had access to an English speaking concierge.
Yokohama is the 2nd largest city in Japan (first is Tokyo of course) with a 3.6 million population which swells an additional 2.5 million every weekend when visitors from Tokyo arrive. It's a major port and fashion center for Japan and a popular tourist city for Japanese and people from around the world. Yokohama is home to Cosmo Clock 21, the world's largest ferris wheel, which is absolutely breathtaking when it's lighted at night. We passed a beautiful park that was built on top of the debri that was dumpted in the harbor after the 1923 earthquake. The fashion boutiques that line the city streets go on for blocks and blocks, one more extravagant than the next, interspersed with fashionable restaurants and spas. Definitely a city we could have spent much more time exploring.
We chose the Silk Museum as our sightseeing destination for the morning and were not disappointed. Of course I was particularly interested due to my fascination with silk painting, but Martha and Doug enjoyed it as well. It covers two floors in the Silk Center International Trade and Sightseeing Building, which was built in 1959 to commemorate the anniversary of the opening of the Port of Yokohama. It's on the former site of the British trading firm known as English House No. 1 and it's purpose was to display the science and technology of silk production, beautiful costumes and to promote the demand for silk. We were fascinated with the display of the mysterioous life of the silkworm and the stages of its metamorphosis, the process of reeling silk from cocoons, the kinds of silk yarns and the complicated procedures of weaving and dyeing silk yarns. One of the more amazing facts was that it takes approximately 110 cocoons to make a silk scarf and over 8,000 cocoons to make a silk kimona. Japan was once the largest producer of silk in the world, but China now holds that distinction.
The highlight of our day was a fabulous Japanese lunch at an elegant but simple traditional Japanese restaurant, which was recommended by a gentleman at the Visitors Office. After removing our shoes, we were shown into a beautifully decorated room that was so sparkling clean we felt we could have eaten from the floor. The waitresses, dressed in kimonas, served us tea and suggested some traditional dishes. We were served a variety of dishes of soup, pickled vegetables, a meat dish, rice and miso soup and everything we had was delicious! We were the only non-Japanese diners so attracted some attention, especially from one little boy who kept staring at Doug (probably thought he was Santa Claus) - so cute.
We made it back to the ship by 4:00 and were whisked away by the agent in order to get to the government office which closed at 5:00. Everything went smoothly and we were returned to the ship by 5:30. Not nearly as difficult as clearing in. While waiting at that office, I was fascinated by a stack of small brochures, which had the world "HELP!" in large letters, in English. Inside, the instructions were in seven different languages, that had to do with "Trafficking in Persons", a crime committed by organized crime syndicates orother criminal groups to bring in foreign women, children or others to be forced into prostitution or forced labor. It instructs: "The red page in this booklet reads: I am a trafficking victim, so please call the Japanese police. Show the red page to a Japanese person on the street and the Police or other official Japanese organizations will protect you." It then lists the phone numbers of the Japanese Police, Immigration Bureau and Counseling Center for Women-Anti Trafficking Project (NGO). This seemed like such a good program, to have the brochures available, I wondered if we have something similar in our country.
Later that night, we finished loading cargo and departed Yokohama for our eleven-day trip across the Pacific. Next stop, San Diego! It will be good to back in the good old U.S. of A., even for a brief visit. From there, we'll head for the Panama Canal and Costa Rica (where we'll off-load these huge empty containers that have been blocking the view from our stateroom since a port in China) and then our final stop in Houston.
Kobe, Japan
Kobe, Japan
11/23 - 11/25/07
We finally received a shipment of mail which was sent Fed Ex to Shanghai and returned to the U.S. because we'd been given an incorrect address for the agent in Shanghai. It was great to hear from family and friends, especially Julie who sent magazines, photos and a box of DVDs of the first season of the series "Ugly Betty". That should entertain us across the Pacific.
Before we could enjoy the sights ashore, we were taken to the Immigration Office by the Japanese agent where we were to be photographed and fingerprinted. This new procedure was just implemented two days earlier and, though we had at least six government officials working on it, they couldn't seem to get the machines to work. So, we were then driven to the passenger cruise terminal where, after about 20 minutes, they finally had us all processed into the country. Rather than go back to the ship, the agent very kindly took us into the city and offered to pick us up at 5 pm for the return trip.
What a beautiful city! Very modern and extremely clean. Our first stop was Starbucks for Martha to have her mocha fix and we found one of the young counter workers who spoke some English and could direct us to some shops we were trying to locate. The best way to see the city of Kobe is to take the City Loop Bus which, for a 500 yen day pass (about $5.00) you can see the city and get on and off at a variety of stops. The banks were closed for Workers Appreciation Holiday but we were able to get local money at an ATM machine. We learned that the workers here had recently gone on strike because the government was proposing a six-hour work day (instead of eight) and the workers wanted to go to a ten-hour day. We enjoyed the architecture of the office and condo buildings and the view of Akashi Kaikyo suspension bridge and stopped at the base of Rokko Mountain, where we could hike to a beautiful waterfall. It was quite a hike up the mountain on a path of steps with railings (very nicely maintained). There were actually three waterfalls but we didn't have the time (or the energy) to make it to the two further up the mountain. At one point we'd taken a wrong turn and asked some other hikers but no one spoke any English. One man understood that we were trying to find the waterfall and indicate we should follow his group which was very helpful. On the way back down, we came upon a wild boar and weren't sure if it was dangerous or not but we were able to take some photos and kept walking. Along the trail we saw several small altars that had small treasures and coins placed on them, we assumed to give thanks for the strength to make it that far. While waiting for the agent, we walked through a small park where there is a statue of a woman, holding a clock and riding on the back of a large fish. The statue was knocked down during the earthquake of 1995 and the clock stopped at the time the earthquake struck and has been left at that time as a memorial to that disaster. We were all ready to get back to the ship - especially Sunhilde who had a terrible cold and I felt like I was coming down with one as well.The cook prepared a very nice Thanksgiving dinner, in honor of the Americans, of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables, plus apple pie for dessert.
The second day in Kobe was Saturday and Martha and I took a cab into the city for some shopping in the afternoon. Still couldn't get any stamps for our postcards so will have to mail them from Yokohama. We again visited our friend at Starbucks who directed us to an internet cafe (Nestle Cafe) where we were required to buy a membership card (only $500 yen) and order a coffee. Next goal was to get haircuts and we found a nice salon where the owner spoke a little English. We chose some cuts from magazines he showed us and were very happy with the results. The neck and head massage was an added bonus and the tea was a treat. We spent the rest of the evening shopping for a few little gifts and enjoyed looking at all the very stylish clothes and shoes.
The agent had written directions, in Japanese, for how to get back to the ship but the taxi driver couldn't quite figure it out and he spoke no English. He called the agent but there was no answer but after driving around a bit I saw a road that looked familiar and it was the right one! By the way, the taxis here are amazing. All black, clean and polished and the seats are covered with white eyelet seat covers. The drivers are dressed in black suits, white shirts and ties and white gloves (like chauffers) and they push a button to open and close the doors for you. We were quite impressed. The people in Kobe were all so fashionably dressed - Paris of the East - and there are many high end shops like Izod, Coach and Louis Vitton and gorgeous lingerie shops. As in the U.S. all the young people were listening to iPods and talking on cell phones.
Tomorrow we depart for a 24 hour cruise to Yokohama.
Masan, South Korea
Masan, South Korea
11/18 - 11/21/07
After anchoring for the night, due to a very busy port, we came along side the pier in Masan early Sunday morning. What a welcome sight to look out across the harbor at a nearby city of tall white buildings almost sparkling in the sunlight. Quite a change from the grey, dirty, dark ports of China. We're surrounded on three sides by mountains covered in fall colors and the air smells fresh and clean. Everything on the dock is neat and orderly with hundreds of multi-colored cars (Chevrolets) placed precisely in rows next to neat rows of Volvo earth movers. One problem is the language. Even the Captain and crew are having a hard time communicating with the agents and dock workers here as basically no one speaks or understands English, even though it's the language of this industry. The other countries we've visited had at least a few people who were fluent and most spoke at least a little English. We took a taxi into town and couldn't communicate at all with the driver. Luckily we planned ahead and had the local agent here write down where we wanted to go in Korean. He also wrote how to get back to the ship, which we've learned to always carry with us before going ashore in a foreign port. We were able to locate an ATM to get some local currency (Wan) and an internet cafe (where only Korean was spoken and the characters on the computer screen were in Korean). Luckily, the internet symbol is the universal big blue "e" so we could log on and access our email and my blog site. From there we walked through streets lined with small shops until we came to a mail road where we found a six-story, very modern department store (Lotte). It being Sunday, there were lots of family shopping together and young people - all very fashionably (western type clothing) dressed. The coffee shop was as good as any Starbuck's and the cosmetic and jewelry counters were the equivalent of Nordstroms or Neiman Marcus in the U.S. We'd already had lunch but the food court was very enticing with a variety of Korean, American, Chinese and Japanese offerings. Out on the street we hurried (it was very cold and windy) past food and souvenir vendors and located another large store called E-Mart which was like a K-Mart but with groceries as well. We found a book store but no magazines or books in English and a pharmacy section with no ibuprofen (the only things on our list). I had an idea to buy some Christmas cards which I could write on the long trip across the Pacific but couldn't locate anything like that. So much for our big shopping day, but we had a good time as usual.
We took a long walk in the afternoon and enjoyed being out in the fresh brisk air. Not much to see except factories and commercial ship docks but the exercise was good. After trying, unsuccessfully, to have the port agent arrange for a tour of the countryside so see some sights, we opted instead for an evening ashore for a nice dinner.
He called us a taxi and wrote (in Korean) the name and address of a restaurant in the city. That all went well and we enjoyed an authentic Korean barbecue cooked tableside with all the side dishes (including the hottest raw garlic I've ever put in my mouth), followed by a dessert of a fruit we couldn't quite identify. No one in the restaurant spoke even a little English so that was another interesting experience. What fun!
Having nothing else to do on our third day here, Martha and I set out in the direction of the city to see what we could see. It was an hour's walk before we came to any shops or people and we found ourselves in a charming little neighborhood. Like anyplace in the world at three in the afternoon, the children were returning home from school with their backpacks - little girls giggling and chatting, arm-in and little-arm, and little boys (some in Karate outfits) kicking at pidgeons and punching at each other. Some said "Hello" or "Thank you" and others stopped at bowed to us. Two little girls, about eight years old, stopped and one said "Hello, my name is Ying Sue Mung." Martha said "Hello, my name is Martha." They both said "Hello Marta!" I said "Hello, my name is Rebecca." One said "Rebecca is a nice name." As we walked away, they said "Have a nice day." Later, we saw them again and they posed and giggled for a photo. Perhaps in another ten years, shop workers will be speaking more English. By the time we returned to the ship, it was all we could do to walk up the gangway and up the five flights to our cabins. We could barely make it through a movie that night before falling into bed. I guess, from being on the ship for so long, we're not used to that much walking.
We still miss our former crew members but are getting to know the new ones. The Captain is quite chatty and seems to welcome our requests for help with going ashore and sending emails. He often gets into long discussions with us in the dining room after meals. The Chief Engineer is also quite friendly and his English is very good. The cook and stewards are helpful as well and busy getting the galley organized the way they want it, but the meals are not as good as with the other cook. No desserts yet other than jello and pudding or fruit but we're hoping when he's organized he'll do some baking. We miss Jonni's wonderful strudels and cakes.
11/18 - 11/21/07
After anchoring for the night, due to a very busy port, we came along side the pier in Masan early Sunday morning. What a welcome sight to look out across the harbor at a nearby city of tall white buildings almost sparkling in the sunlight. Quite a change from the grey, dirty, dark ports of China. We're surrounded on three sides by mountains covered in fall colors and the air smells fresh and clean. Everything on the dock is neat and orderly with hundreds of multi-colored cars (Chevrolets) placed precisely in rows next to neat rows of Volvo earth movers. One problem is the language. Even the Captain and crew are having a hard time communicating with the agents and dock workers here as basically no one speaks or understands English, even though it's the language of this industry. The other countries we've visited had at least a few people who were fluent and most spoke at least a little English. We took a taxi into town and couldn't communicate at all with the driver. Luckily we planned ahead and had the local agent here write down where we wanted to go in Korean. He also wrote how to get back to the ship, which we've learned to always carry with us before going ashore in a foreign port. We were able to locate an ATM to get some local currency (Wan) and an internet cafe (where only Korean was spoken and the characters on the computer screen were in Korean). Luckily, the internet symbol is the universal big blue "e" so we could log on and access our email and my blog site. From there we walked through streets lined with small shops until we came to a mail road where we found a six-story, very modern department store (Lotte). It being Sunday, there were lots of family shopping together and young people - all very fashionably (western type clothing) dressed. The coffee shop was as good as any Starbuck's and the cosmetic and jewelry counters were the equivalent of Nordstroms or Neiman Marcus in the U.S. We'd already had lunch but the food court was very enticing with a variety of Korean, American, Chinese and Japanese offerings. Out on the street we hurried (it was very cold and windy) past food and souvenir vendors and located another large store called E-Mart which was like a K-Mart but with groceries as well. We found a book store but no magazines or books in English and a pharmacy section with no ibuprofen (the only things on our list). I had an idea to buy some Christmas cards which I could write on the long trip across the Pacific but couldn't locate anything like that. So much for our big shopping day, but we had a good time as usual.
We took a long walk in the afternoon and enjoyed being out in the fresh brisk air. Not much to see except factories and commercial ship docks but the exercise was good. After trying, unsuccessfully, to have the port agent arrange for a tour of the countryside so see some sights, we opted instead for an evening ashore for a nice dinner.
He called us a taxi and wrote (in Korean) the name and address of a restaurant in the city. That all went well and we enjoyed an authentic Korean barbecue cooked tableside with all the side dishes (including the hottest raw garlic I've ever put in my mouth), followed by a dessert of a fruit we couldn't quite identify. No one in the restaurant spoke even a little English so that was another interesting experience. What fun!
Having nothing else to do on our third day here, Martha and I set out in the direction of the city to see what we could see. It was an hour's walk before we came to any shops or people and we found ourselves in a charming little neighborhood. Like anyplace in the world at three in the afternoon, the children were returning home from school with their backpacks - little girls giggling and chatting, arm-in and little-arm, and little boys (some in Karate outfits) kicking at pidgeons and punching at each other. Some said "Hello" or "Thank you" and others stopped at bowed to us. Two little girls, about eight years old, stopped and one said "Hello, my name is Ying Sue Mung." Martha said "Hello, my name is Martha." They both said "Hello Marta!" I said "Hello, my name is Rebecca." One said "Rebecca is a nice name." As we walked away, they said "Have a nice day." Later, we saw them again and they posed and giggled for a photo. Perhaps in another ten years, shop workers will be speaking more English. By the time we returned to the ship, it was all we could do to walk up the gangway and up the five flights to our cabins. We could barely make it through a movie that night before falling into bed. I guess, from being on the ship for so long, we're not used to that much walking.
We still miss our former crew members but are getting to know the new ones. The Captain is quite chatty and seems to welcome our requests for help with going ashore and sending emails. He often gets into long discussions with us in the dining room after meals. The Chief Engineer is also quite friendly and his English is very good. The cook and stewards are helpful as well and busy getting the galley organized the way they want it, but the meals are not as good as with the other cook. No desserts yet other than jello and pudding or fruit but we're hoping when he's organized he'll do some baking. We miss Jonni's wonderful strudels and cakes.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Crossing the Pacific
Crossing the Pacific
11/27 - 12/8/07
I've asked Doug to write this blog entry, covering our 11-day Pacific crossing, as he visits the bridge daily, talks with the officers and is particularly interested in navigation.
Departing Yokohama on a Tuesday, we set an east-northeast heading as the first leg of a modified great circle route for San Diego, some 5,000 miles distant. It was modified to the extent that we would sail three rhumb lines taking us first up to N40 degrees latitude, then easterly along the 40th parallel and finally a east-southeast heading to Bishop's Rock and finally into San Diego. Three days out, we shifted to a east-southeasterly heading rather than follow the 40th as there was a major low pressure system to the east of us. The system was moving to the north northeast at about 40 knots and, with our altered course and our 19 knots of speed, the hope was it would exit our area before we encountered it. The decision seems to be working as on our sixth day at sea, our heading will take us south of the present position of the system. If necessary, we could duck further south to Hawaii but that would add additional time and distance to our passage. Maintaining our current heading will have us passing Hawaii about 600 miles to the south.
Saturday, 1 December, we had another crew party although the cold weather kept us inside the crew's recreation lounge rather than the after deck where the other parties had been held. While similar in terms of barbecued meats, side dishes, beer, wine and brandy, this party differed from the ones held by the former crew in that we had live music! The former crew sang and danced but it was to to canned karoake music. This crew includes at least three talented musicians of guitar and voice and we sang along to many of the songs but there was no room for dancing so it was a bit more subdued.
On Sunday, we officially crossed the International Date Line but did not change the ship's calendar until Monday. The company has issued a policy that Sundays will not be repeated as they are days off for the crew. The captain informed us that this policy was written after one ship's crossing when Saturday was a Filipino holiday and they repeated a Sunday for a three day weekend. No more of that by dictate of the German management company!
The second day out, the notherly winds, hanging around northeast to northwest, began to build with an accompanying building of the seas. These are not the incredibly sharp seas we encountered twice in the Mediterranean and again in the Taiwan Straits and Yellow Sea, but rather long rolly seas which, while not necessarily uncomfortable certainly require careful foot work and daily walks on the deck are temporarily suspended by us. (Needless to say, Rebecca was unable to paint during this passage. Our days have settled into a routine of meals interspersed with reading, playing Scrabble, chatting with our fellow passengers and watching videos.) The navigation log entries today, 3 December, indicate Force 8 winds (34-40 knots) and a Sea State of 7 which could be anywhere between 5.5 to 10.0 meters of wave height (trough to crest). Our best guess is 7 meters although it's quite a bit different reading wave height from a bridge 70' above the water rather than from the cockpit of a smaller sailing vessel, perhaps 8'-10' above the water.
In 1993, during the morning radio check in of the Caribbean 1500 (a 1500-mile race/rally from Virginia to the Virgin Islands), one of the participants asked how to determine the sea state or wave height which many reported for their local area. The response from another boater was to give it your best estimate and divide by two. It's probably true that the seas often seem higher than they are, particularly as mentioned before from the cockpit of a 35' to 50' sailboat. However, we do remember a passage from Marsh Harbour to Ft. Lauderdale where we had seas breaking half way up our 50' mast. That is probably a reasonable measure of Sea State 7. Also, by looking forward on Rickmars-Jakarta, a reference point of a hatch in the forward crane structure, approximately 2 meters in height, appears to transit through three to four distances in these seas, or approximately 6-8 meters which is consistent with the log entry of Sea State 7.
These conditions seem more extreme than those we encountered when sailing Boutonierre across the Pacific but there are two significant differences. Our 7,000-mile passage from Balboa, Panama to the Kingdom of Tonga kept us within ten degrees of the equator, either north or south. Also, that took place in 1995 and twelve years erases a lot of memories of pain and dampens the adventureous spirit. Nonetheless, we are reasonably comfortable and are able to take fully cooked meals seated properly at the mess table. Extreme weather on an aircraft carrier years ago meant sitting on the deck with an arm wrapped around a stanchion and for the poor lads in the accompanying destroyers, cold cut sandwiches, as cooking wasn't possible.
We did have a one day break on Wednesday, from the extremely rolly conditions, and it couldn't have been timed better. At 0550, the lights in our cabin failed, then after blinking a few times, came on again (I happened to be awake reading). Obviously, some sort of generator failure which was followed by the switching to one of the other three generators. But then, the main engine also stopped and after a period of time, we were "lying to" and rolling in the swells which, as mentioned, were fortunately not as extreme as they had been. When the ship lost electical power, the lubrication and fuel pumps shut down and therefore the main engine. By 0625, main engine power, as well as solid electrical power had been restored and we were back again on course at our usual 18-19 knots.
Our days have settled into a routine of meals interspersed with reading, playing Scrabble, chatting with our fellow passengers and watching videos.
We are slightly behind schedule and while we will enter San Diego on 8 December, it will be at night and too late to go ashore. Therefore, our shopping and meeting with friends will be delayed until Sunday. The captain advises we must depart San Diego on the 10th to make our date with the Panama Canal so just one day in one of our most favorite ports and the first U. S. port since we departed Boston in September.
After transiting the Panama Canal, our next stop will be Puerto Moin, Costa Rica.
11/27 - 12/8/07
I've asked Doug to write this blog entry, covering our 11-day Pacific crossing, as he visits the bridge daily, talks with the officers and is particularly interested in navigation.
Departing Yokohama on a Tuesday, we set an east-northeast heading as the first leg of a modified great circle route for San Diego, some 5,000 miles distant. It was modified to the extent that we would sail three rhumb lines taking us first up to N40 degrees latitude, then easterly along the 40th parallel and finally a east-southeast heading to Bishop's Rock and finally into San Diego. Three days out, we shifted to a east-southeasterly heading rather than follow the 40th as there was a major low pressure system to the east of us. The system was moving to the north northeast at about 40 knots and, with our altered course and our 19 knots of speed, the hope was it would exit our area before we encountered it. The decision seems to be working as on our sixth day at sea, our heading will take us south of the present position of the system. If necessary, we could duck further south to Hawaii but that would add additional time and distance to our passage. Maintaining our current heading will have us passing Hawaii about 600 miles to the south.
Saturday, 1 December, we had another crew party although the cold weather kept us inside the crew's recreation lounge rather than the after deck where the other parties had been held. While similar in terms of barbecued meats, side dishes, beer, wine and brandy, this party differed from the ones held by the former crew in that we had live music! The former crew sang and danced but it was to to canned karoake music. This crew includes at least three talented musicians of guitar and voice and we sang along to many of the songs but there was no room for dancing so it was a bit more subdued.
On Sunday, we officially crossed the International Date Line but did not change the ship's calendar until Monday. The company has issued a policy that Sundays will not be repeated as they are days off for the crew. The captain informed us that this policy was written after one ship's crossing when Saturday was a Filipino holiday and they repeated a Sunday for a three day weekend. No more of that by dictate of the German management company!
The second day out, the notherly winds, hanging around northeast to northwest, began to build with an accompanying building of the seas. These are not the incredibly sharp seas we encountered twice in the Mediterranean and again in the Taiwan Straits and Yellow Sea, but rather long rolly seas which, while not necessarily uncomfortable certainly require careful foot work and daily walks on the deck are temporarily suspended by us. (Needless to say, Rebecca was unable to paint during this passage. Our days have settled into a routine of meals interspersed with reading, playing Scrabble, chatting with our fellow passengers and watching videos.) The navigation log entries today, 3 December, indicate Force 8 winds (34-40 knots) and a Sea State of 7 which could be anywhere between 5.5 to 10.0 meters of wave height (trough to crest). Our best guess is 7 meters although it's quite a bit different reading wave height from a bridge 70' above the water rather than from the cockpit of a smaller sailing vessel, perhaps 8'-10' above the water.
In 1993, during the morning radio check in of the Caribbean 1500 (a 1500-mile race/rally from Virginia to the Virgin Islands), one of the participants asked how to determine the sea state or wave height which many reported for their local area. The response from another boater was to give it your best estimate and divide by two. It's probably true that the seas often seem higher than they are, particularly as mentioned before from the cockpit of a 35' to 50' sailboat. However, we do remember a passage from Marsh Harbour to Ft. Lauderdale where we had seas breaking half way up our 50' mast. That is probably a reasonable measure of Sea State 7. Also, by looking forward on Rickmars-Jakarta, a reference point of a hatch in the forward crane structure, approximately 2 meters in height, appears to transit through three to four distances in these seas, or approximately 6-8 meters which is consistent with the log entry of Sea State 7.
These conditions seem more extreme than those we encountered when sailing Boutonierre across the Pacific but there are two significant differences. Our 7,000-mile passage from Balboa, Panama to the Kingdom of Tonga kept us within ten degrees of the equator, either north or south. Also, that took place in 1995 and twelve years erases a lot of memories of pain and dampens the adventureous spirit. Nonetheless, we are reasonably comfortable and are able to take fully cooked meals seated properly at the mess table. Extreme weather on an aircraft carrier years ago meant sitting on the deck with an arm wrapped around a stanchion and for the poor lads in the accompanying destroyers, cold cut sandwiches, as cooking wasn't possible.
We did have a one day break on Wednesday, from the extremely rolly conditions, and it couldn't have been timed better. At 0550, the lights in our cabin failed, then after blinking a few times, came on again (I happened to be awake reading). Obviously, some sort of generator failure which was followed by the switching to one of the other three generators. But then, the main engine also stopped and after a period of time, we were "lying to" and rolling in the swells which, as mentioned, were fortunately not as extreme as they had been. When the ship lost electical power, the lubrication and fuel pumps shut down and therefore the main engine. By 0625, main engine power, as well as solid electrical power had been restored and we were back again on course at our usual 18-19 knots.
Our days have settled into a routine of meals interspersed with reading, playing Scrabble, chatting with our fellow passengers and watching videos.
We are slightly behind schedule and while we will enter San Diego on 8 December, it will be at night and too late to go ashore. Therefore, our shopping and meeting with friends will be delayed until Sunday. The captain advises we must depart San Diego on the 10th to make our date with the Panama Canal so just one day in one of our most favorite ports and the first U. S. port since we departed Boston in September.
After transiting the Panama Canal, our next stop will be Puerto Moin, Costa Rica.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Shanghai, China
Qindao, China
11/14 - 11/16/07
Halfway between Xingang and Qindao, we celebrated Martha's birthday in the Yangtze River. We made the day special with two games of Scrabble in the afternoon and presented her with handmade gifts before dinner: A handpainted silk scarf from me and a marlin-spike woven necklace and bracelet from Doug. Chef Jonni and Steward Gani presented Martha with an amazing cake sculptured in the shape of our ship on the sea. The sea was a yellow sheet cake and the ship was a rich dark chocolate with a small photo of Martha on the bow. Martha bought a couple of cases of beer for the crew to help celebrate and after dinner, we invited Barbara over and watched the musical "The Sound of Music." A memorable birthday I'm sure.
Qindao was a bit of a disappointment as the big attraction in this area apparently are the beautiful beaches but it was so cold and damp, and it was not close, that we didn't go there. We arrived at night but had to wait for our passports and our departure time was so uncertain that we didn't feel comfortable leaving the ship for long. There were several locals aboard the ship selling all sorts of items from clothing to electronics and watches to copy DVDs and one of them gave us a ride into town to his shop (where we bought a few small items) and then to an internet cafe. It was a bit of a bust because Martha couldn't access her email (not sure why) and I was unable to post a blog (the computer I was using didn't recognize the program I'd created the document in). The pharmacy the driver took us to didn't have the medication Doug wanted and the bank couldn't dispense U.S. dollars that Martha wanted. The area of town we drove through was pretty dismal - the way I remember parts of Russia and East Berlin. We thought we might have lunch out but didn't see a restaurant that looked remotely interesting.
That afternoon the ship was in such a flurry of activity as the officers and crew prepared to depart and the new group was coming aboard. It was hard to say goodbye to all of our friends - especially Gani and some of the other crew members who were such fun to party with. The Captain's wife, Barbara, was a bit teary-eyed and gave Doug a gift of a bottle of Johnny Walker Red as a thank you for the English lessons. I gave a few scarves to some of the guys for their wives and one to Barbara who promised to keep in touch by email. She and the Captain are going back to Poland for a week or two before boarding his next assigned ship. Chief Engineer, Marenko, made us promise to visit his area of Croatia which I'd love to do. Everyone finally left the ship around 4 AM, after which the ship left the dock about 6:30 AM to a container loading dock on a nearby island. Since we were leaving at noon and there was nowhere to go, we stayed aboard except for our short trip to the Immigration office to clear out (they needed to see us in person).
We've met the new Captain (Romanian) and Chief Engineer (Polish) and I'm sure we'll get to know and like this crew too. They are from Philippines, Sri Lanka, China, Germany, Poland and Romania. Should be interesting - a real international experience.
Next stop: Masan, South Korea
11/14 - 11/16/07
Halfway between Xingang and Qindao, we celebrated Martha's birthday in the Yangtze River. We made the day special with two games of Scrabble in the afternoon and presented her with handmade gifts before dinner: A handpainted silk scarf from me and a marlin-spike woven necklace and bracelet from Doug. Chef Jonni and Steward Gani presented Martha with an amazing cake sculptured in the shape of our ship on the sea. The sea was a yellow sheet cake and the ship was a rich dark chocolate with a small photo of Martha on the bow. Martha bought a couple of cases of beer for the crew to help celebrate and after dinner, we invited Barbara over and watched the musical "The Sound of Music." A memorable birthday I'm sure.
Qindao was a bit of a disappointment as the big attraction in this area apparently are the beautiful beaches but it was so cold and damp, and it was not close, that we didn't go there. We arrived at night but had to wait for our passports and our departure time was so uncertain that we didn't feel comfortable leaving the ship for long. There were several locals aboard the ship selling all sorts of items from clothing to electronics and watches to copy DVDs and one of them gave us a ride into town to his shop (where we bought a few small items) and then to an internet cafe. It was a bit of a bust because Martha couldn't access her email (not sure why) and I was unable to post a blog (the computer I was using didn't recognize the program I'd created the document in). The pharmacy the driver took us to didn't have the medication Doug wanted and the bank couldn't dispense U.S. dollars that Martha wanted. The area of town we drove through was pretty dismal - the way I remember parts of Russia and East Berlin. We thought we might have lunch out but didn't see a restaurant that looked remotely interesting.
That afternoon the ship was in such a flurry of activity as the officers and crew prepared to depart and the new group was coming aboard. It was hard to say goodbye to all of our friends - especially Gani and some of the other crew members who were such fun to party with. The Captain's wife, Barbara, was a bit teary-eyed and gave Doug a gift of a bottle of Johnny Walker Red as a thank you for the English lessons. I gave a few scarves to some of the guys for their wives and one to Barbara who promised to keep in touch by email. She and the Captain are going back to Poland for a week or two before boarding his next assigned ship. Chief Engineer, Marenko, made us promise to visit his area of Croatia which I'd love to do. Everyone finally left the ship around 4 AM, after which the ship left the dock about 6:30 AM to a container loading dock on a nearby island. Since we were leaving at noon and there was nowhere to go, we stayed aboard except for our short trip to the Immigration office to clear out (they needed to see us in person).
We've met the new Captain (Romanian) and Chief Engineer (Polish) and I'm sure we'll get to know and like this crew too. They are from Philippines, Sri Lanka, China, Germany, Poland and Romania. Should be interesting - a real international experience.
Next stop: Masan, South Korea
Xingang and Beijing, China
Xingang, China
11/7-11/9
Just an overnight cruise from Dalian, we arrived in Xingang late morning. Not wanting to miss anything, and even though our big sightseeing trip to Bejing was scheduled for the next day, Martha and I decided to go ashore. By the time we left the ship (we had to finish a very intense game of Scrabble) all the taxis had left the dock, so we had a nice little hike to the gate (no one asked to see our passports so we just walked out) and found a taxi there. Of course he didn't speak any English (and our Chinese is really rusty) so we got by with showing him the little book listing a Seamen's Club in Xingang, and off we went. Turns out he had no idea what the Seamen's Club was or where it was (it was all in English) so he stopped at a small shop and took Martha in with him. We assumed someone there spoke English but it was very little so off we went again. Leafing through the book, I found a page written in Chinese (actually a page each in several foreigh languages) explaining what the club was all about. After showing him that, he drove on and later pulled up in front of a large hotel where the manager came out and interpreted for us. The manager knew about the club and its location and directed the driver to take us there. Ten minutes later, he pulled up in front of a large building which read "Seamen's Club and Disco" so we parked and entered a very run-down but once-beautiful space. It looked deserted and a man appeared and said in English "It's closed." I asked when it would open. He said "Never. It's finished." So much for our hopes of checking email and posting another blog. We headed back to the ship but enroute spotted a small shop with a sign: "Seamen's Friend's Store". The driver stopped and accompanied us but it was just a sort of convenience/electronics/souvenir shop (no internet cafe) so we continued on back to the ship. Just another adventure in another foreign port.
4:30 AM is early for anyone but particularly for us non-morning people. But, we wouldn't have missed this trip for anything so we departed the ship in the dark fog and eight of us boarded a van headed for Bejing and a day of major sightseeing. The trip was supposed to take three hours each way but we left at 5 and arrived in Bejing at 11 AM, with one potty stop at a highway toll booth.
The Great Wall is amazing! Actually, just the thought of being in this huge country that we've all heard about since we were children ("Eat your vegetables, there are children in China who are starving." or "If you keep digging that hole, you'll end up in China.") and the pull-down map on the school room wall showing this huge area a world away where the people look so different and not even their alphabet was the same as ours. To finally see this place is a dream is a dream come true.
Those of you who have been to The Great Wall, can skip this paragraph.
The Wall starts in the east at the Yalu River in Liaoning Province and stretches westwards for 12,700 kilometers (7,620 miles) to Jiayuguan in the Gobi desert. It climbs up and town, twists and turns along the ridges of two mountain chains through five provinces, binding northern China together. Construction began in 656 B.C. and continued throughout the Warring States Period in fifth century B.C. when this area was being plundered by nomadic people of the north mountain ranges. Through many centuries since then, succeeding dynasties maintained the Wall and most recently during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) it was extensively rennovated to the Wall we see today. It's about 24 feet high and and 17 feet wide (enough for five horses to gallop abreast). There are ramparts and peep-holes for archers on the top and gutters with gargoyles to drain rain-water off the parapet walk. Two-story watch towers are at 1200-foot intervals, the top stories for observing enemy movements and the first for storing grain, fodder, military equipment and gunpowder. The highest watch tower, at Badaling, is reached only after a steep climb (known as "climbing the ladder to heaven"). Smoke signals were used to pass messages the length of the wall from one tower to the next. In 1987, the Wall was listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site - along with such places as Taj Mahal in India, the Hanging Gardens of babylon and Sanscrit.
The portion of the wall we visited was the Badaling section, where we began by taking a cable car to the highest peak. Some of us actually climbed the "ladder to heaven" and didn't even buy the t-shirt claiming that feat.
The Forbidden City, which is a walled city within the city of Beijing, is (historically and artistically) one of the most comprehensive Chinese museums. It's on the grounds of the Imperial Palace and was the center of two dynasties: The Ming and the Qing. It covers over 1,000,000 square meters and we walked all of it - the inner and outer courts where thate are throne halls of: Supreme Harmony, Central Harmony and Preserving Harmony. Also halls of Literary Brillance and Martial Valor. We saw the beautiful Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, and the Imperial Garden. You could easily spend a full day here but we were able to breeze through in a mere three hours.
After a long walk, along Tiennaman Square and several sity blocks, we arrived at a beautiful shopping district which streets are closed to traffic. After a fantastic dinner at a well-known duck restaurant, where we had (of course) Peking Duck (or is it now called Bejing Duck? Anyway, it was so delicious - crisp roasted and served table-side with lots of interesting side dishes. We were all quite exhausted, but had just enough energy for a hour of shopping after dinner before boarding the van for our drive home. Luckily, with no fog and little traffic, we made it back in two and a half hours. Another wonderful day of sightseeing.
11/7-11/9
Just an overnight cruise from Dalian, we arrived in Xingang late morning. Not wanting to miss anything, and even though our big sightseeing trip to Bejing was scheduled for the next day, Martha and I decided to go ashore. By the time we left the ship (we had to finish a very intense game of Scrabble) all the taxis had left the dock, so we had a nice little hike to the gate (no one asked to see our passports so we just walked out) and found a taxi there. Of course he didn't speak any English (and our Chinese is really rusty) so we got by with showing him the little book listing a Seamen's Club in Xingang, and off we went. Turns out he had no idea what the Seamen's Club was or where it was (it was all in English) so he stopped at a small shop and took Martha in with him. We assumed someone there spoke English but it was very little so off we went again. Leafing through the book, I found a page written in Chinese (actually a page each in several foreigh languages) explaining what the club was all about. After showing him that, he drove on and later pulled up in front of a large hotel where the manager came out and interpreted for us. The manager knew about the club and its location and directed the driver to take us there. Ten minutes later, he pulled up in front of a large building which read "Seamen's Club and Disco" so we parked and entered a very run-down but once-beautiful space. It looked deserted and a man appeared and said in English "It's closed." I asked when it would open. He said "Never. It's finished." So much for our hopes of checking email and posting another blog. We headed back to the ship but enroute spotted a small shop with a sign: "Seamen's Friend's Store". The driver stopped and accompanied us but it was just a sort of convenience/electronics/souvenir shop (no internet cafe) so we continued on back to the ship. Just another adventure in another foreign port.
4:30 AM is early for anyone but particularly for us non-morning people. But, we wouldn't have missed this trip for anything so we departed the ship in the dark fog and eight of us boarded a van headed for Bejing and a day of major sightseeing. The trip was supposed to take three hours each way but we left at 5 and arrived in Bejing at 11 AM, with one potty stop at a highway toll booth.
The Great Wall is amazing! Actually, just the thought of being in this huge country that we've all heard about since we were children ("Eat your vegetables, there are children in China who are starving." or "If you keep digging that hole, you'll end up in China.") and the pull-down map on the school room wall showing this huge area a world away where the people look so different and not even their alphabet was the same as ours. To finally see this place is a dream is a dream come true.
Those of you who have been to The Great Wall, can skip this paragraph.
The Wall starts in the east at the Yalu River in Liaoning Province and stretches westwards for 12,700 kilometers (7,620 miles) to Jiayuguan in the Gobi desert. It climbs up and town, twists and turns along the ridges of two mountain chains through five provinces, binding northern China together. Construction began in 656 B.C. and continued throughout the Warring States Period in fifth century B.C. when this area was being plundered by nomadic people of the north mountain ranges. Through many centuries since then, succeeding dynasties maintained the Wall and most recently during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) it was extensively rennovated to the Wall we see today. It's about 24 feet high and and 17 feet wide (enough for five horses to gallop abreast). There are ramparts and peep-holes for archers on the top and gutters with gargoyles to drain rain-water off the parapet walk. Two-story watch towers are at 1200-foot intervals, the top stories for observing enemy movements and the first for storing grain, fodder, military equipment and gunpowder. The highest watch tower, at Badaling, is reached only after a steep climb (known as "climbing the ladder to heaven"). Smoke signals were used to pass messages the length of the wall from one tower to the next. In 1987, the Wall was listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site - along with such places as Taj Mahal in India, the Hanging Gardens of babylon and Sanscrit.
The portion of the wall we visited was the Badaling section, where we began by taking a cable car to the highest peak. Some of us actually climbed the "ladder to heaven" and didn't even buy the t-shirt claiming that feat.
The Forbidden City, which is a walled city within the city of Beijing, is (historically and artistically) one of the most comprehensive Chinese museums. It's on the grounds of the Imperial Palace and was the center of two dynasties: The Ming and the Qing. It covers over 1,000,000 square meters and we walked all of it - the inner and outer courts where thate are throne halls of: Supreme Harmony, Central Harmony and Preserving Harmony. Also halls of Literary Brillance and Martial Valor. We saw the beautiful Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, and the Imperial Garden. You could easily spend a full day here but we were able to breeze through in a mere three hours.
After a long walk, along Tiennaman Square and several sity blocks, we arrived at a beautiful shopping district which streets are closed to traffic. After a fantastic dinner at a well-known duck restaurant, where we had (of course) Peking Duck (or is it now called Bejing Duck? Anyway, it was so delicious - crisp roasted and served table-side with lots of interesting side dishes. We were all quite exhausted, but had just enough energy for a hour of shopping after dinner before boarding the van for our drive home. Luckily, with no fog and little traffic, we made it back in two and a half hours. Another wonderful day of sightseeing.
Dalian, China
DALIAN, CHINA
5 November 2007
Our first visit to China was not quite what we expected. That's perhaps an understatement. We arrived at 7 AM on Monday morning and as usual, it took longer than anticipated to clear Customs and Immigration. We were two days late on our arrival schedule, due to rough seas, and everyone was anxious to be there. This delay meant that the crew would be late going home at the end of their tour and for us it basically didn't matter much except we had decided Doug needed to see a doctor, because of an injury to his back during rough seas through the Taiwan Straits. The Captain agreed to have the ship's agent arrange for transportation and an interpreter to the nearest hospital and told us to be ready to go at 3 PM. I wasn't sure Doug would be able to walk down the gangway ladder but, though in considerable pain, he made it down and into the waiting taxi. The agent accompanied us for about two miles where we were met my another younger agent who went the rest of the way with us. When we arrived at the hospital, he asked for an English-speaking nurse and we were soon shown into the doctor's office. After some questions regarding how the injury happened and where the pain was, we were taken to another building for a CT scan. I'll try to describe the hospital: The first thing we noticed was the smell - not a typical anticeptic smell but more of an unclean body odor smell (not good). The building itself was fairly modern but not well built, rather shabby and in need of renovation, and not very clean. In just a few minutes we had the xrays and returned to the doctor's office where he looked at them and described (through the nurse) what he saw. Nothing broken, no need for surgery, just needs to heal. He advised keeping weight off the area - not prolonged sitting or standing - staying vertical as much as possible until it healed. He suggested ibuprofen for the swelling and inflammation and pain pills - all of which we had. Since there was nothing else he could do, the agent escorted us back to the taxi for the ride back to the ship. The parts of town we drove through didn't warrant any photos so if I post any here it will be of Doug with the agent and a couple of quick shots of the interior of the hospital. Some sightseeing, huh? Oh well, we were happy to learn it was nothing serious and that with rest he would heal.
Martha, Helge and Sunhilde took a tour of Dalian and surrounding area in the afternoon and saw some beautiful areas. Here's what she had to say about their sightseeing:
While Doug and Rebecca went to the hospital for Doug’s back, I went into Dalian with the Swedes. Our driver’s name was Eva. She was very nice but her English was limited. Dalian is a city of 5.3 million inhabitants. It is a very large and busy port city, very modern, architecture reflecting Russian and Japanese occupations, and very clean except for the air. Eva said Dalian was a favored vacation spot due to its location by the sea and temperate weather. President Hu Jintao has a vacation house in Dalian.
As Eva drove us into the city she pointed out a TV tower where she used to work until they replaced her with a younger, prettier girl. Eva drove us through the city, we stopped to walk down Japon Avenue, and drove south along the seaside coast and through some large green areas of flowers, shrubs and trees. Clearly, in Dalian, driving on your side of the road is merely a nice idea. Eva explained that driving right-of-way goes to the most aggressive driver. And what pedestrians have to do to cross the street is downright scary.
Eva is married and has only one child (by law) - a daughter, who is 12. Eva took us by her apartment, which is in the city on the sixth floor of a building of about eight floors. It is a very pleasant apartment complex with a woods on a nearby bluff. I asked Eva if she thought President Hu was doing a good job and she just shrugged, smiled and said something like “no comment.”
Lastly we went to yet another ubiquitous shopping mall. I didn’t buy anything. It all looked like stuff that had been made in China (ha, ha).
From Dalian it was just an overnight trip south in the Yellow Sea to the port of Xingang (just East of Peking (or Beijing).
5 November 2007
Our first visit to China was not quite what we expected. That's perhaps an understatement. We arrived at 7 AM on Monday morning and as usual, it took longer than anticipated to clear Customs and Immigration. We were two days late on our arrival schedule, due to rough seas, and everyone was anxious to be there. This delay meant that the crew would be late going home at the end of their tour and for us it basically didn't matter much except we had decided Doug needed to see a doctor, because of an injury to his back during rough seas through the Taiwan Straits. The Captain agreed to have the ship's agent arrange for transportation and an interpreter to the nearest hospital and told us to be ready to go at 3 PM. I wasn't sure Doug would be able to walk down the gangway ladder but, though in considerable pain, he made it down and into the waiting taxi. The agent accompanied us for about two miles where we were met my another younger agent who went the rest of the way with us. When we arrived at the hospital, he asked for an English-speaking nurse and we were soon shown into the doctor's office. After some questions regarding how the injury happened and where the pain was, we were taken to another building for a CT scan. I'll try to describe the hospital: The first thing we noticed was the smell - not a typical anticeptic smell but more of an unclean body odor smell (not good). The building itself was fairly modern but not well built, rather shabby and in need of renovation, and not very clean. In just a few minutes we had the xrays and returned to the doctor's office where he looked at them and described (through the nurse) what he saw. Nothing broken, no need for surgery, just needs to heal. He advised keeping weight off the area - not prolonged sitting or standing - staying vertical as much as possible until it healed. He suggested ibuprofen for the swelling and inflammation and pain pills - all of which we had. Since there was nothing else he could do, the agent escorted us back to the taxi for the ride back to the ship. The parts of town we drove through didn't warrant any photos so if I post any here it will be of Doug with the agent and a couple of quick shots of the interior of the hospital. Some sightseeing, huh? Oh well, we were happy to learn it was nothing serious and that with rest he would heal.
Martha, Helge and Sunhilde took a tour of Dalian and surrounding area in the afternoon and saw some beautiful areas. Here's what she had to say about their sightseeing:
While Doug and Rebecca went to the hospital for Doug’s back, I went into Dalian with the Swedes. Our driver’s name was Eva. She was very nice but her English was limited. Dalian is a city of 5.3 million inhabitants. It is a very large and busy port city, very modern, architecture reflecting Russian and Japanese occupations, and very clean except for the air. Eva said Dalian was a favored vacation spot due to its location by the sea and temperate weather. President Hu Jintao has a vacation house in Dalian.
As Eva drove us into the city she pointed out a TV tower where she used to work until they replaced her with a younger, prettier girl. Eva drove us through the city, we stopped to walk down Japon Avenue, and drove south along the seaside coast and through some large green areas of flowers, shrubs and trees. Clearly, in Dalian, driving on your side of the road is merely a nice idea. Eva explained that driving right-of-way goes to the most aggressive driver. And what pedestrians have to do to cross the street is downright scary.
Eva is married and has only one child (by law) - a daughter, who is 12. Eva took us by her apartment, which is in the city on the sixth floor of a building of about eight floors. It is a very pleasant apartment complex with a woods on a nearby bluff. I asked Eva if she thought President Hu was doing a good job and she just shrugged, smiled and said something like “no comment.”
Lastly we went to yet another ubiquitous shopping mall. I didn’t buy anything. It all looked like stuff that had been made in China (ha, ha).
From Dalian it was just an overnight trip south in the Yellow Sea to the port of Xingang (just East of Peking (or Beijing).
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Malaysia
MALAYSIA
Labuan - 29 October 2007
Labuan, which is just south of Kula Lampur and north of Brunei, is on the West side of the island of Borneo (which always sounds so exotic to me as I picture cannibals with bones through their noses - must have been an old National Geographic article.
We knew when we went to bed Sunday night that our arrival in Labuan would be early the next morning but didn't expect a 6:45 wake up call to tell us that the Immigration Officer wanted to see us in the ship's office, with our passports. You all know that I'm not a morning person and don't enjoy being awakened mid-dream and expected to leap into clothes and be communicative first thing in the morning. To make matters worse, when we got to the office ten minutes later, there was no one there so we just left our passports on the desk and, since we were up anyway, went to the dining room for breakfast. The Captain came to our stateroom about 8:30 to let us know that since we were at anchor in Labuan Harbor (this port has no dock for large ships) a boat would take us ashore at 10:00 AM and bring us back in the afternoon. Since he was required to stay on the ship, he asked Doug to watch over his wife, Barbara. He gave Doug $300 Ringgits (about 3 to 1 U.S. dollar) to use to rent a car for a tour of the island and lunch. We were unable to get our passports back in time to go ashore, so left without them which always makes me a little uncomfortable, but it was no problem. The "Swedes" only had a problem when they tried to get local currency at the bank and were asked for their passports, but they worked it out.
The boat they sent for transport was smaller than we expected and the seas were a little rough so it was a bit of a challenge. The gangway was lowered over the side at a very steep angle and the boat looked even smaller as it bobbed up and down as well as back and forth below us. The Chief Engineer, Marenko, went down first and then Barbara who he helped into the boat, followed by Martha who I didn't see but she was laughing a lot so it must have been an experience for her. Sunhilde was next and I thought she was quite apprehensive because she's had two knee replacements and is very unsteady even on the ship or just walking on dry land, but our two crew members, Vincent and Jose Mitchell, encouraged her and said they'd help her aboard, so she tried it and nearly went over the side but they held on and pulled her into the little boat. Her husband, Helge, did fine and then it was my turn. For some reason, I stepped from the bottom of the gangway into the boat at just the right time and sat down without incident and Doug followed and also made it safely in. They actually had life jackets for us and we put them on just as the driver opened the throttle and we sped off pounding over the waves with the wind in our hair and the sea spray flying over us. I was able to take a few photos and the one of Martha and Barbara in the back of the boat was priceless - a little shock mixed with excitement and loving the thrill of the ride.
Doug was able to talk to a cab driver and negotiate a price to rent a van with driver to take the nine of us on a three-hour tour of the island of Labuan. It's basically a small town and not like Quala Lampur which is actually a travel destination, so the driver did her best to take us to the scenic spots, which consisted of a beautifully-manicured and maintained national war memorial and cemetary dedicated to soldiers who died on Malaysian soil when the Japanese invaded during World War II. Next stop was a place called "The Chimney" which was just that: A tall (perhaps 60 feet high brick structure located near some coal mine tunnels. There was a very modern museum building depicting the various ways in which coal was mined here but the mining ceased at least 50 years ago and no one really knows what the chimney was used for but they're still doing studies about that. While walking around the grounds, a group approached us (not sure what nationality but perhaps from Malaysia or Philippines) and asked if we would pose for a photo with them. They really seemed to want Doug and I in the photo and one young woman came over and touched my hair. I think they don't see many people with hair that is not dark like theirs. You also rarely see a man with beard and mustache and when Doug said he was Santa Claus, they loved it and wanted their little boy (about 5 years old) in the photo. They spoke some English and we had fun walking and chatting a bit with them. The little one reminded me of our grandson, Zach, when he was proud to show me he had learned to snap his fingers. I asked if he could do the left hand and he beamed and showed me he could. He hadn't yet learned to whistle but was trying and demonstrated a clicking noise he could do with his mouth. So cute! Jose had fun with him making monkey noises and walking like a monkey and he laughed and laughed.
Our driver and tour guide, Miss Eng, was happy to show us one of the nice beaches where we had hoped to get a cold beer, but the stands were all closed because it was not a weekend. So, we enjoyoed walking the beach and picking up some beautiful shells - small but perfectly formed spiral and spidery like conch shells - which some us us brought away as a reminder of this beautiful part of the world. It was not a pristine beach but more rugged with huge drift wood and large rough coral rocks scattered along the shore and so quiet and peaceful that I could have walked for hours.
Next we spent about an hour at an aviary where we saw lots of indigenous birds of every shape, color and size - from a mynah bird who we taught a few English words - to ostrich, owls, peacocks and several types of water birds.
The aquarium was small but very nicely done and we enjoyed seeing the tropical fish and reading the descriptions which we appreciated being in English as well as Malay and Mandarin. While there, a ferocious storm blew in with high winds and sideways rain pelting down. We looked out at the big waves in the harbor and our ship at anchor, realizing there was no way we could go back out there in a small boat.
As usual, our last stop was a big shopping mall where we had a late lunch and walked around looking at shops that were of little interest. There was absolutely nothing there that I was tempted to buy. For those who know me even a little, that really tells you something. We fouond an internet cafe and Martha and I checked email and I posted two blogs (though I was unable to post any photos) but I was happy to do what I did.
By the time we left the "mall" the storm had blown through and the seas were calmer. Our boat arrived a few minutes before scheduled and we all got in and donned our life jackets. The trip back to the ship was long and we pounded into the waves reaching the gangway just as it was fully lowered to the waterline. Having offloaded a lot of cargo, the ship was sitting higher in the water and the gangway ladder was a bit steeper and the bottom step angled toward the sea. One by one, and with the help of our young crew members, we each made our way out of the boat and up the ladder and safely and thankfully back aboard the ship, feeling good about our adventure.
Later that night we raised anchor and headed north through the South China Sea making our way between Viet Nam on our port and the Philippines to starboard. Prevailing winds in this area are out of the Northwest and tend to be strong. The Captain advised us to secure loose items in our cabins and we did experience 40 knot winds, more out of the North pretty much on the nose, that night and the next day but it wasn't as rough as expected. Needless to say, I was not able to paint, and sitting on deck, even with chairs set up aft of the superstructure, required having a good hold on your book. The pool had a bit of a surf rolling across the surface but at least it was warm and sunny.
A little further north we went through the Taiwan Straits with the island of Taiwan to starboard and left Hong Kong and mainland China to port, and into the East China Sea. Passing Japan and Korea to starboard (we'll stop at each of those after China) we entered the Yellow Sea and continued North to our first Chinese port - Dalian.
Labuan - 29 October 2007
Labuan, which is just south of Kula Lampur and north of Brunei, is on the West side of the island of Borneo (which always sounds so exotic to me as I picture cannibals with bones through their noses - must have been an old National Geographic article.
We knew when we went to bed Sunday night that our arrival in Labuan would be early the next morning but didn't expect a 6:45 wake up call to tell us that the Immigration Officer wanted to see us in the ship's office, with our passports. You all know that I'm not a morning person and don't enjoy being awakened mid-dream and expected to leap into clothes and be communicative first thing in the morning. To make matters worse, when we got to the office ten minutes later, there was no one there so we just left our passports on the desk and, since we were up anyway, went to the dining room for breakfast. The Captain came to our stateroom about 8:30 to let us know that since we were at anchor in Labuan Harbor (this port has no dock for large ships) a boat would take us ashore at 10:00 AM and bring us back in the afternoon. Since he was required to stay on the ship, he asked Doug to watch over his wife, Barbara. He gave Doug $300 Ringgits (about 3 to 1 U.S. dollar) to use to rent a car for a tour of the island and lunch. We were unable to get our passports back in time to go ashore, so left without them which always makes me a little uncomfortable, but it was no problem. The "Swedes" only had a problem when they tried to get local currency at the bank and were asked for their passports, but they worked it out.
The boat they sent for transport was smaller than we expected and the seas were a little rough so it was a bit of a challenge. The gangway was lowered over the side at a very steep angle and the boat looked even smaller as it bobbed up and down as well as back and forth below us. The Chief Engineer, Marenko, went down first and then Barbara who he helped into the boat, followed by Martha who I didn't see but she was laughing a lot so it must have been an experience for her. Sunhilde was next and I thought she was quite apprehensive because she's had two knee replacements and is very unsteady even on the ship or just walking on dry land, but our two crew members, Vincent and Jose Mitchell, encouraged her and said they'd help her aboard, so she tried it and nearly went over the side but they held on and pulled her into the little boat. Her husband, Helge, did fine and then it was my turn. For some reason, I stepped from the bottom of the gangway into the boat at just the right time and sat down without incident and Doug followed and also made it safely in. They actually had life jackets for us and we put them on just as the driver opened the throttle and we sped off pounding over the waves with the wind in our hair and the sea spray flying over us. I was able to take a few photos and the one of Martha and Barbara in the back of the boat was priceless - a little shock mixed with excitement and loving the thrill of the ride.
Doug was able to talk to a cab driver and negotiate a price to rent a van with driver to take the nine of us on a three-hour tour of the island of Labuan. It's basically a small town and not like Quala Lampur which is actually a travel destination, so the driver did her best to take us to the scenic spots, which consisted of a beautifully-manicured and maintained national war memorial and cemetary dedicated to soldiers who died on Malaysian soil when the Japanese invaded during World War II. Next stop was a place called "The Chimney" which was just that: A tall (perhaps 60 feet high brick structure located near some coal mine tunnels. There was a very modern museum building depicting the various ways in which coal was mined here but the mining ceased at least 50 years ago and no one really knows what the chimney was used for but they're still doing studies about that. While walking around the grounds, a group approached us (not sure what nationality but perhaps from Malaysia or Philippines) and asked if we would pose for a photo with them. They really seemed to want Doug and I in the photo and one young woman came over and touched my hair. I think they don't see many people with hair that is not dark like theirs. You also rarely see a man with beard and mustache and when Doug said he was Santa Claus, they loved it and wanted their little boy (about 5 years old) in the photo. They spoke some English and we had fun walking and chatting a bit with them. The little one reminded me of our grandson, Zach, when he was proud to show me he had learned to snap his fingers. I asked if he could do the left hand and he beamed and showed me he could. He hadn't yet learned to whistle but was trying and demonstrated a clicking noise he could do with his mouth. So cute! Jose had fun with him making monkey noises and walking like a monkey and he laughed and laughed.
Our driver and tour guide, Miss Eng, was happy to show us one of the nice beaches where we had hoped to get a cold beer, but the stands were all closed because it was not a weekend. So, we enjoyoed walking the beach and picking up some beautiful shells - small but perfectly formed spiral and spidery like conch shells - which some us us brought away as a reminder of this beautiful part of the world. It was not a pristine beach but more rugged with huge drift wood and large rough coral rocks scattered along the shore and so quiet and peaceful that I could have walked for hours.
Next we spent about an hour at an aviary where we saw lots of indigenous birds of every shape, color and size - from a mynah bird who we taught a few English words - to ostrich, owls, peacocks and several types of water birds.
The aquarium was small but very nicely done and we enjoyed seeing the tropical fish and reading the descriptions which we appreciated being in English as well as Malay and Mandarin. While there, a ferocious storm blew in with high winds and sideways rain pelting down. We looked out at the big waves in the harbor and our ship at anchor, realizing there was no way we could go back out there in a small boat.
As usual, our last stop was a big shopping mall where we had a late lunch and walked around looking at shops that were of little interest. There was absolutely nothing there that I was tempted to buy. For those who know me even a little, that really tells you something. We fouond an internet cafe and Martha and I checked email and I posted two blogs (though I was unable to post any photos) but I was happy to do what I did.
By the time we left the "mall" the storm had blown through and the seas were calmer. Our boat arrived a few minutes before scheduled and we all got in and donned our life jackets. The trip back to the ship was long and we pounded into the waves reaching the gangway just as it was fully lowered to the waterline. Having offloaded a lot of cargo, the ship was sitting higher in the water and the gangway ladder was a bit steeper and the bottom step angled toward the sea. One by one, and with the help of our young crew members, we each made our way out of the boat and up the ladder and safely and thankfully back aboard the ship, feeling good about our adventure.
Later that night we raised anchor and headed north through the South China Sea making our way between Viet Nam on our port and the Philippines to starboard. Prevailing winds in this area are out of the Northwest and tend to be strong. The Captain advised us to secure loose items in our cabins and we did experience 40 knot winds, more out of the North pretty much on the nose, that night and the next day but it wasn't as rough as expected. Needless to say, I was not able to paint, and sitting on deck, even with chairs set up aft of the superstructure, required having a good hold on your book. The pool had a bit of a surf rolling across the surface but at least it was warm and sunny.
A little further north we went through the Taiwan Straits with the island of Taiwan to starboard and left Hong Kong and mainland China to port, and into the East China Sea. Passing Japan and Korea to starboard (we'll stop at each of those after China) we entered the Yellow Sea and continued North to our first Chinese port - Dalian.
Thailand
THAILAND
Laem Chebang and Bangkok
From Jakarta we headed north out of the Java Sea to Laem Chebang in the Gulf of Thailand.
Since Bangkok was two hours away, the first afternoon we went to a small nearby town which had a name but it escapes me at present. (Not a place I’d necessarily recommend to other travellers). The local Ship’s Agent, Ming, arranged for a cab for five crew members to go to a nearby beach & bar town and then offered to take Martha, Doug and I in his own car to do a little shopping and a glimpse of small-town Thailand. We’d hoped to find a computer store to buy a replacement fan for the laptop but no one there had parts for DELL. Another goal was to find a silk jacket similar to one I bought when we were in Thailand on our honeymoon in 1991 (it was lost a few months later when my luggage went missing on a flight from Berlin to London). Well, the world has become very Westernized and there was only one silk shop (the last time they were on every street) in the town. The shop owner offered to make the jacket in two days but we didn’t have two days.
The Captain arranged for two vans the next day and leaving at 7 AM fourteen of us made the two-hour trip to Bangkok for a day of sightseeing. First the Royal Thai Palace, the Temple of Dawn (we thought of you, Dawn), a fascinating trip through the canals on a long tail boat (very low to the water). This city is sometimes referred to as “the Venice of the East.” Walking through streets lined with market stalls selling fruits & vegetables, fans, parasols, Buddhas of all shapes and sizes, masks, carvings, smelly dried squid and fish of every shape and size, and of course t-shirts, we really got a taste of Bangkok. (Except for the t-shirts which are of course in every town and city, large and small, all over the world) Lunch was literally “on the street” where a long table and stools were set up between two large parked trucks with cars and motorcycles moving past us. The cook had his “stove” set up on the sidewalk and he made a show of preparing his two specialities - either a rice dish or a noodle dish - in a wok over an open flame. Very picturesque and a good lunch. Served with a local beer.
We made a very vigorous walk up many steps to another temple on a high hill where we saw locals and monks praying to budda in various representative poses. We also visited the huge gold reclining Buddha whose feet were over fifteen feet tall.
The Marble Temple was perhaps, as Martha commented, “one temple too many” as everyone by then was very hot and tired. The humidity here is oppressive and we look forward to heading to cooler weather after our next stop in Malaysia.
Our last stop for the day was an air conditioned shopping center (quite modern) where we enjoyed an iced mocha frappe at Starbuck’s (yes, they’re everywhere) and saw familiar stores such as Izod, Nautica, Nike, Louis Vitton, Coach, as well as KFC, Annie’s pretzels, Dunkin’ Donut and Baskin Robbins ice cream. We could have been anywhere in this very small world.
Laem Chebang and Bangkok
From Jakarta we headed north out of the Java Sea to Laem Chebang in the Gulf of Thailand.
Since Bangkok was two hours away, the first afternoon we went to a small nearby town which had a name but it escapes me at present. (Not a place I’d necessarily recommend to other travellers). The local Ship’s Agent, Ming, arranged for a cab for five crew members to go to a nearby beach & bar town and then offered to take Martha, Doug and I in his own car to do a little shopping and a glimpse of small-town Thailand. We’d hoped to find a computer store to buy a replacement fan for the laptop but no one there had parts for DELL. Another goal was to find a silk jacket similar to one I bought when we were in Thailand on our honeymoon in 1991 (it was lost a few months later when my luggage went missing on a flight from Berlin to London). Well, the world has become very Westernized and there was only one silk shop (the last time they were on every street) in the town. The shop owner offered to make the jacket in two days but we didn’t have two days.
The Captain arranged for two vans the next day and leaving at 7 AM fourteen of us made the two-hour trip to Bangkok for a day of sightseeing. First the Royal Thai Palace, the Temple of Dawn (we thought of you, Dawn), a fascinating trip through the canals on a long tail boat (very low to the water). This city is sometimes referred to as “the Venice of the East.” Walking through streets lined with market stalls selling fruits & vegetables, fans, parasols, Buddhas of all shapes and sizes, masks, carvings, smelly dried squid and fish of every shape and size, and of course t-shirts, we really got a taste of Bangkok. (Except for the t-shirts which are of course in every town and city, large and small, all over the world) Lunch was literally “on the street” where a long table and stools were set up between two large parked trucks with cars and motorcycles moving past us. The cook had his “stove” set up on the sidewalk and he made a show of preparing his two specialities - either a rice dish or a noodle dish - in a wok over an open flame. Very picturesque and a good lunch. Served with a local beer.
We made a very vigorous walk up many steps to another temple on a high hill where we saw locals and monks praying to budda in various representative poses. We also visited the huge gold reclining Buddha whose feet were over fifteen feet tall.
The Marble Temple was perhaps, as Martha commented, “one temple too many” as everyone by then was very hot and tired. The humidity here is oppressive and we look forward to heading to cooler weather after our next stop in Malaysia.
Our last stop for the day was an air conditioned shopping center (quite modern) where we enjoyed an iced mocha frappe at Starbuck’s (yes, they’re everywhere) and saw familiar stores such as Izod, Nautica, Nike, Louis Vitton, Coach, as well as KFC, Annie’s pretzels, Dunkin’ Donut and Baskin Robbins ice cream. We could have been anywhere in this very small world.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Indonesia
Jakarta and Ciwandan
Photos:
Before we even saw the hazy outline of the city skyline of Jakarta, we could see it was a thriving metropolis and a busy port. The Captain was called to the bridge as we approached to help weave our way through the maze of ships and boats of every size and description. It’s the most traffic we’d seen coming into a port. As usual, we waited for our pilot boat to arrive and were finally secured to the dock by 11:00. The passengers were called to the ship’s office so that the customs officials could clear us in personally. The Captain explained that we would need a visa and it was expensive (turns out it was $20 U.S.) and it would take some time. He discouraged us from going ashore because we would need to be back aboard by 8PM for a 10PM departure. We were disappointed and expressed our desire to see Jakarta. The officials said “It’s a big holiday (end of Ramadan) and banks were closed so we wouldn’t be able to get any money. When I asked, the admitted that of course we could use an ATM. I somewhat jokingly said “Oh well, we really wanted to see your beautiful country and we were going to spend a lot of money, but if it’s not possible . . .” They then said that yes it would be possible but we would not be able to take our passports - they would beheld at the Immigration Office. I was not comfortable with that, but they issued each of us a pass, showing that we were cleared and have visas, so off we went with a driver who would show us the highlights of the area in eight hours or less.
Very hot and humid. Old van that was hot-wired, switched to new van with plastic on seats but air conditioning. Lots of money palmed at every gate and stop. Miniature Village, Old Port (private tour and boarding ship) terrible conditions, gangplank that also serves as life raft, pay is equivalent to $100 U.S. per month. , lunch at fish market, artist market. (Bought painting) Good tour guide and driver Back in plenty of time.
Received packaged from mail forwarding service via Fed Exp. Great to get personal mail, especially from grandsons, Taylor and Zach, friends China & Cliff and even an invitation for an SIA (Society of International Affairs) cocktail party in Washington. Unfortunately, it’s in November and we’ll be in Xingang, China at that time. Martha’s friend Chuck sent magazines, newspapers (from Skagway,Alaska) and some DVDs of one of her favorite TV shows. That’s a real treat since most of the videos aboard are Chinese copies and often stop playing halfway through, which is a real bummer.
Sometime after midnight, we left for Cewandan, Indonesia. By the time we cleared in with Customs and Immigration in Cewandan, it was 5 PM and we were scheduled to leave at midnight. The Captain and Barbara took a taxi to go swimming at the beach but we elected to stay aboard. We learned later that evening that it was a rocky beach so they didn’t go in the water but there was a swimming pool at the beach so they had a swim there.
We were slightly late in departing Jakarta which meant we were late arriving in Cewandan which meant we had to wait five hours for our pilot and also for a place at the small port. We finally were secured at our berth for the night around 3 PM and about 5:00 we were told we could go ashore if we wanted but that we would be departing at midnight. We were really out in the boondocks at this port and though we could have taken a taxi to a nearby beach, having such a full day the day before, we opted out. There were young guys on the dock who waved to us as we stood on the pilot deck looking down at the beehive of activity of on and offloading of cargo. They were selling all sorts of local craft items - carved statues,masks, t-shirts, etc. but we didn’t go down to buy anything. I did hold up some of my handpainted scarves but they didn’t offer to buy any. We learned later that the Captain and Barbara went and it was a rocky beach but had a swimming pool which they went in. Sounds like we didn’t miss anything.
Photos:
Before we even saw the hazy outline of the city skyline of Jakarta, we could see it was a thriving metropolis and a busy port. The Captain was called to the bridge as we approached to help weave our way through the maze of ships and boats of every size and description. It’s the most traffic we’d seen coming into a port. As usual, we waited for our pilot boat to arrive and were finally secured to the dock by 11:00. The passengers were called to the ship’s office so that the customs officials could clear us in personally. The Captain explained that we would need a visa and it was expensive (turns out it was $20 U.S.) and it would take some time. He discouraged us from going ashore because we would need to be back aboard by 8PM for a 10PM departure. We were disappointed and expressed our desire to see Jakarta. The officials said “It’s a big holiday (end of Ramadan) and banks were closed so we wouldn’t be able to get any money. When I asked, the admitted that of course we could use an ATM. I somewhat jokingly said “Oh well, we really wanted to see your beautiful country and we were going to spend a lot of money, but if it’s not possible . . .” They then said that yes it would be possible but we would not be able to take our passports - they would beheld at the Immigration Office. I was not comfortable with that, but they issued each of us a pass, showing that we were cleared and have visas, so off we went with a driver who would show us the highlights of the area in eight hours or less.
Very hot and humid. Old van that was hot-wired, switched to new van with plastic on seats but air conditioning. Lots of money palmed at every gate and stop. Miniature Village, Old Port (private tour and boarding ship) terrible conditions, gangplank that also serves as life raft, pay is equivalent to $100 U.S. per month. , lunch at fish market, artist market. (Bought painting) Good tour guide and driver Back in plenty of time.
Received packaged from mail forwarding service via Fed Exp. Great to get personal mail, especially from grandsons, Taylor and Zach, friends China & Cliff and even an invitation for an SIA (Society of International Affairs) cocktail party in Washington. Unfortunately, it’s in November and we’ll be in Xingang, China at that time. Martha’s friend Chuck sent magazines, newspapers (from Skagway,Alaska) and some DVDs of one of her favorite TV shows. That’s a real treat since most of the videos aboard are Chinese copies and often stop playing halfway through, which is a real bummer.
Sometime after midnight, we left for Cewandan, Indonesia. By the time we cleared in with Customs and Immigration in Cewandan, it was 5 PM and we were scheduled to leave at midnight. The Captain and Barbara took a taxi to go swimming at the beach but we elected to stay aboard. We learned later that evening that it was a rocky beach so they didn’t go in the water but there was a swimming pool at the beach so they had a swim there.
We were slightly late in departing Jakarta which meant we were late arriving in Cewandan which meant we had to wait five hours for our pilot and also for a place at the small port. We finally were secured at our berth for the night around 3 PM and about 5:00 we were told we could go ashore if we wanted but that we would be departing at midnight. We were really out in the boondocks at this port and though we could have taken a taxi to a nearby beach, having such a full day the day before, we opted out. There were young guys on the dock who waved to us as we stood on the pilot deck looking down at the beehive of activity of on and offloading of cargo. They were selling all sorts of local craft items - carved statues,masks, t-shirts, etc. but we didn’t go down to buy anything. I did hold up some of my handpainted scarves but they didn’t offer to buy any. We learned later that the Captain and Barbara went and it was a rocky beach but had a swimming pool which they went in. Sounds like we didn’t miss anything.
Singapore
Singapore
Photos: Port of Singapore Lucky Plaza Hindu Temple (outside and inside) Raffles Hotel Long Bar Boats on river Cable Car to Sentosa Island Merlion Cityscape Siloso Beach
After seventeen days at sea, we were pretty excited to see land - Sumatra on our starboard side and finally Singapore to port.
We were thankful to have made it through the Malacca Straits without incident. From a newspaper we picked up at the Seafarer’s Club in Singapore, we learned of some recent incidents with other vessels. A barge carrying steel from Penang to Indonesia was boarded by 10 pirates who destroyed all communication equipment onboard before taking the master (captain) and chief engineer ashore. The pirates then contacted the ship’s owners to demand a ransom and negotiated for their release. Other incidents included ships being robbed in Indonesian waters (a chemical tanker), in the Democratic Republic of Congo pirates robbed a refrigerated cargo ship, in the waters near Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, five robbers stole ships stores from a container ship and in India robbers boarded a container ship at anchor but were scared off when an alarm was sounded. So, I guess the days of the pirates on the high seas are not in the distant past after all.
Sunday: Arriving at 7 am, we were anxious to spend our first day ashore seeing some of this beautiful city. Unfortunately, by the time the ship cleared Customs and Immigration, and our passports were returned to us, it was 11:00 and almost noon before we were able to get a taxi. So, we made the most of our time and headed for the famous shopping district of Orchard Street. Ngee Ann (pronounced “neon”) high rise shopping mall, where we were able to find all of the essentials on our shopping list. We also visited, Lucky Plaza (the old high rise mall) in hopes of finding an astrology software program to help us enjoy the night sky, but with the hundreds of shops there we had no luck, though Martha was able to find the short-wive, world-band radio she wanted in order to tune into BBC while we’re aboard. We also had fun shopping for Martha’s outfit for a wedding she’ll be attending in December in India. We then found another shopping center where I was able to get my prescription for antibiotics filled (in the unlikely event I have another bout of diverticulitus) and two new print cartridges. Finally, we had earned a lunch break and enjoyed some very interesting, and good, Korean cuisine. Next stop was an internet café which was so small and crowded it was hard to stay long enough to check our email. We enjoyed a walk along Orchard Street taking in the sights and before heading back, stopped into a British Pub (who would have thought?) for a pint and some fish and chips. Actually, people here do seem quite British, at least in one way. They queue for everything. The queue for a taxi is sometimes half a block long but there’s no choice except to just get in line and it moves surprisingly quickly. The cabs arrive one after another but we soon learned that not all cabs will take you - they first ask where you’re going and depending on your answer, they ask the next person. It seems to be a good system but took a little getting used to.
Monday morning we got an earlier start and spent a very full day in Singapore. Though it rained off and on (sometimes a real downpour) all day, we enjoyed a small art gallery, some other nice shops and then ducked into the old Raffles Hotel and had an original Singapore Sling at the famous Long Bar. Raffles is no longer just a hotel - they now have a museum tracing the history of the hotel back to the early 30s, jewelry stores, antique shops, a bakery, several restaurants and bars of course, and a huge ballroom for everything from special art exhibits to ballet and symphony orchestra concerts. We learned that a suite at Raffles is now $6,000 per night. Even in Singapore dollars ($1.50 s.d. to $1.00 USD), that’s a lot of money. The river walk was delightful, even with a slight drizzle and we loved watching the many boats, some acting as ferries and others as tour boats and ended at an outdoor café for lunch. We walked the seven blocks to China Town and entered the Mariamman Hindu Temple during some type of special service - with musicians and lots of bell ringing. The firewalker ceremony was scheduled for the following week and we were sorry to have to miss that. Walking along the little alley ways that make up the old part of China Town was fascinating and we made a few small purchases - my favorite being a stamp with my name in Chinese characters carved while I waited (on top is a small figure for the year of the goat, when I was born).
Tuesday we had one more full day for sightseeing. We took a taxi to Faber Hill and cable car to Sentano Island. There is a huge (about the size of the statue of liberty) sculpture of a Merlion (half Man and half lion) that was created to remember the folklore of one of the early discoverers of Singapore who claimed to see such a creature - hence the name Singapore (port of lions) though there are no lions here. We learned much about the history and culture from the Images of Singapore museum and particularly liked the rooms replicating the many festivals held here. We walked and stopped at several restaurants which, unfortunately, were all closed (it was mid afternoon) but finally had a nice lunch in a resort hotel overlooking Sentosa Beach, where we later had a little walk and dipped our toes in the Indian Ocean. We later took a monorail back from the island to mainland and taxi back to ship. We were back aboard for a light dinner in our own little dining room.
Wednesday: Surprisingly another day here in Singapore since the on and off-loading took longer than expected. We felt we’d seen the highlights of Singapore so enjoyed a quiet day aboard (very calm for painting while the ship is not moving) and visited the Seaferer’s club to post another blog and check email. Unfortunately the club was closed (probably because our ship was not scheduled to be in port) so Martha and I sat on the steps (wish I had a photo of that) of this very rustic warehouse, where we could access WiFi, and communicated with friends far and wide.
We were very pleased to receive a package of mail from our mail forwarding service, which contained news from family and friends: Martha’s big news was from her parents in Philadelphia who told her about the recent announcement of a Nobel Prize winner from Martha’s small community where she grew up in Pennsylvania. Mario Capecchi was born in Italy during World War II. When just four years old, his mother was taken by the Gestapo to Dachau, and before she left she put him in care of friends who lived in the country. Something happened to them and he was on his own on the streets for the next 4 or 5 years. After she was released his mother found him again when we has nine years old and they went to Pennsylvania to live with her brother and his wife who saw that he went to school and studied and later went to University. He’s now seventy years old and it was anticipated that he would eventually get recognition for the work he has done in genetically engineering mice to develop human-type diseases as part of the on-going efforts of medical scientists to find cures. Of course, in addition, we learned of the prize for peace being awarded to Al Gore and of the one shared by three other Americans.
Martha also received some Time magazines and Skagway newspapers from her friend Chuck. We all enjoyed the newspapers and laughed at the big news from Skagway: Headlines in one paper read “A Porcupine Walks Into a Bar,” which is a true story of just what happened about 2 AM and it took three customers and a police officer to get him out. One man received several quills in his leg. Another article was “A woman reported that her 86-year old husband was missing. She was shopping and he didn’t want to shop. She left him sitting on a bench on Broadway while she shopped. When she returned he was gone. He was located on the bench in front of AB Hall where he had been sitting for 2 hours or more. His wife was mistaken about the location of the bench where she had left him.” Sure glad we didn’t miss all this big news from Alaska.
We learned from our friend Richard (via email) of the passing of Doug’s former racing skipper, and good friend, Tom McCune. Doug speaks of him often and of the grand adventures they shared racing offshore out of Florida, during the years Doug lived in Florida and worked in the Honeywell Clearwater office. In fact, Doug had recently written a story about a race he and Tom did together and we sent it with a note to Tom’s widow, Teddi.
Crossing the Equator was an uneventful event aboard the ship. We didn’t observe King Neptune rising out of the sea to board our ship (but maybe that’s why we were on pirate watch alert last night) and there was no celebration marking the occasion. We did “retard our clocks” one hour but advanced an hour the next day. It’s strange to watch the clock in our room slowly advance or retard when the times change and all the clocks, starting at 10 PM slowly speed up until we’re on the new time by midnight.
Photos: Port of Singapore Lucky Plaza Hindu Temple (outside and inside) Raffles Hotel Long Bar Boats on river Cable Car to Sentosa Island Merlion Cityscape Siloso Beach
After seventeen days at sea, we were pretty excited to see land - Sumatra on our starboard side and finally Singapore to port.
We were thankful to have made it through the Malacca Straits without incident. From a newspaper we picked up at the Seafarer’s Club in Singapore, we learned of some recent incidents with other vessels. A barge carrying steel from Penang to Indonesia was boarded by 10 pirates who destroyed all communication equipment onboard before taking the master (captain) and chief engineer ashore. The pirates then contacted the ship’s owners to demand a ransom and negotiated for their release. Other incidents included ships being robbed in Indonesian waters (a chemical tanker), in the Democratic Republic of Congo pirates robbed a refrigerated cargo ship, in the waters near Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, five robbers stole ships stores from a container ship and in India robbers boarded a container ship at anchor but were scared off when an alarm was sounded. So, I guess the days of the pirates on the high seas are not in the distant past after all.
Sunday: Arriving at 7 am, we were anxious to spend our first day ashore seeing some of this beautiful city. Unfortunately, by the time the ship cleared Customs and Immigration, and our passports were returned to us, it was 11:00 and almost noon before we were able to get a taxi. So, we made the most of our time and headed for the famous shopping district of Orchard Street. Ngee Ann (pronounced “neon”) high rise shopping mall, where we were able to find all of the essentials on our shopping list. We also visited, Lucky Plaza (the old high rise mall) in hopes of finding an astrology software program to help us enjoy the night sky, but with the hundreds of shops there we had no luck, though Martha was able to find the short-wive, world-band radio she wanted in order to tune into BBC while we’re aboard. We also had fun shopping for Martha’s outfit for a wedding she’ll be attending in December in India. We then found another shopping center where I was able to get my prescription for antibiotics filled (in the unlikely event I have another bout of diverticulitus) and two new print cartridges. Finally, we had earned a lunch break and enjoyed some very interesting, and good, Korean cuisine. Next stop was an internet café which was so small and crowded it was hard to stay long enough to check our email. We enjoyed a walk along Orchard Street taking in the sights and before heading back, stopped into a British Pub (who would have thought?) for a pint and some fish and chips. Actually, people here do seem quite British, at least in one way. They queue for everything. The queue for a taxi is sometimes half a block long but there’s no choice except to just get in line and it moves surprisingly quickly. The cabs arrive one after another but we soon learned that not all cabs will take you - they first ask where you’re going and depending on your answer, they ask the next person. It seems to be a good system but took a little getting used to.
Monday morning we got an earlier start and spent a very full day in Singapore. Though it rained off and on (sometimes a real downpour) all day, we enjoyed a small art gallery, some other nice shops and then ducked into the old Raffles Hotel and had an original Singapore Sling at the famous Long Bar. Raffles is no longer just a hotel - they now have a museum tracing the history of the hotel back to the early 30s, jewelry stores, antique shops, a bakery, several restaurants and bars of course, and a huge ballroom for everything from special art exhibits to ballet and symphony orchestra concerts. We learned that a suite at Raffles is now $6,000 per night. Even in Singapore dollars ($1.50 s.d. to $1.00 USD), that’s a lot of money. The river walk was delightful, even with a slight drizzle and we loved watching the many boats, some acting as ferries and others as tour boats and ended at an outdoor café for lunch. We walked the seven blocks to China Town and entered the Mariamman Hindu Temple during some type of special service - with musicians and lots of bell ringing. The firewalker ceremony was scheduled for the following week and we were sorry to have to miss that. Walking along the little alley ways that make up the old part of China Town was fascinating and we made a few small purchases - my favorite being a stamp with my name in Chinese characters carved while I waited (on top is a small figure for the year of the goat, when I was born).
Tuesday we had one more full day for sightseeing. We took a taxi to Faber Hill and cable car to Sentano Island. There is a huge (about the size of the statue of liberty) sculpture of a Merlion (half Man and half lion) that was created to remember the folklore of one of the early discoverers of Singapore who claimed to see such a creature - hence the name Singapore (port of lions) though there are no lions here. We learned much about the history and culture from the Images of Singapore museum and particularly liked the rooms replicating the many festivals held here. We walked and stopped at several restaurants which, unfortunately, were all closed (it was mid afternoon) but finally had a nice lunch in a resort hotel overlooking Sentosa Beach, where we later had a little walk and dipped our toes in the Indian Ocean. We later took a monorail back from the island to mainland and taxi back to ship. We were back aboard for a light dinner in our own little dining room.
Wednesday: Surprisingly another day here in Singapore since the on and off-loading took longer than expected. We felt we’d seen the highlights of Singapore so enjoyed a quiet day aboard (very calm for painting while the ship is not moving) and visited the Seaferer’s club to post another blog and check email. Unfortunately the club was closed (probably because our ship was not scheduled to be in port) so Martha and I sat on the steps (wish I had a photo of that) of this very rustic warehouse, where we could access WiFi, and communicated with friends far and wide.
We were very pleased to receive a package of mail from our mail forwarding service, which contained news from family and friends: Martha’s big news was from her parents in Philadelphia who told her about the recent announcement of a Nobel Prize winner from Martha’s small community where she grew up in Pennsylvania. Mario Capecchi was born in Italy during World War II. When just four years old, his mother was taken by the Gestapo to Dachau, and before she left she put him in care of friends who lived in the country. Something happened to them and he was on his own on the streets for the next 4 or 5 years. After she was released his mother found him again when we has nine years old and they went to Pennsylvania to live with her brother and his wife who saw that he went to school and studied and later went to University. He’s now seventy years old and it was anticipated that he would eventually get recognition for the work he has done in genetically engineering mice to develop human-type diseases as part of the on-going efforts of medical scientists to find cures. Of course, in addition, we learned of the prize for peace being awarded to Al Gore and of the one shared by three other Americans.
Martha also received some Time magazines and Skagway newspapers from her friend Chuck. We all enjoyed the newspapers and laughed at the big news from Skagway: Headlines in one paper read “A Porcupine Walks Into a Bar,” which is a true story of just what happened about 2 AM and it took three customers and a police officer to get him out. One man received several quills in his leg. Another article was “A woman reported that her 86-year old husband was missing. She was shopping and he didn’t want to shop. She left him sitting on a bench on Broadway while she shopped. When she returned he was gone. He was located on the bench in front of AB Hall where he had been sitting for 2 hours or more. His wife was mistaken about the location of the bench where she had left him.” Sure glad we didn’t miss all this big news from Alaska.
We learned from our friend Richard (via email) of the passing of Doug’s former racing skipper, and good friend, Tom McCune. Doug speaks of him often and of the grand adventures they shared racing offshore out of Florida, during the years Doug lived in Florida and worked in the Honeywell Clearwater office. In fact, Doug had recently written a story about a race he and Tom did together and we sent it with a note to Tom’s widow, Teddi.
Crossing the Equator was an uneventful event aboard the ship. We didn’t observe King Neptune rising out of the sea to board our ship (but maybe that’s why we were on pirate watch alert last night) and there was no celebration marking the occasion. We did “retard our clocks” one hour but advanced an hour the next day. It’s strange to watch the clock in our room slowly advance or retard when the times change and all the clocks, starting at 10 PM slowly speed up until we’re on the new time by midnight.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Crossing the Indian Ocean
Crossing the Indian Ocean
1. Barbecue in Gulf of Aden, 2. Rafting in the Red Sea, 3. Cargo on deck, 4 and 5. Emergency drill, UNABLE TO POST PHOTOS. WILL POST LATER.
The following are Doug’s reflections while sailing in the Indian Ocean.
At the completion of the Canal, our pilots departed ship at 2200 and we began our three day sail down the Red Sea, a not totally interesting passage that has given rise to the composition of the Red Sea Blues and a comparison to driving across the Great Plains of North America. During this period, I reflected on the condition of the ship as I walked a daily mile or so on the main deck, fo’c’sle and poop deck and I couldn’t help but compare it to my Navy days. We no sooner had our heads shaved in boot camp when we began to be disciplined for “gear adrift”, i.e. anything not stowed properly and “Irish pennants”, loose lines or something frayed. This was not just petty discipline but meaningful training as items not properly stowed or maintained on a ship at sea can be dangerous. This apparently is not part of the training for merchant seaman as I see many items improperly stowed as well as just casual carelessness with hoisting harnesses, clothing articles, packaging from drinks or food and other items loose on deck as well as unmade lines.
While the deck discipline may not be as tight as a Navy vessel, the engine room and bridge are very professionally manned. The ship’s officers have all completed a four year university education and are very knowledgeable and responsible. I visit the bridge at least once a day to check our position and notice, in addition to conning the ship, training is also being conducted by the officers for the lower ratings. Using sun lines to correct the compass, reducing celestial sights, updating the paper chart every hour with present position and correcting charts with Notice to Mariners are daily activities. The engine spaces are immaculate, as they should be and proper watches and logs are maintained. To the credit of the deck crew, they are working constantly at sea to maintain the ship with chipping and painting and, in port, work long hours in loading and unloading cargo. With the current Master, emergency drills are conducted once each week involving both crew and passengers.
Cruising out of the Gulf of Aden, across the Arabian Sea and then the Indian Ocean past the Maldives Islands and Sri Lanka, I am amazed at the amount of traffic. On the pilot deck for an early morning walk, I count 12 ships in view! We are seldom anywhere without a ship on the radar screen if not in view of the eye. Especially as we passed fairly close to Sri Lanka and for hours were surrounded by hundreds of small fishing boats. Reflecting back on our sailboat cruising days, I recall that one of the major deterrents for me to complete a circumnavigation was the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, which I expected to be very lonely. Of course, this route is not as expansive as our route across the Pacific Ocean but that was interrupted by many pleasant island stops. I now realize that stops in Sri Lanka, India and Oman between Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and Suez would likewise have broken up the long passage, although my prior experiences in India and Arab countries still make me think they would not have been as enjoyable as Polynesia.
Back to me:
At lunch one day, Gani was grinning from ear to ear and couldn’t wait to tell us that he’d just learned that he, and the rest of the crew members, would be going home on November 17th, when we get to Shanghai. It turns out they never know exactly how long they’ll be aboard when they’re assigned to a particular ship. They sign a nine-month contract to work and are sent out for any where from three months to nine months. This crew had been aboard since July, so mid November would be four months and they were all hoping they would be home for Christmas. After they’re home for a month, they can get reassigned to another ship but if they aren’t assigned after a month, they get paid anyway until they are assigned. Of course we’re happy for them being able to be with their families, but we’ve come to know and love each of them - especially Jonhi our great cook, and Gani who takes such good care of us. The following week, we learned that the Captain (and wife) plus all of the officers are also leaving in mid-November from Shanghai. It seems the company that hires the ship’s crew and officers is changing from Columbia to Global. They have assured us that nothing will change for the passengers but of course it will. We’ll have to get to know another new group (I sure hope they’re as much fun and like to sing and dance). We’ve decided we’ll just take over running the ship after Shanghai.
We’ve also received an updated schedule (subject to change of course) for the rest of the cruise. Two more stops have been added - San Diego and Costa Rica. Doug and I are particularly excited about stopping in San Diego even though it will be just one day, we hope to see some of our friends there.
10/14 Arrive Singapore. 10/16 Depart Singapore
10/17 Arrive Jakarta, Indonesia. 10/19 Depart Jakarta
10/19 Arrive Ciwandan, Indonesia. 10/21 Depart Ciwandan
10/23 Arrive Laem Chabang, Thailand. 10/25 Depart Laem Chabang
10/27 Arrive Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. 10/28 Depart Ho Chi Minh City
10/30 Arrive Labuan, Malaysia. 11/1 Depart Labuan
11/6 Arrive Dalian, China 11/8 Depart Dalian, China
11/8 Arrive Xingang, China 11/12 Depart Xingang
11/14 Arrive Shanghai, China 11/17 Depart Shanghai
11/17 Arrive Qingdao, China 11/ 21Depart Qingdao
11/22 Arrive Masan, Korea 11/24 Depart Masan
11/25 Arrive Kobe, Japan 11/27 Depart Kobe
11/28 Arrive Yokohama, Japan 11/29 Depart Yokohama
12/10 Arrive San Diego, CA 12/11 Depart San Diego
12/19 Arrive Puerto Moin, Costa Rica 12/19 Depart Puerto Moin
12/23 Arrive Houston
We continue to have an emergency drill each Saturday afternoon at 1600. So far we’ve been instructed, and the crew has demonstrated, what to do in case of: a fire aboard the ship, a fire in the engine room, a collision at sea, the need to abandon ship in the life rafts and in the large life boat, an explosion in the cargo section, a fire in the engine room, and a breach of security (unauthorized person aboard or terrorist threat). While going through the Andaman Sea and the Straits of Malacca, the captain ordered a “pirate watch” which means we had crew stationed all around the perimeter of the ship, all during the night. A ship such as ours is not as likely to be boarded by pirates as a tanker would be since the fuel they carry is very valuable. We sleep better at night knowing they are so safety and security conscious.
1. Barbecue in Gulf of Aden, 2. Rafting in the Red Sea, 3. Cargo on deck, 4 and 5. Emergency drill, UNABLE TO POST PHOTOS. WILL POST LATER.
The following are Doug’s reflections while sailing in the Indian Ocean.
At the completion of the Canal, our pilots departed ship at 2200 and we began our three day sail down the Red Sea, a not totally interesting passage that has given rise to the composition of the Red Sea Blues and a comparison to driving across the Great Plains of North America. During this period, I reflected on the condition of the ship as I walked a daily mile or so on the main deck, fo’c’sle and poop deck and I couldn’t help but compare it to my Navy days. We no sooner had our heads shaved in boot camp when we began to be disciplined for “gear adrift”, i.e. anything not stowed properly and “Irish pennants”, loose lines or something frayed. This was not just petty discipline but meaningful training as items not properly stowed or maintained on a ship at sea can be dangerous. This apparently is not part of the training for merchant seaman as I see many items improperly stowed as well as just casual carelessness with hoisting harnesses, clothing articles, packaging from drinks or food and other items loose on deck as well as unmade lines.
While the deck discipline may not be as tight as a Navy vessel, the engine room and bridge are very professionally manned. The ship’s officers have all completed a four year university education and are very knowledgeable and responsible. I visit the bridge at least once a day to check our position and notice, in addition to conning the ship, training is also being conducted by the officers for the lower ratings. Using sun lines to correct the compass, reducing celestial sights, updating the paper chart every hour with present position and correcting charts with Notice to Mariners are daily activities. The engine spaces are immaculate, as they should be and proper watches and logs are maintained. To the credit of the deck crew, they are working constantly at sea to maintain the ship with chipping and painting and, in port, work long hours in loading and unloading cargo. With the current Master, emergency drills are conducted once each week involving both crew and passengers.
Cruising out of the Gulf of Aden, across the Arabian Sea and then the Indian Ocean past the Maldives Islands and Sri Lanka, I am amazed at the amount of traffic. On the pilot deck for an early morning walk, I count 12 ships in view! We are seldom anywhere without a ship on the radar screen if not in view of the eye. Especially as we passed fairly close to Sri Lanka and for hours were surrounded by hundreds of small fishing boats. Reflecting back on our sailboat cruising days, I recall that one of the major deterrents for me to complete a circumnavigation was the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, which I expected to be very lonely. Of course, this route is not as expansive as our route across the Pacific Ocean but that was interrupted by many pleasant island stops. I now realize that stops in Sri Lanka, India and Oman between Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and Suez would likewise have broken up the long passage, although my prior experiences in India and Arab countries still make me think they would not have been as enjoyable as Polynesia.
Back to me:
At lunch one day, Gani was grinning from ear to ear and couldn’t wait to tell us that he’d just learned that he, and the rest of the crew members, would be going home on November 17th, when we get to Shanghai. It turns out they never know exactly how long they’ll be aboard when they’re assigned to a particular ship. They sign a nine-month contract to work and are sent out for any where from three months to nine months. This crew had been aboard since July, so mid November would be four months and they were all hoping they would be home for Christmas. After they’re home for a month, they can get reassigned to another ship but if they aren’t assigned after a month, they get paid anyway until they are assigned. Of course we’re happy for them being able to be with their families, but we’ve come to know and love each of them - especially Jonhi our great cook, and Gani who takes such good care of us. The following week, we learned that the Captain (and wife) plus all of the officers are also leaving in mid-November from Shanghai. It seems the company that hires the ship’s crew and officers is changing from Columbia to Global. They have assured us that nothing will change for the passengers but of course it will. We’ll have to get to know another new group (I sure hope they’re as much fun and like to sing and dance). We’ve decided we’ll just take over running the ship after Shanghai.
We’ve also received an updated schedule (subject to change of course) for the rest of the cruise. Two more stops have been added - San Diego and Costa Rica. Doug and I are particularly excited about stopping in San Diego even though it will be just one day, we hope to see some of our friends there.
10/14 Arrive Singapore. 10/16 Depart Singapore
10/17 Arrive Jakarta, Indonesia. 10/19 Depart Jakarta
10/19 Arrive Ciwandan, Indonesia. 10/21 Depart Ciwandan
10/23 Arrive Laem Chabang, Thailand. 10/25 Depart Laem Chabang
10/27 Arrive Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. 10/28 Depart Ho Chi Minh City
10/30 Arrive Labuan, Malaysia. 11/1 Depart Labuan
11/6 Arrive Dalian, China 11/8 Depart Dalian, China
11/8 Arrive Xingang, China 11/12 Depart Xingang
11/14 Arrive Shanghai, China 11/17 Depart Shanghai
11/17 Arrive Qingdao, China 11/ 21Depart Qingdao
11/22 Arrive Masan, Korea 11/24 Depart Masan
11/25 Arrive Kobe, Japan 11/27 Depart Kobe
11/28 Arrive Yokohama, Japan 11/29 Depart Yokohama
12/10 Arrive San Diego, CA 12/11 Depart San Diego
12/19 Arrive Puerto Moin, Costa Rica 12/19 Depart Puerto Moin
12/23 Arrive Houston
We continue to have an emergency drill each Saturday afternoon at 1600. So far we’ve been instructed, and the crew has demonstrated, what to do in case of: a fire aboard the ship, a fire in the engine room, a collision at sea, the need to abandon ship in the life rafts and in the large life boat, an explosion in the cargo section, a fire in the engine room, and a breach of security (unauthorized person aboard or terrorist threat). While going through the Andaman Sea and the Straits of Malacca, the captain ordered a “pirate watch” which means we had crew stationed all around the perimeter of the ship, all during the night. A ship such as ours is not as likely to be boarded by pirates as a tanker would be since the fuel they carry is very valuable. We sleep better at night knowing they are so safety and security conscious.
Med and Suez Canal
Photos: 1. Stromboli, 2. Suez Canal, 3 Great Bitter Lake,
4. Painting the ship while at sea
Mediterranean Sea and Suez Canal
Leaving Genova (9/28/07), we steamed down the Italian coast passing close by the active island volcano of Stromboli, which was spectacular at sunrise, and entered the Straits off Messina between Italy and Sicily. After passing through the Straits, we passed by the active volcano of Mt. Etna on the coast of Sicily. Setting a course of east southeast, we later made our way down the southern shores of Crete and continued toward Port Said, Egypt. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be stopping at any of these exotic ports in this part of the world. Our next stop, after a 15-day passage, would be Singapore.
Cruising the Mediterranean brought back old memories for Doug of his time operating with the Sixth Fleet, when he was in the Navy in the early 1950s during the Korean and Cold Wars. The best memories were of the many interesting liberty ports but, being in these waters, he also recalled the harassment of Soviet “trawlers” and other foreign ships and the occasional aircraft, while they conducted flight operations. He says there were a lot of “dodgem car” games going on as they also tracked Soviet submarines departing the Black Sea and the Dardanelles.
We arrived at Port Said considerably behind schedule and missed our prior appointment of meeting our pilot at 0700 on 1 October. We finally picked up two pilots at 1800 and moored to buoys at 2200. There was a moment of unrest when the emergency alarm was sounded because of the several local Egyptians who boarded at the same time as the pilots. Doug, Martha and I were in the midst of watching a movie and, since we’d never heard the five-short-blast alarm before, were not quite sure what to do. We went out on the stern deck and looked down at the muster station (where we go for an emergency drill) but there was no one gathered there and all lights were out. Then we quickly went up to the bridge where we found only the Captain and one of the Egyptian pilots. The captain was looking very serious like he didn’t want to be disturbed so we waited and finally the third officer came up and told us what had happened.. Doors to the superstructure were secured and the “pirates” were bought off with a few cases of Marlboros. We went back to our cabin, locked our door and finished watching the movie.
Passage through the Suez Canal (often called the “crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia”) consists of two southbound convoys and one northbound convoy each day. We departed early in the morning and reached the Great Bitter Lake by mid morning, where we anchored up with many other ships awaiting the passage of the northbound convoy. Anchored up with us was the USS Wasp, an LHA which carries an amphibious force of 1900 US Marines, landing craft, helicopters and Harrier jets. They were scheduled the first to leave for the continuation of our southbound passage and we were thinking they would probably just as soon be last as they are no doubt headed for the Persian Gulf and Iraq.
We finally departed the southern end of the Suez about 2200, dropped off our pilots and cranked up to our usual cruising speed of 18-19 knots to proceed down the Red Sea passing Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia on our starboard hand and the Sinai Peninsula, Saudi Arabia and Yemen to port.
For those interested in a little history of this famous canal, please read on:
The idea of linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea dates back to ancient times. Unlike the modern Canal, earlier canals linked the Red Sea to the Nile, which forced ships to sail along the River on their journey from Europe to India. The Red Sea Canal consisted of two parts: the first linking the Gulf of Suez to the Great Bitter Lake, and the second connecting the Lake to one of the Nile branches in the Delta. The canal eventually fell into disrepair and was re-dug during the Roman Empire but was later abandoned upon the discovery of the trade route around Africa. In the mid 1800s the Suez Canal was designed by French engineers and built by Egyptian workers. The completion of the Canal was cause for considerable celebration. In Port Said, the extravaganza began with fireworks and a ball attended by six thousand people, including many heads of state, including Princes, Princesses, Emperors and Kings. The parties continued for weeks and also included the grand opening of Ismail’s Opera House in Cairo.
The Canal emerged on the political scene in 1956, during the Suez crisis. Egyptian president Nasser, announced the nationalization of the Canal. His decision was in response to British, French and American refusal for a loan aimed at building the Aswan High Dam. The revenue from the Canal would help finance the High Dam project. The announcement triggered a reaction by Great Britain, France and Israel, who all invaded Egypt less than two months later. Their action was condemned by the International community and Nasser claimed victory. In 1967, the Canal was closed at the wake of the Six Day War, when Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula, causing the Canal to act as a buffer zone between the fighting forces. Egypt reclaimed the Canal upon the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, and the Canal was re-opened in 1975. Since then, the Canal, which stretches 167 kms (100 miles) across the Egyptian desert (from Port Said and the Mediterranean Sea to Suez and the Red Sea. And has changed the face of maritime world trade., has been widened twice. Today, about 50 ships transit the canal daily and the cities and beaches along the Bitter Lakes and the Canal serve as a summer resort for tourists. At its narrowest point, it is about 197 feet at the bottom, and is wide enough to allow ships with a draft of 53 feet. The Canal can accommodate ships as large as 150,000 tons fully loaded, but not wide enough to allow two way passage of ships. There are several passing bays where ships may pass - in the Bitter Lakes and between Qantara and Ismailia. There’s also a railway that runs the entire distance of the canal. The Suez has no locks because the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Suez are at the same water level. On a typical day, three convoys transit the canal - two southbound and one northbound. That is why we were given a time to arrive at the entrance and, even still, had to wait to enter. We also had to anchor for several hours in Great Bitter Lake for the Northbound ships to exit before we could continue on. If able to transit the Canal non-stop, it would take 11 to 16 hours at a (required) speed of 8 knots (the entire canal is a no-wake zone).
Life aboard has settled into somewhat of a routine though the relationships with the other passengers and the crew continue to develop. We’re a very harmonious group, each with our individual personalities and idiosyncrasies. An example being when I was recently sick for about four or five days. Of course Doug took good care of me, Martha stopped by and continued to send positive messages my way, Sunhilde said the best thing was to massage my stomach (always a circular motion in the same direction) for twenty minutes each morning, of course Helge didn’t say anything, Barbara practiced English enough to say “How are you feeling?”, Gani served me chicken broth, apple juice and tea; but the Captain was the best. He stopped by and said. “I know you’re not feeling well. We have medicines in the infirmary, I don’t know what they are, but you can check with the First Officer.” I said, well, I’m fairly sure it’s diverticulitis.” He didn’t understand, so I put my hand on my stomach and said, “It’s a stomach problem.” He took a step back, put his hands up and said “Oh, I’m a man, I wouldn’t know anything about that.” I assured him it wasn’t a female problem and he said “Well, then you should just eat rice for a few days.” Later, the Chief Engineer, Marenko, stopped by and told me in his Croatian-accented English that we had a syringe in the infirmary but no one on the ship really knows how to use it and he didn’t know what we would administer with it - perhaps it is to be used as an IV. It doesn’t give you a real comfortable feeling but certainly encourages us all to stay healthy on this cruise. So, I accepted all of the suggestions, took a full five-day prescription of antibiotics (that thankfully my doctor in San Diego had given me) and some fairly strong pain medication and was soon back to normal. I’ll continue to be more careful with my diet for the remainder of the cruise (absolutely no seeds and nuts) and lots of water. The good news is that I’m feeling great. Everyone else seems quite healthy - we’re fortunate that no one has gotten sea sick as we had a really rough couple of days in the Mediterranean.
Italy and the Mediterranean
Photos: 1. Rock of Gibralter 2. Arriving Genova, 3. An Italian dinner, 4 Basketball game SORRY, UNABLE TO POST PHOTOS. WILL DO SO LATER.
ITALY and leaving the Mediterranean
By the time we left Antwerp, on our way to Genova, Italy, we had become better acquainted with our new Captain and his wife. One evening we invited Barbara, the Captain’s wife, to play a game of Farkel (also known as “the dice game”) and, even though she doesn’t speak much English (and we speak no Polish), we were able to explain the game and had a lot of laughs and a good time. The Captain was sleeping so that he could be on watch later. The Chief Engineer, Marenko, said he’d like to play some other evening when he’s not working.
Monday afternoon the alarm was sounded at 4:00 for a safety and fire drill and, as directed, we quickly donned our life vests and helmets and met on the aft deck, A level. The roll was read and all were accounted for. We then were informed of our assigned seats in the life boat and instructed to enter and take a seat. Inside, it’s like a small airplane with an aisle down the center and two seats on each side. There are thirty nine seats (Doug and I are seats 10 and 11) and it’s quite close and claustrophobic. They didn’t actually launch the boat, just wanted us to practice getting in and adjusting and fastening our seatbelts in case of a real emergency. Then the crew sprang into action for a fire drill, including testing the hoses, and putting one supposedly-injured man (the steward, Vincent) on a stretcher and administering CPR and oxygen.
People have asked what we’ll do with all our time on the ship. Well, here’s an example of a perfect day on the ship: Sleeping in, painting, seeing the rock of Gibralter on one side and Morocco on the other, reading a good book, having a nice dinner with stimulating international conversations, watching dolphin leap out of the water keeping up with our ship, a rousing game of basketball (played by some of the crew and Martha), a spectacular sunset, and a movie to entertain us in the evening.
We continued on up the east coast of Spain, passed the French Riviera and arrived in Genova on the 27th. The day before our arrival was quite rough - strong winds and huge waves which threw the ship from side to side - but no one got sick. The Chief Engineer, Marenko, looked a little green and commented several times that he didn’t like this weather, but the rest of us did well.
The morning we were to arrive in Genova, we learned at breakfast that we would be departing the same day - the reason being that we were only offloading and taking on five pieces of cargo. I was really disappointed since I’d hope to spend a day seeing this beautiful city. As it turned out, we didn’t get tied up to the dock until 4:00 PM and were told we would be departing at midnight. To make matters worse, we weren’t given our passports until 6:15, so all we had time to do was call a cab and rush into the city. We went to the old section, which, from what we could see was very charming. We found an internet café where we could enjoy a glass of nice Italian wine, check email and post a blog. We walked to dinner in the pouring rain, just a few blocks away, and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of car horns blaring and people scurrying to catch buses and trains. The restaurant we chose was typical northern Italian and very good. After a little wine and some comfort food of pasta and veal, we were happy that we’d made the effort to see at least a little of Genova.
It turns out we didn’t actually leave until around 6:00 am. I continue to remind myself that on a trip like this, we must be flexible.
This poem about the sea is from the book “Simon’s Family” by the Swedish author, Marianne Fredriksson. The poem is written by Simon, the main character in the book and I thought others might enjoy it.
What does the sea smell of?
Turn your face to the storm
out there, bringing to you all the scents of sea,
filling your nose, your lungs.
Start with sturdy words.
Seaweed. Salt.
There is no answer to the words.
What does the sea smell of?
Try the other words, the harder ones:
Force, freedom, adventure.
They fall to the ground, limit the unlimited.
Ask the question yet again:
What does the sea smell of?
And at last see that the question has no meaning.
When you have stopped asking,
Then perhaps
you can experience the sea.
We’re certainly experiencing the sea - often right in the middle of it on this trip
I’d like to mention some other books we’ve been reading while aboard: Doug has been mainly reading mystery and suspense thrillers (two numerous to mention as he often goes through a book a day) but also enjoyed Chuck Yeager’s autobiography. I’d like to recommend “Plum Wine” by Angela Davis-Garoner (Susan, you would like it), “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult, “The Amateur Marriage” by one of my favorite authors, Anne Tyler, “The Tenth Circle” (very different but great) again by Jodi Picoult (Marietta and Julie, you would enjoy this one), and “The Resistance” by Anita Shreve (Dawn, you would like it), “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion (not a novel and very moving), “Simon’S Family” by Marianne Fredriksson (author of “Hanna’s Daughters”), and “Thirteen Moons” by Charles Frazier (his first book since “Cold Mountain” and it”’s excellent!). I have many more waiting to be read and will report periodically on my favorites.
We’re making our way toward the Suez Canal and looking forward to seeing this historic site, as well as traveling through the Red Sea.
ITALY and leaving the Mediterranean
By the time we left Antwerp, on our way to Genova, Italy, we had become better acquainted with our new Captain and his wife. One evening we invited Barbara, the Captain’s wife, to play a game of Farkel (also known as “the dice game”) and, even though she doesn’t speak much English (and we speak no Polish), we were able to explain the game and had a lot of laughs and a good time. The Captain was sleeping so that he could be on watch later. The Chief Engineer, Marenko, said he’d like to play some other evening when he’s not working.
Monday afternoon the alarm was sounded at 4:00 for a safety and fire drill and, as directed, we quickly donned our life vests and helmets and met on the aft deck, A level. The roll was read and all were accounted for. We then were informed of our assigned seats in the life boat and instructed to enter and take a seat. Inside, it’s like a small airplane with an aisle down the center and two seats on each side. There are thirty nine seats (Doug and I are seats 10 and 11) and it’s quite close and claustrophobic. They didn’t actually launch the boat, just wanted us to practice getting in and adjusting and fastening our seatbelts in case of a real emergency. Then the crew sprang into action for a fire drill, including testing the hoses, and putting one supposedly-injured man (the steward, Vincent) on a stretcher and administering CPR and oxygen.
People have asked what we’ll do with all our time on the ship. Well, here’s an example of a perfect day on the ship: Sleeping in, painting, seeing the rock of Gibralter on one side and Morocco on the other, reading a good book, having a nice dinner with stimulating international conversations, watching dolphin leap out of the water keeping up with our ship, a rousing game of basketball (played by some of the crew and Martha), a spectacular sunset, and a movie to entertain us in the evening.
We continued on up the east coast of Spain, passed the French Riviera and arrived in Genova on the 27th. The day before our arrival was quite rough - strong winds and huge waves which threw the ship from side to side - but no one got sick. The Chief Engineer, Marenko, looked a little green and commented several times that he didn’t like this weather, but the rest of us did well.
The morning we were to arrive in Genova, we learned at breakfast that we would be departing the same day - the reason being that we were only offloading and taking on five pieces of cargo. I was really disappointed since I’d hope to spend a day seeing this beautiful city. As it turned out, we didn’t get tied up to the dock until 4:00 PM and were told we would be departing at midnight. To make matters worse, we weren’t given our passports until 6:15, so all we had time to do was call a cab and rush into the city. We went to the old section, which, from what we could see was very charming. We found an internet café where we could enjoy a glass of nice Italian wine, check email and post a blog. We walked to dinner in the pouring rain, just a few blocks away, and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of car horns blaring and people scurrying to catch buses and trains. The restaurant we chose was typical northern Italian and very good. After a little wine and some comfort food of pasta and veal, we were happy that we’d made the effort to see at least a little of Genova.
It turns out we didn’t actually leave until around 6:00 am. I continue to remind myself that on a trip like this, we must be flexible.
This poem about the sea is from the book “Simon’s Family” by the Swedish author, Marianne Fredriksson. The poem is written by Simon, the main character in the book and I thought others might enjoy it.
What does the sea smell of?
Turn your face to the storm
out there, bringing to you all the scents of sea,
filling your nose, your lungs.
Start with sturdy words.
Seaweed. Salt.
There is no answer to the words.
What does the sea smell of?
Try the other words, the harder ones:
Force, freedom, adventure.
They fall to the ground, limit the unlimited.
Ask the question yet again:
What does the sea smell of?
And at last see that the question has no meaning.
When you have stopped asking,
Then perhaps
you can experience the sea.
We’re certainly experiencing the sea - often right in the middle of it on this trip
I’d like to mention some other books we’ve been reading while aboard: Doug has been mainly reading mystery and suspense thrillers (two numerous to mention as he often goes through a book a day) but also enjoyed Chuck Yeager’s autobiography. I’d like to recommend “Plum Wine” by Angela Davis-Garoner (Susan, you would like it), “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult, “The Amateur Marriage” by one of my favorite authors, Anne Tyler, “The Tenth Circle” (very different but great) again by Jodi Picoult (Marietta and Julie, you would enjoy this one), and “The Resistance” by Anita Shreve (Dawn, you would like it), “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion (not a novel and very moving), “Simon’S Family” by Marianne Fredriksson (author of “Hanna’s Daughters”), and “Thirteen Moons” by Charles Frazier (his first book since “Cold Mountain” and it”’s excellent!). I have many more waiting to be read and will report periodically on my favorites.
We’re making our way toward the Suez Canal and looking forward to seeing this historic site, as well as traveling through the Red Sea.
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