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
Saturday, November 17, 2007
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.
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