March 16 and March 21, 2009
Thailand
Queen Victoria’s calls to Laem Chabang (a port city for access to Bangkok) and Phuket were two days I was greatly looking forward to on the 2009 World Cruise. In the prior months, when discussing the world cruise with guests, I often would talk about how badly I wanted to visit Thailand before even talking about Australia, Japan, or China. Part of this may be rooted in the fact that I love Thai food, but I somehow knew that my days spent in these two wonderful ports would be spectacular.
March 16, 2009
Bangkok (from Laem Chabang), Thailand
Queen Victoria’s call to Laem Chabang meant that a long day was in store for me. The ship was docked here so that tours could operate to Bangkok, which was located about 90 minutes away by coach. While [like always] I chose to do a tour to Bangkok, I changed things up a bit and did the “Bangkok on Your Own” excursion. My girlfriend ended up doing the same excursion so that we could meet up and explore the city by ourselves.
For me, the excitement started around 30 minutes away from the hotel we were meant to go to, as while the coach was on the highway, there was a large audible pop, followed by a clacking sound that repeated every second or so. The driver of our coach pulled over, and sure enough, our left rear tire suffered quite the blowout. I am unsure as to what caused the tire to blow, but there was structural damage to the coach as well. Luckily, the tour operator was able to arrange for another coach to pick us up on the highway about 40 minutes later. Some guests opted to hail taxis on the highway to take them the rest of the way, but I had to stay on board and wait in a bus that luckily had good air conditioning.
Upon my eventual arrival into Bangkok, I found my girlfriend and we set off on our journey to explore what we could in the time we had (only about four and a half hours). We decided that the must-see attraction was the Grand Palace (the formal royal residence) and Wat Phra Kaew, the location of the Emerald Buddha Temple, and getting there was half the fun.
Instead of hailing a taxi or tuk tuk (the tourist’s name for the small tricycle taxis commonly seen in Thailand and India, among other places), we decided that it would be fun to get to the palace via the city’s rail system followed by a ride on a city ferry. The rail ride was pretty straightforward, and once we got off, I saw a small food vendor selling various meats on a skewer. I asked her how much for one skewer and she told me 5 baht. 1 US dollar was equivalent to around 35 baht, so I ended up getting two beef ones and two with chicken. These four skewers cost me a total of approximately $0.55 USD! They were quite nourishing as well, especially considering I skipped out on breakfast.Upon boarding the ferry, I began to see more of the city than I was able to see on the train, and passed by a few Buddhist temples, or as the Thai call them, Wats, including Wat Arun, which translates to the Temple of the Dawn. It was a spectacular-looking temple with a huge tower located at its center that one can climb up. I was told by a friend who lived in Thailand that this was a must-see, but unfortunately I did not get any closer to it than from across a river. Soon after passing Wat Arun, the ferry arrived at the stop for the Grand Palace, so we got off and began our short trek to the palace and temple entrance. Once I walked through the gate and saw the compound from the inside, I was immediately wowed by the colors and architecture. The buildings in Thailand are unique to that part of the world and it was like nothing I had ever seen. I was eager to get up close and even go inside some of these buildings, so I quickly made my way to the ticket office and got inside.We started our walk around the palace grounds near Wat Phra Kaew, and made our way around the different temple-like buildings. The architecture continued to amaze me, as did the gold-colored roofs. I encountered different statues of Buddhist art, including a couple golden statues of the Kinnara, a mythical creature that is half bird and half man. We continued to walk around until we found ourselves just in front of Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
Since this is still a place of worship, before entering the temple, my hat and shoes had to come off, and I had to turn my camera off as well. Upon entering, I was immediately taken aback by the sheer beauty of the Buddha statue. It was situated high above the floor in the back of the room, and was surrounded by smaller pointed pillars of varying heights. The sheer amount of gold in the room was ridiculous, and the Buddha itself was made of jade and covered in gold and emeralds. We moved past seated Buddhists, tourists, and Buddhist tourists and took a seat on the floor. The last restriction inside the temple was that we were not allowed to point our feet at the Buddha, so I had to sit quite uncomfortably. Nonetheless, I took my seat, took in the atmosphere for a few minutes, and then left when it was time to leave. We continued to walk around the palace grounds some more and made our way to some of the more grand halls and away from the temples. The buildings were huge, and the architecture continued to amaze me. We went into one of the buildings to catch a glimpse of the interior of a former Thai royal palace, and it was ornately decorated. The patterns on the walls were beautiful, and the ceilings were higher than the temple buildings.
We made our way back out of the palace as it was almost time already to head back to the hotel and pick up our coaches back to the ship, so we decided to take a taxi to the general area of the hotel and look for a place to eat some lunch. Unfortunately, we did not find much, but ended up going to a small hole-in-the-wall eatery [I would hardly call it a restaurant], that had a small but tasty menu. I ordered a chicken soup and also a chicken dish since that was all that looked appealing to me, and weirdly enough, both items were quite soupy and both tasted amazing! The entire meal for the two of us cost me somewhere in the vicinity of six or seven US dollars, and although it tasted more Chinese than Thai, it was still a treat. We made our way from the eatery back to the hotel but had some more time before the coaches were leaving, so we decided to browse through a couple of nearby souvenir shops. Like I had done previously in Shanghai and Hong Kong, I purchased another Buddha to add to my collection, and a couple postcards before heading back to the coach and back to the ship in Laem Chabang.
My day in Bangkok was not long enough. Four or five hours was not enough time to spend in such a large city, especially with all of the sights so vastly spread out. Nevertheless, I am happy I had the chance to visit Bangkok and hope to return again one day.
March 21, 2009
Phuket, Thailand
After making a call to Singapore on March 19, Queen Victoria spent the day of March 20 at anchor in Patong Harbor in the waters of Phuket, Thailand (just to avoid any confusion, in pronouncing Phuket, the ‘h’ is silent, and the island is not phonetically named “f*ck it”). I had seen photos of the beaches here and knew what an international paradise it was, but unfortunately, the ship decided to arrive on a bit of a rainy day. Nonetheless, my girlfriend and I decided to go explore.
By the time we made it to the tender ashore, the rainy day had been downgraded to a mostly cloudy one, and we thought we might try and make our way to a local shopping mall to pick up some various necessities. That plan didn’t last long, however, as after sitting in the taxi for two minutes we decided to spend our time closer to Patong walking around and browsing some of the markets.Before long, we found ourselves in this huge building filled with many different stalls selling knock-off merchandise. One stall was filled with Gucci and Prada bags, and the next stall had Ralph Lauren polo shirts and Diesel jeans. After a while, it seemed like these stalls were in a constant rotation between different items that seemed to look the same. We ended up buying three or four shirts between the three of us, mostly with logos of various Asian beer brands on them, before moving on and finding somewhere to get some good Thai food for lunch.
We ventured back onto a busier street and walked past a few restaurants before we found one with outside seating. As it turned out, this restaurant doubled as the local chapter of the Harley Davidson owners’ group on the island, so we had accidentally found ourselves at the only biker bar in the area. Nonetheless, it was a nice day and we wanted to sit outside, so we ordered a couple of beverages, took in the atmosphere of Phuket, and waited for our food to arrive.
For lunch, I decided to stick to what I normally eat at Thai Restaurants in the USA, and despite not being too adventurous, I still enjoyed my selections. As always, I had Tom Kha Gai, a chicken soup with mushrooms and ginger in a coconut milk base, and for a main course, I ordered a green curry dish with chicken. Everything tasted great, and once again, the meal was CHEAP! The grand total including beverages came to somewhere around 10 US Dollars, (or about 300 baht). After eating, we decided to wander around a bit more and do some souvenir shopping.
We walked over to an area flooded with different shops, some selling souvenirs, others selling goods for the locals. What’s interesting about largely populated areas of Thailand is that no matter where you look, you always seem to find a tailor who will make you a custom suit, shirt, or pair of trousers, and they will never hesitate to try and get you inside to make a sale. Had there been more time, I probably would have been happy to have a tailored suit, but I had to turn everybody down. Eventually, we made our way back to Patong beach and went for a bit of a walk. It was not nearly as great as I had hoped my Phuket beach experience would be, and this was mostly due to a combination of lots of dead little fish on the sand, the lack of a real sunny day, and the sheer number of people enjoying the lack of sun and attempting to get a tan. From the beach, we headed back to the pier where we boarded our tender to the ship, thus ending two wonderful days in Thailand.In the end, Phuket (and Bangkok as well) was not doable in a day. A lengthy vacation to Thailand is most definitely in order.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Vietnam
March 13 and 14, 2009
Vietnam
Queen Victoria visited yet another exciting country in Southeast Asia when she made calls to Vietnam on March 13 and 14. While I was not nearly as thrilled about visiting Vietnam, I took the opportunity to explore what I could during the ship’s calls to the ports of Nha Trang and Phu My.Nha Trang, Vietnam
March 13, 2009
Unfortunately, when the ship was at anchor for the day in Nha Trang, I was held up on board with rehearsals for all but two hours of the ship’s time in port, but I still had just enough time to grab a tender ashore and walk around the port for a little while. I did not have any idea of what to expect, and as it turned out, there was not too much to do besides walk around and get harassed to buy postcards, t-shirts, and the traditional Vietnamese wide cone-shaped hats that I had only seen in photographs in the past. Every so often, a man would ride up to me on his scooter offering to show me around. The most culturally shocking thing I saw was the overabundance of seahorses, both dead and alive, in every store window. Some were in tanks swimming around, and others comprised a large portion of the contents of jars filed with a conglomeration of various edible members of the marine animal kingdom. They were EVERYWHERE! I bought a few small crafts before returning to the ship. I did not have much time to explore, but I am still glad I had the chance to walk around and take in Vietnamese culture for the first time.Phu My, VietnamMarch 14, 2009
Queen Victoria’s call to Phu My, Vietnam took the ship to yet another container terminal located in the middle of nowhere. Civilization was nowhere to be found, but the major city of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) was about a 90 minute drive from the port.
Since the only way to make it into Saigon was by doing a tour, I chose to do a guided excursion that would take me around some of the city highlights as well as an extensive drive through the busy streets of Saigon. The journey from the port to the city was quite interesting in itself as I was able to see different components of Vietnamese civilization like small shopping areas with local storefronts and even people working in rice fields while wearing their traditional conical hats.I knew when the coach had reached Saigon once I looked out the window at a traffic light and saw hundreds of motorbikes waiting for the light to turn green. The number of bikes packed into such a small traffic lane was astounding. They filled every open space on the road and traveled like a gigantic swarm of bees or locusts. It was like nothing I had ever seen (that expression has become a bit passé in all of these blog entries).
Our firs t stop on the tour was the National History Museum on tour, where we were greeted by the same souvenir vendors that accosted us at our restroom stop halfway from Phu My to Saigon. They seemed to follow us wherever we went. After getting past the horde of vendors, we made our way through to a unique theatre where we were treated to a traditional Vietnamese water puppetry show. I had never even heard of water puppetry, but I somehow knew it would be something exciting. It turned out that there were some people standing behind a screen guiding these “puppets” through the water from long wooden sticks. The dragon puppets even spat water through their mouths, and other puppets were dressed as women and danced in synchronization with each other. It was a spectacular demonstration. We spent some more time in the museum looking at historical artifacts and items relative to Vietnamese history before moving on.Our coach then made a couple of quick photo stops at some of the different significant buildings in Saigon. First off, we stopped at the Reunification Palace, where on April 30, 1975, a tank crashed through the gates, thus signifying the end of the Vietnam War. Once again, more people were there to greet us with small items for purchase, and after fending them off, I got back on the coach as we headed for the Notre Dame Cathedral and the old Post Office. The Cathedral was a miniature copy of that to be found in France, but was still quite large nonetheless. It was situated directly across from the old post office, and these two buildings were quite interesting to see. Nonetheless, I have no idea what a French cathedral replica was doing sitting in the heart of Saigon.
From our photo stop at the cathedral and post office, our coach made its way to a nearby restaurant where we were treated to an excellent buffet-style luncheon. The cuisine was both eastern and western in origin, and I tried to get a little bit of everything. I had some pho (traditional Vietnamese soup), and quite a few dumplings along with different western items like chicken and pasta. During the meal, a musical group was playing traditional Vietnamese music, and this only added to the pleasure of eating such a great meal. When I went for dessert, I was treated to a bit of an unpleasant surprise: salted fruit. I placed various pieces of fruit on my plate, and as I began to eat one, I thought my taste buds had gone mad, but I later learned that in this part of the world, it is believed that one should balance their palate, which means sweet foods have salts added. Thankfully, this is not the case everywhere else.After lunch, we had one more stop on our tour before leaving Saigon: the Thien Hau Temple. This Buddhist temple was a place of worship for the Sea Goddess who is the protector of sailors. It was yet another Buddhist temple I had the pleasure of visiting, but was set up a bit differently than the others I had seen. Since it was located between two other buildings, it was a bit more cramped than those I had seen in other places, but it was filled with different types of incense and memorials given by families remembering dead relatives. The incense was uniquely shaped in a conical coil and was hung in bulk from the ceiling, so the entire temple was graced with an amazing aroma. Since the temple was for the worship of the sea goddess, there were some turtles located next to the altar with some sort of marking on their backs. It was probably the first and last time I would ever see turtles in a place of worship (what a shame). Thankfully, this was the one place I visited in Saigon (aside from the restaurant) where nobody was trying to sell me anything.
After a brief stop at a Vietnamese lacquer factory/showroom, our coach made its way back to Phu My, thus ending a spectacular day in Saigon. My trip to Vietnam was more than just educational, and I enjoyed seeing what I saw. It is like another planet over there in comparison to the USA and I loved taking in their culture. Side note: regardless of where you are, there will always be McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC!
Vietnam
Queen Victoria visited yet another exciting country in Southeast Asia when she made calls to Vietnam on March 13 and 14. While I was not nearly as thrilled about visiting Vietnam, I took the opportunity to explore what I could during the ship’s calls to the ports of Nha Trang and Phu My.Nha Trang, Vietnam
March 13, 2009
Unfortunately, when the ship was at anchor for the day in Nha Trang, I was held up on board with rehearsals for all but two hours of the ship’s time in port, but I still had just enough time to grab a tender ashore and walk around the port for a little while. I did not have any idea of what to expect, and as it turned out, there was not too much to do besides walk around and get harassed to buy postcards, t-shirts, and the traditional Vietnamese wide cone-shaped hats that I had only seen in photographs in the past. Every so often, a man would ride up to me on his scooter offering to show me around. The most culturally shocking thing I saw was the overabundance of seahorses, both dead and alive, in every store window. Some were in tanks swimming around, and others comprised a large portion of the contents of jars filed with a conglomeration of various edible members of the marine animal kingdom. They were EVERYWHERE! I bought a few small crafts before returning to the ship. I did not have much time to explore, but I am still glad I had the chance to walk around and take in Vietnamese culture for the first time.Phu My, VietnamMarch 14, 2009
Queen Victoria’s call to Phu My, Vietnam took the ship to yet another container terminal located in the middle of nowhere. Civilization was nowhere to be found, but the major city of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) was about a 90 minute drive from the port.
Since the only way to make it into Saigon was by doing a tour, I chose to do a guided excursion that would take me around some of the city highlights as well as an extensive drive through the busy streets of Saigon. The journey from the port to the city was quite interesting in itself as I was able to see different components of Vietnamese civilization like small shopping areas with local storefronts and even people working in rice fields while wearing their traditional conical hats.I knew when the coach had reached Saigon once I looked out the window at a traffic light and saw hundreds of motorbikes waiting for the light to turn green. The number of bikes packed into such a small traffic lane was astounding. They filled every open space on the road and traveled like a gigantic swarm of bees or locusts. It was like nothing I had ever seen (that expression has become a bit passé in all of these blog entries).
Our firs t stop on the tour was the National History Museum on tour, where we were greeted by the same souvenir vendors that accosted us at our restroom stop halfway from Phu My to Saigon. They seemed to follow us wherever we went. After getting past the horde of vendors, we made our way through to a unique theatre where we were treated to a traditional Vietnamese water puppetry show. I had never even heard of water puppetry, but I somehow knew it would be something exciting. It turned out that there were some people standing behind a screen guiding these “puppets” through the water from long wooden sticks. The dragon puppets even spat water through their mouths, and other puppets were dressed as women and danced in synchronization with each other. It was a spectacular demonstration. We spent some more time in the museum looking at historical artifacts and items relative to Vietnamese history before moving on.Our coach then made a couple of quick photo stops at some of the different significant buildings in Saigon. First off, we stopped at the Reunification Palace, where on April 30, 1975, a tank crashed through the gates, thus signifying the end of the Vietnam War. Once again, more people were there to greet us with small items for purchase, and after fending them off, I got back on the coach as we headed for the Notre Dame Cathedral and the old Post Office. The Cathedral was a miniature copy of that to be found in France, but was still quite large nonetheless. It was situated directly across from the old post office, and these two buildings were quite interesting to see. Nonetheless, I have no idea what a French cathedral replica was doing sitting in the heart of Saigon.
From our photo stop at the cathedral and post office, our coach made its way to a nearby restaurant where we were treated to an excellent buffet-style luncheon. The cuisine was both eastern and western in origin, and I tried to get a little bit of everything. I had some pho (traditional Vietnamese soup), and quite a few dumplings along with different western items like chicken and pasta. During the meal, a musical group was playing traditional Vietnamese music, and this only added to the pleasure of eating such a great meal. When I went for dessert, I was treated to a bit of an unpleasant surprise: salted fruit. I placed various pieces of fruit on my plate, and as I began to eat one, I thought my taste buds had gone mad, but I later learned that in this part of the world, it is believed that one should balance their palate, which means sweet foods have salts added. Thankfully, this is not the case everywhere else.After lunch, we had one more stop on our tour before leaving Saigon: the Thien Hau Temple. This Buddhist temple was a place of worship for the Sea Goddess who is the protector of sailors. It was yet another Buddhist temple I had the pleasure of visiting, but was set up a bit differently than the others I had seen. Since it was located between two other buildings, it was a bit more cramped than those I had seen in other places, but it was filled with different types of incense and memorials given by families remembering dead relatives. The incense was uniquely shaped in a conical coil and was hung in bulk from the ceiling, so the entire temple was graced with an amazing aroma. Since the temple was for the worship of the sea goddess, there were some turtles located next to the altar with some sort of marking on their backs. It was probably the first and last time I would ever see turtles in a place of worship (what a shame). Thankfully, this was the one place I visited in Saigon (aside from the restaurant) where nobody was trying to sell me anything.
After a brief stop at a Vietnamese lacquer factory/showroom, our coach made its way back to Phu My, thus ending a spectacular day in Saigon. My trip to Vietnam was more than just educational, and I enjoyed seeing what I saw. It is like another planet over there in comparison to the USA and I loved taking in their culture. Side note: regardless of where you are, there will always be McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Hong Kong in a Day
March 11, 2009
Hong Kong, China
Queen Victoria’s call to Hong Kong on March 11, 2009 marked my second visit to China following Shanghai a few days prior. Since the things to do in Hong Kong are so expansive, I decided I would once again do a full-day tour to maximize what I could see and experience. The “Grand Tour of Hong Kong”, as it was called, would end up taking me all around the city by coach, boat, and tram.Similarly to Shanghai, Queen Victoria was berthed at a container terminal just outside the city, but what I started to find is that when the ship docks in these container terminals, it makes it interesting to drive into the city and witness the transition from the outskirts and industrial sections to the more active areas of these big cities. Nonetheless, the drive from the container terminal to our first stop on the tour was quite short.
Our coach arrived at the embarkation point for a nice morning cruise aboard a Chinese junk shortly after departing the terminal. Though it was quite cloudy at the time, the two-hour cruise went up and down the Hong Kong harbor and I was able to take in the skylines of both the Kowloon Peninsula and also Hong Kong Island. We headed back towards Queen Victoria after going in the other direction for quite some time and passed by the Tsing Ma Bridge, which is the largest two-deck suspension bridge in the world.
As midday approached, we disembarked the Chinese junk on the other side of the harbor in Hong Kong Island and headed on to our next mode of transportation: funicular tram. I got a chance to ride up Victoria Peak on this 100+ year-old mode of transportation and also had some free time to spend at the summit. Sadly, the weather was still a bit cloudy but the views from Victoria Peak, over 1,000 feet above sea level, were quite nice. I did not expect to see any fast-food establishments at the peak, but there was a Burger King among other restaurants and also a Starbucks. This was not one of the more exciting portions of the tour, but the ride to the peak was quite thrilling.
From the Peak, we resumed travel by bus and headed to the fishing village of Aberdeen. The ride to Aberdeen took our coach past many luxury homes old and new. The view from the coach was quite expansive since we started out over 1,000 feet up. The ride also took me farther outside the commercial center of Hong Kong Island, and it was interesting to see the contrast between one of the world’s main business districts and that which lied in its shadows.
Upon arrival in Aberdeen, I was treated to a glimpse into a way of life that I had never encountered as I boarded a sampan (small boat) for a ride around the fishing boats and houseboats that make their home in the harbor there. We passed by the world’s largest floating restaurant that is only accessible by boat, and it was quite large, but the highlights were weaving in and out of the rows of fishing boats and house boats. Some served both purposes, and it was amazing to glimpse into this way of life. The day just kept getting better.
15-20 minutes after boarding the sampan, I debarked and walked to the Aberdeen Marina Club for a dim sum luncheon I would never forget. We were situated in the main ballroom and conference hall at the Marina Club and treated to quite the dining experience. Similar to Shanghai, the food was brought out in family style quantities and placed on the revolving center of the table. We were treated to six or seven courses, and I indulged in everything. I even ate the seafood soup and I do not usually care for seafood outside of shellfish. I particularly enjoyed the spinach and garlic course I was given, but everything tasted exquisite. By far, this was the most classy and tasty tour lunch I had experienced since joining Queen Victoria in September. The tour operators ensured that we had enough time to eat and that we were not rushed at all, but it was still time to go before I knew it.
After a morning dedicated to seeing the sights of Hong Kong, my afternoon had a different flavor to its itinerary: shopping. Our guide continued to provide excellent commentary on where the coach was traveling through and also general information about life in Hong Kong, but the focus of the afternoon dealt with getting the guests to places where they could purchase various items.
The first stop in the afternoon itinerary was at a jewelry factory in a less-glamorous part of town. After a quick tour through the workshop, it was time to visit the showroom which had everything from metal bracelets to diamond rings and everything in between. I had no intentions of buying any jewelry but enjoyed the quick browse before heading off to the more extensive shopping stop: Stanley Market.
Stanley Market was the place to buy just about anything you wanted except for electronic goods. I did not see too many cameras or computers on sale here, but as far as clothing and souvenirs went, this was the place to go. We only had about 45 minutes to browse and make our purchases here, but it was amazing to see so much for so cheap. I ended up purchasing a silk tie, a polo shirt, and a couple pairs of shorts; everything was name-brand and authentic, but I probably paid somewhere between 20-25% of the retail price.
Sadly, it was from Stanley Market where the coach began making its way back to Queen Victoria, as the tour had come to an end. Luckily, the container terminal was quite far from the market, so I was able to see a bit more of the city en route. In the end, the tour was quite possibly the best one I had done to date. The itinerary, guide, food, and shopping was all the best yet, and everything was executed at a higher standard than anything I had experienced as a tour escort. Unlike most ports, my great experience in Hong Kong did not end when the ship set sail. Word came over the ship’s PA system that Queen Victoria had been granted special permission to sail through Hong Kong’s harbor at night, so as soon as I could, I went up to the crew’s private outside deck to witness the spectacular light show that the Hong Kong skyline puts on every night. Unlike any other city in the world, the buildings light up with these spectacular neon lights strategically placed with different colors on different buildings. Some are red, others yellow, others green, and so on and so forth. Each building presented its own unique pattern and display, and put together, the entire skyline was beautiful. With the Kowloon Peninsula on one side of the ship and Hong Kong Island on the other, Queen Victoria was right in the center of the world’s largest light show. Before I knew it, the show was over as we sailed out of the harbor and the ship made her way to Thailand; a spectacular day had come to an end.
Hong Kong, China
Queen Victoria’s call to Hong Kong on March 11, 2009 marked my second visit to China following Shanghai a few days prior. Since the things to do in Hong Kong are so expansive, I decided I would once again do a full-day tour to maximize what I could see and experience. The “Grand Tour of Hong Kong”, as it was called, would end up taking me all around the city by coach, boat, and tram.Similarly to Shanghai, Queen Victoria was berthed at a container terminal just outside the city, but what I started to find is that when the ship docks in these container terminals, it makes it interesting to drive into the city and witness the transition from the outskirts and industrial sections to the more active areas of these big cities. Nonetheless, the drive from the container terminal to our first stop on the tour was quite short.
Our coach arrived at the embarkation point for a nice morning cruise aboard a Chinese junk shortly after departing the terminal. Though it was quite cloudy at the time, the two-hour cruise went up and down the Hong Kong harbor and I was able to take in the skylines of both the Kowloon Peninsula and also Hong Kong Island. We headed back towards Queen Victoria after going in the other direction for quite some time and passed by the Tsing Ma Bridge, which is the largest two-deck suspension bridge in the world.
As midday approached, we disembarked the Chinese junk on the other side of the harbor in Hong Kong Island and headed on to our next mode of transportation: funicular tram. I got a chance to ride up Victoria Peak on this 100+ year-old mode of transportation and also had some free time to spend at the summit. Sadly, the weather was still a bit cloudy but the views from Victoria Peak, over 1,000 feet above sea level, were quite nice. I did not expect to see any fast-food establishments at the peak, but there was a Burger King among other restaurants and also a Starbucks. This was not one of the more exciting portions of the tour, but the ride to the peak was quite thrilling.
From the Peak, we resumed travel by bus and headed to the fishing village of Aberdeen. The ride to Aberdeen took our coach past many luxury homes old and new. The view from the coach was quite expansive since we started out over 1,000 feet up. The ride also took me farther outside the commercial center of Hong Kong Island, and it was interesting to see the contrast between one of the world’s main business districts and that which lied in its shadows.
Upon arrival in Aberdeen, I was treated to a glimpse into a way of life that I had never encountered as I boarded a sampan (small boat) for a ride around the fishing boats and houseboats that make their home in the harbor there. We passed by the world’s largest floating restaurant that is only accessible by boat, and it was quite large, but the highlights were weaving in and out of the rows of fishing boats and house boats. Some served both purposes, and it was amazing to glimpse into this way of life. The day just kept getting better.
15-20 minutes after boarding the sampan, I debarked and walked to the Aberdeen Marina Club for a dim sum luncheon I would never forget. We were situated in the main ballroom and conference hall at the Marina Club and treated to quite the dining experience. Similar to Shanghai, the food was brought out in family style quantities and placed on the revolving center of the table. We were treated to six or seven courses, and I indulged in everything. I even ate the seafood soup and I do not usually care for seafood outside of shellfish. I particularly enjoyed the spinach and garlic course I was given, but everything tasted exquisite. By far, this was the most classy and tasty tour lunch I had experienced since joining Queen Victoria in September. The tour operators ensured that we had enough time to eat and that we were not rushed at all, but it was still time to go before I knew it.
After a morning dedicated to seeing the sights of Hong Kong, my afternoon had a different flavor to its itinerary: shopping. Our guide continued to provide excellent commentary on where the coach was traveling through and also general information about life in Hong Kong, but the focus of the afternoon dealt with getting the guests to places where they could purchase various items.
The first stop in the afternoon itinerary was at a jewelry factory in a less-glamorous part of town. After a quick tour through the workshop, it was time to visit the showroom which had everything from metal bracelets to diamond rings and everything in between. I had no intentions of buying any jewelry but enjoyed the quick browse before heading off to the more extensive shopping stop: Stanley Market.
Stanley Market was the place to buy just about anything you wanted except for electronic goods. I did not see too many cameras or computers on sale here, but as far as clothing and souvenirs went, this was the place to go. We only had about 45 minutes to browse and make our purchases here, but it was amazing to see so much for so cheap. I ended up purchasing a silk tie, a polo shirt, and a couple pairs of shorts; everything was name-brand and authentic, but I probably paid somewhere between 20-25% of the retail price.
Sadly, it was from Stanley Market where the coach began making its way back to Queen Victoria, as the tour had come to an end. Luckily, the container terminal was quite far from the market, so I was able to see a bit more of the city en route. In the end, the tour was quite possibly the best one I had done to date. The itinerary, guide, food, and shopping was all the best yet, and everything was executed at a higher standard than anything I had experienced as a tour escort. Unlike most ports, my great experience in Hong Kong did not end when the ship set sail. Word came over the ship’s PA system that Queen Victoria had been granted special permission to sail through Hong Kong’s harbor at night, so as soon as I could, I went up to the crew’s private outside deck to witness the spectacular light show that the Hong Kong skyline puts on every night. Unlike any other city in the world, the buildings light up with these spectacular neon lights strategically placed with different colors on different buildings. Some are red, others yellow, others green, and so on and so forth. Each building presented its own unique pattern and display, and put together, the entire skyline was beautiful. With the Kowloon Peninsula on one side of the ship and Hong Kong Island on the other, Queen Victoria was right in the center of the world’s largest light show. Before I knew it, the show was over as we sailed out of the harbor and the ship made her way to Thailand; a spectacular day had come to an end.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Shanghai in a day
March 8, 2009
Shanghai, China
Queen Victoria continued her voyage through Southeast Asia when she docked at Shanghai’s overly massive container terminal on March 8th. Since I spent approximately $135 USD on a visa for entry into the People’s Republic of China, I knew the way to see as much as possible would be to go on yet another full-day tour.
I was chosen to escort an excursion entitled “Shanghai – Past & Present” which provided me with a nice mix of things to see and do throughout the day. The first stop was the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower, one of the more distinguishable items in Shanghai’s vast skyline. The shape of the structure was innovative and interesting, but the pinkish color of the tower’s “pearls” was a bit off-putting.
Soon after arriving at the “Pearl”, as locals know it, we boarded an elevator and went up to the main observation level located 863 feet above the ground. I was able to walk around and catch a 360-degree panoramic view of the city of Shanghai and all the interesting buildings nearby.
I spent a bit of time viewing what I could of the Shanghai skyline before descending back to ground level and going to the Contemporary History Museum, located at the base of the tower. It was filled with wax figurines and models of buildings, storefronts, and Shanghai streets of the past and inside I even found some automobiles and trams historically significant to Shanghai. In the end, I wrote this portion of the trip off as “filler” and something that the local tour operator added so they could save time by having two stops in one place. I went through the museum at a brisk pace before exiting the tower to spend some free time walking around outside.
I walked across the street from the tower pavilion and found myself in a stretch of what seemed to be shops alternating between selling food and souvenirs. There were tons of outdoor food establishments that consisted of various ingredients and a wok to cook them in, made to order. It looked and smelled amazing. Sadly, lunch had been arranged at a somewhat up-scale Shanghai hotel, so I forced myself to wait just a little bit longer before eating PROPER Chinese Food. I then ventured into an overcrowded (in China, everywhere you go is overcrowded) shopping center but quickly got turned off by the sheer number of people inside. It was still an interesting experience to enter a Chinese shopping mall.
After returning to the bus outside the Pearl, we headed to a hotel for lunch. Upon arrival at the Jin Jiang hotel, our guide informed us that it was at here where Former US President Richard Nixon stayed during his visit to Shanghai in the 1970s. Our dining room was located on the fifth floor in one of a few different buildings that comprised the hotel, and immediately after sitting down, food started being brought to our tables. It was a family-style luncheon, with large platters of food being placed on a revolving platform in the middle of each table. This offered everyone a taste of many different things rather than larger portions of each course (what I was used to seeing from doing many lunch-included tours in Europe), so I helped myself to various items that pleased my taste buds. The food brought to our tables was not so different from what one might eat in a Chinese restaurant somewhere else in the world, but the overall taste was much better here in Shanghai.
After eating seven or eight small courses, I returned to the coach and we headed to our next stop: the Jade Buddha Temple. The Jade Buddha temple was founded in the late 19th century and is still a place of worship. In all of my travels through Southeast Asia, this was the more interesting temples I had the chance to visit. It was booming with activity in that everywhere I looked there were people praying or burning incense, and I even witnessed some Buddhist monks singing.
Like the Sofuku ji temple in Nagasaki, the Jade Buddha Temple consisted of more than one building. It had a large courtyard and a few different buildings filled with many different statues of Buddha, but the most spectacular statues were the two made of jade, one in a sitting position and the other reclining. They were beautiful, and unfortunately, I was not able to view them for a long time due to a tightly-packed itinerary. While at the temple, I also had the opportunity to take in a “tea ceremony”, which was little more than an opportunity for me to taste some different types of Chinese tea, and I took advantage. After the tea tasting, I returned to the bus and moved on to the old town of Shanghai for an exciting conclusion to the tour.
Our coach made its way from the Jade Buddha Temple to the old town of Shanghai, from where we walked to the location for our last guided portion of the tour: the Yuyuan Garden. The Yuyuan Garden was originally a private garden that dates back to the late 16th century, but buildings continued to be constructed through the 19th century. It was beautifully designed and the mix between pagodas small and large with ponds, green areas, pathways, and rocks could not have been more perfect. It was interesting to walk through something so beautiful and was like nothing I had ever seen. I had to keep the entire tour group moving along, so I was not able to fully take in my surroundings but still enjoyed the guided walk through the garden.
After leaving the Yuyuan Garden, I had the opportunity to spend nearly an hour walking around the old town of Shanghai and I used this time to buy some souvenirs. I purchased a silk tie with Chinese characters on it, a postcard, and a small jade Buddha before heading back to meet our guide and walk back to the bus. On the way back, I purchased a food item that I doubt I’ll ever forget. I would call it a candied fruit kebab in that it consisted of five or six different pieces of fruit covered in hard candy. It tasted great and was something totally new to me, but one of these pieces of fruit was a cherry tomato. Weirdly enough, the cherry tomato tasted better than the candied cherry, a component to the fruit kebab.
All in all, my day in Shanghai was good, but not great. I did a lot and saw a lot, but it was not the most-exciting port I visited in the region. Nevertheless, I am glad that I paid the money for the Chinese Visa so that I could see what I saw, if only once.
Shanghai, China
Queen Victoria continued her voyage through Southeast Asia when she docked at Shanghai’s overly massive container terminal on March 8th. Since I spent approximately $135 USD on a visa for entry into the People’s Republic of China, I knew the way to see as much as possible would be to go on yet another full-day tour.
I was chosen to escort an excursion entitled “Shanghai – Past & Present” which provided me with a nice mix of things to see and do throughout the day. The first stop was the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower, one of the more distinguishable items in Shanghai’s vast skyline. The shape of the structure was innovative and interesting, but the pinkish color of the tower’s “pearls” was a bit off-putting.
Soon after arriving at the “Pearl”, as locals know it, we boarded an elevator and went up to the main observation level located 863 feet above the ground. I was able to walk around and catch a 360-degree panoramic view of the city of Shanghai and all the interesting buildings nearby.
I spent a bit of time viewing what I could of the Shanghai skyline before descending back to ground level and going to the Contemporary History Museum, located at the base of the tower. It was filled with wax figurines and models of buildings, storefronts, and Shanghai streets of the past and inside I even found some automobiles and trams historically significant to Shanghai. In the end, I wrote this portion of the trip off as “filler” and something that the local tour operator added so they could save time by having two stops in one place. I went through the museum at a brisk pace before exiting the tower to spend some free time walking around outside.
I walked across the street from the tower pavilion and found myself in a stretch of what seemed to be shops alternating between selling food and souvenirs. There were tons of outdoor food establishments that consisted of various ingredients and a wok to cook them in, made to order. It looked and smelled amazing. Sadly, lunch had been arranged at a somewhat up-scale Shanghai hotel, so I forced myself to wait just a little bit longer before eating PROPER Chinese Food. I then ventured into an overcrowded (in China, everywhere you go is overcrowded) shopping center but quickly got turned off by the sheer number of people inside. It was still an interesting experience to enter a Chinese shopping mall.
After returning to the bus outside the Pearl, we headed to a hotel for lunch. Upon arrival at the Jin Jiang hotel, our guide informed us that it was at here where Former US President Richard Nixon stayed during his visit to Shanghai in the 1970s. Our dining room was located on the fifth floor in one of a few different buildings that comprised the hotel, and immediately after sitting down, food started being brought to our tables. It was a family-style luncheon, with large platters of food being placed on a revolving platform in the middle of each table. This offered everyone a taste of many different things rather than larger portions of each course (what I was used to seeing from doing many lunch-included tours in Europe), so I helped myself to various items that pleased my taste buds. The food brought to our tables was not so different from what one might eat in a Chinese restaurant somewhere else in the world, but the overall taste was much better here in Shanghai.
After eating seven or eight small courses, I returned to the coach and we headed to our next stop: the Jade Buddha Temple. The Jade Buddha temple was founded in the late 19th century and is still a place of worship. In all of my travels through Southeast Asia, this was the more interesting temples I had the chance to visit. It was booming with activity in that everywhere I looked there were people praying or burning incense, and I even witnessed some Buddhist monks singing.
Like the Sofuku ji temple in Nagasaki, the Jade Buddha Temple consisted of more than one building. It had a large courtyard and a few different buildings filled with many different statues of Buddha, but the most spectacular statues were the two made of jade, one in a sitting position and the other reclining. They were beautiful, and unfortunately, I was not able to view them for a long time due to a tightly-packed itinerary. While at the temple, I also had the opportunity to take in a “tea ceremony”, which was little more than an opportunity for me to taste some different types of Chinese tea, and I took advantage. After the tea tasting, I returned to the bus and moved on to the old town of Shanghai for an exciting conclusion to the tour.
Our coach made its way from the Jade Buddha Temple to the old town of Shanghai, from where we walked to the location for our last guided portion of the tour: the Yuyuan Garden. The Yuyuan Garden was originally a private garden that dates back to the late 16th century, but buildings continued to be constructed through the 19th century. It was beautifully designed and the mix between pagodas small and large with ponds, green areas, pathways, and rocks could not have been more perfect. It was interesting to walk through something so beautiful and was like nothing I had ever seen. I had to keep the entire tour group moving along, so I was not able to fully take in my surroundings but still enjoyed the guided walk through the garden.
After leaving the Yuyuan Garden, I had the opportunity to spend nearly an hour walking around the old town of Shanghai and I used this time to buy some souvenirs. I purchased a silk tie with Chinese characters on it, a postcard, and a small jade Buddha before heading back to meet our guide and walk back to the bus. On the way back, I purchased a food item that I doubt I’ll ever forget. I would call it a candied fruit kebab in that it consisted of five or six different pieces of fruit covered in hard candy. It tasted great and was something totally new to me, but one of these pieces of fruit was a cherry tomato. Weirdly enough, the cherry tomato tasted better than the candied cherry, a component to the fruit kebab.
All in all, my day in Shanghai was good, but not great. I did a lot and saw a lot, but it was not the most-exciting port I visited in the region. Nevertheless, I am glad that I paid the money for the Chinese Visa so that I could see what I saw, if only once.
Monday, April 27, 2009
South Korea
March 6, 2009
Busan, South Korea
It had been a long time since Queen Victoria spent two consecutive days in port; in fact, it was even a rarity to transit from one port to another spending just one day at sea in the interim, but after spending March 5 berthed in Nagasaki, the ship docked the following day in Busan, South Korea. I had no idea what to expect as I was very unfamiliar with Korean history and culture (despite living with a South Korean violinist for nearly two years prior to joining the ship), so I decided to do a tour and just go with the flow.I wanted to see all I could of Korea and not get lost, so I chose to do a full-day tour that actually took me outside of Busan to the city of Gweong-Ju. Located about an hour and a half away from Busan, Gweong-Ju was the capital city during the Silla dynasty, a major ruling force in Korea from circa 57 B.C. until circa 935 A.D. It was filled with historical landmarks, but our first stop on the tour was a museum.The National Museum in Gweong-Ju was filled with different artifacts dating back to before Christ and all the way through the Silla rule in Korea, but the first thing we were taken to was the Divine Bell of King Songdok, a massive bronze bell cast in the late 9th Century A.D. that weighs nearly 19 tons. It was one of a select few items that had been placed outside to grace the grassy area surrounding the two museum buildings, and was beautifully designed. From the bell, we made our way into the first building which contained many different artifacts including crafts and utensils were found. There were some spearheads and arrowheads dating back to the Bronze Age as well as cups, bowls, plates, and other forms of pottery. Everything seemed to be quite well-preserved, and they also had some ancient jewelry on display.
I found the second building I entered to be much more interesting as it was filled with rooms dedicated to Buddhist sculptures and statues. I continued to explore my fascination with Buddhism and enjoyed looking around. Inside, I also found a scale model of what Gweong-Ju used to look like before invaders destroyed it centuries ago. It was a massive empire! After spending time at the museum, we made our way to Tumuli Park, home to many royal tombs. The “gravesite” was nothing like anything I had ever encountered in that each tomb consisted of a large mound of grass standing approximately 20-30 feet high. While it did not look like much to me, one guest suggested that this was the equivalent to visiting the pyramids in Egypt. I have been to the pyramids in Egypt, and these mounds of grass were NOT the pyramids. We were able to go inside one of the tombs and have a look at what it would look like inside (all original items were in a museum and were replaced by replicas). It was interesting to get inside, but once again, I’ve been inside a pyramid, and this is NOT the same.
At this point, it was time to head to a nearby hotel for a large buffet luncheon. The meal consisted of a mix of Western and Asian cuisine, and it was a great meal. There was a Korean dance performance going on whilst we ate; I consumed a few plates and then it was time to head for our last stop before returning to Busan: Bulguksa Temple.
Though it has been rebuilt in the late 20th Century, the original Bulguksa temple was constructed in the middle of the 8th Century. This was my second visit to a Buddhist temple and I enjoyed the opportunity to walk around inside some of the various buildings. It was here that for the first time in my life, I saw a swastika painted on the side of a building, and it was not there to represent the Nazi regime. My tour guide told me that the swastika signifies the continuous teachings of Buddha and was a symbol of peace. I was hesitant at first to photograph the image, but decided it would be okay
Photography was prohibited inside all buildings, but I was able to snap a few quick shots unbeknownst to those inside. The most interesting building I visited was the Moo-sol-jon, or “No-Word Hall”. Ironically, the Moo-sol-jon was not a hall for silence, but conversely, a lecture hall. It is dubbed a no-word hall because the true essence of Buddha’s teachings or the “depth of Truth” is not expressible through spoken language. I visited some more of the halls before heading back to the bus and returning to the ship.
My visit to Korea was filled with many pleasant surprises, but I would not be surprised if I never returned. It was a great day, but I enjoyed Japan loads more and I was more excited about seeing the other ports on Queen Victoria’s itinerary including Bangkok, Phuket, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
Busan, South Korea
It had been a long time since Queen Victoria spent two consecutive days in port; in fact, it was even a rarity to transit from one port to another spending just one day at sea in the interim, but after spending March 5 berthed in Nagasaki, the ship docked the following day in Busan, South Korea. I had no idea what to expect as I was very unfamiliar with Korean history and culture (despite living with a South Korean violinist for nearly two years prior to joining the ship), so I decided to do a tour and just go with the flow.I wanted to see all I could of Korea and not get lost, so I chose to do a full-day tour that actually took me outside of Busan to the city of Gweong-Ju. Located about an hour and a half away from Busan, Gweong-Ju was the capital city during the Silla dynasty, a major ruling force in Korea from circa 57 B.C. until circa 935 A.D. It was filled with historical landmarks, but our first stop on the tour was a museum.The National Museum in Gweong-Ju was filled with different artifacts dating back to before Christ and all the way through the Silla rule in Korea, but the first thing we were taken to was the Divine Bell of King Songdok, a massive bronze bell cast in the late 9th Century A.D. that weighs nearly 19 tons. It was one of a select few items that had been placed outside to grace the grassy area surrounding the two museum buildings, and was beautifully designed. From the bell, we made our way into the first building which contained many different artifacts including crafts and utensils were found. There were some spearheads and arrowheads dating back to the Bronze Age as well as cups, bowls, plates, and other forms of pottery. Everything seemed to be quite well-preserved, and they also had some ancient jewelry on display.
I found the second building I entered to be much more interesting as it was filled with rooms dedicated to Buddhist sculptures and statues. I continued to explore my fascination with Buddhism and enjoyed looking around. Inside, I also found a scale model of what Gweong-Ju used to look like before invaders destroyed it centuries ago. It was a massive empire! After spending time at the museum, we made our way to Tumuli Park, home to many royal tombs. The “gravesite” was nothing like anything I had ever encountered in that each tomb consisted of a large mound of grass standing approximately 20-30 feet high. While it did not look like much to me, one guest suggested that this was the equivalent to visiting the pyramids in Egypt. I have been to the pyramids in Egypt, and these mounds of grass were NOT the pyramids. We were able to go inside one of the tombs and have a look at what it would look like inside (all original items were in a museum and were replaced by replicas). It was interesting to get inside, but once again, I’ve been inside a pyramid, and this is NOT the same.
At this point, it was time to head to a nearby hotel for a large buffet luncheon. The meal consisted of a mix of Western and Asian cuisine, and it was a great meal. There was a Korean dance performance going on whilst we ate; I consumed a few plates and then it was time to head for our last stop before returning to Busan: Bulguksa Temple.
Though it has been rebuilt in the late 20th Century, the original Bulguksa temple was constructed in the middle of the 8th Century. This was my second visit to a Buddhist temple and I enjoyed the opportunity to walk around inside some of the various buildings. It was here that for the first time in my life, I saw a swastika painted on the side of a building, and it was not there to represent the Nazi regime. My tour guide told me that the swastika signifies the continuous teachings of Buddha and was a symbol of peace. I was hesitant at first to photograph the image, but decided it would be okay
Photography was prohibited inside all buildings, but I was able to snap a few quick shots unbeknownst to those inside. The most interesting building I visited was the Moo-sol-jon, or “No-Word Hall”. Ironically, the Moo-sol-jon was not a hall for silence, but conversely, a lecture hall. It is dubbed a no-word hall because the true essence of Buddha’s teachings or the “depth of Truth” is not expressible through spoken language. I visited some more of the halls before heading back to the bus and returning to the ship.
My visit to Korea was filled with many pleasant surprises, but I would not be surprised if I never returned. It was a great day, but I enjoyed Japan loads more and I was more excited about seeing the other ports on Queen Victoria’s itinerary including Bangkok, Phuket, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Nagasaki
March 5, 2009
Nagasaki, Japan
After spending nearly six months aboard Queen Victoria, I finally reached Southeast Asia on March 5 when the ship docked in Nagasaki, Japan. I decided against waking up early to watch the ship’s sail-in (these can be very beautiful at times, and Sydney’s sail-in and sail-away were the best yet), so when I stepped off the gangway at 8:30am, it was amazing to finally set foot in Japan for the first time in my life. I had been looking forward to this port for quite a while, and had no doubt in my mind that I would not be disappointed.
I decided against doing a tour here and instead chose to spend the day with a friend since we were both looking to see and do the same things. Immediately after getting off the ship, we purchased all-day tram passes so that we could get around to the various places and then headed to the closest tram station. Riding on the Nagasaki tram exposed me first-hand to Japanese culture, as I was surrounded by locals who did not speak a word of English. Most of the people on the tram, including the driver, wore surgical masks to help prevent them from being exposed to the massive amounts of pollution. The tram was also covered with advertisements promoting everything from skin care to baseball. It was a fun way to get around the city though.
Our first stop of the day was the Peace Park, established in 1955 to commemorate the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It is located near the bomb hypocenter and is filled with statues donated from different countries including the United States, Brazil, Italy, New Zealand, and Argentina (among others).
The two main attractions at the Peace Park were the Peace Statue and the Fountain of Peace. At over 30 feet tall, the statue was located at the northern end of the park and towered over everything. The statue depicted a man with one leg folded and the other stretched below which was intended to symbolize both meditation and the need to stand up and rescue the people of the world. The man also had one hand stretched out to his left to symbolize eternal peace and the other pointing to the sky and to the threat of nuclear weapons. The Fountain of Peace was located at the southern end of the park opposite the Peace Statue and was intended to represent the water for the bomb victims who died in a desperate search for fluids and also represented two wings of an angel. As we walked up the stairs and entered the peace park, we were greeted by the fountain and between its two wings we saw the Peace Statue in the distance. It was a spectacular sight and it was from here that we began our walk through the park almost entirely silent. In fact, I spent a lot of the morning taking everything in and not speaking much at all.
After spending quite some time walking around the Peace Park, we made our way to the bomb hypocenter, the location over which the bomb exploded (the bomb actually exploded 500 meters above the ground). The hypocenter was marked by a large piece of marble, probably fifteen or twenty feet tall, surrounded by pieces of pavement encircling the marble slab and getting higher as they moved outwards, probably for about thirty feet or so before reaching the pavement of the open square at the hypocenter. I spent a few moments in silence at the hypocenter before heading towards the Atomic Bomb Museum, located just a short walk from the hypocenter.
The Atomic Bomb museum was the first museum of its kind that I had ever visited, in that I had never encountered a full museum dedicated to a tragic event. I was disappointed inside when I learned I would not be able to take pictures, as I knew that I would want to share what I saw with friends and family. Everything from large metal structures bent and disfigured by the blast to pictures of people with radiation poisoning and burns were on display and it was interesting to walk through the different rooms and see the effects of the bomb on both people and objects. There were a few items I was able to touch including a small cider bottle that looked more like a piece of abstract art than a glass bottle, and while I found all of these things interesting, I was constantly reminded by my surroundings that I was surrounded by artifacts from a nuclear bombing. There were pictures of charred corpses, and even a military helmet with skull fragments embedded into the lining. That was horrifying. Visiting this museum was an incredibly moving experience, and I am glad that I was able to make it here.
From the museum, my friend and I walked back to the tram station and ended up riding all the way across town, though this time the tram was more crowded and I was surrounded by mask-wearing Nagasaki locals both young and old. We ended up all the way at the last stop on one the tram’s route and after walking a short distance we reached our intended destination: Sofuku-ji Temple.
My visit to Sofuku-ji Temple in Nagasaki marked another first for me. While I visited many churches and mosques during my recent travels in the Mediterranean and its surroundings, I had never been to a Buddhist temple. This was more than just a Buddhist temple though, in that Sofuku-ji, dating back to the mid-16th century, was the oldest structure in Nagasaki still standing after the atomic bombing. The site itself contained a few different buildings, including one housing a bell and two temple buildings with different Buddha statues inside. In addition, incense burned outside each building and the pleasing aroma contributed to a near-perfect ambience. As I walked around a bit more, I discovered a couple of tombstones that led me to a beautiful cemetery that extended up a hill as far as I could see. The tombstones were in abundance but not in overabundance, and each one looked beautiful. I spent a few more minutes at the temple before heading with my friend to one of the things I looked forward to for a long time: a real Japanese lunch.
We left the temple and headed down the road, passing the entrance to either another temple or possibly the cemetery I saw earlier (either way, it was beautiful and something I am sure that the locals take for granted) until we found a place to eat. The restaurant, called “Nagasaki sippoku Hamakatsu” (I only found this out as I took their business card on my way out) had a beautiful entrance and I had no idea what to expect as I entered. When I walked into the restaurant, everything was more or less no different to a western restaurant in that there was a lobby and waiting area, but when I was led to the dining room, the Japanese dining experience began. For the first time ever, I took not only my shoes off before entering a restaurant dining area but also sat down to eat. I figured in advance I would have to do all of these things, but it was an amazing experience nevertheless. The woman who sat us and took our order did not speak a word of English and the menu had no American translations, but thankfully, it had pictures of the food so I picked a lunch special that looked good, pointed to it, and sat [on the floor in a room with six-foot ceilings] taking in the atmosphere while waiting for food to arrive.
When our server finally returned with our lunch, I rediscovered that Japanese cuisine is more about quality and presentation than it is about quantity, for my meal consisted of many small things arranged beautifully on an elegant tray. Our server left for a minute after delivering our trays and shortly returned with a lighter and some boiling water in which we cooked our udon noodles on our plate. There was also some sashimi, tempura, and teriyaki (among other things) and everything tasted great. As I was wrapping up, the server returned with a small cup with some hot liquid inside and two small spheres inside. I tasted it and it was like drinking warm honey. I did not taste the spheres but the dessert was like nothing I had ever tasted. I got the bill and left, greatly satisfied with the Japanese dining experience.
From the restaurant, we ended up walking around the streets until we found ourselves in a massive shopping arcade and it was here that I realized how easy it was for me to see “eye to eye” with many of the Japanese. The majority of the people I encountered in the arcade were no taller than me and it was a different experience being one of the taller people in an environment where I was not surrounded by young children. Ahhhhh… the joys of being five foot five.
We made our way back to the ship after walking through the overcrowded arcade and I stopped by the spa to relax in the hot tub, sauna, and steam room before changing and heading to a rehearsal; it was a great way to end a spectacular day. My visit to Nagasaki was filled with cultural enlightenment, exquisite local cuisine, and a reminder of the horrors that exist in the world. The port was, without a doubt, one of the top five stops I have made since joining Queen Victoria.
Nagasaki, Japan
After spending nearly six months aboard Queen Victoria, I finally reached Southeast Asia on March 5 when the ship docked in Nagasaki, Japan. I decided against waking up early to watch the ship’s sail-in (these can be very beautiful at times, and Sydney’s sail-in and sail-away were the best yet), so when I stepped off the gangway at 8:30am, it was amazing to finally set foot in Japan for the first time in my life. I had been looking forward to this port for quite a while, and had no doubt in my mind that I would not be disappointed.
I decided against doing a tour here and instead chose to spend the day with a friend since we were both looking to see and do the same things. Immediately after getting off the ship, we purchased all-day tram passes so that we could get around to the various places and then headed to the closest tram station. Riding on the Nagasaki tram exposed me first-hand to Japanese culture, as I was surrounded by locals who did not speak a word of English. Most of the people on the tram, including the driver, wore surgical masks to help prevent them from being exposed to the massive amounts of pollution. The tram was also covered with advertisements promoting everything from skin care to baseball. It was a fun way to get around the city though.
Our first stop of the day was the Peace Park, established in 1955 to commemorate the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It is located near the bomb hypocenter and is filled with statues donated from different countries including the United States, Brazil, Italy, New Zealand, and Argentina (among others).
The two main attractions at the Peace Park were the Peace Statue and the Fountain of Peace. At over 30 feet tall, the statue was located at the northern end of the park and towered over everything. The statue depicted a man with one leg folded and the other stretched below which was intended to symbolize both meditation and the need to stand up and rescue the people of the world. The man also had one hand stretched out to his left to symbolize eternal peace and the other pointing to the sky and to the threat of nuclear weapons. The Fountain of Peace was located at the southern end of the park opposite the Peace Statue and was intended to represent the water for the bomb victims who died in a desperate search for fluids and also represented two wings of an angel. As we walked up the stairs and entered the peace park, we were greeted by the fountain and between its two wings we saw the Peace Statue in the distance. It was a spectacular sight and it was from here that we began our walk through the park almost entirely silent. In fact, I spent a lot of the morning taking everything in and not speaking much at all.
After spending quite some time walking around the Peace Park, we made our way to the bomb hypocenter, the location over which the bomb exploded (the bomb actually exploded 500 meters above the ground). The hypocenter was marked by a large piece of marble, probably fifteen or twenty feet tall, surrounded by pieces of pavement encircling the marble slab and getting higher as they moved outwards, probably for about thirty feet or so before reaching the pavement of the open square at the hypocenter. I spent a few moments in silence at the hypocenter before heading towards the Atomic Bomb Museum, located just a short walk from the hypocenter.
The Atomic Bomb museum was the first museum of its kind that I had ever visited, in that I had never encountered a full museum dedicated to a tragic event. I was disappointed inside when I learned I would not be able to take pictures, as I knew that I would want to share what I saw with friends and family. Everything from large metal structures bent and disfigured by the blast to pictures of people with radiation poisoning and burns were on display and it was interesting to walk through the different rooms and see the effects of the bomb on both people and objects. There were a few items I was able to touch including a small cider bottle that looked more like a piece of abstract art than a glass bottle, and while I found all of these things interesting, I was constantly reminded by my surroundings that I was surrounded by artifacts from a nuclear bombing. There were pictures of charred corpses, and even a military helmet with skull fragments embedded into the lining. That was horrifying. Visiting this museum was an incredibly moving experience, and I am glad that I was able to make it here.
From the museum, my friend and I walked back to the tram station and ended up riding all the way across town, though this time the tram was more crowded and I was surrounded by mask-wearing Nagasaki locals both young and old. We ended up all the way at the last stop on one the tram’s route and after walking a short distance we reached our intended destination: Sofuku-ji Temple.
My visit to Sofuku-ji Temple in Nagasaki marked another first for me. While I visited many churches and mosques during my recent travels in the Mediterranean and its surroundings, I had never been to a Buddhist temple. This was more than just a Buddhist temple though, in that Sofuku-ji, dating back to the mid-16th century, was the oldest structure in Nagasaki still standing after the atomic bombing. The site itself contained a few different buildings, including one housing a bell and two temple buildings with different Buddha statues inside. In addition, incense burned outside each building and the pleasing aroma contributed to a near-perfect ambience. As I walked around a bit more, I discovered a couple of tombstones that led me to a beautiful cemetery that extended up a hill as far as I could see. The tombstones were in abundance but not in overabundance, and each one looked beautiful. I spent a few more minutes at the temple before heading with my friend to one of the things I looked forward to for a long time: a real Japanese lunch.
We left the temple and headed down the road, passing the entrance to either another temple or possibly the cemetery I saw earlier (either way, it was beautiful and something I am sure that the locals take for granted) until we found a place to eat. The restaurant, called “Nagasaki sippoku Hamakatsu” (I only found this out as I took their business card on my way out) had a beautiful entrance and I had no idea what to expect as I entered. When I walked into the restaurant, everything was more or less no different to a western restaurant in that there was a lobby and waiting area, but when I was led to the dining room, the Japanese dining experience began. For the first time ever, I took not only my shoes off before entering a restaurant dining area but also sat down to eat. I figured in advance I would have to do all of these things, but it was an amazing experience nevertheless. The woman who sat us and took our order did not speak a word of English and the menu had no American translations, but thankfully, it had pictures of the food so I picked a lunch special that looked good, pointed to it, and sat [on the floor in a room with six-foot ceilings] taking in the atmosphere while waiting for food to arrive.
When our server finally returned with our lunch, I rediscovered that Japanese cuisine is more about quality and presentation than it is about quantity, for my meal consisted of many small things arranged beautifully on an elegant tray. Our server left for a minute after delivering our trays and shortly returned with a lighter and some boiling water in which we cooked our udon noodles on our plate. There was also some sashimi, tempura, and teriyaki (among other things) and everything tasted great. As I was wrapping up, the server returned with a small cup with some hot liquid inside and two small spheres inside. I tasted it and it was like drinking warm honey. I did not taste the spheres but the dessert was like nothing I had ever tasted. I got the bill and left, greatly satisfied with the Japanese dining experience.
From the restaurant, we ended up walking around the streets until we found ourselves in a massive shopping arcade and it was here that I realized how easy it was for me to see “eye to eye” with many of the Japanese. The majority of the people I encountered in the arcade were no taller than me and it was a different experience being one of the taller people in an environment where I was not surrounded by young children. Ahhhhh… the joys of being five foot five.
We made our way back to the ship after walking through the overcrowded arcade and I stopped by the spa to relax in the hot tub, sauna, and steam room before changing and heading to a rehearsal; it was a great way to end a spectacular day. My visit to Nagasaki was filled with cultural enlightenment, exquisite local cuisine, and a reminder of the horrors that exist in the world. The port was, without a doubt, one of the top five stops I have made since joining Queen Victoria.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Rabaul and Saipan
Greetings once again. Queen Victoria is currently en route to Aqaba, Jordan, but this post is about a month late. Enjoy...
February 26, 2009
Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
When Queen Victoria docked mid-morning on February 26 in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, it was greeted with a healthy dose of ash coming from a nearby active volcano. I had no idea what to expect from my visit to this port. All I heard about Papua New Guinea is that it was an island full of cannibals at one point in time, so I spent my entire day hoping that I would not get eaten. My musical director jokingly warned all the musicians that if the drums started beating louder and louder to run away from the noise… needless to say, I experienced no such thing and spent the entire day in culture shock, not fear. I only got off the ship for about four hours to do a tour called “Pacific Memories”. The tour took me to a couple locations significant to World War II including a tunnel built by the Japanese to store their landing barges, a memorial cemetery, and a war museum (which mostly consisted of plane wreckage, old anti-aircraft guns, and a couple of vehicles), but driving around the island was the most interesting part of the tour. I got to see a different side of the world that most people never see and other people are forced to live in on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis, and I am grateful that I got to see it. Houses were built with whatever people could manage to find, there are no two-story buildings, and very few people, if any, seem to live past the age of 70. When the people of Rabaul finally built themselves a decent village, it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption and they had to build on the rubble. In the reconstructed village, there are two washers and dryers for everyone to use and very few public toilets as well.
Again, the trip to Rabaul was a major eye-opener for me and I am glad I got to experience what I did. Everyone needs to see this type of civilization once in a lifetime. However, I hope I never return.March 1, 2009
Saipan, Mariana Islands
It was interesting to travel nearly halfway around the world from my home and reach a commonwealth of the United States. Seeing the occasional American flag brought back happy thoughts of home, especially after spending all but four days in as many months anywhere but the USA. Nonetheless, Saipan was not very American and had obviously been heavily influenced by Southeast Asia.
I chose to do the only tour offered by the excursions office for this port, niftily dubbed “Discover Saipan”. It was a short (four-hour) tour that took me to four different spots on the island, three of which dealt with World War II. Our drive along the coast first took us to the Banzai cliffs, which, in addition to being a beautiful spot for a seaside panoramic view, is the location that several hundred Japanese civilians chose death by cliff-jumping suicide over surrender to the Americans. They were led to believe thanks to Japanese war propaganda that if they surrendered they would be brutally tortured and killed so chose to take their own lives by jumping down to the rocky waters. The cliffs were scattered with memorials from different foundations and countries and I enjoyed viewing and photographing many of the memorials prior to boarding the bus for our next stops. En route to our next stop, the American Memorial Park, we stopped briefly at a panoramic viewpoint called Bird Island, which was very much worth the brief stop there before continuing on to the park. It was just a small island maybe 50 yards off the coast, but the color of the water and the waves crashing against the island and the coastline were like nothing I had ever seen.Shortly after leaving Bird Island, we arrived at the American Memorial Park, a beautiful park sitting on more than 100 acres of land with a memorial that lists all the US Armed Forces members who perished while fighting for Saipan, and I enjoyed walking around the park and visiting the museum located there which talked about the battles that took place. It was nice to visit somewhere that discussed the historical significance of the location to World War II again, especially after visiting Pearl Harbor a month earlier.Our last stop on the tour was one of the beaches that US Marines came ashore on during the invasion of Saipan in 1944. It was like no beach I had ever been to, in that not only was the water crystal clear, but the gun turrets from some WWII Sherman Tanks were visible peaking out of the water. I do not know where else in the world it is possible to see such things.
Following the tour, I capped my day off by finding a nice restaurant and eating some great sushi before walking around a small shopping center and then heading back to the ship.
In the end, my visit to Saipan turned out to be a lot more interesting than I had anticipated and I am glad that I decided to do the tour and got to visit the places I went to.
February 26, 2009
Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
When Queen Victoria docked mid-morning on February 26 in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, it was greeted with a healthy dose of ash coming from a nearby active volcano. I had no idea what to expect from my visit to this port. All I heard about Papua New Guinea is that it was an island full of cannibals at one point in time, so I spent my entire day hoping that I would not get eaten. My musical director jokingly warned all the musicians that if the drums started beating louder and louder to run away from the noise… needless to say, I experienced no such thing and spent the entire day in culture shock, not fear. I only got off the ship for about four hours to do a tour called “Pacific Memories”. The tour took me to a couple locations significant to World War II including a tunnel built by the Japanese to store their landing barges, a memorial cemetery, and a war museum (which mostly consisted of plane wreckage, old anti-aircraft guns, and a couple of vehicles), but driving around the island was the most interesting part of the tour. I got to see a different side of the world that most people never see and other people are forced to live in on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis, and I am grateful that I got to see it. Houses were built with whatever people could manage to find, there are no two-story buildings, and very few people, if any, seem to live past the age of 70. When the people of Rabaul finally built themselves a decent village, it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption and they had to build on the rubble. In the reconstructed village, there are two washers and dryers for everyone to use and very few public toilets as well.
Again, the trip to Rabaul was a major eye-opener for me and I am glad I got to experience what I did. Everyone needs to see this type of civilization once in a lifetime. However, I hope I never return.March 1, 2009
Saipan, Mariana Islands
It was interesting to travel nearly halfway around the world from my home and reach a commonwealth of the United States. Seeing the occasional American flag brought back happy thoughts of home, especially after spending all but four days in as many months anywhere but the USA. Nonetheless, Saipan was not very American and had obviously been heavily influenced by Southeast Asia.
I chose to do the only tour offered by the excursions office for this port, niftily dubbed “Discover Saipan”. It was a short (four-hour) tour that took me to four different spots on the island, three of which dealt with World War II. Our drive along the coast first took us to the Banzai cliffs, which, in addition to being a beautiful spot for a seaside panoramic view, is the location that several hundred Japanese civilians chose death by cliff-jumping suicide over surrender to the Americans. They were led to believe thanks to Japanese war propaganda that if they surrendered they would be brutally tortured and killed so chose to take their own lives by jumping down to the rocky waters. The cliffs were scattered with memorials from different foundations and countries and I enjoyed viewing and photographing many of the memorials prior to boarding the bus for our next stops. En route to our next stop, the American Memorial Park, we stopped briefly at a panoramic viewpoint called Bird Island, which was very much worth the brief stop there before continuing on to the park. It was just a small island maybe 50 yards off the coast, but the color of the water and the waves crashing against the island and the coastline were like nothing I had ever seen.Shortly after leaving Bird Island, we arrived at the American Memorial Park, a beautiful park sitting on more than 100 acres of land with a memorial that lists all the US Armed Forces members who perished while fighting for Saipan, and I enjoyed walking around the park and visiting the museum located there which talked about the battles that took place. It was nice to visit somewhere that discussed the historical significance of the location to World War II again, especially after visiting Pearl Harbor a month earlier.Our last stop on the tour was one of the beaches that US Marines came ashore on during the invasion of Saipan in 1944. It was like no beach I had ever been to, in that not only was the water crystal clear, but the gun turrets from some WWII Sherman Tanks were visible peaking out of the water. I do not know where else in the world it is possible to see such things.
Following the tour, I capped my day off by finding a nice restaurant and eating some great sushi before walking around a small shopping center and then heading back to the ship.
In the end, my visit to Saipan turned out to be a lot more interesting than I had anticipated and I am glad that I decided to do the tour and got to visit the places I went to.
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