April 9, 2010
We left from Hong Kong on schedule during a light rain. It has been overcast all day. Our airline flight was long but uneventful. We arrived last night in Hong Kong on schedule at 11:30 PM, retrieved all our bags, the hotel car was waiting, and off we went to the Marco Polo. We were given a newly renovated room on the 15th floor overlooking the harbor, where our ship was originally going to dock. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well the paint smell or new carpeting smell or whatever it was started the allergies. The Chinese sleep on mats on the floor or cinder block and the new mattress equaled that firmness. When you sat on the edge of the bed there was absolutely no “give”. So all the arthritis aches started in the middle of the night after all the “a-choo-ing” from the allergies. Then remember the renovation part? The hotel is still under renovation so the hammering started at 9 AM. Thank heavens we only spent one night in that very lovely hotel.
So we are now comfortably ensconced in our shipboard stateroom; smaller than we remembered, but everything is stowed away. That includes my two suitcases full of clothes. Now I have to remember
where I put everything. Tomorrow is a sea day and they have bridge on board. Yeah!
April 11,2010
After an enjoyable day on board we arrived in DaNang, Vietnam, a newly developing port. It is
surrounded by lush green mountains and there is a large store of sand(!) at the port. The beach along
one side of the bay is white sand. We boarded our tour bus to drive to Hue, a province in the middle of the country where the Imperial Palace of the 1000 yr Nguyen dynasty and the largest pagoda in the country. Our guide was Lan, which means orchid. The families often name their girls after a flower. On our drive, Lan spoke of the history and customs of Vietnam. April through September is the dry season. The rainy season is November-March the rainy, when there are typhoons. Cows are used for transportation and water buffalo for work. Vietnamese products are seafood from fish farms, black pepper, rice, cashews, and coffee. There are 84 million people in Vietnam, most are farmers but the grown children are moving to cities to seek jobs. The country is trying to develop industry and is building roads so people can access the cities more easily from the countryside. Vietnam is 1000 KM from north to south. The people eat fish, chicken, pork, and rice noodles. They bury their dead in caskets which are kept at home for 4 days, then taken to the cemetery for burial. Six months after the burial they go back and decorate the graves. The richer the family, the more decoration.
Foreigners cannot own a house in Vietnam. Vietnamese families after they live in a house 5-10 years they can sell it. Most families live in long narrow houses, 3 generations together. They share the living area, kitchen, bathroom. The boys sleep together and the girl sleep together. The parents share a bedroom. Housing has become very expensive, $40-60/ sq meter in Hue. Hue is known for its good university and hospitals. Only 30 % of the people have health insurance. The poor do not get medical care, they buy medicine at the pharmacy but are reluctant to go to the hospital due to the expense.
There is no income tax, but there is a property tax and business tax. Young workers in coffee shops which are very popular make @$50 per month. Electricity, water, and petrol are very expensive. 19,000dong = $1.00 We are accosted by sellers, everything is “one dollar”, hats, fans, postcards, packs of incense. Every family owns 2-3 motorcycles. They buy China motorcycles for $300 but like Honda motorcycles which last longer and have better mileage but cost $2000. Children go to school ½ a day, either morning or afternoon. The women shop 2x a day. The big meal is at lunch followed by a siesta for 45 minutes. If you work for the government you are only allowed two children. If you are privately employed there is no restriction. Religion, 20% are Buddhist, 10% are Catholic, 10% other. The rest worship their ancestors and Ho Chin Minh who freed the nation from foreign domination. The government is called a Socialist Republic and they vote every 5 years. You must be 18 to vote and get a drivers license to operate a motorcycle.
Our guide talked about her wedding. There were 400 people invited, 350 people by her parents and 50 of her friends. Pictures are taken 3-4 months before the wedding and are displayed at the wedding. Money is given which is all turned over to the parents to help pay for the wedding. The amounts are carefully recorded because the same amount must be given to those who are not yet married at their wedding. Lan was concerned because her fellow tour guides gave her a lot of money. They are not yet married and she will have to give an equal amount at their wedding! Her family is Catholic so they do not believe in fortune tellers but her husband’s family does. Her father-in-law consulted a fortune teller who, based on the lunar cycle, told
them on which day to get married. Consequently, there were many couples who got married on that day and all the venues were very busy.
Lan had been sent to a convent by her parents for her education. When she decided she didn’t want to say in the convent and wanted to get an education to become a tour guide her parents were very upset. She took her first small group of tourists to her home to meet her parents so they could see that they were nice and would stop worrying about her. Now that they see how much money she makes and that the tourists are nice they are encouraging her younger siblings to do the same! Before she married her husband, who is not Catholic and comes from another town, he had to agree to let her continue to work as a guide which she enjoys very much. He is a construction engineer.
Our impressions: Vietnam is a third world nation trying to emerge. Roads are substandard, traffic consists of trucks and motorcycles, and a few bicycles. Families of four ride on the motorcycles, various size packages and deliveries are strapped to the cycles and bicycles. Order onsists of staying to the right-mostly, passing whenever and wherever, no lights, honk and go. Housing is narrow brick houses with high ceilings, wide French doors across the front and back. Many are two story, with another family living upstairs, sometimes with a balcony running around the outside. Families run small businesses in the front of houses, no zoning. It reminds me of Honduras but with different architecture. The countryside has rice paddies with water buffalo and “scarecrows”. Scarecrows are sticks placed in throughout the rice paddies with plastic bags tied to the top that blow in the wind. Most homes have electricity.
Because of their 1000 yr history with china the temples and palaces and citadel looked like miniature Forbidden Cities, only yellow tiles instead of orange. The architecture, thrones, furniture were the same as China. The pagodas all have the same architecture, colors, and tiles. The writing at the emperor’s mausoleum was in Chinese characters and the area was guarded by the stone lions and stone soldiers. The officials were called mandarins. There was the Perfume River around the citadel which was lovely and had boats similar to the emperor’s barges in China. In the morning we went to a Buddhist Temple where the Buddhist priests still live. Children as young as seven live there. The children go to the local school in the morning. If the family is poor they are supported by the monks from contributions from all the Buddhist temples. If the family can pay, they do to support the child.
Our trip back was eventful in that we blew a tire on the bus. The driver stopped the bus, on the road, so watching all the motorcycles and trucks blow their horns and go full speed around was interesting. It took awhile for another bus to come, negotiations to go on, and all board a smaller bus to return to port. This is when you are thankful you took the ship sponsored tour because you know they will wait. The temperature was predicted to be 91 and it was all of that. The people from Canada and colder climates were really uncomfortable. We were well supplied with water, thank heavens. It was just like summer in South Florida but no breeze until the afternoon.
It is interesting that the people of Vietnam are welcoming tourists including Americans. The new generation is just learning about the war. The country was communist after the war. Production of rice plummeted, the economy was in shambles. So the government tried letting the people earn the money and go back to being able to build houses on the land. In one year, production dramatically increased and Vietnam has now outpaced China in production of both rice and cashew exports. They have allowed foreign companies to come in the economy has made progress although the top is still Communist and the government controls the media. The internet is allowing the people to see other viewpoints.
4/13/2010
This morning we sailed into Saigon harbor. Along the Saigon River delta it looks like the Amazon; Wide, muddy, vegetation growing to the water, flat, fast current with branches and limbs floating by. This is an industrial port, not a cruise port. However, there is now a tall bridge that permits the cruise ship to dock closer to downtown. The industrial park port where the cruise ship used to dock was difficult for the tourists, because 50,000 people are employed in the park and the traffic jam going in and out made it difficult for the tour companies to plan. There is barge traffic on the river. Most barges are operated by families who live on board and transport sand, rice, and other products up and down the river. The problem lies in the fact that
the children do not get an education because they are never just in one place. The government is trying to encourage the families to build a small home to come home to each night so the children can be left to go to school. There are also people who volunteer to go on board for a few hours and teach the children so they can learn how to read. The boats have eyes painted on the front bow on each side. Evidently there were once large octopi that would come up river and attack the boats. The king told the people to paint the eyes on the boat so the octopus would think they were another fish and would not attack. The custom is still in effect.
The population is 8 million in the city proper, more that come from the outskirts to work in the city. There are 4 million motor scooters registered and traffic is a zoo. There are lots of cars and trucks besides the scooters,
bikes, and busses and it is honk and go. There are traffic lights that count down the seconds on both red and green and everyone goes when it starts green no matter what is in front of them. We were amazed that the cars all looked new and had no scratches on them. The cars are Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, Honda. There is a growing very rich class who have invested in real estate which is booming. The apartments are sold before
they are built. The new villas are going for a minimum of one million US dollars. The house style is narrow and deep- 4 meters wide by 30-40 meters deep, one family per floor.
There is the wet and dry season here and the temperature is the same year round. It is 95 today. They have no typhoons so build the homes of bamboo and palm roofs. There is a huge demand for sand for concrete and steel using the resource of coal for the office and high rise condos. However, this is no comparison to Beijing or Shanghai for a modern looking city.
We took a ride in a pedi-cab today through the streets of downtown Saigon. It is definitely a third world wholesale business. We went through Chinatown, the spice market, garment area, toys, kitchen, “home depots”, as well as the upscale commercial strip of car dealers (where they service the cars at the side of the street), hotels, and shopping mall. The tour company gave us an envelope with a 20,000 duong bill (=$1)to tip the driver for the two hours of pedaling the bike. The drivers look for more! Jack gave them each another $2.
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Monday, December 13, 2010
October 2010 Caribbean Cruise
October 2010 – Caribbean Cruise Grand Princess
October 11, Monday
Brian dropped us off at the terminal at 12:30. Boarding was to start at 1:00 PM so there was a long line of people waiting. The lady in front of us in line had multiple bags to move as the line moved so we helped her move them along while she waited for her husband to return from parking the car. As we approached the terminal entrance thaere was a sign for Elite and suite travelers that we couldn’t see from the end of the line. We would not have had to stand in the line and could have sat and waited in the terminal or perhaps even boarded early. Oh. Well. Next time we’ll know.
Our upgraded to suite cabin is lovely. The bedroom is sectioned off by a drapery and there are two TV’s. The bathroom has both shower and separate whirlpool tub and is sectioned off from the toilet and sink area. There is a lot of storage and small walk-in closet. It all works great!. Even though we don’t qualify for free laundry via our platinum vs. elite status we do with the suite. Yeah! Of course since this is a 14 day cruise we probably won’t need it, but it will be nice to fall back on. Jack can get his tux shirts washed and pressed after he wears them instead of at home.
The ship is as we remember it except for the added movie screen at the one pool. At least they don’t play movies continually all day. The second pool has the sliding covered roof. We met a couple at lunch who started in England and were staying on through the Caribbean .
The first night’s theater show was singers and dancers and a comedian who was very good. It was more of a show than just an introduction to the staff. I am glad we have two days at sea to start.
Tuesday, Oct 12.
There is a two day discount in the ship stores and they are pretty busy. They have bridge on board. The couple is very nice but the instruction is beginner level. I left early. There were 10 tables of people to play duplicate in the afternoon. I played with a man who does not play duplicate and plays old fashioned Goren. He is a very conservative bidder. We did not do very well. I hope I am not going to play with him every time.
I went to a jewelry presentation on Ammolite and Tanzanite. The ammolite is a multicolored stone mined in Canada , the tanzanite in Tanzania
The suite guests and elite members now have free hors d’oeuvres and drink specials in the disco before dinner. There is no music but the views are great- up in the aft of the 17th floor. The hors d’oeuvres are cheeses, crackers, olives so none work for me but it is a nice idea.
Our suite is right at the elevators at midship. The problem is, there are no stairs at midship. Since I try to always take the stairs for exercise we have to go all the way to the bow or aft to get the stairs. I guess more exercise is good. We are three flights down from the Horizon Court
Our balcony is great. It has a table with four chairs and two lounges. So far we have had the sun in the afternoon but when we turn and head north we will have the shade so it will be a wonderful place to sit and relax in the afternoon.
The production show tonight was Shall We Dance? And it was excellent. The comedian was very funny. He filled the lounge to capacity for both shows. We managed to find two seats but there was standing room only in the back. It was a wonderful first day aboard.
Wednesday, Oct 13
Today was our second sea day. Skipped the bridge lesson and talked Jack into playing in the afternoon bridge game. There are no bidding boxes so he feels more at home. Still didn’t do very well. Had a couple of doubled overbids to the tune of down 800! There are several beginning bridge players in the group. Good for them, coming out to play duplicate!
The theater show tonight was a singer who I thought was mediocre- we left after a couple of numbers. We couldn’t get into the lounge for the ventriloquist for the first show. Jack pooped out but I went to the second show, again packed, and another great act that was funny. The dummy was a dinosaur egg. Now that was a twist. At the end he brought a man up from the audience had him sit on his lap as the dummy and made him talk. Very, very good.
Thursday, Oct 14
Aruba- We took a bus tour around the island and went to the natural bridge which had collapsed in 2005 and saw what is now called the mini-bridge. It is on the north side of the island which is beach less and rough. The landscape is cacti which grows over the granite rock. It seems weird on a Caribbean island. We stopped at the lighthouse and then went around to the western side of the island where there are hotels and wide sandy beaches. At the Holiday Inn we boarded a boat to take us out to the mini-submarine platform. There we got to see the wreck. It is a German boat deliberately sunk by the German captain during the second world war. It is pretty impressive and there were lots of fish and some coral visible. An interesting experience.
When we got back to the dock I wasn’t interested in walking around downtown. I took a long nap before getting ready to go to the steakhouse for our 49th Anniversary dinner. The food and service were excellent, but so has the regular dining room experience. It was on to the casino where I had been winning, but not tonight. Then out on the deck to the Caribbean party. The Caribbean band on board plays a wide variety of music. All of it very well. One of the members got the party going with a lot of participation; dancing, conga line, etc. for 45 straight minutes. That is quite a feat for this age clientele. I guess that just proves that some of us old folks can still party with the young ones!
Friday, October 15, 2010
We slept in to almost 10 AM! I had breakfast, Jack lunch at 11 AM. Then it was off to a walk around Curacao . We are docked near the shopping and downtown bridge so off we went. The new hotel/casino/shopping area that was under construction when we were here last is finished. Very lovely with all the traditional Caribbean upscale shops. After an hour of looking around we were back on board for a swim and reading. What a life!
Two new performers- a juggler and a Las Vegas
Saturday, October 16
Another day at sea with bridge. Jack watched football games on TV. There was a Captain’s Circle party. There are 1400+ repeat Princess cruisers on this cruise. The total number of members is now over 10 million. The most frequent cruisers on board were at the earlier party. Over 700 days on board.
We went to another production show, Motor City
Sunday, October 17- Granada
This was the first time in Granada Tortola only bigger.
We went tubing on a river in the mountains with lots of rapids. It was raining but a lot of fun. We had to wear life vests and helmets. It reminded me of white water rafting. The tubes had bottoms in them, handles on the sides, and ropes around the sides. The young men stationed themselves in the rapids and spun you through some of the rough parts to keep you off the rocks. I think the bottoms in the tubes were so you didn’t rip your bathing suits if you got hung up on the rocks. I was the first one out and got hung up on two rocks out of the main current. I managed to push myself away eventually. You learned to keep your butt off the bottom of the tube. There were ropes strung across the river before each section of rapids where we would all float together and hold on to each other. Then the staff would have us go spaced in singe file through the rapids. Lots of splashing and spinning and fun, fun, fun.
There was nothing wonderful on the dinner menu so we had pizza for dinner on the deck. They are showing the football games and baseball championships on the big movie screen on the deck. At least they don’t have the volume going all day. They had a movie last night in the theater which I went to see, Extraordinary Means. It was very good. A PG movie with Harrison Ford about a family with two sick kids working to get a scientists theory developed into a drug trial to help their kids survive.
Monday, October 18 Barbados
We have been here several times before and had no excursion planned so we ordered breakfast on the patio for 9:30 AM. Of course this morning I awoke at 8:20 but we got our laundry together and were ready when breakfast was delivered. By that time our balcony was in full sun so it was very hot. It was a quick rather than relaxing breakfast. We debated going into town but it is a shuttle bus ride so here we are sitting around the pool out on deck. No searching to find an empty lounge chair in the shade!
We spent the afternoon sitting on our butts at the pool reading. We got dressed for dinner and ate by ourselves so we could get to the comedy show at 8:30. We had seen Kevin Hughes before on other cruises. He is very funny. We skipped the second show since we had to get up early.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 St. Vincent
It was raining when we arrived in St. Vincent this morning. We had to be on the dock by 8 AM for our trip to the falls, lunch and catamaran-snorkel trip. It was a two hour bus trip to the falls. The reason is not because it is a big island but because it is a narrow two lane with a lot of up and down and around all the coves. The island is lush and green and mountainous like Granada
We made a stop at the sight where Pirates of the Caribbean Part 1 was filmed which has become a tourist attraction. Then on up to the park and Devil’s Falls. It is in a park like setting and we crossed the small river on a bamboo bridge. The falls are over 70 feet high. The water is cool but not freezing but the force of the water is incredibly strong. A lot of the people stood in the falls but not me. Then it was on to lunch a local restaurant: A homemade buffet of salad, rice, potato salad, chicken, beans, fish, plantains and banana cake for dessert.
Then onto the catamaran for a ride back down the coast with a snorkeling stop. We motored instead of sailing and the snorkeling was less than wonderful but it still made for a wonderful day in the sunshine. The temperatures have pretty well held steady at 82-84 every day. This was the first tour of the season on St. Vincent . The city and shopping is non-existent but the countryside is beautiful. Again we skipped the formal dinner and ate on deck. We went to the casino where I won $100 then went to the Wheelhouse Bar for a drink and dancing. It was the first time we had been there when the band was playing. There was a lot of couples dancing so we enjoyed our hour. Jack went to bed and I to the cruise staff talent show. Now I’m watching the ALCS baseball game. It’s up early tomorrow for a train ride on St. Kitts.
October 20, 2010 Wednesday St. Kitts
Off to an early morning start again. There is rain all around today but intermittent sun is predicted. We went on a narrow gauge train ride that used to be the tracks that were used to transport sugar cane. The maximum speed was 8 miles per hour so our hair was not mussed up. The cars are enclosed on the bottom with tables and chairs and open on the top with padded benches along the side and a cover on the top. It was a lovely way to see the island on our 18 mile trip. St. Kitts is mountainous with lots of green but the slopes are more like fertile plains than the tropical jungles on Granada and St. Vincent .
After the train ride we took a short drive through an old village to the waiting catamaran. It was a bigger, newer boat than yesterdays with a large covered deck. The drinks flowed freely and we were given a bag lunch while we cruised the remaining part of the island. There were a few rain showers but they didn’t last long and there was little wind with them so no problem. The captain actually put up the main sail for most of the trip so it was a pleasant ride indeed. As we sailed into the harbor we saw a couple of Sunsail boats moored so there must be some sailboat chartering here. Nevis is very close and a couple other small islands we could see.
The French and the British both occupied this island at the same time. The british first who were allowed by the Caribe Indians and they allowed the French to come and settle both ends of the island while they took the middle. Sugar cane was the main crop until 2005 when it was discontinued because the government was losing money. Now they are trying to develop tourism. There are many villages and roads with French names.
I napped and watched the baseball game while Jack went up on deck by the pool. After a nice dinner we went to see the production show but there were no seats so we went to the casino and to the later show. Stardust was the theme. It was sophisticated and low key songs from the 40’s-60’s. Very nice. We dined with a couple from California that were celebrating their 50th anniversary and a couple from Arizona
Thursday, October 21, 2010 St. Thomas
We got to sleep in until 8:30 since we didn’t have to be on the dock until 9:50. Our tour this morning was on The Screaming Eagle. It was fast, fun, and very wet. Even Jack enjoyed it. Were warned ahead of time that we would be completely soaked and that was a very true prediction. Afterward we walked around the dock doing some looking at the small carts to start to dry off but we just had to come back onboard to ditch the clothes.
We spent some time at the pool. The weather was fantastic. A beautiful breeze and not to hot- for us anyway. The Brits and Canadians are feeling the heat. We joined some people in the dining room who were from Philadelphia
We skipped the entertainment and danced in the Wheelhouse Bar which was crowded. There were a lot of dancers. I think Dancing With the Stars has made dancing more interesting. There were a lot of couples doing a wide variety of dances. The Oriental couples dance a lot and very dramatically. We sat with an older couple- he a short meat packer from Pa. and she originally from Buenos Aires
Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 Santa Domingo , Dominican Republic
We started at 9:20 for a tour of colonial Santa Domingo which is a World Heritage site. The bus took us by the President’s palace which was built by Trujillo Caribbean side kept the breezes blowing through. It was located inside the wall that surrounded the village and on the opposite side was the large square. Then it was on to the rum factory and then the amber museum. There were way too many people for the size of the spaces so it was pretty hot in both places. It seems like the only island that has a good job preserving the buildings and history. We went to the cathedral- the oldest in the islands started in the 1500’s. The outside definitely needs some restoration and cleaning but the inside was in good shape. It is probably difficult to clean the coral rock blocks from which the cathedral was constructed. However, as in most of these islands, painting does not seem to be a necessity.
On to a restaurant for a Dominican lunch. Rice, chicken, beef, salad, cooked veggies and fruit for dessert. It was on a patio and in the shade it was nice, in the sun pretty hot. Then on to shopping. Nothing interesting if you don’t want amber or precious jewelry. We sat in the square with trees and benches. There were peddlers but they left you alone when you said no thank you. Then a walk back to the bus. A lot of the people had not expected so much walking and were pretty tired out. We got back 20 minutes before we had to be on board.
Santa Domingo is definitely the most densely populated of all the cities we’ve seen as well as the most densely populated island. There are many tall buildings and it is very urban. There are many businesses and much more variety than we’ve seen so far. Because it was settled by the Spanish there is also a Moorish influence in some of the buildings that they are trying to preserve. Even the cathedral has Moorish tile work in some of the side chapels. There is also a lot of ironwork on balconies and doors. We were told it is for decoration, protection from theft, and protection from flying debris during hurricanes to protect the glass.
Nothing appealed to us on the chef’s special dinner menu so we ate in the Horizon Court
Saturday, October 23, 2010 At Sea
Our last day at Sea. Jack is trying to watch the college football games and I will be playing bridge. They had a big “sale” again in the restaurant. It was a mad house. You would think they were giving stuff away. I stopped in the cheap jewelry store and found some clip earrings so I am a happy camper. Tonight is formal night and tomorrow is Princess Cays. I could just stay onboard. The free laundry and dry cleaning is great and the suite is fantastic. I am really getting spoiled.
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