Da Nang Our second stop in Viet Nam gave us a feel for the large cities and the traffic experience. We chose a tour to the former imperial capital of Hue, a city about a two hour drive from the Tien Sa Port over the Troung Son Mountain Range which lines the border between Laos and Viet Nam. Unfortunately, our guide, who was very young, was difficult to understand, and he didn’t understand our questions, either. Or maybe, because he had a set explanation of things, he didn’t want to answer us although, I believe it was the former. He was too young to have been a part of the war, and now he lived in a communist country. Having been educated by communists, to him the Viet Nam war was referred to as the US ... read more

Hong Kong We arrived in Hong Kong with mixed feelings. We were glad the rolling sea was over and we could walk on land, but sad to say goodbye to Bruce and Brigid. Since we have been here before, we didn’t take a day tour. Fortunately we docked at the best place in all of Hong Kong: The Ocean Terminal in Kowloon, which is right next to the Star Ferry Terminal, and is part of this huge shopping center. We were across the street from the new cultural center and other museums. After taking the ferry across to Hong Kong Island, we walked around and just stared at the beauty of the harbor which bustled with activity from barges to ferries to small fishing boats. Then we returned to the ship to get ready for our ... read more

Manila, Philippines On Feb. 26 we arrived in Manila at a port just outside the city. Shuttle buses took us to the Mall of Asia, the largest mall in all of Asia, we were told. We hadn’t scheduled a tour here, as most of them went out of the city so we took the shuttle. Traffic is horrible now that almost everyone has a car, and the bus ride took over 45 minutes. This mall is indeed gigantic and very modern since it is not more than 5 years old. Security was tight we were told because there was a US merchant ship due in port while we were there. Don’t know if that was true or not, but in any event, every entrance to the mall had armed guards - really armed with long rifles ... read more

Brunei (Part Two) While the men were climbing through the jungle, we women took a nice, leisurely tour of the cities. Our first stop was to view what is called water villages on stilts. Twenty eight small entities totaling almost 30,000 people are built on stilts over the water. They have schools and other facilities there, but most people commute by water taxi across the water to their cars and go to work on shore. This is not what you’d call shanty towns, either. The sizes of the houses vary and go from very small to rather. What many don’t have is a sewage connection. They have electricity, including satellite dishes for TV, however. This was quite a sight to see and of course, Bruce had the camera so I have no documentation at all. We ... read more

Padang Bai, Bali Some people find themselves between a rock and a hard place, but we find ourselves between Cyclone Nicholas off the coast of Australia, a 7.6 strength earthquake off Sumatra, and a missile to be shot from the pacific near Hawaii at a wayward satellite that may drop toxic fuel in some remote place. What is one to do? Head for Brunei, that’s what. But first, I think I have time to tell you about our day in Bali on Feb. 19th. Many of the crew on the ship are from Bali, and they were able to get off the ship or bring their families onboard for a short time when we were there. Our cabin boy asked if we could allow him to make up our room early so he could see his ... read more

Sydney: February 9 and 10, 2008 What a glorious city! We were so fortunate to be docked right at Circular Quay directly across from the Opera House. Our disembarkation in Sydney required an inspection of everyone’s passport, which meant that everyone aboard had to report to the lounge, get our passport, and file past customs officials, flash our passport, exit the lounge, and return our passport to the ship staff. Of course there were a couple of people who didn’t come when told, so we all had to wait to go ashore until they showed up. When we finally cleared, we four headed for the Opera House to get our tickets for the evening’s performance of La Boheme. We walked around the Quay past many shops, cafes, and ferry boats to arrive about twenty minutes later ... read more