Hi Everybody! We are staying downtown in a convenient location. We love our hotel, Sunworld Dynasty, which we got on the internet for a great price. It has an open lobby with glass elevators and is quite fancy. We decided to not take a tour but to adventure out on our own. We walked to the government area of town and saw the Chiabng Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. The people here revere this former leader and have a huge statue of him in the hall with military guards. There were many beautiful national buildings in this area, like the National Concert Hall, Theater, Library, Museum, Presidential Office, etc. I will try to put pictures on when I can. I cannot access the port on this computer. I especially enjoyed going to the Taiwan Handicraft Center. I had ... read more

Hi Everybody, Thanks for your messages. I love hearing from you and getting your suggestions of places to visit. I have put a few pictures on the blog of Hong Kong and Japan. You just need to click on Gallery and then on the photos displayed. I have several of HK and 2 of Japan on there. You may be able to see a slide show with a click. The climate is warmer in Japan than I had predicted. It is in the mid 70's. We have not seen any Americans, Africans, or Muslims while we have been here. We met a nice economics professor visiting the local college. He could speak a small amount of English and was helpful. A few signs are in English but no tv stations. We get CNN but they have ... read more

Hi Everybody! We had a smooth flight to Nagoya, Japan. At the airport, we caught a fast train to Gifu, a fairly large city north of Nagoya. I enjoyed seeing the country from the train. We saw a few rice fields but most of the land was occupied with industry or homes built close together. As we passed train stations, you would see hundreds of parked bikes. Often Japanese could be seen working in their small plots of gardens tending greenery or vegetables. The shrubs and trees were all pruned in beautiful geometric shapes. People drive on the left here as they did in Hong Kong. One sad note is the number of individuals that we have seen with deformities. Many are bow legged, extremely pigeon toed, crossed eyes, and other problems. I suddenly realized how ... read more

Today has been a great day! We got up early and caught the Star Ferry to the island of Hong Kong. This is where the central business district is located. Transportation is fairly inexpensive here and it only cost a couple of dollars to ride the ferry. From the ferry, we rode a bus to the Victoria Peak Tram. We had great views of the harbor from the tram and even better from the peak. We visited the Central Market while we were on the island. I found some cute oriental PJ's for my grandaughters. They were exactly like a pair that my friend Miriam Hipp brought to my daughter from Hong Kong over thirty years ago. Next, we went to the HK Musuem of Art and saw neat exhibits on gold and jade. I talked ... read more

Hi Everybody! I am doing this blog as a practice and to see if it works. Walt and I are really excited about our trip to Asia. We have bought Asian passes on Cathay Pacific Airlines and plan to visit approximately 15 countries in the next few weeks. We will fly from Atlanta to San Francisco this weekend and then on to Hong Kong. If you have time, write a note back giving me news on what's happening in Anniston or with your family. Take care, Everette... read more