DA NANG, VIETNAM MARCH 11, 2008

DA NANG (CHINA BEACH), VIET NAM MARCH 11, 2008

Vietnam officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, and Cambodia to the southwest. On the country’s east coast lies the South China Sea. With a population of over 85 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world. The country is listed amount the “Next Eleven” economies, according to government figures, GDP growth was 8.17% in 2006, the second fastest growth rate among countries in East Asia and the fastest in southeast Asia.

The name Viet Nam had been used for this country before it became the official name in “Du’dia chi” of Nguyen Trai written in 1435 and perhaps even before. Vietnam is larger than Italy and almost the size of Germany.

When docked at an out of the way place, Chan May, which is being developed as a deep-water port, we were warmly greeted (as noted in the sign) by and orchestra and dancers in full costume. I found the greeting by the fishermen in the round boats with the single oar just as interesting. Who do they row a round boat with a single oar.

We stopped on the tour at very nice museum of Vietnam artifacts; limited collection in a French design building. Near this museum there was a war memorial commemorating the dead of the American vs. Vietnam war. This memorial however was only for the ones killed by the Americans.

Next stop was a Buddhist pagoda. Here Judy got some luck rubbing the Buddha’s tummy and Jim found himself in a line up.

There is a nearby mountain almost fully of marble. They have wonderful sculptures of religious statues, dolphins, free forms etc. We were interested in buying one as they are beautiful and very cheap, but time ran out. We did take a picture of one of the artisans carving tombstones on and embankment of a river. He used water to clear away the chips and let is run down to the river.

We stepped back to modern times for a moment with a stop at the Sandy Beach Hotel. Great beach, and fine hotel facilities right on China Beach.

Lastly, please look at a picture of the ubiquitous water buffalo this time giving the kids a ride.

HONG KONG MARCH 9, 2008

HONG KONG, CHINA March 9, 2008

Hong Kong primarily consists of Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. Hong Kong is bordered the north by Guangdong Province and on the east, west and south by the South China Sea.

The Kowloon Peninsula is attached to the New Territories to the north, and the New Territories spans northwards eventually connection with main land China across the Sham Chun River (Shenzhen River).

Hong Kong was a British dependency from 1840’s to July 1, 1997, when it passed to Chinese sovereignty as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). The British control of Hong Kong began in 1842, when China was forded to cede Hong Kong Island to Britain after the First Opium War. In 1984 Britain and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which stipulated that Hong Kong return to Chinese rule in 1997 as a SAR of China. There was considerable concern for the community pending the Communist Chinese take over, but by all accounts on its tenth anniversary it has be a very successful transition. Capitalism continues to thrive.

We entered the Victoria Harbor on the Queen Victoria with a considerable haze and overcast as you can barely see the red sun in the morning for in the first picture. As we proceeded into the harbor we came across a large suspension bridge. We took this picture, as you will never see the future bridge at this state again.

As we docked we were greeted by the elaborate dragon dance with 15 to 20 dancers.

We boarded our tour and were taken to the vernicular to be transported to the top of Victoria Peak. You can see the tram clearly in the picture but the continuing haze made the photo view from the peak less than optimum.

Our next stop was the sampan tour of the harbor. In the middle of the harbor is a famous restaurant called Jumbo. We enjoyed seeing the luxurious yachts moored alongside the rather shabby watercraft in the “very” working harbor.

We next stopped at the Stanley Market long famous for special prices on some desirable and a lot of not so desirable items. Recently the Chinese government has cracked down on much of the counterfeit/fakes/knock offs. With you eyes open you can still buy special watches and purses not found else ware.

Later in the evening, after we had returned to the ship, we were taken to a special event for world cruise passengers at a private club The Hong Kong Club. Four people entertained us at the club while we were having cocktails: a calligrapher, a caricature artist, a cricket (made of bamboo leaves) maker and a fortuneteller. During the twelve-course dinner of Chinese food dragon dancers, silk dancers and a string trio entertained us. A very special event with Judy being pictured in an object of are outside the club.

KOTA KINABALU MALASYIA MARCH 6, 2008

KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA March 6, 2008

Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah, a state in Malaysia, as well as the capital of the west coast division of Sabah. Located on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo facing the South China Sea with Mount Kinabalu in the background, the city has a population of 532,129 in the city and 700,000 in the urban area. It is the largest urban center in Sabah and the fastest growing and currently the sixth largest city in Malaysia.

Malaysia was founded in 1963 as a Moslem country with 14 states. Indeed their flag has 14 alternating red and white stripes similar to the USA flag. However on the blue field there is a crescent representing the country’s religious foundation.

Kota Kinabalu has a majority population of Christians and just recently was allowed to elect a non-Moslem to the position of governor. In addition the religious sectors in the population, there are many specific heritages stemming from the original native tribes on the island: Kadazans Hill Dusuns, seafaring Bajaus, Muruts. Chinese and Indians entered the country and were a moving force in the business of the state. The government gave special status to the indigenous peoples, the Bumiputras, and are an officially recognized racial group with special status. The Indians and Chinese are not allowed to own property. As a person observation with the various segments of religious, heritage, racial, country of origin, the country seems a very divided (even prejudice) community with little country unity.

On our tour of the city we initially noticed the mosques. The two pictured are extensive and beautiful structures that we are not allowed to go into.

We stopped at a Muzium Sabah which had a clear collection of the dress and customs of the various indigenous tribes. Adjacent to the museum was a Heritage Village with various stilt houses lived in by each of the different tribes. You can see a couple of pictures of Jim and Judy at these sites. Jim is in a pot, maybe reminiscent of the cannibals that use to roam the island of Borneo.

PORT DOUGLAS, AUSTRALIA February 28, 2008

Port Douglas is a small town far north in the state of Queensland. The town’s population quadruples with the influx of tourists during the peak tourism season May-September.

Port Douglas is near the Great Barrier Reef. There are numerous companies that run daily trips from the marina to the outer reef and the Low Isles for scuba diving and snorkeling. Port Douglas is also well known for it’s many restaurants, golf courses and five star resorts.

Today we visited a rain forest nature park to see many animals and plants that are not seen at home. We traveled through the rain forest in Army Ducks (really DUKW’s) and then into the water to see some aquatic plants and animals.

When we left the rain forest we boarded a scenic train to come down from the mountain. We traveled along the Barron River. At one point the river fell 1000 feet over the Barron Falls and it was spectacular. The picture we have of it doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the view.

I was particularly interested in the number of different types of termites. One of the species attacks a particular type of tree, the Black Wattle, and only eats the core of the tree. They leave to outside shell of the tree intact. Now the aborigines use this Black Wattle tree for their boomerangs. The aborigines also make a musical instrument called a didgeridoo. This is a 4 to 6 foot long and 3 to 4 inch in diameter straight piece of wood that is hollowed out. The player blows into the end of the instrument like a horn and produces a low buzzing sound. Anyway to make this instrument they simply take a log of the proper dimensions and stick it into a termite nest and in 9 to 12 months the log has been hollowed out and with some finishing touches the instrument is ready to go.

See some of the aborigines with their didgeridoo (see the man on the left) playing it and dancing on the deck of a tender from our cabin balcony.

We have with this stop visited 4 different cities in Australia from Melbourne in the south to Port Douglas in the north. Melbourne is about the same distance from the equator as Chicago and Port Douglas is equivalent to Miami. I am struck by the diversity of climates in the country of which I was not aware. Further to this surprise today we came down from a mountain peak to a seashore town filled with world-class resorts. We have similar resorts in the Miami area, but of course no mountains or rain forests. Again we find unexpected diversity.

BRISBAIN, AUSTRALIA February 26, 2008

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA February 26, 2008

Brisbane is a city in eastern Australia, capital of the state of Queensland and a seaport on the Brisbane River, near Moreton Bay. Brisbane was founded as a station for British convicts in 1824. The term POHM refers to Prisoners of Her Majesty and is usually used in a phrase “pohmy bastard” in a fun loving way.

The city is accessible to oceangoing vessels with 2 miles of wharf space. Wool is the chief export. Other leading exports are meat, hides, sugar, dairy products, corn, pearl shell and coal. Brisbane is an important manufacturing center with diversified industries, including food processing, tanning automobile assembling, brewing, and the manufacture of lumber, clothing, tobacco products, boots and shoes and machinery.

We had a chance to tour this beautiful cosmopolitan city with its old Parliament House, the town hall, Brisbane Museum and the buildings of the University of Queens land. In addition there is much modern architecture built for the 1988 World’s Fair which was held in Brisbane.

After our tour we traveled to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Here in addition to the Koalas we were treated to a wonderful exhibit of sheep herding by a master of training dogs to do his bidding. He has these dogs so highly trained they seem an extension of his will. With subtle motions and signals they not only herd sheep but stop, go, sit, stand, lie down, while they are running in the field. They even go jump in the pond at his command. When we owned our sweet and loving dog and I gave her a command, she had no idea what to do. It was as though she was in a different universe, so this demonstration was a real amazement for me.

Judy was very much anticipating holding the Koala. The cute animals were very cuddly. It seemed that this “cuddling” was their primary occupation because they slept 20 hours, ate for 3 hours, performed some bodily functions for part of the remaining hour, which left about ½ hour to be cuddled. Luckily they had 139 koalas in the sanctuary so all could share the laborious cuddling task.

Judy met Specs who weighed about 25 pounds, was very sweet and awakened the maternal instinct in the holder. Specs I’m sure considered the holder more like a tree to which he was trying to get comfortable for a little nap.

Jim tried to get a small kangaroo interested in his hand but evidently the hand did not include food and the animal had seen a hand before and was not interested..

The Rainbow Lorikeets were very colorful as the name would imply and were a treat to see.

Finally we left the park and the koalas were again off duty and sleeping.

SYDNEY Februayr 23 & 24, 2008

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA February 23 & 24, 2008

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales, located on the east coast of Australia. The city was established in 1788 when Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet landed in Sidney Cove and claimed Australia for the British. With a metropolitan population of over 4 million people, it is the most populous city in the country of about 20 million.

Built around Sidney Harbor, which is sometimes considered one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, has on its shores structures such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which are globally, recognized icons of the city. Sydney is a major domestic and international tourist destination, notable for its climate, famous beaches, culture, renowned landmarks and modern architecture. It is Australia’s main financial center and the skyscrapers of its financial district cluster around Circular Quay, making the city’s skyline one of the most distinctive in the world.

Queen Victoria made her first call on Sydney on February 23, 2008. Her famous sister Queen Elizabeth 2 who is on her farewell World Cruise, made her final call at the port exactly 30 years she made her first call here on February 24, 1978.

We docked at the Circular Quay with Jim and the Queen Victoria. You can also see the Sydney Opera House nearby. We were met by dear friends Barry and Louise Mc Lean and given a tour of the North Beaches, which were the most beautiful beaches with great surfing. See the Sydney Opera House again from the ferry.

On the second day in Sydney Maud, a friend of Barry and Louise, entertained us in her home with a lovely lunch with her friends and family; a warm and welcoming group of new friends.

The thousands of people who visited the harbor on land and sea to see the two queens were absolutely astounding. Take a look at the panoramic views taken from the air of the two Queens. The first shows the QE2 in the fore ground and the second the QE2 is on the right. In both cases the older QE2 has tugs guiding her in the harbor where as the QV tugs are not needed. The vast armadas of smaller pleasure boats were a sight to see.

As we pushed off from the dock and while we make our way out of the harbor the many scene of the mobs of people were memorable.

The last picture is of the crowds at the headlands waiting for a final view as she left the harbor.