63º F for a high temperature, and it was foggy/rainy all day. This was an abrupt change, but not totally unexpected. Before leaving home, Jim had noticed that the average temperatures for this time of year are 20º cooler in Hanoi than in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). For many people 63º in March may not seem cold, but this is by far the coldest it’s been for us since we left Honolulu nearly two months ago. In fact, we’ve been experiencing 90º F or higher every day for the past month on this cruise. Hongai is at 20º north latitude, and we’re going to be cruising generally in a northeasterly direction for the next month, so our hot weather is most likely all behind us.
There were only three shore excursions offered in Hongai – one was 11½ hours in length to Hanoi and back (7 hours on the bus); second was a Junk Boat ride to see the dramatic rock formations in Ha Long Bay (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); third choice was a visit to a Buddhist monastery. We chose the Ha Long Bay Junk Cruise, and there were two options – morning or afternoon. We were scheduled for the afternoon trip (1:30 pm). Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain at that time. In our judgement, it didn’t seem like it would be much fun to take that boat ride in the rain and wind. We probably wouldn’t be able to see much of the rock formations anyway; so we opted out of the tour. We hated to do that, but it seemed like the smart thing to do. Below is the best picture we could manage to get of what we could see from our balcony through the fog and rain.
Instead of taking the tour, we worked on planning for the excursions we wanted to take on the next segment of the world cruise (Shanghai to Tokyo). Then we attended afternoon tea in the Palm Court and also were able to finally get back to playing one of the games we brought along with us – Yahtzee this time. We’ve been so busy lately that we hadn’t been able to play these games. Score right now is 16 – 12, but we won’t reveal who’s in the lead.
There was a very good classical piano concert in the Galaxy Lounge at 7:45 last evening – Naomi Edemariam from London. Of course, the passengers who had traveled to Hanoi missed both dinner and the concert. We understand there was a small buffet set up in the Bistro for them, if they were hungry when they got to the ship about 9:00 pm.
We departed Hongai soon after all the Hanoi travelers returned. The Captain revealed today, during his “Noon Update,” that there was a possibility we might not have been able to depart last night, as a cargo ship ran aground in the channel during one of yesterday’s storms and blocked the way in and out for everyone. The local authorities were able to get the cargo ship out of the way in time for us to leave at about 9:30 pm.
As we departed overnight, we transited the Gulf of Tonkin; now, as we’re writing this, the ship is passing through the Hainan Strait. A heavy storm hit us about 2:00 am, with winds Captain Vorland characterized as “horrendous” during his update today. It woke us up, but we went right back to sleep.
Today there was a full schedule of “day at sea” activities from which we could pick and choose. One unique thing to be scheduled was due to Hong Kong health officials’ requirement that all guests have their temperature taken before we enter Hong Kong. This apparently was because of their concern about avian flu. As a result, we had to go to the Stardust Club this afternoon to have a temperature screening. We chose to go at 2:45, after our piano class. Luckily we both passed muster and will be allowed off the ship in Hong Kong.
We’re not making much progress on the piano lessons, as we’re both still in the beginner’s class. There are about 15 Yamaha keyboard synthesizers available in the classroom, and normally about 10 people in class. Unfortunately, there are never any openings in the Intermediate Level classes into which we could progress. From what we understand, the Advanced classes are for very experienced players, so there’s a logjam at the Intermediate level. On the other hand, we believe that a classification of beginner is probably still the right one for both of us.
Captain Vorland invited us to his quarters for cocktails again this evening for a second visit, along with about 20 other passengers. Because he lives adjacent to the Navigation Bridge at the very front of the ship, there was a lot of rolling and tossing in rough seas this evening. Ginny sat down, to make sure she didn’t fall down (along with some other guests).
The six of us at our table decided to go up to Tastes for dinner this evening, instead of in the Dining Room. Tastes is a less formal venue (on the 12th deck), but it’s still very attractive. They offer tapas-style servings, meaning small portions of several different food types. There are about 15 offerings, and we normally choose four of them that we share between the two of us. Sometimes we’ve chosen five. With six of us at the table, the three couples ordered what we thought would be good and shared some of it with each other. Then, of course, they have excellent desserts as well. Jim had Bananas Foster and Ginny had Chocolate Crème brûlée (with toasted marshmallow fluff).
Tomorrow morning’s docking time in Hong Kong has changed from 8:00 am to be 9:15, at the request of the local port authorities. That gives us more time to sleep. We’re looking forward to the 2-day visit.
Jim & Ginny
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