March 27, 2016 – Hong Kong

Welcome to Hong Kong! We’re docked on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor, at the Ocean Terminal – one of the best docking locations in the world, not only for the view, but especially for its location. We’re adjacent to the Star Ferry Terminal, where the ubiquitous Star Ferry boats run across the Harbor between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island every few minutes, 18 hours a day. We’re also mere blocks from world-famous hotels, restaurants, and more high-end shopping than you can possibly imagine.

We had a perfect view from our cabin’s balcony of the skyline of Hong Kong Island, across the harbor. Here's a photo of what we see. 

Star ferries have been crossing Victoria Harbor since 1888 and are a floating piece of Hong Kong heritage. As we understand it, today’s boats are not that old, but they are from the 1950s. It’s interesting to just sit on our balcony and watch these ferries coming and going. They seem to be leaving every two minutes or so, going both directions.

We last visited Hong Kong three years ago, and we were here for three days then. We’ve already done most of the items on everyone’s “must see” list – the funicular tram ride to the top of Victoria Peak, lunch at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, as well as the “Hop-on-Hop-off” bus tours of both Kowloon and Hong Kong Island

Saturday, March 26, 2016
We docked at 9:15, as scheduled, and Jim departed with a group of 10 other passengers on a ship’s excursion called “Dragon’s Back Hilltop Hike.” Our small mini-bus headed from Kowloon, via a tunnel under Victoria Harbor, to Hong Kong Island. There are no bridges across the harbor, and it’s expensive to drive through the tunnel. However, the tour guide wanted to keep the tour on schedule.

The name of the excursion wasn’t that accurate, as it implied a hilltop hike; in fact, the hike began by going uphill and kept going uphill to the peak of Diamond Back Ridge. The trail surface was quite rocky, so we had to be careful of our footing while climbing. Adding to the challenge was the very large number of local people climbing the trail today. Our guide told us that the weather had been rainy and windy lately. Today was the first nice day for Hong Kong in a long time, and it was also a holiday (and a Saturday). So, lots of local people had the same “get outdoors and hike” idea we did.

Our guide told us that over 70 percent of Hong Kong is mountains and parks. That’s why there are so many high-rise apartments to squeeze in as much housing as possible for 7 million people in such a small space.

Dragon Back Ridge cuts across the southeast end of Hong Kong Island and is a section of the 30-mile long Hong Kong Trail. A few years ago, the Dragon Back Ridge was named in one list as the “best urban hike in Asia.” It didn’t really feel urban, even though we weren’t that far out of the city. We started in a wooded area and went up to the winding “spine” of the dragon, leaving the hustle and bustle of the city behind.

There were several overlooks along the way, with picturesque views of reservoirs, beaches, and other hillside terrain. About a third of our people quit before reaching the top, but Jim kept on going and was proud to have made it. It was windy and a little cool at the top. 

That was only half of the hike, as we then had to make it back down. As many of you know, going downhill on relatively steep, rocky terrain can be more difficult than going uphill. Half way down, we stopped and ate a picnic lunch that the tour guide had brought along with him. Total time for this half of the adventure was three hours.

Upon boarding our minibus, we returned to the city. But, shortly thereafter, the hiking group hopped off the bus in the central city part of Hong Kong Island. This was two more hours of walking; first visit was to a 3-block-long Chinese natural medicine area. There was small store after small store of various strange herbs and (expensive) dried animal body parts that Chinese people eat, because they think it’s good for their health. The guide explained a lot of this to us, but he said he didn’t have enough money to buy these things. We then headed into a forest of soaring glass and steel skyscraper towers. The old colonial British buildings in the Central part of Hong Kong Island have almost all been leveled and replaced by an excess of modernity.

As the group walked, some of the more notable structures we passed included HSBC bank headquarters, International Finance Center (IFC) mall, which includes two huge towers (88-story and 39-story), and Exchange Square (home to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange). We also admired the “Mid-Level Escalators” – claimed to be the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. They cover a half mile of moving stairs, walkways and passageways from the business hub to the residential areas above (called Mid-Levels). We then enjoyed walking on a network of overhead pedestrian walkways, weaving between modern buildings, that eventually led us to the upper level of the Star Ferry Terminal for our ride across the harbor from Hong Kong Island back to Kowloon and a short walk to the Serenity.

After dinner Saturday evening, we had excellent seats on our cabin’s balcony for the lights and laser show called “Victoria Harbor’s Symphony of Lights,” which occurs every evening at 8:00 pm. We thought the view of bright lights on the skyscrapers was spectacular but the multi-media laser show wasn’t as good as we remembered it from three years ago. Here are some photos from last night:

Sunday, March 27, 2016

We spent Easter Sunday 2016 in Hong Kong. At breakfast, we had Easter Baskets at our tables, and there was a low-key contest between about 15 crewmembers who had decorated large ostrich eggs for Easter. Passengers were asked to vote on their favorites.

Jim went out for a walk in the morning, visiting some of the sights in this portion of Kowloon. Of course, not much was open for business this early on Sunday morning. He was looking for the large Chinese Arts & Crafts store where we bought a few things three years ago; unfortunately, it’s no longer there and was replaced by a gigantic bookstore. He did visit the Peninsula Hotel and the YMCA Hotel (where he bought a magnet to add to our collection), and then discovered a huge system of underground tunnels to avoid intersections and traffic. They eventually led to the Star Ferry Terminal, so it was easy to find his way back to the ship from there.

After lunch the two of us headed off the ship together and went directly into one of the largest shopping malls in Hong Kong, called Harbour City. Ocean Terminal, where we’re docked, is actually part of the shopping mall. The amazing thing is that Harbour City has a total of 700 stores, including large offerings from practically all upscale retail stores from everywhere around the world! Physically, the mall is very classy and attractive – multiple buildings and four levels all interconnected; everything is bright, cheerful, and very clean.

Interestingly, the portion of the mall closest to our ship has various corridors of stores in different specialties – one long section of very expensive watch stores, one section of very expensive children’s clothes stores, one section of sporting goods stores, one section of computers and electronics, etc. We were happy to find our favorite Belgian chocolate store – Leonidas – and bought a small box (100g) of their products. We covered as much of Harbour City as our feet could tolerate and then returned to the ship.

We know there are untold numbers of stores lining streets in the city in Hong Kong, as well as many megamalls, but we were happy to just explore the stores right here where we’re docked.

Hong Kong is a city of great contrasts – soaring skyscrapers, Asian traditions and tastes, part of China but still a Special Administrative Region with a strong capitalist economy, a deep water port – truly one of the crossroads of the world. In a few days, one can only scratch the surface, and we leave wishing we could have stayed longer. There’s so much to see and do.

We’re scheduled to depart from Hong Kong at 5:00 pm this evening and will head for Xiamen on the coast of southeast China. We should arrive there tomorrow morning at 11:00 am.

Jim & Ginny

March 25, 2016 – At Sea

The weather has changed considerably since leaving Hué two days ago. We headed north and anchored offshore at Hongai, Vietnam yesterday. Unfortunately, it never went above
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.

Transferring passengers to the boats for the Junk Boat ride was an interesting operation. Of course, we weren’t docked; we were anchored in the bay. Below is a picture we took of how this was done for the morning tour. The passengers climbed down metal stairs off our ship, crossed a “platform” (which was actually a floating flat barge), and then climbed up small stairs onto the boats – all this done out on the open water.

There were actually two other ships out in the Bay with us – Silversea Silver Shadow and SuperStar Libra. We don’t know if they were transferring passengers this way in Hongai or not.

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

 

March 23, 2016 – Hué, Viet Nam

Hué is a city in central Vietnam that was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the national capital from 1802-1945. However, most of us who were alive in 1968 will remember Hué as the location of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War (called the American War by people in Vietnam). The city, and its historical sites, suffered great damage during the Tet Offensive at the hands of the Viet Cong, North Vietnamese Army, and subsequent American military bombing. It’s now nearly 50 years later, and we were interested to see if any reconstruction has taken place.

Crystal Serenity arrived at the port of Chan May (located about midway between Hué and Da Nang) at 7:00 am. Our travel agent had arranged a private tour for us here. We left the ship at 8:30, and our driver and guide were waiting for us. It was quite foggy and cool this morning, but it cleared up as the day went on.

It’s a 90-minute drive to Hué from Chan May, and our guide Hoan (pronounced as the Spanish name Juan) gave a running dialog of what we were seeing, as well as an introduction to Hué (pronounced Hway). It was a rural drive, with colorful sights to be seen – rice fields, Acacia trees, small villages, and a very large lagoon, which Hoan described as the biggest lagoon in Southeast Asia (54,000 acres of water surface).

Hué has a population of 400,000 (quite a change from Ho Chi Minh City’s 10 million) and it lies on both sides of the Perfume River. Hoan described Hué as “the capital of Buddhism in Vietnam.” At one time there were 400 Buddhist temples in Hué, but now there are only 200. There are also 10 universities in Hué, so there is a young vibe to the city.

Our first stop was to get out of our car and hop on for a cyclo ride. Cyclos are three-wheel bicycles where a passenger sits in a seat supported by the two front wheels, with a driver sitting behind, doing the pedaling.

We rode along in traffic, dodging cars and motorbikes for about 30 minutes in Hué. We crossed a bridge over the Perfume River, and then drove along the river for a while, on the way to the Citadel. We crossed a moat and through a gate in first wall of the Citadel. Inside that wall, and before the second wall, there are 50,000 people now living (many of them are descendants of the Ngyuen royal family, according to Hoan).

The Citadel was the center of the historic city and the exclusive residence of the royal family and its entourage. There are three walled enclosures, built concentrically around one another, containing the Imperial City and the Forbidden City – collectively known as the Citadel. This was the seat of power for 13 emperors between 1802 and 1945.

To get a feel for how big this complex is, the outer wall is nearly seven miles in circumference and stretches for three miles above the Perfume River. As we approached the gate leading into the Imperial City, we saw a huge Vietnamese flag atop a pole standing 121 feet high – tallest in the country.

A 23-foot tall wall and moat enclose a courtyard, where civil and religious ceremonies took place. Inside the Imperial City is the Forbidden Purple City where the royal family lived. Once through the gate into the Imperial City, there are many buildings, but directly in front of us was the Palace of Supreme Harmony (Thai Hoa Dien). 

The Palace of Supreme Harmony was built in 1803 and is a large hall with an ornate timber roof. It was used for the emperor’s official receptions, special events, and important ceremonies. On state occasions the emperor sat on an elevated throne. No photos are permitted inside. Hoan told us that the harmony part of the title refers to the harmony of Yin and Yang. Ginny decided to stay within the Imperial City, while Jim and Hoan proceeded into the Forbidden City.

During the time of the Nguyen Dynasty, only the emperor, the queen, nine separate ranks of concubines, female servants, and court eunuchs were allowed to enter the Forbidden Purple City Anyone else who dared enter was executed. Unfortunately, 80% of the Forbidden City, including the emperor’s home, was destroyed during the Vietnam War. Restoration is ongoing, but much more still needs to be done. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the UN is helping to fund some of the reconstruction.

Jim and Hoan did a lot of walking around within the Forbidden City (Ginny claimed they were gone for an hour). They passed by a vibrant red passageway outside the former home of the emperor, as well as the Royal Theater (built in 1825 and now open as a leading venue for traditional entertainment) and the Royal Library (1821) which was undamaged during the war.

Even with a lot of the buildings destroyed by war, we were still able to get a feeling for how beautiful and majestic this place once was.

After finishing our visit to the Citadel, we returned to our car and drove to the An Hien House, originally the residence of Emperor Tu Duc’s 18th daughter. As we understand it, Tu Duc was the last Nguyen emperor to rule with complete independence from the French. The house was not large, but Hoan said that it was a good example of a former aristocrat’s home, with a shrine to Buddha at the entryway, followed by a shrine to the family’s ancestors. We placed lighted incense sticks at both small shrines and then visited the home’s garden, which is mostly trees indigenous to the area.

This was followed by the nearby Heavenly Lady Pagoda, which is a symbol of the city of Hué. The site is dominated by a 7-story octagonal tower (Hué’s oldest pagoda), perched high on a hill above the river. Also interesting was a marble turtle (symbol for long life) and a very large bronze bell from 1710 (weight of 4,409 pounds) which can be heard from six miles away when rung.

Last, but not least, was the Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh, who ruled from 1916 - 1925. Construction of this flamboyant tomb took 11 years, and he died at the age of 41, before the tomb was completed in 1931. Khai Dinh was widely seen as a puppet of the French, and he was not well-liked; even less so, because the tomb was built with money from a 30% tax increase forced on the people. He was the last emperor to be buried in a royal tomb in Hué, and it’s a real standout for a lot of reasons.

The tomb was built into the side of a hill and it rises steeply through three levels. There were about 150 steps to climb to reach the top level, so Ginny decided not to attempt that. Jim and Hoan easily made it and enjoyed the exercise. The first level is a courtyard where there are stone statues of mandarin honor guards and an elephant.

Up three more flights of stairs is the remarkable main building. The walls and ceiling are totally decorated with mosaics and porcelain decorations. The mosaics were constructed using fine china, ceramics, beer bottles, etc., which were broken into pieces. Under a gold-speckled canopy is a gilt bronze bust of Khai Dinh which was cast in Marseille in 1922. His remains are interred 60 feet below the statue.

This was a very good excursion to Hué – well worth the three hours riding round-trip from Chan May.

Jim & Ginny

March 21, 2016 – Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

We arrived in the port for Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, on Saturday morning March 19, for a 3-day visit. Our plan was to do all our sightseeing in the first two days and then relax on board ship the third day. That plan worked out well for us, and we think we got a good feel for this rapidly growing city in the southern part of the nation of Vietnam.

We read that the population of Saigon was one million in 1975 when the war ended. Now, 40 years later, the total population of the city is close to 10 million. Here’s an important fact: Over two-thirds of the population was born after 1975 and have no memory of the war. We were told that 80 percent of Vietnamese students have no interest in history, including the wars against the French and the Americans in the 20th century. They’re much more interested in building for the future.

Our tour guides (both days) told us that when the communists took over South Vietnam back in 1975 Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, and the reunited country was formally re-named as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Its capital city remained in Hanoi. Over the ensuing 10 years, the government and people faced severe economic challenges and hardships. By the mid-1980s, production shortfalls and famine made it obvious that the socialist system was failing. In 1986 the government relaxed its economic grip, allowing for free-market development. Politically, Vietnam is still firmly a one-party socialist state, but its economic policies have become increasingly capitalist and market-oriented. Then in 1995 the United States restored diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

The country now has a fast-growing capitalist economy. Ho Chi Minh City is the booming economic center of Vietnam, while Hanoi is the political and administrative center.

We were told that, with the additional changes in policies made in the past several years, there’s been a growing wave of foreign investment and property speculation in Ho Chi Minh City that is altering the face of the city. This is not just in the downtown area, as we saw construction cranes building new satellite cities (residential apartments/condos, shopping malls, and office towers) across the Saigon River from the current downtown where just a few years ago there was nothing but swampland.

The tour guides were especially proud that the riverfront on the city side had already been cleaned up and replaced with new parks. We understood that new tunnels under the river have also been installed.

Ho Chi Minh City – Day 1 (March 19, 2016)

The first day in Ho Chi Minh City we were lucky enough to have a particularly good local tour guide by the name of Phuc who led us on a private tour of the city in a very comfortable car. A second piece of good luck is that we visited on a Saturday and Sunday, when traffic is at its best. We were told that today’s 1-hour drive from Crystal Serenity’s docking location at the Saigon Premier Container Terminal to downtown (District 1) would be two hours during the workweek.

Even on the weekend, Ho Chi Minh traffic is hectic, with motorbikes everywhere. Phuc told us there are 7 million motorbikes registered in the city, and that is the best way to travel. Our tour guide on Sunday told us that even in his one family they have five motorbikes parked at home. In an effort to relieve traffic congestion, the city government is now building their first subway system which should be ready in the near future.

We did a lot of slow driving in the historical downtown district, which still has many remnants from the French colonial days – wide, tree-shaded boulevards, parks, statuary, and historic rococo French colonial buildings, including the Municipal Theatre (formerly known as the Saigon Opera House & opened in 1900), the City Post Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral opened in 1880), City Hall, and the Majestic and Continental Hotels. Two prominent structures in the city center that we passed by are the Reunification Hall (formerly the South Vietnam Presidential Palace, where the South Vietnamese officially turned over power to the North on April 30, 1975) and the former American Embassy (which is now the Consulate, as the American Embassy is now in Hanoi). Phuc carried on an excellent running dialog on the past and recent uses for these buildings.

We got out of the car and visited the interior of the City Post office, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel and constructed between 1861 and 1865 (three years before the Eiffel tower), where we admired the massive high-ceiling roof, took some pictures, and bought a magnet.

From here, there was a good view of the building where the famous photograph was taken of the last American helicopter evacuating Americans upon the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese in 1975.

We also drove by the nearby Rex and Caravelle hotels, which Phuc said were former hangouts for American officers, spies, and war correspondents during the war. Many of these older hotels with a history have now been expanded, modernized, and claim 5-star ratings.

There was something of a set itinerary, which Phuc was willing to modify based on our interests. Two changes that we asked for were to add visits to the Museum of Traditional Medicine and to a workshop for craft items. We told him we weren’t interested in visiting the local market, nor a stop for lunch.

The Museum of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine was a fascinating place both for their exhibits and for the facility itself. It is located in an ornate old home, with a ground floor and five upper floors that house 18 exhibition rooms. The rooms are arranged in a circular tour, using several staircases. First we watched a 15-minute English language movie titled "A Century of Health Care Experiences,” which detailed the history of the Vietnamese peoples use of traditional (non-Western) medicine. An English-speaking Vietnamese guide led Jim on the full tour of the building, while Ginny stayed on the ground floor and looked at all the herbal/medicinal teas and medicines for sale. The guide was friendly and knowledgeable about the museum. We saw many displays, including herbs and apothecary instruments. At the end of the tour there was a free ginger tea tasting, but we didn’t buy any of the products.

This was followed by a visit to a traditional Vietnamese lacquerware workshop. We were greatly surprised at the amount of time-consuming and labor-intensive work that goes into each piece they create. There are at least 20 stages they go through to create the lacquerware. There are three kinds of lacquerware: mother-of-pearl, eggshell, painting, or any combination of these three. We watched demonstrations of how these three artistic elements are applied to the wood, as well as the application, rubbing, and polishing of the lacquer. The work cycle is repeated many times – sometimes up to 15 lacquer layers or more – until the lacquerware becomes totally smooth and shiny. We did decide to purchase one of their pieces of artwork, a quite lovely small serving tray.

We also visited a very interesting 19th-century Taoist temple dedicated to the goddess Thien Hau. The Taoists believe in “yin and yang” (balance in the world – light & dark, fire & water, etc.). Phuc explained that people in this temple believe that Thien Hau can save people in trouble on the high seas. On the main dais there are three figures of Thien Hau, and also one of the Goddess Long Mau, who is the protector of mothers and newborns. Two special features of the temple are the large coils of incense suspended overhead, in addition to the more typical incense sticks, and the ceramic friezes above the roof line of the interior courtyard. The coils of incense last for several days, while the sticks burn through in a matter of hours.

We then returned to the ship, after a full five hours in the city (including travel to and from the port). Our guide told us that, “Ho Chi Minh City is a magnet for young people, because the economy is so strong here.” Other significant things he told us: “Our highest accomplishment in Vietnam is education. There is a 95% literacy rate. Vietnam is now the second largest exporter of rice and coffee in the world, and the #1 exporter of cashew nuts and pepper (both black and white) in the world. The central city’s sidewalks and streets are swept twice per day, and the garbage is collected once per day. The tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City is 68-stories tall, but construction has started on a 90-story building. English is now the second language spoken in Vietnam (not French).”

Ho Chi Minh City – Day 2 (March 20, 2016)
Originally, the two of us signed up for different ship excursions for today – Ginny to the “Vietnamese Cooking Demonstration,” and Jim to the “Memories of War.” Ginny decided to cancel her tour, because her head cold was bad and she wanted to rest instead.

Jim’s excursion was eight hours long, primarily because it was a 2-hour drive each way between the port and the Cu Chi Tunnels, which was the highlight of the day. He didn’t think that many people would sign up for this tour, but there were two buses with 21 passengers on each bus. Once again, we had an excellent tour guide, by the name of Phu.

Leaving the port, we drove through historic downtown (District 1) and saw many of the same sites as yesterday – the original American Embassy (which had to be closed due to a Viet Cong commando attack), the new embassy (which is now the U.S. Consulate), Post Office, Reunification Hall, etc. We also passed by the front gate of Tan Son Nhut Air Base, MAC-V headquarters, the American Military Hospital, General Westmorland’s Residence, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge’s Residence, and others too numerous to mention. We didn’t stop the bus to get out and visit any of these sites, although Phu did a good job of explaining what we were seeing and explaining the significance of each.

A quick review for those of you who may have forgotten the significance of the Cu Chi Tunnels – they are a network of interconnected underground tunnels about 150 miles in total length built by Cu Chi villagers in the 1940s to protect their families during the fight against the French and to allow for underground communication between villages. Construction was all done by hand, and some of the tunnels were 12 feet underground. As the Cu Chi region and its tunnels were only about 25 miles or so from Saigon (and only about 3 miles from a U.S. military base), Viet Cong guerrillas and local villagers repaired and expanded the tunnels to use in their fight against the Americans and the South Vietnamese Army in the 1960s. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong – a key part of their “hit and run” military strategy. They could surface for a surprise attack and then disappear again into the tunnels via heavily camouflaged secret entrances or hidden trapdoors.

When we arrived at the site, our bus parked and let us out. We walked through a lengthy pedestrian tunnel under the highway to the historical site. There are more than 100 acres in this historic site. Phu led us around the areas he thought would best illustrate the story, explaining to us what we were seeing. First we had to sit through a black & white propaganda film from the 1960s, which described why the Cu Chi villagers and Viet Cong wanted to stop American incursions into their area (in much stronger language than that).

We walked through fairly dense foliage to several exhibits. The first was a demonstration of fatal bamboo booby traps (called punji traps) where the Viet Cong would dig a hole and put sharpened bamboo sticks in the bottom and on two sides pointing upward and toward the center; then the hole would be covered with a small stick frame and leaves. An enemy soldier patrolling in this area would step on the thin top, which would collapse and the enemy soldier’s foot or leg would be speared by the punji sticks. He would be trapped in the hole. We saw several examples of different types of these traps.

A second exhibit was one of several thousand ventilation holes that were made to resemble termite mounds. At times, according to Phu, there were as many as 10,000 soldiers and villagers living underground in these tunnels. They needed air ventilation, water, food, and sewage systems to handle that many people. Because of the Americans’ use of Agent Orange and other defoliants, the local water supply was contaminated and wells had to be dug underground for clean water in the tunnels.

We were told that in the tunnels (underground) were living spaces, a command center, a hospital, kitchens, and small weapon labs (to manufacture land mines, for example). The kitchens were interesting, as smoke from cooking had to exit above ground some distance away from the tunnel location.

One of the local guides demonstrated the entrance to one of the trapdoor entrances, which was nothing more than a tiny covered square in the ground which he was able to squeeze into and then bring the camouflaged cover over his head (see pictures below).

We were invited to enter a tunnel entrance that had been enlarged for visitors, but only if we wanted to. About half of our group, including Jim, agreed to climb in. This tunnel is about 100 feet long, 3½ feet high, pitch black dark, and bends slightly. A guide went in first with a flashlight. But by the time Jim went in, the guide was way ahead of us and eventually crawled out at the other end. There was a moment of fear before Jim (crawling on his hands and knees) finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. One of the people in our group panicked and turned around to go back, crashing into people coming in. She eventually made it out okay going back to the tunnel entrance. This was not really a fun experience, and we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone with even a slight problem with claustrophobia or with a fear of being alone in darkness.

We were told that dead-ends, booby traps, and trap doors were incorporated into the tunnels’ defenses in case enemy soldiers tried to explore into any of the entrances. We were also told that one of the tunnels went up to (and perhaps under) the nearby Saigon River. We were also told that there was a Viet Cong tunnel that started here at Cu Chi and went under the fence and onto the American military base at Dong Du.

We walked past exhibits of living areas, a hospital, and a kitchen (where the ground cover had been removed), as well as a captured American M-41 tank sitting next to a large crater caused by a bomb dropped by a B-52 bomber. Last was a shooting range where visitors could fire many types of weapons, including M-16 or AK-47 rifles. Cost for the rifle range was about $20 for 10 bullets. A few people from our group had a go at it, but Jim did not.

It was a hot, humid day, with a lot of walking. But we did gain an appreciation for what happened in this area during the 1965 - 1975 war. At the conclusion of the visit to Cu Chi, we went to a large nearby restaurant along the Saigon River and had a typical Vietnamese lunch and a local beer, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

For the return journey into Ho Chi Minh City, Phu continued to answer numerous questions from guests about life in Vietnam. He was consistently honest in his answers. To get to the port, the bus had to pass back through downtown. A few people got off the coach in town. Some of them wanted to wander around a little bit on foot or visit some of the many museums, while others elected to stay and eat dinner in one of many very good restaurants in downtown. There was a shuttle running every 30 minutes between the Continental Hotel and the passenger terminal all three days we were here.

As an aside, we noticed many signs in the city still say Saigon instead of Ho Chi Minh City. We heard several explanations. One is that Saigon has been the city’s name for a long time, and the older people like that name. One of our tour guides said that older people prefer Saigon and the younger people use Ho Chi Minh City. However, on official documents (including mailing addresses), Ho Chi Minh City is required.

Summary: We had a great visit to Ho Chi Minh City – the economic center of Vietnam. There is a rapidly growing population, and there seems to be a strong desire for prosperity and growth. Things didn’t look as prosperous in the countryside that we visited on Sunday. That might be why so many people (including lots of young people) are moving into the city. If you ever want to come and visit here, don’t be afraid – it’s a safe city, people are friendly, and they’re very welcoming to tourists; but do it soon. If the city continues to grow and expand at the rate it has been doing over the past decade, it may end up looking like Singapore within 10 years.

Saturday night (March 19), a local dance team came on board Serenity to do a Vietnam Cultural Show. It was very colorful and lots of fun, with music, dance, musical instruments, and costumes from north, central, and south Vietnam.

The previous night (Friday, March 18), Crystal’s World Cruise entertainment team and orchestra put on a spectacular show, titled Lord of the Dance. The creator and artistic director of the show was Dmitri Ilukhin, the lead dancer on board ship. There were 25 performers on stage, and it was non-stop Irish dancing, fiddle playing, and singing – a ton of talent on stage having great fun. So far, there’s been one of these “home grown” shows – developed, written, and produced totally on board ship – and they’ve all been great. We think this was the best one so far. Dmitri is a unique talent and has been on Serenity dancing for 11 years.

We have two more port stops scheduled in Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday (March 23 & 24).

Jim & Ginny

March 17, 2016 – Sihanoukville, Cambodia

We weren’t sure what we would encounter at this stop, especially wondering how much of the country has recovered from what has been characterized as the genocidal brutality of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge back in the late 1970’s.

Sihanoukville is a port city on the Gulf of Thailand in southern Cambodia. The city was built in the early 1960s as the first deep-water port for the country. The area boomed for a while, but when the reigning monarch of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, was deposed in 1970, the country fell into chaos. The Khmer Rouge seized control of the country and installed a regime led by Pol Pot. Reports that we’ve read claim that the Khmer Rouge exterminated somewhere between one and a half to three million of Cambodia’s most accomplished citizens, and many others died of starvation, disease or overwork. Exact numbers are apparently hard to determine. According to what we’ve read, the Khmer Rouge was attempting to return Cambodia to an agrarian socialist society. Apparently at least 20,000 mass graves, known as the “Killing Fields,” have been uncovered. Vietnam launched a full-scale invasion of Cambodia in 1978 and subsequently removed the Khmer Rouge government from power. However, military and political skirmishes between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam continued until a peace treaty was signed in 1991.

Enough of the history lesson. For our visit today we signed up for a ship’s excursion titled, “Panoramic Sihanoukville.” Others on the ship elected to travel all the way to the nation’s capital in Phnom Penh (a 12-hour excursion) or to the Killing Fields themselves (also a 12-hour trip). Both these excursions involved eight hours riding in buses. We were told that the Killing Fields tour and visit to the Genocide Museum would “contain graphic content that may be unsettling to some guests.” We didn’t think we were ready for that.

There were four busloads of Serenity passengers who signed up for the Panoramic tour. We waited in the Stardust Club to be called, then went down to the buses. We were lucky to get on the bus that we did. It was an old coach, but at least the air conditioner worked. Others were not so lucky.

Our first stop was at Wat Krom, a Buddhist temple as well as living and school facilities for monks, including residence rooms and a dining hall, along with stupas and statues. Some 90% of Cambodian people are Buddhist. This small complex was built in 1963 but suffered the same fate as many other religious sites during the regime of Pol Pot, with the monks being required to leave while the temples and other structures were destroyed. The local people are working slowly to rebuild. Today, new young monks have returned, and daily rituals have been re-instated. There were many interesting statues and a graveyard with small stupa towers. We couldn’t go in some of the buildings, because monks were eating meals or doing other of their daily rituals.

Leaving Wat Krom, the tour took us to Kamping Chas village for a short visit to a farmer’s house. This was a very basic structure – small and Spartan – in an area that looks like at one time it was lived in by fairly well-to-do people. There were walls and fences separating what appeared to be dozens of separate home plots that were now totally overgrown with weeds; we assumed that these might have been remnants of Khmer Rouge actions in the 1970s, and the homeowners never returned. We have no way to know that, but we did see these same situations in the Sihanoukville area where we traveled.

Next stop was at the Kamping Chas Primary School to observe the children’s school activities. This was actually a fairly nice facility, with five large classrooms. Our local guide, Paum, told us that the children go to school four hours per day, either in the morning or in the afternoon. There was a sign on the school grounds that read, “Donated by American Navy.” We didn’t know to what that sign was referring – the sliding board, the fence, or the entire classroom building. In fact, we didn’t know why the American Navy would have donated anything to this single school. Anyway, the kids all wore clean uniforms and were very cute, with big smiles. In the school’s office we saw about 15 fairly large boxes that had apparently just been delivered to the school. We were told that the donations came from Crystal Serenity. We hadn’t heard anything about this on the ship, but it certainly was nice to know that Crystal had donated this much to the school.

The driver then took us to the P’sa Leu Market in the center of Sihanoukville, and we were given 30 minutes to explore the displays of fish, poultry, and fruits at the market. Paum told us there are 1,500 stalls set up in a 2½ acre space. All four of our tour buses pulled into the parking lot at the same. We decided to stay on the air conditioned bus instead. Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of local fresh food markets around the world, they’re all very similar, and we never buy anything.

Finally, we came to the Sokha Beach Resort, for a scheduled 1 hour and 20 minute visit. The hotel had some tents set up with refreshments (one drink per person – soda, water, or juice). We ordered a soda and sat down by the water to relax. Others took off their shoes, rolled up their pants legs and waded into the water. Even more people walked to the hotel building to use the restrooms. After about 30 minutes of watching the waves at the beach, we walked up to the hotel. Unfortunately, the power went off right then, and there were no lights or windows in the restrooms. So we walked back up the beach and waited for the buses to pick us up again.

This country survived a horrific experience in the recent past, and came out of it with a lot of scars. Once outside of the center city of Sihanoukville, we saw a lot of poverty. Of all the up-and-coming Asian countries, this one stands out as still facing economic difficulties. We can’t solve that, but at least we did visit and we wish them well.

To top off this day in Cambodia, a local cultural dance team came on board Serenity and demonstrated some of their traditional dances. Most impressive were their costumes and the way they could bend their wrists seemingly in an impossible pose. We didn't take any photos tonight at the show; you will just have to believe us.

A new group of enrichment speakers boarded the ship, and we attended several of their lectures. First was General Hugh Shelton, who has a very broad background in the U.S. Army and was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 retiring in 2001. Also very interesting was Ron Marks, a former spy for the CIA. Each of the speakers holds three or four sessions while they’re on the ship, usually on sea days. Jon Courtenay made a second appearance in the Galaxy Lounge, with a new show – more piano & more comedy. Opening his show was a performance by Crystal’s phenomenal dance duo, Curtis & Beverly. They are known for their incredible lifts.

Now we have one day at sea, before arriving in Vietnam on Saturday, March 19.

Jim and Ginny

March 16, 2016 – Bangkok, Thailand

Wow – there have been a lot of changes in Bangkok since Jim last visited here in 1970. Back then there were 3 million people living in the city and now there are 12 million, according to our tour guide, Liu. It’s a good example of “You can’t go home again.” Jim remembered it as a slow-moving, beautiful, happy place, with many canals intersecting throughout the city. Now many of those canals have been filled in with concrete to create roads for automobiles. Nonetheless, roads were choked with traffic today, and air pollution was heavy. The Thai people in Bangkok seem to have remained friendly, always smiling, and the ancient temples and palaces are still shiny and remarkable – although the skyline now has many high-rise buildings and skyscraper towers, to handle the huge population increase.

Crystal Serenity arrived at the very busy and enormous container port of Laem Chabang at 6:00 this morning. Our travel agent had arranged for a private guide and driver for us in Bangkok, through Signature Travel. We met them outside the terminal at 7:00 am and left immediately for the city. Unfortunately, it took 2 hours, 15 minutes to get there, even though we were on major highways the entire way. It wasn’t a pretty drive – smoggy and very industrialized most of the way, as we shared the road with hundreds of trucks into town. Of course, Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand, so there is a lot to see.

We started our tour at the Grand Palace, one of the most famous attractions in all of Thailand. As such, it was uncomfortably over-crowded (approaching mob-scene status) with numerous tour groups, many apparently from China. As we understand it, construction of this complex of buildings was started in 1782 by King Rama I and it was expanded and improved upon by subsequent rulers. It was the king’s official residence until 1946. Our walking tour of the Grand Palace grounds took several hours and included the Throne Hall, the Coronation Hall, the Reception Palace and the Funeral Palace.

Of special interest within the Grand Palace was the Emerald Buddha at the Wat Phra Kaew temple. The Emerald Buddha is a dark green statue, only 26 inches tall, carved from a single jade stone. We understand that “emerald" in the Thai language indicates the deep green color and not the specific emerald stone. Except for the Thai King and the Crown Prince, no one is allowed to touch the statue. The King personally changes the Buddha’s golden cloak three times a year, once for each of the seasons – summer, winter, and rainy season. Within the Grand Palace, there were many “proper clothing” restrictions for us to follow and, of course, it’s necessary to take off shoes to go into any of the temples. Photography is not permitted inside any of the temples.

After fighting the crowds within the Grand Palace, it was pleasant to visit Wat Pho, another Buddhist temple complex within a very short drive from the Palace. Wat Pho is most famous for the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (or Phra Buiddhasaiyas), a statue covered in gold leaf that is 150 feet long and stands 50 feet high. We were told that Thai and foreign Buddhists believe that worshiping this statue brings them peace and happiness. Indoor photos of the Reclining Buddha were allowed. Just an interesting note: Wat Pho is also considered the first center of public education in Thailand and reputedly the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. Therefore, the temple is sometimes referred to as “Thailand’s first university,” at least according to Liu (our tour guide).

After these two visits to very large temple complexes, we needed to relax and were driven to the Jim Thompson House and Museum where we enjoyed a nice Thai lunch at their restaurant. After lunch we walked through Jim Thompson’s attractive Thai-style house and garden. Thompson was an American military officer stationed in Bangkok during World War II. After the war, he moved to Bangkok and settled here permanently. Before the war he was a practicing architect, so he designed a complex of six old teak-wood houses that were moved here for his own home. Later, he was the founder of the silk company that bears his name, while helping to revive the local silk industry. Mr. Thompson disappeared in 1967 while on a visit to Malaysia, and his home is now a museum housing his collection of Asian antiques, pottery, and other curiosities. We took the tour and then made a minor purchase at the Jim Thompson Silk Shop, located on the premises.

That was all we had time for, as we had to return to the ship before it departed tonight. Once again, it was close to a 2½-hour drive back to the port. It was an 8-hour day, of which nearly five hours were spent driving to and from the city.

We saw a recent statement: “Time marches inevitably on to the betterment and detriment of all cities. Bangkok is no exception.” For Jim, most of the charm was gone; but, one day (five hours) is not enough time to do justice to a city with this much history and modern attractions. Clearly the best way to see Bangkok is to stay in a nice hotel downtown along the river for a few days and look around at leisure (without the long 4½-hour commute to & from the port every day).


Even though Jim’s birthday is March 17th, we celebrated it today (March 16), because one of the couples at our dining room table (Jerry & Karen) are leaving tomorrow morning from Sihanoukville for a 2-night extended excursion to visit Angkor Wat. Our maître d’ had set up a special dinner at our request – a chateaubriand steak, which was carved into eight pieces at the table, as well as a handmade Caesar Salad (also prepared at the table), and a Key Lime Pie (with birthday candle) for desert. Jim was very grateful for all the special attention.

As a follow-up to the above, in addition to Angkor Wat, there were other extended off-ship excursions offered from Bangkok, including a 3-night overland adventure in Laos, and a 4-night overland adventure to Bhutan (which we think is closer to Nepal and India than to Bangkok). Clearly we didn’t sign up for either of these.

We’re now on our way to Cambodia (Sihanoukville) with arrival scheduled for tomorrow morning (March 17) at 10:00 am.

Jim & Ginny

March 15, 2016 – Ko Samui, Thailand

Upon leaving Singapore, we completed Segment 3 of the World Cruise and started heading northbound on Segment 4 (Singapore to Shanghai), leaving the Southern Hemisphere behind. This is the halfway point for the 102-day adventure. We were told that 400 new passengers boarded the ship in Singapore, but we don’t know how many disembarked; it must have been a similar number. 

Yesterday evening (Monday, March 14), we went to Prego and shared dinner with our friend Frank Main who is a nearby neighbor at Shell Point in Ft. Myers. We run across him occasionally on the ship but had not had a chance to talk at length until last night. This is Frank’s seventh consecutive World Cruise on this ship, and he has a circle of friends on board that he met on past cruises. He’s been enjoying the cruise and has been getting some sun, as he spends a lot of time exercising in the pool every day.

Today we anchored offshore of Ko Samui, an island off Thailand’s east coast (see the map below). This is Thailand’s second largest island, Phuket (on the west coast) being the largest. We signed up for a shore excursion titled, Ko Samui Kaleidoscope. Ginny has come down with a head cold and didn’t feel up to the tender ride from ship to shore and the 5½-hour tour; so she canceled out. Jim went ashore without her and was very glad he did, as it was a great tour – circling this scenic island on its only paved road and experiencing the rural settings.

Interestingly, there are no buses on the island of Ko Samui. Our excellent guide, Sally, told us that they had been planning for our ship’s visit for the past three months, and the buses we rode today were all shipped here by ferry boat from the mainland of Thailand for our use. There are many beach resorts on this island, as Ko Samui is fast-becoming a playground for the youthful set. However, these visitors don’t take bus tours, as beaches are the big draw for these people. Sally told us that the population of Ko Samui is 50,000, but they have more than 1 million international visitors per year.

Here are some more interesting facts from our guide: 80% of the people are Buddhist; there are two seasons – hot and very hot (they dream of visiting the U.S. in winter and touching snow); family pets on the island are monkeys and water buffalos. Their local attitude is “never mind.” For example, there are five traffic signals on the island, but none of them work. The favorite form of transportation is motorbikes. With one motorbike, she claims you can carry your whole family. They produce no food on the island (other than coconuts); everything else must be imported. If Ko Samui people want to visit Bangkok, they must first take a ferry boat to the mainland (2 hours). Once there, they can take a train (which is never on time) or it’s a 12-hour drive -- there is air service, but it’s too expensive for them

The Kaleidoscope tour began by riding to an elephant show at Island Safari. We were each given a coconut and a straw for our welcome drink. Then the elephants did various tricks, including hula hoops, basketball, and an unusual elephant version of a Thai massage for several of our brave (foolhardy) fellow guests. 

As suggested by our guide, after the show Jim fed his coconut to one of the elephants, who seemed to enjoy crushing it and eating the fruit inside.

After that, we drove to see Wat Phra Yai -- a very large golden Buddha statue located on a small island connected to Ko Samui by a long, dirt causeway. The statue is nicknamed “Big Buddha.” This is a meditation center, not a temple, but we still needed to remove our shoes before climbing the 75 steps to get a closer view of the statue itself and the pretty views from the top. Those who didn’t climb to the top had loads of shopping opportunities at the base of the stairs.

Next on our around-the-island Kaleidoscope tour was a remarkable complex called Wat Plai Laem, which is a living and active temple, where local Buddhists and visitors come daily to pay homage to Guanyin and the Buddha, After we removed our shoes, hats, and sun-glasses, Sally brought us into the prayer room, where she explained how Buddhists pray to the Buddha for guidance.

Outside the temple, within the extensive grounds, were many statues, shrines, and elaborately decorated buildings.

The largest statue is of Guanyin, the goddess of compassion & mercy. This is a towering white structure in Chinese style set in the center of the temple grounds As you can see in the photo, the goddess has 18 arms that fan out from her lap to above her head. Her many arms apparently represent her ability to reach out and provide help across the world. Jim understood that she is also thought of as a fertility goddess; many who come here pray for her help in bearing healthy children.

Also on the grounds is the Fat Chinese Happy Buddha. As Jim understood it, within the Chinese culture, a fat Buddha represents wealth and prosperity. The statue is also very tall, about 100 feet high.

Next on the tour, we rode to the Nora Beach Resort & Spa, a pleasant facility with low-rise buildings made of native woods, perched along the beach. We entered the reception area and walked down a lengthy hill to the beach, passing individual guest bungalows – all of which had picturesque views. One interesting note, they all seemed to have outdoor showers (behind walls, for privacy). We enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch with a large number of Thai or Western options, while we overlooked the swim pool and beach. This is a very nice hotel on the eastern (touristy) side of the island called Chaweng Beach.

Lastly, we greatly enjoyed a short visit to a small coconut plantation to watch a demonstration of how well-trained monkeys are used to collect coconuts for their masters. Ko Samui is known as the Coconut Island, because it’s biggest crop is coconuts. We were told that three million coconuts per month are shipped from Ko Samui to Bangkok. Sally told us that only boy monkeys are used to collect coconuts. Each family on Ko Samui is allowed to own one monkey, which must be registered with the local government. The monkey goes to school for six months to learn how to climb the trees and loosen the coconuts so they fall to the ground.

Ko Samui was a very good port stop. We encountered happy, smiling people, clean and functional villages, popular white sand beaches, and colorful, fascinating Buddhist temples.

The good life continues aboard Crystal Serenity. Nightly entertainment has been wonderful. Especially good was Jon Courtenay – an excellent pianist with a unique comedy style. We really enjoyed his show, with great songs and almost nonstop laughter. Appearing on a different night were the MacDonald Brothers – musicians from Scotland who played contemporary songs as well as Scottish standards. We have seen these brothers perform aboard ship in the past.

Of course, every night there’s informal venues with music all over the ship. The Astoria Strings Quartet and Glenn Amer (piano) alternate appearances throughout the night, from 5:15 pm to Midnight. In the Palm Court, the Crystal Sextet plays for dancing from 5:15 pm until 12:30 am. In the Avenue Saloon, Steve Doyle plays piano and sings from 7:45 pm – 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm – 1:00 am. In the Pulse Nightclub, there’s Karaoke from 10:00 pm – Midnight and a DJ spinning the latest hits from Midnight until “late.” At the Hollywood Theater, there are movies generally at 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm. When not in port, the casino operates until 2:00 am. That gives us lots of choices, but we’re almost always in bed and asleep by 10:00 pm.

Jim & Ginny