Thailand: The Pachyderms of Phuket

As we made our way across the Malaccan Straits from Singapore to Phuket, we learned of yet another cruise ship incident.  The Silversea ship, Silver Shadow, ran into a cargo ship in the fog while en route to Hong Kong.  Not only had we just traveled the reverse route from Hong Kong to Nha Trang, Vietnam a few days earlier, but we were actually in port with this same ship in Nha Trang.  We saw her sail in the morning we arrived, and she was gone by the time we returned from our shore excursion that day.  My goodness, we’ve heard of strange things happening on other cruise ships during our time on board the ms Amsterdam.

Since we knew our cousins Terry & Rebecca were particularly interested in elephants, we sent them a quick email to let them know we’d be thinking of them in the next two ports since both excursions were to involve elephants.  At that time we discovered that the new addition to their family had arrived.  Congratulations to Terry & Rebecca on the birth of their son, Harrison Cooper.  What wonderful news! 

Our one and only stop in Thailand was the island of Phuket, located off the west coast of the mainland of Thailand.  Up until now when I thought of Thailand, my mind immediately went to Yul Brynner and the musical, The King and I. We learned, however, that it is quite politically incorrect to ask Thais about this as they feel the king is not portrayed in a very positive light.  So we kept that thought to ourselves. 

We had been told that Phuket was an area that was hard hit in the tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004.  However, they had done such a wonderful job of rebuilding that we were totally unaware of the destruction; the only evidence we noticed were road signs that marked tsunami evacuation routes! 

 It was quite a trip to get from the ship to shore – not so much because of the tender ride, but because of the very long floating pier they had to construct for us to walk between the tender and the shore. Then it was quite a hike (about ¼ mile) to get to the buses.  All a part of the adventure, I guess! 

Phuket, with an area of less than 360 square miles, is home to about 3000 elephants, about 20 of which we saw during our shore excursion, Siam Elephant Safari.  As we drove from Patang Beach to the safari, we passed beaches, shops, and homes, and once again, more tangles of electrical wires than one could imagine!   At the entrance to many of the properties (homes and businesses alike) were what looked like ornate and brightly- colored little houses up on pedestals.  These were spirit houses, which Buddhists believe will keep evil spirits away and bring good luck to those who live and work within.     

As we drove our tour guide taught us a lot about the similarities and differences between African and Asian elephants.  Elephants have a 22-month gestation period.  They can only give birth to one baby at a time, and when the baby is born, the mother cares for it for its first few years.  This means that a female elephant can only have one baby every four or five years.  African elephants have bigger ears than their Asian counterparts, and while African male and female elephants both have long tusks, Asian males have long tusks and females have short tusks.  Asian elephants have a pair of bumps on their heads that allow them more space for their brains.  Therefore, Asian elephants are more intelligent and trainable than African elephants.  Asian elephants are used as beasts of burden, and at one time they were believed to be the vehicle of the gods.  That meant that only kings were allowed to ride on elephants, and they would often ride them into battle.  Fortunately for us, this has changed so that we were able to enjoy and elephant ride.   

After boarding 4 wheel drive vehicles and being transported up into the hills to visit the Siam Safari, we were separated into groups and sent on our way to do several different activities.  Al, Chuck, and I, as well as our friends Bob & Nancy, were in the first group to have a ride on the back of an Asian elephant.  We had been told by someone on the ship that we would need to climb a ladder to mount the elephant so we were pleasantly surprised that all we had to do was take the stairs up to a platform where we were helped onto a seat (much like a wagon seat) balanced on the elephant’s back.  Our elephant was 44 years old and was named Tarfan.  We got ourselves situated, feeling very precariously perched on this placid pachyderm.  As we set forth, every lumbering step taken by Tarfan made us feel as if we were going to tip out of our seat.  Our driver, who was mounted bare-back behind the elephant’s ears, asked us to shift slightly to the left, and from there on, we felt a little safer.  Once we got used to the gait, we really enjoyed our ½ hour ride.  We got a kick out of watching our driver guide the elephant with each step, putting slight knee pressure behind the ears depending upon whether he wanted to go forward or turn left or right.  Each ponderous step felt like a small lurch as we took our well-traveled trail up the hill through the forest, where we enjoyed seeing the rubber trees being tapped much like one might see of New England maple trees.  At one point Tarfan turned around and backed up, and our driver turned around to face us and took pictures of us with the ocean backdrop far below.  All too soon we were arriving back at the platform and dismounting.  That had been a brand new experience for us and definitely one we would not forget. 

From there we continued to a cape buffalo demonstration.  After being served coffee or tea and coconut pancakes (which were very tasty despite my dislike of coconut), we watched as a “farm laborer” hooked one of these enormous beasts up to a yoke and pretended to plow a rice paddy.  I can’t imagine walking around in that muck, but neither the demonstrator nor the animal seemed to mind it a bit!

We were shown how they harvest and process rice as well as coconut milk and oil.  Then they demonstrated the making of curry from many different spices.  I’m not a fan of curry, but the sample food they gave us was quite tasty – at least not so hot that I couldn’t eat it! 

Our final stop at the safari was a baby elephant training center.  Two young elephants, aged 4 and 6, were put through their paces.  They picked up small toys, then they had a race to see which could pick up and put the trainer’s hat on the head the fastest.  They each played us a little harmonica duet.  One of them demonstrated her painting skills with a brush in hand (er – trunk).  They kicked soccer balls, and then picked them up with their trunks and handed them to someone in the crowd.  I was quite pleased to have the 6-year-old hand me her soccer ball.  These little girls really won our hearts over!  We enjoyed posing with them for pictures, and I got a basket of fruit and fed the 6-year-old. 

We finally tore ourselves away and left the safari behind and headed for lunch.  We went to a lovely Thai banquet hall where they served us a buffet lunch, mostly of Thai food.  I do have trouble getting used to curry, so I was glad to have rolls available to take care of the hot spiciness I felt every time I took a bite! Despite the unique (to me) flavors, we did enjoy the meal.  We think our friend Betsy, with her love for Thai food, would have been in her element!

Our final stop on the excursion was one we hadn’t anticipated – a visit to “The World’s Largest Jewelry Store”.  I love diamonds and sapphires, and emeralds, etc., but I wasn’t planning to spend my money here!   I have a few pieces of jewelry at home that have sapphires, and each time they come with a statement that the sapphire came from Thailand.  However, Chuck, Al, and I weren’t in the market for sapphires, so we sailed through that part of the shop and found our way to the souvenirs where we were able to browse a little more comfortably. 

As we made our way across the Malaccan Straits from Singapore to Phuket, we learned of yet another cruise ship incident.  The Silversea ship, Silver Shadow, ran into a cargo ship in the fog while en route to Hong Kong.  Not only had we just traveled the reverse route from Hong Kong to Nha Trang, Vietnam a few days earlier, but we were actually in port with this same ship in Nha Trang.  We saw her sail in the morning we arrived, and she was gone by the time we returned from our shore excursion that day.  My goodness, we’ve heard of strange things happening on other cruise ships during our time on board the ms Amsterdam.

Since we knew our cousins Terry & Rebecca were particularly interested in elephants, we sent them a quick email to let them know we’d be thinking of them in the next two ports since both excursions were to involve elephants.  At that time we discovered that the new addition to their family had arrived.  Congratulations to Terry & Rebecca on the birth of their son, Harrison Cooper.  What wonderful news! 

Our one and only stop in Thailand was the island of Phuket, located off the west coast of the mainland of Thailand.  Up until now when I thought of Thailand, my mind immediately went to Yul Brynner and the musical, The King and I. We learned, however, that it is quite politically incorrect to ask Thais about this as they feel the king is not portrayed in a very positive light.  So we kept that thought to ourselves. 

We had been told that Phuket was an area that was hard hit in the tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004.  However, they had done such a wonderful job of rebuilding that we were totally unaware of the destruction; the only evidence we noticed were road signs that marked tsunami evacuation routes! 

 It was quite a trip to get from the ship to shore – not so much because of the tender ride, but because of the very long floating pier they had to construct for us to walk between the tender and the shore. Then it was quite a hike (about ¼ mile) to get to the buses.  All a part of the adventure, I guess! 

Phuket, with an area of less than 360 square miles, is home to about 3000 elephants, about 20 of which we saw during our shore excursion, Siam Elephant Safari.  As we drove from Patang Beach to the safari, we passed beaches, shops, and homes, and once again, more tangles of electrical wires than one could imagine!   At the entrance to many of the properties (homes and businesses alike) were what looked like ornate and brightly- colored little houses up on pedestals.  These were spirit houses, which Buddhists believe will keep evil spirits away and bring good luck to those who live and work within.     

As we drove our tour guide taught us a lot about the similarities and differences between African and Asian elephants.  Elephants have a 22-month gestation period.  They can only give birth to one baby at a time, and when the baby is born, the mother cares for it for its first few years.  This means that a female elephant can only have one baby every four or five years.  African elephants have bigger ears than their Asian counterparts, and while African male and female elephants both have long tusks, Asian males have long tusks and females have short tusks.  Asian elephants have a pair of bumps on their heads that allow them more space for their brains.  Therefore, Asian elephants are more intelligent and trainable than African elephants.  Asian elephants are used as beasts of burden, and at one time they were believed to be the vehicle of the gods.  That meant that only kings were allowed to ride on elephants, and they would often ride them into battle.  Fortunately for us, this has changed so that we were able to enjoy and elephant ride.   

After boarding 4 wheel drive vehicles and being transported up into the hills to visit the Siam Safari, we were separated into groups and sent on our way to do several different activities.  Al, Chuck, and I, as well as our friends Bob & Nancy, were in the first group to have a ride on the back of an Asian elephant.  We had been told by someone on the ship that we would need to climb a ladder to mount the elephant so we were pleasantly surprised that all we had to do was take the stairs up to a platform where we were helped onto a seat (much like a wagon seat) balanced on the elephant’s back.  Our elephant was 44 years old and was named Tarfan.  We got ourselves situated, feeling very precariously perched on this placid pachyderm.  As we set forth, every lumbering step taken by Tarfan made us feel as if we were going to tip out of our seat.  Our driver, who was mounted bare-back behind the elephant’s ears, asked us to shift slightly to the left, and from there on, we felt a little safer.  Once we got used to the gait, we really enjoyed our ½ hour ride.  We got a kick out of watching our driver guide the elephant with each step, putting slight knee pressure behind the ears depending upon whether he wanted to go forward or turn left or right.  Each ponderous step felt like a small lurch as we took our well-traveled trail up the hill through the forest, where we enjoyed seeing the rubber trees being tapped much like one might see of New England maple trees.  At one point Tarfan turned around and backed up, and our driver turned around to face us and took pictures of us with the ocean backdrop far below.  All too soon we were arriving back at the platform and dismounting.  That had been a brand new experience for us and definitely one we would not forget. 

From there we continued to a cape buffalo demonstration.  After being served coffee or tea and coconut pancakes (which were very tasty despite my dislike of coconut), we watched as a “farm laborer” hooked one of these enormous beasts up to a yoke and pretended to plow a rice paddy.  I can’t imagine walking around in that muck, but neither the demonstrator nor the animal seemed to mind it a bit!

We were shown how they harvest and process rice as well as coconut milk and oil.  Then they demonstrated the making of curry from many different spices.  I’m not a fan of curry, but the sample food they gave us was quite tasty – at least not so hot that I couldn’t eat it! 

Our final stop at the safari was a baby elephant training center.  Two young elephants, aged 4 and 6, were put through their paces.  They picked up small toys, then they had a race to see which could pick up and put the trainer’s hat on the head the fastest.  They each played us a little harmonica duet.  One of them demonstrated her painting skills with a brush in hand (er – trunk).  They kicked soccer balls, and then picked them up with their trunks and handed them to someone in the crowd.  I was quite pleased to have the 6-year-old hand me her soccer ball.  These little girls really won our hearts over!  We enjoyed posing with them for pictures, and I got a basket of fruit and fed the 6-year-old. 

We finally tore ourselves away and left the safari behind and headed for lunch.  We went to a lovely Thai banquet hall where they served us a buffet lunch, mostly of Thai food.  I do have trouble getting used to curry, so I was glad to have rolls available to take care of the hot spiciness I felt every time I took a bite! Despite the unique (to me) flavors, we did enjoy the meal.  We think our friend Betsy, with her love for Thai food, would have been in her element!

Our final stop on the excursion was one we hadn’t anticipated – a visit to “The World’s Largest Jewelry Store”.  I love diamonds and sapphires, and emeralds, etc., but I wasn’t planning to spend my money here!   I have a few pieces of jewelry at home that have sapphires, and each time they come with a statement that the sapphire came from Thailand.  However, Chuck, Al, and I weren’t in the market for sapphires, so we sailed through that part of the shop and found our way to the souvenirs where we were able to browse a little more comfortably. 

We all agreed that despite the forced shopping stop we had been delighted with our visit to the Siam Safari and thoroughly enjoyed our time among these gentle giant animals!  It was a thrilling experience to be able to interact with them, and we’re very pleased that we will have another opportunity in Colombo, Sri Lanka, our next port, to encounter elephants in a different surrounding. 

We are now well into the seas of the Indian Ocean.  I’m not sure why I never thought of whales and dolphins inhabiting these waters; maybe it’s because I’m not at all familiar with the Indian Ocean.  But we’ve had two sea days in the waters of the ocean and both days have brought us entertainment for our dining pleasure as what seemed like dozens of dolphins arching and diving and in some cases flipping and spinning as if to bring us greetings.  

We continue to enjoy our Explorations Speakers.  What a wonderful surprise when one of the speakers was our favorite speaker on our Voyage of the Vikings, Danny Catt.  He is a naturalist and photographer who gives very interesting talks with (needless to say) beautiful wildlife photography!  I can’t remember how many times I commented while we were in South America and Antarctica that I wished Danny Catt was on board so I could ask him about a particular bird or animal that I’d seen!   After several scientists and naturalists, we once again have a historian as a speaker – Ambassador Krishna Rajan, who has given us a very interesting perspective on the Southeast Asian countries, some of which we have visited on this cruise.  One comment that particularly interested us was that Thailand is one of the richer countries in Southeastern Asia. A new entity has been developed with similar purposes to the European Union:  ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) that includes ten nations, of which we have visited four:  Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand. 

Each day brings new and exciting adventures, whether it’s learning about the people of a region or experiencing the wildlife that inhabits the region we’re traveling through. 

We all agreed that despite the forced shopping stop we had been delighted with our visit to the Siam Safari and thoroughly enjoyed our time among these gentle giant animals!  It was a thrilling experience to be able to interact with them, and we’re very pleased that we will have another opportunity in Colombo, Sri Lanka, our next port, to encounter elephants in a different surrounding. 

We are now well into the seas of the Indian Ocean.  I’m not sure why I never thought of whales and dolphins inhabiting these waters; maybe it’s because I’m not at all familiar with the Indian Ocean.  But we’ve had two sea days in the waters of the ocean and both days have brought us entertainment for our dining pleasure as what seemed like dozens of dolphins arching and diving and in some cases flipping and spinning as if to bring us greetings.  

We continue to enjoy our Explorations Speakers.  What a wonderful surprise when one of the speakers was our favorite speaker on our Voyage of the Vikings, Danny Catt.  He is a naturalist and photographer who gives very interesting talks with (needless to say) beautiful wildlife photography!  I can’t remember how many times I commented while we were in South America and Antarctica that I wished Danny Catt was on board so I could ask him about a particular bird or animal that I’d seen!   After several scientists and naturalists, we once again have a historian as a speaker – Ambassador Krishna Rajan, who has given us a very interesting perspective on the Southeast Asian countries, some of which we have visited on this cruise.  One comment that particularly interested us was that Thailand is one of the richer countries in Southeastern Asia. A new entity has been developed with similar purposes to the European Union:  ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) that includes ten nations, of which we have visited four:  Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand. 

Each day brings new and exciting adventures, whether it’s learning about the people of a region or experiencing the wildlife that inhabits the region we’re traveling through. 

BT

The Modern, Vibrant Republic of Singapore

The contrast between our last two ports, Saigon and Singapore, couldn’t be starker. While Saigon itself seems to have rebounded from the war, the area outside Saigon displayed a depth of poverty that we have rarely, if ever, seen.  However Singapore is the epitome of a vibrant, modern 21^st century city that would rival any American city.

Singapore’s origins come from a small fishing village near the tip of the Malay Peninsula just 1° above the Equator to the city we have just visited.  United Kingdom assumed control of the area during the era of European imperialism and held it until the Japanese took control during the 1940s.  After World War II, Singapore was returned to Great Britain and in 1963, it became a part of the newly established country of Malaysia with whom it shared much of the Malay Peninsula.  But the differences between the city of Singapore and the rest of Malaysia were so significant that Singapore felt it could strike out on its own as an independent city and country.  The Republic of Singapore became independent from Malaysia in 1965.

Today, Singapore is the smallest country in Asia, with a land mass of just over 700 square kilometers, a population of 5.2 million people, and it is the 22^nd wealthiest country in the world.  The city is very modern and new with few buildings that seem to date back to the earlier British period.  Streets are wide and cars are as nearly abundant as in the US despite the fact that people don’t travel long distances by car.  They are expensive and people pay a high tax to purchase one.  There were parkland and green and flowering medians nearly everywhere we drove.  In short, it’s an exceptionally impressive city.

We have heard that laws are strictly enforced in Singapore and that punishment for violation is quite severe.  Fines are administered for what we might consider to be minor offenses in the US like jaywalking, littering, and gum chewing. Yes, the sale of gum is prohibited in Singapore.  We saw virtually no litter.   Singapore continues to use lashings as punishment for some offenses, and carrying larger amounts of narcotics would be a capital offense.  As a result, it is a very safe city.  A notice in the MTR station warned of a $500 fine for eating or drinking, $1,000 fine for smoking, and a $5,000 fine for having explosives. (A Singapore dollar is worth slightly less than a US dollar.)  It was the first country where we were required to carry our passports with us whenever we left the ship.  They were checked as we disembarked the ship each time and we would have to have produced them if an officer asked to see them.  Considering the small size of Singapore, it’s amazing to think of their strict control in comparison to the US where crossing our border illegally is now all too routine and where in Illinois it is considered an insult to ask a voter for a picture ID to vote!  I am sure that’s not going to happen in Singapore.

We were here for two days and one night and because of heavy ship traffic, we had to go to the cargo container port for a few hours, while another Holland America ship, the Zaandam was berthed at the passenger terminal until mid-afternoon on Sunday.  At that time, the Amsterdam moved the short distance to the Singapore Cruise Center (passenger terminal).  When we went out on Sunday, we were amazed at the huge size of the cargo terminal.  Our tour bus drove a great distance through the cargo terminal.  It was almost a small city there with streets and traffic signals until we finally got out to the city itself.

Barb, Al, and I took a shore excursion, Singapore’s Highlights, since it was our first visit to the city.  We figured it would orient us to the city so we could obtain an overview as to what was there.   Our first stop was at the beautiful National Orchid Garden for an approximately 40 minute walk through the magnificent gardens.  The drive through the modern downtown with its modern buildings and shopping reminded us of the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  For block after block there were malls and well known stores that suggested wealth.

We next visited the Sultan Mosque in Singapore, removing our shoes before entering.  Singapore has few Muslims, but this was a large mosque.  Then we drove past the Raffles Hotel where the famous (but not to me) Singapore Sling drink originated.  A visit to the waterfront once again showcased the modern city buildings including the Sands Hotel with a large roof spanning three separate buildings as part of the complex.  I’ve seen pictures and You Tube videos of this roof which is complete with a swimming pool that looks like one could swim right off the top of the tall building.  A highlight and symbol of the city is at the harbor, the so-called “Merlion”, with its lion face and mermaid tail.  It is to Singapore as the Little Mermaid is to Copenhagen except the Little Mermaid is on a rock in the water while the Merlion is a large statue along the water with water spurting from the mouth as a fountain.  It’s a favorite photo stop in Singapore. 

Two final stops took us to Chinatown and Mt. Faber for a panoramic view of the city from above.  In Chinatown, we could either visit a Chinese pagoda for an inside visit or visit a Hindu temple short block away.  Since we would have had to remove our shoes at the Mariamman Hindu Temple and our time was limited, we opted to visit the Chinese pagoda and allow time to hurry down the street to take a few pictures of the unique Hindu temple.  Our final stop atop Mt. Faber gave a great view of the city and the busy port.

It was a quick tour but gave an excellent overview of this impressive city.  In the afternoon, we were scheduled to make the short move over to the Cruise Terminal as a space had now been cleared to accept the Amsterdam, but there was a delay as a result of the refueling of the ship.  We were glad to be on the ship at that time as a heavy downpour with thunder and lightning occurred.  By the time we arrived at the Cruise Ship Terminal it was time to leave for the second shore excursion of the day, called the Night Safari.  This was the first zoo in the world devoted entirely to nocturnal animals.  Quite obviously the zoo was open only at night and the lighting was very subdued so as not to interfere with the animals but to give sufficient light to guests so the animals could be observed.

After arriving, we boarded a tram similar to what one might find at Disney World, where we were given a narrated tour from a guide who pointed out the animals in their darkened habitats.  Barb and I freely took pictures knowing that most wouldn’t turn out even with the night setting but hoping we might have a couple decent pictures worth saving.  Shortly after that ended a 20 minute fire dance took place complete with the flame swallowers.  Another show involved bringing in some animals into the amphitheater and giving the public an idea as to how they functioned in darkness.  Before we reboarded the bus to return to the ship, we took a 20 minute Fishing Cat Walk where we had the opportunity to stroll along the path and take pictures of some of the amazing creatures.  It was a fun, and very different, zoo experience, giving us the opportunity to see many animals that not readily found in American zoos, such as the mouse deer (the smallest member of the deer family – about the size of a house cat), the binturong (related to the mongoose), the slow loris (looks like a lemur), the gharial (member of the crocodile family), and of course the fishing cat (looks like a tiny leopard), to name a few.

After returning to the Cruise Port, we once again went through the very rigorous customs and security checks which included two, not one, passport checks as well as an examination of our Singapore landing card which we had to keep on our person at all times when we were off the ship, a thorough security scanning followed by long and seemingly endless walks through the terminal.  Their cruise passenger terminal would put some of our airports to shame with the long hikes inside the terminal and the security checks.  Each time we got on or off the ship, we had to go through this process.  But at 11:30 at night, it seemed to take even longer.

Our second day in Singapore was much quieter and was planned that way.  We didn’t schedule a shore excursion and decided to do what we wanted on our own on Monday.  So after breakfast Barb and I boarded Singapore’s  MTR rapid transit system (the subway system similar to Chicago’s CTA subway or the London Tube), and headed toward the business district so Barb could add to her Hard Rock Café shot glass collection.  We first had to figure out the system for purchasing the tickets at automated stations and how to make the required transfer.  When we arrived at our destination stop, we were in what was called “Wheelock Place”, a large ultra modern mall complex.   But it held particular interest for Barb because, as a genealogist, she hadn’t expected to come across that name in Singapore.  Our great-great-grandmother’s maiden name was Wheelock and it is through that name that she traces our pre-Revolutionary War roots to claim some of her ancestors for DAR.  After a quick stop at an optical store to adjust her glasses (resulting from them being knocked out of alignment on the bus during our morning shore excursion), we headed for Hard Rock to make the collectible purchase.  After such a busy Sunday, we made the return ride back to the pier.  Having figured out the MRT system, we figured we could do some of the sightseeing on our own on a subsequent visit to Singapore.  We would like to visit the small island of Sentosa which we could view from our verandah, go back to Chinatown, and visit Singapore’s  Jurong Bird Park.

We sailed out of Singapore on our way to Phuket, Thailand about 11 PM, traveling up the long Malay Peninsula.  We were absolutely amazed at the number of ships with their lights blazing just off the Singapore coast. We had assumed that all those lights were on shore but as we drew nearer, all along the way we realized that there were literally hundreds of boats.  On Tuesday morning when I went out to walk the deck, I was able to spot at least 25 boats within sight of the ship. We had heard that some of the busiest waters in the world were in the Bay of Bengal between the Malay Peninsula and India’s east coast.  Having seen the number of boats in the waters we observed confirms the statement for us!

CT

Vietnam - Then and Now: Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City)

While we have found the Vietnam ports to be very interesting, the past couple days have been full of places and events that were significant in US history, not to mention our own personal history.  Having lost a couple of classmates, and having known others who served in Vietnam, these ports have been difficult as they brought back many memories of highly emotional times and events. 

As we sailed toward Phu My, we were struck by the difference between the two banks of the river.  On the port side we could see miles and miles of mangroves with openings that showed houses hidden back in the mangroves.  The river was dotted with fishing boats out for an early catch.  The starboard side was lined with derricks and cranes and industry.  What an incredible contrast!

Our tour, The Best of Ho Chi Minh City, was a full-day excursion from the relatively new port city of Phu My to Ho Chi Minh City.  While the official name of the former capital of South Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City, the name is only used for official purposes.  Otherwise it is still referred to by its former name of Saigon, the name preferred by the locals.  Since it would take about two hours to get there due to extremely heavy traffic, we settled back to enjoy the scenery and listen to the running commentary by our tour guide, Thien. 

In two days we’ve heard three quotes on the population of Vietnam, so the number of 90 million is somewhat of a question mark in our minds.  The country is roughly the area of New Mexico, though of course it is very long and narrow, which is hard to visualize considering the difference in physical shape.  The government is Communist, but the southern part (below the 17^th parallel or the DMZ) is allowed much more freedom than the northern part.  Here people can own their own property and can make their own decisions.  Up North, the government makes the decisions for the citizens.  Throughout the country, there appears to be much poverty as the only ones who are considered rich are those who work for the government.  Citizens here must pay for their own education and their own health care, as well prepare for their own retirement so they must work in some capacity to provide for those needs.  Many people own small shops.  Their living quarters are behind and above the shops, meaning that they eat, sleep, and work under the same roof.  It’s difficult to imagine a life in such a limited environment, especially with the trash that seemed to pervade the entire area.    

As we headed toward Saigon, we saw that there were almost no cars.  Everyone got around by truck, bus, or motorcycle.  Helmets are required, and most people wear masks and long pants as well as long sleeves and gloves – even in the heat!  It’s amazing to think that at home some people do everything they can to get a tan while people in Vietnam try to keep their skin as white as possible.  White skin in Vietnam signifies wealth so they cover up as much as they can to keep from getting too much sun. 

The traffic as we approached Saigon got more and more congested, and we were very glad that we were passengers rather than the bus driver!  I have never seen so many motorcycles in one spot in my life!  These cycles seemed to come from every direction and weave in and out in the traffic, causing many gasps among the bus passengers as we watched.  Not only that, but I’ve never seen so many unusual items being transported on those motorcycles.  In a few cases, there were two adults and a child on a motorcycle!  The assortment of items that they carried was amazing!  In one case a passenger was carrying a ladder and some kind of huge square box.  Another appeared to have about eight huge bags of concrete.  Friends of ours even saw one that had a full-size refrigerator strapped to the back of the cycle! 

Another thing that struck us was the tangles of wires we saw everywhere we looked in the city!  In one case I even saw a birdcage hanging from one of the wire tangles, and in another instance, there was a man on a ladder that was propped up against the wires – right in the middle of a street at an intersection! 

Our first stop took us to the Reunification Hall.  This was originally the Presidential Palace under the South Vietnamese regime.  It was here that the jeeps arrived to take over the government when South Vietnam fell in 1975.  This was our first experience of being in a place that was openly controlled by a Communist government, and it certainly felt strange!  We really weren’t sure how to react as the tour guide gave us some of the history – a history that brought back difficult memories for many Americans.

We also visited the Post Office, where we were able to see where the helicopters landed to take the South Vietnamese government leaders to safety. 

We also stopped at a lacquer ware workshop, where we learned about this beautiful artwork.  After a delicious buffet lunch at a very upscale hotel, we made one last stop at the National History Museum, where we learned about the history of Vietnam dating back as far as the Stone Age.  During our visit we enjoyed seeing a water puppet show – something very unique!  The puppets are steered through the water on long sticks by performers who are hidden behind a backdrop.  It was different from anything we’d ever seen before, and everyone in the group found it very entertaining. 

During our return trip to Phu My, the guide talked a little bit about the Vietnam War.  It was a totally different perspective from any others we’ve heard.  His father who I took to be about my age, and who had grown up working in farming, was expected to enlist in the army.  Because of his small stature, he found it very difficult to use the weapons he was given.  While he fought for the South, he really wanted to see a unified Vietnam.  Apparently this was the sentiment of many people. 

Because of the number of people who had full-day tours planned for Saigon, sail-away was not scheduled until 11:00 PM.  That meant there was time for a Vietnam Cultural Show.  While it had been a very long day, we didn’t want to miss the later-than-usual entertainment.  We were delighted that we did because the group who performed was excellent!  Many of the musical instruments were very unique, including one that looked almost like a small pagoda (Chuck said pyramid, and Al said birdcage) but in actuality was a xylophone-type instrument.  There were also six very elegant and graceful dancers whose grace and elegance was something to behold.  Each number exhibited different dresses and different accessories.  In one they used small china cups (egg cups?) as castanets, as well as head pieces that held lit candles.  In another there was an elegant use of fans, and in another they used conical hats to portray waves – whether of water or of rice in paddies, we weren’t sure.  We were certainly glad that we’d stayed up to attend this wonderful performance!

We are very pleased to have had the experience of visiting Vietnam, but we are sure that our next port, Singapore, will be quite a contrast!     

BT

Vietnam – Then and Now: Nha Trang (near Da Nang)

“Going to Vietnam” was something I never wanted to do because of the connotation that held for those of my generation.  When we booked the world cruise and saw it included Vietnam, “going to Vietnam” was an exciting prospect and our day in Nha Trang did not disappoint!  Back in the 1960s and 1970s, no one could have imagined that some day we might be visiting Vietnam on a cruise ship.  Vietnam has always been, to us, on the other side of the world, a fact made even more significant in that in Vietnam and with Chicago now on DST, we are exactly twelve hours ahead here.  I laughed that as a kid, I remember people saying that if we dug down we would come out in China, on the other side of the world.  Barb added that when she was about 5 or 6 years old, she had actually gone out in back of the house and began to dig her way to China.  I hadn’t remembered that and commented that had I known, I probably back then would have encouraged her to keep trying!

My friend and former colleague from Hamburg, Bill McCormick, had visited Vietnam last fall so I had asked him for his impressions.  He really liked his visit to Vietnam and Cambodia so I did anticipate I would enjoy my visit here.  And I was right.  I certainly did enjoy the day.

Nha Trang is located in the northern part of the former South Vietnam, not too far from Da Nang, a place that held special significance for the troops who fought there “back then.”

The sail in was quite pretty as the sun came up a little earlier today and we could see a series of small islands as we approached the mainland of Vietnam.  When we docked, our side of the ship finally had a nice view of the islands including some cable cars that crossed to one of the islands (our tour guide explained that it went to a luxury hotel on the island).

Today Barb and I were taking a shore excursion, Nha Trang Highlights, a gift for booking the cruise through AAA.  We had originally paid for this exact excursion through Holland America but cancelled our paid tour through them and did it with others who had booked the cruise with their local AAAs.  AAA has onboard escorts, Jack and Gloria Meerman, who are traveling on the cruise and through whom we often deal if any onboard issues arise.  Al, having booked through his travel agent who is a part of another group, has done one free excursion already with his group.  In Nha Trang it was our turn and while we ran into Al in a couple of locations since he was doing the same excursion, we weren’t able to arrange to be in the same bus.

Our tour was greeted by a friendly guide, Thao, who quickly became known in our group  for his smile.  (He was in several of our pictures, most unposed, and in every single one he had an infectious smile.  In addition, he volunteered to take Barb’s and my pictures several times so that we have almost as many pictures together as we have for the entire trip so far.)  It was hard to judge his age as he looked youthful and maybe no more than his early 20s but we imagine he might be quite a bit older than his appearance suggests. 

Thao only once mentioned “the war” on his own but answered the questions if anyone asked. I asked one question and he answered it and then he moved on.  The only time he brought up the subject was when we passed a large war monument.  We weren’t sure if it is a subject that isn’t discussed or if it wasn’t mentioned because most taking the tour were Americans.  I asked Al if his guide commented on the war and he said it wasn’t a subject of discussion on his bus either.

Our first stop was at the Long Son Pagoda.  As we drove up, vendors hawking their wares descended on the bus, holding up their products and wanting us to buy.  Those who have done much international travel are aware of what I am talking about, but those whose travel is limited to the US or northern Europe won’t be familiar.  They were selling everything from brightly lacquered jewelry boxes with Oriental designs, to fans, post cards, pictures, and even polo shirts. As we got off the bus, we had to say a polite “no, thank you” and try to keep up with our group.  The Long Son Pagoda is the largest of about ten Buddhist pagodas in Nha Trang.  About 30% of Vietnamese are Buddhist, 10% are Roman Catholics, 1% Hindu, and of the rest, including Thao, practice ancestor worship.  Atop the hill above the pagoda was a large white statue of Buddha sitting in the lotus position.  We could opt to climb to the top and see it up close as well as capture an excellent view of the city, but Thao suggested that it was quite a hike and he didn’t recommend it – there were no complaints.  We had to remove our shoes to go inside the pagoda where we saw a number of monks at worship in an ornate religious setting. Thao told us that this monastery had only ten active monks that kept it going.  There was a monument near the entrance which honored the monk that funded it.  Although I don’t read Vietnamese(!), I noticed the monk was born in 1897 and he died in 1963.  1963 was at the height of the Buddhist protest against the pro-French, Catholic rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.  A number of monks committed suicide through self immolation in front of pagodas as an expression of protest against Diem’s rule.  Diem was assassinated on November 1, 1963, just three weeks before the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  The war escalated under Lyndon Johnson and greater involvement of the United States began under LBJ.

After visiting the Long Son Pagoda, we made our way to the Po Nagar Cham Towers, a series of towers built between the 7^th and 12^th centuries.  While constructed as a Hindu shrine, it is now a focus for Buddhists who routinely come to pray.  As one climbs the stairs (not a difficult climb), good views of the Xom Bong Bridge are seen along with lots of red and blue fishing boats in Nha Trang Harbor.  Once again, as in Long Son Pagoda, we removed our shoes as we entered the shrine.  The aroma of burning incense was very evident as a part of the religious ritual.  At both the Long Son Pagoda and the Cham Towers, we appreciated the blue sky and sunshine, the first time on tour we had that luxury since our first day in Sydney.  It made for much better photos.  Hooray!!!!

This was followed by a stop at an embroidery shop in Nha Trang were demonstrations of the delicate weaving were given.  Not being an expert on embroidery, I can’t speak in much detail here but the finished products were exquisite.  They were on sale in some cases for millions of dong.  (The dong is the currency unit in Vietnam and there are about 20,000 to the US dollar.)  As we finished browsing through these works of art, a cup of Vietnamese tea was offered along with an unusual snack of a slice of roasted sweet potato as well as a taste of ginger.

Our final stop was at a beachfront hotel where we could purchase a glass of coconut milk if we wished, or stroll the beach and watch the waves roll in.  Of course the vendors were out in full force and by now we were getting the knack of bargaining the price down.  Barbara Haenni, our Travel Guide, had told us that probably the best bargains of the entire cruise would be likely to be found in Vietnam along with some of the most aggressive vendors.  Barb had heard that the lacquered boxes were selling at a reasonable price so she bought several of them.  I purchased three identical baseball caps which varied only in color and said “Saigon, Vietnam” on them for $5 total.  I kept one, Barb bought the other from me at cost (I was being so generous), and I will find someone to give the other cap. Jack Meerman got on the bus with four (FOUR) Ralph Lauren polo shirts which he had purchased for a total of $10.  He jokingly offered to sell them for $5 each.  A vendor offered to sell four to me for $20.  When I said I wasn’t interested, he offered 3 for $10.  I told him I knew someone who bought 4 for $10. The man professed surprise at such a deal but quickly agreed.  I then said I had no need for four of them and offered to buy two for $5.  The deal was struck and I now have two $2.50 polo shirts.  I have no idea how long they will last, but at that price, I couldn’t go too wrong.  We ran into Al there and showed him my purchase and he came back with two of the same polos which be bought for $5.  I wore mine to dinner, hoping that Al wouldn’t wear his too; as much as I like Al, we really weren’t interested in looking like twins! 

Back at the pier, we browsed the booths with items for sale there and found a few more purchases.  Actually we didn’t find the vendors as aggressive as we might have expected.   They were all friendly and we wish we could have bought something from all of them.  We did see a number of people with various physical deformities, most notably a man probably in his 60s or 70s who had no hands.  He was just wandering the crowd at one of our stops.  At dinner, I asked Al if he had seen the man and he said he wanted to give the appreciative man $5.  What a great gesture!  We are guessing he might have lost his hands during the Vietnam War.

As we set sail from Nha Trang, we anticipated our visit to Saigon but heard the warning that the traffic in what is now called Ho Chi Minh City would be oppressive.  I was glad for the opportunity to visit Vietnam and have a much greater appreciation for the country and its people.  The war has been over for nearly 40 years and it was nice to find Americans welcomed to Vietnam as tourists.  I found Vietnam a much more welcoming country than our visit six years ago to St. Petersburg, Russia, where I felt I was being watched constantly.  In Nha Trang anyway, we did feel like we were wanted and most people greeted us with smiles.

CT

Hong Kong: Where East Meets West

As we sailed toward Hong Kong, we continued to keep busy with a variety of activities on the ship.  The first day out, we were invited to participate in a “galley lunch”, meaning we were seated in the galley and were able to watch as the stewards gathered their food to take out to those in the dining room.  Though it was tight quarters, we appreciated getting a better idea of how the kitchen operated.  We enjoyed seeing our favorite stewards walking past and smiling broadly at us as they continued on their way to collect appetizers or main courses. 

That evening we had opted to attend the Indonesian Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill.  We had enjoyed this when we were on the Grand Voyage in 2009 so we signed up as soon as we had the opportunity.  Once again, their Indonesian garb was exquisite, the decorations were bright and colorful, and the food (prepared by one of our “favorite” Indonesian stewards, Tina), was delicious, though quite spicy.  (Note to self: they called it dragon’s egg for a reason.  If they offer it to you again, politely say no thank you unless you once again want to feel like your entire mouth has burst into flames!) 

Unfortunately we discovered that the rumor we’d heard earlier in the week was true.  I asked one of the “in-the-know” ship staff about the lady who had been run over in Roseau, Dominica, our first port, and the staff member confirmed that the lady had had to have a series of surgeries and she died during one of the surgeries.  What a tragic end to something I’m sure she was looking forward to.  I also learned that she had not only been on our floor, but would have been our next door neighbor had we not switched staterooms. 

Shortly after we crossed the Equator on the 7^th, we had a visit from King Neptune and his court.  It was necessary to bring all polliwogs (those who had never crossed the Equator before) to trial to see if they were worthy of King Neptune’s forgiveness.  It was all in good fun as the “newbie” crew members took the punishment for the passengers, were brought before king Neptune, were required to “kiss the fish”, and were covered with messy goo before convicted or acquitted.  If it had been me, I would have wanted to be convicted because that meant that they had to dive into the ocean (or in this case, the Lido pool), meaning that they would immediately wash that slop off right away.  Those who were acquitted had to sit on the side of the pool and bake in the yucky stuff!  Some of the crew really put on quite a show as they acted out their parts, making it for a very fun morning. 

The lectures continue to be very informative, and the two scientist lecturers have been wonderful!  One is an astronomer who has quite a sense of humor.  He always throws in small clips of familiar movies.  The one of Wallace and Gromit brought back many wonderful memories of my fifth grade students.  They enjoyed that humorous duo as much as I did!  The lecture on 50 years of American Space Program reminded me of my week at Space Camp for Educators with Shirley, Stephanie, Kim, and Georgia back in the 1990s.  One day the naturalist talked about jellyfish, which reminded both Chuck and me about our visit to Akureyri, Iceland last summer where the waters around the ship absolutely teemed with jellyfish!  From what I heard this morning, I’m certainly glad that Lake Michigan isn’t home to some of these dangerous creatures!

As we approached Hong Kong, the seas went from the smooth surface of the doldrums to the roughest seas we’d had since leaving Punta Arenas, Chile.  While not nearly as rough, we had gotten so used to extremely calm water that it was a wake-up call to start rocking again!

We were scheduled for scenic cruising as we sailed into Hong Kong Harbor, but because the authorities requested that we board the pilot earlier than we’d anticipated, the beautiful views weren’t yet available.  It was still dark at 6:00 AM as we approached the harbor, and when the sun did rise, it decided to play hide-and-seek behind some dense clouds and fog.  So while we enjoyed the sail in, it wasn’t as spectacular as we’d hoped. 

Chuck, Al, and I were booked on a full-day excursion called Hong Kong’s Best, and we decided that we were also fortunate to have what we considered Hong Kong’s best tour guide!  Our guide Patrick had such a wonderful way with people and sense of humor that everyone on the bus agreed that we were indeed very lucky. 

Patrick kept up a running commentary the entire time, and we learned a lot, never having been in China before. 

Hong Kong’s official name is Hong Kong Special Administrative Region People’s Republic of China.  Wow!  I’m sure they’re glad they don’t have to write that down every time they identify their country!  Hong Kong and the surrounding areas of Kowloon and the New Territories have a very interesting history.  To make a long story short, as a result of the Opium Wars between China and Britain back in the1800s, Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, followed by Kowloon, and later the New Territories.  The New Territories were turned over to Britain in 1898 with a 99-year lease “attached”.  So in 1997 they, along with Hong Kong and Kowloon, were returned to China.  When this happened, China agreed to a second political system for the first 50 years.  So right now China is both a Communist government (those lands that had always been part of China) as well as a Democracy (those lands ceded back to China from Britain).   Chuck commented that when he taught AP US History that he had occasion to refer to the importance of Hong Kong and the Kowloon, never imagining that he would ever visit that part of the world.  They have become so much more real now that we have actually been there.

Patrick told us that because of the British influence, children started learning English as soon as they started school.  The teacher gave them “English” names according to the alphabet so when it came time for him to receive his English name, two other classes had Peter and Paul (and as he said, Mary wouldn’t work for him), so he was given the Irish name of Patrick. 

The population of Kong Kong is about 7 million, meaning that there are 6400 people per square kilometer.  (The US has about 31 people have about per km² and Canada has 2.6 people and 1 moose per km² according to Patrick.)   Because of the extremely dense population, an average family of four people live in an apartment of about 350 to 400 ft ².   He explained that if his wife goes out and buys a pair of shoes, she has to get rid of a pair of shoes to make room.  He said he might go home and find that they only shoes he has are the ones he’s wearing. 

Our first tour stop was at the lovely Bird Garden.  Since people don’t usually have room for pets like dogs or cats, they purchase birds instead.  The two most common songbirds are Oriental white eyes and parakeets.  Some people purchase fighting birds such as magpies.  Each morning the men take their birds on covered cages and walk them, just as I might take Molly for a walk.  The men bring the birds to the bird garden so the men can socialize with other men and the birds can socialize with other birds.  There are even places where the birds can be transferred into other cages for awhile to enjoy lovely surroundings, treats for eating, and a chance to “relax” in a spa-like atmosphere.  If I hadn’t seen it for my own eyes, it would have been very difficult to believe!  But there they were – the lovely little songbirds hopping into separate cages to enjoy some “spa-time”!  Also available in the garden are birds of all kinds for sale from the tiny little birds mentioned above to large exotic birds like toucans, as well as cages and a hearty supply of the birds’ favorite food – grasshoppers.

As we left the bird garden behind, we walked across the street to the flower (wholesale) market.  What a veritable feast for the eyes:  an entire city block devoted to the sale of any kind of flower and plant imaginable, from beautiful American Beauty roses to lovely orchids, Venus flytraps, air flowers, as well as plants such as bamboo, just to name a few.  It was hard to know where to look next with the wealth of beauty surrounding us! 

We really didn’t want to tear ourselves away from the two wonderful places we’d visited, literally across the street from each other, but we had so much to do that there was no choice.  Our next stop was the jade market.  This was where we could purchase “B Grade” and “C Grade” jade.  Patrick explained that we could tell the grade by the price.  “A Grade was the most expensive, costing hundreds of dollars.  “B Grade” might be $15 or more, and “C Grade” was probably well under $10.  Once again, we were expected to negotiate with the owners, something neither of us is comfortable doing.  I had a friend from the ship standing there saying, “Bid this amount…. Now offer this… If you don’t like the price, walk away.”  Sure enough, with her whispering in my ear, I managed to get a fairly decent price on a Christmas gift. 

Shortly after my first success at bargaining, we took a funicular ride to the top of Victoria Peak so we could enjoy a spectacular view of Hong Kong.  I’m sure it would have been quite spectacular had we not been experiencing clouds and a little rain.  No problem because we would also have a chance to enjoy the scenery from the restaurant at the top where we were scheduled to eat.  Once again we were hampered by the weather as the fog rolled in while we were eating.  We could now barely see the tram we’d taken to the top.  All was not lost though because we had a wonderful lunch in a nice restaurant and I was able to make a very quick trip to Hard Rock and pick up my Hong Kong shot glass. (Strange thing for someone who does virtually no drinking to collect, but they’re small, pack easily, and are about the least expensive thing at the Hard Rock!)

Continuing on our journey, we headed toward Repulse Bay, a very exclusive beach area with multi-million dollar homes.  As we drove, Patrick continued to explain about life in China.  Until about the 1970s, Chinese did not practice monogamy.  This was because marriages were arranged.  So the men had one wife who was selected for him, as well as concubines if he wanted them.  This was a tradition left over from the Ching dynasty.  The major industry in China is finance, followed by banking (HSBC – Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation being the biggest bank), and tourism.  The most popular sport is horse racing.  Patrick said when he dies he wants to come back as a racehorse because they have such a good life.  (However, he has a bad leg so he’s afraid that he was once a racehorse and came back in this life as a Holland America tour guide!) 

We had an hour to visit Stanley Market, a place where it was possible to buy souvenirs, once again by bargaining.  Patrick commented that every big city in the US has Chinatown, but the locals consider Stanley Market the Caucasian Market because that’s where the Caucasians shop! 

We drove to a small harbor where we boarded sampans for a ride through waters laden with fishing boats.  There were also several floating restaurants, including the world’s largest, Jumbo Restaurant.  We were fascinated to see all the different boats that would go out late at night into the South China Sea where they would lure fish to the surface and catch them in order to sell them to the markets.  The Chinese people want very fresh food so women often go to the market twice a day.  Patrick told us that he had invited himself and his family over to his parents for dinner this evening, and his mother was probably at the fish market purchasing fish that had been caught this morning.  He chuckled as he commented that Americans tend to go to the market about once a week.  What a difference in traditions!

One last stop took us to a jade factory where we watched the craftsmen polishing, cutting and setting jade into jewelry.  Needless to say, this was the “A Grade” jade, so I took a pass here. 

After our excellent excursion, we were looking forward to seeing the nightly laser show that’s visible over the harbor.  This is the longest consecutively-running laser show in the world – it plays over the water every night, rain or shine, starting  at exactly 8:00 and ending at 8:14.  We went up to the Sports Deck and enjoyed the beautiful display from there.  

As often happens when we’re in a port overnight, a folkloric show came on board to entertain us.  The one in Hong Kong was among the best I’ve ever seen!  We weren’t sure what to expect, but we were very impressed with the professionalism of the performers.  There were four different acts.  Two girls played instruments – the 12-stringed guitar and the 2-stringed violin – exquisite Chinese music with its harmonies that are so different from what we’re used to.   Then a talented group of teens performed the dragon dance.  We were in awe of their ability to weave in and out, leaping and diving as the dragon body wound its way around the stage in the dark!  They were amazing!  Two elegant young ladies performed a ribbon dance that was exquisite with its intricate movements of ribbons that had to stretch about 12 feet each!  The final act was a face-changer this man was a “master-champion” face changer, and he was excellent.  Dressed in a colorful costume, he wore a mask surrounded with lights and carried a cloth that he wove around his head.  Each time he did, another intricate face mask would appear.  It was absolutely incredible to view!  We were so impressed by the amazing talent this group displayed!

Our second day in Hong Kong was more relaxed.  We had originally booked an excursion that took us to the island of Lantau by skyrail.  However, there had been an accident on the skyrail earlier in the year so it was shut down until they could assess the cause and make sure it didn’t happen again.  Since hopefully we will be back in Hong Kong sometime soon, we decided to cancel the excursion this year.  So we set out in the morning to explore the area.  We walked first to the elegant Peninsula Hotel, the most exclusive in the Kowloon area.  It was beautiful and reminded me in some ways of the Drake in Chicago.  Then we continued our walk, passing through an enormous department store that brought back memories of Marshall Field’s (it will never be Macy’s to me!) in the Chicago Loop.  We strolled through the Centenary Gardens before returning to the ship for lunch.

Hong Kong was a fascinating experience!   There were so many things to do that were very different from what I’ve seen before that I found the entire time here to be a joy!  I now see why so many people on the ship have been raving about Hong Kong!  

Hong Kong was the first stop in one of the most port-intensive segments of the itinerary.  We are hoping to keep up with our blog postings, but if we get a little behind, please understand that our top priority is to enjoy the ports. We will get things up, but they may be farther between. 

BT 

Indonesia: The Dragons of Komodo Island and Daily Life on Lombok Island

I am happy to report that we are aware of no one who became lunch for any of the Komodo dragons!  That important detail out of the way, more on Komodo dragons later...

Our journey around this amazing culturally and physically diverse planet is exactly half over now.  Friday was Day 56 of our 112 day cruise and every single place we will visit will be exciting and new to us from now until we reach Athens in early April, just as everything was new from when our plane touched down in West Palm Beach on New Year’s Day (which seems so long ago now) until we arrived on the shores of Tahiti.

I had never focused attention on the importance of the area in which we are now sailing between northern Australia and Indonesia in terms of its impact on weather and climate, geology, and of course, culture. However our speakers now on board are helping those who are availing themselves of the opportunity to learn to understand the important role this area is contributing to our Earth.

Reluctantly, we are leaving Australia, a country which Barb and I have grown to love on our two trips there.  If it weren’t for the fact that the United States is home and always will be, I think we could both live in Australia and love it. Australia’s people are warm and friendly; the cities are modern and dynamic; the culture from “Waltzing Matilda” to the Aboriginal art and music of the haunting didgeridoo is fascinating; and the indigenous animals of Australia seem to be favorites of many Americans (though we prefer close encounters with kangaroos and koalas to those crocodiles we saw near Cairns!).

We have sailed over the Great Barrier Reef, one of UNESCO’s world preservation sites without being able to see the wonders below us.  We visited a reef and “snorkeled” (I use the term loosely) on our 2009 trip to Cairns so we have a small idea of these wonders of the ocean.  What I had not known was that these warm waters, which do help promote the life below the seas, also foster the development of cyclonic action in this part of the world.  The water is shallow in many areas and is incredibly warm so that makes cyclones more likely here.  For those of us in the Northern US, water temperatures of 86 degrees such as the captain reported on Saturday, seem unheard of.

As we traveled down South America and across the Pacific, we had primarily experts on culture and history.  Now we have two fascinating scientists on board.  One, a Canadian biology professor, Dr. George Sranko,  who has studied and lived in Australia has spoken on the ecology of the Great Barrier Reef as well as Australia’s animals. He also gave a full lecture on the fascinating (but definitely not cuddly) Komodo dragons which are found only on Komodo Island and very limited areas of nearby islands of Indonesia.  He spoke too, of the evolution of the human species which included a weaker branch of “hobbits”, much smaller than our typical humans and with smaller brains which has probably gone extinct.  However, he indicated that there is some evidence that there may yet be a few surviving in unexplored, undeveloped areas in parts of Indonesia to this day.  Fascinating.

The other professor, Dr. Greg Ojakangas, who graduated from Cal Tech, focuses on physical science especially astronomy and geology.  During the past year, Barb and I have seemed to be visiting areas of unusual volcanic action, first with Iceland last summer and now with the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and locations of volcanic events in Indonesia. From the mighty Krakatoa Volcano of the 1880s to other recent eruptions, great Pacific earthquakes that led to the tsunamis that devastated American Samoa in September 2009, less than 3 weeks before we visited there and the unsettling earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand and elsewhere in New Zealand, to volcanic eruptions on the planets of our solar system, he addressed the impact of these geologic actions on our planet and universe.  This is a fascinating, educational adventure which makes me think so frequently of the times I have subbed in Science at Lincoln-Way, showing DVDs that covered a number of the topics in this long, fascinating “field trip” we  are taking!  If only these students could have the opportunity to see these places.

After four days at sea, and navigating through the Great Barrier Reef as well as the waters between Australia and Indonesia, we reached Komodo Island and the Komodo National Park. One could sense the excitement of the Indonesian crew as they had a chance to see their home country after so many months at sea for so many of them.  Some had never visited Komodo Island as there are relatively few humans but about 1250 of the Komodo dragons on the island.  As we sailed into Strait of Lintah and Slawi Bay where we dropped anchor, this hilly but green island was shrouded in clouds.  I saw a cabin steward that I don’t know who said to me, “Welcome to my country!”  I responded that I was happy to be here but asked him to do something about the rain.  He told me, “It won’t rain,” (and it didn’t)!  We were told that since there had been a lot of rain recently, paths would be muddy and to wear appropriate shoes.

We met Al for our Komodo Island Trek shore excursion, took the easy tender ride to the island and met our walking tour at noon.  The rules and warnings of the park explained, our Indonesian guide and two park rangers set off with our group to see if we could spot any of the dragons.  The two rangers as well as the guide had long sticks with a forked tip in case they were needed to discourage the dragons from undue interest in their human visitors.

Komodo Island has a few trees, mostly palms, some of which protrude from hilltops like match sticks.  The dragons are indigenous to the island as well as small pockets of them in neighboring islands.  These monitor lizards can grow to 9 feet in length and up to 300 pounds and can live up to 50 or 60 years.  Their jaws are powerful and teeth are as sharp as razors.  There is a venom in their saliva that infects and disables prey.  As carnivores, they are not fussy, and while they prefer the delicious (to them) aroma of rotting carrion, a human would do in a pinch too, so we were told to stay on the paths and never to approach a Komodo Dragon.  Furthermore, they even eat Komodo Dragon eggs as well as young Komodo Dragons.  The young Dragons can climb trees to escape hungry adult predators of their own species.  Komodo Dragons can run at a speed of up to 12 miles an hour so the chance of outrunning a Komodo Dragon would be remote.  They usually sleep during the day and seldom bother humans if they are not provoked, but if the animal crouches and holds its head low and cocked, it is in an attack position so people need to walk, not run, in the other direction. 

No sooner had we started our walk, than we saw others watching something on the path.  It was a sleepy Komodo Dragon that kept one eye on us as we walked off the path and around it at a safe distance.  We had seen our first Komodo Dragon!  A few minutes later in a clearing, there were four Komodo Dragons all together as the tourists busily snapped photos.  Someone noticed some movement behind us and it was a young (our tour guide estimated five years old) Dragon that came down a tree.  Foliage and other trees made photos difficult but I could see its reptilian forked tongue shooting out of its mouth from time to time.  Then one of the adults saw the young Dragon as possible lunch and took interest in it.  Since we were between the adults and the juvenile, our guide ordered us to move slowly away.  Quickly the young Dragon climbed a tree to safety.  However, Barb noticed a couple from our group move toward the slowly moving adult to snap better pictures.  Apparently some felt a good picture was worth the life threatening action but the national park rangers moved the humans away and drove the animals back without incident.   We did hear that one Dragon began moving toward another group earlier in the day and it took some effort on the part of the rangers to stabilize the situation.  Comforting or not, the park is relatively safe.  The last human victim apparently was a tourist who went missing twenty years ago.

It appears that everyone that wanted had the opportunity to observe Komodo Dragons in their native habitat.  That included many of the Indonesian crew who were seeing Komodo Dragons for the first time themselves.  Only those with booked shore excursions were allowed off the ship, so a crew shore excursion was offered for them to see the Dragons.

After crocodiles of northern Queensland, Australia, we have now seen the Komodo Dragons of Indonesia.  The Komodo stop put us into Asia, our 5^th continent on our seven continent cruise and was the first of many Asian ports on our lengthy visit to Asia.

After sailing all night, we arrived at Lombok Island and the port of Lembar which also required a tender to shore.  When our alarm went off, Barb stated that she was extremely tired and that she just didn’t feel well, so she had to cancel her shore excursion.  So I did it without Barb and thus, the longer blog since she would have written a separate blog on our second port in Indonesia.  Instead, I am combining both Komodo and Lombok into one blog post.  The day was not beginning well since when our packed tender was filled and the ignition was turned on, the motor wouldn’t start!  I had visions of taking everyone off and bringing in a new tender which probably would have taken at least a half hour, but one of the enterprising  crew members got a  hammer, hit something, and off we went.

We had planned Sasak Native Village and Kuta Beach shore excursion which would portray the daily life of typical Indonesians.  In one of her lecturers, Travel Guide Barbara Haenni had commented that Indonesia had the fourth largest population in the world, behind China, India, and the United States.  I had wondered about Russia, assuming that even after the breakup of the old Soviet Union, Russia would still have more than Indonesia with its population of about 250 million.  Wrong!  I had to check Russia’s population which is only 138 million.  About 3.5 million people live on the small Lombok Island and it seemed like the entire population was where we were.

Lombok was much more everyday Indonesia than Komodo as we watched people going about their daily routines.  As we pulled away and began to see homes, farms, and businesses,  Immediately noticeable on the roads were many motorbikes, motor scooters, trucks, some horse drawn carts, but almost no private cars.  I was struck by the overwhelming poverty of the vast majority of the people.   Knowing our dining and cabin steward from this and other cruises on Holland America, our contact with Indonesians has been with these kinds of people who are consummate professionals in their jobs and who speak English exceptionally well.  Many of the people we saw were selling their wares along the road and wherever they knew tour buses would be found.  So much, frankly, represented items that I had no use for, much less need!  I didn’t need cheap watches, bracelets, pearls, or scarves.  Yet these people need to sell them to earn a little money for their families and one feels guilty not buying anything.  Once in awhile we have to give in a buy something we don’t need just to help support a few people economically.  A perfect example:  on Komodo Island big sellers are wooden Komodo Dragons of varying sizes and poses.  By the time I had tendered back to the ship, my bargained $8 Komodo Dragon’s tail had broken off! Oh well.  There are things more important than my small Komodo Dragon souvenir and the $8 the vendor earned probably was needed by the person who sold it.

Our first stop was in a village called Banyu Mulek where pottery is made.  We saw how it was done and then we boarded a traditional horse cart called a cimodo in groups of three or four for a short ride through the village.  I joined two other people who were taking this shore excursion as a solo – one a lady, Sondra, a retired lawyer from Miami, whom we met when we attended a Murder Mystery Dinner event a few nights ago, and the other a man I didn’t know.  Along the procession of carts, many children, women, and a few men waved at us as did some school children who happened to be out for their school recess.  At the end of the cimodo ride, we returned to a large barn where lots of pottery items were being sold.  Bargaining over price was intense with some making purchases and others unable to agree on a price.

Next we stopped at Sukarana where we saw several women showing off their skills in weaving brightly colored fabric.  Much of the fabric was being sold and once again, there was bargaining over price for these shawls, wraps, small tapestries and other woven products.  One of the highlights of the shore excursion was a stop at a traditional Indonesian village of Sade-Rambitan.  We walked through the village as once again, people urged us to purchase what they had to sell.  Houses were close together and people were out everywhere.  For some, clothing was minimal and for a few of the very youngest children, it was non-existent.  The floors of homes were clay, dung, and straw.  Roofs were thatched, similar to what one might see in a few places in England.  The village “was a nice place to visit, but ...”

Our guide commented that malaria has been virtually eradicated in Indonesia in part because of a concerted and successful effort on the part of government to rid the dreaded disease from Indonesia.  He also indicated that there is a major effort to improve educational standards and to raise literacy rates.  It seemed that the best dressed Indonesians were children at school as they all were required to wear the same style uniforms to reduce the class envy at school.  A very interesting fact he stated was that in Indonesia, a nation with a large Muslim population, the people are far more tolerant of religious differences than in some other Muslim countries.  Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and some Christians seem to coexist well.  I was impressed with the smiling, friendly faces of those we passed along the way.

For the first time ever, I visited a place where rice was grown.  I saw the rice paddies with many people working in the fields, some wearing the traditional conical hats, others spreading the rice out for drying, and some people, mostly women, carrying what seemed to be fairly heavy items on their heads.  I know from basic study and from conversations with our dining steward, Yohat, that Indonesians love their rice.  They don’t care for our type of food, so once we asked Yohat what he had for breakfast. “Rice” was his one word response.  So what about lunch?  “Rice.”  And dinner?  Again, “Rice”.  No wonder we saw so many people working in the fields of rice.  On employment, our guide told us that traditional forms of work are continued even though it would be more efficient to use machines.  Thus, horses and water buffalo are used rather than machines because if they were used, many people who so desperately need jobs would be replaced and poverty would be even higher.  (Our guide on this excursion, by the way¸ was a fifth year graduate student studying Sociology and who had excellent English vocabulary – as does the Indonesian crew on Holland America.)

Our final stop was at a Novotel resort for a sumptuous buffet lunch of Indonesian food.  Once again as in Cairns, the rains came during lunch when we were under cover.  It didn’t last long and some ventured to the beach near the hotel for a brief swim.  (At dinner, our dining steward, Yohat, told me that he and his cousin had set up the phone system for that hotel back in the mid 1990s.) After lunch, we made our way back through the interesting countryside to the ship, ending our brief introduction to Indonesia.

As the home country for so many Indonesian crew, many family and friends of crew came to Lombak Island from their homes to have a very brief reunion with those who are away for such extended times.  We could see the excitement in the faces of Indonesians who were seeing people who were so important to them.  Barb said she went up to the Lido (cafeteria) today and saw a number of family members with their Holland America family and friends.  She said it was fun to watch the dedicated Holland America crew glow with pride as they showed the ship to their families as well as introducing their families, especially their children, to their friends and guests.  We had told our two cabin stewards, Evan and DJ, to skip cleaning our room today so they could finish work early and have more time with those who came to see them.  They thanked us and said a few other passengers, including Al, had also put out “privacy please” notices for the purpose of allowing cabin stewards to skip cleaning their rooms for the morning.  Evan and DJ, as well as Herfan, one of our favorite previous dining stewards, and Yohat all had wonderful days on shore.  DJ told us he was so happy to be home in Indonesia for the first time in months that he wanted to cry when he stepped on Indonesian soil again.  Most of us can relate to that as well.

Our Indonesian experience over, we head to our next port, Hong Kong!

CT

Cairns, Australia: (Liquid) Sunshine of the Rainforest

After two days at sea we arrived on our second and last Australian port, Cairns.  Located in the northern part of the “Sunshine State” of Queensland, Cairns is the springboard to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Reserve.  Having done the GBR when we were here in 2009, we decided to do a land tour this time.

Naturally the main industry in Cairns is tourism, but there is also a lot of farming, with sugarcane and bananas being the largest crops.  This area of northern Queensland is considered the “wet tropics”, being one of the oldest continuously surviving rainforests on earth at 40 million years of evolution.  There is a vast amount of biodiversity here with many, many plants and animals that are found nowhere else on earth.

Not only did we visit the rainforest, but we visited it during rainy season.  As we took our tour, Crocs, Habitat, and Port Douglas, our guide explained that the frequent downpours at this time of year are a result of clouds to gathering a lot of moisture over the water, moving inland to the mountains and dumping rain as the clouds rose.  The mountains are so close to the coast that this can happen several times in one day, creating a cyclic effect where within a short period of time one can experience sunshine, clouds and sudden but short-lived downpours over and over during one day.  We certainly found that to be true, and fortunately the drenching rains seemed to time themselves to fit well in our schedules!

As we drove north out of Cairns toward Port Douglas, we were thrilled to see a mob of wallabies along the side of the road – apparently not a terribly common sight along the inhabited coastlines of Australia. 

Our first stop was at Hartley’s Crocodile World.  It was an incredible opportunity to see many different Australian animals.  We were greeted by a cockatoo, and stopped to visit the most active koalas we’ve ever seen (awake, eating, and actually doing a little bit of climbing around).  Koalas spend the vast majority of their time sleeping as digesting their meals of eucalyptus leaves takes so much energy.  A couple other interesting facts we learned about these adorable little balls of fur were that over time the size of their brains has shrunk due to lack of use, and amazingly, koalas are the only animals other than humans and primates that have fingerprints!  Scientists have found that koalas branched away from primates about 70 million years ago, and that fingerprints were an adaptation developed to help primates/koalas climb trees. 

The highlight of our stop here was to see the famous saltwater crocodile, the largest living reptile.  Saltwater crocs can grow to be longer than 20 feet, and they can exert a pressure of 3000 pounds per square inch when snapping their jaws together!  Indeed, when we heard those jaws snap, there was a loud popping sound kind of like a cork coming out of a wine bottle.  Crocodiles are silent but deadly.  They smash bones with one snap and eat anything they can grab – wallabies, kangaroos, and even water buffalo!  Larger crocodiles eat smaller crocs, which are actually a bigger threat to humans. (As recently as January 20 there was an article about a saltwater croc swallowing a 10-year-old Indonesian girl!)   They are at the top of the food chain – apex predators. 

Saltwater crocodiles lay up to 60 eggs.  The temperature of the egg determines the sex – the hotter ones become males.  The female guards the eggs for up to three months, but only about 1% survives as often the males eat the babies. 

When in the water, you often only see the snout and two eyes peering above the surface.  They are so still and quiet that they blend right in with their surroundings, making them extremely dangerous!  It was fascinating to watch them – and a little eerie to realize that they were watching us just as closely!  Fortunately we were in a very safe environment.  We watched a feeding and were amazed at how high these huge creatures will rise out of the water to grab food.  Apparently there is a hierarchy among the crocs, and the most dominant gets dibs first.  If he approaches, the others will back off until he’s finished. 

We boarded a small but well-protected boat for a tour around the lagoon.  The driver enticed the crocs with food; it was somewhat eerie because the lagoon water was very murky due to hard rains and we couldn’t see the crocs approaching.  Suddenly a croc would lunge out of the water, snapping for the tantalizing food that was just out of his reach.  It was incredible to see the power and stealth with which these giant reptiles moved!

After a delicious lunch (with a considerately downpour timed for when we were undercover), we headed a few miles up the road to another wildlife habitat, where we had the opportunity to see tropical rainforest birds as well as a wide variety of kangaroos and wallabies.  Having had the chance to hold a koala a few years ago, we opted to skip the koalas and headed right for the aviary.  We were amazed at the vibrant colors of some of the birds – the beautiful rainbow lorikeet, which apparently is quite common in Australia, as well as the stunning contrast between the brilliant red of the female eclectic parrot and the lovely green of the male.  We also saw a lone cassowary, a huge Australian bird (see Picasa album).  There are only three kinds of cassowaries in the world, and the Southern cassowary, indigenous to Australia is highly endangered.  Apparently the ecologists fear that, because the cassowary is so necessary for seed dispersion in the rainforest, if the cassowary dies out, the rainforest will suffer tremendously!  There are only about 1500 wild cassowaries left, so they are quite emphatic about its protection. 

One final stop was made for some free time in the nearby village of Port Douglas.  This time we weren’t quite as lucky with the timing of the rainstorm.  Just as we were about to leave the bus for about an hour and a half of free time, the skies opened up and we had a drenching rain.  We found various ways of finding protective cover.  I think we visited the world’s smallest Target store!  It was mostly clothing with a few little pharmacy items; believe it or not, what interested me most was what was sitting on the cashier’s counter – a red and white box that recalled many, many memories:  someone was getting a shipment of Scholastic books! 

As we arrived back in Cairns, the tour guide pointed up to the tops of a group of trees in the center of town.  Hanging from the trees like something out of a Dracula movie, were hundreds of flying foxes!  He told us that it was a colony of about 3000 bats.  These enormous creatures were sound asleep (thank goodness) and wouldn’t wake up until sunset, when scouts would return to the colony and let them know where to find food for the night.  (Unlike those of us on the cruise, apparently they have to be directed to their food each day!) 

That evening there was an Aussie Outback barbecue on the Lido. Chuck, Al, and I went up and grabbed a bite to eat before heading out into Cairns to visit the Night Markets – an excellent place to shop and spend the last of our Aussie dollars on various souvenirs before setting sail.

We have four days at sea, some of which are called “The Great Barrier Reef Experience”.  We’re not sure at this point what it entails…

The first day out of Cairns brought our second of three Cruise Critic luncheons.  As we visited with others at our table, the captain came on with his daily navigational announcement, followed by Cruise Director Bruce’s update on events of the afternoon.  When he announced a 3:00 tour of Australian floral arrangements led by florist Eddy, I noticed that the lady seated next to Chuck looked disappointed.  I felt the same way as I’d arranged to meet with someone at that exact time, and I told her so.  A few minutes later, she said to Chuck, “I’m Pat, and this is my husband Rich.”  I asked, “You aren’t by chance Pat Burrow?”  She said yes.  I told her who I was.  She was the person I was meeting at 3:00, so we quickly rearranged to meet at 2:00.  A few weeks ago I’d received an email from family friend Barb Ekiss.  Barb told me of another genealogist on board who knew a friend of Barb’s.  Barb gave me her name, and I contacted her so we could meet.  We were amazed that we just happened to sit at the same table.  To top it off, when Pat mentioned she was from San Jose, Al said he’d lived there.  What an amazing coincidence to learn that he, Pat, and her husband Rich had all worked for the same company in San Jose!

So now we are in the middle of four days at sea, continuing to keep very busy before we arrive at our next encounter with big reptiles – Komodo Island. 

BT