Gu Lang Yu Island

Xiamen was a new city for me and it was interesting to see but I can say I would not rush back.  It’s a large commercial city with a lot of traffic.  We visited Gu Lang Yu Island, a resort spot for the Chinese, a lovely temple that they are adding on to and enjoyed yet another multi -course meal at the Marine Hotel.  It never fails to amaze me that no mater how many group meals I get, I always find a new dish on the revolving table mount.  I love surprises. Chinese brides and grooms have their photos taken before the wedding in all kinds of picturesque places, including this island.

Shanghai from the Hyatt

Shanghai’s skyline is the most amazing I’ve seen.  I live in Chicago and I am always thrilled with our skyline but the drama of Shanghai’s far surpasses ours.  Even Hong Kong, these days, falls behind Shanghai and I always considered Hong Kong as #1.  It’s a vibrant, high fashion city that fascinates all who visit.  Nanjing Road is a pedestrian mall in part with thousands of shops, hotels and restaurants where crowds stroll until late in the evening.  We dock very close to the Bund so it was a pleasant walk from the ship to the best part of town and the great views.

Once again we found a local restaurant on the 12^th floor of a building where we ordered genuine Chinese food from the most entertaining menu I’ve ever seen.  It was large, laminated with photos in Chinese with literal English translations.  We laughed so hard reading it we took about half an hour to place our order.  There are a couple of photos below.

The river, the Bund, old town, the new town – all of it makes up a most impressive destination.

Three ports in Korea allowed us to see South Korea quite well.  Busan, Jeju and Incheon  (port for Seoul) were our stops.

Amazingly, I spent time in Korea with a group of  travel industry friends a few years ago so I could actually say I knew my way around a little bit.  My favorite places are always the markets and in Korea it is the fish markets.. Feisty Korean women in rubber aprons are cleaning, watering and selling seafood of any kind, and I mean any kind.  There is stuff there I still don’t recognize and could never get an English answer as to what it is.  I’ve said before that half the stuff I don’t recognize and the other half spits at me as I walk by.  It is absolutely fascinating and I am always enthralled in these markets.

My friend, Tunde, and I are kindred spirits as far as eating and wandering back streets.  We found a tiny place across from the markets and had a spicy seafood soup with lots of creatures, accompanied by the usual small dishes of fermented veggies and topped off by a few Korean beers.  It’s not cheap, funnily enough, but its fascinating good food and a bit of an adventure.  I do draw the line at eating things that are still moving, however, so I happily left them in their tubs as we took off for the mall.

I did not feel the need to go to Seoul, about an hour+ by train from Incheon having been there previously, In Incheon there is a huge mall called the Aqua Mall that has a stunning water show with music in its atrium.  The shops are varied and definitely high fashion and the food courts are definitely more interesting than those at home.  After saying that, though, I have to admit that the two places I was drawn to was Baskin Robbins and Coldstone ice cream.  Little bits of home are always welcome.

Summer Palace, Beijing

There is no way to describe China briefly.  We visited Dalian, Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen all of which are now unbelievably modern cities.  China has changed dramatically since I was first here in the mid 80’s.  While the tourist attractions are still a high point the new parts of China are becoming equally as interesting.  These days there are millions of Chinese are traveling within their own country so everything is crowded.  I escorted a shore excursion to the Summer Palace and Great Wall in Beijing.  There are 1.3 billion people in China and I am convinced that .3 billion were at the Summer Palace that day.  Our group of aging white people was overwhelmed by the crowds who made it difficult to really see the buildings in their magnificence.  If you think of a New York City subway crowd at rush hour and then triple the pushy part and the number of people you might come close to the scene.  I am not discouraging you about visiting but you do need to be prepared for the adventure.

Fall at the Wall

Great Wall, China

The Great Wall was its usual amazing self and quite beautiful in the late afternoon light.  The part we visited had a gorgeous village at its foot and the fall colors just added to its beauty.

Valdivostok

I’ve not been good about writing, I fear.  The lack of decent free internet has been surprising, especially in places like Shanghai and Hong Kong.  I find this causes me to put anything related to wireless in second place to exploring the area.  I’m thinking that this is a good thing, actually, but I feel like I should be keeping up some commentary for my friends and family.  We’ll see if I can do better as we go along.

Vladivostok Church

Our first landing port was Vladivostok in Russia.  Amazingly enough I was pleasantly surprised with this city.  I was expecting the stereotypic gray, ugly buildings and similarly dressed people.  I was way off base.  The Russian women are extremely fashion conscious and many of our own US stores are located in the city including Victoria Secret.  The buildings were getting power washed and the city is being cleaned up.  There is some interesting old architecture along side of the modern construction.  The harbor is huge and considering the city was sealed off from the world until 1991, the place has come a long way.

Mutton Stew

We enjoyed a wonderful meal of mutton stew and chicken with vegetables plus tongue salad along with the local vodka and a couple glasses of wine in a very local restaurant where we were the only foreigners.  The server had to go to the cooler to get the wine so we could choose red or white because our Russian and her English weren’t making it work.  But they had wifi!  You just never know.

My gourmet friend, Tunde

ms Amsterdam Dining Room

Well, here we are on Holland America’s ms Amsterdam at the far western end of the Gulf of Alaska, near the Aleutian Islands. It has been a little rocky these last couple of days, to the point of the cast Broadway style show being canceled twice. Non-dancing entertainment was the substituted, comedians.  Not sure what the Bering Sea will bring as far as waves are concerned, so we will await further instructions on that.

This a 70 day cruise from Seattle to Russia, Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, Fiji, Noumea, American Somoa and Honolulu landing us back in Los Angeles on December 5. It is our first grand voyage since going to sea so we were not sure what to expect as far as guests, activities or sightseeing opportunities.
The ship is beautifully done in darker wood and rich colors. We have two Dutch florists who do wonderfully creative flower arrangements that are constantly freshened. The ship is classy, no doubt.

We thought that business would be slow in the beginning of the itinerary as it is on most itineraries. Normally 90% of the bookings come in the last two days. We were happily incorrect as we have seen a steady stream of guests since day 1. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize how much organizational “stuff” we had to do so we are spending long hours early and late each day. I am happy to say we are almost there. I wrote up 3 weeks of program ads last night and am doing the entry today so that will give us some breathing room. We have found the paper and ink supply as well as established what brochure inventory we have on hand.

Our first port is Petropavlosk, Russia but due to the Russian government’s complicated policies we crew are not allowed ashore. That means the first time we will set foot on land after departing September 26 will be in Vladivostok on October 8. Sure hoping that the ice bar is close to the pier, we will need it.

Right, back to work on the power point presentations, our dog and pony shows. Check back in a bit for news from the Russian front.

Mendehall Rainforest

Photo Safaris

Last summer I bought a new camera, knowing I was going to South America on the Veendam and then Alaska on the Statendam. It’s my first DSLR and I got a Nikon D5000, a beginner level model. Believe me, this one has more bells and whistles than I will probably ever use but I am working on getting off automatic.

Since I got to Alaska I have taken 2 photo safaris, one in Juneau and one in Haines and I have been delighted with both of them. I took one in Stika last year with my old beat up camera and would like to repeat with my new one. They are shore excursions that can be chosen from the many offered by Holland America.

Working on aperture settings

In Juneau we went out to Mendenhall Glacier and walked through the forest back to the visitor center and the views of Mendenhall Glacier. From there we went out to Auke Bay and hopped a boat for some whale watching and were not disappointed. David Sheakley was our guide and he was most

My best whale shot

helpful on the technical side with a power point presentation while we were on the bus. He asked what we were interested in learning and I told him I wanted to get off automatic. I learned some good tips for setting aperture and shutter speed so I can now make my own choices as to what to make important in my shots. He helped with a couple settings on my camera so I can now change them at will.

In Haines we went out with Bob Adkins and he showed us some drop dead settings that typify Southeast Alaska. I loved his approach. He told us we were on a shoot for National Geographic magazine and the focus was southeast Alaska. We were given time to shoot from all angles and distances. He made suggestions as to composition as well as technical points.

Rainbow Glacier, Haines

I tend to take a lot of vertical shots myself usually because I am trying to fit in mountain tops and the water or flora below. One thing he said I will always remember. “National Geographic never puts a horizontal shot on their covers.” We need to learn how to look vertically when composing a shot as well as horizontally. OK then, I feel that I am on the right track.

Two weeks later in Juneau I took the bus out to Mendenhall glacier and spent 3 hours walking the paths of the park and then down by the glacier just working on aperture and shutter speed. Photography is a solitary hobby but the places it takes you and the little things that delight you make it a wonderful world.

I take too many photos, most of which aren’t very good. But every once in a while when a good one emerges you feel like you have conquered a mountain. Bob in Haines told us it takes 22,000 photos to get 20 shots good enough for a National Article. So perhaps I am on the right track after all.

If you are at all interested in photography, no matter what camera you are using, consider going on one of these photo safaris. For more Haines photos go to www.flickr.com/photos/gardner310/sets/72157627136109796

Rainbow Glacier