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Halfway into our Cruise Around Asia, Hong Kong

November 3 and 4, 2017 We Disembarked in Hong Kong

After eight days at sea without interesting views, many of us stood outside to take pictures of Hong Kong on our arrival in the late evening of November 2.

I had met three students from Hong Kong when I took a bus tour of the national parks earlier in the year, in May, 2017. Until then, I did not know much about Hong Kong. The students explained that Cantonese is spoken there and told me about its history. One of them, Michael, said he would be happy to show me around when I visited Hong Kong on November 3. We agreed to meet at the Kai Tak Terminal at noon. He had been so busy with exams that he did not have time to respond to my email asking him if he was coming by car. I alternated between the passenger pick up area on the second floor and the WiFi area on the first floor. We found each other as I was thinking I’d be so disappointed if we did not meet up because of the missed ports and bad weather. Michael showed me how to use my senior transit pass that I purchased at the first bus station and we traveled by bus, train, tram, and ferry to venues around the city.

Michael remembered that I had wanted to try dim sum in Hong Kong and he took me to Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum Restaurant, a Michelin rated restaurant that is the pride of Hong Kong. Fortunately, it wasn’t crowded when we arrived and all the items Michael ordered were very delicious!

We traveled by train, bus, and tram to reach Victoria Peak, where we saw a panoramic view of Hong Kong Island, Victoria Harbor, and the Kowloon Peninsula, albeit a bit marred by the pollution from China. Michael’s friend, Samson, joined us for dinner at a Thai Restaurant in a shopping mall which was also wonderful. Michael is an engineering major and Samson is a chemistry major. They both earn money to fund their travels through tutoring.

We were given a copy of a cruise summary at the end of our voyage and for Hong Kong, the log book mentioned sunny skies, a gentle breeze, and a temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I’d like to add that two kind college students entered my life and shared a day with me on November 3, 2017. Thanks to Michael and Samson, I had a wonderful and memorable day.

Still Cruising Around Japan and Asia

A Free Day in Chinatown, Yokohama

The Day Before my Cruise

I had a full day to myself before boarding the Princess Cruise ship, Diamond Princess, so I visited Chinatown, the largest in Japan. It rained all day, a pleasant and light rain and I was impressed with the clean stores and inviting eateries. A young man enticed me into his restaurant, which offered 74 or more different items for one set price of 1680 yen, cash only. Rather than eat at a food stand, I decided to try the restaurant. I thought the size of the dishes would be much smaller but they were regular size. It was truly a feast: ramen, sticky rice, pork shumai, sweet bean filled sesame balls, eggplant, char siu, and a variety of vegetables.

I accidentally came across an outdoor mall in the neighborhood and was happy to find a Daiso, a discount store similar to the 99 Cent or Dollar Stores in the United States. I found a mini mortar and pestle set and a mini sushi making kit as well as puzzles, barrettes, horsehair paint brushes, and small handkerchiefs for my granddaughter. There was also a panda themed store where I purchased a snow globe with a panda riding a carousel horse.

I noticed familiar restaurants such as KFC, Yoshinoya, and McDonald’s. At McDonald’s, they did not offer an extensive menu, but the set prices seemed to include a side dish of corn. My cousin once told me that the Japanese love corn and always have a can of corn in the cupboard. You’ll find it used as a garnish on salads, served at restaurants as corn soup, and served as corn sushi at a kaitenzushi restaurant, or conveyor belt sushi. There is even an instant version in packets. Yup, they sure love corn.

15-Day Cruise Around Asia

Getting There – October 24 and 25, 2017

I flew into Yokohama two days early to make sure I made it to the Osanbashi Pier in Yokohama to board my cruise. We had destructive hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico and strong typhoons also visited Asia. My American Airlines flight from Las Vegas went to Dallas Forth Worth. I had paid for an aisle seat, and paid again to get closer to the exit, from row 29 to row 13, as the layover in Dallas was only an hour and a half. I didn’t have to worry because they have Skylink, a wonderfully efficient airport transport system where passengers do not leave the security area and the trains go around the loop with stops at various gates every 9 minutes.

The pilot of the connecting flight who took us to Narita informed us that instead of the regular route over Alaska, he was flying a southern route to avoid high winds. Once in Narita, I took the Narita Express to Yokohama and transferred to the Minatomirai subway line and exited at the Nihon Odori station. I relied on a review I read that said the hotel I reserved, the Toyoko Inn Hotel, was about five minutes away on foot. Of course, once out of the station, I didn’t know what direction to go and I asked a passerby. He took out his iPhone to use the flash light and read the address on my printout. He initially said there were many hotels with the same name but ended up escorting me to the front desk of the hotel. Awesome!

The hotel was clean and the staff very friendly. I had been worried because my printout had mentioned shared bathrooms but the desk clerk assured me that the bathrooms were private. I asked if there were any conbinis nearby. Sure enough, there were two. I also discovered a Hotto Motto, where you can purchase freshly made food with plenty of rice for takeout only. In the room, there was no closet but a printout in English that said that suitcases will fit conveniently under the bed. There was also a small rack with a few hangers. For a solo traveler, this was perfect! The breakfast was complimentary and consisted of miso soup, various rice balls, a protein such as meatballs, pickled vegetables and coffee, tea, or water. For a Japanese American tourist, this was food heaven!

Antelope Canyon in Utah, U.S.A.

A Japanese expat once told me that when Japanese tourists come to Las Vegas, they like to visit the Strip and Antelope Canyon. I had never heard of Antelope Canyon. Yellowstone National Park had been on my bucket list for quite some time and when I noticed a bus tour that included Antelope Canyon and Yellowstone National Park, I signed up.

The canyon is popular with hikers, photo enthusiasts, and tourists but now the tours have to be led by guides because of some unfortunate accidents in the past and the danger of flash flooding. Our guide told us that there were five flights of stairs to descend and the third and fifth were like ladders. Although I am 71 and not so limber, it was easy to follow the person ahead of me and we were rewarded by the beautiful rainbow lines and colors in orange, yellow, purple, and gray that were formed by rainwater erosion of the Navajo sandstone over millions of years.

After returning home, I read more about Antelope Canyon and discovered that a well-known landscape photographer, Peter Lik, had sold his black and white photo taken in the Upper Antelope Canyon where light does magical things with the sandstone and dust, for $6.5 million.

I feel that a message was sent to me by the Japanese tourists who have witnessed this gift from Mother Nature to say that an awesome place is in my own backyard.

Cherry Blossoms

My cousin’s husband sent me photos of the spectacular cherry blossoms in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki prefecture, where they live. They peaked around April 9. On a previous visit several years ago, the blossoms were in full bloom around March 25. For travelers trying to catch the blossoms, it’s hard to pinpoint a specific date, especially since flights and hotels must be reserved several months in advance. I remember being overwhelmed with delight the first time I saw them and being told by my relatives that reports of the blossoms are announced on news stations in addition to weather reports. The blooms open up from south to north and the whole country seems to be focused on the movement. Citizens often know the best places to view the flowers, but I realized that when the season arrives, the flowers are everywhere and you don’t really need to go to a river, park, or shrine to enjoy them. To the Japanese, the flowers represent the ephemeral quality of life and are revered.

I have never tired of receiving postcards, fans, bento boxes, and fabric with images of cherry blossoms. I have a collection of ribbons and origami paper with blossoms that I hope to incorporate into a creative craft project. I’d also like to learn to capture the delicate flowers in watercolor paintings.

Photos are by Nobutake Watanabe

Shinjuku Train Station

Shinjuku Train Station

Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is the busiest transport hub in the world. Videos posted by visitors show the lines of passengers waiting in an orderly fashion, often reading a book or texting. When the train stops and the doors open, the passengers wait for the exiting people and then make their way into the car. Professional people pushers, usually part-time retired workers or college students, help to push everyone onto the trains.

Viewers have commented that more trains could alleviate the problem but adding trains would endanger lives since the tracks are used by trains every 7 to 10 minutes. It will be interesting to see how the government deals with the challenge as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approach. Maybe they could stagger working hours.

Rush hour times in Japan are generally 7-9 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. Keep in mind that not all train stations are as busy as those in Tokyo. An excellent source for transportation schedules is www.hyperdia.com; a little planning and study goes a long way toward making your visit to Japan an amazing experience.

A-Bomb Monument

A-bomb Monument of the Hiroshima Municipal Girl’s High School

I was on my way to the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima and came across this memorial dedicated to the students who perished from the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 8, 1945. The students had been helping to demolish a building when the bomb was dropped. All 544 students and eight teachers perished. There were students working in other parts of the city and the school lost a total of 679 people on that day. The girl in the center is holding a box with the formula for nuclear energy, E=MC² as the US army did not allow the use of “A-bomb” so this inscription was chosen. I took this photo in 2015 and there were flowers. Families and relatives are still grieving.

“Grave of the Fireflies”

“Grave of the Fireflies”

Recently, I watched an animated film called “Grave of the Fireflies” (1988) set in Kobe, Japan toward the end of WWII. US bombers drop napalm canister bombs on Japan, bombs that set fires that destroy whole villages and cities. Seita, a 14-year-old teenager, is left to take care of his little sister, Setsuko. Their mother does not make it to the shelter when the air raid sirens go off and she dies in the hospital. Their father is on a Japanese navy ship that is destroyed as the war comes to a close. A distant aunt takes them in, but she begins to resent the expense of taking care of the two children in addition to her daughter and a worker. Even though Seita brings food that they had buried on their property and agrees to allow his aunt to sell his mother’s kimonos, their welcome is soon gone.

Seita and Setsuko leave their aunt’s home and live in an abandoned shelter. There are some beautiful scenes of the fireflies and the children use them to light their shelter. The next day, Setsuko finds that they are all dead and takes great care burying them, imagining her mother’s burial. The story is based on a semiautobiographical book by Nosaka Akiyuki whose sister died of starvation and whose life was shadowed by guilt. He states there were times when he ate first before giving his sister food.

There are many contrasts in the movie such as the innocence of children and the cruelty of adults in times of war. There are peaceful drawings of the countryside in Nishinomiya, where the aunt lives, and bombers in the background. Both children die of starvation. Animation is the right format for this movie as a live-action film would have required depictions of violence and use of special effects. The simplicity of anime makes the message of this incredibly sad story all the more poignant.

Scorsese Movie “Silence”

“Silence”

I had read that Martin Scorsese had been thinking about making this movie for 28 years and his commitment never faltered through funding problems, scheduling conflicts, and legal challenges. Taiwan was chosen as the filming location for its cost effectiveness, the crew worked for minimum pay, and the actors worked for scale. Scorsese’s storied dedication and his own internal search for spirituality has resulted in an outstanding film.

After learning that a priest living in Japan, Father Ferreira, had committed apostasy after being tortured, two priests set out from Macao to find him. The movie is set in mid-17 century Japan and is based on a story of the same name by Shusaku Endo. The two priests witness drownings, a beheading, and cruel deaths as the samurai charged with eradicating Christianity torture the believers. The movie gives no answers but invites introspection and contemplation of the silence that permeates our spiritual lives.

I did not grow up in a religious household, have not experienced spiritual turmoil, and am not an avid moviegoer. In the December of my life, I enjoy old musicals, comedies, and light romance. “Silence” is not a movie for everyone, but I know that it is a masterpiece.

-October 26 through November 2, 2017
-I met my roommate on a previous cruise and when her friend was unable to make it, she invited me to join her on this cruise around Asia.  We shared a balcony cabin, a real luxury for me because I usually book an internal cabin and pay the single supplement fee.  I was very excited because the first port was to be Kagoshima on October 28 and my cousins and I had planned to meet at the Kagoshima train station and have lunch together.  They live in Miyakonojo, about a two hour train ride from Kagoshima.  I had printed out maps and researched ways to get to the train station from the pier.  I considered the bus, tram, and train.  All were convenient and I was confident I could manage to get to the train station and we had decided to meet at the post office across the street from the station.
-The only glitch was the weather.  My cousins had been following the news and they were in the middle of Typhoon #22 or Typhoon Saola as the weather stations reported it.  They found the Princess Cruise website and knew before I did that the ship would not be able to dock in Kagoshima as the port was closed.  We were all disappointed but plan to meet in Okinawa in three years so we are looking forward to that pleasurable event.  I kind of knew intuitively that I might not get to Kagoshima so like many Japanese travelers do, sent my smaller carry on luggage with gifts by delivery service to their home.  The cost was nominal, about 17 U.S. dollars, and kudos to the delivery service who delivered the suitcase to their home in the pouring rain!  The cruise line credited our accounts $50 for the missed port.
-On Halloween, pumpkins created by staff members were on display in the atrium.
-Chan May, Vietnam, was to have been our second stop on November 1.  I really wanted to walk the grounds where my brother had walked 52 years ago.  He served two tours in Vietnam and suffered from PTSD, a condition not even defined then.  He died at age 35 of meningitis.  Separation and the divorce of my parents precluded me from getting to know him and I always feel sad when I think of him.  Continued bad weather brought an announcement from the captain informing us that the pilot refused to come on board and that the port was effectively closed.  He announced that we would receive $100 for this missed port.
-By this time, many passengers were grumbling about not seeing anything yet and a group held a meeting.  The leader of the group went to the purser’s desk to complain and summoned the entire group to join him.  This is when staff members felt uneasy enough to call the captain and he started by voicing his dismay over the group’s behavior on the loudspeaker and informing us that the group members had been identified and risked being taken off the ship in Hong Kong.  Rumors swirled and gave us some respite from the monotony of the ocean views and rocky journey.
-Most passengers knew that the captain was our hero, keeping 2600 passengers safe by using his experience to guide the ship around the typhoon, reducing speed in choppy waters and communicating with different ports and the Princess Cruise main office.  On November 2, he informed us that we would be given credits of one-half the fare paid on this cruise to use on another cruise before December 2018.