Random thoughts from the sea
Day 33, Grand Asia 2017 Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 – At Sea Today we sailed south through the South China Sea rather than southwest toward Vietnam. Typhoon Damrey separates us from Nha Trang, the first of two scheduled Vietnam ports, and one that we will miss by taking a circuitous
Continue readingDay 32, Grand Asia 2017 Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017 – Hong Kong Today we returned to the warmth. The morning temperature was in the 70s, with a noticeable touch of humidity. At breakfast, I overheard a woman at the next table excusing herself to change clothes, because “I am wearing
Continue readingDay 31, Grand Asia 2017 Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017 –Xi’an, China I didn’t know there was anything in Xi’an other than the terracotta warriors. Boy was I wrong. The warriors aren’t even in town, but almost an hour away. The “town” has 8 million people. One million of them are
Continue readingDay 30, Grand Asia 2017 Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017 – Xi’an, China You can look at one or even a dozen terracotta warriors and be impressed. But the real impression comes from looking at a thousand of them. When I saw a small traveling exhibit in Chicago in 2016, I
Continue readingDay 29, Grand Asia 2017 Monday, Oct. 30, 2017 – Guilin, China There are some landscapes that are unlike anything I have ever seen before, and today I cruised down the Li River through just such an area. Towering spires of limestone surrounded us as we passed through on a
Continue readingDay 28, Grand Asia 2017 Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017 – Guilin, China The morning dawned hazy and foggy in Shanghai in sharp contrast to a near-perfect day yesterday. The sun tried and failed to break through. I was surprised to see the Volendam still docked ahead of us. Apparently the
Continue readingDay 27, Grand Asia 2017 Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 – Shanghai, China Shanghai is one of those cities that must be experienced rather than toured. I didn’t know much about it before arriving, and it didn’t have a must-see historic icon on my list like the Great Wall, Petra or
Continue readingDay 26, Grand Asia 2017 Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 – At Sea Hundreds of festive red lanterns dangling from the dining room ceiling were the first sign that tonight’s dinner would be special. Tonight’s Red Lantern Gala felt like the formal nights of old. We had our choice of lobster
Continue readingDay 25, Grand Asia 2017 Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 – At Sea On Monday I declared I was tired of my cool weather clothes. Today it became official, and I broke out the white pants I was saving for warmer climes. I need to remind myself that I also get
Continue readingDay 24, Grand Asia 2017 Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 – Tianjin/Beijing, China “Happy group, sticky rice!” That became our motto as our tour group of 12 walked the two miles today by Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City of Beijing. We knew just what our guide Sonia meant. The happy
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