Random thoughts from the sea
Day 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
Continue readingDay 23, Grand Asia 2017 Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017 – Tianjin/Beijing, China Pictures don’t do the Great Wall justice. The reality of actually standing on the centuries-old wall would have taken my breath away, had I had any breath by then. Reaching the wall was the culmination of a shin-burning
Continue readingDay 22, Grand Asia 2017 Monday, Oct. 23, 2017 – At Sea As we sail toward tomorrow morning’s port of Tianjin, China, the ship traffic surrounding us continues to increase, and we pass dozens of fishing boats. After so many sea days crossing the North Pacific Ocean with no sights
Continue readingDay 21, Grand Asia 2017 Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017 – At Sea I had a great night’s sleep, despite or perhaps because of the rolling of the ship as we sailed through the edges of Typhoon Lan. My stateroom preparations paid off, as nothing had fallen to the floor. The
Continue readingDay 20, Grand Asia 2017 Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 – Kagoshima, Japan Word spread quickly throughout the ship this afternoon of the monster typhoon approaching Japan. Of course, the rumors were largely inaccurate. Yes, Typhoon Lan is heading toward landfall near Tokyo and is expected to disrupt commerce and the
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Day 19, Grand Asia 2017 Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 – Hososhima, Japan According to Japanese mythology, the first Japanese emperor, Jimmu, set sail from the small seaside village of Mimitsu to conquer central Japan. Today I visited the village during our stop in Hososhima on Kyushu, the southwestern-most of the
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Day 18, Grand Asia 2017 Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017 – Beppu, Japan We’re more than halfway through our week of Japanese ports. Our original itinerary had five stops in Japan followed by two in Korea. But the Chinese government decided it would not admit ships that had stopped in Korea.
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Day 17, Grand Asia 2017 Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 – Osaka/Kyoto As we sailed into Osaka this morning, an unfamiliar sight greeted us: sun and blue sky. The mood of the entire ship seemed to lift after days of rainy Japanese ports. We cruised through Osaka Bay and docked at
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