This post I wrote several days ago but wifi is terrible…….if I can send this at all. If you want to see pictures you will have to get them from Facebook.

Here I am back on the Mediterranean again.  This time I am traveling with my good friend Linda Bedard.  Again  we are sailing on the Oceania Riviera.  We upgraded from an inside to consierge balcony.  Marble bathroom with full-sized bathtub plus a seperate shower.  What a treat!

Our day has been extremely stressful.  When we got to the airport in Victoria for a flight leaving at 5:25 am, there was also a flight leaving at 6.  Because the lines were so chock-a-block full, we didn’t make it to check-in in time.  They had closed the gates so to speak.  Both Linda and I had tried to check in the night before but the system would not allow us to.  Anyway, one lovely lady employee (one was a total hag) got us rebooked on one leaving at 7 (we were supposed to be catching the 7 o’clock out of Vancouver.  So…..that one got changed to 8.  That was stressful but alas the gate we had to go to get our connection, was very close by.  From there we were to fly to Toronto.  The connection time to the next flight ……to Athens, was supposed to be only an hour and a half but we circled the airport for god knows how long.  Have you been to Toronto and have to make a connection to an international flight?  We must have made our quota for steps taken in that mad dash to get to our gate.  But we made it…..but not with much time to spare…..on the original flight we were to take.  Phew!!!  

We arrived in Athens….what a breeze going through customs…….just rubber stamped and we were on our way.  The man that was to deliver us to the ship was there holdin up a sign saying “Gail Grand”…….oh well I knew it had to be me.  After all nine of us that I was responsible for collecting were altogether, we drove through some really poor uncared for residential areas of Athens and Pireaus to our ship.  We arrive there about 11am and were very shortly on board and were being fed in the Terrace Cafe.  Yeah….it certainly was nice to get great food after the less than ideal crap that Air Canada served us.

Kalimerra means good morning….our tour is to Lassithi Plateau.  Crete is 5th largest in Mediterranean.    To monestary of the Virgin Mary….from 14th century.   Island of 3000 villages.  It is compulsory to join armed forces at 18 or after studies are completed.  It is surrounded by sixty islands…..uninhabinetted.  Lots of wild goats……they plant oleanders which are poisonous, along highway to prevent accidents (the goats won’t go near them).  One protected islet they have placed wild goats to save them. Since there is no water on these islands, they have to bring water to them……..every other day.  55% of population is in agriculture, the rest are in tourism.  There are 35 million olive trees.  Extra virgin Olive oil is number one export, wine is second.  Oldest olive tree is 3000 years old but many are 500 years old.  Family of four consumes 300 litres of olive oil…..good for the heart. 

The eastern section is sinking with the east is rising.  Some earthquakes but not severe.  Sea squill plant are planned to protect the houses from earthquakes.  300 endemic plants on Crete.  

5000 orthodox churches on Crete. Priests are allowed to marry but must be married before becoming priest….and only once.  If the wife dies, they still cannot remarry. 

Goats wear bells but sheep don’t but so the owners paint their butts.

The Lassithi Plateauis 2400′ above sea level,  mountains are up to 8000′.  There are 21 villages on the plateau.  The 100 or so windmills in the plateau are used for irrigation, the derelict rock ones on the hills were used to grind barley, grains.

5 kilo of olives make only 1 litre of olive oil. 

Pam may have written this (different and more eloquent than I do) but I absolutely agree with what she has written here.  Thanks Pam.

More of India, some weeks later ….
by PamelaTravelBlog

I was prepared for difficulty, dirt and disease.
I found love and the soft spot of human existence. I found acceptance and desire. I was not prepared for luxury and ease.
As with most of what I saw and photographed, India is surreal for the foreigner. It’s as if it floats, almost disconnected … Like in a cloud in heaven. Yet … It’s all part of and interconnected with the rest of the universe. Spiritually, it may be the center of the the globe, beating with the blood of the worlds people’s.
I did not expect to be blessed, accepted and especially not celebrated, just for being me and showing up. I believe this is how humans should feel, every day. In familiar or unfamiliar lands, we ought to feel privileged and among friends and family every moment of our lives, in every place we venture.
Standing on a ghat along side a body of water, I felt akin to the people everywhere. It is not in the water itself, this life’s blood is just one of the ways in which the pulsing energy is transported to connect the creatures that share the bounty. A great conductor of life, the water assists me to feel the connection to nature and all that is live.
I did not expect the simplicity of life. Almost free of longing or striving to be “other” than what is. I found a land of healing, magic and mystery .. For and from all the senses, emotions, spirit and the precious body.
How did this gal from the ocean waves calling deep from the extreme high and low tides of Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia Canada, fall in love with a desert in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India?
With my antennae tuned to receive the negative, I found only love and joy. I found colour and life. I found a simplicity previously unimagined.
I found it all on a short camel trek to see the large orange sun ball slip gently behind the massive glorious sugar soft sand dunes on the other side of the planet Earth.
I fell madly in love with the women of this country who dress in spectacular colours and flowy silky fabrics. Women who carry heavy loads of history along with bundles of sticks or large containers for water, carefully and with seeming ease upon their beautiful heads. Their tasks are simple, important and immediate. No question or resistance can be seen on their faces. Life is what it is.

This part of our trip, the cruise, seems to have been not what it was expected to be.  For starters, the itinerary was changed after we had left Canada so too late for us to change plans.  The ship had to go to another country before going to Beijing, (a change just recently put in place by the Chinese government), thereby making it impossible to see the places that most people that come to Beijing come to see, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.  We end up going to Korea to a place that most people on seeing it, would never choose to go to again.  

Then, this is the absolute “best part,” we all are in a sense, were being held hostage at sea.  The morning that we were to dock in Tianjin (port city for Beijing), we had to return to 15 miles out to sea and anchor …….waiting for the smog inversion to lift.  We waited and waited and waited, never knowing what we were to do.  The port officials had closed the port.  No traffic going in or out including buses to take people to the airport.  Most of us were to catch flights out later that day but we didn’t know if we were going to get off the ship or not.  Do we phone and change flights to the following day and book hotels or do we wait and see if it lifts?  Most of our luggage had been packed and moved down the evening before, for easier disembarking.  Huh!  So no change of clothes, clean or otherwise.  We sit around, having not got a lot of sleep the night before what with the fog horn blasting all night and machinery clanging and grinding cuz the seas were also rough….windy with swells……not the worst of our trip ….and then rising early cuz we had “to vacate” the ship early so that they could clean it all up for the next set of passengers set to arrive as we were to leave.  Any ways, all the staff and officers were doing their best to help us all make our changes….changes that we could not do on line…….after noon when the wifi was programmed to shut down.  (Later they manually put it back on for us but by that time my call to Air Canada was made and had flights changed.  We were able to let those that were picking us up, know that we would not be arriving when scheduled).  The phone lines were jammed too with too many trying to call out.  We also couldn’t buy any drinks because the accounts were also closed in the morning.  Oh my!!!  Finally they made a decision to include free wine and beer for lunch.  Then at about 5 pm they opened the bars  to free drinks and the Grand Dining Room and Terrace Cafe to free wine and beer as well.  We still didn’t know at that time if this ship was ever going to pull up anchor and move into port but finally we were told that we were going to spend the night.  Shortly after we started our dinner, they announced that the pilot boats were coming out to decide whether we could sail into port.  When they arrived, they made the decision to come in.  It was recommended that we all just stay on board the ship otherwise once you leave you cannot return to the ship. We all crashed right after dinner.  We were all exhausted.  A very stressful day!  This morning, March the 5th, we cleared immigration and were on a bus leaving the port by 9:15…. on the way to the airport.  Our flight doesn’t leave until. 5:40 but there isn’t much you can do since it is several hours just to get there.  The “Excursions” desk had done some juggling to atleast offer a short trip into see the Forbidden city on the way to the airport for the day we were supposed to arrive but since we are going the following day, that was not an option because only so many people are permitted in there on any given day.  We arrive at the 5th Ring Road that goes around Beijing, at 11:15….2 hours after leaving the port. Still we are not at the airport.  It was almost noon before arriving..  The lineups are horrendously long but surprisingly enough go quite quickly. I am certainly glad though, that we were not trying for the 1:30 flight that some were scheduled on. The flight left pretty much on time…maybe a half hour late.  Big plane, a Boeing 777 full with I imagine about 6oo passengers.  I think I counted row 64 or 65 and there were 10 seats in a row…….3, 4 and 3.  Shortly after the plane left Beijing, I think we were over Siberia, the plane hit turbulence.  I mean like when you go over the top on a roller coast ride and the bottom drops out from under you and everyone screams involuntarily.  Let me tell you, the passengers all screamed ….involuntarily!  There was quite a bit on and off again but none quite as severe.  We arrived in Vancouver on time but again, all those people that were on that plane plus I don’t know how many other planes that had landed and so had to clear customs, immigration, yadda, yadda and then walk the gauntlet to the far ends of the earth to the catch the plane to Victoria arriving at the gate just as they were loading.  Oh thank God I didn’t miss it.  In Victoria we, Jeanette and I plus a few others were short half our checked luggage.  That was the icing on the cake.  But they did deliver it …….about 5 minutes after I finally hit the pillow and promptly asleep.    What a way to remember my birthday!

Back now in Victoria.  What a beautiful place we live in.  The sun was shining…..bonus!  And the trees and shrubs and daffodils are all blooming.  Wow!

Now that I am home and on “good” wifi, I will be posting pictures to this blog.  Stay tuned.

We arrived in this spectacular city…..almost right downtown, within walking distance of the Bund, unlike when I was here in late September.  The reason we sailed right up to the city’s front door was because this ship is much smaller…..525+/- as opposed to 2300 passengers.  Anyway, I t still takes my breath away.  Everyone should see this city atleast once in their lifetimes.  Although this is a smaller ship it is running at less than capacity of 684 (plus 400 crew) because China changed the rules saying that ships cannot enter Beijing directly from another Chinese port without going to a foreign port first.  That being said, a number of tourist cancelled because the new schedule change.   The change left not enough time for people to see the Great Wall….probably the only reason some people would come here.  So….we get to go to Seoul, S. Korea.
The first day we were in Shanghai, we had a tour to one of the water towns near to the city.  This one is called Zhujiajiao……try saying that???  Tony is our guide.  He says that there are 24 million people in Shanghai.  Things change so rapidly that they have to change the maps every 3 months.   The cost of apartment to buy here is $10,000 US/sq. metre.  October wedding month. Every 600 metres is a park. He says that although the government has changed the law regarding the one child families to two but most couple will continue to only have one child because it costs so much to raise a child.  One of those reasons is that they pay up to $1000/month for tutoring each child because the competition is so strong.  Those mothers are called “Tiger mothers”.  The children have no time for sports…. They have to study til midnight ever night. 

“Wechat” is Chinese answer to Facebook. China can’t control Facebook so they block it although this time it has worked intermittently.  According to our guide, anyone can speak freely but don’t dare demonstrate or act on anything.

According to Tony…..I think he said that if you believe in Chinese medicine, if you repeat certain numbers that those numbers will cure your ailment.  These are a few of the fixes: 7040….. To stop snoring;  7070… To stop stomach pain; Press 4 fingers above ankle one to look younger;  720… Cancer; 820.. Make money and for in ees …….so not to get replacement …. 720.050.440.  The Chinese are very superstitious. They like their houseto face east…. To the rising Sun….. It is Hope.

Tony was policeman but quit when he was bit by criminal that had more than 50 grams of heroin…..50 grams of heroin is a death sentence.  He had ended up in hospital from that bite. 
1/3 of newlyweds will divorce in 2 yrs.  Shanghai men better husband…. do cooking, etc…. everything.  This generation are little emperors…. have everything. 

Have to get licence plate before car… 10,000 apply for plate in every month but only 10% get one. 

Guide will be moving to Spain… To Valencia because of pollution here.

Living space was 7 sq m. for family of 10 during Mao…. Now 40/person.  
JinMao tower is 340 metres high…88 floors in 45 secs. 

Since leaving Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), the temperature has steadily decreased.  It is downight freezing.  The day we arrived in Shanghai, the day was beautiful, sunny with the temp being 68 F. But within an hour in mid afternoon it dropped to 45 F.  Then overnight, I believe it did go to freezing.  We heard that the temp in Seoul had dropped to 26 F.    Not my idea of great cruising weather. 

One of our nights of sailing, ( think it was between Hong Kong and Ziamen) it was so windy and choppy, sleep was very difficult.  It felt like someone shaking the hell out of you to try to wake you up.  It really was the worse Ive ever experienced.

Today, March 2nd, we arrived in Seoul.  We all had to depart the ship to meet face to face with Immigration where they check our temperature.  (I think it was using heat imaging).  I guess they were checking for sickies.  Who knows!  Anyways we all had to get off.  There was skiffs of snow on the ground.  Funny thing, the bus driver on one of the return trips from immigration…..maybe 1000 metres away, lost his way back….lol!  I did nothing but return to the ship to organize myself to return home.  Anxious!  It has been a long time.  Never mind that this port city of Incheon (Seoul’s port & airport) is dead ugly!  The price of the excursions were a ridicuous price as well so it was an easy choice.

Tomorrow we have a day at sea then arrive in Beijing in time to tak a tour of the Forbidden City (been there before) on the way to the airport.

Yesterday and today we are in Hong Kong. Oh my!!! Incredibly huge …..endless skyscrapers. Took a hop-on bus. Didn’t have time for all the lines but did a sampan ride of the harbour at Aberdeen. That was cool. Also saw there, the worlds largest floating restaurant. Wow! And took the funicular train to the Peak over looking all of Hong Kong. View …….spectacular, train well….glad it had good brakes going down.  St. John’s cathedral… Oldest cathedral in the Far East. 
27,000 police force made up of Chinese, Indian and Europeans.                                                                                                      –International finance centre first (used to be the highest) building to see on HK isl. built on reclaimed land.                                  Then the domed building built in 1912 ….used to be Supreme Court.                                                                                                   Stanley… Beautiful sandy beach, went to the Stanley Market…good, nice smaller town.                                                                          Very windy narrow road tell you to keep seated and arms inside bus…. Good thing……branches will hit you or vehicles passing by. Kowloon is home to 2.1 million now.                                                                                                                                                                       30 minutes from HK is apartment building near Aberdeen that as bought for …5.5 billion.  Building costs in the area are  20,000 HK$. /sq ft. There are 5.8 CAD for HK$= approx CAD3450/sq. ft.     No sales tax here.                                                                                  Hiking trails and beaches near Repulse Bay. …..more if a country atmosphere here.  You would like it.                                              Went “sailing”on Sampan in Aberdeen …. Interesting and dropped some people off at worlds largest floating restaurant. Lovely to look at on outside but apparently very expensive. One fellow had an abalone steak scallops and fried rice dinner … for lunch …..for $120US.                                                                                                                                                                                                          Lanna island … No cars but 3 stacks of electricity plant that has supplied HK with uninterrupted power for 10 yrs.                             82.2 yr life expectancy… 2nd only to Japan                                                                                                                                                              3-4000 characters needed to read the newspaper.                                                                                                                                               Takes only 60 secs to travel to the top of the “International Commerce Centre”…. The highest building in HK.                                          Over 4000 skyscrapers …I think that was the figure…..whatever….more than double NYs 

Nobody had/has heard of this city  but …..it is another huge city.  3+million…skyscrapers galore.  A few of us North Americans and I mean a few….maybe 6, took the ferry to the island of Gulangyu.  There are no automobiles allowed….so totally quiet, clean, pedestrian friendly, nice white sandy beaches, rock out-croppings, old colonial type buildings and a maze of shopping streets that we had to keep showing a picture I took of the map of the island….to show people where we wanted to go cuz we sure couldn’t communicate language wise.  Hardly anyone spoke English.  That wasn’t very good for us but I guess you have to expect this.  Apparently it is a vacation destination for Chinese although it was cold…..52 F. Brrrrrr.

It is quite foggy this morning. We will see how much we get to see. Today we are on a tour of the countryside and Zen Buddhism …. High in the mountains???                 Sometimes in the summer the temperature goes to 42…… hot! Today not sure.               Tourism only developed since 1993.                   Haiphong seaport for the biggest containers ships in north.                                HaLong (means descending dragon) Bay renamed in 1994.         Only 300,000 population.              Coal mining used to be pretty much only industry before tourism.            Close to city.            Open pit mining.             Bai Chay is name of tourist side of city. Hong Gai name of main part of the city and original name of the city. …. Right side when looking from the sea.           Had to cross the beautifully lit bridge (at night).                                       30 ppl killed ever day in Vietnam. Regulation is to wear helmets on motorbikes but most don’t wear them.                           Winter is 4 months of dry season.                Street is cleaned twice a day so most just throw garbage on the street.                   Water tanks on roof and under the house                             Only 3 hours to the Chinese border from HaLong Bay but 4 hours to Hanoi.                          73% are Buddhist …most of rest are Catholic.                        11 million tons coal mined per year here.                 65 % hydro power now, 30% coal for power.                  A lot of time in summer they don’t have any power……is shut down.                                                                                                                                              Monastery only nuns …. 100 at this one. Beautiful temple….. up the side of the hill….. in the clouds. All nuns and monks have to shave their heads. Most wear brown robes. Yellow robes indicate a master.                   At farm on the way back . Grows eucalyptus, acacia, bamboo, livestock,rice and village leader so gets stipend … Mid income earner.       Every weekend the family come home… it’s a big celebration.                 $400 per kg. can be made for harvesting sea worms.                      Peach blossoms blooming now make great money for it branches.          6 different tones to the language so if you want to learn the language, you had better get it right.

February 19/1624 C …. Nice but choppy still. 

Chan May…. The weather is cloudy with a bit of drizzle. After catching the shuttle into Lang Co, an almost deserted beach resort, we got a taxi for US$80 to take us into Hoi An and back. Thought that was pretty good.  We had tried to book a tour through the ship but they were all sold out. On our way, we went through a 7 km long tunnel “Hai Van” engineered by American, Canadian and Japan…..built 10yrs ago. 

DaNang is very nice….. Beautiful actually. Stopped at China Beach on way back from Hoi An and walked in the waves. It was quite cool. The weather really isn’t hot at all today…… I heard 15C. On the way south we stopped at Marble Mountain. I bought a Buddha. I’ve always wanted one since seeing the one my grandmother had. Hers was jade…..this one is marble. Went to silk factory when we arrived in Hoi An, where they were selling clothing, table runners and pictures that were hand embroidered. OMG, the pictures were they gorgeous….. works of art! The price was too so we did not purchase anything there…..a fact that I now regret.  Then we shopped the street market where the poor people shop.

Pretty much everywhere we have been in SEAsia, it has been absolutely flat with a lot of it flooded…. Of course for the cultivation of rice but today the area is very mountainous…. and shrouded in clouds. 

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 Union square near Rex hotel Lemongrass restaurant. Metered taxis 22,000 dong to 1US dollar Because there were stormy seas the night of the 16/17th, the captain decided to dock at one of the container ports instead of docking right in the city. I really wanted to see how this ship navigated up what looked like very small channels on a map. There are lots of twists and turns and he didn’t want to chance that with the wind blowing us all over the place. Met up with Kingsley (who lives here in Vietnam in Vung Tau 6 months of the years & 6 months in Victoria), in SaiGon. He introduced us to what essentially is a fruit smoothie….. For about 2 dollars. Then we walked through the back alleys that mostly are used only by the locals. So narrow…like a maze, thousands of wires hanging, overhangs from one side of the alley to the other so close that you almost can’t see the sky. Talk about the electrical wires. At one spot we saw a workman go up a ladder that was leaning I against those wires looking for one particular one and then pulling it out. Not exactly the most safe thing to do but heh, he must know what he is doing …… He is still with us. Then we went into the Ben Thanh market. Another maze. Saw the Notre Dame Cathedral and the post office (designed by Eiffel), had lunch at a food court in a very posh shopping centre. Later we caught the hydrofoil down the river to Vung Tau. The river banks are much like the Amazon …..deserted, jungle lined with palms, roots exposed, brown water but not as brown as the Amazon. The ride was calm until we came to the South China Seas. Very choppy,slamming into the waves, had to slow down. It took almost 2 hours so it was dark when we got there. Too bad…. The place looks gorgeous…. A seaside touristy place …..I’d come back here again. Apparently they have the largest Jesus statue on the mountain. We could just barely see it from the street. It closes at 4 pm. We went to his apartment where Hien and baby Brett and her other son, live. Her father was there too but left shortly. Huge apartment 1500 sq. ft for $250US. Then it was a cab ride to the pier but they wouldn’t allow the cabbie to drive in and so we walked. Made it to back just before the buffet closed….. exhausted. Too exhausted to see the show again.
Feb. 18

I wanted to see the Cu Chi Tunnels but we were too late. Damn!!! Didn’t realize it was a great distance. To get to the city, we have an hour and half shuttle bus ride plus another 1 1/2 hr ride to get there. We leave SaiGon too early to get there and back. So we are just going to wander the city and probably get back early. One thing I will say…. Vietnam generally speaking is not very dirty but Vung Tau is spotless…. well maybe not as clean as Japan. And they are civilized drivers… Stick to their lanes but DO NOT stop for pedestrians. I think I’ve got itthough

….just walk….. not together in a clump. They will drive around you. Just never stop or hesitate. That creates a big problem for them.

Bangkok……We arrived late in the afternoon of February 12/16 staying at a very lovely hotel the Centra (there is another part of the name but I won’t bother mentioning It). The trek through the border between Cambodia and Thailand wasn’t bad (apparently most of the time the queues are horrendously long) but so hot, hot, hot! The perspiration ran down my face into my eyes and the side of my cheeks. Very unpleasant!

We got to the port by taxi on Feb. 13/14… only about $6…early, no problems …. Thanks Visal for arranging that. Easiest boarding I have ever experienced (maybe it was because we were a bit early). By the time we arrived in Bangkok, we are all templed out…. actually a few days back ……and fort and palaced out by the time we had left India. The only thing to see in this city within relative proximity is more of the same…. Same same but different. But because of the heat 33C. and incredible humidity we got on the ship and didn’t leave. I would have liked to have seen the floating markets but they are 100 km’s. away and the bridge over the River Kwai is an ALL day trip. It was so nice to have beef steak and salad …. in one of the specialty restaurants last night. We go to another tonight…. No charge unlike most of the other cruise lines that charge. 

Today is the 14th….Happy Valentines Day everyone. We sail away right a 4pm. It is so steamy hot….. can hardly stand it. This city is so huge. Apparently it takes 3 hours to get out to the sea. 

Heard from someone the other day that it is too expensive to live here so most live outside the city and commute(not unusual)…… but 3 hours in each direction??? 
Sihanoukville… Feb. 15/16

We arrive in port at 11 am… Later than usual but we are here until 10 pm. When coming to Cambodia you can apply for a visa on line for $25US but it is only good for land entries and they do not issue multiple entry visas. So upon arriving in Sihanoukville we had to get visas with or without getting off the ship…. And it costs $89 US. Money grab do you think? And maybe because you are entering by ship then you must be rich and therefore can pay more???  Oh well…. It’s just the cost of travel!!!  

This city was only started in the 1950’s to create a seaport but even though it is a “new” city compared to everywhere else it is a pretty ugly dirty little city but with wide boulevards…… It has beautiful beaches. Gorgeous!!! We took a tuktuk to the beach…. With a stop at a supermarket for alcohol. While on the beach I got a sort of manicure and pedicure and Gerry got a foot massage. Talk about massage. When we were in Bangkok, Gerry and I got awesome foot massages….. For about $5 ea. We all ended up with sunburns although we weren’t in the sun long. It was the first time we had been to the beach. 

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