A Silver Shadow Over The World - December 2023 to May 2024

[lincslady]

He is a brave soul, Mysty.  You will get the benefit of the photos and description when he returns (if he doesn't need to sleep straight away).

 

Lola

[MrsWaldo]

2 minutes ago, mysty said:

We've been informed that the tour that included the Forbidden City in Beijing has had to be changed.  Unfortunately,  Silversea was not able to get tickets to that venue.  There is an exhibit on display and the tickets sold out quickly.  It is an 11.5 hour excursion with 3.5 hours of bus ride each way.  I am bowing out and Myster is going.

Are they not using the fast train from Tianjin?   It's only an hour using that method...

 

 

 

 

[mysty]

57 minutes ago, MrsWaldo said:

Are they not using the fast train from Tianjin?   It's only an hour using that method...

 

 

 

 

 

This is an Included Excursion.   Travel is by bus.  😔

[lincslady]

That explains it, then.  ☹️

[MrsWaldo]

DIL was born in Tianjin, still has family there 

 

Her comment was not suitable for a forum.  Although she said a good tour company would secure a carriage on the train

 

Catarina (host) asked about local shopping in Tianjin  DIL response was nothing unless you want tea.  

 

LOL   DIL  thought I was still onboard and was arranging for her dad to get things to the ship 

[mysty]

Currently sailing through fog en route to Tianjin.   The mournful ship's horn adds to the moody transit. 

[DavyWavey70]

28 minutes ago, mysty said:

Currently sailing through fog en route to Tianjin.   The mournful ship's horn adds to the moody transit. 

Safe sailing M. There’s something quite spectacular yet eery about sailing through fog, unless of course it’s at night and then we all know how that goes. Feels like you’ve been away forever!

[mysty]

1 hour ago, DavyWavey70 said:

Safe sailing M. There’s something quite spectacular yet eery about sailing through fog, unless of course it’s at night and then we all know how that goes. Feels like you’ve been away forever!

 

And yet it feels like time has passed in a blink!  It is currently sunny and chilly.  I'm sitting on the pool deck dressed for the chill and enjoying a delicious cappuccino crafted by the excellent pool deck staff.   Life is good!

[DavyWavey70]

Awww M, savour every moment xxx

[mysty]

It's been a busy couple of days in Tianjin ( Beijing).  I'm struggling to cobble together the photos.  Yesterday,  the excursion to the Great Wall presented us with dense fog.  Very disappointing after the almost 4 hour bus ride.   We did get to plant our feet on the Wall though.  Today we are again sailing through dense fog en route to Hiroshima.   Stay tuned. 

[mysty]

Photos from the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square tour (formerly The Forbidden City tour)

 

Tiananmen Square

 

  

 

 

 

 

Temple of Heaven

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mysty]

Some photos from the Great Wall excursion.

 

Access to the funicular.....

 

Assorted photos.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mysty]

The Atrium of the Silver Shadow has been decorated for our arrival in Hiroshima, Japan tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ricktalcott]

 

54 years ago, I was sitting in a bar in Akabane, middle of nowhere in Northern Tokyo, having a conversation with a Japanese guy about being a soldier in Burma during WWII. 

 

The conversation got to the point where we needed the word, "surrender", but neither of us knew the other's word for surrender. He solved the linguistical problem by raising both hands in the air and saying, "hold up". The conversation continued along, and we never got around to learning each other's word.

 

That always bothered me, if only as illustrations that 1) you're never done learning a language, and 2) it's possible to have real conversations without being completely fluent. 

 

This morning, we went to the Brush Museum in Hiroshima to learn how calligraphy brushes are made. The final part of the morning gave us a chance to use calligraphy to make a scroll. 

 

So I fired up Google Translate and looked up the Japanese word for "surrender." It's "降伏 - Kōfuku". Picture of the scroll is attached. 

 

Just about everybody, including the Japanese instructors, thought it was an odd pick. They saw it as a WWII in Burma word and more than odd to put on a meditation-room wall. Originally, I had been toying with "Let go," but neither English or Japanese have a clear reflexive like Spanish or French does so I settled on surrender. 

 

Looking at the word choice from a meditative point of view, "Let go" struck me as the weaker of the two words. If I let go, I'm still there as the person who used to hold the rope. If I pick "surrender", then the person who used to hold the rope is also gone and only the unbounded silence remains. 

 

Probably, enough metaphysics for one day. Here's the scroll:

 

Rick 

[mysty]

Yesterday we were in Hiroshima.  We did the excursion to Hiroshima Castle and Gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

Shukkeien Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Hiroshima Castle looks lovely.  Thanks. 

[mysty]

Photos from yesterday's visit to Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mysty]

On our second day in Osaka we did Mt. Rokko & Sake Museum.

 

Mt. Rokko.....

 

 

 

 

 

Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sake Dispensers.....

 

 

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

How can you pass up a "sake museum exclusive"?

[mysty]

We're currently sailing to Tokyo.  Original arrival was scheduled for 6:00 pm.  Updated arrival is now 8:00 pm.  We have an excursion booked.   Tokyo by Night with Teppanyaki Dinner.  I hope I don't fall asleep after the first course. 🙄

[jpalbny]

Hope you had a fun excursion and that you've been able to sleep in this morning! Time for the next segmenters to board today?

[mysty]

30 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Hope you had a fun excursion and that you've been able to sleep in this morning! Time for the next segmenters to board today?

 

We actually got lucky and we were docked at around 7:00 pm.  I made it through all 8 courses! 😁  The food was delicious!  Very substantial helping of waygu!  😋  Taking a sea day today!

 

Folks embarking today.   No idea of how many.

Edited April 21 by mysty

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, mysty said:

 

We actually got lucky and we were docked at around 7:00 pm.  I made it through all 8 courses! 😁  The food was delicious!  Very substantial helping of waygu!  😋  Taking a sea day today!

 

Folks embarking today.   No idea of how many.

18 from the Yoko Westin

[mysty]

Photos from our Teppanyaki meal last night at Steak House Hama.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lincslady]

That looks like a really lovely experience, it is great  that you were on good form to enjoy it all.