John and Diane's Amazing Round the World Aventure

[70 +]

My wife and I are having a second world cruise by reading your excellent account about this cruise. I have been copying and putting them into a folder for repeated readings. It is now over 33 pages long.

As we are joining you for the 2009 HAL world cruise, I just wonder if all of you on the current world cruise have been notified that the land tours have been posted by HAL for the 2009 cruise. I have booked tours along the east Africa coast as we have only been on the west coast of Africa. I would guess that these may fully book before the start of the cruise.

 

Lyle

[rustermans]

Hi John and Dianne

 

I was disappoinred not to be able to join you on the Amsterdam 2008 Grand Voyage in Hong Hong yesterday as originally planned, but instead I will join you for the final segment at Venice. There were two interfering factors: first, I am still getting over major surgery, and secondly, Holland America cancelled the Hong Kong pre-cruise tour, which was to begin in Beijing, so this threw my air reservations into a tissy --- and likewise, a similar problem when they also cancelled a post-tour land trip at Venice. [My original plan was to take the Grand Voyage segment from Hong Kong to Venice, with 5 or 7 day HAL land trips pre- and -post tours]; however, I picked up my cruise tickets [Venice to New York] yesterday, so I'll get to take part of the trip with you aboard the Amsterdam. I've followed your blog from Day One, and look forward to meeting you 'in the flesh' aboard when I join the cruise finally, on April 7th in Venice.

 

I especially enjoyed your comments on Hong Kong, as for a while [after HAL cancelled the China land tour] I thought I could fly independently from Beijing to Hong Hong, staying there in a Kowloon hotel for five days until the ship arrived. It was only when I found out that I had a similar problem at Venice, that I cancelled all original air flights, and made arrangements to return to America by the last leg of the Grand Voyage on the Amsterdam.

 

I hope you continue to enjoy the trip. There look to be many very interesting shore excursions ahead. Even the diversion to Valletta should be exciting -- I plan to take the 'off the beaten track' 4-wheel drive excursion, although Seattle isn't taking Malta bookings yet.

 

All the best --enjoy!

 

David Verity

Huntsville, Ontario

Canada

[Johnny B]

March 2 – Day 58

 

It is soooo sad; today is the first day of the second half of our cruise. Yesterday was exactly half way, so from today it’s all downhill. Of course, you always speed up going downhill, and that’s what we’re looking forward to.

 

Today was the first of our three ports in Vietnam. It’s strange: to anyone of our generation, Vietnam means daily body counts on television, LBJ, and some trying to avoid the draft. But being here, forty years later, we are discovering a beautiful country with a simple lifestyle and gorgeous scenery.

 

Halong Bay is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its beauty, and we found that it’s well deserved. The bay is calm and shallow, causing us to time our arrival and departures to coincide with high tides. There are islands everywhere in the bay, 1,969 of them, some of which are really just rocks sticking up like jagged sticks from the water. There was only one shore excursion here, so we took it. It was a ride on an Vietnamese junk through Halong Bay to Thien Cung Cave, a natural wonder only discovered in 1994 by a man chasing monkeys. The place is huge; the cave is about 50 feet high and probably covers 3 to 4 acres. It is full of stalactites and stalagmites which look like fossilized dripping mud. There are several formations which have names, including the dragon, which in legend is supposed to have been the one to cause the islands in Halong Bay.

 

The ride to the cave was extremely slow and incredibly relaxing. Most people sat in the oversized seats inside the boat; we went up on top where wooden reclining chairs made the trip even more enjoyable. Several times on our ride, a small family junk would pull up next to us, grab hold of our junk, and then try to sell us things, primarily fruit. The one I remember the best contained a family of four: a father running the boat, the mother supervising the large box displaying fruit while holding a little girl, and a little boy of about five who hopped barefoot to the roof of the boat while trying his best salesmanship. I don’t know enough about the economy of Vietnam to understand this family, but I do know that the north part of Vietnam is currently having economic problems.

 

After we exited the cave and sailed away, we went through an area of individual houses on stilts, whose owners are fishermen. Our guide even showed us the small green building on stilts which is the children’s school. We approached a double rock formation called “The Fighting Roosters,” which is photographed as the symbol of Halong Bay. Of course we each took a dozen photos of it (aren’t digital cameras great?!)

 

Our junk returned us directly to the ship, repeating our relaxing journey of the morning. By the time we got back we were more than ready for lunch. One of the strangest sights of the day was a Vietnamese soldier, in full uniform, walking next to the lunch buffet with a bowl of ice cream. He had been here to stamp visitor cards and was invited to stay for lunch on the ship.

 

As we sailed out of the harbor among literally thousands of sandstone islets and rocks, the slight haze made the view ethereal, and people just stood quietly on the deck watching Halong Bay move behind us, as we continue on to DaNang tomorrow.

[Aussie Gal]

John and Diane,

 

Another wonderful description. I have posted a link on our Roll Call to your post on Hong Kong as we will all be there in 4 weeks time. I am looking forward to reading about Da Nang as we will also be there shortly.

 

Thanks again.

 

Jennie

[DesertDogs]

We would love to see your pictures from Vietnam if you get a chance to post them upon your return. We are very much enjoying your blog so please keep posting. It helps us pass the time until we sail again in October.

[patnjohn]

My husband served in Viet Nam from April 1966- May -1967 with Marine Corp. He was in DaNang on hill 60 or 61. Then he worked in a village with the locals & was treated very well. We were married soon after he returned on June 24, 1967. We would like to take a cruise that stops there one day. We are with you in spirit. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

[DFD1]

What a wonderful large coffee table picture book your posts would make. Just add a few photos.....presto.....$100.00 per copy. I'd buy one!

 

Wonderful, fun to read. Thanks again.

[JACKWC]

We would love to see your pictures from Vietnam if you get a chance to post them upon your return. We are very much enjoying your blog so please keep posting. It helps us pass the time until we sail again in October.

There is a young man who has been on the Amsterdam since 21 Sept 2007 (as a passenger) and is posting some beautiful photos on his blog at http://megavoyage.blogspot.com/2008/03/day-164-da-nang-vietnam.html

[patnjohn]

Thanks for the link. Those are great photos.

[DesertDogs]

Thanks for the link! Those are great pictures.

[Johnny B]

March 3 – Day 59

 

Da Nang, China Beach, Hue, Tet Offensive: if those words remind you of a pivotal time in all our lives, you’re about our age. Today we docked in Da Nang Harbor and almost immediately hopped on a bus headed for a full day (a very full day) in Hue, the imperial capital of Viet Nam and site of much of the Tet Offensive in 1968.

 

As we drove through Da Nang, we saw hundreds, perhaps thousands of bicycles and motorbikes in Viet Nam’s third largest city. There are few cars, but we couldn’t believe the number of apparently suicidal bicyclists swerving across the road in front of busses and trucks. Many of the cyclists and motorbikers wore facemasks, both to avoid pollution and protect their faces from tanning (the sign of a fieldworker).

 

Some of the shops look like lean-to’s with galvanized metal roofs and open fronts, while others look quite up-to-date. In addition to what was already there, there was a great deal of new construction going on, almost all being done by hand.

 

We drove along Red Beach, named by the American soldiers for the sunsets, and could understand why they liked it for R & R – it’s miles long and beautiful. Near the beach is a large fishing community, and offshore are dozens of coracles, or round bamboo Vietnamese fishing boats. There’s a great deal of undeveloped land across from the beach, and our guide told us that it’s incredibly expensive – approximately $100,000 for about 1000 square feet of land. Seeing the occasional karaoke bar and watching a teenage boy and girl sitting with their arms around each other and no thought for what happened here 40 years ago showed us the enormous amount of change that’s taken place.

 

We continued our drive (3 hours to Hue), seeing women in conical hats knee-deep in rice paddy mud, herds of water buffalo, and small villages with lively markets. The countryside looks like a very hard life. One of our brief stops along the way was a turnout on a steep mountain road where we saw concrete bunkers from what our guide called “The American War.”

 

We entered Hue, again fighting our way through thousands of bicycles and motorbikes, including bicycle rickshaws. It is amazing what they can carry on those vehicles: my favorite was two bags, one on either side, which must have been three feet in diameter. Entire families travel on one motorbike; it was common to see the dad driving, the mom on behind him, and the little one snuggled comfortably between them. A couple of times, there were four family members on a single vehicle.

 

Our first stop was at the tomb of King Du Duk, which covers hundreds of acres and includes several buildings and ponds. The most interesting thing to me was that the large “tomb” did not contain the remains of the king; his body was hidden elsewhere so that it would not be discovered and desecrated. The government official who had been trusted with the information took it to his grave.

 

Next stop was lunch at the Century Riverside Hotel overlooking the Perfume River. We were curious to know what a luxury hotel would cost in Hue; a deluxe room was $155, and the tariff sheet was in dollars. After lunch we continued to the Imperial Palace, patterned after the Forbidden City in Beijing. It was breathtaking, but we were disappointed to find out that part of it was destroyed by the French in 1947, and a larger part fell victim to the Tet Offensive in 1968. However, the U.S., Japan, and Germany are all helping to restore the missing parts of the complex.

 

Our last stop was at the largest and most beautiful pagoda in Hue. Behind it was a Buddhist monastery, and we were fascinated to see little boys, between 5 and 11 years old, with shaved heads and grey robes participating in a prayer ceremony. We found out that they were monks-in-training, and they were just the cutest little things we’d ever seen.

 

The ride back was 2-1/2 instead of 3 hours because we used the tunnel instead of driving the high cliffs. However, we drove the outskirts of Hue at 5:00, just as hundreds of people were driving home on their bicycles. The bike lanes were absolutely jammed, and our driver deserves kudos for not running over anyone. We were passed several times, almost wildly, by public busses which seemed to think that mountain curves were simply a challenge to be met by passing as many large vehicles as possible. I think the woman behind us prayed constantly until we arrived back at the ship after ten hours away.

 

The day was long, fascinating, and tiring, but we wouldn’t have done anything else. It helped us not only appreciate the facts of the “American War,” but to see this beautiful country. Fortunately, tomorrow is a sea day (we really need the rest), but the day following is Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon), and we’re looking forward to getting yet another look on the way to our overland tour of Cambodia.

[Aussie Gal]

John and Diane,

 

Thanks for that great description of your day in Da Nang and Hue as we have booked a similar excursion when we dock in Da Nang on the 10th April. It sounds so interesting and it will be our first visit to Vietnam. We also will be visiting Ho Chi Min city but we will overnight there on our cruise.

 

Jennie

[Loreto]

Thank you for your account of your day in Da Nang and the Imperial City of Hue. It brings back memories.

Karen

[Peggy Sue]

I have really enjoyed reading your travel journal .. the voyage, even the days with rough seas sound wonderful, with new adventures, sights, smells and sounds at every port of call, and all the fun you're having on-board too! Your written words make me feel like I've been transported right there with you .. thank you so much for sharing your experiences with all of us ..It is a treat to check in and catching up on your latest updates.

 

Continue to enjoy!!

 

Thanks,

Peggy

[Johnny B]

Hurry up and wait. Isn't that the way it always is? We were asked to meet at 8:30 for our Cambodia overland tour, but because of immigration problems, we left at 11:00 to head into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), 60 miles away. Again we saw the bicycles and motorbikes. Our guide mentioned that a new helmet law began two months ago and it has cut motorcycle deaths from impact, but it has increased deaths from strangulation - riders are putting on chin straps incorrectly!

 

Many bicycle riders we saw are kids on their way home from school. There are two sessions of school: one from 7:00 AM until 11:15, and another from 1:00 until 5:00. Kids attend six days each week.

 

We drove past innumerable open cafes, but the most interesting thing about them was that they all had hammocks - more than chairs. At one point I thought it would be a great idea to just stop for a nap.

 

It seems impossible to drive in Vietnam without honking the horn. It is customary to honk when passing someone, and since there is one lane for trucks and busses and another for motorbikes, passing takes place all the time. As we watched all kinds of things being transported by motorbike, we noticed miles and miles of industrial areas, and areas of the thick black smoke rising, resulting in heavy smog. It seems that when a struggling country is trying to develop, "green" ideas are the last to occur.

 

We crossed the Saigon River to enter Ho Chi Minh City proper. In the city, there are 3.5 million motorbikes (about 1 for every 2 people), half a million cars, and twenty Harley-Davidsons. We saw lots of high rise apartments and found out that lower floors cost more than higher floors; apparently Vietnamese people feel far more comfortable closer to the ground and are somewhat fearful of high floors.

 

As we drove through downtown HCMC, we saw hundreds of new buildings with designer boutiques and restaurants. The greatest cultural accomplishment seems to be that there are NO McDonalds in Saigon. We saw a beautiful classical styled opera house and the Rex Hotel, used by journalists and officers during the "American War." Ironically, the former home of the French Colonial Governor is now the Revolutionary Museum, with planes and tanks in the gardens. There are wide boulevards and large parks from the French colonial era. The post office, finished in 1891, is a pink, classical French building. Electricity flows through strings of dozens of rusted wires, which are twisted into clusters of hundreds at the power poles.

 

Saigon is a young, young city, with an average age under 25, and a great deal of energy. On the outskirts I wondered "what the heck are we doing here?" but by the time we drove through the center, I thought, "Gosh, when can we come back and stay for awhile?"

 

A short drive from the center was the airport, dedicated on the national holiday last September, and looking as new and modern as can be.

 

A quick one hour flight took us to Siem Reap, where we'll stay for three days while we explore the ruins at Angkor Wat. When we landed, at an airport which reminded me of one at a Hawaiian outer island, we were greeted by some of the most beautiful people I'd seen on this trip. They were smiling and friendly, and only to happy to take care of our immigration and customs requirements while picking up our luggage and whisking us off to the Sofitel, our 5-star hotel.

 

Sam was our guide for the drive to the hotel. He gave us historical background and then told us his personal story. Because of the terror of the Khmer Rouge and the millions of people they killed, he and his family had to hide regularly, and he could not start first grade until he was 13, since education and the educated were made illegal. In fact, some of the first people murdered by the Khmer Rouge were teachers. Sam finished secondary school but couldn't go further because of the lack of a university in Siem Reap (which means "defeat of the Siamese"). When one finally opened, he held a full-time day job as a guide while attending school, and in 5 years, he completed a bachelor's degree in English literature. He said his favorite author was Jane Austen, and I was in heaven!

 

The Sofitel where we're staying is another little piece of heaven. The buildings are around ponds with lotus flowers blooming, and the quarter-acre infinity pool is just around the corner. Massages are cheap, the food is wonderful, and even though I've wanted to see Angkor Wat for years and years, I really want to lie by the pool and do nothing. I guess I'll have to try to fit both in.

 

Tomorrow is an early day to the ruins, and we're really excited about them, but staying in this incredibly luxurious hotel just makes me want to giggle all the way back to the room.

[Cruising-along]

Your reports are fascinating! Thank you SO much for including so much detail. DH was in VietNam in '69-70 so I especially appreciated your posts there.

[candbgirl]

Amazing, simply amazing. Thank you so much.

[Rogue friends]

Hi Diane and John - Thanks for sharing your Amazing Adventure - we are really enjoying reading about your great trip and life aboard ship with so many exotic ports of call (Sydney! Hong Kong! Indonesia! Bali! Saigon! and now Cambodia! Wow!!!!!!) It all sounds wonderful - food and entertainment, sights and good company.

Happy Belated BD, John!( What a way to celebrate your BD and both your retirements.) We think of you often -- enjoy your "Life at Sea!"

Sue and Tom

[PrincessYoga]

Wow!!! It sounds like your are having a brillant time. I especially enjoyed your entries on Vietnam because my Dad was there during the war as an American Marine.

[Johnny B]

March 6

 

How can you not like a hotel that serves Champagne with their regular buffet breakfast – every day!? I think I must have been too tired when I arrived here to give this place enough credit – it is truly one of the best hotels we’ve ever stayed in. It’s spread out over oodles of acres, and the reception building is separated from some of the rooms by a lotus pond that covers about two acres. In another area of the grounds is the infinity pool, covering about an acre and surrounded by such wonderful things as a swim-up bar, mattress-covered lounges, and enough staff to fulfill all our needs. Our room is also wonderful; the shower alone is as big as our stateroom bathroom on the ship. The room has a polished teak floor and a balcony overlooking part of the lotus pond. I could live in this place!

 

As we pulled out of the parking lot in our little bus and turned left, we drove down what looked like a fairly ordinary street. Then Sam, our guide, pointed out an area about ¼ mile from our hotel and commented very matter of factly that that had been one of the Khmer Rouge “Killing Fields” during their reign from 1975-79, during which 3 million Cambodians died. Apparently the Khmer Rouge took all prisoners from jails, lined them up and shot them, before beginning on the monks, teachers, college students, and political dissidents. Sam told us that he was one of eleven children, and that he lost two brothers during this time, a six-year-old to starvation and a 16-year old to a land mine. In fact, there are still five to ten deaths a month in Cambodia from land mines.

 

Approximately 90% of Cambodians are Khmer, not to be confused with Khmer Rouge, which was a Communist (hence the rouge/red) group which took over Cambodia in the 70’s. The Khmer are a blend of Indonesian, Malay, Indian, and Chinese, all groups which met and settled in the Mekong Delta and have been in the area of Cambodia for about 3,000 years.

 

We came here to see Angkor Wat, but I really didn’t do my homework on it well enough. I thought that Angkor Wat was a really big, really striking temple in the middle of nowhere in Cambodia, but it turns out that the entire area is called Angkor, and Angkor Wat is just one of over 100 temples in the area, although by far one of the largest. That’s where we started in the morning, by driving across a “moat” that is about 200 yards wide. Angkor Wat was built in 1180 AD as a Hindu temple and abandoned in the 15th century. It’s built of rose-colored sandstone which was quarried 40 miles away and was probably floated to the building site on a canal specifically built for the purpose. This place is huge! The entire site is a mile square, and the incredibly detailed bas relief which surrounds the outer wall of the temple is ½ mile in total. It’s really hard to describe without uploading some photos, and I promise I’ll learn to do that before the end of the cruise. The Angkor Wat site was a battlefield during the Cambodian civil war (I know, I can’t believe it either), and bullet damage is apparent everywhere.

 

Then we went to Angkor Thom, a heavily fortified city built in the 10th century by King Jayavarman VII, the greatest Khmer ruler. As part of Angkor Thom, we saw the Terrace of the Elephants, named for a depiction of elephants and an elephant hunt, which was carved into the side of the terrace. Another terrace at Angkor Thom is called the Terrace of the Leper King, also built by Jayavarman VII in honor of the king who originally founded Angkor and then died of leprosy.

 

After four hours of sightseeing, our brains were full, so we headed back to the hotel for lunch and a 2-1/2 hour break before starting again. We needed it! John spent the time by the pool (I’m not sure about the swim-up bar), and I had a pedicure. Obviously, everyone was happy.

 

In the afternoon we headed to The Bayon, which is considered the single most outstanding monument of Khmer culture. It was also constructed by King Jayavarman VII and is exactly in the middle of Angkor Thom. It is made up of 54 towers, each of which has a face carved on each of four sides. The face, slightly smiling, is the same in each case. Some believe that it’s the face of good ol’ J VII, but others think it’s the benevolent Bodhisattva (your guess is as good as mine). Every place you stand at The Bayon, you know that there’s a face looking at you – weird!

 

Our last (and creepiest) stop for the day was Ta Prohm, built by – who else? King J VII.

When it was discovered by French archeologists in the 19th century, they found giant trees standing, even though their huge roots were coiling themselves like enormous snakes around the temple, penetrating its stonework and breaking it up. Although they have trimmed some parts of trees, they have pretty much left it as is to show how the jungle can reclaim a temple. Parts of “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” were filmed here. It also reminds me of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and I halfway expected a huge snake to drop down from one of the tree roots at any time.

 

Back at the hotel, after a well-deserved break, dinner was served al fresco by the pool, which also has an island where a Cambodian dance performance was held. The women couldn’t figure out how those women could bend their wrists back that far, and the men couldn’t figure out how there could be so many beautiful women in one country. A good time was had by all.

 

Tomorrow we’re hard at it again; back to the temples. Stay tuned.

[wynkys]

Diane,

 

Once again, a wonderfully descriptive account of your travels and I just wanted to let you know how appreciative I am that you take the time and trouble to report regularly.

Continue to enjoy.

Wayne

[Johnny B]

March 7

 

This was the perfect day – a little sightseeing and a lot of personal indulgence. We began the morning with a tour of two temples. The first was Preah Khan, featuring eight elephant statues which almost looked real. The fact that a couple were missing trunks set us straight, however. Then we drove to Banteay Srei, 13 miles away from the main group of temples. It was built before most of the others, in the 10th century, and has the most beautiful carving of any temple we’ve seen. It is amazing what those artisans could do with stone.

 

After visiting the temples, we drove to a small village for an inside look at their life. Our guide, Sam, has a heart of gold, and has been working for three years to build deep-water wells in rural villages. Each well costs about $300, but it provides unlimited clean water for the people in the village. Because of his job interacting with tourists (who have a heck of a lot more money than the Cambodians), he is able to funnel money into this project. After hearing this, Bus #1 decided to take up a collection to fund a well. He wanted to know who to dedicate it to; we told him to make it the “Bus #1 Well.”

 

Being the “bad children,” we decided to skip this afternoon’s boat ride and trip to a carving school and just relax. The pool was the first destination. John got there before me, and when I walked over, there he was, sitting on his lounge chair with an absolutely gorgeous Cambodian girl giving him a neck and shoulder massage. I sat down, amused, and enjoyed watching; when she finished, she asked me if I’d like one too, and never one to turn down any sybaritic delights, I said “sure.” It turns out that the massage therapists from the hotel’s spa, when not occupied with paying customers, just wander around the pool giving free 5-minute massages. Doncha just wish you were here?

 

After a couple of hours at the pool, including a beverage at the swim-up bar, we headed into town in a tuk-tuk, a rickshaw-type vehicle pulled by a motorbike. I had an appointment for a massage at a downtown spa, and John wanted to wander around town. I tried to talk him into a massage, but he wouldn’t go for it. Silly man!

 

The massage was wonderful (and cheap), and I walked out an hour later feeling like cooked spaghetti. We headed back to the hotel in another tuk-tuk ($3.00 for both of us) where dinner was ready. Such indolence – we love it!

 

Tomorrow we have to return to reality – oh wait, no we don’t; we’re going back to the ship! We have to have luggage outside the room by 5:45, breakfast is served at 6:00, and we leave for the airport at 7:00 for an 8:00 flight. What’s the good news in all of this? The luggage, documents, and check-in are all being taken care of for us; we just show up at the airport, collect our boarding passes, and go through security. Our travel agent, Cruise Specialists, through whom we booked this overland tour, certainly knows how to pamper people.

 

Since it’s such an early morning, it’s time to go. The next good news is that we get to explore Singapore for a couple of hours and then have three days at sea before India. It really is good to be us.

[Aussie Gal]

John and Diane,

 

Would you mind telling me the name of the hotel that you are staying at in Ankor Wat. We are spending a week in Cambodia in February next year and your hotel sounds wonderful.

 

Sorry for this post, I have just reread your post and you are staying at the Sofitel. I thought you have gone to Phnom Phen first of all but on reading it again you are in Siem Reap for the entire 3 days.

 

Jennie

[ldog]

This is so fascinating. The visits to the temples sound wonderful.

[CocoKai]

I have loved reading every installment of your adventures!!! Your a fabulous writer and I feel like I'm there with you.

 

We lived in Thailand and Singapore for awhile. Our friend bought a tuk-tuk so his blonde hair, blue eyed wife could drive their children to school and go to the grocery store without having to rely on their driver. She got a lot of interesting looks. Well, they brought it back to the OC (Orange County) with the hope of cruising around town in the tuk-tuk. The California DMV doesn't like the tuk-tuk. Apparently, it belches out to much smog and they can't get it licensed. Now, the cute little thing just sits in their garage.

 

You'll love Singapore!!! We lived a block up Orchard Drive. Nothing like having to grocery shop between the Rolex and Fendi store everyday. Make sure you get some famous Chili Crabs and cold Singha beers. A Singapore Sling is a must do at the Raffles Hotel as well. I'm so jealous!!!!