From Yokohama to Petropavlovsk

so I will close for now.
I am totally frustrated! After writing for 1 1/2 hours, and uploading 9 picutures, the whole blog disappeared except for the one line above! I'm sorry, but i HAVE NO MORE PATIENCE TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN.
aT THIS POINT, ALL i CAN DO IS IDENTIFY THE PICTURES from Petropavlovsk: a statue of Lenin said to be the largest in Russia, entertainers at a hotel luncheon, and various scenes of the remaining snow along the road, all covered in black (the color of the sand around here, mostly on account of the many volcanoes), etc. The entertainmnetn was a disappointment to me, since they were more like Eskimo dancers, than Russian, and the "music" was also very strange. What was really sweet, though, was the number of young children in the troupe.
The pictures at the top were taken in Yokohama; the flowers were a gift from the Crystal Society, and unfortunately, I copied the same picture twice of the new walkway built at the dock. When the whole thing is visible, it is in the shape of a ship, and quite popular with the locals, especially during lunch hour, with benches, etc.

Nagasaki

We visited the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and the Peace Park connected with it. Each country has contributed a statue dedicated to peace, and they are all lovely. The huge bronze statue (30 ft.) The outlines of what was a police station (before the bombing) are pictured, and hopefully you can read the explanation on the sign.

Pictures from Kyoto and Shimizu, 14&15..4.09

It poured all day when we went from Osaka to Kyoto, and it was cold. Pictured here us the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion and garden) and the Heian Jingu Shrine. It is customary for the believers to wash before entering. Pictured here, one man not only washed his hands, but drank from the cup, also.
The garden at the Golden Pavilion is beautiful!
We were very fortunate to be able to see Mt. Fuji very clearly, even from the ship, while we were in Shimizu, and there was local entertainment on the pier.
During the entire time that we were in Japanese territorial waters, there was a complete blackout on all electronic equipment, such that we were without use of computers and telephones from -April 11 to 17! If I meant to write more, I have long since forgotten; sorry.

Pictured from Gulangyu Island

Since I was able to upload pictures from Shanghai, I thought I would try again with some from Gulangyu:

Shanghai

Shanghai is a beautiful, vibrant, modern city! Actually, I saw it mostly from a bus, as I cannot walk great distances. I need to check on my left hip, once I am back in Zürich. In any case, it is a huge complex with exciting architecture, and no two buildings alike. In the nightime, the lights make the buildings even more exciting. I took dozens of pictures of the various buildings.
I took the shuttle bus into the center in the morning, and ended up buying myself a Chinese Jacket (in bright red! ) although I had not intended to buy anything. While I was in the Silk Building, I saw a demonstration of how slik quilts are made, starting with the ball of silk threads that surround the silk worm, itself. They are opened so the worm is removed, and the ball of fiber is quickly rinsed in clear waqter, then stretched over a small form, and when there are three or four such layers, they are removed, rinsed, and stretched over a larger form. Then they are next stretche d over a large bed size table with 4 or 5 ladies each pulling at it, and finally they are piled together, and fit into a colorful cover, and Voilà! a beautiful silk quilt.
The sunset was a huge ball of orange in the sky.
Then, in the evening, I attended an acrobatic show which was fantastic! Some of the acts were absolutely spectacular! Unfortunately, it was forbidden to take pictures during the performance, and anyway I don't know how to use my camera for night scenes.
Tomorrow, we enter Japanese territorial waters, and no internet electronic equipment (including cell phones) will be able to function until we leave on the 19th. This cruise is really racing to a conclusion. There is also a complicated formality for every guest in order to clear Japanese immigration rules, including temperature, finger prints, etc., and apparently it is madatory for everyone on the cruise, even if they don't intend to go ashore!

Try Again

I am just back from a quick trip into Shanghai, and ended up buying myself a jacket, which I had NOT intended to do! More about Shanghai at a later date.Right now, I really want to go up to the pool area while the sun is still shining. The question is whether I can upload the pictures that couldn't be sent yesterday:
It timed out again! I'll try once more. Sorry, it keeps timing out.

Attention Everyone!

From Saturday, April 11 until Sunday, April 19 it will be impossible for us to use either the internet or the cell phone. The Japanese have restricted the use of C-Band communication service while we are in Japanese territorial waters.
These photos were all taken yesterday while in Xiamen and Gulangyu Island. Unfortunately, the electric car went much too fast, for me to focus, and I couldn't get a decent photo of the statues that appeared all over the Island. The tall statue on the promontory is supposed to be the tallest in China. On the left , is the puppet Theatre, and a Chinese street cleqaner on the right (in the rain).
I keep getting interrupted while trying to upload more photos; I'll have to try some other time.

Xiamen/Gulangyu Island

Unfortunately, if I don't write every day, I seem to forget what came in between. However, I know all of us were quite annoyed in Hong Kong because there was satellite interference, and we were without the internet for a few days. When it finally came on, I had 36 messages, and the very first one was using up about 9 megabytes of space, and after 2 hours, it had still NOT completely downloaded, and then it went dead, which meant starting all over again! I thought I had requested a long time ago that no one send me such long emails. Anyway, I finally cleared it off my screen by getting up at 04:30h and trying again (while no one else on the ship would be using email) and this time, within 10 minutes the offensive email cleared, and the rest of the messages downloaded. It was a bunch of photos which I still haven't looked at! Fortunately, I signed up at the beginning of the cruise for maximum time on the internet, so the 2 hours didn't actually cost me any extra.
After the cooking course in Hong Kong, I didn't go ashore anymore, although we remained in port for two more full days. I have great difficulties in walking any distances, due to pain in my left hip. I will check it out when I get home.
Yesterday, we were in Xiamen, and the weather was miserable, but I took a tour of Gulangyu Island which was quite interesting in spite of the rain. The only traffic on the island is by electric cart, and there are statues all over that I would have liked to photograph, but the cart didn't stop for anything, and it went so fast that I had no time to focus, and therefore ended up discarding many of the photos I did take. The highpoint of the tour was a Chinese Puppet Show at the University Art School, and that was fantastic! My other problem was that there was a great deal more walking required than had been announced, and I was very uncomfortable (and wet!).
In the evening, I had dinner with Pat Laster and her son, at the Silk Road and that was quite enjoyable and very good (as always). Pat is my Yoga teacher.
The night before was the Captain's Welcome Cocktain Party, and I joined the "Swiss contingency", Werner and Beber, both of whom live in Zürich! 0ops! I'm going to be late for Bridge lessons: Have a good day, everyone. I will post my pictures, separately, later.

Cooking Tour in Hong Kong

Yesterday was quite interesting, as a small group of us signed up for a cooking tour that included a visit to a small market, mostly featuring fresh fish, plus a nine course luncheon in a busy restaurant, and then an actual cooking course demonstation in the Home Management Center.
We were given the recipes, and carefully followed the preparation of Sweet and Sour Pork, Crabmeat with Broccoli, and Chicken with Walnuts, and last, but not least, we received a pair of chopsticks as a souvenir along with a Diploma for the one day course. The demonstration was quite interesting, including how to hack apart a live crab.
On the return trip to the ship, we noted various stages of construction along the way, and the interesting thing there was the use of bamboo scaffolding (instead of steel!). As Hong Kong is densely populated, there is no green space between the apt. buildings, which are narrow, adjacent high risers, although the old ones were only constructed to the 7th floor, as there was no elevator in them, and there is no greenery anywhere in sight .
Today is Dis-and Embarcation Day on the ship, and we are still in HK, preparing to go to Yokahama. It is one of the only days where I have no particular program, having already passed my segment exam for the computer course, so I slept late, and plan to (finally) play bridge this afternoon!

Another picture

Unfortunately, this photo got deleted from the group I just uploaded, and it is one of my favorites.

Ha Long Bay: Where the Dragon Descended into the Sea

We arrived in the north of Viet Nam yesterday, cruising along a spectacular and fascinating rather narrow Bay, just filled with limestone protrusions (tiny islands) of the most interesting and extraordinary shapes. It was difficult to follow the computer lesson, while the most extraordinary scenery was visible through the window! Finally, I (temporarily) left the class to go out on the deck to take some pictures. This Blog title is the true translation of the Bay, which is in the Gulf of Tonkin area.
Hallelujah! For the first time, since the Cruise started in January, I have been able to upload pictures. Periodically, i have kept trying, but until now, it just never worked.
Legend has it that a giant Dragon descended into the Sea, thrashing his tail and thereby creating many islands and islets (between 2000 and 3000 in all). They have curious lnames, like Cock Fight, Pair of Roosters, etc. Many have caves and grottos, and at least one included stalagmites and stalactities, which were available to be seen today, from the Junk Cruise that I took. However, it meant climbing uphill for over 100 stairs, then up and downhill within the cave, etc. and since I seem to be developing a problem with my left hip, I opted to remain on the Junk with a few others who also put caution before foolhardiness, and we had a nice social time together. In fact, it gave us the perfect opportunity to witness how the bargaining system works. I had just finished telling how I was able to get a jar of Tiger Balm in Da Nang for only $1.00 while others had paid as much as $5.00 for the same item. There were two young women on board who were selling jewelry, kimonos, table cloths, postcards, and anything else you can think of.... including Tiger Balm for $7.00 a jar! One of the men, who had just heard my story, said he would take one for $1.00, and the girl was shocked, and refused. He kept insisiting, saying that I had only paid $1.00, and eventually she reduced the price to $5.00, but the fellow held his ground and refused until she finally checked with her older companion, and agreed to sell it for $1.00. At that point, everyone at the table bought some, and later when the cave visitors returned to the Junk, she continued selling it for $1.00 and did I very good business.
I should have asked for a commission!
I have included a picture of a family living on a family raft, with fish traps, such that locals come out to buy freshly caught fish (mostly Grouper). There is also a picture of one of the Junks, and the picture of me on the deck was taken yesterday. Today was really cold and rainy all day.
Now, it's time to get ready for our Hong Kong Kabang party which is being offered to those of us on the World Cruise. In my case, it has to make up for the one I missed yesterday, because I fell asleep and missed the boarding time.!