Fabulous Hong Kong !

Hong Kong itself is divided into four main areas – Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories plus the Outlying Islands. We arrived in Kowloon in glorious sunshine and after a walk along the famous Nathan Road which is packed with little shops, we took the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island. The Star Ferry service operates four lines across Victoria Harbour and has been in operation for over 120 years, providing a panoramic view of Hong Kong's skyline for its 53,000 daily passengers. It's incredibly cheap and a fun way to travel. There are also loads of tunnels and overhead passes and the traffic, albeit plentiful, runs very smoothly. Amazing selection of cars (Maserati's, Mercedes, BMW's) most of which are chauffeured driven. People in the business areas are very well dressed in suits and ties and the women wear very expensive looking oufits.

The height of some of the skyscrapers is just amazing (the International Finance Center is 88 storeys high - 1,362 ft tall) We took a walk around three of the lower floors which are filled with very upmarket restaurants and shops, plus enormous water features and flowering plants) Helicopters are continuously flying over the bay dropping off businessmen at their various offices.

Our SA friends collected us and we firstly went to Aberdeen which is on the south shore of Hong Kong where we had tea at the Boat Club. I had been in Aberdeen over 30 years ago and remembered it to full of boat people living and working on junks. These have since been flushed
out and very luxurious yachts and motorboats are there now. There's also a floating seafood restaurant which is very popular.Our friends then took us for a lovely drive around the area - fabulous views of the many various bays and islands (as well as the Kowloon peninsula there are over 236 islands surrounding Hong Kong which are very popular and easily accessible) We then went to their lovely townhouse in the New Territories area which is more of a peaceful rural area in Hong Kong, as opposed to the incredibly hectic area of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon peninsula.
The New Territories is a very picturesque with loads of trees and certainly a much slower pace of life. It's very easily accessible to get down to a very nice little beach. In the evening we all went down to the local village of Sai Kung which has a number of restaurants and bars. The blocks of apartments in some areas are amazing - just thousand upon thousand of enormous blocks. I think the first impression one gets of Hong Kong is the number of people - they're just like "ants" - everywhere. The streets are packed and most have brightly colored advertising signs strung across the roads.We were dropped off at the Stanley Market the following morning.This market was great fun - full of small stalls selling anything from goldfish to flowers to every article of clothing one could imagine. It attracts all the locals who buy
their daily fresh fruits and vegetables. After a good look around we returned to Kowloon on the top of a double decker bus which was a very interesting 30 minute ride through spectacular scenery.

Hong Kong's education system roughly follows the system in England, although at the higher education levels, both English and American systems exist. The medium of instruction is mainly spoken Cantonese, written Chinese and English. The city's transit system, MTR, has 150
stations and serves 3.4 million people a day. We discovered it to be amazing - very fast and clean and relatively easy to understand.

Our last evening we found a wonderful restaurant overlooking the harbor after which we walked up to the The Peninsula Hotel which is rated as "one of the world's legendary grand hotels". Gosh, it was like stepping into another world - wonderful furnishings, high very ornate ceilings, fabulous, enormous flower arrangements. We sat in the lounge beneath the neo-classical arches and had coffee while listening to a great string quartet who were performing in the minstrels gallery. The hotel has a fleet of signature Rolls-Royces, which can be hired by guests plus a helipad for those arriving by helicopter. (We walked !!) All too soon it was time to leave Hong Kong - we could have spent much longer as it is a fascinating very vibrant place to visit. We are now en route to Shanghai.

Vietnam

Our first day in Ho Chi Minh city (formerly known as Saigon) we visited the History Museum which documents the evolution of Vietnam's various cultures which was very interesting. We then watched a water puppet performance which dates back to the 11th century. The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers to control them. Thus the puppets appear to be moving over the water. It was fun and very different. Apparently when the rice fields would flood, the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play. Ho Chi Minh is much more cosmopolitan than the rest of the country, with 5-star hotels and very expensive shops and lovely parks. The sidewalks and streets are full of people and vendors selling and making all sorts of things. The two very first impressions one gets is the tremendous heat and humidity - perspiration literally drips off one. The second is the number of motorcycles (4 million of them ! The average cost of a motorcycle is $3000 so a relatively cheap means of transport). It's very common to see a family of 4 on one bike. They wear smog masks over their mouths, usually wear sunglasses and then their helmets - very strange when first seen. We had been warned about trying to cross a road among the sea of motorcylists. It's really
one of those things which you have to experience to understand. As mentioned, there are 4 million motorcylces in Saigon and one sees very few cars and buses. There are very few traffic lights so the key to cross a road is to walk slowly and consistently so the motorcycles can weave
around you. Quite a hair-raising experience at first. There are literally thousands of tailors who can make a made-to-measure outfit in 24 hours or less. One of our staff members here had her silk wedding dress made within a 24 hour period. I had a dress made but was slightly aghast when being measured to be told I was "XL" size. However the fully lined dress is great and cost $25.

We spent the following day in the Mekong Delta which is the region in Southeast Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of tributaries. The canal network was built for the cultivation of rice, fish, soybeans, maize, peanuts and tobacco. It was a very interesting 2-hour drive and having been taken to the other side of the river by boat we visited a traditional farmer's home and fruit orchard where we sampled some of the exotic tropical fruits. We were then taken for a ride in a wooden canoe - not much in the way of birdlife but a fun ride.

Many faculty and students flew to Cambodia where they visited the Killing Fields and saw the mass graves of more than 17000 men, women and children. Their only crime being that they were educated. Photographs of these genocidal events line the walls of former school rooms. All
very gruesome and depressing. We visited the War Atrocities Museum where there were tanks, helicopters, planes and arms on display. It is certainly not for the feint hearted. The full horrors of armed conflict are there on the walls for everyone to see. I don't think any of us were aware as to just how barbaric it actually was. Agent Orange was the nickname given to the herbicide used by the Americans to clear the forestation that provided cover to the the Viet Cong fighters. Containing Dioxin, one of the the deadliest chemicals known to man, the herbicide caused untold suffering to the hundreds of thousands of people that came into contact with it. Nearly 11 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed on North Vietnam during the conflict. Many died of cancer, many were born with deformities. Really horrific!

We visited several excellent restaurants. Vietnamese food is bland in comparison to Thai and Indian food. The first restaurant we visited was on the 14th floor of a hotel which gave us a wonderful view of the city. When our meal arrived the waitress demonstrated how we should eat - e.g. firstly place lettuce onto a sheet of rice paper, followed by the noodles, followed by the meat or fish. This is then wrapped up and ends up looking like a spring roll. Finally one can dip this into various sauces (soy etc.)

Our visit to Vietnam was certainly incredibly interesting. We were just amazed at what a modern prosperous city Saigon is. There are new buildings, enormous new bridges all being erected everywhere. It is a very clean city despite the number of people. We didn't see any beggars and everyone was friendly and helpful. When we first arrived there were traditional Vietnamese dressed ladies dancing for us holding a large banner welcoming "Semester at Sea".


Modern electricity distribution ?















Gus & 2 waitresses














Vietnamese Street Vendor

Bangkok and Hua Hin, Thailand

Sue and 2 Buddhas






Having docked in the habour we took a 2 hour bus trip up to Bangkok and stayed in a recommended bed & breakfast which was so convenient for the sky train. It was owned by an Englishman who was incredibly helpful advising us on what to do and where to go. The traffic in Bangkok is horrendous - unlike India no hooting but just continuous traffic jams. When the traffic came to a complete standstill the bus driver suggested all 40 passengers should collect their luggage and get off the bus,as we were nearing the bus station.It was certainly far quicker. That evening we looked around one of the many night markets where one can literally buy anything. I was in Bangkok 32 years ago and would certainly never recognize the city now with its enormous skyscrapers,awful smog and huge shopping malls featuring all the US & UK shops (McDonald, Starbucks, Boots, Marks & Spencer etc.) Early the next morning we took the sky train down to the river and went on a tour up the river to see some of the many palaces. At least on a boat it was a little cooler with temps. in the upper 90's with 100% humidity. The 5-hour tour was incredibly cheap, even more so when we discovered we had our own personal tour guide who made the tour so interesting.
The one temple featured the "Reclining Buddha" which is 46-meter long and 15-meter wide - it was spectacular with so much intricate carvings. The Grand Palace complex, of which the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a major part, consists of over 100 buildings, representing more than 200 years of royal history and architecture. One sees Buddhas in various stages of life, Buddhas in meditation, Buddhas standing, crowned and uncrowned, fierce or soothing, Buddhas in stone, in stucco, in bronze, in wood. The golden Buddha stands at 3 metres tall and weighs 5.5
tons. Apparently it was undiscovered until the 1950s, but then an outer layer of plaster began to peel away, exposing solid gold icon beneath! Apparently, after this discovery, lots of other Buddha icons had their outer layers peeled away, but no others were found to be hiding solid gold figures. After the tour we jumped back onto our junk and had a fabulous lunch in the Mandarin Orient Hotel which stands beside Chao Phraya River. It's rated to be one of the top hotels in the world (the hotel is very proud to show off the pictures of Prince Charles and Di when they stayed there several years ago) We sat outside, had a great lunch and enjoyed watching the constant stream of boats and junks winding up and down the river.
The following morning we took a minibus down to Hua Hin which is on the Gulf coast 3 hours south west of Bangkok where we stayed at another recommended bed and breakfast called "Bee & B". The first thing one notices in Thailand is the incredible respect and hospitality.The Thai
people are so very gracious and courteous. They bow to greet you and always have a smile on their faces. This was even more pronounced when we arrived at Bee & B. Not only did we have a very luxurious room but Bee walked down to the beach with us the first time carrying our towels
and water to make sure we found a suitable umbrella and were well looked after by the local cafe owner. When we walked back from the beach having spent the whole afternoon in the wonderfully warm sea, we were greeted with cold face towels plus a very cold beer.It was like
being in someone's home. We walked downtown for dinner on the first night and found a very good Thai restaurant where again we were so well looked after by very elegant gracious waitresses.(they even sprayed one's legs with insect repellent) One thing that is very noticeable is the number of overweight bald-headed European men with petite pretty "very young" Thai women some of whom they've married.
Thailand now has a population of 65.49 million and again it is a country of extreme contrast. Whereas there are loads of 5-star hotels, beautiful homes, there are still thousands of people living in tin-roofed shacks. These are particularly seen around the many rivers and canals. Bangkok is a very clean, well-run city and the Thai people are extremely helpful and friendly. Spirit houses are common throughout Thailand, and can be found outside almost every house and building. The doll house-sized homes are set atop a pedestal and placed in an auspicious location, which allows residents, workers and others to offer prayers and small gifts to appease spirits, believed to be dwelling in the land and mountains. Spirit houses in Thailand usually include doll-sized human figures, and a small figurine of Buddha. The Shrines are places of worship where you'd go to pay respect to sacred religious icons in Buddhism and Hinduism, who in turn could grant you love, happiness, good fortune, success, luck or even fertility. People place garlands of bright yellow marigolds around the particular Buddha - they're always very colorful.The drive down to Hua Hin was very interesting. We saw workers in the many rice fields, hundreds of palm tree plantations and several beautiful garden shops as well as hundreds of stalls selling fruit by the roadside.
Flowers are seen everywhere in Thailand - frangipani, bourganvillia and orchids seem to be very plentiful and are used to decorate everything from food dishes and drinks to beach towels. We are now en route to Vietnam where we will be spending 5 days.


Beach Towels decorated with flowers















The head of the Reclining Buddha














The Grand Palace

Indescribable India

It has to be experienced to be believed! Such contrasts, wealth and poverty, beauty and filth, palaces and slums and people everywhere. India is overwhelmingly diverse with its population of approximately 1.2 billion people which, unlike China, is still growing. (The average family have 5 children) 80.5% of the Indians are Hindus, with 13.4% of the population Muslim, the remaining 7% are Sikhs, Jains and Christians making India the most diverse country in the world. There are 18 major languages spoken in India and over 1600 regional dialects. We flew from Chennai to New Delhi where we had a tour of the old and new city. The number of people everywhere is amazing. Cows, camels, goats and dogs roam everywhere. The Government buildings designed by the British are very attractive with lovely grounds. We visited Qutab Minar which was a Muslim Mosque built in the 11th century with stones from the original Hindu and Jain temples of which only remnants now remain. We then did a tour of Old Delhi and saw the Red Fort which was built in the 17th century by the Muslims and is enormous. That evening we spent the night in a 5-star hotel in Delhi. We were greeted with garlands of flowers and welcome red "dots" on our foreheads.The next morning we drove to Jaipur (the "pink city") capital of Rajasthan where we visited Chandra Mahal (the city palace) built by the Maharajah in the 18th century. It's a mixture of Hindi and Mughal (Muslim) style. We also went to the an outdoor Observatory built by the same Maharajah which has sundials giving the time to within 20 seconds accuracy. That evening we visited a market which was packed with small shops hundreds of motorbikes, rickshaws, cows and thousands of people.The following day we went to the Amber Fort where access to the Fort involves an elephant ride which was different! We then drove to Agra stopping en route an enormous Moghul Palace built of red sandstone. The Moghul Emperor had 3 wives one Muslim, one Hindi and one Christian as well as 180 concubines (what a way to go !!) Driving into Agra that evening would have made Gus's hair stand on end ..... if he had any! The roads are shared by trucks, buses, cars, tractors, motorbikes,rickshaws, bicyles, camel carts, horse carts and elephants as well as pedestrians. We even saw a family of four - yes 4 - riding on a motorscooter - Mom sitting on the back side saddle in a beautiful sari talking on her cellphone. Meanwhile Dad is winding in and out of choatic traffic! Early the next morning we visited the Taj Mahal which is quite breathtaking. It was built by 2000 workers over a 22 year period and is constructed almost entirely white marble brought from Jaipur (200 miles away) in convoys of 50 camels everyday.The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan starting in 1631 in memory of his wife Mumtaz who died while delivery their 14th child. The Taj symbolizes their eternal love for each other - it's truly exquisite with a mixture of both Hindi and Islamic design. The surrounding gardens and reflecting pools are magnificent. We had an interesting experience driving north to Delhi when we drove into a traffic jam on a 4-lane highway. Undeterred the locals opened a 5th lane on the left shoulder but when this proved inadequate they opened a 4th lane by driving over the median and continuing northwards in one of the south bound lanes. This also proved inadequate so northbound traffic then took over the second southbound lane. Sooooooo we had 5 lanes going north and southbound traffic was relegated to the left shoulder. In the meantime there is a constant blaring of hooters which seems to be the norm wherever you travel plus regular lane changing without any signals. It's amazing. We found the Indian people very friendly and the Indian women extremely elegant in wonderful colourful saris. Astrology still plays a very important role in their lives especially when arranged marriages are being scheduled. Sunday newspapers feature 6 full-page columns of adverts. with parents seeking marriage partners for
their sons or daughters. There are beggars everywhere especially in the tourist areas, plus loads hawkers but one gets used to them and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in India. It's just so completely different to anywhere in the world we've ever visited.


About to ride on elephant








A beautiful Indian lady in a beaded sari


















Gus is the one in the middle!!
The other 2 were doormen at our hotel in Delhi.