Our Next Stops

We now have two sea days and then we will have two stops in Vietnam followed by a sea day before arriving finally in Singapore.

We think that Vietnam could be problematic for Facebook and the blog.  Firstly we think that free WiFi might be harder to come by than has been the case so far and we also have reason to believe that social media and blogging sites are blocked within the country.

There may therefore be quite a break from now until Singapore, although we do have WiFi in the hotel there so should be able to catch up then.

Hong Kong - Day 1

We were awake early and we wanted to be able to watch our arrival at the Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong.  We weren’t disappointed.  We scrambled some clothes on and went out to watch as we entered the channel between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Island.  The ship moored on the Kowloon (mainland) side of Hong Kong right next to the Star Ferry area and we were extremely lucky – not only did the ship moor at the berth on the outside of the quays complex, but it moored with our cabin on the outside, overlooking the channel to Hong Kong Island.  It must rank as one of the best views we’ve ever had when moored up at a port of call.

There were quite a few others up on deck enjoying the spectacle and it was a bit like arriving in Las Vegas, but by boat!  After breakfast we gathered our day things together and set off to do the place.  We went looking for an ATM for some cash for the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island.  We didn’t find an ATM straightaway, but we did find a young man selling Big Bus Tour tickets.  Two days for two people cost just under £80 and included return trips on the Star Ferry to Hong Kong each day, a trip on the tram up to Victoria Heights (normally £20 each return) plus a trip round Aberdeen Harbour and rides on the 3 main tour routes, so overall, we thought it was very good value.

Hong Kong - Day 2

Day 2 was going to be our opportunity to do the Harbour Tour, some more Big Bus touring and some shopping.  We went over to Hong Kong Island again and waited for the Green Line bus.  While the Big Bus Tours are good, they only run every half hour and they don’t start till at least 9.30am.  This was a bit of a nuisance as we were up good and early and would have to be back on board by 4pm on what was our last day.

The green route was a real contrast to yesterday’s route as we went across to the south side of Hong Kong Island which is both very uncrowded and fairly classy, with lots of desirable houses and smart resorts.  We eventually came back to the waterfront on Hong Kong Island and decided to have our Harbour Tour.  It lasted around an hour, but we soon realised that this was the last thing that cruise passengers should do as we got the equivalent of a harbour tour coming in and leaving the port.  There was a commentary but we couldn’t either hear it or understand when we could hear it.

Star Ferry

Then we slipped back to the ship for lunch and then out again to blog and for Elizabeth to do a bit of shopping.  I had a look in one of the electronics stores for possible bargains but the prices, while lower than in the UK, weren’t so low that it was worth buying them there rather than at home.  We discussed this with our assistant waiter that evening and he said that the best place for cut price electronics was in Japan – not that we had much opportunity for high street shopping while there in any case.

Chinese beer on the Harbour Tour

We were back on board with 15 minutes to spare and then we were irritated because we didn’t set off for almost 90 minutes.  The newies who had got on here had to go through muster and anyone who had been to Macau or who was new on board had to present their passport in one of the lounges so that their leaving Hong Kong could be recorded.  After a number of announcements to get those concerned to comply, we were told that they were only looking for 69 people to present their passports!  They then named and shamed the remainder and we were finally able to set off.

Leaving in the daylight was just as exciting as arriving had been and we made our way out eastwards along the route we had used when arriving.  It was very windy as we were heading right into the teeth of it, so we went to the back of the ship which was very sheltered.  

Once clear of the Hong Kong islands complex, we started rocking and rolling!  At one point we decided we would use the lift to go down one floor rather than use the stairs as we felt a little unstable.  It calmed down a little after an hour or two but then we could feel the movement again in the night.  Our cabin steward said it was the most movement he had experienced on board in the 8 months he has been on Sun Princess.

Junk?

The highlight of dinner was that escargots were finally on the menu – which the waiter said hadn’t been on the menu for at least 4 weeks.

Sea Day – Taipei to Hong Kong

We’re enjoying our sea days more and more.  We continue to wake up early, so we go for breakfast and then move on to the pool to bag a couple of the better quality sun beds before all the others are up and running.  Then it’s a few lengths as up and down the modest "Adults Only" pool.

'Take That' were on the big screen - apparently!

Fishing for we don't know what!

Sunset over the South China Sea

We had our lunch outside the Terrace Grill, but the heat was oppressive, even though we were outdoors and on the open sea.

Later that afternoon we joined the Trivia Quiz in the Vista Lounge – a lovely tiered lounge area.  Two Kiwis plus a Taiwanese boy who had hung round with them asked if they could join us, so we were in a group of 5.  The quiz was easier than normal and almost all the answers began with ‘C’.  We got 18 out of 20 while 5 other teams got 19.  The tie-breaker question was “What was the average life expectancy for a Roman?”  Answer: 22!

Having watched Take That” and Barry Manilow on the big screen up by the pools’ area, today it was a Pavarotti Concert from some years ago.  That evening we finally managed to dance a few times in the Wheelhouse Bar – a cha-cha-cha, a rumba and a waltz.  We also did a couple of rounds of salsa in the disco.  Each day they put on a dance hour in the disco and we seem to be the only ones who go.  We do a few of whatever dance – if we know it – and then move on

Cruising Trends

We did realise on this cruise that Dorothy no longer seems to go cruising.  We had our suspicions in Dubai and it seems that it is indeed so.  Bill W is still going strong but now seems to have been joined on cruises by Dr Bob.  The Red Hat Society seems to have been disbanded but there’s a new group on the block, possibly some sandwich afficionados – the Great Lettuce, Bacon and Tomato Society or the GLBT group.  All current groups seem to meet every day at 5.15pm – unsupervised!  There are separate singles and solos meetings. 

Blog is up to date

.... at last!

TV and Phoning

As well as all the usual ship’s channels, we can get Sky News, Sky Sports News plus BBC World so we’re able to keep up with events.

Both in Japan and now in Taiwan, phone calls are around £1.75 per minute for us to make but texts are free both ways.

Taipei, Taiwan

We arrived in the early morning.  We scanned around for free wifi from the ship but couldn’t get connected to anything.  We had breakfast, scanned again and found that a myriad of unsecured providers had appeared which we could get in to.  There followed a flurry of activity to update the blog and Facebook and we were doing well until suddenly they disappeared again.

We decided to go exploring in Keelung, the port where we had arrived (Taipei is 20+ miles away and we hadn’t booked any excursions).  We set off along the dockside as another large cruise ship arrived and moored up.  We found some wifi in the terminal building and thought we would come back later to see if we could update the blog further.

We set off to find some shops.  Well, there are no Meadowhalls here, just loads of small individual shop units on the many streets.  We decided we would look for the entrance ot the park on the hill which we could see clearly from the ship.  The heat was absolutely stifling and I could feel my clothing getting wet through with sweat when we were just walking along.  We did find the steps up to the park but they looked truly formidable, especially in the heat of the day so we looked into the very Chinese-looking building nearby.  Were we allowed in?  I was starting to look very much like a temple.

We got near the very open entrance doors to be greeted by a man in scout uniform who wanted to show us in the temple.  So it was a case of off with our shoes and in we went.  It was such a beautiful place and all set out for a wedding later that day.  Our guide told us that, if we came back later, chances were that the family would invite us to join the wedding party at this Buddhist wedding.  After a good look round we were invited up to their information centre where they had exquisite displays of all sorts of things, including artistic work carried out by prisoners in Taiwan.  The Buddhists do a lot of work with prisoners to try to get them to reform.  We left the air-conditioned calm of the Buddhist temple information centre to hit the hot streets again and we plodded our way back to the ship and an empty vessel!  So many were out on excursion and we were reminded that most of the tours today were full day trips, so calm and peace were likely to continue for some time yet.

After some rehydration it was time for a pizza and a quick dip in the pool – Graeme had managed to turn pink after drying out in the sun from swimming for only 20 minutes at 8 in the morning, so we were reminded that the sun is hot in these parts.