Blog

I am grateful to have had the chance to visit Hiroshima on June 15 (Day 154). I have few words for the day. The museum was quiet and sober, filled with many Japanese school children. Perhaps the website is the best way to describe the horror. The peace park near ground zero of the Atomic… Continue reading Hiroshima

Finally, after several months of hot, hot, humid weather, I could feel a collective sigh for the weather we encountered in Kagoshima Japan on June 15 (Day 153) of our trip. It was a cloudy day, and our tour guide apologized for the heat of the day. It was warm, but one of the passengers… Continue reading Kagoshima

If you sail north from Okinawa towards the main islands of Japan, you could reach Amami Oshima, the largest island in the Satsunan island chain. Our ship docked there on June 14 (Day 152). This island is subtropical and quite hot and humid. The rural, slow pace of the island, and a great guide made… Continue reading Amami Oshima

On June 11 (Day 149), we were docked in Keelung (Taipei) Taiwan and I took a tour to Shifen Waterfall. It was a hot rainy day. It was pleasant to walk through a jungle area along with many other tourists. Our objective was to view two waterfalls. On the walk, this shrine or just garden… Continue reading Skylanterns

Even before our cruise started, we knew that the original plan to visit China had to be scrapped due to Chinese restrictions on visitors. This opened up space for the ship to visit Taiwan. On June 10 (Day 148), we visited Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I took an excursion that started with a walking tour of a… Continue reading Taiwan Temples

Our ship visited the Philippines for two days. These days were added to our itinerary when other ports were eliminated. We were greeted by drums and dancing when we pulled into Manila on June 8 (Day 146). I was delighted, but some late sleepers commented that they did not appreciate the drum alarm clock outside… Continue reading Philippines

This trip has caused me to consider expectations in a different way. After visiting two ports in Vietnam, I got sick with a bad chest cold that had me in my room for five days. I recovered slowly after that. I, therefore, missed lots of Vietnam, Cambodia, and two ports in Thailand, including Bangkok. This… Continue reading Bangkok from the Insignia

Beijing, China is the home to a very famous Forbidden City. Our ship did not go to China due to political complications, but I was surprised to discover an impressive Imperial City in Hue, Vietnam. The ship docked in Chan May on May 25 and 26, and I took a long excursion to see the… Continue reading Imperial Hue

Oceania planned several special events, put on specifically for those on the world cruise. One of those was on May 24, when we were docked in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. From the description of this event: “Ha long is famous for nearly 2000 islands in the water and hundreds of small mountains with caves on… Continue reading Cave Party

As an American who grew up during the Vietnam War, I have often heard about Hanoi. I had never, however, heard of Ha Long Bay, the natural wonder located 178 kilometers east of Hanoi. I did not get to visit Hanoi on this trip, but will long remember Ha Long Bay. The view from the… Continue reading The Wonder of Ha Long Bay