Through My Lens - Singapore's Orchids

The Botanic Garden of Singapore has spectacular orchids. Unfortunately we visited back in 2007 before I had a really good camera. Still, the beauty of the orchids speaks through and past the quality of the camera.

Wordless Wednesday

From My Travel Journal - Singapore

Friday, November 16, 2007--Singapore

            Singapore is like a return to civilization as we know it. The country is mostly English speaking. All the signs are in English. There are recognizable stores and food places. And, what’s this? An automatic flush toilet! We have to pay ten cents each to enter but oh, is it worth it!

            All of this however is countered with a guide who is inconsiderate of her tour group. She forges ahead before the last person is off the bus and starts her commentary before everyone is gathered together. The driver rushes through the city so fast I think I am going to get whip lash from turning my head to see things.

            We visit Mount Faber for a bird’s eye view of the city. The guide points outward in one direction and says, “Malaysia” and in another direction, “Indonesia.” The other islands are so close it is difficult to distinguish between Singapore and the other countries. Singapore is so near to Indonesia that they complain to the Indonesian government about the smog that is created and floats their way from them burning trees to make fertilizer.

            There is a big distinction between poor housing and the wealthy homes. Still the poor here look better off than what we have seen on our prior stops this trip.

            The city is neat and cosmopolitan. There are lots of green areas and everything is decorated for Christmas—compliments of Hitachi. Their advertising is all over it.

            We stop in Chinatown long enough to see a Hindu temple. Unfortunately our guide is done with her talk by the time our half of the bus arrives. I feel uncomfortable. This temple is very busy with worshippers who are kneeling and praying. There are fires burning in pots and whatever is burning smells bad and is creating a lot of smoke. For three dollars, we can take pictures. We decline and leave. Outside we take pictures of the temple’s roof which is dotted with statues of white cows.

            We wander through a side street full of vendors’ stalls but not seeing anything of interest, we return to the bus. Unfortunately we do not have time to explore some of the other streets in Chinatown which look interesting with older historical buildings that date back to the 1820s according to our ship’s information sheet.

            Our final stop is the botanical gardens where we wander down paths lined with graceful orchids of all sizes and colors. The garden is known for its hybridization of orchids. There are many plants dedicated to world leaders and celebrities. I stop to take a picture of a pure white delicate orchid dedicated to the princess of Japan. I know Aya will be interested in that.

            We opt to leave the bus at the Duty One Plaza where the shuttles leave for the ship. There is plenty of time to wander on our own. We find an upscale shopping mall in a tall building and locate an ATM to get some Singapore dollars for a McDonald’s lunch—a taste of home and a reminder that our cruise will soon be done. 

After another walkabout (as the Auzzies say) we return to the mall area and a McCafe that is selling lattes and cappuccinos. We enjoy two large cappuccinos in the sidewalk café and watch the traffic. When we are finished, the attendant is quick to take our cups and napkins. There are large fines for littering in Singapore and gum chewing is not allowed. That’s what keeps the city so clean.

            The air conditioning on the ship is a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. The temperature is only 88 but the humidity makes the air heavy. Singapore is one degree north of the equator. Whew! No wonder it’s so hot!

From My Travel Journal - Vung Tau, (Ho Chi Minh), Viet Nam

Wednesday, November 14, 2007—Vung Tau, (Ho Chi Minh), Viet Nam

Reunification Palace

            Vung Tau. Our “tender” this morning turns out to be a hydrofoil jet boat that holds about 250 people. In ten minutes, we are ashore. The ship’s tenders we are told, take almost a half hour.

On our two-and-a-half hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we get a smattering of history. France and Japan occupied Viet Nam for years. In 1954, the country was divided into South and North Viet Nam. President Diem of South 
Viet Nam was murdered along with his brother just 21 days before Kennedy was assassinated. It is questionable whether Kennedy was responsible for the murder of the brothers. (No wonder there were so many conspiracy theories in Dallas.)

            If you look beyond the clutter and shoddy buildings, the countryside is truly beautiful. We pass some nice looking apartments and what appears to be a resort.

            More history: The war ended in 1975 and on April 28, 1986, the door opened to the outside world. In 1994, the USA lifted the embargo and in 1995, the US embassy opened in Hanoi. President Clinton was the first president to visit (2000) after the war.

The roads appear in good condition. There are few cars but quite a contingency of scooters!

We pass a tree farm. Something is made from the sap—latex?

Education is not compulsory. People have to pay for their children to go to school. Eighty percent receive an education.

 Our guide gives us the most profound statement of our whole trip: “Some people think Viet Nam is a war but actually it is a country.” I will remember that for a long time to come.

Hanoi is the political capital of Viet Nam and Ho Chi Minh is the economic capital.

The Reunification Palace is our first stop in HCM. It was first built in 1861 and perhaps rebuilt or redesigned in the 1960s (I don’t understand what he says here). The president of South Viet Nam stayed here during the war. It was bombed again then and had to be rebuilt. The North Vietnamese plane that bombed it sits in the park outside along with some tanks from the war.

The “palace” is more like a huge meeting center with rooms full of tables and microphones and one large room set up with chairs and a podium behind which a large bust of Ho Chi Minh sits. The basement is the area where the South Vietnamese leaders were bunkered for the war. It has heavy walls like a bomb shelter. 

There are old radios and desks in some rooms, a large kitchen/dining area, a room where we are told President Diem slept, and a map room with a large poster listing the number of troops from foreign countries involved in the war. The guide points to the top of the list and says that is the United States number. It is larger than all the rest.

We drive through the city and marvel at the pretty parks that are dotted throughout. At the Notre Dame Cathedral, we stop for pictures and the opportunity to run across the street to purchase stamps from the huge post office. It resembles a large train station and reminds me of Grand Central in New York City. The stamps we buy are very nice—blue with a whale on them—and cheap.

After another photo shoot at the city hall, we stop at a temple. This one has unusual incense burning but similar to what we have seen in China and Japan, a wish/prayer is tied to the top of a cone shaped spiral of incense. The cone is about two feet high and a foot across at the base. It is lit at the base and as it burns, I guess it sends the prayer to heaven. I’m thinking your answer must come when it burns to the very top. We have to be careful of pieces of incense ash falling on our heads. 

In a small side room sits the god of good fortune and while we are admiring the artwork, one of the locals is feverishly praying and bowing with some sort of sheave of grain in his hands.

Lunch is a buffet of delights at a five star hotel. It was very nice with local spring rolls and unique pineapple fritters with chocolate sauce. Some of the other food was considered “international” but I didn’t recognize it. Still it was a delicious meal and there was no lazy susan.

We finish eating early and slip out to get a cup of coffee at the coffee shop in the lobby. It is a little bit of Western civilization and a welcome reprieve from all the noise and shuffling of a large group of tourists.

Followed closely by vendors, we stop at a lacquer factory. Workers sit along a trough of water and sand the lacquer ware with fine emery. As usual on the “factory” tours, we don’t learn a whole lot about the process but we do get a whole lot of opportunity to shop. We buy a small lacquered screen inlaid with mother of pearl for my dresser at home.

Outside, Bob enjoys an exchange with a street vendor over a lacquered box he wants for his mother. He gets the price down to $1 but when another group of tourists join him, the price suddenly jumps up to $3 again. We learn that if you get the vendors alone, the price will be lower but they won’t admit selling that low to a group of people.

Finally we arrive at the history museum for the primary reason we have come on this tour—to see the water puppets. We sit around a large square pool of water. At one end, there is a “stage” with three green screens hanging down into the water. Behind it is where the puppeteers stand.  We suspect the puppets must be on long poles. They fly through the water and perform their dance and tell their story. There are pyrotechnics when the dragon appears. It is amazing the control they have with all of their puppets. After the show, the puppeteers appear. There are six of them and I am even more amazed that so many could work in the small area behind the screen with all that equipment.

            We walk through the rest of the museum, are fascinated by a mummy, and then dash for the bus just before it begins to rain.

            This evening we have dinner in the personal choice restaurant with Molly and Fred. I like the atmosphere better than the main dining room. It feels more like you’ve gone out to eat at a nice restaurant. 

From My Travel Journal - Nha Trang, Viet Nam

Tuesday, November 13, 2007—Nha Trang, Viet Nam

The tenders take us into Nha Trang, Viet Nam for our 9:30 a.m. tour. The area is beautiful. According to our information from the ship, this is where there are lots of resorts and beach areas that are becoming a popular tourist destination. Green hills rise up from the shore line around the bay. Gondolas move across a cable stretched over the bay to an island on the other side.

            If there are five star hotels here, we are not going to see them today. We do pass a nice beach but the water looks a bit green and muddy. There was a storm that passed through a few days before our arrival—a typhoon. According to the news reports, parts of Viet Nam flooded but we see no obvious indication of that here.

            Our first stop is at a private (Catholic, I think) pre-school. The kids are ages 3-5. The threes sit in little chairs in a semi-circle and sing for us. Next we see the fours. Another song and some costumes. The fives however offer us a full program of traditional song and dance and costume. They are full of energy and seem truly pleased to be able to perform for us. As we watch, I notice the kids seem to be anticipating something. Then, on a signal from their teacher, they rush to us with lively chatter and hug us. I am not the only one in tears. It is a touching moment. Now I miss my grandkids.

            We learn that the school costs $10/week if we understand our guide correctly. We are having difficulty with his English.

            Vendors swarm the bus hawking their postcards, purses, shirts, and paintings. Everything as usual, is negotiable and much is “one dollah!”

            The next stop is a farmer’s market in a little farm town. As we travel, we see acres of rice paddies. They surround the homes here. Like in China, every bit of acreage is used. One paddy is full of ducks. A farmer is raising them for food but our guide implies that it is a problem here because the ducks eat the rice plants and the duck farmers don’t always contain their livestock.

            The farmers market is under a huge pavilion in the center of the town and is “open air.” There are various levels of cement platforms. Vendors spread their wares on the raised platforms and sit in the middle of what they are selling—vegetables, fish, poultry, rice noodles. The place reeks of fish smells and I don’t know what else. Rotting vegetables, maybe. Flies are everywhere. I take a picture of a cleaned chicken or duck like you would find in one of our supermarkets without the plastic wrap. Flies are swarming all over it. We don’t stop but make our way through and out to fresh air.

            The street vendors pursue us again and we realize they have just been following the bus on their motor scooters. Our guide mentions there are 80 million people in Viet Nam and 60 million motor scooters. Next month they will be required to wear helmets because of the increasing number of fatalities from accidents. There are few cars, some trucks on the road and I marvel at how nice our buses are all things considered.

            A Buddhist temple is next. We aren’t certain that’s what it is and I have to ask passengers from another bus to confirm that. It is not as ornate as those we’ve seen in other countries. In the courtyard, women are weaving samples of sleeping mats. There are children there selling the samples for. . .yep, “one dollah.” I hand out the candy I’ve collected from my pillow at night to the kids I see. As we head inside, I wonder why they aren’t in school. I could ask but I probably wouldn’t be able to understand the answer.

The temple is nothing remarkable.

            As we pull up in front of a farmhouse, I am amazed that we will be invading this little place like we did in China. This home is even smaller. There are three rooms across the front of the house which look more like three niches set into one large room. There are three sets of doors that all open out making the whole house exposed to the outdoors. Many of the houses we passed have been like that.

            The lady of the house greets us at the end of the short walkway. She nods and smiles. Her yard is full of green tropical plants. Some are flowering. We approach the first room which is set up like a shrine with the picture of a man in the middle of a table full of candles and statues. Our guide explains that her husband died three months ago. Are we taking advantage of a widow or is this a way for her to survive? I hope the latter and I pray the tour company pays her well.

            The second room appears to be a dining area. There is a cabinet with china in it and a small table and chairs. A young boy, perhaps nine or ten, sits impatiently in a chair in the third room watching the stream of visitors pass by. At the end of the three rooms, are two cubicles that are sleeping areas. I see a wooden platform in one with a sleeping mat in a similar pattern to the sample I bought. The other has a hammock and smaller bed.

A small room in the back is the “kitchen.” It doesn’t resemble anything I’m familiar with but has some pots and pans hanging on the wall. We are told the “bathroom” is behind the house but there is a bottleneck because one of the walkways is blocked by a barking dog no one wants to pass near. I turn and exit the way I came. Bob shows me a picture of the traditional bathroom. It looks like a porcelain bowl on the floor. He says there’s a brush next to it to keep it clean.

On our way out, the vendors get a little more aggressive grabbing our arm to stop us as they shove their wares at us and insist we buy. I notice there are police or security guards who are making sure they don’t board the bus. As we pull away, I watch the eager salespeople run for their scooters and fall in line next to us. I wonder how they will stay on these narrow roads with the buses.

There is a “Kodak picture spot” along the way. A half dozen women and a farmer with some water buffalo are waiting on us to stop and take pictures. The ladies try to sell us rice stalks but our guide has already picked up some pieces for us to examine. We take pictures of the farmer and his team as well as the women wading almost knee-high in the rice paddy.

            Our last stop is a nice open air restaurant that is next to some body of water—an inlet or river. We are served a plate of fruit including the delicious Dragon Fruit. The meat is white with tiny dark seeds and tastes a bit like a kiwi with more of an apple texture. I wonder what it looks like before it is cut? The coconut milk is supposed to be a treat but I’ve had better. It is served right in the coconut which has had the outer shell removed. The coconuts are very light in color and the meat inside is soft rather than hard like others I’ve had. It is not as sweet either. There is a group of musicians that supplies some beautiful soft music as we eat.

            The toilets are tolerable.

            We wind our way through another onslaught of vendors to board the bus. At the dock where the tenders pick up, there are numerous stalls of all sorts of merchandise. Most of them are selling freshwater pearls if you can believe they are real. There are lots of lacquered articles and many knock-offs. We buy three lacquer boxes and a “Coach” bag to help us get our souvenirs home. After some negotiating, the bag is reduced from $17 to $12 US. The temperature is climbing and we decide to head for the air conditioned ship.

There's A Hole In That Building!

When we toured Hong Kong back in 2007, we passed by a very modern building with a huge hole in the middle. The building faces Repulse Bay. It is the HBSC bank headquarters. The architect was asked to leave a whole in the center of the building for the dragon in the hills behind could fly through the building to the bay below.

It's all a part of feng shui which is defined as being a Chinese geomantic practice in which a structure or site is chosen or configured so as to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it. In this instance, it was thought to be a good idea to harmonize with the dragon and it would bring luck to the inhabitants of the building.

There is a great article online that talks more about the architectural elements as well as some of the other things that were considered such as where it is located along the road that winds down from the hills. Renovations have been done and are a challenge to keep the "chi" or life energy from escaping.

Feng shui, chi, dragons. They are all a part of the fascinating culture of China.

From My Travel Journal - Hong Kong

Sunday, November 11, 2007—Hong Kong

            Sadly we learn that they had a worship service on our ship yesterday because we are in port today. We missed it. On our excursion, we leave Kowloon Peninsula where we are docked among the container ships again and travel through a tunnel to the island of Hong Kong.

            Our first stop is Victoria Peak. A tram takes us to the top and we are rewarded with a beautiful view of Hong Kong Island. The buildings here are as dramatic as the ones in Shanghai but they are a little more streamlined and many are built into the sides of the steep hills.

            At Stanley Market, we are allowed one hour to shop but it’s barely enough time to get the lay of the land. Prices seem to be good and there is some nice merchandise—just not enough time to try on clothes or truly explore much. There is no bartering here. The price marked is the price you pay although they will take USD. We buy the kids Christmas ornaments in a shop that is full of cloisonné items.

            [God moments come when our guide mentions talking to “the One” about the weather and we pass a Baptist church in the market area that is having a service. We wish we had time to stop in.]

            Next we move on to the Aberdeen area where we board a sampan. The sampans are water taxis, obviously owned and operated individually. Some we see have little “gift shops” aboard. The sampan holds about 10 people. We cruise the area where people still live aboard their sampans and junks. Most look like large houseboats. There are many large fishing boats moored here as well. As we pass one large houseboat with plants on the roof, the sampan lady talks excitedly with someone on our tour who speaks Chinese. He explains that she wants us to know that it is her home. She smiles proudly and nods. Many of the boat people, we are told, are being moved to public housing where conditions are more sanitary.

            In the middle of all of this sits a huge floating restaurant called—what else—“Jumbo Floating Restaurant.” Some tours included lunch there. The only access to the restaurant is by boat.

            After our sampan ride, we are bused 

 to a “jewelry factory” for a three minute tour and another shopping opportunity. I see one jade pendant that looks tempting but the price is $495. Must be truly jade. I pass.

            We opt to return to the ship rather than shopping in the Harbor City Mall. I spend the afternoon trying to rest and recuperate from this cold.

            Our sail away tonight is spectacular. The captain has gotten permission to sail through the harbor on the way out. There is a nightly laser show and we must be out of the way by then. The lighted buildings are amazing. This has to be better than Shanghai. Thousands of bright pin-point dots line the hillsides from the apartment buildings and neon colors illuminate buildings in the business district, many of which display Christmas decorations.

            It is romantic, exotic, and mysterious—everything you would imagine Hong Kong to be.

From My Travel Journal - Taiwan

Friday, November 9, 2007—Keelung, Taiwan

            We arrive in Keelung Harbor, Taiwan, at 7 a.m. and plan to have breakfast on our deck. It is not quite as nice as the one on our French Polynesian cruise. It would have been great had we not had another to compare it to and if it had not been raining. We are forced to eat inside.

            Our excursion is to Chiufen (pronounced Jo-Fen) a small mountain town which was known for gold mining in the 1800s. It strikes me that this is around the same time gold is discovered in Alaska and California and, I believe, a few other places around the world. It must have been the thing to hunt for during that century.

            

On our way up the mountain, we see what looks like little ornately decorated cottages. On closer examination, we discover they are mausoleums. Nestled among the trees, there are also beautiful pagoda style temples, one very large, with lots of detailed decorations. Our guide is obviously not from this area and confers with the driver for answers to some of our questions.

        

    It is raining as we arrive and are let off on a narrow winding street that passes through the town. This is where we will catch the bus back—in front of Starbucks! We try to keep up with our guide who hustles through a narrow alleyway full of shops. It is also a street for vehicle traffic. Scooters wind through the crowd and a small truck and car make their way to the top. We are forced to seek refuge inside a little shop as the truck and car squeeze through the alleyway. There is just enough room for them to pass.

            The shops are varied. Some are clothing, some food, some cheap souvenirs. A few craftsmen sell their wares. Many food stalls emit obnoxious smells. We pass one I believe was deep frying fatty pork in pork fat.

            At the top of the alley way, we stop in at a tea house. The view clears of rain and mist for a brief moment giving us the impression that it would be spectacular were the sun shining. The landscape leading to the sea is dramatic.

            After the tea, we wander back down and stop to examine more closely some of the shops. We pause at a shoe shop where they make sandals and take video of the lady as she makes shoes for our two granddaughters. The base of the shoe is wood—pre-shaped and sized. We have our choice of straps that are crisscrossed over the toes and secured with brads that are tapped into the sides of the base. I’m excited to show the girls the video of their shoes being made.

We also make a stop at Chuifen’s City God temple. Our guide is again off the mark as she says it is a Buddhist temple but there is no Buddha. When she inquires, she discovers that it is really Tao. (According to information I found, Taoism is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced. It "refers to a power which envelopes, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites—love/hate, etc. It is more prevalent in Taiwan since the Cultural Revolution in mainland China destroyed much of the Tao heritage.) I’m guessing the reason we saw so many temples on the way to Chiufen was because each town/city has its own city god.

            Our bus arrives as we finish our Starbucks coffee. The trip down the mountain is confused by our guide who knows she should be pointing out a waterfall but can’t seem to locate it. We decide it must have been the one where all the buses were parked. We make a stop at “significant rocks” and Bob braves the drizzle to take a picture. Perhaps we will figure out later the significance.

            After our return, we walk into Keelung from the ship to see the night market as it opens. The market is set up along streets closed to traffic. Scooters don’t seem to have any rules here so they pass among the crowd of shoppers. There are more of the same unusual food items, similar to what we found in Beijing. Some is more recognizable seafood such as octopus.

            Upon returning to the ship, we eat dinner and see a good show with impressionist Sean O’Shea. He is hilarious.

            The ship is delayed a bit in departing as we wait for two passengers. We watch them scurry down the dock as the ship is pulling out. Obviously they are handed their passports and after some formalities signing papers, we see them put aboard the pilot boat and they are transported to the ship as we are turning in the harbor.

            The city of Keelung is pretty at night. There are lots of lights and a KEELUNG sign on the hillside reminiscent of Hollywood. 

From My Travel Journal - Okinawa, Japan

Thursday, November 8, 2007—Okinawa, Japan

            At 6:30 a.m., we awake and get dressed so that we can get in line to have our temperatures evaluated before receiving a disembarkation card to enter Okinawa, Japan. The line stretches to the rear of the ship. At 7, we still have not docked so the Japanese authorities are not even aboard yet to begin the procedure. We opt to go for breakfast and return even though we will lose our place in line. Everyone will be behind schedule anyway and we figure the tour times will be adjusted.

            After breakfast, we return to our room and get our gear for the day and go back to the line which is now wound from one end of the ship to the other and over two decks. When we finally get to the “health” lounge, we see six Japanese officials standing in a group, each with masks across their mouths and noses. A camera-like contraption beams a red light at a spot in the room where we all must pass as it evaluates body temperature. Anyone with an elevated temperature will not be allowed ashore. As far as we know, no one is detained.

            We have a very short wait in the theater before being herded to buses on the dock for our tour. Our guide is Soda San (but she says, don’t call me Coca Cola). Her humor reminds me of Aya’s (my daughter-in-law) father, Yoshinori.

            Okinawa, or rather Naha City, is larger than I imagined. It reminds us of the Caribbean. All the shops are geared to flowered muumuus and Hawaiian style beachwear and coconut shells painted with faces. Apparently coral jewelry is big here.

            We visit the Shurijo Castle built back in the 16^th-17^th century. It has been rebuilt since WWII. If I understood the guide correctly, there were Chinese kings first and then Japanese. There was a bunker under the castle that housed Japanese military officials in WWII.

            A stop in to the large department store in Naha City is disappointing in that there are no “elevator girls.” These are the girls we saw in the Tokyo department stores that are dressed in cute uniforms and with a gloved hand and a special phrase in Japanese tell you if the elevator is going up or down. We wander into the area where the kimonos are displayed. I am amazed again at how expensive the material is for a full dress kimono.

            The market area we walk through has lots of stores with little packaged snacks and candies, none of which look familiar. Most of the places along the street are souvenir shops specializing in beach type paraphernalia.

            There is a monorail overhead but no time to ride. We begin to melt as the sun comes out. It must be in the 80s and very humid.

            At noon, we return to the ship. We are scheduled to depart at 3 p.m.

            I think about the differences I have observed between China and Japan. There is no frenzy here and though the castle was crowded with students, they were very polite and there was no elbowing. But then, I’m probably a little prejudiced having a Japanese daughter-in-law.

            In the afternoon, I do some ironing, some walking, some reading and win 50 cents at the slots. The evening show is “Do You Wanna Dance?” It is a lot better than the first production show we saw. They have replaced one singer and the group blends so much better. There seems to be a higher energy level with the group tonight as well. They look like they are having fun.