Beijing to Singapore Travel Notes
APR. 8, 2024 – BEIJING, CHINA (Day 120)
We didn’t get off the ship today as we are still tired and didn’t know of anything that we HAVE to see. We turned in our passports and logged off and back on the ship since this is a turnaround day. We had lunch and met Craig and Stephanie, the parents of tik tokkers’ Brooklyn and Madison. A lot of great conversation about SEC football as they are from Alabama (Brooklyn was actually Big Al, the Elephant mascot while in college). We went back to the room and worked on photos and the website.
APR. 9, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 121)
We are so glad to have a sea day! We had an enrichment lecture today about the “hidden Christians of Japan”. We were totally unaware of the number of Christians that were massacred in Nagasaki as they were seen as a threat to the early culture of Japan. We are already planning to look into this further in Japan.
We met up with Ale and Andrew as they wanted to share their night time pictures that they got of the Great Wall. They went on a longer tour that included the Forbidden City. We did not go on that as we had been there in 2014. The unique part of their trip was to see the Great Wall in lights. That is highly unusual for China to open up the wall at night and it has usually been reserved for Presidents and world leaders. The pictures they had were fantastic! They even had a laser show.
We left them in the Schooner Bar and headed for dinner. When standing in line they showed up saying they had already had dinner, but wanted to continue to hang out and visit. We had a great dinner, followed up with hanging out in the pub and playing darts. A very enjoyable low key evening.
Gwen had dressed up for ’50’s night and before coming to the pub had met some other people on the ship at the party. She even met someone who grew up in Rogers, AR! They had a twist competition and everyone was excited and cheered for Phillip and Anita. Anita is confined to a wheel chair but they are always on the dance floor on many nights. We had a chance to know her better a few weeks ago, when we were hanging out in the pool.
APR. 10, 2024 – NAGASAKI to HIROSHIMA, JAPAN INLAND (Day 122)
This is the start of our “Trip Interruption” as RCCL calls them. We are leaving the ship for a few days to travel inland for a more immersive experience in Japan. We will catch up to the ship in a few days at Tokyo.
The first thing on every travelers mind when coming to Nagasaki is the Peace Park Memorial. We grabbed a taxi from the port and headed there. Nagasaki endured an atomic bomb explosion on August 9, 1945. We went to an open area next to where a prison was housed at that time. There were a lot of smaller memorials and most had water bottles placed in front of them. One of the things we learned on this trip is that the survivors of the initial blast were very thirsty but there was no water anywhere for them to drink. There was a large water fountain to remind the people of their thirst and suffering.
We went into the Atomic Bomb Museum with artifacts from the effects on the city and its people. It was very sobering to see the effects of the extreme heat of the bombing. The pictures will make anyone not want to replicate the events of that fateful day.
Another museum that we went to visit was the Nishizaka Museum that commemorates the early efforts of Japan to rid its country of Christianity. The museum sits on a hillside where 26 of the earliest Christians were crucified on crosses for their faith on February 5th, 1597. Six of them were monks, while others were local citizens. An interesting aspect of this story was there were only 25, but one Christian would not leave the others and kept following until the authorities finally added him to the group to be martyred. These were the first of thousands of Christians who were martyred for their faith. At its peak of about 500,000 Christians a “Fumie” ceremony was initiated to expose the Christians.
We wandered the streets looking for some food and stumbled upon a great, but very small, Ramen restaurant. The noodles were delicious. We then hopped a train and headed for Hiroshima on a bullet train. We checked in to our hotel and headed out. We had Udon noodles at a local restaurant and headed to Ground Zero to see a building shell that survived the attack only because the bomb was directly over it. We also went to a rooftop bar to see it from above.
Trying to get off our feet and relax, we found a Wine Bar (the soupy noodles weren’t enough) frequented by locals (Cave de Oenophile) that had some flatbreads and great wine, which was served in the Reidel glasses that we love. We sat around discussing the events of the day and had a fantastic relaxing way to cap off a very busy day!
APR. 11, 2024 – HIROSHIMA, HIMEJI, AND KOBE (Day 123)
Our hotel room was very small by western standards and having the same controls on the sink spigot that also controlled the shower was very interesting. The Japanese are very efficient when it comes to space!
We started the day going to the Peace Memorial that is very similar to the one in Nagasaki, but we felt was better in exhibits and survival stories. We saw school children carrying Origami Cranes that symbolize peace here. There is a Childrens Peace Monument in honor of a girl who survived the initial bombing but later died of complications from her exposure. She heard a saying that folding 1000 cranes would make your wish come true. She folded cranes until she died. Children all over the world bring origami cranes that are displayed as a wish for peace.
Another train took us to Himeji. The town was beautiful with all the cherry blossoms at their peak. We stopped for lunch at a small hole in the wall restaurant with just a few tables and shared Cashew Chicken and spring rolls, not much since we had a Kobe beef dinner planned. There is such an abundance of places to chose to eat. We find ourselves in small alleyways looking for spots filled with locals and are seldom disappointed.
We walked through a tourist area on our way up to see Himeji Castle. The rooms were all empty but the castle is well preserved. It has a lot of stairs as we traversed our way up and down all the levels, of course with our shoes off Japanese style. Several movies have been filmed at the castle, like The Last Samurai staring Tom Cruise and the 1980 mini series The Shogun.
On to KOBE, the town I had been looking forward to since before the cruise! We had reservations at the most renowned Kobe Beef restaurant in Japan and I was starting to get excited. We checked into our hotel, the Hotel Monterey Kobe, and went looking for a place to sample some Sake before dinner. We found a very interesting little bar up some stairs in an alley, and we were the only customers in a small room. The sole bartender did not speak any English, so we had a great time using Google Translate with him. The first thing after getting a flight of sake was to have him change the music as he had vulgar rap music playing. We got some traditional Japanese music going and started the sampling. Some were better than others, but none of us were overwhelmed by any of them.
We finally reached Mouriya Kobe Steak restaurant for our first sampling of Kobe beef. The beef is rated, with A5 being the highest quality. They don’t ship the A5 beef out of Japan. I ordered my normal favorite, Ribeye and Doug and Margaret ordered the Sirloin. Gwen was going to order Filet Mignon, but we noticed that they had an Aged A5 Filet. It was twice the cost of the others, but I convinced her we should try it. Before grilling the beef, the Chef displays the meat to you at the table. Gwen’s steak came with a certificate that was presented to her verifying the authenticity of the aging process. But it even went a step further when the waitress brought a certificate on the lineage of the beef with the name of the parents of the cut of beef. It was pretty surreal. But for sure, her steak was by far the most tender and flavorful and that was saying something considering the quality of the other steaks. They were all fantastic and we had a great meal with several courses that were all delicious. It will be hard to ever top this meal in quality and in price!
We needed to walk off the meal, so we walked around town and explored a little. We went into a Pachinko parlor and watched the locals playing. The noise is deafening. The Japanese like high pitched music and flashing lights. I would not be able to stay long in that environment, but it seems normal somehow. Even throughout the day, the amount of music that sounds like 7-year-olds singing in tune is everywhere. It wears on my ears. While walking we also got to see a revolving multi-car garage that Doug had been wanting to see. People pull in a short driveway that has a revolving floor. The floor is used to spin the car around so it can be pulled out forward. Also, a garage door will open and a large revolving set of platforms allow the car to be pulled in a ground level, then either lifted up to floors above or down below the ground level.
APR. 12, 2024 – KYOTO, JAPAN INLAND (Day 124)
We got up and around early the next morning to walk to the oldest shrine in Japan, Ikuta Jinja. It was only a block from our hotel. It was built by an Empress in gratitude for her safety during a shipwreck.
Off to Kyoto on another train. We dropped luggage off at our hotel and headed to The Zen Garden. It was pretty, but the Zen part was lost on us. People sat on steps and stared at some natural rocks that were surrounded by pebbles that had been meticulously raked. All was in order, and it was supposed to be enlightening to your mind. It was too crowded and noisy, but we enjoyed the walk through the garden area.
We were getting hungry, so we found a restaurant named Okamota on Google Maps. When got there it was a very small place with only a few tables. We were greeted by the 79-year-old owner and were able to order with some language difficulties. We noticed that he had pictures of himself on the walls with a motorcycle, in front of the Matterhorn, as well as other adventures. Through Google Translate we started sharing travels and the fact that I had just sold a motorcycle that looked a lot like his. He really seemed to enjoy that “we are the same”! After a delicious meal that had been cooked by his wife, he took us out front to show us his Harley that he had brought out. I got a picture with him standing beside the bike even though he really wanted me to sit on it. What a joy to connect with people all over the world! He was so generous and even wanted to drive us to our next destination, but we bid him goodbye and hailed a taxi.
Our next destination was a bamboo forest that Doug and Margaret had been to about 15 years earlier. It was barely recognizable to them as the crowd was crazy and it had become a major site for a lot of the locals to spend their time on a Friday afternoon. Many were dressed in traditional kimono style dress and were having pictures made in the rickshaws that could be rented. We walked some of the bamboo lined lanes but left quickly as the crowd was too much.
We decided to tour Nijo-Jo Castle, which was originally constructed in 1626 at the beginning of the Shogun era and was also the site for the ending of the Shogun era as the last Shogun ceded rule back to the Imperials. The most interesting feature were the nightingale floors that were made to deliberately squeak when walked on to warn of intruders.
We took a break at the Material Bar and had some very interesting drinks from a mixologist named Osaka, like the town. We enjoyed our visit with him, then we headed out to a Japanese BBQ restaurant. After eating we headed back to our hotel.
This hotel was unique for our trip as it was a traditional Japanese Ryokan. We even had traditional Japanese dress for the occasion. We dressed up and then sat at a table in chairs with no legs and shared some wine and cheese we had purchased for the night. We shared highlights of our trip and time in Japan. When it came time for bed, Gwen and I grabbed every duvet and mattress we could find in the closet to put under our mat to get a little more cushion between us and the Tatami floor. We managed to get some decent sleep
APR. 13, 2024 – KYOTO AND TOKYO, JAPAN INLAND (Day 125)
We started the morning with a very, very interesting breakfast at the hotel. Most of the guests came dressed in the traditional clothing provided, but we came ready for a day of touring. We had already had Japanese fare for breakfast several times, but this was a very formal traditional breakfast. We really didn’t know what most of it was, but I passed on the tofu and other things that tasted more like they had been pickled. They did heat the salmon at the table and there was rice. I’m not going to say that I came away hungry, but I sure wasn’t full.
We left to go see….you guessed it, a shrine. Kinkaku-ji Shrine was painted gold and sat above a pond. A lot of these shrines and historical buildings have been rebuilt at least once over the years as fire or natural disasters have taken them out. This one was last rebuilt in the 1950’s. At least they are on the same site and are rebuilt the same. It was pretty and the gardens provided a nice walk, time to move on.
The “bullet train” (Shinkansen), got us to Tokyo to meet back up with our ship. We decided to leave our luggage at the train station rather than going back to the ship as it would take more than an hour out of our day as the ship was docked in the neighboring city of Yokahama. We had difficulty finding an empty locker as Tokyo is home to 37 million people and the train station was crowded. After securing our luggage we walked from the train station to the Imperial Palace. It was not open for touring but it provided much needed exercise after being on the train. We walked around the perimeter then took a taxi to Shibuya Crossing where up to 3,000 people cross the intersection every 2 minutes. It is the world’s busiest intersection. Hard to believe that while waiting for the light, Doug and Margaret’s next door neighbors on the ship ended up right in front of us. John and Susan decided to leave the group they were with and hang out with us for the rest of the evening.
We all got on the train and headed to Shinjuku, where there was an anti-government demonstration. We all needed something to eat, so we found a pizza place up a few floors in a building and rested our feet. Susan had wanted to see a Pachinko Parlor so as we passed one, her and Doug decided to throw away some money. It is too confusing to just sit down and play so they give you a full page of instructions. It did not matter, you can lose your money quickly either way, with or without knowing what you are doing. We took another train to the Harajuku area and walked around and visited some of the crazy shops as the night made the city really come to life! So many young girls out in groups on the town. We opted to have dinner at a Japanese chain of yakitori restaurants, Torikizikou. They served small dishes of various grilled meat and vegetables on a stick. It was good and hit the spot.
APR. 14, 2024 – YOKAHAMA, JAPAN (Day 125)
We decided not to go out today as the inland trip had taken a toll on our feet and bodies. The port at Yokohama is very nice! The entire area around our ship was designed as a park and shopping venue.
After sleeping in, we went to the pool deck and I sat in the hot tub while Gwen read a book. We are always meeting new friends as I had great discussions with Aussies, Paul, Beck, Ben & Helen.
Our send off was at dusk and there were many people on the pier waving goodbye to us. Glowsticks were handed out and they waved way longer than when my arm would have given out. Such great people, that we have really enjoyed spending time with. This Asian leg of our cruise has been phenomenal!
APR. 15, 2024 – SHIMIZU (MT. FUJI), JAPAN (Day 126)
We walked around a nice port area with a small mall and ferris wheel. Shimizu used to be an important port for the development of Japan. We then got a taxi to take us to Pine Grove at Miho. It was a nice walk through the woods to the shoreline. There was a nice path that went all along the shoreline. The beach was covered in small black rocks and had a view of Mt. Fuji. We just took a leisurely stroll. We ran into Earl and Sue Williams from the ship. They were working their way to a restaurant and ferry.
We decided to find a place to eat close by and headed inland. We walked through neighborhoods that left us comparing the yards here with those back home. Your could put 4 of their houses and yards on the lot we have in Arkansas and about 6 on our lot in Florida. They only use about a 6 foot strip of land in front of the house and have it manicured very well. It was interesting to just walk through the narrow streets of the neighborhood.
Our restaurant choices kept being closed so we walked all the way to the Ferry stop that would take us across the bay to our pier by the ship. Our knees were really feeling it for all of us. Earl and Sue took the ferry that was leaving right after we arrived. We decided to stay an extra hour and have some food and drinks. It put us much closer to the All-Aboard time, but it was well worth it just to relax and watch the wind surfers and other water activities in the bay. There was also a battle going on between a hawk and some crows in the area that was entertaining.
On the ferry we met a family that was on our cruise. We found out that Nessa, the mother, was from Ireland. We were picking her brain on places we should go when we get off on our trip interruption. When we got back to the ship and headed to Doug and Margaret’s room for the sail away, we found out that Nessa and her family were next door neighbors. We also found out that they have a winery in France that we now feel like we need to go visit!
APR. 16, 2024 – OSAKA, JAPAN (Day 127)
Our last day in Japan and we all wanted to have Kobe Beef one more time. We got on the subway and made it to a nice area of town where we had lunch reservations. Great meal, but not quite as good as it was in Kobe!
We walked around as it was a very busy tourist area of the city. It was nice to have the walkways covered to protect us from the sun. There were many restaurants and casinos in the area. We walked to the Dotonbori canal area where there were street performers and a lot of people. We decided to get back to the ship area as we were tired from all the walking we had been doing.
Gwen decided to go to the “Worlds Largest Aquarium” right next to the port. She loved going through and seeing all the aquatic life and animals inside. Back on board we listened to Dominic play piano in the centrum, had a nice dinner and played Euchre the rest of the evening.
APR. 17, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 128)
We were so tired all the consecutive touring days that we just chilled for the day. At one point there was a funny vibration that went through the ship and we noticed that we had slowed quite a bit. We were only going 3 knots when we usually were above 8 all the time and mostly around 15 knots. It ended up being a small technical problem with pressurization in the engine room and we were soon on our way again.
Doug and Margaret are celebrating 42 years of marriage tonight with a Specialty Dinner. Gwen and I decided it was a good time to experience Izumi, the sushi restaurant on board. The Rogers are not keen on sushi, so we didn’t get any while in Japan. It was good, though the service was a little slow. We found out that the founder of the brand Izumi was in the restaurant to check up on the quality and they were making sure everything was done perfect so it slowed them down. Everyone was afraid to make a mistake!
APR. 18, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 129)
Another day of working on photos and website work. The Windjammer had one of our favorite lunches today. Chopped Salad! We bowled in the afternoon for the first time. We had dinner with John and Phea to catch up with their travels and adventures. They brought folding bikes on board and like to take them off when able to tour. Gwen was dressed in her glittery outfit for ’70’s night and loved dancing to the music in the centrum.
APR. 19, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 130)
Gwen started her day with a Singapore craft, where they weaved paper strips to make a decoration, though it is usually made up of palm leaves and used for cooking rice in it. We had a large group of 25 people for our Bible study today. Nate Lake Jr. did a great job of leading a discussion on the Holy Spirit. There was a new couple that just happened to be walking by that joined us. They were English, but have been living in Saudi Arabia as missionaries. We hope to get to know them a little better. We went to choir practice, then the highlight of the day was the Staff Talent Show in the theater. It was a packed crowd. It was fun to watch groups and some solo acts. Our favorite was Von, one of my favorite bar tenders who got promoted a few weeks ago. He sang Yesterday and did a great job with it. Zeko, on the activities staff from Egypt, amazed us doing some acrobatic stunts with a soccer ball. Also, a safety officer played electric guitar on a few songs and he was VERY GOOD! He should be doing it professionally. We had dinner in Windjammer and hung out in the room the rest of the night.
APR. 20, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 131)
We had a Town Hall meeting this morning and then Captain’s Corner where Capt. Kjeel, the Hotel Mgr, and Chief Engineer answered questions from the cruisers. Gwen and I had lunch with Ed and Susan from choir and enjoyed getting to know them better. Choir was after lunch, then Gwen went to a Folkloric Show with 2 guys dancing and playing Asian musical instruments. Gwen went swimming and we both did some reading.
It’s a Formal Night, so I put on my Tux and Gwen wore a very nice dress. After dinner, Doug and I hung out in the centrum while the girls attended a show with 2 time World Harmonica Champions, Aiden and Evelyn, husband and wife musicians. They were fascinated by it all. They had many different types and sizes of harmonicas ranging from 2 ft. to 1 in. in length.
APR. 21, 2024 – NHA TRANG, VIETNAM (Day 132)
We had a tour with a Vietnamese Capt.(Thaq Tran) in his Jeep from when he fought in the Cambodian war. He was quite an interesting guy, as he met us at the port entrance dressed in military fatigues. He told us the story of how he had bought his jeep from the army and restored it for his touring company. He told us a lot of the history and politics of Vietnam as we drove out of the city. We were headed to the countryside village close to where he had been raised.
It was very warm and it was nice to have open air as we drove. We were able to visit sites that were pertinent to the war in Vietnam. We saw a bridge that U.S. troops had built and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) had destroyed. We also went into a bunker that had been built by the French in an earlier war, that American and South Vietnamese troops had used during the Vietnam War to hold back the NVA.
In the country we went to Yang Bay, which has a nice waterfall and river area for family recreation. It should have been crowded, but it is showing wear as the economy and covid has had its impact on business. They have a crocodile farm where you can feed them from an elevated walkway.
We had brought candy to give to the children we would meet along the way. The Capt. had also brought packaged cakes to give out. As we drove, we would see kids and as we stopped and honked, they would come running to get the treats. You could tell that the Capt. was sensitive to the lifestyle that these children have as it had once been his life as well.
We ended up back near town to have a late lunch at Chopsticks Restaurant (Andy’s Place). The owner and chef, Andy, is a long time friend of the Capt. The table had a view of the river where a nice breeze came through. They sometimes have cooking classes there. The food was served family style and was delicious. The netted rice paper spring rolls were the best I had ever tasted and the other pork, shrimp, and chicken with rice dishes were fantastic. It was followed by fresh mango and watermelon. We shared our compliments with Chef Andy and were impressed with his English. He spoke as if he had been in embedded in an English speaking country for years, though he told us he had learned talking with his customers. What a great way to end our tour.
One of the most interesting things about Vietnam, was that the woman completely cover up from head to toe with only their eyes and nose exposed no matter the heat. The Capt. told us that lighter skin is so valued that woman take every precaution to protect themselves for beauty so that it will be easier to get married.
APR. 22, 2024 – HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM (Day 133)
I went golfing at Vang Tau Paradise Golf on an invitation from Les, a world cruiser that I had met. Doug was supposed to come with Al, Les, and me but ended up giving his spot to Andrew. When Gustav heard we were golfing we decided he should come along and we would figure it out at the golf course. It worked out that Al and Les golfed together and they had an open tee time for Andrew, Gustav and me. We had a blast as usual. It was interesting having women caddies who were older and kept telling us that we were “a handsome man” and “you number 1 golfer”. My caddie would put her hand on my chest while saying that. They really wanted a good tip!
Gwen booked a tour with RCCL to take her into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon as the South Vietnamese still call it). It was overpriced but she really enjoyed it. One of the difficulties for some of our ports are that they are over an hour from the place you really want to see. Gwen had to spend almost 4 hours on a bus to get to Saigon and back from the port.
They went to the Ben Thanh market, originated in 1914 by the French. They saw where the food they would be cooking came from and then headed to M.O.M. (Mystery of Modern) Cooking School where they take mom’s recipe and give it a modern twist. She then made 3 dishes, Fresh Spring Rolls, Hanoi Style Bun Cha, and Banh Xeo which were all good.
Back on the ship Gwen met up with us golfers and their wives in the pub to hear the stories of the day. We told them all about the caddies and laughs we had and how beautiful the course was. Later Gwen shared her day and how she learned that the word “Ma” can have 6 different meanings depending on how you say it.
APR. 23, 2024 – DAY AT SEA (Day 134)
We had some stress today, because we are coming up on 3 port days in a row and don’t have all our plans in place. We spent the day planning and figuring out what we want to see. All the usual activities of the day and then we decided to stream the old Shogun Series from the 1980’s since we have come through Japan and toured the buildings from the movie.
APR. 24, 2024 – SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE (Day 135)
Our 7th of 17 legs completed. See Leg 8 Notes for comments! Turnaround Day!
Got a Question?
Feel free to ask us any travel questions or anything you would like to know about specific pictures.
