Dan, one more time

Mary is doing an amazing job blogging -- I even read her blogs to heighten the experience of what we've done -- so I can't add much, except she hasn't commented on how absolutely exquisite it has been, and still is, to be on the ocean.

The Pacific, even when it seemed to threaten to capsize the MV Explorer (I was a little concerned once, but unnecessarily so), left me breathless and speechless. At times the hull of the ship dipped close to eye level of the tops of the huge rolling train of swells, some of which crashed across the deck at close to the highest level (deck 7). Then the ship would rise again and drop a few seconds later with a thundering thud that reverberated throughout the ship, and momentarily seem to stop dead in its tracks before inexorably plowing through the wave. Unlike Mary, I'd do the Pacific crossing again and again. It was as much a highlight for me as the Forbidden City and Great Wall!

We're at about 13 degrees N latitude in the South China sea, en route to Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. VERY calm seas now, with sightings of an occasional fishing boat and lots of floating trash, even though no land is in sight. I held part of a class outside on deck 7 today, on a gorgeous, sunny, warm, tropical, South China Sea day. Don't tell my provost, but I'm not sure I can ever teach anywhere except on a ship again.

Yesterday, I saw Chinese white dolphins, apparently a very highly endangered animal (only 50 or so left, so a species or subspecies doomed to extinction or extirpation). Also, I saw more dried shark fins than a healthy ocean can continue to provide. I tried to explain to our Chinese guide why eating shark fin soup was harmful, but he did not understand, and I desisted because I felt I had no credibility lecturing him about a part of his culture, however environmentally destructive it was, especially considering the huge environmental impact that I as an American have on the planet.

Tomorrow we're off the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve. We've been to 2 U.N. World Heritage sites, but no purely natural settings, so I am quite excited (not sure my mind and body can tolerate this soaring, perpetual level of excitement and enthusiasm. I don't recognize myself!).

I'll turn the blogging duties back over to Mary's very capable hands, but I wanted to make sure the oceanic parts of our voyage received their due respect.

From the Great Wall to the Great Mall

We flew into Hong Kong from Beijing ( I get a kick out of typing that), arrived at the ship to find it parked,I mean docked, right next to a huge very upscale mall. Exactly 168 steps from our cabin into the entrance, with a Thai restaurant on the left and a coffee shop with great wireless service straight ahead. The mall was huge, went on for blocks, 3 stories, with all designer stores, even a floor for children's designer clothes.(Dolce &Gabanna, Gucci,etc.) It was a bit much, but when in Hong Kong....we went for Thai food first. Hong Kong has an even more densely packed population than I have previously seen. They can build very tall high rises because they are not in an earthquake zone, and build them they do. There are plenty of run down homes too, hope I put up pictures to show both sides.(In the first picture here each little square is one apartment, more like a closet.) By homes I don't mean individual houses, didn't see any of those here, just high rise apartments. The whole trip so far has been a contrast of old/new, run down/sparkling, dingy/shiny. Japan had by far the least number of run down buildings, small, but clean and habitable looking. Hong Kong felt like we were at ground zero for consumerism. Am not sure who's buying the expensive stuff, as most citizens travel back into China where prices are much lower.
We went on a tour bus to Lantau Island, part of HK. We walked around a quaint fishing village, where Dan was able to see some endangered dolphins. I saw some women scrubbing clothes at an outdoor faucet, chattering away. We then climbed back on the bus for the trip up the mountain to see the biggest outdoor Buddha in the world. He was big, and rewarded our climb up the 278 steps with a mocha ice cream bar sold in the gift shop underneath. We milled around for awile, trying to delay the inevitable chair lift down the mountain. We had the option of upgrading to a glass-bottomed car, can you imagine?! That night we enjoyed the bright lights across the harbor as the ship sailed out...cross your fingers that I can upload some pictures. Much love to everybody who is patiently reading this and posting comments, which we love.

From Dan

Just a quick note: I remain stunned, overwhelmed, amazed, awed, bewildered, and extremely grateful. Today, while Mary updated her blog, I went on a search for shark fins in Hong Kong and, unfortunately, found them in spades.

But the reason I am writing is because we both are extremely thankful we have such great friends and family back home with whom to share these experiences. We're eating vegetarian with friends tonight overlooking one of the Hong Kong skylines (see picture above). The first toast is in your honor.

Up Against The Wall

Dan has already posted 2 pictures of the Wall, for which I am grateful, as there aren't any words. It was not cold up there, I know Mother will be glad to hear. We walked up a long hill, past alot of vendors, then took a chairlift the rest of the way. I looked to see where the lift was made: Japan. We had a couple of hours up there. I just wanted to walk and walk and walk, and Danny humored me. Finally, we were far from the Mandarin crowds! It was spectacular. There was a small village down in the valley on the other side, but nothing else. Yes, this was the high point for me so far. The toboggen ride down the mountain was very fun. Some students liked it so much they bought another ticket up just for the toboggen down, as if this were Six Flags! It was a great day on the Great Wall.

Beijing

Beijing was superb. First stop was lunch in a clean, warm restaurant with doors and windows closed! Then to put our stuff in the nice clean Marriot hotel, then to the Temple of Heaven, (no, I don't mean Starbucks) completed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) where the emperor celebrated winter soltice by making prayers to his ancestors and making sacrifices. I did not ask what kind of sacrifices. The most amazing thing about this place was all the happy, joyful, dancing, singing Chinese people enjoying the large surrounding park. It is a meeting place for the people who are forced to retire at 50-55 years to give jobs to the young people. No wonder they are so happy! Then rides in bicycle rickshaws, a caravan of 50 of us, winding through the narrow streets of the hutong district, the small courtyard homes where families have lived for generations (which means I don't know how old they are). The government usually tears them down to build high rises, but has recently agreed to preserve a few areas. Probably because they saw the tourism $$$. Not unlike US. Anyway, we had a meal with a local family. Our meal "family" was a woman and her neighbor who live in the same courtyard and share a very rustic kitchen. The men were conveniently out for the evening. There would not have been enough room for them anyway. Sorry to prattle on so, but I relished this up close look at how they live, not to mention another delicious meal. Next day: Tian'an Men Square, yes, it's very big, awesome, crowded, and historic. Mao's mausoleum is there, only open a few days a year. It is bordered by 1950s Communist style buildings. Just beyond that is the Forbidden City, which is even bigger, more awesome and more crowded. (I've never seen such hoards or throngs of people. Someone said it's like leaving a UT football game, many times over. Of course, they were still celebrating new years.) The Forbidden City, completed in 1420, is supposedly a monument to dynastic China. I think it's a monument to the hard labor of the Chinese PEOPLE. Am glad they now seem to enjoy visiting it so much.

Chinese New Year Fireworks

We were to leave Shanghai at 5:30 A!M! on thursday. Wednesday night was a big night in the 2 weeks of celebration, mainly for fireworks. Knew we needed sleep, but went on deck at 11:30, because you could already hear them starting. It kept increasing and increasing until at midnight it was constant fireworks on all sides(because our ship was docked in the river right in the middle of it all). Explosions behind the buildings, which were all darkened for this, and in front of them, close up AND far into the distance and in between. I don't think my little camera video will do it justice. A student came up to see what was going on and said, "Sounds like we're in a war zone!" It was freezing out there, but I stayed to see what happened at midnight, which was just more of the same, because it couldn't increase any more. But it kept on and on. A new expression could be "....for all the fireworks in China!" And we thought they shipped them all to the U.S.

SHANGHAI

The ship has docked....OMG, more later!

Now it's several days and a thousand miles later. But China was amazing and confusing (not Confuscious, I think that's Japan). When we walked on deck after docking at Shanghai it was cold and early morning, but I hope the picture conveys what words can't. Spectacular city scape, but distressing how it went on for miles. None of these new buildings were even here 15 years ago, it was all farmland. The Bund is what they call the older section of buildings on the waterfront, dating back to early 1900's, colonial times. Then the market place was so crowded! It was Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger) so many Chinese come to celebrate here. They were having a great time, we were just trying to keep our group together and our jaws from dropping. Intermixed with big, fancy, and new was the also big, shabby, and old. The most memorable experience for me was dinner in a restaurant with a guided tour (so we couldn't leave) where they didnot shut the front downstairs door nor cover a broken out window. We ate with our coats on. When I asked them to close the door they, they turned on heaters. The big shiny facade belies an awareness of basic conservation. Or we just had an unusual experience. I was more than ready to fly to Beijing. Yeah! Off the ship and out of Shanghai, but I'm not complaining!

Slow Boat to China

We will be in Shanghai tommorrow morning, so I better write about Hiroshima and Kobe before we land. Otherwise they will be lost in the blur. Kobe is a big, bustling port city, with very high density living. The main thing I noticed was that Saturday is laundry day, because most of the balconies on the rows and rows of high rise apartment buildings had clothes hanging to dry. On the bus trip to Hiroshima we passed over a hundred miles of beautiful mountains, perfectly undeveloped. Such a contrast from the coastal area. There were small rice farming villages in the valleys we passed. Hiroshima is also a big commercial city. Visiting the Memorial was a somber experience ( Just as seeing Pearl Harbor was), but ultimately it was very uplifting, because it was about forgiveness and peace. An 85 year old man stopped us to talk. He said his father and younger brother died in the explosion. He said he was angry until about 5 years ago; now he just wants to talk about peace and living together and no weapons. And the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate from Kenya just happened to be there that day. We heard her speaking to the press, and Danny videotaped part of it... We were in awe, as were the students. And our tour guide made the most beautiful origami ball ( out of 30 separate folded sheets,all different colors) ,and she gave it to me. The whole day left me speechless.

Shinto Wedding at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo

Yokohama &Tokyo

I am very happy to report that we had a lovely time here. The people are gracious and respectful, as you would expect. What you don't expect is the feeling of serenity you experience on such clean streets , with such polite people, even if there are alot of them. I am most surprised by the expanse of the urban area, dense high rises and factories continuously for the 40 miles from Yokohama to Tokyo. (If I am lucky there is a picture to convey this.) There are isolated green areas ( Shinto or Budhist shrines, a soccer field, the Emperor"s compound), but since the majority of people (almost 12 million) live in these 2 cities, the density is, well, very dense. I expressed my amazement to one of the Chinese students, and she said, "Wait until you see Shanghai." The other picture is from a sky scraper in Yokohama, showing our ship, and then we happened upon a wedding while visiting the Shinto shrine. As for the food here, most everybody eats Chinese. Maybe Shanghai will have a good Japanese restaurant.

A Video

If I clicked on the right video, this should give you an idea of how rough the seas were. This is in the faculty lounge at the bow of the ship. It is now Monday night here, a lot of people watched the super bowl this morning. We couldn't use the internet during the game, A very nice couple who are on the ship as Life Long Learners are from New Orleans, so we are happy for them that the Saints won. Tomorrow we wake up in Yokohama! I can honestly say that crossing the Pacific is a once in a lifetime experience, 'cause I'll never do it again.

The Abyss

I had planned to talk about all the cameraderie on the ship, of which there is alot, but this huge, rough ocean demands center stage. Actually it is the ocean that is facilitating the bonding. This morning, early, it started up again. Just like a rough landing in an airplane, continuously. Sometimes very rough. Julie would not do well with this. It is magnificent to look out at the waves, if you can stomach it. The good news is we are almost across the Pacific. We crossed the international date line a few days ago, so now we are about 16 hours ahead of y'all, instead of 8 hours behind. Just think how early I would be for work if I weren't off. One other thing about the Pacific, it is very scary at night to go out on the deck and look into that deep, dark abyss. Especially when I imagine going overboard. ( As happened to a student several years ago. Rumor has it he was drunk. It took 30 minutes to turn the ship around and go get him, which they were able to do with alot of luck. The crew was scared they would not be able to find him.)It is 3 miles deep here.I get very spooked by it. I just had to get that off my chest! Now I will tackle some pictures again. Thanks for the notes you all send, I love to hear what's going on at home. (Stay Warm!)

Dinner with the Captain

Well, just as I thought things were getting routine on the ship, we recieved an invitation to dine with Captain Roman Krstanovic this evening. We just returned from the meal and I had to come back to the computer lab to write this down while it was fresh in my mind, and taste buds. We had to dress up, Dan looked very sharp in his suit (with shark tie). We started out in the faculty lounge at 1930 hrs for wine and hors d'oerves, then walked to the dining room with white table cloths and all for another 5 courses: roasted vegetables or shrmp cocktail, soup,Ceasar salad, salmon with Hollandaise and asparagus (or you could have filet mignon if you wanted), then coffee with a warm nutty chocolate cake with whipped cream. YUM. There were 3 tables of us (faculty, staff and Life Long Learners) It was such a treat from the normal loud and bustling cafeteria, with the normal cafeteria food. I am so spoiled, I know. Being waited on by Perry and Mardy and all, who are always cheerful and so very nice. In the morning when they serve me coffee I will have to thank them for staying late to serve me dinner. Then I will go to my "Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism" class where we are learning about consumer culture, labor issues, poverty and inequality, outsourcing,and free market impacts on societies. Well, back to our cabin, where Armando has turned down the sheets and left fresh towels. What a life.

more pictures, Honolulu

Well, this is NOT the picture I selected, but it is flowers in Honolulu. The other interesting thing about Hawaii is that alot of the people resent the way their country was "granted " statehood. They were happy as their own independent nation, with a King and Queen. Some are calling for sovereignty even now. This is all news to me, maybe I should have payed more attention in history class! Now back to try to get another picture posted. Thank y'all for being patient with me. .....There we are at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for a Mai Tai, (that cost about $14, so that was also supper)