Terry Achieves Life Goal

Terry Visits the Great Wall of China!

Terry G. Rosga, infamous cruiser, father of 6, pioneer and implementer of fiber optics network for the City of Dallas, competitive swimmer and veteran the Vietnam War (ASA - unofficially), checks off yet another item on his Life Bucket List; walking on the Great Wall of China.  As far as this reporter could tell he was the oldest white guy with a backpack attempting the climb.

Working on the assumption that we share buckets, I guess it was on mine too, although mine also included the countries of Vietnam, Korea and Thailand. Our combo Diamond Princess cruise and land tour fulfilled 4 dreams for the price of...well 4 dreams.

Is that like, Snow??? MMT

China was more of a challenge web-wise than anyone anticipated. We were blocked from facebook and blogspot.  Even our emails were censored.  But where there is a will, there is a way.  I figured out how to get to our dormant family website.  Thankfully I was still paying the annual fee for it, so although it is Much Easier to add pictures to facebook and post via blogspot, it was the only available option. The first photos of Terry's momentous event posted there www.therosgas.com.

Terry and the Wall

The Great Wall began as a collection of walls built to protect against invaders from the North, some of them as early as 7th century BC. They were gradually joined together to make the Great Wall. The Badaling portion of the Great Wall, 70 kilometers north of Beijing, is the most accessible via the Badaling Expressway. It has 5 sections and is about 12 to 13 miles long.

The majority of the existing Great Wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644)  to protect Beijing from the northern invaders. "Bada" in Chinese means "giving access in all directions".  Situated in the mountains there is supposed to be a cable car to help the tourists climb the wall. We saw the sign, but not the cable car, so Terry and his backpack were on their own.



See any other Old White-Haired Guys
Backpacking?



Back in the day, signals from the towers on the great wall alerted the military (and eventually the emperor) of the presence of invaders; one fire of the cannon and a smoke column represented 100 enemy solders, two fire columns signified 500 enemy solders etc.  When the signal is received  the soldiers receiving the signal start their own fires to pass the message on. 



The wall averages 7.8 meters high with the highest section 15 meters.  A beacon tower is built every 2 to 5 kilometers.  The 2,000 watchtowers are  rectangular two storied structures at the top of the wall.  The first floor was for sleeping, eating, living. The 2nd floor was for watching for th enemy and storing the weapons, which were mostly arrows.

The wall itself is 1,000 meters long, 3,000 feet high.  Supposedly from outer space the great wall looks like a small dragon.  I think our astronauts had said otherwise, but who knows. I have no first hand experience with outer space. 

All facts and figures may be suspect.  They were written down in a notebook after a bus presentation by our wonderful Chinese guide Michael. Between his accent, my location in the bus and inability to hear, and the less than optimal writing instruments combined with the instability of the bus, I may have recorded a few mistakes.

Terry was somewhat of an attraction himself. Evidently, old white haired guys with backpacks and big bellies are rare in China. First of all he was a foot taller than most of them (and probably a foot wider). Second, I think some of the residents had him confused with Buddha, since they invariably wanted to rub his belly and run their fingers through his hair.  Some tried to get their picture taken with him, but unfortunately, Terry was too focused on living through the trek to stop.  I did get accused of not having his best interest at heart by not encouraging him to sit this one out. But how could you sit out your bucket dream?? 



If its good enough for Barack,
It's more than good enough for me



Interesting to note that our junior (in age) senior (in prominence) President Barack Obama visited before we did. He was the 4th US President to visit the Great Wall at Badaling. His half-hour tour on November 18, 2009 ended his trip to China, while it began ours. 

Of the experience, President Obama said,  "It's magical. It reminds you of the sweep of history and our time here on earth is not that long. We better make the best of it. ...I'm inspired by the majesty of the Great Wall and am grateful for the warmth of the Chinese People."  Couldn't have said it better myself.



Jin Dian Cloisonne Factory



Many Workers, Many Vases



We stopped here for lunch after the Great Wall Walk.  This factory has been in existence for 50 years, established when CHiang Kai-Shek was the President of the People's Republic of China.

The first floor is the factory for making vases. I'm sure Michael told us all about it, but googling it

Cute Little Guys

gave me this explanation ..."Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects, in recent centuries using vitreous enamel, and in older periods also inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials. The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné. The

decoration is formed by first adding compartments to the metal object by soldering or adhering silver or gold wires or thin strips placed on their edges. These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln."

"... By the 14th century this enamel technique had spread to China, where it was soon used for much larger vessels such as bowls and vases; the technique remains common in China to the present day, and cloisonné enamel objects using Chinese-derived styles were produced in the West from the 18th century." courtesy of Wikipedia

After touring the factory and shop we were released for lunch on the 2nd floor.  A traditional Chinese buffet served on the rotating tray in the middle of the table...as usual way more food than even we could eat, but nonetheless, we did our best!

Rocky enjoying his primo spot by the bus window
On his way back to Beijing

Bangkok, Thailand

Excursion to the Bridge on the River Kwai

Our guide Tawee and the driver, his son, took us on a 5 hour round trip road trip to the Bridge on the River Kwai.

It included a stop at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetary one of three that contains the remains of 100,000 civilians and 15,000 prisoners of war who died in the forced building of the railway from Burma to Thailand during the second world war.

We arrived at the Bridge by motorboat. Tawee assured us that the bridge of the movie and the bridge in reality were two different things.

Terry  crossing the Bridge on the River Kwai

The Trip

Sea Days



My Explorer

Sea days are Perfect for exploring the ship and trying out activities we would otherwise never think of doing.   This day was as gorgeous as the day before was gloomy.  Not that gloomy ever defines us. We can have a good time anywhere.

Skywalker Nightclub

Our first venture was up to the nightclub on the 17th deck. Always available to frolic at night, it was pleasantly deserted during the day and offered stunning views of the ocean.

Terry of course, wanted to see if he could survive the 17 deck drop.

Front of the Ship from Skywalker

The Conservatory

At the very front of the ship, visible from Skywalker were three spas. 

There were rarely more than 2 or 3 people in each of them making it almost a private pool! Because there were so many private areas available the ship offered illusions of private indulgence...like it was our own private yacht. 

There were other pool areas too of course, some busy (i.e. kid friendly) and some not. The pool to the right was reserved for adults.  

C752 Caribe Deck, Home for 14 days

My house never looks this good. Thanks to May for taking such good care of us.



Rocky making himself at home

  

Living Room with My Kind of View

The View - also The Reading Deck



My One and Only Zumba Class, Club Fusion



Sea days are optimal for activities you usually wouldn't think twice about.  Zumba for one.



Carpet Bowling

Carpet Bowling for another. Does sound a little silly, doesn't it?

Beverly Tams

Or maybe learn Chinese? Unlikely I would try this at home. The Beverly of Peter and Beverly Tams tried to teach us a few Chinese words. A few is about all my little mind can handle.  There are more than 2,000 Chinese characters, but many of them stand for a whole word. They remind me of hieroglyphics. 

I tried to find a few online with little success so I suppose I may have to draw them myself. I may not be looking in the right place but my translation tools are not coming up with the same drawings she gave us.  And my drawings would probably be wildly inaccurate, so maybe I'll pass. Interesting though.

So a perfect ending to a perfect day? FORMAL NIGHT! Terry rented a tuxedo.  Probably the best idea he had in years.  For one reason we were limited on luggage size, and for another his gynormous shoes alone take up a whole suitcase. That might be an exaggeration.

Mary, Mary Pat and Terry - right to left - aTable with a View at Sabatinis



This formal night and most mornings we ate at Sabatini's. One of the few places on board where you have to pay for food.  Breakfasts were free for Suite People however. And Terry got a LOT of special attention.

It did keep us out of the madness associated with Formal Nights...photographers in every available corner.  Our photo bill  alone by the end of the cruise was enough to go on another cruise. The kids will have a huge (expensive) bonfire when we're gone.



My Guy...He could be a Movie Star!! No?



Emergency on the Diamond Princess

Around 10 last night the Captain told us that one of the crew was very very ill and needed to be transported to Singapore.  The Singapore Air Force would be sending a helicopter and parts of decks 11 and 12 would need to be evacuated for safety reasons.  He said they would need to do a winch transfer.

Early in the night they had announced that someone needed an emergency transfusion of  blood type O.

The helicopter circled the ship multiple times.

We heard this morning that it was successful and the crew member was successfully removed.

Earlier the Captain told us they were having problems with one of the engines.  We will be late landing in Singapore.

In the Shadow of the Banyan - A novel by Vaddey Ratner, based on her own life

On the longer cruises there is often a book club sponsored by the ship.  The book or books selected are often located in the countries to be visited. This was one of the books selected for this cruise. Not only was the book well written, but the story was both fascinating and saddening. Although I knew some of this tragic story, I was blissfully ignorant of the specifics. I learned a lot.

Vaddey Ratner

Location Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Date 1975

Background: 1970 brought an end to the monarch and established the Khmer Republic.  The existing royalty  thought this would bring a bright new era with democratic rule.  Unfortunately it failed to bring stability to a country engulfed by the war spreading from Vietnam.    A marginal guerilla warfare group called the Khmer Rouge gained strength.  Leaders were from same intellectual class as the Prince Sisowath but were steeled with a radicalism that even the most politically astute could not gauge.

From 1975-1979 atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia cost the lives of an estimated one to two million people.

The story is told through the eyes of 7 year old Raami whose fairy tale childhood ends with the footsteps of her father known as Mechas Klah or the “Tiger Prince(who was the prince, a great grandson of King Sisowath) returning home in the early dawn hours with details of the civil war spreading through the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital.  Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in chaos and forced exodus.

Armed young militia forced the city people at gunpoint  to abandon their homes claiming that the Americans were going to bomb the city. They attempted to strip every person of their individual identity and their connections with other people, and got rid of all things motorized - cars etc. returning individuals to back breaking manual labor from dawn to nightfall in exchange for one can of rice. Children under a certain age were not considered persons and got no food.  Families were split up and sent to different parts of the country. Colorful clothes had to be dyed black or brown.

Raami’s father who was a poet as well as a prince was identified by Raami when she was questioned by a member of the Khmer Rouge. She was too young to know the effect of telling the truth.  It is presumed he was executed. Raami’s Big Uncle, aunt, their twin nephews, her father’s sister and the Queen Grandmother tottering on the edge of senility were left together. Later the grandmother  was asked who belonged to her and did not identify Raami, her mother and sister, so they were sent away separately.  We find out later that when her uncle was sent to be reeducated the rest of the family, except for Queen Grandmother were hung.

Somehow despite the harsh conditions mother and children survived the harsh conditions. Then Sister Radana contracted malaria and died. Heartbreakingly,  she was dressed for her funeral, taken by the new Khmer leadership  known as Democratic Kampuchea. The leader’s wife known as Fat One takes the child and says she will be returned to the rice fields to fertilize the rice. Later they see Fat One’s child wearing Radona’s  beautiful dress. .

Mother and daughter escaped to Thailand and were rescued by a UN helicopter. They eventually found a new home in the United States.

The regime was finally overthrown by Vietnamese military in January 1979 bringing the revolutionary experiment to an end. 

The story was based on the author’s experiences. She arrived in the US in 1981, graduated in 1990 as high school class valedictorian.  Summa cum laude graduate of Cornell where she specialized in Southwest Asian history and literature.  Website www.vaddeyratner.com

Ho Chi Minh City - Saigon, Vietnam

Mr. Nghia

Our Morning View from the Ship at Pho My

We were picked up at the pier by our guide Mr. Nghia and driver Mr. Tam.  We were the only 4 on the tour. It took around 2 hours to get to Ho Chi Minh City so along the way Nghia told us about himself and our destination.

Nghia raised on the Mekong Delta s close to the border of Cambodia .  He told us there were 20 million people in Cambodia and 90 million in Vietnam.

Vietnamese school children today learn English beginning at age 6 and it is the predominant foreign language for the young.  Older people speak French or German instead.

Children go to school 6 days a week, from 7:30 to 11:30, go home for lunch and resume at 12:30 or 1 going to 4:30 or 5.

Average age of death for a woman in Vietnam is 72-74, for a man 68 to 70.  They generally don’t have health insurance in old age unless they are wealthy.  The oldest child is responsible for caring for his parents as they age.  Nghia bought a health insurance policy for his mother and takes care of her.  He has 4 siblings.

Theres' a bike under that load

Nghia’s wife is an accountant for a bank and works from 7:30 AM to 11:30 and then 1 to 5 Monday through Saturday.  Government jobs are usually 5 days a week from 7:00 to 4:30.  Nghia  has worked as a guide for 7 years, has 1 wife and 1 boy.  In the muslim tradition you can have 5 wives and children with each of them, which is why he phrased it that way.

There are 63 provinces in Vietnam.  Ho Chi Minh city is 98 square kilometers.

Nghia told us there are 8 to 10 million people in Saigon and 6 million motor cycles. At least some of the highways have a right lane designated for cycles, but they are all over the road anyway carrying all manner of stuff.  Speed limit is 40  km city, 60 to 80 on highway.  70 percent of accidents involve motorcycles, 40 percent care. Yes I know that is more than  100 percent.  12,000 a year die on the roads.  It was worse before the mandatory helmet law.

Although the price of gas is roughly the same as in the United States, the average income is around 700$ a month or less.  A construction worker makes about $10.00 a day, maybe twice that for a skilled, experienced worker.

Our first stop was at  the Jade Emperor Pagoda. A lot of activity with people selling fish and turtles, lighting incense, praying. As we toured I wondered again if I would be as patient with foreigners in my church. There are many  temples in all of these Asian countries. One reason for that is that building a temple is one way to ensure a good afterlife. There are 40,000 temples in Vietnam.

We drove by the Opera House and stopped long enough at the Notre Dame church to take the picture.

Handicap worker making art out of duck shells

We visited a handicapped factory, purchasing a couple of small pieces of art produced by workers like this one.

Mr. Nghia told us that they import new cars from Japan - favorite care Toyota. 1995 opened trade with America. Coca Cola built a plant in 94.  2 months ago Starbucks opened  their first Store.  We were there!

Pho 2000 open 24 hours a day, was the restaurant that Bill Clinton ate at.  Interesting part is you can see how they cook, but we opted for dining on the rooftop of the Rex Hotel, mostly for the view and the hope of semi-familiar food.  I know its awful but we are pretty past experimenting with new and different cuisine.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

The weather was warm enough to have breakfast on the porch - a first! 

Our port lecturer talked about the huge Russian Resort Vinpearl.  A cable car running continuously between the islands delivers the rider to the Vinpearl amusement park and resort for a mere US $18.00.  However they refuse to give the ship any safety information for the cable car, so she could not recommend that we take it.  My take on it was that the Russian’s refusal might just have been a way to keep us from infiltrating their paradise. Nonetheless, we did not go, as we had a scheduled tour.

She had a number of other ominous warnings that made us glad we were on a tour.  Evidently some past cruises have taken the pedicabs and ended up in a side alley where they were forced to pay more money before they would let them leave.  If you take a taxi she recommended that you make him sign a contract regarding where he was taking you, the amount it would cost and pay only when you were delivered.  She also mentioned that you needed to wait until he got in the car and started it, as it might not have any gas.

Our small tour guide Wee with driver Ging (phonetic spelling) took us to a variety of ‘factories’.  They were nothing like what we call factories except that they produce a product.

The first factory was a couple of ladies weaving mats. One of our willing group assisted for a while.

The second one was an embroidery factory. Lots of girls/women were busy stitching throughout the factory.  The results were stunning


The third stop was an orphanage. On the walk there we were besieged by small entrepreneurs hawking fans and postcards.  They were too cute to turn down.

7 postcards for US 1$

Unfortunately the children had the day off so the only ones there were 5 or 6 small ones sleeping and one baby. If I understood him correctly he said that one of the ways that children ended up in the orphanage is when young boys/girls fall in lust, have babies, can’t pay to get married, the child ends up in an orphanage because it is not allowed to have a child with unmarried parents. Then the child is moved to other orphanages away from the birthplace.


Our guides description of a woman’s life was far less than what we have in the US. According to him they don’t go to school, work in family factories, stay home and clean, cook, go to market and generally do all of the work men don’t want to do. I wouldn’t last long.

On the road to Buddha we were accosting by a roving band of cows. Our guide stopped the bus so we could be blessed by them but by the time we got out of the van they were gone. Terry took the blame for scaring them off.

While we were snapping pics, one of the guys found some money in the ground rolled up.  He gave it to the guide who told him that it was fake money that people buried at a Buddhist funeral. So he replaced it in the ground where it appears the fire/funeral took place.

Next stop was an illustration of a typical house, basically in three parts.  The middle part was the area where the worship took place. Generally there would be a picture with Buddha.  In one wing would be the men, in the other women and children.  Men and women were separated.

Choices for employment in Nha Trang were limited to tourism and fishing.  Most young people move to Saigon, as there was only one university in Nha Trang.  Mostly older people and poorer people stayed here and worked in the ‘factories’.


Buddhists believe that after death a couple of possibilities exist - you might be reborn as a person, an animal, achieve immortality or go to hell forever.  That is why they behave as well as possible during life.  Actions that get you into trouble include telling a lie, disrespecting your parents, killing a living being - which is why many of them are vegetarians.

Before the helmet law was passed ridiculous amounts of people were transported on one motorbike - we saw a picture with EIGHT on one bike.  They still manage to transport all kinds of cargo on a bike.
The next factory was a Rice Paper factory. This is the kind of  paper that is used for spring rolls and Terry confirmed that the restaurants in the area obtained their rice paper from this factory. As fascinating as it was, I’m pretty sure there’d be no FDA approval of the plant.

Our next stop was lunch, a beautiful little restaurant by the CAI River. Spring rolls were served - and we ate them. They were good.  As usual they served much more food that we could eat, or would eat, some of it we just couldn’t be sure what it was.  What I did recognize I
consumed…dragon fruit, cucumbers, tomatoes, tuna,

We did see a Buddha.  He is the big one.  We are the miniature ant looking creatures below him.

Last stop was the Market.  While it wasn’t as crowded as the last one we visited, it was still more than we could handle.  Terry did find a cobra inside a bottle.  Evidently drinking it has the same effect as Viagra.  I told Terry he didn’t need it.

The tender home was fun since we got to sit on TOP of the tender and watch the cable cars on their way to Vinpearl, take the requisite pictures of the Diamond Princess, and think about what we were going to see on our next trip to Dha Nang.  We didn’t see the 5 star Russian Resort or take the questionable cable car, ride a pedicab, go to Oceanographis Museum, see Longson Pagoda or Sleeping Buddha. Terry thinks I’m nuts. He may be right.

Macau

Hong Kong Day II  - Macau, City of Dreams

Herman

Herman, our tour guide, explained that to get to Macau we would take a half hour bus ride to the Ferry Port, process through immigration out of Hong Kong, ride the ferry to Macau, and finally process through immigration into Macau. It seems a little silly since we were going from one China Special China Municipality to another, like going from Texas to Oklahoma with borders.  Herman couldn't help us with immigration but promised  he would be waiting for us on the other side.  75% of the tourists in Macau are weekend gamblers from China.

Macau is 11.39 square miles with around 600,000 people, a former Portuguese colony with the first settlers arriving in the 1550's.

Mary P was under the weather so it was just the Three Musketeers on this trip. Our Turbojet looked like this one - we passed each other along the way - except ours was blue, i think. We crossed the Pearl River Delta which is the convergent point of three upstream rivers (East River, North River, West River) and is filled with hundreds of small islands. Macau Pennisula is actually part of mainland China. Guangdong (South Canton) is on the north, China Sea to the east. It includes two islands Taipa and Coloane, which are now connected by landfill forming the Cotai Strip

Mary A and Terry

Terry and Pat

Comfortable seats, smooth ride, good coffee, great company - i enjoyed the 45 minute ride. So did Terry, surrounded as he was by beautiful women.

It turned out to be another romantic day - this one misty and raining. We enjoyed it, but the resulting pictures of our tourist stops at Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau Museum, A Ma Temple, The 360 rotating restaurant on the 60th floor of the the Sky Tower, those moving targets outside my bus window (we were moving, not the targets) resulted in less than optimal photographs.  For really beautiful pictures  just google Macau. Sunshine makes everything sparkle.




Our ship chaperone was one of the talented singers, Danny (i think), from Jamaica,  Delightful guy, great singer. Always more fun to go to the show when you've met the stars and they wave back when you wave at them from the front row.  We're pretty enthusiastic fans. (His face wasn't really blurry, it's just my inability to hold a camera steady.) Danny's job was to make sure we didn't lose any tourists in Macau...tempting  as it was, we really didn't have the time to try out any of the casinos there. It's likely we would have lost a few shipmates if we had.



Sao Paolo Cathedral



Our first stop was the St. Paul Church (Ruinas de Sao Paolo on the map) built in 1602,  destroyed in 1835 by fire during a typhoon.  The front wall was all that was left. They choose not to rebuild in the same spot because they judged it to be a bad location.

Chinese Temple

Right next to the church was a small Chinese temple for the god Na Tcha built in 1888 and rebuilt in 1901. Our guide told us it's proximity to the Jesuit chuch is  a testimony to the religious diversity and tolerance in Macau. 

Na Tcha is a favorite character in Chinese folk stories; a teenage hero endowed with powers by a Taoist priest which he used to fight the Sea Dragon King to protect his village.  Today he is worshipped as a god of protection.  Every year there is a procession departing from this temple in homage to Na Tcha god, an event that originated in this temple and continues today. 

Sky Tower
360 Restaurant

Across the street from the cathedral and temple isThe Museum of Macao devoted to exploring the history of Macao and Chinese culture. 15 minutes isn't long enough to do it justice, but we were trying to get to lunch...it had been a few hours since our last meal. We'll just have to go back.

We headed for the Sky Tower 360 rotating restaurant, enjoyed an excellent and varied Asian buffet with way too many tempting desserts and a spectacular view of Macau, despite the clouds and rain.

Lunch Entertainment

On one of our rotations we watched a guy jump off a perfectly good tower. I'm not sure what it looks like from the bottom of the tower, but there is a blow up mattress to cushion his landing.

I'm sure it is a thrill but it's not something I will be doing until I am unable to do anything else and then it may be the last thrill, if you know what I mean.






A Ma Temple



Our last stop was at the A Ma Temple, also on the map above, 1st temple built in 1552 during the Ming Dynasty. Actually there are 4 temples on the hill with a variety of options for purchasing incense and candles to make offerings to the gods. They seem to have a wide variety of gods, each with its own speciality and powers. Depending on what you need in your life, you buy an offering and present it with a prayer to that god. Probably a great oversimplification, but then it is difficult to comprehend, coming from a religion that has only one.  I'm not saying I am any more enlightened but having been raised with one god with all power it seems a little strange. But obviously it works for them. I mostly have given up on specific requests for myself. I was taught to pray for big ideas like world peace and other people in a general nonspecific, hopefully nonselfish, way.



Casinos, Casinos, Casinos



Macau of course is the gambling capital of China.  They probably have a god of gambling. We did not get the opportunity to explore the casinos but we passed a lot of them on the tour. The Sands opened in 2005. We spotted a MGM grand with the usual gold lion out front and a Wynn. There was a Rio, but it was not related to the Las Vegas Rio. I especially liked the center Grand Casino, towering above the rest and visible from all our stops although it was often covered with clouds/mist or rain. 

Yet another great reason to return for a week long stay to explore all the parts of Macao that we didn't get to see, and those we only briefly encountered.

Symphony of Lights, Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong

Best seats in the house, well ship, our balcony.