DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

MARCH 28, 2014

 

An explorer found the natural harbor at Durban on Christmas Day 1497 but it wasn’t settled until 25 British people came from the Cape much later to colonize it.

 

A classic melting pot city, Durban was home of the famous Zulu king Shaka Zulu. He brought together many tribes to form the large Zulu nation of 55 million. Then the Dutch formed a colony here but it eventually fell into British hands. They turned it into a busy port town, the center of the country’s sugar cane trade, and they brought tens of thousands of laborers from India to work here.  Today, a city of nearly

3,500,000, Durban has the largest Indian population of any city outside of India. 

On tour, we went from the port through Durban, the second largest industrial city in South Africa, about sixty miles north to Zulu land.  The land in the mountains was claimed by the Zulus.  We were invited into a round, domed thatched roof house that was built as a community house. Stones were placed around the edge along the inside and woven mats were put on the stones to sit on.  Men were told to sit on one side and the women on the other side. The chief sat in the middle smoking his pipe while our Zulu guide told us about Zulu life. The men could marry as many women as they wanted but they had to pay her parents 11 cows first. Her mother sold one cow to pay for the wedding which went on for days.  The woman made the house for them to live in.  If the man saved up for another bride and paid another 11 cows that wife made a new house and the man lived with whichever one he wanted.

 

We were then taken to a smaller house and a Zulu woman showed us how she made the meal using stone implements to grind the corn and prepare the meal.  It looked like a hard life.  Then the group of young men and women in tradition dress danced their native dances for over an hour.

 

Our next stop is Cape Town, South Africa. 

                                                         Zulu Land in the mountains

Zulu Dancers

Zulu Dancers

 

 

LA POSSESSION, REUNION

LA POSSESSION, REUNION

MARCH 24, 2014

 

Reunion is a small volcanic island several hundred miles from our last port-of-call, Mauritius. It was discovered in 1502 but the French did not colonize it until 1638. It is 40 kilometers long and 50 kilometers wide and 830,000 live there. The island is an Overseas Department of France and all the people are French citizens. Their money is Euros.

 

Just fifteen minutes away from La Possession, Saint-Denis is the island’s major city, with broad avenues and French colonial homes still intact, as well as busy outdoor marketplaces and chic French stores. But the island is also dotted with tiny villages, sugar plantations, high-end sea side resorts and dramatic waterfalls. One of the world’s most active volcanoes, Piton de Fournaise, is on the south part of the island. It has irrupted 30 times since 1998 with the last time being in 2010. 

 

In 1700 the people started growing coffee and sugar cane by bringing African slaves to work the fields. In 1848 they stopped slavery and they brought in indentured servants from China and India.  They now raise and export to Europe sugar, Victoria pineapple, coffee, and vanilla.

 

Their schooling is free to them through high school. The average salary per person is 1,200 euro a month. There is 35% unemployment on the island. France sends each unemployed person a small subsist y a month.  Tourism is their main economic product.

 

The island cuisine is memorable: Creole food blends French with Indian and Chinese sauces. The sights, smells and sounds of this Indian Ocean Island are rare and unforgettable.

 

Our next stop is Durban, South Africa.

In St Denis - the State Garden

In St Denis - Hindu Temple-We were not supposed to go inside

Right inside the Hindu Temple-Our group was chased out after this

St Denis-Colonial period Government House

St Denis-French House early 1800's

 

 

 

 

 

PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS

PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS

MARCH 23, 2014

 

First settled by the Dutch in the 1600’s, then it became a French colony that was later seized by the British, Mauritius has a fascinating history.  The French brought enslaved Africans here to work in the sugar cane plantations and the influence of both their cultures are still felt on the island today.  The British freed the slaves in 1835 but brought in hundreds of thousands of indentured workers from India and China, and they brought their cultural traditions, food and religion with them, too.  Since Mauritius gained independence in 1968, it has since become one of Africa’s economic success stories, driven in large part by its peaceful democracy and its incredible scenic beauty. The Mauritian capital, Port Louis, has modern flair, but holds on to its colonial past with graceful French architecture and colorful Hindu temples.

 

The volcanic island is located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. It is 65 kilometers long and 45 kilometers wide and has over one million twenty five thousand people living there. Tourism is their biggest economic income. They had 900,000 visitors last year. They have beautiful beaches on the north and south of the island with some big resorts. They have a total of 150 hotels. The volcanic mountains are unique as they are so pointed and craggy and covered in greenery.  On tour we were taken to see into the last now inactive volcano. I’ve included a picture. Their biggest export product is still sugar cane which they export to Europe. A by-product they keep and make rum.

 

This island is known for the Dodo bird. It was a flightless bird but it only lays one egg a year. It was introduced by the Dutch in 1681. But, it was extinct by 1691.

 

All of us enjoyed this island and we would recommend a vacation here.  I wouldn’t say that for all the islands we have visited.

Tom and Sandy with Port Louis in the background.

Volcanic Mountains

Modern office building

Inactive Volcanic basin from the top

 

 

 

VICTORIA, SEYCHELLES

VICTORIA, SEYCHELLES

MARCH 20, 2014

 

The Seychelles are composed of 115 islands, and Victoria, on the island of Mahe, is the capital.  The islands are located north of Madagascar and east of Africa just below the equator. The islands have a population of 82,247 and Victoria has 26,200 people. The granite and coral islands became scattered in a secluded corner of the Indian Ocean, and they have remained sanctuaries with some of the rarest species of flora and fauna on earth.

 

A total of 16 islands, including getaways with only a single lodge per island, provide an authentic tropical island experience. They claim to have the most beautiful beaches in the world, and while they are quite pretty, we know Panama City Beach, FL has the most beautiful beaches in the world!

One claim to fame they have is a very famous person has a get-away home on the island of Mahe. I will include a picture of it. He is the Sheikh of Abiudhadia and he also is the Prime Minister Sheikh of the UAE.

 

On tour we took a Catamaran cruise and then transferred to a glass bottom boat, which was like a submarine, to see the fish and coral. That was a neat experience. Then back on the Catamaran we were taken fairly close to the shore so we could snorkel over the coral. The weather was about 85 degrees and it stays that way year round.

 

Next we visit two small islands before we get to Africa.

Small island nearby with 25 families

Sheihk House

Tom and Sandy ready for snorkeling

Beautiful Mahe Island

Our ship, the Amsterdam, in port

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA

MARCH 15, 2014

 

Sri Lanka was called Ceylon up until 1973.  There are 21 million people in the country and 800,000 in the capital Colombo. Three hundred years before Christ the Buddhists came to Sri Lanka. Now 69% are Buddhists, 8% are Muslims, 7% are Hindus, 6% are Christians, and 10% are unspecified. We were told the literacy rate is 90%. Also, they lost 50,000 people in the 2004 tsunami.

 

Early on this country was under the rule of the Portuguese, the Dutch, and then the British. India asked for their independence from Britain in 1947 and Sri Lanka asked for theirs from Britain in 1948. Since then they are self-ruled as a democracy with a Prime Minister and a President.

 

The people are very dark skinned and look like the people in India.  On tour we went to the National Museum, housed in a beautiful colonial building circa 1877.  The museum’s collection includes anthropological, cultural, and scientific exhibitions.

 

We also went through the Gangaramaya Buddhist temple which also had a museum of spiritual artifacts from around the world.

 

Next we are heading for the Seychelles Islands.

We had to take our shoes off before we entered the Buddhist temple.

One of the Buddas in the temple

Tuk-Tuk They are Taxi

 

 

 

ON THE HIGH SEAS

ON THE HIGH SEAS

MARCH 14, 2014

 

We have had some exciting times this last week. With the missing Malaysian Airplane possibly in our area we have listened to FOX news, which is broadcast to the ship, with much interest. An interesting theory we did hear is the plane could have been landed on some remote island on a WWII airstrip. Some of the islands we have visited are remote and did have strips that have not been used since the WWII but I cannot see how anyone could hide a 777 airplane in this area. It is still a mystery.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for our sea days the Captain sent a letter to each stateroom about the transit of the Indian Ocean and Piracy.  We had recently seen the movie “Captain Phillips” (a poor choice of movies to show us on the high seas!) about his true to live capture of his container ship by pirates. Our Captain said it was highly unlikely as we were moving at 20 knots and have a high freeboard.  But just in case he was taking precautions. Besides all the radar watch, we have 24 hour anti-piracy watch on freeboard decks. We have charged water hoses ready for use on both sides of the lower deck and they have rigged razor wire on deck 3, our freeboard deck.  Now we feel so much safer. It seems there are no guns on board. What a pity!

PHUKET, THAILAND

PHUKET, THAILAND

MARCH 11, 2014

 

Thailand, formally called Siam, is a country of 67,000,000 and about 80% are Buddhist. Up until 1982 they had an absolute monarchy but now they have a constitutional monarchy. Their products are rice, rubber, corn, sugarcane, and tin. They have Asian elephants which are smaller than African elephants and they have a dip in their back, two bumps on their heads, and small ears. In December 26, 2004 a Tsunami came ashore in Phuket and caused much damage. It has been built back and some detection buoys have been put out in the water to give some warning in case there is a next time.

 

Tourists flock to Phuket for its outstanding white sand beaches and the inexpensive hotels and most people like Thai food. They have about six million visitors a year.

 

We had a tour of the Thai Culture Village.  We were met by beautiful young women dressed in their tradition dress. Then we were given an hour performance of their Siamese traditional dances depicting their history.  It was very beautiful. After that we were given a wonderful buffet lunch of thai food to include the most popular local dish Tom Yam Goong, a hot and sour shrimp dish.

 

Next we are off to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Chalong Buddhist Temple - Most famous in Phuket

Welcome at the Thai Culture Center

Cultural Center

City overhead wires. Interesting!

Seaside

Bride and Groom at the Temple for Marriage Blesssing

 

 

 

 

 

 

SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE

MARCH 8-9, 2014

 

Fascinating is the word for this city-state. It was a World War II battleground, it is a global superstar, and it is a crossroad of the world. However, little is known about early Singapore. A town named Temasek existed on the island as early as the 11^th century.  Its early settlers borrowed the Sanskrit word meaning “Singha Pura” meaning Lion City.  In the 15^th century it was claimed by the Javanese maritime empire that dominated the kingdoms of Indonesia and Malaya.  British colonial administrator Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived in what was then a tiny fishing village in 1819.  In 1824, the Sultan of Johor deeded the site to the East India Company and a major British trading post in Southeast Asia was created.  Singapore was put under the direct control of the British Crown and consolidated into one administrative unit.  Though Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, it was restored to British rule after the war. Internal self-government began in 1959 and in1963, Singapore became a semi-autonomous state within the Federation of Malaysia.  On August 9, 1965, Singapore was separated from Malaysia and became an independent republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. Today Singapore has grown to an affluent and vibrant city. They have a government patterned after the British and elect a Prime Minister every five years.

 

Singapore is a natural deep water port. It is the second biggest container port in the world, Shanghai is first, and Rotterdam is third. In 1972 the tourist board felt the city needed a symbol so they made the “Merlion”. It has the head of a lion and the body of a fish. There are no lions in Singapore, though.  The city is diamond shaped and is 11 miles long north to south and 21 miles long east to west. The city was originally 500 square kilometers but now is 730 square kilometers from reclaimed land. We wondered how they can build these very tall heavy skyscrapers on reclaimed land like the Sands Hotel.  I’m including a picture of it. It was built in 2008. It has three buildings which is the hotel part and on the top is a structure that looks like a ship. That has a swimming pool in the middle and one or more restaurants. The architecture in this city is the most unique of any city we’ve seen.

 

A unique experience we had in the city was a ride on the Singapore Flyer. It is a giant ferris wheel built in 2008 on reclaimed land. It was made by a German firm and cost 2 billion dollars. It is 150 meters high.  It has capsules to ride in and takes half an hour to complete one turn completely around. There were 31 of us on the tour and all of us fit in the one capsule and we could have had more with us. You can rent the capsule and have dinner served with one course delivered with each turn of the wheel.

 

On tour we went by the very old famous Raffles Hotel named for the city founder. All the rich and famous stay here when they come to town. It is the place that founded the Singapore Sling in 1915.  We couldn’t go in because you can’t enter in shorts. It is very upscale.

 

Notice in the panorama picture the soccer field that is built in the water. Soccer is their favorite sport.

 

Tomorrow we will be in Phuket, Thailand. 

Singapore skyline from the Singapore Flyer

Singapore Panorama

Raffles Hotel

Sands Hotel

Singapore Flyer Model

On the Singapore Flyer

 

 

 

 

 

      

HONG KONG

HONG KONG

MARCH 3-4, 2014

 

Hong Kong is a unique meeting place of East and West, blending Chinese heritage, British colonial influences, high-tech modernity and Chinese gusto; where both Cantonese and English are the official languages. The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1841.  On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China.  The vibrant capitalist enclave retains its status as a free port, with its laws to remain unchanged for 50 years, thus preserving its economic independence. Our tour guide told us he is 49 and he said in 33 years he would be too old to influence what change will happen then but he hopes his son and daughter and their generation will be able to save Hong Kong. 

Only one quarter of Hong Kong is urban area. Hong Kong is home to over seven million people. With so little land the only way they have to go is up so they have built sky scrapers to house all the people.  We were told the average apartment for 3-4 people is 380-450 square feet.

 

When we sailed in it was misting rain and was overcast and it stayed that way the two days we were there.  On tour we were taken to the Bird Market. They sell birds of all kinds. It seems since in the small apartments dogs and cats are not the best pets so everyone has a bird. They make elaborate bird cages, some out of mahogany, for the birds. The older retired men take their birds in cages and meet in the park and the men and birds socialize in the mornings. After the Bird Market we visited the Flower Market. The flowers come every morning from all over the world. They are all sold out by the end of the day. They sure love flowers here. Next we took a tram up a very steep mountain to Victoria Peak. There was a very lovely restaurant, Café Décor. We had a 5 star lunch. This restaurant is known for its spectacular views of Hong Kong, Victoria Harbor and Kowloon spreading out below but it was so foggy we could see nothing.  At least the lunch was good.

 

 We got a ride in a tourist San Pan and rode around to look at the huge yachts parked in the harbor almost next to the San Pans. It is hard to believe that some people still live all their lives on those San Pans and never get off them. The yachts were some of the biggest I have ever seen.  There sure are some people with lots of money here.

Sailing into Hong Kong

 

The second day we went to the shopping mall and we decided we didn’t need to buy any souvenirs here.  They have every high end shop in the world here and the prices are out of this world. We were glad to find a supermarket and we were able to get some personal items we needed to replace. Next we are off to Singapore. 

Famous floating restaurant - JUMBO

Small Hong Kong Yacht

San Pans

Formal Night On Board Ship

 

 

 

     

 

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

FEBRUARY 28 – MARCH 1, 2014

 

“Pearl of the Orient” as Manila is called is the capital of the Philippines (and with a population of 12 million, one of the world’s largest capitals). Once part of a Malay kingdom, a Hindu empire and a Bruneian sultanate, the city was discovered by the Spanish in 1560’s (the Philippines was named for King Philip of Spain) and they ruled for over 300 years until the US won control with the Spanish American war in 1898. The US gave them their independence June 12, 1963. Extensively damaged in WWII in fighting between the American and Japanese armies, the city is now a bustling port with modern sky scrapers and old markets neighborhoods.

 

 The traffic in Manila is scary. They drive on the opposite side of the road from us but they cut over lanes and squeeze in front of each other it is a wonder they do not have more accidents than they do. We saw only one person on a bicycle that had been run over. We were glad we were on a big tour bus. I don’t think we will complain about Atlanta traffic again but as Atlanta population increases it will get like Manila. 

On tour we visited the American Memorial Cemetery, the largest outside the continental United States. There are over 32,000 white marble crosses.  The five Sullivan brothers are buried here. The people of Manila love Gen. Douglas MacArthur. There was so much destruction of the city when the Americans came to take the city back from the Japanese. Over 100,000 people lost their lives here. 

 

We visited San Augustin Catholic Church, the oldest structure in the Philippines, which dates back to 1571. The Spanish forced the people to join the church by withholding all recognition as a person if they didn’t. Today the population is 85% Catholic.

 

Our tour took us to the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex, on reclaimed land situated for about 10 kilometers along Roxas Boulevard, entirely reminiscent of the glory years of the Marcoses. Our guide said it was all Ms. Marco’s doing. It has an International Convention Center, a Folk Arts Theater, a Coconut Palace, and a deluxe hotel with a view of Manila Bay.

Our welcome as we got off the ship.

Tom with a "Jitney"- the mode of transportation.

Statue of Gen Douglas MacArthur

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial