March 23rd & 34th
THE LAST ENTRY!
We r currently in Beijing and head home today.
We depart here at noon via London to Boston and will be home on the same day at 8 pm.
Great last day with a visit to the Forbidden City yesterday.
This trip has been fantastic adventure!
See u soon.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday March 21st
Seoul, South Korea
It turns out the you actually go though a lock to get raised into Inchon Harbor which is about 10 miles from downtown Seoul.
With over 10 million Seoul is South Korea’s largest city. This city was completely destroyed in the Korean War but aggressive economic policy and sacrifice have completely rebuilt the city. Remember this nation has no natural resources, so imports raw materials, manufactures, and exports to create value. Education and intellectual added value are what make Korea today. They are a heads down, get it done type nation. English is the strong second language and the school children engage you on the street with “Where are you from………”. There are no bargains to be found and Seoul ranks as the third most expensive city in the world and first in Asia.
In Seoul we visit the Deoksu Palace, see the Blue House, Korea’s equivalent to the US’s White House and visit The New National Museum of Korea with over 4,500 exhibits detailing Korea’s historic and cultural heritage. Lunch at a local restaurant for local food which is similar to Chinese but with hots. In the afternoon we visit a local street market Namdaemun Market and I do mean local, but large.
Sunday March 22nd
Sea Day
The last port of call is Beijing. We are staying only two days and it should be four or five after coming this distance but we have been on the road for seven weeks.
Seoul, South Korea
It turns out the you actually go though a lock to get raised into Inchon Harbor which is about 10 miles from downtown Seoul.
With over 10 million Seoul is South Korea’s largest city. This city was completely destroyed in the Korean War but aggressive economic policy and sacrifice have completely rebuilt the city. Remember this nation has no natural resources, so imports raw materials, manufactures, and exports to create value. Education and intellectual added value are what make Korea today. They are a heads down, get it done type nation. English is the strong second language and the school children engage you on the street with “Where are you from………”. There are no bargains to be found and Seoul ranks as the third most expensive city in the world and first in Asia.
In Seoul we visit the Deoksu Palace, see the Blue House, Korea’s equivalent to the US’s White House and visit The New National Museum of Korea with over 4,500 exhibits detailing Korea’s historic and cultural heritage. Lunch at a local restaurant for local food which is similar to Chinese but with hots. In the afternoon we visit a local street market Namdaemun Market and I do mean local, but large.
Sunday March 22nd
Sea Day
The last port of call is Beijing. We are staying only two days and it should be four or five after coming this distance but we have been on the road for seven weeks.
Wednesday and Thursday March 18, 19th
Shanghai, China
Shanghai was a small fishing village that became China’s largest city by the mid 1800s. It was one of the first concession areas opened after the Opium Wars, allowing the British, French, and Americans to live in special territorial zones without being under Chinese laws. It became China’s first full fledged Special Economic Zones with many financial institutions, cars and large buildings. Shanghai also became the by word for exploitation and vice, with countless opium dens, gambling joints and brothels. In 1949 the Communists put their foot down and began eradicating slums, rehabilitating hundred of thousands of opium addicts and stamping out child and slave labor.
By 1990 the wheel had come full circle for Shanghai, with foreign investment once again welcome and by the mid 1990s half the worlds high-rise cranes were looming over Shanghai. On the opposite side of the river a whole new Shanghai is being created. It is hard to imagine the scale of the construction coupled with other industrial activities. We passed 20 ship yards with 4 to 8 ships under construction and three large container ports with 12 to 20 cranes.
We visited the old market surrounding the 16th-centry Yu Yuan Gardens, the Jade Buddha Temple, and enjoyed a traditional Chinese-style lunch. These people eat very healthily and you can see it in the height of the slim younger generation. The big issue here is pollution and while we were in town there was a lot. Our final stop of the day was the Children’s Palace, a comprehensive, free, after-school educational facility for gifted children to develop their skills in music, art, dance, painting and computer technology. The talent level is unreal!
The next day we visited the unique 1,500-foot, Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the new city and the Magnetic Levitation Train (Maglev) which goes from the new city to the new airport at a top speed of 260 miles per hour. This was an amazing ride and real eye opener when the opposite direction train passed.
Next stop Seoul, Korea.
Shanghai, China
Shanghai was a small fishing village that became China’s largest city by the mid 1800s. It was one of the first concession areas opened after the Opium Wars, allowing the British, French, and Americans to live in special territorial zones without being under Chinese laws. It became China’s first full fledged Special Economic Zones with many financial institutions, cars and large buildings. Shanghai also became the by word for exploitation and vice, with countless opium dens, gambling joints and brothels. In 1949 the Communists put their foot down and began eradicating slums, rehabilitating hundred of thousands of opium addicts and stamping out child and slave labor.
By 1990 the wheel had come full circle for Shanghai, with foreign investment once again welcome and by the mid 1990s half the worlds high-rise cranes were looming over Shanghai. On the opposite side of the river a whole new Shanghai is being created. It is hard to imagine the scale of the construction coupled with other industrial activities. We passed 20 ship yards with 4 to 8 ships under construction and three large container ports with 12 to 20 cranes.
We visited the old market surrounding the 16th-centry Yu Yuan Gardens, the Jade Buddha Temple, and enjoyed a traditional Chinese-style lunch. These people eat very healthily and you can see it in the height of the slim younger generation. The big issue here is pollution and while we were in town there was a lot. Our final stop of the day was the Children’s Palace, a comprehensive, free, after-school educational facility for gifted children to develop their skills in music, art, dance, painting and computer technology. The talent level is unreal!
The next day we visited the unique 1,500-foot, Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the new city and the Magnetic Levitation Train (Maglev) which goes from the new city to the new airport at a top speed of 260 miles per hour. This was an amazing ride and real eye opener when the opposite direction train passed.
Next stop Seoul, Korea.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday March 17th
Saint Patty’s Day at Sea
Bridge lesson, workout, and a big party to celebrate the Green.
Far from being a saint, St. Patrick was a pagan until age 16. After 6 years as a slave to Irish marauders he escaped and converted to Christianity. He trained under St Germain. He had great success winning converts and setting up monasteries across Ireland. And in fact setup the Celtic Druids. Patrick retired to County Down and died on March 17th in AD 461. The ST Patrick’s Day custom came to America in 1737. That was the first year St Patrick’s Day was publicly celebrated in Boston.
Saint Patty’s Day at Sea
Bridge lesson, workout, and a big party to celebrate the Green.
Far from being a saint, St. Patrick was a pagan until age 16. After 6 years as a slave to Irish marauders he escaped and converted to Christianity. He trained under St Germain. He had great success winning converts and setting up monasteries across Ireland. And in fact setup the Celtic Druids. Patrick retired to County Down and died on March 17th in AD 461. The ST Patrick’s Day custom came to America in 1737. That was the first year St Patrick’s Day was publicly celebrated in Boston.
Monday March 16th
Nagasaki Japan
Best known as the site of the second atomic bomb on August 9, 1945 at 11:02 a.m. after Hiroshima two days earlier.
This event speaks for itself. Nagasaki was not the primary target that day but the secondary target due to poor weather. The B-29 bomber “Bock’s Car” was running low on fuel and about to abort when the cloud cover opened and there was the target. “Fat Boy” was dropped, with the equivalent of 44,000 tons of TNT and killed 150,000 people. 75,000 instantaneously and 75,000 over the next 5 years. We visited the Peace Park, Atomic Bomb Museum and the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter.
Today the city has been completely rebuilt and radiation measurements stopped in 1976. It is a modern industrial city of 470,000 with a major ship building operation.
Historically, Nagasaki is noted as the only trade port open to foreigner after the expulsion from Japan of all foreign Christians in the mid-17th century. Only the Dutch and Chinese were allowed access to trade with Japan via Nagasaki. This policy was ended in 1853 following the arrival of Commodore Perry’s “black ships” after more than 200 years of trade prohibition. We visited the house of the most famous trader Thomas Blake Glover 1838 to 1911. He was noted for the introduction of many western industries to Japan and garnering the profits that resulted from these activities.
Nagasaki Japan
Best known as the site of the second atomic bomb on August 9, 1945 at 11:02 a.m. after Hiroshima two days earlier.
This event speaks for itself. Nagasaki was not the primary target that day but the secondary target due to poor weather. The B-29 bomber “Bock’s Car” was running low on fuel and about to abort when the cloud cover opened and there was the target. “Fat Boy” was dropped, with the equivalent of 44,000 tons of TNT and killed 150,000 people. 75,000 instantaneously and 75,000 over the next 5 years. We visited the Peace Park, Atomic Bomb Museum and the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter.
Today the city has been completely rebuilt and radiation measurements stopped in 1976. It is a modern industrial city of 470,000 with a major ship building operation.
Historically, Nagasaki is noted as the only trade port open to foreigner after the expulsion from Japan of all foreign Christians in the mid-17th century. Only the Dutch and Chinese were allowed access to trade with Japan via Nagasaki. This policy was ended in 1853 following the arrival of Commodore Perry’s “black ships” after more than 200 years of trade prohibition. We visited the house of the most famous trader Thomas Blake Glover 1838 to 1911. He was noted for the introduction of many western industries to Japan and garnering the profits that resulted from these activities.
Saturday and Sunday March 14th & 15th
Two Very BAD Days at Sea
We are en route to Kagoshima Japan but run into storm force conditions with 60 knot head winds. Remember hurricane is 73 mph. After 12 hour the sea start to build to 6 to 7 meters off the port bow. This makes for very few people in the dinning room and an interesting ride even on a big ship. It does abate but has killed our speed. This forces us to skip Kagoshima and go directly to Nagasaki Japan .
Two Very BAD Days at Sea
We are en route to Kagoshima Japan but run into storm force conditions with 60 knot head winds. Remember hurricane is 73 mph. After 12 hour the sea start to build to 6 to 7 meters off the port bow. This makes for very few people in the dinning room and an interesting ride even on a big ship. It does abate but has killed our speed. This forces us to skip Kagoshima and go directly to Nagasaki Japan .
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