Busan, Korea

Friday, April 24

It would be hard not to respond to the warmth of the Korean people. Although fairly reserved, they try so hard to understand our needs and always with a smile. No other cruise port we have visited on this trip has been so well organized, operated so efficiently or been so welcoming as both Jeju and Busan in Korea.

The city here runs a complimentary shuttle between the cruise port and the 7.5 kms to the centre of town. It was also a pleasure to be on a comfortable air-conditioned coach that was spotlessly clean and driven well!

The notes on Busan indicated that most things of interest were located in the city area and the only others further afield were more shrines, pagodas and temples. It really is like Europe - "not another cathedral!" so we decided to wander around the city area.

Welcome to the World Famous Fish Market

Still alive and swimming - well maybe not the sea urchins

Al had read about their "World Famous Fish Market" and was keen to go there. I have still not got the foul smell of dried fish and non-refrigerated meat covered in flies that we encountered at the Sihanoukville Open Air Market and some of the other markets in Asia, out of my system yet so I have to admit to being less keen. I needn't have worried - this market was something else. It was definitely selling fresher fish than Vic Market where fish lays on ice after being sourced from all over the world. Here, most things were still alive and swimming (or in the case of a giant crab I saw, climbing out of the tank!) and it is all caught locally. Watching sellers "net" the fish the customer chose then prepare it to their requirements was amazing. One lady bought a large octopus that was plucked from the tank kicking and screaming and just placed in a large plastic bag still wriggling. I was so glad I didn't have to cook it because I would have been scared of my dinner! Everything at the market was attractively displayed and the whole place was spotless. All the water in the tanks was constantly been changed so it remained nice and clear. It really was a great experience going through this market.

Further on, we came to the dried fish and seaweed section, but still no nasty smells, and still everything attractively displayed. We saw some yellowish-orange pods hanging in clusters and the only thing we could think of was that they were dried cape gooseberries because they looked like a decoration we had had on a dessert in Prague but the big question was, why in the fish area? Al stopped a lady who looked as though she may speak some English so between her and the store holder, we ascertained they are a sort of spice used with fish and used to colour things - same effect as saffron I guess. The lady moved on then all of a sudden the store owner started hitting his watch and waving his arms ahead of him as though shooing us away then raising them above his head. I had no clue but Al said maybe there was a draw bridge down the lane that was about to go up - personally I think he had read the notes more thoroughly than me and knew about this bridge! We scurried down the lane and, as we got closer to the water, began to hear Italian opera music. The sight before us was hysterical - all these Korean people gathered at the foot of the bridge relishing in another photo opportunity - jumping in star jumps, lifting one hand high making the "V" sign, or posing to rival a Vogue model all to blaring Italian opera music. Right on the dot of 12 a siren sounded and everything went silent. They all turned to watch a section of the bridge go up. Now, were this to happen once a year, their excitement could be explained but this is a daily occurrence at 12 noon. Definitely a different culture to Australia!

The siren sounded and all frivolities stopped to focus on the bridge opening

There's always someone who doesn't "blend in"

After all the excitement, we made our way to Lotte, a large luxury brand department store. I think Myers May have got some of their design ideas from here - it was certainly impressive. Every hour on the hour (during store hours), there is a sound, light and dancing water show. We were in the Food Court marveling at how yummy and beautifully presented everything was when the 1pm show started. We took our seats, ate some of the tastiest dumplings we have had, and watched the show. I was occasionally distracted by the little guy sitting in front of me - around 18 - 24 mths old - who did not take his eyes off the show and kept beaming once it was over. We then continued our walk through this huge complex marveling at things we have not seen before - doesn't happen often these days! Al was taken with "Korean Pancakes" and felt the need to try one. It is best described as a flat donut without the hole, served hot - the difference is that it is sliced lengthwise but not right through creating a pocket into which brown suger that melts quickly and a dukkar mix of nuts and dried fruit is spooned in. I have to admit, they were fantastic but I am so grateful that they are not available in Oz - especially given my penchant for good donuts!

Inside the Lotte Department store

This little guy was transfixed by the show

The Ice Cream Stand

View from the Observation Deck with Busan Tower on the left

One of the city's bridges

We went up to the Observation Deck at the top of the complex and got a wonderful 360 degree view of Busan. It is certainly a progressive city and some of it's bridges are breathtaking. We would have loved to sail out at night but our departure time was 5pm so we missed all the lights we had seen on photo boards around the city.

Not our usual farewell

Sailing away from the Busan Cruise Port

Back at the Cruise Terminal the Tourist Information Board had organized a farewell for us, complete with traditional dancing, pop singers and funky rap dancers! This show lasted nearly 2 hours, and as we pulled away from the dock all the performers took to the stage to wave goodbye, along with the workers in the shops and tourist information stands. The illuminated sign behind them read "See you again" and from overhearing the conversations of many passengers, they will. Quite a send off and, as I said earlier, hard not to respond to the Korean people's warmth.

 

PS: To our dear niece Charlotte, aka Lotte, you have a very impressive department store in your name!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jeju, Korea

Thursday, April 23

We docked about 9am and were cleared by 10am but we didn't go ashore till 11am as the town centre was close to the port, and there weren't a lot of tourist attractions in town. However the Koreans were very organized with a trailer on the pier beside the ship for Tourist Information and another for Currency Exchange. There were plenty of staff to help hand out maps, and we don't understand why other ports can't be this organized as well. Jeju is a Korean holiday island and has 3 UNESCO sites associated with natural wonders on it, but they all involved getting buses and a bit of walking, which normally we don't mind, but today we opted for an easier day in town.

Billboard highlighting Jeju's natural wonders

 

We shared a cab with Buck and Carol, a couple from Colorado that we have befriended, to the main market in town. What a contrast to the markets we've been to previously - this was was clean, not smelly and with wide aisles and an amazing assortment of fruit, veggies, pulses, dried goods, and the fish and meat were in refrigerated cabinets! At one stall the lady was plying us with samples of various chocolates and biscuits, so we obliged and bought some goodies!

Inside the Dongmun Traditional Market

We then found a cafe with wifi and spent an hour or so catching up on the blog, Facebook, Instagram, emails and other internet news while enjoying some nice coffee. Back on the street we saw some entrances to an underground shopping mall so we headed down there for a look. It was amazing and went for blocks under the streets, filled with all the shops you find in a big department store. We found the food area and went in for lunch, where we enjoyed some spicy (for me) and very spicy (for Noelle) chicken and rice meals. Noelle's meal certainly cleared her head and nasal passages, and again she attracted lots of stares from the locals.

The Jungang Underground Shopping Street

Lunch in Jeju & stares from the locals

Entrance and/or Exit to the underground shopping street

We got a bit disoriented being underground so the exit we took to the street didn't look familiar to us, but it was nice and sunny so we strolled along the street and came to a temple complex, with a pavilion outside the walls. Jeju is famous for its little stone men and they were all around this area - we weren't sure of their significance until we found a board explaining what they were. They looked phallic to us but apparently they are called "stone grandfather" who wear mushroom shaped hats - believe it or not!

Dolhareubang or "Stone Grandfather"

Detail of ceiling in pavilion

We headed back down the street, toward the market this time, and found a lot of other people from the ship in a little square across the road, waiting for either their tour bus or a taxi. We caught a taxi back to the ship as Noelle was starting to fade from the effects of a chest infection she caught from someone on the ship. We had arranged to have dinner with Buck and Carol but Noelle wasn't up to this so I went while she got some more rest. The three of us went to the late show - a crooner called Johnny Blu, who was very good and similar in style to Michael Buble. However, when he asked if someone had had a birthday recently I was the only person present (or stupid enough) to put up their hand, so I was invited to the stage while Johnny sang a happy birthday song to me! It wasn't as big an impact for him having a male on stage instead of a female, and all I had to do was copy his shimmy moves and do a little dancing with him! It was a hoot and a pity Noelle missed out on it!

 

 

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Day at sea on route to Jeju, Korea

Wednesday, April 22

As we're moving into another time zone in Korea we had to move our clocks forward one hour, so our sleep in was a bit shorter than normal! We awoke to a sunny day and calm seas, although the air temperature was only about 10C. The On Location talk today was on Nagasaki, our first port in Japan, and David had an elderly Japanese man present some history on Japan which was very interesting.

It was warming up nicely so we had lunch around the mid ships pool while listening to Darlene and the HAL Cats band - they are very talented and it was a nice way to soak up some sun as well.

The band by the pool

 

Then it was off to a presentation and trivia quiz about chocolate, our favorite subject! We didn't win but thanks to getting the bonus question correct we went close, although a lot of questions had an American flavor. After that it was time for some chores, so we headed to the laundry to make sure we had a good selection of clean clothes for the last part of our trip.

Tonight was the last formal night, and I got a chance to wear my new bow tie, as well as enjoy surf & turf again followed by soufflé - another delicious meal. We enjoy the Open dining option as we get to meet a lot of people and we love talking to them about places they have visited and where they live.

The show tonight featured a young Japanese pianist who was very good and she played an interesting selection of music. We finished the night by listening to Michael, a solo guitarist who has a nice voice and can play a wide variety of tunes.

 

 

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Beijing, China - Day 2

Tuesday, April 21

Yesterday as we left the ship, we were advised that the "all aboard" time had been brought back to 4.00pm instead of 6.00pm so we decided to get an early start this morning and met William at 7:30am in the lobby of the hotel.

Our first view of Tian'anmen Square with the Forbidden City in the background

The queue in the background is to get in to see Chairman Mao's body and it's only 8am!

We drove to Tian'anmen Square - the world's largest gathering spot. Thankfully it wasn't a weekend day but the number of people there was still staggering. The queue to see Chairman Mao's body was so long, William estimated it to be a 2-3 hour wait - and this was around 8.00am! We were glad that didn't form part of our itinerary. Walking through Tian'anmen Square was very interesting. Obviously thoughts of the massacre were in our minds and the heavy presence of Chinese military added to the feeling of lack of freedom. The focal point at the end of the square is a huge portrait of Chairman Mao.

The Chinese take photos of any and everything so "selfie sticks" were out in full force. Al wanted to take a photo of me and all of a sudden I was swamped by Chinese women and girls wanting to have their photos taken with me. As soon as one would get her pic, another would jump in. It was very good for the ego and hysterical too, hearing the ones who spoke English saying I looked like a film star. They kept touching my hair and some jabbered away in Chinese. A bit further on, an old Chinese woman spoke to William saying she wanted her picture taken with me. I was brought right back to earth when William told me that she said to him I must be from Mars! Oh well, stardom was good while it lasted! He did try to soften the blow by saying she was from a distant rural province and this was probably her one and only pilgrimage to see Chairman Mao's body and it was possible that she had never seen a blonde haired woman before in real life.

Film Star or Martian?

The Forbidden City is located at one end of the Square along the Feng Shui axis. It was forbidden to the common man and only the Emperor and his concubines lived there in relative opulence until the collapse of the various dynasties about 300 years ago. Chinese opulence is nothing like the Russian opulence in St Petersburg though. The myths that surround everything are all very strange to us and we both felt that if you could believe them, you could believe anything but the Chinese are very superstitious and seem to take it all on board. Different animals, colors, shapes, etc. represent longevity, prosperity, happiness, etc. William was very knowledgeable and told us so many different myths and stories that we ended up totally overwhelmed by them all. One thing that surprised us was how dirty everything was in what is such a national treasure. Yesterday at the cloisonné factory William had told us we would be amazed at the cloisonné at the Forbidden City. He was right, we were, but for all the wrong reasons. Exquisitely intricate cloisonné vases and pots were housed in glass display boxes that were so thick with dust, we could hardly see them plus they had to be viewed from outside the various rooms through an equally dusty window! All through Beijing we noticed buildings, many modern and of great design, but all dirty on the outside so obviously clean windows and facades are not a high priority for them.

Views of the Forbidden City

Next stop was a Silk factory and we were really interested to see how the silk is harvested from the silk worm then spun into fabrics. The factory specialized in pure silk duvets, covers, etc. and we are now the proud owners of a pure silk doona complete with pure silk cover & pillow slips. The Chinese have not been pushy in any way re selling and we did not feel coerced at all as we so often do at these sort of stops.

From there it was time for lunch and a loo stop. I will be so glad to leave squat toilets and slimy Chinese food well behind me. Chinese cuisine has never been a favorite but it is definitely off the radar for us for quite some time. We were pleased to find some western food and fresh veges on this restaurant's menu though.

Not what we see on Aussie roads - especially freeways too!

It was then time for our 3.5 hour drive back to port to meet the 4.00pm boarding time. We had a great run back and didn't encounter any traffic jams but did see some interesting sights along the way with overloaded trucks, etc. The Chinese port authorities seemed to have no regard for our timetable. No sooner were we all back on board than we were told we had to go back ashore to the terminal for a body temperature check. This was novel. We all filed through an opening with a heat thermal machine above that registered our body temp on a computer. The official in charge of this computer seemed more interested in everything around him than watching the computer. All of a sudden, people behind us were told to go back to the ship - they apparently only needed to check 600 people and who knows for what! Next drama was an amazing wind and dust storm that blew up causing the ship to move and destabilize the gang plank meaning that the last stragglers about to board had to wait in the terminal until the wind died down and things could be rectified with the gang plank. The wind died down as quickly as it had blown up.

The wind and dust storm that blew up at the port terminal

We were due to sail at 7.00pm but several hours later we were still in port and our poor Captain was obviously at his wits end trying to comply with the Chinese officials' myriad of requirements. His announcements to us, whilst still very professional, were indicative of his total frustration. Around 10.30pm we slowly pulled away from the wharf headed to Jeju, South Korea but with a day at sea in between.

 

 

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Beijing, China

Monday, April 20

We disembarked the ship at 8:30am and breezed through the Immigration formalities, and were very happy to see William our guide with our names on his sign. He led us to our waiting car and introduced us to John our driver for the next 2 days. It took a while to exit the Tianjin Cruise Port area as it is quite extensive, but it's only a small part of the larger Xingang Port.

We took the expressway towards the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, as that was our main objective for today. After nearly 2 hours of good progress with minimal traffic we hit a huge traffic jam on Ring Road #6, (which is the only one trucks are allowed on) with 3 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic crawling along. John the driver got fed up with this after 15 minutes and joined the other drivers who turned the emergency stopping lane into another lane, and then just pushed in when they had to merge! We finally found the cause of the problem when we came to roadworks which were blocking a lane, and once we cleared that we made good progress again. Still the delay added about 30 minutes travelling time and we finally arrived at the Great Wall after 4 hours in the car!

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is located in the Huairou district, about 80km north of Beijing, and once worked as the northern barrier defending the capital and imperial palaces. The area near this section of the Wall is a fruit growing area, and being Spring it was very colourful with blossoms, new greenery and fresh fruit stands along the road - the strawberries looked particularly appetizing but we didn't have time to stop. Lunch was included in our tour, and we were given a table by the window with a view of the Wall while we ate a 2 course Chinese meal and enjoyed a local beer.

View of Wall on ridge, looking over the car park!

Schematic of Mutianyu Great Wall

This section of the Great Wall has a chairlift to get you to watchtower number 6, which saved a lot of energy and about 30 minutes time. From there our day's workout began as we started climbing stairs and walking up and down the wall. It was amazing to think we were actually on the Great Wall, marveling at the effort and sacrifice of those who built it, as getting the stones up to the ridge would have been a mammoth effort. The views were phenomenal as it is quite mountainous here, and there were many trees with white blossom flowers which added colour and contrast to the scenery.

Our first steps on the Wall

A beautiful Spring day on the Wall

Noelle was struggling with the steps due to a cold, but she made it to watchtower #9, so William and I kept going and reached watchtower #11 before turning back. The views made the extra effort worthwhile, and you also got some different perspectives on the length, height and width of the walls.

William on his way to watchtower #11

Who's the king of the castle?

Noelle was popular as a photographer for the locals

To get back down to where the car was parked we had 2 choices - the chairlift again or a "skid" on a toboggan track. My choice was the toboggan while William accompanied Noelle on the chairlift. There weren't a lot of safety instructions, unless you read the back of the ticket which listed the "Stipulations for Skidding" in English and Chinese - too bad if you didn't speak one of these languages! The ride was a lot of fun and a great way to end a very memorable visit to one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Chairlift and toboggan run

On the way back to Beijing we stopped at a cloisonné factory where the guide walked us through the various stages of how cloisonné is made. We then walked through different rooms where each of the processes was being carried out, and it gave us an appreciation of the skill required for each step. It is certainly a very labour intensive process, but the finished products here looked like porcelain and with prices to match!

As we started driving into Beijing William explained how the main buildings, including the Olympic Green, are built on the major axis that runs through the centre of Beijing and that this is based on Feng Shui. We passed the Olympic village and also saw the Birds Nest and Water Cube, the two main stadiums built for the 2008 Olympic Games. They are very proud of these buildings and also for hosting an Olympic Games.

Birds Nest and Water Cube

 

William was busy pointing out buildings, parks, lakes, shops and other items of interest as we made our way into the old part of Beijing, near where our hotel was located. There are also a lot of new buildings around this area, with many modern department stores, and nice wide streets. We finally arrived at our hotel and checked in, saying goodbye to William and John until we start day 2 of our tour at 7:30am tomorrow. The Crowne Plaza was very nice and it was good to have more room to move, even if it was only for one night.

Looking down on the lobby of the Crowne Plaza

We had a stroll around some of the streets before dinner taking in the ambience of the area, and again the buildings were brightly lit and there were lots of people about. We were amused at the sight of hundreds of people on the forecourt of the Catholic Cathedral doing what looked like line-dancing to us, but to Chinese music. We thought about joining in but couldn't remember the steps my mum taught us many years ago! They were still at it when we walked back to the hotel after dinner at about 10pm.

We enjoyed a nightcap in the lobby bar before turning in as we have another early start tomorrow, and this was a lovely way to end a fabulous day full of memories, and a few more items ticked off the bucket list!

 

 

 

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Second Day at Sea on route to Beijing

Sunday, April 19

Another sea day, another sleep in. In our usual "at sea" form, we had a lovely, lazy day. Because we are on a "Collector's Voyage" (back to back cruises), we were invited to an Indonesian Lunch in the Dining Room. I think we have just eaten way too much Asian food this trip because neither of us enjoyed our lunch but it's aways nice to meet new people and discuss their travels - we have learned so much that way so the lunch wasn't a total waste of time.

The rest of the day included laundry and packing for our overnight stay in Beijing then an early night ready for our early start tomorrow.

 

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Day at Sea on route to Beijing

Saturday, April 18

When we woke up this morning and looked out our window it was very foggy, so much so we couldn't even see the water, and we're only on deck 2! It wasn't until the captain made an announcement that after leaving Shanghai we only made it to the large container port an hour or two down the river before the authorities ordered all shipping to stop due to the fog! So we had been anchored most of the night and not even realized it - luckily the fog lifted enough about 10am for us to continue into the Yangtze River delta (which is massive) before reaching the sea and heading north towards Xingang, the port for Beijing.

With all the days at sea on this cruise we have got into a nice routine of sleeping in, attending the On Location talk (today's was on our next stop in Beijing), having lunch, and attending some of the talks or activities in the afternoon. Today we went to a talk on the art of flower arranging, and the on board florist made this magnificent display in only 15 minutes!

The band was performing around the mid-ships pool after lunch, and while listening to them and enjoying some sunshine, there was a also a golf chipping challenge. A couple of people won a drink for hitting the dolphins at the end of the pool, but I'll have to practice my golf before the next cruise as my three balls went left, right then too short!

Dolphin sculpture target for the golf chipping challenge

 

We booked into the Italian restaurant Canaletto for dinner to celebrate my birthday and enjoyed a wonderful meal there. It was nice having Italian food for a change after all the Asian food and dining room meals we've consumed over the last 3 weeks. We left feeling very full and went to the show, which was a juggling act performed by an American called Michael Menes. We had seen him last year and he was very good, although the ship was rocking a bit so he dropped his balls a couple of times!

Following that was a short show called "Call my Bluff" and this was very amusing. We didn't want to go to bed on a full stomach so we went and saw the 10pm movie called "The Grand Budapest Hotel" - a whimsical movie and a good one to see before enjoying another lovely night's sleep at sea.

 

 

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