Good morning, my friends and family,
We experienced problems in getting to my website the last two days, so no entries for that time. Will attempt to bring you up to date.
We stopped at Pusan, S. Korea yesterday, after yet another day at sea, and the sun was shining brightly, high in the top 70s - a very nice day. We took the shuttle into town and walked up and down many of the tiny alleys filled with merchandise and food of every description. To say it was almost overpowering is putting it mildly. We had a lot of fun attempting to figure out just what that was in that pot over there, boiling away merrily. The meat, poultry and fish laying out in the open with flies flitting around was discomforting, but I suppose the Koreans are used to that, or at least take it in stride. The town was, again, very modern, with many, many huge highrises condominiums or apartment buildings everywhere. Every available space was used to the maximum. Quite a lot of traffic too, but somehow we managed to get into the heart of the city within about 20 minutes bus ride. Our little doll seemed to be a hit with many of the ladies selling food or other merchandise along the alleys. The sidewalks and roads were in much beter shape than Russia. We saw so many McDonalds we thought we were back in the states!
After a few hours of walking around, we made our way back to the ship and bought some small souveniers at the kiosks on the dock.
Today is another sea day, our last, and then we finally arrive at a port in China. We have three days in a row with different ports, the last being Beijing, where we will stay three extra days.
The cruise has been fun, we’ve enjoyed meeting people, but haven’t made any “connections” with any individuals as we have on other cruises. On a ship this large, with more than 2,600 passengers, it’s not uncommon to miss seeing the same person more than once.
Tonight is the last formal night - we’ll eat on the Lido Buffet again. We’ve been a little disappointed with the food selection, but then, you can’t go back, it seems. The smaller ships have the best, so we look forward to our cruises in November - January.
We have enjoyed all of the shows, which have been spectacular at times. Some of the smaller venues don’t have the caliber of entertainment we usually see, but overall, they’ve been fairly good. There was one piano player who was truly amazing with her “fastest fingers in the wordl”. The small clubs have been suprising with the high caliber of singers and piano players keeping us entertained at night. The waiters are really neat, one always has a majic trick up his sleeve, which I’ve been able to solve a few times - to his disappointment!
So, we are looking forward to China and the mysterious Orient. If there is internet available in the hotel, we’ll attempt to let you know our thoughts before we head home. I still intend to leave a few copies of “From China with Love” lying around for the Chinese to find. They will probably ask, “How does this guy know of our plans?”
So, for today, we’ll sign off, hoping you have been busy sending in the orders for us to fill when we return. Until then,
Via con Dias, 0ur friends,
Karl & Carol