Incheon our way to Korea.

Another country to tick off our list. Sailing into the Incheon was our first glimpse of sailing into smog.  According to our guide for the day Matt, not our pollution but a consequence of being so close to China. Korea was the reason for the delays in embarkation in Sydney.  Each of our Apass (cruise card) photos had to be carefully taken to please Korean immigration. Now in Korea, delays were just as bad. They staggered the face to face in the Vista lounge but someone forgot to tell the Korean Officials to be on time!!  As the line snake around the ship once immigration started it flowed quite steadily. The drive into Seoul was approximately one and a half hours.  Those not wanting to go all the way could use the organised Shuttle service that took you into Incheon’s city centre for a cost of $8 each way.

Welcoming committee on the dock

Our aim was to be at the Gyeongbokgung Palace by 10 am for the changing of Guards Ceremony.  We arrived just as the guard started their dress rehearsal in the outer grounds which meant we could get some great close up photos far from the maddening crowds inside. Once inside the gates, it was a different story.  Throughout the change, there was a commentary in both Korean and English on what was taking place. The pageantry, sounds and bright colours were amazing, the people vying for vantage points with total disregard for anyone around them was not. Many carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the hot sun, but they doubled as dangerous weapons as they cut past you especially as the points were at eye level.  I had many a deleted photo when at the last minute someone would step into your carefully lined up shot. Matt was not only our guide but our personal photographer and took lots of great photos of us all which as soon as we have decent internet we can download.

Amazing Contrast of old an new

Wedding Photo's .... every country has them!

After the ceremony, we had the opportunity to take photos with the guards and just like those that protect the Queen they stand motion and expressionless. The palace itself is ornate and beautifully restored and you could say a small version of China’s Forbidden City.  Its array of winged roof buildings, spacious courtyards, graceful pavilions and serene gardens takes you back to the days of Old Korea. We found many young girls and even their mothers dressed in their colourful and vibrant traditional costumes wandering around taking photo’s of themselves with the wonderful backdrops. Now here I am thinking I am really hip with my bright pink selfie stick…. In Korea, you can get a selfie tripod!! With lots of smiles and giggles, the young girls were happy for us to take their photo and in return, many of them would take ours.  Many would strategically place themselves so our group would be in the background of their photos. 

  From the palace, we went for a traditional Ginseng Chicken soup lunch.   The restaurant was full of locals with lots of chatting and clattering of eating utensils. Take one whole chicken, stuff it with sticky rice, boil in water with a chunk of Ginseng, a date and serve with finely sliced green onions. It was missing a little flavour but maybe the accompaniments on the table were meant to be added to the soup as the pungent chilli garlic cloves were a little overpowering when eaten straight. We then strolled up the street and entered the laneways of Bukchon Hanok Village, home to hundreds of traditional houses, called hanok, which date back to the Joseon Dynasty. Many houses also double as tea rooms, shops and guest houses.  Young volunteers stand outside many of the houses with signs asking people to be quiet as they walk up and down the streets….

  Our next stop was Insadong, Antique Street a pedestrian walk, lined with stores and market stalls selling everything from souvenirs, toys, antiques and ice-cream in very unusual cones. We watched with fascination as one vendor turned one very solid looking toffee into fine strands of taffy resembling fairy floss.  With a filling of crushed nuts he rolled a handful set of strands into a very tasty looking treat.  Hope the box in the fridge makes it home! But like all good things our day was coming to an end and we needed to hit the road back to Incheon port and just like every country that we have visited in Asia, it is the traffic that is unpredictable.With all safely back onboard, lines were dropped and off to China we sailed

And so it is “Sea La Vie” from the beautiful Sun Princess.

Tour Company : This is Korea
Website : www.thisiskorea1.com

Shanghai

Just want to mention that I was most impressed with the tour company that I had booked our Shanghai tour with.  Even with the late cancellation that we had to make due to our itinerary change, within 2 days they had refunded my deposit that I had to pay to secure my tour.

We were really disappointed to have missed out on this tour but we know that one day we will return.

The tour company that we booked with was

Miki Tours

Email:  mikitours@outlook.com

I would not hesitate in booking them again when the opportunity arises.

And so it is “Sea La Vie” from the beautiful Sun Princess.

Birthdays at Sea

 We always seem to celebrate Garry’s birthday at sea.  I guess because that is the time of year our preferred cruises occur. 

So my first plan was that I would put a message on the Wake Show wishing Garry a happy birthday and to look under the bed!...  this is where I had hidden his present. I was so excited ……

Waking at 4.30 am I was so excited I couldn’t go back to sleep.  Realising that Garry was also awake I suggested that we watch the Wake Show…. Garry said OK, but even in the dark I could sense the look of “you are joking” on his face.

We sat through all 20 mins of the show and with no shout outs read out during whole show I was left with the dilemma of “what will I do now”. I decided to let the cat out of bag and asked Garry to look under the bed.

It wasn’t until later when at the Men’s Shed, everyone asked Garry, what was under the bed?  that we found out that a re-edited version of the Wake Show was uploaded and at a descent hour the whole broadcast was played…  He was very chuffed with all his birthday wishes when we re watched it later in day.  I did speak with Mark later in the day and he was very apologetic when he realised what had happened, he knew exactly who we were when he read it out….

Thanks to organising the Cruise Critic lunches, Cristian our Maître d has become my best mate, along with Mario our head waiter...  In passing I mentioned that on this particular day we were celebrating Garry’s Birthday….

So that afternoon when we sat down to play cards with our friends in the Horizon court, Garry was serenaded by a group of waiters lead by Mario holding a cupcake with a candle in it…  Later that night at dinner Cristian arranged for Garry to have a birthday cake that not only fed our table but our whole section!  We were also spoilt with a bottle of champagne to toast with.

Garry was in his glory as our friends came bearing gifts and more champagne.

To top the night off how good was it that our Cruise Director Mark organised a Deck party with a love boat theme!

And so it is “Sea La Vie” from the beautiful Sun Princess

Tai O, Tai... O, Daylight come and we arrive in Hong Kong..

Sydney, Venice, Lisbon…. Just when you think a sail in couldn’t get any better you arrive in Hong Kong Harbour.

As dawn broke, we were surrounded by groups of mountainous islands jutting out of the ocean, similar to many other Asian ports we have visited. As we sailed closer, like a mirage, the city skyline appeared in the distance. Closer still and you start to realise the magnitude of the construction filling every piece of vacant land on the Island.  Now it was starting to look like the Hong Kong we all know and love. Layer upon layer upon layer of apartment blocks scaling the mountain sides. Still the old is not lost, as you see a traditional small fishing village of stilted shanties against a back drop of a thoroughly modern city.

As the Star Ferry raced across our path, Captain Rikard spun us around and slowly brought us up alongside Hong Kong’s Ocean Terminal. 

Conveniently placed at Kowloon right next door to the Ferry Terminal.  We had been warned to be very careful when exiting the terminal and entering the attached shopping centre.  A centre so large that it has been designed to get you lost and get you so stressed you would to spend more money to make you feel better.  Ships have known to be stranded waiting for passengers who couldn’t find their way back.  Like breadcrumbs, we did notice strategically placed plaques on the floor pointing out the direction back to the ship.

Either because of miscommunication, or our Tour Guide not having a sign with our name on it, our tour organiser lead the charge off the ship, out of the terminal only stopping once we hit the Ferry Terminal... Hmm no Guide…  After inspecting the confirmation email a couple of us decided we better head back into the terminal to see if we had left him behind.  As we stared blankly at our phone trying to work out how to make a call, a gentleman walked up and asked “are you looking for me?” … we just looked up at him (yes he was tall ) and said “where is your sign?”

Luckily this early hiccup did not impact on the enjoyment of our day. Wouter, our guide, originates from The Netherlands, and love brought him to Hong Kong 14 years ago.  He currently has his guiding business, but is also trying to introduce a system of high rise gardening more commonly known as Hydroponics.

Today we were heading out to Lantau Island to visit its famous monastery and fishing villages.  Wouter handed us all a loaded Octopus card mirroring our Opal transport card… Mine was made up of all pretty colours where everyone else’s were plain green…. But then I had to pay $20 HK for each trip and those with the over 65 card cost only $2 HK per trip.

We walked for ages underground until we finally found the railway station

We caught the MTR from East Tsim Sha Tsui, after changing once we arrived at Tung Chung Station.  With perfect timing, we have arrived in Hong Kong the week that Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car was down due to maintenance.   Instead extra local buses were running to ferry people up to the top of the mountain where we would visit the Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha.

Assuming that our bus drivers knew the roads like the back of their hands, they drove the 45 min winding road to the top of the mountain at break neck speed.

Reminiscent of the Batu Caves in KL, to reach the base of the Buddha you are faced with what you imagine to be a “stairway to Heaven”, an endless set of stairs that would reward you with panoramic views if you made it to the top.

Then there are the temples themselves, beautifully ornate predominately in red and gold with the sweet smells of incense burning in prays and offerings to the gods.

We stayed for lunch, $138 HK per person for the Deluxe menu, purely vegetarian, very tasty and to quote a fellow passenger “this would be nice with chicken “.

Built in a fashion to represent the villages of old, a street sits adjacent to the monastery with souvenirs ready to trap visitors on their way back to the cable car or buses.

Retracing our steps at a faster speed the bus headed down to the small fishing village of Tai O, a village famous for its dried fish and stilt houses built over the water.  Many of the houses have been rebuilt, but many still look original and even more in disrepair.  Apparently there was an issue when people sought approvals for renovations, mainly because the originals were built by what we would call squatters and there was no ownership of land. But common sense prevailed and the heritage has been preserved.

Dried fish is Tai O’s industry. No commercial ovens, no health and safety regulations here.  Fish hang on roof tops or lay drying in baskets out the front of people’s houses.  A market of dried seafood lines the main streets, and the stench, I mean the smell of fish is pungent enough to make your eyes water. 

Also cashing in on the tourist industry for $20 Hong Kong Dollars you can board a small boat that would take up and down the waterway so that you can see the houses from the water.  They then take you out past the breakwater into the sea where if you look hard enough you can see the amazing Chinese Pink Dolphins.  And they are … a lovely pale pink colour, just like a My Little Pony, any little girl would love to own one.

We also visited a very ancient tiny temple, and I say that because I forgot to write down when it dates back to.  An interesting fact is when they built these temples they always have a bell.  On the bell is a date.  So if the temple is destroyed, the large iron bells usually survive and hence record of the date of construction…  I think that is how the story went …. Well is sounds good!!

By now we were absolutely melting… the heat and humidity was draining.  We were off again back on to the local bus heading to the town of Mui Wo where the ferries leave back to Hong Kong Island.

Being early and tired we decided to catch the fast ferry back instead of the slower scenic ferry that left in an hours time… A decision well-made cause as we neared Hong Kong the heavens opened.  But being monsoonal the rains stopped just as we walked off onto the pier.  No one can visit Hong Kong without taking a ride on the famous Star Ferry and having to get back to Kowloon where our ship was docked - we literally caught the slow boat to China!!

Having a couple of hours before our all on-board at 7.30pm we decided to walk along the Iconic Nathan Rd.  It is lights, camera, action, but no shopping action for us as the prices in Hong Kong are astronomical. I saw my Haviannas which I had bought for around $20 ticketed at over $60…. Eek!

Our sail away coincided with the Symphony of Lights show on Hong Kong Island.  I guess after experiencing the fabulous displays of Vivid in Sydney, this light show fell a little flat.  Maybe if we were on shore where you could hear the synchronised music the impact may have been better.

Surrounded by the bright and flashing lights of Hong Kong made sailing out just as beautiful as the sail in.

And so it is “Sea La Vie” from the beautiful Sun Princess.

Tour – Lantau Island

Tour Guide – Wouter Van Marle  (found on Tours by Locals)

Email -  info@cityhydroponics.hk