travel70

We leave October 12 for Winnipeg and on October 13 fly to Churchill. Our schedule is 2 polar bears drives in the tundra buggy – October 14 and 16. The other two days are a helicopter ride and dog sledding plus a tour of Churchill (how long will that take??) with a lunch of local cuisine and visit to an interpretive centre.
We return home on October 18, which will take most of the day.

March 12 Xi’ An

When we arrive in Xi’ An it appears very foggy, it is not fog but a combination of a very fine dust and smog. Xi’ An sits in a valley surrounded by high mountains, the highest is 2600 meters. As a result whenever there are no winds the smog settles, this is made worse by the fine dust that is continually blown in from the surrounding countryside. As we drive into the city we can see that the plants are covered by a fine dust. As the day goes on it does seem to clear slightly and we can see the mountains better but it never seems to clear completely. Despite the air quality we don’t see people wearing masks as we do elsewhere.

There are 9 million people in the general area and 4 million in the city itself. The finding of the Terra Cotta warriors has made the city a destination for many travelers and is adding considerably to the local economy. This finding is just the beginning of what looks to be a much larger treasure. The first relics were found by a group of 4 farmers who were digging a well. It turns out the well was at the farthest edge of what is now called pit #1. Another couple of yards and it would have been missed entirely. 

It is now known that a mound over a mile away from the western edge of the warriors is the tomb of Quin. The mound was once enclosed by two walls. The warriors are situated about one mile to the east of the outer wall. They are to the east as this was the direction his enemies would come from. After the warriors were found and it was understood what the mound is some excavations were done within the walls and other buried funeral items have been found. There is still a lot that has not been revealed and work is being done to figure out how large  the whole area is and what might be buried there.

The excavations and reconstructions have been underway since the warriors were discovered in 1974. The only archeologists who are allowed to work at the site are Chinese. When we ask why they don’t bring in people from around the world and speed up the process, we are told they want to leave some as is so people can see how it was found, also they want to leave some for future generations to work on and lastly they find the colour disappears when the warriors are exposed to the air and want to leave some so that as new preservation processes are developed they can excavate more that will be better preserved. They also wanted to start on some of the other areas to see what is there.

The warriors were built in pieces and assembled on site. Originally they were richly colored, but the pieces were fired, then painted and not fired a second time. The bases are solid clay, while the torsos and heads are hollow. The faces are all different, some features look the same but they were all individually made. It is believed the artisans used the features of the soldiers guarding them as models. 

In pit 1, there are thousands of warriors standing in rows along with some horses and chariots. The chariots were made of wood and have disappeared although some impressions remain. Some of the warriors have two rings on their backs, these have been identified as archers and the rings originally held their quiver and arrows, arrow heads have been found around them.

When you look at their heads you see a “knot” of hair. They believed that your hair is a present from your parents and to cut it would show disrespect, so it was worn either in one long braid or wound up on top of the head. The archers sometimes had the knot on the right side and sometimes on the left – the difference indicated whether they were right or left handed, the knot being positioned so it didn’t interfere as they reached for an arrow.

Pit 2 is a collection of standing and kneeling archers. They are arrayed in an L shaped formation. This pit has not had nearly as many warriors unearthed or reconstructed. The third pit is the headquarters and is much smaller than the first two. The warriors along the edges are facing inward, the older looking ones (generals) had decorative weapons instead of the larger ones that would be used in battle.

Quin was the emperor that first unified China, prior to this there were 7 kingdoms, each ruled by a king. Quin was the king of one and defeated the others to create one large country. As soon as he declared himself to be emperor he established his capital in Xi’ An and started work on his tomb. When he died 27 years later in 2006 BC he was buried here. After he died there was a major revolution and it is believed that shortly after his death there was a battle in the area that resulted in a lot of damage, both from the soldiers deliberately destroying some of the warriors and from fires. 

The warriors are in rows with earth ramparts between them. These ramparts originally supported a wooden roof that was covered with cloth and earth to “bury” them about 5 meters deep. Quin  was a ruthless emperor (as most sound to be). He did not like Confucious and tried to wipe out his followers – he had all his books burned and buried alive 300 of his followers.

Closer to the tomb, inside the walls they have found other pits that are not open yet. One pit contains acrobats, musicians and other entertainers. Another contains bronze models of horses with carriages and chariots. They know there is more but haven’t opened any more pits yet.

The mound under which the emperor is buried is 50 meters high, they know he is buried 30 meters below ground level, that his body is in a bronze coffin on a river of mercury.

As we drive through the city we learn that it is the only completely walled city in China and you can walk around the walls. It was the capital for many years and has a lot more treasures. A few years ago another site of warriors was located, these are smaller and are also being excavated. There is at least one pit open to the public at that location as well. If you do decide to visit Xi’ An go for more than one day. From what we  ow understand you need at least three days to get a good view of everything there. 

As usual Gary is mobbed by the teeny boppers. A group spoke with our guide and she told me that they said I was very beautiful and they wanted their picture taken with us. I had been up since about 5 am, I was have a really, really bad hair day, we had just had lunch and eating with chopsticks I was wearing at least half the lunch on my shirt, we had been in an airplane for two hours and then a two hour drive in a hot car that was not air conditioned. I think when she passed the request on to us something got lost in translation!

At night we went to a Tang Dynasty dinner and show.

OMG I can’t believe all we have seen. I have posted pictures for the 3 days and will write the blogs when we have some time. We are going all the time right now.

Stay tuned

March 11 Beijing

We arrived at a seaport two hours drive from Beijing. Our guide and driver met us and once we reached Beijing we went to a silk factory. We have seen silk worms before, but we did see something different here. There are 2 sizes of cocoons. The smaller contains a single worm, the larger contains two worms. They only grow on mulberry trees. The single worm cocoons are used to make silk threads. Each cocoon is one long thread, so fine you can hardly see it, ten of these are twisted together on a machine to make one thread that will be used either to make embroidery thread (made of several of the treads produced from the machine) or to be woven into silk cloths or carpets.

 The tread is removed from the cocoon while the worm is inside. The worm is then used either for food (they eat everything here) or ground up as an ingredient in incense. We passed on the opportunity to taste one.

The cocoons with two worms produce a matted bundle of threads, these are used to make quilts. First the cocoons are put into water, the worms are removed and the ball of silk is transferred to sit in water. The ball is then pulled very thin (can go up to king bed size) by four women standing around a table. Several layers are piled on top of each other. I forget the exact number by they use 9 or 10 layers. This is then put into a cotton protector – like a big pillow case. Then a silk duvet cover goes over that. They do not need to stitch the quilt as the silk batting does not buckle up and will stay in place. While they wash the duvet cover they never wash the quilt – it is hung outside to air two times a year.

 I am told silk should be washed in cold water using shampoo, never laundry soap. We are told the quilts will be warm in winter and cool in summer. Some of the duvet covers are very uniquely designed material. Gary did look at having a silk sports jacket made, they would deliver it to the hotel that night. He eventually decided not to get one.

We had a Chinese (cantonese) lunch which was very much like the Chinese food we get at home.

Our next stop is the Forbidden City. It was like walking onto the set of the Last Emperor, which was filmed here. It has to be seen to be believed, I certainly was not prepared for how big it is, every time we passed through one gate we came to another large square, surrounded by buildings. The city was really the residence of the emperor, his empress, concubines and children. Of course also living there were female servants and eunuchs. In all it was home to 20,000 people. Male visitors could enter the outer court for audiences with the Emperor but could not stay there. There are 8700 rooms. I am sure people were always getting lost wandering through the maze of alleys and buildings. 

The roofs are all done in yellow, a colour reserved for the emperor. If anyone else used yellow they could be beheaded as it was a sign of disrespect. The buildings themselves are red with elaborate paintings on the underside of the eaves, a lot of blue, which is to celebrate heaven. Scattered throughout are huge brass or bronze pots. These were kept filled with water because of the possibility of fire. In winter the pots were covered with silk quilts and fires were built underneath to prevent the water from freezing, buildings are all constructed of wood. Also there are incense burners everywhere, it apparently was very smoky and the smell of incense was everywhere. 

The Forbidden City was built during the Ming Dynasty 1367. There are high red walls about one kilometer long on all four sides around the City, outside the walls is a wide moat. There are 4 gates – north, south, east and west. We enter by the south gate. We are in the first (outer) courtyard. It is immense. At the north side of the courtyard are three sets of stairs, the middle set is reserved for the emperor to use. It is a highly carved ramp with narrow stairs on each side. The emperor would be carried up this ramp in a sedan chair. 

The courtyard is made of brick, 15 bricks deep on top of stone so that the whole thing is 8 meters deep, there are no trees around the outside of the walls or anywhere in the living area. These were security measures to prevent anyone digging their way into the city and/or hiding behind a tree (I guess they would never think to hide behind a vat or building!)

On the roofs there are carvings of mythical animals at each corner, these are to prevent fires. Once again there are high thresholds to step over as we move from one courtyard to another or as we enter a building. We are told that the higher the threshold the higher the status of the people who live there and the lower you must bow to them. We are also told that women are to enter by stepping over the threshold with their right foot and men with their left foot, this is for good luck. Yet another indication that women are always right!  I figure we must be the luckiest people in the world as we do all the things we are told will bring luck. Also next time you visit be prepared to step over a foot high threshold! As for the bowing, we have had people bowing to us for over a month now and have come to expect it every time we enter a room, stand up, are leaving, make a request. In short, all the time. Unless this continues back in Burlington we will likely suffer severe bowing withdrawal.

At age 13 all unmarried girls from upper class families were required to go to the Forbidden City to meet the emperor. He would select the girls he wanted in his house (concubines). Some families wanted their daughter to be chosen as this brought increased status, some went to great lengths to get their daughter married before age 13 so she would not have to go to the Forbidden City as they would not see her very often and her life would be dictated by the emperor. After an emperor died all his concubines were required to move to a Buddhist temple shave their heads and become nuns. Often girls were chosen but never even met the emperor and spent the rest of their lives lolling about the Forbidden City (tough life but I guess someone had to do it).

I had forgotten the story of the Last Emperor and we are reminded of it as we walk around. It is said the “Dragon Lady” ruled the country from “behind the curtain”. Well there actually is a curtain. The emperor would sit on the throne in one of the receiving rooms and behind him was a curtain, the Dragon Lady was behind the curtain whispering instructions and listening to all that was said. It sounds like everyone views her as a real Dragon Lady. She ruled with an iron fist and was ruthless with her enemies. She controlled the emperor and was able to either fool or overwhelm the councilors to get what she wanted.

Our last stop in the Forbidden City is the Imperial Garden. Much like the gardens we have seen elsewhere on a grander scale. There are some very old Cypress trees. As a number of them had old burls and other unusual growths there are several close up pictures of bark and burls; if any one is really interested let me know and I will be happy to send you some.

Our next stop was a tea tasting. I won’t go into the details here of the 3000 different teas in China. If anyone is interested let me know. It was interesting and we did taste 6 very different teas – who knew!

Our day ended with an acrobatics show. By the time we got to our hotel, checked in and got some dinner it was late and we had to be ready to leave for Xi’ An by 6 am the next day.

Wee arrived safely in Beijing and are not affected at all by the earthquake and tsunami.
I will update the blog tomorrow. It is late now and we have an early morning flight to Xi An

March 9, Korea

It is freezing. We knew that it could be cooler as we got to this area, but we did not prepare for 0C. Our tour today was mainly outside so we had on lots of layers. At one point it was snowing.

Our first stop was at a folk village. This is a village constructed to give an idea of life in the 18th & 19th centuries. Houses and artifacts were brought to this area to demonstrate what life was like at that time. We are docked in the port of Icheon about an hours drive from Seoul. It has a population of 1.7 million and Seoul has a population of 11million. Korea is 50 million total.

In 1883 Incheon was the first part of the country open to the Western world. The Japanese had colonized Korea during the period 1910 – 1945. During that time the Japanese built the current highways and railways. There is a very good public transit system with many buses, railways and subways. Most people use the public transit system on a daily basis. After the war ended in 1945, the allies put Korea under their protection and Russia had the northern half. In 1949 the allies withdrew and the Russians left many up to date weapons. There are still many people trying to escape from North Korea. It used to be forbidden to talk about North Korea and they could be put in jail for it. Now things are easier and they can talk about NK.

During the Vietnam war Seoul and Incheon were largely destroyed, they have since been largely rebuilt. Now most people live in high rises, the average unit is 85 sq. meters, home for 3 – 4 people. The unit is usually 3 rooms plus a bathroom and kitchen and the layout is all the same. Many of the buildings look alike, so are numbered in huge numbers on the outside and often with a picture or logo.

Their diet is mainly grains, rice and seafood plus a cabbage based dish called kimchi. In the fall families used to make enough to last the family all winter. This might have been 20 very large pottery jars full. The cabbage is first fermented and then pickled. The jars were then buried and dug up as needed. We had some for lunch and it was very hot spicy.

The village we see is made up of houses brought to this location from all parts of the country, so we see homes for each of the classes and from the north and south. To go into the village we have to pass by the guardians. This consists of 3 rocks and a bunch of totems. Two of the rocks are phallic symbols, the belief is that if you walk between these two rocks you will have a baby. Interestingly no one on our tour chose to walk through the rocks! Some of the totems have “wings” out to the side, these are the males, the ones without the wings are females..

The houses are all very basic. Roofs are made of straw, shale, thatch, rice straw, bark, stones and for the rich tile. The people lived by farming and fishing, in the winter they would weave carpets from rice straw. As late as 1970 more than 60% of the population still lived this way. Each house was home for 3 or 4 generations. The rooms are tiny and all in a straight row. To get from one room to another you often would have to go outside. In the south the kitchen is at one end and the houses are raised on stilts to allow air to flow under and keep the rooms cooler. In the north the kitchen is in the centre of the house and the rooms are on rocks that are heated from the kitchen. The women had to wake up every 4 hours to tend the fire to keep it going all night. (some things never change – women’s work is never done).

Now they heat their homes using hot water under the floors. Of course the toilet in the village is a “squatter”, in a wooden shack with dirt floors. The guide tells us they used squatters until the 1980s. We saw a couple of rooms set up with dummies to show the rooms. The women with a single braid down their backs are single, married women have a braid piled up on top of their head. We saw a “bamboo wife”. This is a roll made of bamboo in a woven design, it is about 5 feet long and the men would sleep with their arms and legs wrapped around the ” wife” to keep cool.

We saw a pharmacy of herbs. They made herbal teas from the herbs. The main herb is ginseng. They still use these pharmacies for preventative medicine and go to a western doctor when they are sick. Ginseng is still the most popular herb and while they grow it domestically the wild ginseng is highly valued and a long root is worth $100,000. 

We toured the old governor’s residence in the village where we saw a few torture devices. One is a wooden bench in the shape of a cross. The victim would be tied face down on the bench and beaten with a large wooden paddle 20 to 100 times until the bones showed. Another device was a wooden chair, the victim sat in the chair and their ankles were tied together, 2 large sticks were placed between their legs and then spread forcing their knees down to the ground (ouch).

We watched a dance – “farmers’ music and dance”. The music was all supplied by drums of different sizes and shapes. The dancers had on hats with streamers attached to tassels which they used to fling around in time to the music. 

Married women keep their father’s family name. Siblings do not use each other’s names but refer to each other as big sister, oldest brother etc. Families traditionally get together twice a year – Korean Thanksgiving and New Years when they go to the family grave to honor their ancestors. Status is very important and they are always trying to figure out who is senior or junior to them. This is one of the times when they use their cars, usually they travel by public transit, parking in the cities is $6.00 per hour. The main industry is car manufacturing, Hyundai and Kia, we don’t see many other brands on the road. The guide points put that most cars are black, white or grey with an occasional red one. Blue and yellow is reserved for buses and trucks.

Seoul was founded in 1395. There is still an outdoor market inside the old city walls. There are five royal residences in the area. We visit the outdoor market, which is freezing! Most of the stores are small stalls built into the walls but we do go into a couple of bigger stores that are like small department stores. We also go into an accessory store which is really a factory for jewelry and other accessories. There are rows and rows of people making these things. The market is similar to others we have seen on the trip, lots of stalls, people carrying things on their backs, motorcycles with stuff piled high, merchandise piled everywhere. Organized mayhem.

The people blame the royalty for surrendering to the Japanese and there has been no royal presence since then. Seoul and Incheon are basically large modern cities, one thing we both noticed was no laundry hanging from balconies!

March 7, Shanghai

Today we are exploring Shanghai. Shanghai is a city of 25 million people. Despite the fact that it is in Communist China it is a bustling modern city for the most part. Our guide said they like the government as it is making things better for the people. He called it a communist country with a capitalist society. It feels like any large, prosperous city in the world. The streets are busy, there is lots of construction, good public transit systems and people seem to be reasonably well off. Of course we are only seeing a small part of the city today and want to see the older traditional areas, which are being well preserved.

To get to Shanghai the ship travels for 6 hours up the Yangtze and then turns into the Huangpu River. Where we are docked it is still tidal, there is a steady stream of barges, some so loaded and low in the water that water is washing onto the deck. We are docked on the older side and looking across to a modern city full of high rises of all shapes – the most interesting to me is one in the shape of a bottle opener. We are told that there was nothing on that side of the river until 1992 when they started building over there. The building is still going on. The land is basically a delta so is wet and sandy, therefore very deep footings are required to support the buildings, some as large as 120 stories high. We are told China’s economy is growing so rapidly that they are currently using 2/3 of all the cranes, 1/2 the cement and 1/3 of the steel in the world. Some dispute about the numbers but a significant portion of construction material. Our guide said the GDP has grown by something like 6400% over the last 20years.

When we leave port we pass miles and miles of industrial areas, tons of ships, dry docks, hundreds of high rise apartment buildings, hundreds of office buildings. There is no question this is an active vibrant city.

We started by going to the museum, located in People’s Square. It is a new building  with a fabulous collection. We are there for 1.5 hours and so can only see a small portion. Gary and I chose to se the jade, bronze, Chinese painting and ceramics collections. We only have time to see a small part of each. The museum is very modern and well laid out. In the painting display the display cabinets are all dark and as someone approaches a light goes on to light the painting inside. Most of the displays start about 8000 years ago. 

We then visit China Town (yes, even in the middle of china there is a China Town in Shanghai!) the main feature of the old city is Mr Yu’s garden. Mr.Yu was a high ranking government official about 500 years ago. His home and garden are apparently modeled after the Forbidden City. It is a much more elaborate and expansive residence and garden then we saw yesterday. To get to the walled in garden we have to walk across a zig zag bridge. The zig zag construction is to keep out the evil spirits, apparently they can only travel in a straight line, so this prevents them from entering the house. 

Once inside we have to step over high thresholds as we move from room to room or enter buildings. We have encountered this throughout most of the countries. We are told this is to keep out ghosts who cannot climb or jump over these obstacles. The garden is constantly being restored, but there are many original features. For example, we are shown a hill made of rocks, it is probably 5 or 6 meters high. It was recently reinforced as they discovered that it was being held together by 400 years old rice! The original builder had used cooked sticky rice to “cement” the rocks together. Think about that next time you have sticky rice. Maybe the next diet – you only have to eat every 400 years as it will last a long time.

The garden is 2 hectares and seems much bigger as we wend out way through the buildings, paths, around ponds, over bridges admiring the sculptures, landscaping, bonsais and greenery. The only colour comes from the bonsai, some of which are in bloom. 

Our guide is younger than many we have met. He started learning English when he was 10. His name is Scotty. He explained that they are given a Chinese name by their parents, his is Panrui, which means wisdom. When they are older they pick an English name. He chose Scotty after some famous soccer player. He has named his daughter Bamboo Jade which means strength and beauty. He talked about the one child policy and said that many people wanted a son, but he had wanted a daughter, because he knew that daughters are better at caring for their parents in old age. He is a bit of a philosopher – a daughter is a daughter for life, a son is a son until he takes a wife.

We didn’t get any information on average wage etc so not sure how that compares but he did say most people live in suburbs and commute. While there were all the new high rises we also passed some desperate looking slum areas. Hanging from balconies on a lot of the “lower class” buildings was washing. It appears as though nobody has a dryer.

As we get on and off the bus we are accosted by entrepreneurs selling all kinds of stuff. Our guide says there are antique stores all over but the antiques in them are only one week old. The people surrounding us are very persistent, selling a set of 2 wheels that you can strap to the back of your shoes for a different kind of roller skate. When we point out that we are all too old he has other things to sell, but also suggests they could be presents. One group is selling Mont Blanc pen and pencils sets, they start at $10 US and by the time we are at the bus you can buy two sets for a dollar. Gary had been saying he would like to get a genuine fake Rolex. When he said Rolex to one of the kids, then kid reached into his bag and came up with a good looking Rolex watch. He asked 500 yuen, by the time we got to the bus it was 150 yuen. Gary bought it and it worked, well until we got on the ship, now he is looking for a watch repair person. The  on-board comedian suggest he take to the jewelry shop and they could fix as they have a big hammer. He is not getting sympathy from anyone. We asked the guide about copy right laws and he said there is no word in Chinese for that. He and other guides we have had in China say the Chinese are very good at making things look like something else and we are warned to be very careful shopping. Who has time to shop!

March 6, Shanghi

 We took another trip into the country today to the city of Suzhou. Suzhou with a population of only 4 million is considered a small city by Chinese standards. It is 2500 years old and was originally a walled city. It was established  about 500 BC during the time of Confucius.  We see one of the gates and wall. Outside the walls was a large moat which is part of the grand canal. The walls were originally built 2000 years ago and were refurbished about 800 years ago. The city is a popular spot for the Chinese to visit, famous for it’s gardens, the canal, silk and the beautiful women. The women from this area are considered to be the most beautiful in China.

The canal was built 1700 years ago by the emperor. He built it so he could visit the gardens and to find more concubines. Apparently the 900 he already had wasn’t enough for him! The canal is over 1500 kilometers long and runs from Beijing to Suzhou. These days it is dry in the north due to droughts.

It is a cool rainy day and our guide assures us that the gardens are much nicer in the rain and that is when artists will come there to paint as the colours are more subtle and romantic. Marco Polo made his home in Suzhou for 18 years. During this period he established the silk route and exported silk, ceramics and tea to Europe. Black tea is fermented. 

When Suzhou was first established, China was an area of many small warring countries. In 200 BC the emperor from the north unified the whole of China. This is the same emperor who had the terra cotta warriors erected in his tomb.

We visit the Master of Nets garden. The garden was laid out about 1000 years ago during the Southern Song Dynasty. The Chinese ideal for a garden – must have 4 elements: water, rocks, trees and pavilions. One of the original trees is still standing, a nine hundred year old ginkgo biloba. The garden combined living quarters integrated within the landscape garden. We never did find out who built it, our guide said he was a “big cheese” – I didn’t realize that was a Chinese term! In addition to the beautiful garden there is a studio for an artist and was once occupied by China’s most famous artist. There are mosaic decorations in the garden floor of cranes, for longevity and bats for good luck. We see a study with old books and a bed. The bed was used for reading and for smoking, it sounds like the smoking was opium. There is an elaborately decorated reception hall with an old heater in the middle of the room. The furniture is either mahogany or teak. The buildings are mainly constructed of mahogany. 

Next is a Chinese lunch with bamboo shoots, spinach and sesame, cow stomach with noodles (spicy), pork with dates in a mysterious sauce, sweet and sour fish, cabbage with bacon, green beans, shrimp, sweet and sour soup, beer, green tea and watermelon.

We had a cruise along the canal, we start on the main canal and then travel along one of the tributaries, there are several smaller canals we pass. The canal is still a living area, the real China, our guide says. We see people out doing their wash in the canal, in the rain. There are a couple of areas we pass through where restaurants and hotels are starting to be established. In some areas we cam see that the shores are being cleaned up and revitalized. It is developing into a tourist area. 

 Our last stop before heading back to the ship is at an embroidery workshop. Unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures. The embroidery work is unbelievable. There are some portraits in the entrance way of Buddha, Chairman Mao, Princess Diana and a copy of the Mona Lisa. They are all done by master embroidery experts and are amazing in the detail and colouring. It took two years to complete each one. Painstaking work. We saw a few workers, there are four methods they use. One sided embroidery, which is what we are used to seeing, 2 sided, where both sides look exactly the same (there are no knots showing on either side), it is done using two needles. Two sided where the same picture is depicted on each side but the colours are different and two sided where there are two completely different pictures and coloring on each side. The pictures are often done in layers to give a three dimensional result. The colours are vibrant and glowing. The portraits changed coloring and appearance as you looked at them from different angles. We purchased one small example of a two sided picture.

We return to Shanghai, it is Sunday so we are told there is little traffic, I am certainly glad we are not doing this trip on a day when the traffic is bad. It is like Toronto on a week day. There are a number of motorcycles, scooters, bicycles and motorized bicycles. Most areas they have their own lane and often that lane is separated by a curb. In some places the bikes share a wide sidewalk with  pedestrians.

Here, as in Taiwan and Japan, we have to go through a face-to-face verification of our passports and visas along with a remote thermal check. At our first port in Japan we are also fingerprinted. The only time I had any problem was when we first arrived in Bangkok, apparently I look nothing like my passport picture when my face is covered with a bandage, I was asked to produce an identification card. Luckily I had thrown in my driver’s license at the last minute. I rarely take it traveling. He laughed and said the 2 pictures are different and neither looked like me. Eventually a supervisor let me in – was almost a very short trip!

March 4  Nagasaki

We took a trip to Uzen and Shimabara which are on the peninsula across the bay from Nagasaki. The drive over took us through an agricultural area overlooking the bay. The primary products are potatoes, onions and rapeseed, we saw many terraced farms covering the mountainous terrain. The potatoes are just being started at this time and the fields were mostly covered with plastic to protect the plants from the frost. The day was cool but sunny with little wind and by afternoon was very comfortable.

In the bay are many fish farms where they are raising Sea Breem, Yellow Tail and Blowfish. 

The peninsula is a real hot spot, it still has a number of active volcanos and hot springs dot the area. Our first stop is at a small fishing village named Obama. O means small and bama means seashore. Apparently it is a common name for villages along the seacoast. All through the town are vents with steam pouring out. They use the steam for heating and for cooking. There are also several hot spring baths.

As we drive into the middle of the peninsula we see terraced rice paddies. The rice is harvested twice a year. Rice consumption in Japan is decreasing as people are eating more potatoes, bread and noodles now. We pass a station wagon with an elaborately carved gold colored dragon on the roof, this is a typical hearse.

We arrive in Uzen and visit Uzen Jigoku. Jigoku means Hell. The area has been used since discovered in 700BC by a Buddhist monk. For centuries women were not allowed in the area. It does look like Hell and smells like sulphur. it reminds us of the boiling mud in New Zealand. It is now a resort area where people come for the hot springs which are supposed to be good for various ailments and for the skin. The water will reach a temperature of 210F. From our memory it seems a lot hotter and active than the area in New Zealand. As we walk down the mountain it is less active.

Nagasaki was the only port open to trade with western Europe during the period that foreigners were not allowed in Japan (called the period of national isolation 1641 – 1858).

We had another traditional Japanese lunch at one of the resort hotels – a selection of appetizers (a kind of coleslaw, pickled veggies and some UIO), sashimi, yellow fin fish cooked with daikon radish, rice, a broth with noodles and a chewy UIO, tempura with squid and veggies and of course green tea. The whole meal was delicious ( UIO=unidentifiable object). 

Next we are in Shimabara a town that sits on the water below a still active volcano. The volcano was active during 1990 – 1995 with a major eruption in 1992. During the active period there were over 9600 flaming flows or avalanches, one of which buried most of the town. We visited a memorial park that contains some of the homes as they were found, many had only the roof showing above the rubble, some had the second floor still attached, amazingly windows, antenna are intact. 

The town appears to have been rebuilt and we learn that those who did escape the tragedy came back and built a new home on top of where their old house is buried under 6 meters of rubble. The town has also made two huge trenches in an effort to divert any future flows away from the houses. The memorial area reminds us of Pompeii but on a much smaller scale.

In the same town we visit more samurai homes, this time that of lower level samurais and the castle of the local feudal lord. The castle and houses are 380 years old. a stream runs down the middle of the road. This provided the drinking water for the homes along the road. The houses are smaller than what we saw yesterday with much less elaborate gardens. These samurai worked as minor bureaucrats when there was peace. The higher the rank of the samurai the closer they lived to the castle.

The castle is a five level white building. It is situated on a built up area, surrounded by a high stone wall and a wide moat. The exhibition depicts the persecution of Christians during the 17th century. During that time Christianity was banned and over 30,000 Christians were killed.

The Samurai were in place from 12th century until 1800s. The Samurai fighting outfits look very heavy. They have leather armor including fierce looking masks. As we left the castle we had our picture taken with a couple of samurai and ninjas.

March 3 Kagoshima, Japan

After 36 hours of really rough seas we arrived in Japan. Gary and I survived the rough seas without mishap but a lot of people, including some of the crew did not fare so well. We figured there was something going on when the captain said there would be some rough weather and the crew started tying down everything on deck, closing off all access to the outside decks and distributing barf bags! 

Anyway we arrived to a cool and cloudy day. Our tour started with a drive through the country. Kagoshima is in the southern part of Japan and is on a large peninsula that is largely agricultural. We passed fields of rape seed in bloom, peas, teas bushes and sweet potatoes. They distill a strong liquor from the potatoes (25% alcohol). They also raise black beef nd black pigs here.

Our first stop is at the town of Chiran. It is an old town which was once the stronghold of a Feudal Lord. He had his castle here and surrounding the castle were the homes of the samurai who protected him. Some of the houses have been preserved and are now inhabited by their descendants. Because the houses are their homes we cannot enter them but we can go into the gardens. We tour a series of beautiful, peaceful, traditional gardens. A few of the houses have a thatched roof, gradually being replaced with tile.

All the gardens have at least one high rock to represent the crane and one flat rock to represent the turtle, both are symbols of good health and longevity. We have seen these symbols in all the countries we have visited so far. Only one of the gardens has any water. The gardens are 250 – 300 years old. In one garden we saw flowering plum trees that are 380 years old. You can see where the rocks were broken apart for transportation. It is believed they broke the rocks apart, transported them using oxen, and reassembled them once they reached their destination. 

The flower of this district is the azalea and many of the gardens incorporate azalea bushes, unfortunately they are not in bloom until May. The background of mountains or forest are considered to be part of the garden called borrowed garden. 

There are very few flowers, no flower beds, and no grass just the occasional daffodil or crocus. The gardens are sent in a landscape of white sand which represents water. The gardens are maintained by experts supplied by the city and the owners cannot change the gardens so they will be maintained in their original state. In exchange for opening their gardens to the public the owners pay no property tax and have free gardening done. 

All of the houses have a stone gate, as you enter through the gate you are faced with a stone wall creating a maze, this is to make it difficult for the enemy to make an attack on the house. Immediately inside the gate was the “privy”. We are told it was located there for 3 reasons. First so guests could “do their business” before entering the house. Second so the samurai could prepare himself before exiting – he would be wearing a long, heavy skirt, shields and a long sword. Lastly, as the property is completely enclose by a wall and hedges someone could sit in the privy and listen in on the conversations outside.

The main street in the town is very neat, has sculptured trees lining the street, on one side there is a culvert with water flowing and large carp living in there. As we leave town the street is lined with both sides with large stone lanterns, these were all donated by families of the kamikaze pilots, who all reined in this area. Our guide did not say much about the war, except that the army was in charge of the country at that time and the second biggest mistake they made was introducing the kamikaze pilots. The first mistake was to challenge the western countries. Japan had never lost a war before and believed they were invincible. 

We leave Chiran to drive to a hotel for lunch. On the way we stop for a view of Mount Kaiuran, called the Mount Fuji of the south. It is also a single, conical shaped volcano. We arrive at the Iwasaki Hotel which is a resort area boasting a world class golf course, hot sand baths and hot springs. It was empty except for our buses but I expect it is a very popular spot in season. We had a fabulous lunch with sashimi, shabu-shabu (with local black pork), tempura, miso soup, tofu made from nuts, rice, pickled veggies, various sauces and locally grown green tea. As we left the hotel all the staff that had waited on us lined up outside the bus to bow and wave good-bye. We are told this is done to honor their customers, it happens again at another stop we make.

We then travel to Nagasakibana. Bana means nose and this is a rock outcrop shaped like a nose with a great view of Mt Kaiuran. As we walk out to the light house we pass by a Shinto temple which is dedicated to the fishermen. We are shown how to pray to the god. The shrine has a couple of bottles of Saki sitting on the steps. First you must pull the cord to wake the god whom is napping after having drunk the saki. Then you put money into the well and bow two times to the god. You make your request and bow two more times. If you want to know your fortune, you go to a box beside the bell cord and buy a folded piece of paper. Inside you will see your fortune which may be very good, good, so-so, bad or very bad. If it is bad you tie the paper to a rope by the shrine so the god will change your fortune. 

We are told the legend of the fisherman Toro and the dragon princess to whom the temple is dedicated. (if anyone is really interested ask me and I will tell you the story). 

Our last stop is at a crater lake which is inhabited by giant eels. The eels grow to almost 2 meters in length. There were a few in tanks so we could see what they look like. They look like giant eels. We also saw a display of Samurai fighting dress – a fierce looking bunch.

They do make you feel welcome here. We were greeted in the morning by a drum group and as the ship sailed off there were fireworks in our honor. As has been the case I every port except Hong Kong we are the only cruise ship here.

Some things we learned about Japan:
The country is divided into 200 prefectures, each of which operates like a state with a governmental body managing the area. The prefectures we are in has a relatively small population of 1.6 million people and 1.4 million pigs in an area of 9,187 sq kms. Including all the islands in the south it stretches 600 kms. Japan has a population of over 130 million people and 5 million vending machines. Our guide tells us that Japanese have problems with r & l, so they don’t care whether they are eating rice or lice or wether they are frying or flying.

By the harbor where we are docked is an active volcano, last year it had 900 eruptions and the last major one was in 1914. It has 3 peaks and is 1060 mts high. It was smoking as we pulled in and had a minor eruption (basically a puff of smoke) while we were there. Four thousand people live on the small island created by the volcano. Ferries run between the island and mainland 24/7 to ensure the islanders always have a way to get off the island.

90% of the population are Buddhist and 90% are Shinto. Baptisms are done in the Shinto style, wedding in Christian style and funerals in Buddhist style.

The Japanese all are covered by the national health plan. For this under 75 years there is a 30% charge, over 75 the charge is 10%. 

Everywhere is kept clean and they are very aware of the environment. They have to separate garbage into 31 different categories for recycling. It is considered very rude to litter and people keep their cars clean for the same reason.