Random thoughts from the sea
Day 32, Grand Asia 2018 Thursday, Nov. 1, Keelung, Taiwan: The farther we sailed southwest toward Taiwan, the heavier the clouds. Soon we had light rain. By noon, as we approached the harbor at Keelung on the northern side of the island, the waves became choppy. The small pilot boat
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Day 31, Grand Asia 2018 Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, Naha, Okinawa, Japan: After a month of near-perfect weather, the tide is turning and affecting our itinerary. While I was in the city of Naha on Okinawa, Capt. Eversen announced that our stop tomorrow in Ishigaki, Japan, is canceled due to
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Day 29, Grand Asia 2018 Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, Shanghai, China: The chirping drowned out almost everything. This was a side of Shanghai, with its skyscrapers and designer shops, that I hadn’t seen before. We had passed through a narrow door into a market behind the storefronts in the old
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Day 28, Grand Asia 2018 Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, Shanghai, China: There is no better eye candy from the ship than in Shanghai. I slept later than usual and missed the pre-dawn journey up the Haungpu River. My first sight of the city was the view from my balcony, and
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Day 25, Grand Asia 2018 Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018, Tianjin, China: After a day in Tianjin yesterday and a two-day trip to Beijing last year, my options for today were limited. The ship offered a 40-minute shuttle ride to a mall, but having heard the descriptions from those who went
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Day 24, Grand Asia 2018 Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, Tianjin, China: New York City has about 8.6 million people, according to Wikipedia. Tianjin, China, has 15.6 million residents. And yet I had never heard of Tianjin before cruising to China. For cruisers, Tianjin is best known as the port for
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Day 23, Grand Asia 2018 Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, At Sea: After six straight days in five ports, we were ready for two lazy sea days. Yesterday we sailed among South Korean islands for much of the day, passing between Jeju and the mainland and eventually heading northwest toward Tianjin,
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Day 21, Grand Asia 2018 Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, Fukuoka, Japan: With our stop today in Fukuoka, we have visited the four main islands of Japan. Later we will go to the fifth, Okinawa. Fukuoka is known for its food. In 2014, Condé Nast Magazine named it Japan’s Next Great
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Day 20, Grand Asia 2018 Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, Kochi, Japan: The Japanese coast is dotted with port cities of various sizes. This island nation of mountainous terrain is most easily traversed by water, especially for commercial shipping. A few cities are well known to Americans — Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka,
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Day 19, Grand Asia 2018 Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, Kobe, Japan: There was a time when I wouldn’t eat a meal ashore while on a cruise. After all, I had “paid” for my meals on the ship, and they generally are very good. Today I not only ate ashore, but
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