The trip is almost over. I’ll try to make our way through the rest of it with a little more speed. In between I’ve been working on something called “My Father’s House: Torsas, Kalmar, Sweden 1907” I hope someday it will be the first chapter in the fictionalized memoir of my father– oops, biography, I guess, since I wasn’t around yet in 1907.
For now, it belongs to Writer’s Digest because I entered it in a contest. Come October, when they announce the winners (one of whom I don’t expect to be) I’ll be free to begin submitting it to agents. along with the outline for the rest of it.
It’s a really fun project. I have a number of sources to work with. My sister has more recollections than I do, because she’s been around longer than I have, but I also remember some of my Dad’s stories, and I did take a trip back to Sweden with my parents in 1955, so I have pictures — some in my head, some more tangible — of where he came from. I also have my son-in-law’s discoveries in his work on genealogy and a paper my niece wrote when she interviewed her grandfather back in her high school years. There are also the recollections reported to me by a woman who was essentially adopted by my Swedish grandmother sometime after my father, the youngest, left to join his five siblings in America.
Probably the most fun is googling to fill in the details. It’s amazing, actually. Google “Swedish food in 1907” for example, and up comes a blog by someone with his/her great grandmother’s recipe book from 1907. Try to figure out how my father at age seventeen got from Torsas to Solvesborg and up comes information about the new railroad that reached Karlskrona in 1907 -about half-way between Torsas and Solvesborg. Google “Swedish musical instruments in 1907” and up come photos and descriptions. There’s lots more, but you get the idea.
In a way, it’s as if I’m visiting Sweden again as I get involved in the atmosphere. I giggled when I found a site telling business folk what to expect in dealing with Swedes. They are very punctual, it says, so much so that, if a party is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., they will stop up the street if they are early and move on to arrive just on the dot. I giggled, because that’s what my father and mother used to do when they came to visit me after my marriage.
It talked too about the large amount of personal space Swede’s expect. Imagine me — from that heritage — meeting my Italian family with a much smaller expectation of personal space.
Well anyway. That’s what I’ve been spending time on, keeping me away from finishing this trip with you.
So now, on to our second day in Shanghai.
Two tours filled our time that day. First there was the visit to ZhuzjaiJaio, translated “Watertown” for us language-limited Americans. At some point, the Chinese government realized that Chinese heritage was in danger of being lost as the country grew and modernized. Dare I say Westernized? So some communities were set aside for protection to continue functioning as they traditionally had.
No, they are not the Chinese equivalent of Colonial Williamsburg. They are families living as their predecessors had. In fact, we were told by the guide that it would be impolite to take photos of people who were going about their business, unless they indicated with a smile or gesture that it would be OK. In a sense, their hometown was being invaded by us tourists. Clearly it was not an unusual event for them. They did indeed just go about their business.
We rode sampans down the waterway. Oh my, how strong the men had to be to manipulate those boats with their one long pole.
So, here are some of the photos I took on that trip. I hope it may give some of the feel of our experience. A partial view of the sampan driver (I don’t know if that’s the right word) can be seen with his long pole at the rear of the vessel. Notice the red decorations for the Chinese New Year. I’m quite sure the guides told us the holiday lasts for three weeks.
And Here they are. Folks going about their daily business.
I found this bridge particularly beautiful
The second part of that day’s tour was a visit to the silk shop. The Chinese were particularly anxious for us to see the beautiful things they make. And, of course, to sell us something. Believe me, if I had that kind of money, I would have bought something even though it wouldn’t fit into my minimalist home.
the initial “Oh My” experience was seeing this piece in the process of being created. Working from a pattern, the craftsperson manages to finish five rows a day, payment depending, I believe, on the number of rows completed.
Now you are about two see two completed rugs. The one in the center is about 12×24 inches (smaller than the one you see being created above.) Priced at $2400, it did seem worth the price. Think of what went into making it. the design, the long process of completing it.
Now, here comes the second “Oh My!” experience. Take a look at the banner heading today’s entry. There you find the same three rugs viewed from the other side. I don’t mean turned over. I mean, just walk around and view it from the other side (like where those two feet barely show about this photo).
Or just see them below from the other point of view. ‘Nuff said?
Some of the work they do is with silk and cotton mixed. Those rugs get sculpted, as seen below with a very experienced artist working on one of them.
I believe one or two of the tourists is our group did buy a full size carpet. There was also silk bedding available, but I failed to get good photos of that. I didn’t even get a good photo of the silk being extracted from the silk worms. Sorry.
And then we returned to the ship. During dinner I took a photo of the decorated dining room-still celebrating Chinese New Year.
(Remember, you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.)
And so we near the end — but still more time in China. This time in Shanghai, beginning with a view of the port.
The thing of outstanding interest in Shanghai is the difference between the Bund, the side of the Huang Pu River that is the older site, and it’s opposite bank, the bustling new and modern Shanghai that was once an area of some few homes and ample forestation. We started our excursion on the new side at the museum,
gorgeously modern on the outside, and most beautiful on the inside, beginning with the ground floor.
Photography – without flash — was allowed, so I took a few shots, though my camera was a bit restless. Just a couple good enough to show here. First, a furniture display.
Then a happy Buddha.
Here’s more of what the modern side looked like’
Our next stop was at the Bund, the other side of the river, which gave a better view of the tall buildings.
One building-in-process intrigued me because of the method. The top and the bottom were unfinished, but the mid section looked pretty complete.
I happened to see the building later in the March 2013 Popular Science. It turns out I was looking at the Shanghai Tower, the second tallest building in the world and a particularly interesting engineering feat. Googling told me credit goes to the San Francisco Architecture firm Gensler.
But now join me in looking directly at the Bund itself,
including a wall of flowers
and a statue which seems to extol the strength of the working man.
But we’re not done yet. It’s time for lunch.
Once again a very modern, even elegant, hotel greeted us. We still haven’t hit the traditional Chinese method of service.
Back on the street, we had another chance to share in the celebration of the Chinese New Year by observing decorations on the street.
Picking up on the theme of comparing markets, here we have a market in Shanghai, with more New Year’s celebration.
And now on to the the YuYuan gardens, appreciated by crowds of people, so it wasn’t easy to get photos of the scenes we passed in approaching the entrance. It was a matter of luck whether the camera grabbed a shot as we moved through.
Notice the crowds in the upper part of the photo, and you’ll see what I mean. And take a look at the header for today — the YuYuan gardens.
I’m realizing this was a very full day, ’cause we’re not done yet. We still have the Jade Buddha Temple to visit.
Unfortunately I didn’t realize until the end of the trip that my little old camera could take motion pictures. If I had known, I could have done better than just a still photo of the chant and response at the temple.
But we did finally head back to the ship, but not the end of interesting things to note about Shanghai — a bright and active night life.
Remember, you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.
Hong Kong, China, and we are approaching the end of the journey. But we haven’t reached the end yet. Good. I don’t want it to end.
It took a lot of paper work, and we were photographed as we exited the ship. Otherwise, I felt happily comfortable in China. In fact, I loved it there. More about the people in the next segment, but here still is the travelogue.
If you remember the photos of arrivals at previous ports, you’ll see the difference here — a very active commercial port – and colorful, too.
Our first visit on land was to the funicular that took us to Victoria Peak.
It really is local transport. We stopped at one point on the way up to pick up passengers. That led me to take a photo of the notice of posted stops. (Look up, to the right.)
The final funicular stop was not, however, the end of the trip to Victoria Peak We needed to take the escalator (or maybe I took the elevator — I guess you already know I have an aversion to escalators.)
At the top, we got to wander around for a while. Here’s what Hong Kong looked like to my camera. I’m not sure whether the haze is smog or weather haze.
Reminding us that the world really is small, our gathering spot to move on to the next phase of our journey was outside Starbucks.
There we were also reminded that the Chinese celebrate their new year long (3 weeks) and enthusiastically, as witnessed by the flower display in the square, set up there in celebration of the holiday.
OK, now here’s the question for you. Do you remember the markets from our previous stops? Well, here’s the Stanley market –our next stop. Some difference, huh?
Then we went on to Aberdeen, a section of Hong Kong. More specifically we spent time on a sampan touring the harbor. By the way, notice the British influence in so many of the place names. And take a look at the sampan (well, one like ours) on the header
I cheated a bit and googled some, helping to put some words to what I had seen.It’s a busy harbor — a floating village, really. Mentioned first was the jumbo floating restaurant, looking lie a floating palace of imperial China. One of many restaurants in the harbor, I wish I could take a trip back just to eat at this one.
And here it is as viewed from the sampan.
The 99% (Well, a manner of speaking) are in the fishing industry, and living in the harbor.
Then there are the several dozen expatriates living in their boats on the harbor.
And finally, perhaps the middle class? — a houseboat. If I had a pointer I could show you the TV up against the wall on the deck.
Another exciting, mind-broadening, heart-expanding day in Asia.
There is still more of our journey to come. Remember, you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.
I’ll be back
Remember, you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.
It was a beautiful, peaceful, and interesting day, cruising the lovely Halong Bay in a touring junk.
Lovely scenery
Interesting events. Boat family selling fruit pulled right up to the Junk, the mom clinging to the side, while dad steered the boat, and their young one munched on fruit. I didn’t buy fruit, but I did take a photo, so I handed a dollar to the mom (not visible, to the left of the photo) but it was the child who calmly and with great authority took the bill and tucked it way.
They came back later for another try. This time the mom, riding the edge of the boat, inserted her head and her fruit right into the junk.
So did an older child.
This was a “city” of boat people. See the banner at the top. Even, apparently, they have their own bank.
The most amazing view was of a Unesco World Heritage Site, as marked by this sign.
Inside there somewhere is the Thien Cung Cave – the word awesome, in its original powerful meaning, applied – I mean, really awesome. But I didn’t take a photo of it. With my acrophobia, I knew I’d be clinging to anything I could find that was cling-able, so I left my camera behind. But I have something even better, thanks to my son the photographer who doesn’t suffer acrophobia, or any of those other inconvenient things.
Is that amazing, or what? ….
(Please remember you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.)
A story of splendor and destruction, we saw the remains of the imperial city, the enclave of the last emperor of Vietnam, whose rule lasted until the mid 1900s. Since 1993 it has been a UNESCO site. Once lavishly beautiful, it was seen by some as the equivalent of China’s Forbidden City. Even before war took its toll, however, it suffered damage through termites and neglect.
Originally during the Vietnam war it was protected by the Americans, but in 1969 bombing destroyed much of it when it seemed a necessary step in the process of the battle. According to reports, it is being at least partially restored with predictions that the improvements will be completed sometime in 2015. Click on this More on the Imperial City for additional information about its history and future.
I failed to get a photo of the Ngo Mon Gate through which the emperor was allowed to enter while all others were required to enter by side exits based on status, with gender one of the distinguishing factors. Click on Ngo Mon Gate and choose the fourth photo on the right at the top to see the gate and entrances.
Some of what’s left is beautiful as befits an emperor.
And much is sadly destroyed and/or neglected. I took the following photo looking through an opening onto what was essentially a collection of rejected items.
Saddest was the remnant of the Imperial library which apparently survived the war in pretty good shape, but was finally deliberately destroyed by the Viet Minh. (Maybe someone in commenting will correct me, but that’s what I understood.)
As we headed back to our bus, I couldn’t help noting and recording the memorial to war casually sitting there on the corner.
Lest I leave you with the impression of destruction, here’s a shot of the opposite corner.
And another scene along the way.
I promised more color this time, so here it is. Nha Trang.
Please remember you can click on the photos to make them larger. It’s especially impressive, I think, when you get to the embroidery.
Already Things look more affluent. The header is a photo — cropped to fit — of one view across the harbor from the ship.
And a busy harbor it is.
Look down to the right at the buses lined up on the pier, ready to take us off to our day’s adventure. Notice the red dots near them – musicians just finishing up after welcoming us.
First visit, the Po Nagar Cham Towers where Buddhists come to pray, leaving their shoes outside, though I didn’t choose that photo. This one is clearer, so just imagine the entry steps at the bottom, littered with shoes. Wikipedia can tell you more. Po Nagar Cham Towers
Interesting and colorful things were going on around it, like this woman weaving.
And Doug being interviewed by a member of the local media. By the way, Doug’s hat blew off during the Tuk Tuk ride in Thailand, so he bought himself a new one in Cambodia. You may also be able to see how he celebrates vacations by letting his beard grow.
Long Son Pagoda was our next stop. I was satisfied with viewing the giant white Buddha from below, while Doug, of course, took full advantage of the opportunity to explore. I chatted with a lovely lady of 89 on tour with her daughter. And I bought two drawings on silk, done by the monks, sold by a lovely young girl who explained that the profits went to supplies for the school. Very inexpensive. I should have bought more. Sometimes I get ridiculously stingy; other times I get ridiculously spendthrift. And so it goes when traveling. (By the way, isn’t “spendthrift” an oxymoron?)
I loved seeing the Buddhas from the time we arrived in Singapore.
But now we moved on to something quite different. An embroidery factory. According to the guide’s report, the women work 10 hour days 7 days a week. Reported very matter-of-factly. One woman gave us a lovely smile as we walked past, but I didn’t act fast enough, so I got a photo of her after she turned her attention back to work.
The final products are beautiful — and expensive. I just looked.
At the end of the day, back aboard the ship after dark, I got a photo of one of the cable car stanchions. Indicative of the advanced economy of Nha Trang, the cable cars run regularly, carrying people back and forth from the mainland to a reportedly top-notch resort hotel on an offshore island.
I’ll be back in a few days with the next stop, Da Nang, Vietnam.
The port was Phu My, Vietnam. The excursion took us to the Cu Chi Tunnels. I recommend that you go to this link to get more detail. Cu Chu Tunnels
Seeing and exploring the tunnels left us shaking our heads. There was no way the war could have been won against this connection of tunnels so small only the Vietnamese, smaller than Americans, could easily crawl through them.
Amazingly there were also underground rooms large enough to serve as hospitals, weapons storage, or eating areas.
If you read the link, you’ll see how miserable it was for the warriors who spent days in the tunnel, emerging at night to tend their own land. You’ll also see how miserable it became for the Americans and our allies, as well as for the decimated land.
Great efforts were taken, of course, to hide the tunnels. For example, here’s a fake termite mound that concealed the opening for air to enter the tunnel.
We tourists were invited to explore a section made somewhat larger so we could go through it. I’m including some photos, taken with my camera, of the experience in the tunnel. I could pretend I took them, but my parents implanted in me much too severe a superego, so I can’t lie. I have to confess that, Doug’s camera being too large to cart along safely, it was my little one that went into the hole with him. I saw no need to duck walk through a tunnel.
Anyway, here’s part of the series that Doug took, starting with the folks in front of him entering the tunnel.
And going deeper.
And the folks behind him emerging.
With the camera back in my hands, I got a very poor quality photo of a guide demonstrating the entrance into the tunnel. Arms up to make himself small enough. Some of the folks in our tour group tried it themselves. (I didn’t.)
And finally, the entrance concealed.
No, not a colorful day. But after the Cu Chi visit we had lunch at a very pleasant restaurant on the shore of the Saigon river. I was fascinated with the quiet beauty of a row of greenery flowing rapidly downstream. That’s what I chose as the header for this presentation. I’m also including the full photo here.
So the excursion ended peacefully, with thoughts lingering of the futility of war.
I promise the next stop I’ll share will be much more colorful.
p.s. I’m quite sure you can increase the size of any photo by clicking on it.
As with every stop, the folks in Cambodia chose to show with pride some of the best they had to offer. In Cambodia the total devastation of their country limited the sites available to show, but the spirit of recovery shone through.
By the way, I believe you can enlarge any of these photos by clicking on them.
Our first stop was at the Intra Ngean Pagoda, nearing the end of a 10-year process of reconstruction. It was basically a series of buildings and statues around a partially enclosed square. Entering the square, we were met by signs of poverty in the begging children who approached us, and signs of entrepreneurship in those selling objects, especially suitable for the Chinese New Year that was being celebrated everywhere during our trip.
I first met Emily who was selling lovely decorations which, I am quite sure, she had made herself — skilled and lovely. I promised I’d come back to her later to purchase some. She was the first of the two future business leaders of Cambodia I met that day.
But first I wandered around seeing the sights – especially the reclining Buddha.
In my explorations I was met by Tia, also selling the lovely hand-made New Year’s decorations. (I’m sorry. I have no photos to show you of the decorations. I realized I bought too few and ended up giving them all away, so I have none of my own to photograph.) Tia, a super salesperson, tied a braided bracelet around my wrist to wish me happiness and good fortune. Of course I bought several from her.
Then I went back to Emily and purchased some, but she wouldn’t let me take her photo, because I’d bought more from Tia than from her. (I really hadn’t realized that under the pressure of purchase.) At any rate, I’m sure I have met two very powerful women of the future in Cambodia.
The next thing they had to show us was the beach with its many chairs and open-front restaurants, obviously waiting for their evening customers. And the folks selling wares. See the banner at the top of this blog presentation.
We also saw a fishing village — pretty quiet on the day we were there because it was the New Year’s holiday. I did get a shot of the village street.
And the resting (and very expensive) fishing boats.
As in everyplace we visited, we saw the markets. Here in Cambodia it was a crowded market carrying all kinds of wares, including TVs, fresh food, and even a hairdresser cutting a customers hair.
What a courageous and delightful group we met. How I want to return in 10 years to see what they have accomplished.
What I have to show and tell here is limited, I know. A day or two in a country, with selected excursions, does not make me an expert. So, what I hope I’m doing here is sharing my limited experience. I do want to point out, though, that in each country our hosts were proud to show the best of their homeland.
During our two days in Thailand, visiting Bangkok, our hosts clearly enjoyed creating fun for us as well as showing us three impressive Wats, sacred sites for Buddhists. If you’d like to google them, we visited Wat Ratchanadda, Wat Suthat, and Wat Po. At the latter site there was a record breaking reclining Buddha – so huge the building that housed it was built around it. So large my camera couldn’t get a photo. To tell the truth, it took a visit to Asia for me to learn that the Buddha is portrayed in many positions. It is not an effort to reproduce his appearance, but a reflection of the feeling, spirituality inspired by the Buddha.
I didn’t get very good Buddha photos here, but I am including one that isn’t too bad.
I’m also including a photo of the Wat of one of the King’s brothers. (OK. I confess, I don’t know who the king was, but I was interested that he loved the Chinese porcelain so much that he even used the broken pieces to help decorate the Wat.
The most “fun” thing the first day was a TukTuk ride – so called because that’s what they sound like.
I did manage to get a decent photo of Bangkok’s appearance around the metal palace. (You might like to google that too.)
The second day we saw a 45 minute cultural show in a large theater. That was before I realized that my camera (probably five years in my possession) took movies. That wouldn’t have helped with filming the show, however, even if I had realized it. It was too dark. The best I got was a photo of the back ends of the crowds seated on benches to watch the show. Definitely not interesting enough to share.
But I do have photos of the elephant show that followed, as well as the ceramic garden we visited afterwards. First, the elephant show — the opening parade.
And take a look at the banner on today’s post. People lying on the ground so the elephants can step over them. It was clear the audience knew the routine, because when the time came they ran out to put themselves in position to be stepped over. Also, there were those who volunteered to be picked up and carried in the elephant’s trunk. I didn’t include a photo of that here.
But I am including one of the many photos I took in the ceramic garden.
I hope that showing these photos conveys the sense of pride and fun our hosts displayed. The trip was feeling like much more than a view of tourist attractions. I was — and am — filled with the warmth of contact with wonderful people. And guides who spoke amazingly good English — mostly American English.
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