Blog # 15 - Coming Home
A fun aspect of cruising is getting dressed for dinner as well as not worrying about going to the store and shopping for food.
Traveling with friends is special
Artie celebrates a birthday at "Prime;" one of his favorite restaurants on the ship.
A "Sea Day" -- We don't have to get up early, quickly eat and rush to get ready for a tour. We can have a relaxed breakfast, be served and have no stress!
Jerry can swim in the ship's pool
Arlene dipped her foot in the water
A "Sea Day" means we can have an leisurely lunch at an elegant restaurant on the ship.
The restaurants prepare fancy presentations
Our itinerary was different from recent trips. Visiting new sites, unusual and positive experiences made this trip particularly special!
Seeing places and situations at the ground level (rather than in a bus) provided opportunities to see small children running around and having fun.
We had an interesting evening talking to one of the captains and other guests
It's time to say "Good-bye" to our "home away from home"
The ship was magnificent
Sailing early morning into Hong Kong harbor
Another fun greeting as we disembarked from the ship
We encountered a potentially huge problem. We were not informed the port taxis do not take credit cards and we did not have Hong Kong Dollars. One of the baggage handlers was willing to exchange American dollars for Hong Kong Dollars. His "fee" was $25; but we didn't have any choice.
Guess what? Another official "greeter" at the Hong Kong Airport. All Asian airports are "kid's friendly."
Although we had breakfast on the ship, we couldn't pass up a Chinese breakfast at the lounge. Trying different food is part of the traveling experience.
Interesting and modern signage
Another computer to help the lounge staff clear the dirty dishes
The posted airline schedule was not too helpful
On the first leg of our trip home
Our Hong Kong flight took us Seoul, Korea. Time to sample Korean food and try local beer at the airport lounge.
The lounge served unusual ice cream flavors
We eat again on the plane!
Multiple courses served on the two flights home
The typical pre-flight announcement was quite different from other airlines. We were instructed not to take photos of the flight attendants. (Probably because most of the Asian female flight attendants are very attractive) AND do not abuse or make unpleasant remarks to the plane's staff.
The Asian airports are gorgeous. Even with the modifications, in terms of architectural designs, LAX doesn't come close to airports throughout Asia.
Fancy stores
Plenty attractions for the children
Design and lighting make in fun and interesting to meander through the airports
Unique and attractive design
Of course, at our second stop, we had to try the lounge's food. Food could be ordered. Other items were available at several buffets. Jerry had some trouble figuring things out. While in line, a local politely mentioned to Jerry he was not doing things correctly. A bowl had to be used rather than a plate. Start with either white or brown rice followed (in the instructed order) which vegetables to take and sauces to use.
Although one might think it odd, we love to watch the goings on with cargo ships and tankers
It's fascinating to be so close and watch the orchestration that occurs at the various ports and harbors
Mammoth cranes lift and place containers onto the ships or on to trucks that will take goods to some destination.
This will give everyone an idea about how huge these cranes are compared to a bus as well as Arlene
Thousands of cars have been offloaded and will be transported to some dealership
These backhoes will be loaded onto a ship for an international destination
Trucks are being driven up the rear ramp onto this ship
Tug boats have to carefully assist in maneuvering ships two to three football lengths to the dock
Once tied up, the cranes begin to remove the containers
We didn't realize containers are also placed inside the hull
It can take 24-48 hours non-stop to remove containers followed by stacking new ones onto a ship
There were days when we returned from a tour, sat on our veranda and tried to take everything in that was going on in front of us
An so, our trip ends; but it's not the real ending of our travels. Much like the name of our travel blog, the following lyrics of that famous song fits us perfectly...
All my bags are packed I'm ready to go...'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane...leavin on a jet plane!
