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So far Adrian and I are both loving Japan. Today and tomorrow we're in Kobe and this port is a lovely change. We're docked right in the city, within walking distance of a lovely waterfront development full of shops and restaurants - all specializing in Kobe beef of course. You may not want to continue reading if you're hungry!! All the restaurants had displays of their dishes made of some sort of plastic - it was quite interesting while also being a but offputting depending on the dish!
We had a great day enjoying the waterfront and walking a lot. Dinner was Kobe beef at a cook your own style restaurant. Dinner was followed by a Turkish ice cream.
We had a great day enjoying the waterfront and walking a lot. Dinner was Kobe beef at a cook your own style restaurant. Dinner was followed by a Turkish ice cream.
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FRustrating day in Hiroshima! We had some engine trouble yesterday and were 3 hours late leaving Kagoshima, making us 30 minutes late arriving in Hiroshima. Doesn't sound too bad but we already had a very short day here - now we're at 11-4:15. The sail in was lovely though - we passed numerous small islands, fishing boats and fish farms on this gorgeous sunny day.
For once we had our act together and were in line early to get off the ship - we reached the shuttle bus for the city just as the first bus was filled and left.Well, never a culture to stray from the schedule, they filled the second bus, which we got on, but wouldn't depart the port until the scheduled time - some 30+ minutes later. There were taxi's but you had to sign up and one taxi at a time arrived and departed, needless to say this line was long too!
We had a very frustrating 30 minutes with our bus mates before finally heading into the city. When finally got off the bus it was close to 1pm.
We managed to find and walk to the Peace Park and Atomic Dome area. WE also found a place for lunch. WE couldn't figure out how to get into the Atomic Dome, even after several circumnavigations of the building. The ground were beautiful though and we were facinated by the waterfall stairs that the kids were playing in.
I was once again flummoxed by a toilet - this one i managed to flush but the array of options is quite intimidating. We arrived in plenty of time to get the bus back, given our earlier issues - the ship waits for no passenger!
It was a beautiful sunny day so we enjoyed a coffee on our deck while listening to a couple of local drummers provide some great traditional music for our sail away. Finally we were rewarded by an amazing sunset during dinner. Hoping tommorow in Kobe will be better - beef anyone?
For once we had our act together and were in line early to get off the ship - we reached the shuttle bus for the city just as the first bus was filled and left.Well, never a culture to stray from the schedule, they filled the second bus, which we got on, but wouldn't depart the port until the scheduled time - some 30+ minutes later. There were taxi's but you had to sign up and one taxi at a time arrived and departed, needless to say this line was long too!
We had a very frustrating 30 minutes with our bus mates before finally heading into the city. When finally got off the bus it was close to 1pm.
We managed to find and walk to the Peace Park and Atomic Dome area. WE also found a place for lunch. WE couldn't figure out how to get into the Atomic Dome, even after several circumnavigations of the building. The ground were beautiful though and we were facinated by the waterfall stairs that the kids were playing in.
I was once again flummoxed by a toilet - this one i managed to flush but the array of options is quite intimidating. We arrived in plenty of time to get the bus back, given our earlier issues - the ship waits for no passenger!
It was a beautiful sunny day so we enjoyed a coffee on our deck while listening to a couple of local drummers provide some great traditional music for our sail away. Finally we were rewarded by an amazing sunset during dinner. Hoping tommorow in Kobe will be better - beef anyone?
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What a day in Kagoshima - we arrived at 7am with the shuttle bus scheduled to run at 8am - continuously until 1:50pm. Well we ended up in a line for 45 minutes - apparently there was a break between the 9:30 am bus and the next one - so we lined up for a 10 o'clock bus that left at 10:20. We were dropped off at another city centre mall around 11 am - with the last bus returning to the ship at 1:50 pm.
In our now routine way - we wandered the mall until we located a coffee shop - where we stopped to enjoy a cappuccino. While the coffee was nothing like we thought - we still had a great time. From here we carried on throughout the market, which spanned a couple of city blocks - until we found ourselves in a bakery that offered an "eat-in" lunch.
We shared a shrimp toast, bacon and mushroom mini pizza and a slice of ham and cheese pizza - with a shared chocolate croissant for desert.
We headed back to the 7-eleven - the bus stop to catch the 12:30 bus back to the ship. After stocking up on some potato chips at the store - we returned to the ship, dumped our stuff and headed to a coffee place, with just enough time before the ship was scheduled to leave.
Have you ever argued about how much time you have and lost? That was me today - so our coffee adventure was a power walk both ways and we were both pleased to be back to the ship in plenty of time. Of course when you rush to do something like that - things go awry - while we were back in time the ship failed to leave for an additional 3 hours. Those three hours might have meant we could have seen something more meaningful - if we'd had them available at the start of the day!!
We spent this afternoon enjoying our potato chips and working to drink our well stocked bar - Gin gone, and one sparkling wine too! Only 28 days to go....
In our now routine way - we wandered the mall until we located a coffee shop - where we stopped to enjoy a cappuccino. While the coffee was nothing like we thought - we still had a great time. From here we carried on throughout the market, which spanned a couple of city blocks - until we found ourselves in a bakery that offered an "eat-in" lunch.
We shared a shrimp toast, bacon and mushroom mini pizza and a slice of ham and cheese pizza - with a shared chocolate croissant for desert.
We headed back to the 7-eleven - the bus stop to catch the 12:30 bus back to the ship. After stocking up on some potato chips at the store - we returned to the ship, dumped our stuff and headed to a coffee place, with just enough time before the ship was scheduled to leave.
Have you ever argued about how much time you have and lost? That was me today - so our coffee adventure was a power walk both ways and we were both pleased to be back to the ship in plenty of time. Of course when you rush to do something like that - things go awry - while we were back in time the ship failed to leave for an additional 3 hours. Those three hours might have meant we could have seen something more meaningful - if we'd had them available at the start of the day!!
We spent this afternoon enjoying our potato chips and working to drink our well stocked bar - Gin gone, and one sparkling wine too! Only 28 days to go....
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Cloudy day in Naze. The ship is docked close to town so we were able to walk into the port. Our first goal, as usual was coffee. We found a local coffee shop that roasts and blends its own coffee.They presented us with both a delicious and beautiful cappuccino - bunny, bear and hearts galore! Not a whple lot to see in Naze but we did our usual search for a great meal. Much of the community was closed, but we found this somewhat sketchy corner restaurant with one picture of their offering outside - we gave it a go and were not disappointed. They did indeed pretty much only offer one dish - steak - but what a dish it was. We received a mug of clear soup, sticky rice, a sizzling platter of meat with a few fries a green bean and a carrot slice. The beef wa so tender, the side of garlic wonderfully sweet and the soya sauce just the finishing touch, delicious! We washed it down with a great local beer!
I had to go to the bathroom at our lunch restaurant - first time I had no idea how to flush the toilet. Traveling can be so intimidating...
After lunch we returned to our first coffee shop for another cuppa and then visited the bakery across the street - here we selected some macarons to enjoy for afternoon tea onboard.
I had to go to the bathroom at our lunch restaurant - first time I had no idea how to flush the toilet. Traveling can be so intimidating...
After lunch we returned to our first coffee shop for another cuppa and then visited the bakery across the street - here we selected some macarons to enjoy for afternoon tea onboard.
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Rainy day in Naha. We took the ship's shuttle into the centre of town and walked the main shopping and eating district as well as the market. We stopped for coffee at a tiny coffee shop, followed by lunch in a whole in the wall restaurant. We had fabulous noodles with pork belly and spare ribs.
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Today we had a few hours in the morning in Keelung. This was our first really rainy morning - our plan was to return to a hotel lobby we visited yesterday for a coffee and a treat. However, the coffee shop wasn't open - so we headed back to the port terminal and managed to find coffee and breakfast here. Everyone had to be back on board at 11:30 am so we just had time for a leisurely coffee and breakfast (korean pork and kimchee panini) and for Adrian to get the two pictures he missed yesterday. This afternoon we're back to Bridge and wine at sea before arriving in Naha, Japan on Tuesday.
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Keelung was a surprise - the gateway port for Taipei is surrounded by hills. On our way into port we could see temples and a big Buddha on top of the hill so visiting these became our goal. We headed straight inland toward the hill and what appeared to be an elevator to the top - alas the elevator wasn't working so we went in search of stairs instead. We quite easily found the steps to the Hill of Hope - only one wrong turn and a few extra flights of stairs. We got to see an additional temple during our misadventure too!
Today is a very warm and super humid day - the stairs were a bit damp and moss covered so we needed to climb with some care. Beautiful views and lots to see. We could even climb up in the lady Buddha and get some great views of the city through her windows. From the top of the hill we took the road, the long way, back to town. Although once the road ended we ended up taking more stairs down. After our very long and hot walked we ended our day in the night market. The night market is a pedestrian only series of street full of food and other vendors. We sampled candied sweet potato - fabulous, broccoli on a stick and a less than stellar sausage dish. We also snagged a few treats and a couple beer to take back to the stateroom. As always many more photos in the album.
Today is a very warm and super humid day - the stairs were a bit damp and moss covered so we needed to climb with some care. Beautiful views and lots to see. We could even climb up in the lady Buddha and get some great views of the city through her windows. From the top of the hill we took the road, the long way, back to town. Although once the road ended we ended up taking more stairs down. After our very long and hot walked we ended our day in the night market. The night market is a pedestrian only series of street full of food and other vendors. We sampled candied sweet potato - fabulous, broccoli on a stick and a less than stellar sausage dish. We also snagged a few treats and a couple beer to take back to the stateroom. As always many more photos in the album.
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What a wonderful day we had in Kaohsiung! We arrived around 10:30 am and took the ship's shuttle into the city. The shuttle dropped everyone off at the MRT station - we did our usual walk instead. Our first destination was the city's Central Park - once known for its industry and considered a dirty city - now Kaohsiung is known for its parks and outdoor art and food areas.
After only a few double backs we reached the park without any problem. Lots of fun and interesting art along with beautifully sculpted trees. After a walk through the park we stopped and had coffee and a snack at a local cafe - they had Vietnamese coffee so we absolutely indulged in that too! Our next destination was an open air market along the canal - our path took us back through the park and while there we got a bit of a disturbing notice on our phones - Presidential Earthquake alert - take cover. Well we really didn't know what that meant so we carried on walking, hoping for the best. We didn't feel a thing so dismissed the notice - however, a number of other passengers did experience the earth move on their tours!
The canal area is beautiful with lots of flowering trees, the walkway beside the canal has vendors on both sides, selling all kinds of foods, drinks and handmade goods a bit further along.
Today it's over 30 degrees with about 110% humidity, even Adrian was sweating, so we went in search of a cold beer. We found a diner with big cold Taiwanese beer so all good. After a couple of these we headed back to the ship - all in all our walk was about 5 hours - we treated ourselves to 2 for one cocktails in the ship's Martini bar before heading back to our cabin.
After only a few double backs we reached the park without any problem. Lots of fun and interesting art along with beautifully sculpted trees. After a walk through the park we stopped and had coffee and a snack at a local cafe - they had Vietnamese coffee so we absolutely indulged in that too! Our next destination was an open air market along the canal - our path took us back through the park and while there we got a bit of a disturbing notice on our phones - Presidential Earthquake alert - take cover. Well we really didn't know what that meant so we carried on walking, hoping for the best. We didn't feel a thing so dismissed the notice - however, a number of other passengers did experience the earth move on their tours!
The canal area is beautiful with lots of flowering trees, the walkway beside the canal has vendors on both sides, selling all kinds of foods, drinks and handmade goods a bit further along.
Today it's over 30 degrees with about 110% humidity, even Adrian was sweating, so we went in search of a cold beer. We found a diner with big cold Taiwanese beer so all good. After a couple of these we headed back to the ship - all in all our walk was about 5 hours - we treated ourselves to 2 for one cocktails in the ship's Martini bar before heading back to our cabin.
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We had a lovely day in Vigan. The ship docked about an hour away from Vigan so we hired a car and driver. It was obvious we were welcome visitors with lots of signage welcoming us and incredibly friendly people. Vigan is an example of Spanish grid city structure and architecture.
The historical part of the city had beautiful cobble streets and very little traffic - horses and buggies and some tricycles.We enjoyed a craft beer at a distillery.
The area is also famous for its empanadas - we found a great hole in the wall restaurant and enjoyed two delicious empanadas! After lunch we splurged on a carrot cake and some iced coffee. The streets were lovely, walkable and filled with small shops and very friendly people.
The historical part of the city had beautiful cobble streets and very little traffic - horses and buggies and some tricycles.We enjoyed a craft beer at a distillery.
The area is also famous for its empanadas - we found a great hole in the wall restaurant and enjoyed two delicious empanadas! After lunch we splurged on a carrot cake and some iced coffee. The streets were lovely, walkable and filled with small shops and very friendly people.
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Today we decided to explore the Intramuros area of Manila. This is the historic city district which was an easy walk from the port. Very hot day but we managed to find a shaded area along a city park that led us to the historic area. We had a lovely time walking around, stopped at a local cafe for lunch and then walked back to the ship. We even managed to see a wedding party!
