I also came down with a GI bug after Bali, so my Sea Days were Cabin-Bound…not too sick, but just didn't want to be out and possibly infecting the ship. Once we were in Puerto Princesa, the Philippines, the weather was hot, humid, and rainy, so I had no incentive to go ashore…nor did Chris. We remained on the ship. Another Sea Day after Puerto Princesa until we reached Manila where we were docked for 2 days. Many of the ship personnel come from the Philippines, so this was an opportunity for them to have family and friends come on board the ship, so we had 1200 people visit each day! We took a tour the first day that went out of Manila to Tagatay, which is a resort area at a higher elevation, so it's a bit cooler. The drive was interesting…we needed a police escort for our bus the whole way due to Manila's DREADFUL traffic! It was awful…I've never seen so many modes of transportation…mostly at a standstill. The resort we arrived at was a lovely place overlooking a lake with the "worlds smallest volcano" at it's center…really a volcano within a volcano. However, the overwhelming feeling the entire tour was one of seeing endless poverty…the worst we've seen…in amongst the new high-rises and casinos being built. Everyone felt the same way after our various days ashore…hopefully the new buildings that the Chinese are putting up will increase the employment, but the local guides said they doubted it.
The other thing that struck us was the abundance of Tuk Tuks and "Jeepneys" that provided cheap transportation for the locals…and anyone else daring to ride in them. The Jeepneys were all different…totally customized by the owners and very cheap to ride short distances. In addition there were horse and buggies in areas.
Tagatay with the volcano within the volcano...
After a hot day touring, we stayed on the ship for the second day and enjoyed meeting some of the family and friends of our stewards. Our wine steward's father had been a pastry chef of this same ship!
Another Sea Day before we arrived in Hong Kong on a drizzly, cold morning…alas, no great fanfare of entering Victoria Harbor with the rain…most of us watched it from the windows in the Lido at breakfast. We had a tour of Hong Kong planned for the day so we met, as scheduled at 8:15 in the forward theater…2 hours later, the ship had still not been "cleared" by authorities, so we asked and were allowed to exchange our tickets for the same tour the next day (yesterday)…great move, since it rained all that first day, but yesterday was brilliant sun all day, so we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the highlights of Hong Kong. I'll post those photos separately. Hong Kong is a beautiful "vertical" city…not much empty space, so people live in teeny apartments in huge mega-story buildings. From our guide's information, most families seem to live in less square feet than we had in our motorhome! We enjoyed the day with a great guide (he herded cats well)…saw highlights of the city via a bus, the tram to Victoria Peak, a sampan ride through Aberdeen, the old fishing village (nothing there anymore…big disappointment…just mega yachts), and an hour to shop in Stanley Market (success!) We made it back to the ship to find 2 pieces of carryon luggage that are quite nice and a size that is perfect for our upcoming 2-night trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. (It will also hold some of the other items we have been given by the captain and crew and travel agency: a windbreaker, messenger bag, tulip vase, monopoly game (geared to our cruise), metal credit card holder, assorted hats, travel electric adapter, etc…I've lost track of some of the items! All of it we need to ship home!)
Three of our friends left the ship in Hong Kong (as did several crew) but we keep meeting others…latest was finding another full-time RVer this morning…very nice…and was showing an interest in hearing about why we chose our Sun City in Georgetown, TX…they are trying to find a place to land in!
Now to get ready today and tomorrow for our trip to Siem Reap the next day…a two-hour drive to Saigon's airport , hour flight, then our hectic 2-day trip begins!
More later with photos of Hong Kong.
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