As you are likely aware, this ship is absolutely full of people, each of which have an interesting story to tell. Tonight I will ramble on with three such tales that I find interesting.
First Story. Early in the cruise we shared a canoe with a couple, [Fred and Luvis will do for now], coming back from the Panama Indian Village. They are somewhat shy but very adorable and interesting to be with. She is a retired teacher and he worked for the aircraft industry. Some time ago Luvis went to a 50th class reunion where she found that one of her school chums was in the travel industry. [I suppose that they had thought about some serious travelling but never got it off the ground.] Presto, a World Cruise comes to fruition. When the 'Shore Excursion Booklet' [that is the booklet showing all the trips that you can book through the ship while in various ports] came around, they discussed some with her chum. Presto, they have three 'overland', [that means off the ship for a few or several days] trips under way. The first was from Manila to Peking and the Great Wall and The Forbidden City, catching up with the ship in Hong Kong several days later.
They were justifiably somewhat apprehensive about this first trip. Firstly, you are really on your own when you do this sort of thing, the ship has absolutely no obligation to help you get you out of a mess, unlike a 'ship's tour'. Secondly in most cases you are completely unfamiliar with the language and customs, to say nothing of food and hygiene etc. We saw them being met in Manila by their contact, [that was a good sign!]
A few days later I saw Fred in the Lido at breakfast and he had a grin from ear to ear, I spotted it from the other side of the room. In a nutshell, the trip was flawless, over the top. He cannot say enough about the trip, Peking, The Forbidden City and the Great Wall. We had them up to our cabin that night and he bought his computer and showed pictures that they took that were spectacular. Have you ever seen some pictures of the crowds on the wall? Some of their shots are National Geographic quality. The guide got them there and to to Forbidden City when it was virtually deserted.
Tomorrow they leave for the second trip to Cambodia. Which once again, is a big mystery to them and their knowledge of what to see and expect is somewhat sparse. They have been seated at dinner at a table for two since leaving Fort Lauderdale. The couple next to them, whom they got along famously with, went home when the lady slipped and broke her hip a week ago. The 'replacement' couple was from South America and do not speak English. Bummer. But...the last two nights one of the Guest Speakers has been seated at that table. Guess what she is an expert on? Viet Nam and Cambodia! Big grins on their faces again. We will find out how this adventure goes after we see them after Singapore.
Second Story. Some time ago we met a couple from Texas. Ronnie and Irene. Cattle people, good old fashioned folks that you would not expect to be on a world cruise. He is always in jeans and looks sharp in them, tall and slim, Texas drawl etc. We bumped into Irene again in Fremantle, Australia while having a beer ashore after a very long day. It turns out that Irene met Ronnie 37 years ago. Guess where? In Brunei! [We were due to visit there in a few days.] She was born in Scotland and the daughter of a British Army Gurkha officer. She, a young Scottish lass was visiting her Dad in Brunei, which at that time was under British control. Ronnie was working in the oil fields. 'Daddy' did not approve of the relationship but love won out and here they are, visiting their place of chance meeting on a world cruise. Touching.
Third Story. There is a family of three on board, an elderly couple and their adult son who has taken leave from his job to be with his Mom and Dad on this trip. Ryan, the son, helped me and countless others with computer issues early on. His knowledge of anything technical is beyond description, and has likely saved a few from attempting suicide due to computer frustrations.
In Manila his Dad took him around and showed his son where his Mom and Dad met at a US Airforce base. Tomorrow, in Saigon, [now Ho Chi Min City], the Dad is taking Mom and Ryan to places that he was involved in while on his tour of duty here. Priceless.
End of Story Time.
The 'American War' as it is known here, went from about 1965 to 1975. The country went into a spiral for some time but has now pulled out of it and things are looking up. The country has been at war in some form or another for about 100 years we were told, Chinese, Japanese, French and the the USA. The people, though poor by any standards are happy to be 'at peace'. Corruption rules but the economy is moving along nicely. Lots of new building and investments helping them along.
Things are cheap. Really cheap, so cheap you wonder if it is real. There are 16,000 Dong to our dollar. American money is freely accepted and welcomed.
The skill of the craftsmen here is beyond belief. Marble, wood, stone, fabrics, you name it and these people have been doing it for centuries. We visited a factory two days ago, really a craft co-operative. The conditions were good by some standards but the work was unbelievable. There were young girls at tables doing fancy work stitchery, one piece caught my eye and I asked the cost. C$190. The piece was not completed and would take six weeks to finish. The girl must be making a couple of dollars a day for that to be sold at that price. The skill of this little worker was beyond my comprehension.
The same with the marble workers. Pieces that were absolutely flawless done by workers that once again make a dollar or two a day making works of art to grace the homes of the upper class. No wonder we have revolutions and tyrants to keep this system in place.
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