Apparently there is some National Holiday or something in Korea so the ship decided, quite a few months ago, to avoid the port of Busan, South Korea. So, today we had a day in Bebbu. The main claim to fame of Bebbu is that this mountainous area has some 2700 steaming hot steaming fissures, varying in size and intensity. It was interesting but really a non-event.
It was only two hours but it allowed us to get up in the mountains above the town and see another small Japanese city, proving that not ALL of Japan is like Tokyo and its concrete jungles.
We returned and relaxed the day away attending only one lecture.
Last night we had a delightful evening with a couple from Vancouver that I met in the buffet area the day before while waiting for a Caesar salad to be mixed. Nice to talk to somebody from home.
For the first time in 20 years I have been communicating with Wally and his family while they too are on a ship, they are vacationing in Europe in the Mediterranean.
I have also been in touch with Yann from work who was in France for some time, now home.
I have been in touch with our next door neighbour who left on a River cruise after we left and is at present, finished the River part and are now in Amsterdam, off to Paris for the weekend arriving home Tuesday.
** . ** . **
Fellette and I are a bit perplexed by the apparent lack of entertainment on board since Tokyo, a week ago. Prior to that we had six lecturers on board and the evening entertainment performers were on for a week at a time, two performances, one early one later. Now there is not really a lot happening and then only a single late performance.
In the several 'World Cruises or equivalent long voyages' with friends Jim and Gail we became used to entertainment at night. [Even though I confess I did not usually go as Fellette would go would go with Jim and Gail].
Since Tokyo there has been little or no evening ship entertainment. There is certainly some music being played in some public places but none that disturbs the quiet dignity of the ship. This perplexed me as the people that we talk to, and that is many, this is not an issue. They are quite content without being entertained by the ship it seems. You see groups of people spread throughout the ship in quiet conversation as couples or small quiet groups quite enjoying themselves. I am also sure with the age group, many are in their cabins enjoying the unbelievable array of programmes available of their large screen TVs.
I am not sure if this is an age thing, a cultural thing or heaven forbid a class thing. I am still working on that. Fellette and I are rather content on this situation, but we certainly enjoyed the first three weeks where there was a different entertainment atmosphere.
Mind you we had eight hour changes and many, many sea day so maybe we had to be entertained. After a busy day ashore it is a challenge to stay up and then go ashore the next day. After all it is a vacation not an endurance test!
This is a bit of a enigma to me as the group that got on in Tokyo are about 10 years younger than boarded in Vancouver. There is a saying 'The Longer the cruise the older the passenger' That does not seem to be the case right now.
A rather uneventful day as you can see...
A rather overheated pond of mineral water.
Be happy!
Hot as Hell as they say here.
A fissure in the hills, there are 2700 here.
In these huts they make a mineral that locals and tourists buy and put in their tubs to 'soak in' the minerals' called Yunohana from the sulphuric steam
coming up.
I took this because it looked like Japan! Hordes of tourists prevented a better picture.
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