Yen Tu Mountain

Due to difficulty in getting fuel, and upcoming itinerary changes, we ended up having 10 whole days docked in Ha Long. What a treat! There are fireworks almost every night that were visible from our cabin's window.

There was a carnival area with lots of eateries and gift shops right at the end of the dock. And it was all next to a beach with gently lapping waves. Great for walking and just sitting having a 'Bia.' Bia may seem like a strange word, but if you pronounce it - you'll see that it's really quite familiar ... beer.😊

Build it and they will come?

One odd thing abut the carnival area is that it was bordered by dozens of what looked like apartment buildings, but they were all empty?! In fact they did not even look completed. A little research uncovers the term "Ha Long Ghost Towns"

From Google:

Locals will openly tell you that the properties are a mismatch for the community. The units were priced for multi-millionaire foreign buyers or high-end retail brands. When those international buyers didn't show up, the developers refused to drop prices to what local families could afford. [1, 2, 3]

The result is a bizarre modern ruins scenario: immaculate, freshly paved Italian-style boulevards spanning kilometres, completely abandoned to the elements without a single soul ever having signed a lease. [1, 2]

Time on our Hands

We thoroughly enjoy having so much time at one port. We always have plenty of computer work to do which usually means we miss out on some of the sights. But, with all this time, we were very amenable when we heard Charley talking about his plans to go to Yen Tu mountain the next day. Can we go too? Sure!
Charley arranged for a small van and 12 of us piled in for the hour drive to the mountain.
First we walked thru the grounds of a monastery. Then we took a gondola up the mountain to where there was a path with lots of stairs, eventually leading to yet another gondola where we hiked another set of stairs to a golden buddha. All totaled we logged over 15,000 steps that day - almost all were either up or down!

  
After the mountain our guide took us to a local restaurant that served traditional food. Uh, sorry, but I don't know how they eat some of this stuff 😮 The chicken was a bowl of parts. A conversation with the restaurant staff revealed that they think it's odd how westerners separate the meat from the bone. They just chop it up, bones and all, and put the results in a bowl. These were pretty scrawny chickens to start with. You really had to hunt to find any meat. I just couldn't do it. Another dish was deep fried greens and sardines. Whole sardines. I tried a bite and nearly burned my mouth on the hot oil still dripping from it. I did eat the rice and tofu.

The last stop was a magnificent monastery and garden. I was immediately put into a trance by the multiple chimes strewn about the place. Please play the video so you can hear them and see if you agree.
We returned to the ship in time for dinner ... I was hungry!
And, we stlll had one more day in Ha Long. So relaxing!

 

Ha Long Bay

 We stopped in Ha Long both coming and going. And, I'm so glad we did. Our first stop - on our way north - it rained the whole time. Well, we got off the ship on the morning of the first day and went for a walk, but it started raining that afternoon and didn't stop for 4 solid days. We just stayed home and did our computer stuff. 

The ship continued north to Hong Kong, them came back to Ha Long and it was GORGEOUS weather. We were so lucky since this is one of the most scenic spots on the entire planet! Sailing in thru those rock islands takes a couple hours. We were scheduled to dock at 8am, so we had to get up early for the view - it was worth it!

Sunrise in Ha Long Bay

Sometime during breakfast, I overheard Eddie talking to Matt and saying that he was going to just get out on the dock and find a private boat and driver to go on a tour of the bay. I butted in and asked if we could tag along. He said Yes! Oh Boy. 

We got there and gathered our stuff to get off the ship. Eddie started bargaining with a tour guide and 2 other people from the ship were nearby and got included in our group as well - Ben and Basia. Amazingly, the boat went on the 5 hour tour with just the 6 of us on board. It could easily hold 40. What a delightful day.

Our tour boat for the day

The big tour boat took us to this lagoon where we got on a little row boat that took us thru a cave.

The monkeys came out to greet us.

Next stop was a climb up to a cave entrance. And, what a cave it was!!

Our group, Matt, Eddie, Basia, Ben, Chris, Jim

The last stop was a beach and we actually went swimming!

The bay includes countless of these limestone karst islands and islets. I've seen counts as high as 1,969 islands although other references put the count at 1,600. According to Google there are 980 islands with formal names.

Google Photos has a fun new AI feature that will turn your photos into rich oil paintings or Art Deco images. I thought Ha Long gave me the perfect images to play with ...

Here is what it looks like to come home to our ship after dark.

I thought it was so beautiful, it deserves to be a work of art .. in oil painting style.

And, let's see what these islands look like as an art deco work of art ...

Oh fun Odyssey - where everyone knows your name

I know so many people here, who live on the ship called the Villa Vie Odyssey - and they all know my name as well. It is so cool!

We all want to belong somewhere. We like being sociable. One of my favorite pastimes is conversation. I so love having interesting people around to talk to. 

We've lived aboard the Odyssey for nearly 1 1/2 years now. I can walk down the hall, hear voices behind me and know who it is because I recognize their voice. 

One day I came up behind Kit and gave her a pat on her back. Without turning around and looking at me she said, "Hi Chris." We slowed down to chat a bit and Jim kept on walking.

  

Kit's husband, Randy, looked at Jim up ahead and admonished me "you’re lagging!"

John was also walking in the hall and, as he caught up with Jim, he said "I see you’ve lost your wife, you’ll have to make do with me."

This banter is just a tiny example of our daily lives, but I remember these few minutes in the hallway and how I felt so joyful to be amongst so many friends. 

Mealtimes

When we lived in a house, we would have friends over for dinner, or go to their house. This happened maybe once every month or 2. Here on the Odyssey we have the option of conversation around the table 3 times a day!! If you want to be sociable, you find a table for 4 or 6. If you'd rather be quiet, just sit at a table for 2. We've met new people and deepened friendships with others around these tables. We also have the option to specifically invite certain people to join us for dinner. Easily done, just send them a WhatsApp message.

Excursions

Then there are the sightseeing and activity days. Some activities, like the zip-lining in Fiji or scuba diving in Palau, were prearranged group events and anyone who wanted to go signed up beforehand. Others are serendipity, like here in Ha Long when we overheard a conversation about taking a boat tour and asked if we could come along, then 2 other Odysseans happened to be nearby when we were talking to a boat tour guide and they joined us as well. These shared experiences deepen friendships.

 

  

Activities

It's doing things together that really cements friendships. Like rehearsing plays, or line dancing, or singing in a chorus. In one play I had a love interest played by Tim. Jim knows not to be jealous when Tim and I grab each other in a hug any time we're nearby! And, same with Jim and his dance partner in another play. My line dancing group is a regular thing where we have so much fun. 

The Odyssey "Wave Dancers" 

I look thru all these faces and there's only 1 or 2 that I don't know their names 😊

We LOVE living here!

Hong Kong

 I was here with Mom in 1997 when Hong Kong was officially transferred to China. It was an investment tour by John Dessauer. My Mom subscribed to his newsletter and was intrigued by a notice of a tour to China's special economic zones. She asked if I wanted to go - SURE! Here is that newsletter:

It is confusing to me now about why Hong Kong is a separate 'country' from China. I thought that Hong Kong was China, but you need a separate visa to enter mainland China as opposed to Hong Kong. Huh? So, Hong Kong is a "Special Administrative Region" of China. Ok, whatever.

Sailing in to Hong Kong

What I remember most about visiting Hong Kong in 1997 were the tower cranes all over the place, building the high rises. There were plenty of skyscrapers then. Even more now. We only had 2 days here so we figured a Hop-On Hop-Off bus was the best use of our time. I enjoy the audio commentary provided on earbuds as you drive around. 

Day 1 we rode the bus all around Hong Kong Island

The ship was docked on the mainland side - otherwise known as Kowloon. Then the water in between is called Victoria harbor and Victoria Peak is on Hong Kong Island. I wrongly assumed that the biggest hills would be on the mainland side - nope - that's the island.

Victoria harbor is in between Kowloon and Hong Kong island. This harbor was very desirable - it's what British were looking for when Hong Kong was ceded to British in 1841

 

We took the green route on day 1 and the blue route on day 2.

Our Hong Kong welcome was the best!

And the dock was right at a mall. So easy to get off the ship, go shopping, or get to the ferry across to Hong Kong Island. 

Walking off the ship, then thru the mall, drops us off right near the ferry. 

After crossing the harbor and getting on the bus, we went directly to the tram that took us up Victoria peak and the most spectacular views.

It was great to see some more natural landscapes on the other side of the island. 

My notes on the audio commentary told us about:

• Kai tec airport in harbor- no more
• Taikoo shing - 12,000 apartments - 99 999? year lease
• Lots of reservoirs and water testing means Hong Kong has some of the best water in the world
• American club is fancy exclusive club in south side of Hong Kong island
• Beautiful Stanley was a prisoner of war camp in ww2
• Murray house used by Japanese in ww2 - thousands of execution
• Repulse bay is for billionaires
• Old royal golf club
• Hong Kong country club, not exclusive, all nationalities and races welcome, BUT you must pay millions
• Ocean park theme park is a major attraction
• Hong Kong police are well paid
• Ap lei chau one of densest populations in the world
• Cyberport, working to turn hong Kong into smart city
• Life expectancy high here due to strong public health care 
• Sun yat sen first president of china, studied in Hong Kong

The next day on the mainland (Kowloon), we took the Hop on bus again.

Here are my notes from the bus commentary

Kowloon

"Electrifying mix of old and new"

Streets named after what's done there, e.g. clothes washing street 

Langham place, mall. Upper floors designed like a corkscrew, just keep walking and you'll be going upstairs! No stairs or escalators needed. 

Kids work hard in school. It's very competitive from young age. 

Saw a Chinese gate - a china town in Hong Kong?! 😂😮

Afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton? 

High speed rail gets you from Kowloon to Shenzhen in 14 minutes

Train station is part of china as well as Hong Kong, you can go thru customs and immigration for both "countries" 

Harbor city terminal had an observation deck

Hong Kong has the highest concentration of shopping malls in the world

Dinner at an Irish Pub called Delaneys! Hey, we had Dim Sum at lunch, that was good enough.

Oh Internet, where art thou

I'll tell you where it isn't ... Internet from Starlink is not available for our cruise ship in the waters of southeast China. And, it hasn't been reliable anywhere in Vietnam. 

This lack of internet is annoying to some of us and devastating to others. There are people on the ship with real jobs. They are expected to show up, online, for 4-8 hours. These people fear for their jobs. 

Jim and I still have a business online. We normally spend 15-30 hours a week creating videos, writing articles, hosting zoom calls etc. We are not expected by anyone at any particular time. We won't be missed during a few days offline. Our only real worry is that someone has sent us an email and is wondering why we haven't responded.

We have a backup

Actually, we have 4 backups! Our primary source of internet is the ships WiFi, powered by Starlink. When we're off the ship, our phones have their own cellular connection. Even on the ship, when it is in port, we can use our cellular options: We have 3 phones and one separate hotspot.    

1. My Samsung phone with an Asia eSim from Saily
2. My iPhone with an account on US Mobile with international options
3. Jim's pixel phone with an eSim from Airalo
4. Any of these phones can share their data using the hotspot feature, but we also have a dedicated hotspot device by Solis/Simo.

The separate hotspot device is so handy. We can set it in the window where it will have the best connection to cell towers on land. And then we can connect all our devices to it - just like any other WiFi hotspot. It can handle up to 15 connections. It has a built in eSim and a global data plan. 

We paid $320 for the device including lifetime 1GB/mo international data. This means it works everywhere in the world we go, without doing anything. 1GB doesn't go far, but it's just good to know it's there. When we need to use it more, like here in Vietnam, we pay for 200GB/mo at $90.

On our computers, the Simo hotspot shows up just like all the other WiFi networks.