Steven and Glang

Hong Kong Skyline

St. Paul’s Cathedral

March 12, 2013  Hong Kong, China  Day Two

Steven, another student we had planned to meet and who also studied at San Diego State, lives in Macau, China. We headed out on the fast ferry from Hong Kong to Macau. The ferry was very modern and only took about one hour. Macau consists of three islands, which were colonized by Portugal for 400 years, but reverted to Chinese rule in 1999. Macau is known as “the Monte Carlo of the Far East” for its annual Formula 3 Grand Prix race through the streets. Macau is also the gambling capital of the world with more money changing hands than in Las Vegas. Macau is similar to Hong Kong in that it is a Special Administrative Region and requires permission from the government to enter and exit. Even though we were coming from another Chinese Territory we were required to carry our passports and go through an immigration checkpoint before entering the islands.

Stephen and his girlfriend, Glang, picked us up at the ferry terminal in a family member’s car, as their usual mode of transportation is a motorbike. Motorbikes are popular due to the lack of parking, congested streets and high cost of owning a car.

Our first stop was for lunch at their favorite Portuguese restaurant on the most remote of the three islands. The third island is much less developed and much more green and lush with trees and plant material. The restaurant was quite large and every table was filled with locals or tourists. We had fish croquets, ribs, chicken and fries for lunch along with fresh baked bread. After lunch we stopped at a local Portuguese bakery to sample the famous tarts. The tarts, three inches in diameter with a thick flaky crust, creamy caramel custard filling served warm out of the oven were delicious.

Next they took us to the Venetian Casino, which is very similar to the one we are familiar with in Las Vegas…. only larger. The gambling floor was enormous and every gaming table was surrounded by a mass of people so thick that it was difficult to see any of the tables or what type of games they were playing. The slot machines were popular as well even though it was a weekday in the afternoon. Steven said that it is much busier in the evening and on weekends. As in Vegas, there is a very large shopping center attached to the casino with a canal running through it where you can ride a gondola complete with singing gondolier. The shops were both similar and unique to us. There were many familiar brand name shops that you see the world over, but also very popular were traditional Chinese medicine shops where you could purchase a variety of herbs and teas.

Glang has a favorite show at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino that she wanted us to see so we headed across the street to see that. The show is about 15 minutes in length, takes place in an igloo like domed room where they project images on every surface around you (360 degrees). First, brightly illuminated, ornate chandeliers drop from the ceiling and then a dancing water chandelier begins dropping water from the ceiling into a hole in the floor in the center of the room. Next the fixtures retract back into the ceiling and you are surrounded by a sea of fish projected on the dome around you. Then several dragons appear who fly around the dome spitting fire and fighting with each other. It is quite a unique and interesting show with great music which we are happy to have seen.

Back at the Venetian we stopped in the replica of St. Mark’s Square for a coffee before continuing on. After coffee they drove us around the old town of Macau near where Steven lives and also showed us the façade of St. Paul’s Cathedral. St. Paul’s is a 16^th-century church built by Italian and Japanese Jesuit priests. Along the way we also passed the Macau Tower, the 10^th-highest freestanding tower in the world.

By late afternoon we were headed back to Hong Kong on the ferry so we could catch the laser light show over Hong Kong harbor at eight-o-clock. The light show was very well attended although we were not very impressed by it. They have music they play at a two level viewing area near the clock tower to accompany the laser lights, which are projected from multiple buildings roofs over the harbor. The lights were not that bright or spectacular and the music was disappointing, but we did it.

Back onboard the ship we were entertained by a local variety show including two young ladies who played a couple of unique Chinese instruments. One instrument had 25 strings while the other instrument was a cross between a flute and a guitar. They were excellent musicians and we enjoyed the music. Next to perform were two girls who did the famous ribbon-twirling dance. A dozen or so young men then presented an enormous dragon dance. The dragon was on sticks over their heads, and they would manipulate the sticks to make the dragon fly through the air, twisting and turning. The dragon was painted in glow-in-the-dark paint and was presented under black lights. The final performance was by a face change artist who wears a colorful face mask which changes some twenty times during his performance but you never see him changing the mask. It is really quite remarkable how quickly he can change the mask.

Upon retuning to our room we received two travel bags, another gift from the ship. With all of the shopping that some of the guests did in Hong Kong, the bags will come in handy.

Christoph

March 11, 2013  Hong Kong, China Day One

Hong Kong, now officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region People’s Republic of China, consists of a mainland on the country’s southeastern coast and about 235 islands. It is bordered on the north by Guangdong Province and on the east, west and south by the South China Sea. Hong Kong was a British dependency from the 1840’s until July 1, 1997 when it passed to Chinese sovereignty. In 1841 British naval officers hoisted the Union Jack over the empire’s newest addition. At the time the land was a barren island with hardly a house upon it.  Today it is covered with skyscrapers. Hong Kong’s mainland consists of the urban area known as Kowloon and a portion of the New Territories, a large area that became part of Hong Kong in 1898. Lantau Island, ceded to Hong Kong as part of the New Territories but often considered separate from that region, is the largest island. Located about six miles east of Lantau Island and across Victoria Harbor from Kowloon is Hong Kong Island. The city of Hong Kong, also known as Victoria, faces the harbor on the northern part of the island. In total there are only 422 square miles of land area.

Christoph, one of the students we mentored at San Diego State several years ago, now lives in Guangzhou, China, about two and a half hours from Hong Kong by train and subway. He came to meet us in Hong Kong for a visit. He is working at a company that designs and has manufactured anything that you would find on a desk top, from stationary to a stapler. Most of the products are made to clients’ specifications and sold in Germany. He is also developing a unique furniture line, which is customizable and is made of heavy duty cardboard.

We had lunch with Christoph at a German restaurant along the harbor on the Kowloon side.  It was not far from where our ship is docked next to the Star Ferry clock tower. After lunch we wandered the streets looking for an ice cream shop only to end up at a McDonald’s for a sundae.

Christoph looks exactly as he did in San Diego and we were very pleased that he would take an entire day to travel as far as he did to visit us in Hong Kong. He has a Chinese girlfriend and has been in China working for a couple of years.

After we left Christoph, we headed over to the Hong Kong Museum of History where we saw an incredible permanent exhibit on the story of Hong Kong. This extensive museum with over 4,000 exhibits takes you from prehistoric times 400 million years ago to the areas’ development in modern day. It shows you in films, as well as photos and physical items, about the geology, history of the people, the folk culture and historical development.

After a quick bite to eat onboard the ship we met up with our friend, Jenn, and headed out to the night market on Temple Street. During the day this market is the Jade market but at night it transforms into a market for just about anything. Block after block, the road is pedestrian only with stall after stall of shops selling silk, items, clothing, jewelry, shoes, wood carvings, children’s toys and more. Tourists flock here to find a bargain and negotiating with the vendor is part of the deal. Nothing is priced so you must ask the price and then negotiate for a lower price. Kent purchased a few Chinese silk wine gift bags but that was it for our shopping.

LGBT Group

March 10, 2013  Sea Day

Lecturer Aileen Bridgewater and her husband shared personal photos of Hong Kong with us including photos from the village that they live in outside of Hong Kong.

The afternoon featured a guest talent show in the Queen’s Lounge. It was quite a variety show with guests, singing, dancing, clogging, playing the accordion, plus a magic act. The cruise director, Bruce, who is an accomplished musician has been rehearsing with guests to create the HAL (Holland America Line) Chorale, which also performed a couple of songs. None of the acts were particularly remarkable but we never miss a show.

We continue to meet fellow LGBT friends for drinks in the Crow’s Nest bar most every evening before dinner.

The entertainment variety show was a second performance by both Radim Zenkl and Kevin Devane.

A couple of hundred guests will disembark in Hong Kong tomorrow and will be replaced with new guests including about fifty from South Africa.

Manila Hotel

Mark in Hot Manila with hat and beads provided by the local tourism office

St. Agustin Church

March 9, 2013  Manila, Philippines

Similar to our greeting in Puerto Princesa, school children were waiting for us at the pier and danced and played music for our arrival in port. Colorful woven straw hats and strands of beads were given to guests as they disembarked the ship. The weather was hot and humid.

With over 19 million inhabitants, Manila is an incredibly large city with skyscrapers, traffic and people everywhere. Manila is the capital of the Philippines. Spain controlled the Philippine Islands for over three centuries from 1565 to 1898 when the U.S. occupied and controlled the city and the Philippine archipelago until 1946. The Japanese occupied the Philippines at the outbreak of World War II for the most of three years. During World War II, much of the city was destroyed and it was not until 1975 that the Metropolitan Manila region was enacted as an independent entity. The name Manila is from the phrase may nilad, Tagalog for “there is nilad”, in reference to the flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay, used to produce soap for regional trade. There are currently 1.7 million births a year in Manila so you can see how the city has grown so quickly.

Our tour here was called “The Charms of Old Manila” which took us to the old areas of the city nearby the port. Our first stop was a visit to Rizal Park with a monument to commemorate Dr. Jose Rizal, a national hero. Ultraconservative zealots attempted to eradicate local religious ceremonies during the Spanish reign. Filipinos retaliated, but no revolt was more violent than the uprising sparked by Dr. Rizal’s sham trial and execution in 1896. Devoted to peace, the scholar openly opposed Madrid and encouraged Filipinos to fight for their independence.  He was considered a traitor by Spain and was executed.

Across from the park is a huge outdoor amphitheater where Manila made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest gathering to see Pope John Paul II. A crowd of five million gathered here to try and get a glimpse of the pope, which shows you what a Catholic country this is.

Next we visited the “Intramuros” or old walled city, which was a Chinese settlement before the Spaniards fortified it. Political prisoners, including Dr. Rizal, were locked away here for safekeeping. Today the walled city is a beautiful lushly landscaped park with a variety of historical buildings including Fort Santiago, which served as headquarters for the Spanish, American and Japanese colonizers until its destruction in 1945. Parts have been restored while other parts remain in ruins.

The Manila Cathedral was next on the tour. Unfortunately it is currently closed for repairs, so we were only able to visit the exterior and take photos from the lovely park in front. In this area there are many horse drawn carriages, which take visitors around the city for about $9.00 per thirty minutes. The horses they use are quite small in stature in comparison to our horses.

Casa Manila was our next stop. Here we were able to visit a reconstructed 19^th century Spanish Colonial style mansion. The home would have been owned by a wealthy family and  the man would have had his offices here, as well as rooms for entertaining. As least twenty servants would have been employed to tend to the family. High ceilings, hardwood floors, hand painted walls, and luxury furnishings abound. It even had an indoor bathroom with two different sized tubs and a two-seater toilet. The house was quite beautiful even by today’s standards.

San Augustin Church, the oldest structure in the Philippines dating back to 1571 was our next stop. Here we not only saw the church, but also an attached museum of elaborate religious statues. Many of these figures were made of metals and ornate dresses, some standing life size.

During all these religious visitations, Jenn, our friend, had to confess that she had been dreaming of having sex with Jesus….only Jesus was Black.  She called him SBJ, or Sexy Black Jesus.  Way to go, Jenn.

On our way back to the ship we were driven through parts of Manila where we saw a little bit of everything. Beautiful skyscrapers next to shantytowns, overcrowded streets where few cars seemed to follow any type of rules of the road and jeeps leftover from World War II have been converted into Jeep-Knees, which are buses that hold about 20 passengers. Each of the buses has been elaborately decorated with decals, applied figurines or anything you can imagine.  They are called Jeep-Knees because the passengers’ knees touch in the vehicle.

After a bite to eat onboard the ship we walked a short distance to the Manila Hotel, which is a 100-year old historic hotel. Here we asked to be shown the archive room where you can view a photographic history of the hotel including General MacArthur’s suite, famous U.S. presidents and many famous people from around the world who have visited. The hotel also has a beautiful pool area and a high-end restaurant called the Champagne Room, which is very elegant.

Next we took the ship;s shuttle to the local area mall called Robinson Mall where we found an enormous American-style shopping mall. We found many familiar chain restaurants like TGIFridays, Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, as well as most of the same brand names that we find at home. Some people thought that the mall had more stores than the Mall of America.

The evening’s entertainment was by Hilary O’Neil who had performed a week or so ago.

March 8, 2013  Sea Day

Good Morning Amsterdam featured two of the security officers who look after us when we are in port, as well as when we are out at sea. Our travel guide, Barbara, lectured on things to do and see in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Adrian Cooper lectured on Myths and Mountains of South East Asia. The mountains of South East Asia have inspired incredible legends of heroes and wisdom since the dawn of civilization in this part of the world. Adrian shared with us some of the art, sculpture and literature from this part of he world which all includes mountains including the mythical mountain of Meru.

Eight of us had lunch in the Pinnacle Grill, the upscale restaurant that charges an additional fee for lunch. The atmosphere is a change of pace but the food was not particularly better than we would find in the dining room or Lido buffet.

Aileen Bridgewater lectured on her adventures in the Philippines including a faith healer with mystical powers and the personal pilot of Imelda Marcos.

Entertainment this evening was an actor/singer from London’s West End by the name of Mark Adams.

Mark and his Penal Colony Friends

Cashew Fruits and Nuts

Ship Side Entertainment

More Ship Side Entertainment

March 7, 2013  Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Philippines

Puerto Princesa is a city located in east-central Palawan, Philippines. It is an important port on a sheltered inlet of the Sulu Sea, south of Honda Bay. Today it is the capital of the island province of Palawan, one of the 1,700 islands that make up the Philippines. The island is 263 miles in length although it is quite narrow and has 235,000 residents. The town of Puerto Princesa was named after Princess Eulalia of Spain, born in 1864 to Queen Isabella II ad her consort Dr. Francisco de Asis. When the princess suffered an untimely death, the Queen changed the name to Puerto de la Princesa, which was later reduced to Puerto Princesa. The city is extremely clean as they have very strict anti-litter and no smoking in public laws. Most all of the signage is in English and most everyone we came across spoke English.

Our highlights tour took us to a wide variety of interesting spots beginning with the Palawan Special Battalion World War II Memorial Museum. The museum features five galleries highlighting the major countries that participated during World War II; namely the USA, Japan, Germany, Great Britain and Russia. Each room featured a collection of relics, weapons, aircraft carrier and bomber plane models, uniforms, bayonets and photos.

Our next stop was the former City Hall building now a cultural heritage museum where we were treated to some local folkloric dances. We saw a film about the entire Palawan Island and its famous forest, underground river and beaches. The museum included fossils found at the Tabon Caves of Quezon, believed to be the first Filipino dating back as far as 22,000 BC.

Our next stop was the Plaza Cuartel, which was the site of a Japanese garrison and now a memorial park to honor local heroes. This site also honors the site where 135 American Soldiers were set on fire and killed by the Japanese inside a tunnel during World War II. Next door to the park is the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, a beautiful old wooden church with two bell towers, which can be seen all around the city.

We then headed about 15 miles out of town to the Iwahig Penal Colony, known as the prison without walls. Iwahig is a modern farm where prisoner’s toil the farms unguarded and are encouraged to promote self-sufficiency. Criminals are sent to this very large compound where they are educated, taught skills such as farming, including cultivating rice, coconuts, and fishing They are expected to practice their own religion. It was started in 1904 and is still in existence today. Some of the prisoners performed a few folk dances for us and they were selling some handicraft items.

We then visited the Palawan Wildlife and Crocodile Farming Institute where they aim to preserve and conduct research studies into endangered species of crocodiles. They also have a hospital for sick and disabled crocodiles. You could even have your photo taken with a small crocodile over your shoulder if you chose to. No thanks!

Next we stopped at the Rancho Santa Monica viewing deck for a panoramic view out over the Honda Bay and some of the surrounding islands. This lookout area is located in an area called millionaire’s row where very large view homes are located. Not surprisingly, wealthy politicians own many of the homes.  We also were able to get a look at a cashew tree, which I had never seen before. They are quite large trees, which flower and produce a fruit about the size of a fig. From the bottom of the fruit grows a single cashew nut encased in a hard shell.  Evidently you can store a cashew nut in the shell for two years and it will still be good.

Our last stop was a handicraft market where we could purchase such items as cashews, dried fish, carved wooden masks and sculptures, t-shirts and a variety of other items. The prices were extremely reasonable although the quality was not as appealing.

Both upon our arrival in port in the morning and our departure in the afternoon we were entertained by local school children of all ages who came down to the port. There was group of children who played violins, singers and dancers of all ages. We were really pleased with the warm welcome and the friendliness of all the local people.

Back onboard we were entertained by a mandolin player by the name of Radim Zenkl from the Czech Republic who also played the flute and did a bit of a comedy routine.

March 6, 2013  Sea Day

Christopher, who is one of the librarian’s onboard, was the guest this morning at the Good Morning, Amsterdam show. Chris is a 23 year old third generation Floridian from Tampa. He is on his first contract with the cruise line and was transferred from another ship in the fleet to work on the world cruise. He has a twin brother, with whom he enlisted in the military. However, Chris had braces on his teeth and this disqualified him from passing the medical entrance exam. He made an appointment to get the braces off but when the dentists office called his home to confirm his appointment, his mother found out that he was going to have his braces off prematurely and but a stop to that. She said that if he would reimburse her for the $4,000 she spent on the braces he could get them taken off.

Chris and his brother left home the same week, one to boot camp and one to work on the ship. His brother has completed boot camp and is currently serving in Afghanistan. Chris was honored as employee of the month for his exemplary service to a woman and her son who traveled with us from Lima to Auckland. The son was celebrating his 18^th birthday although he was wheelchair bound, crippled up and unable to speak from the ravages of a physically debilitating disease. Chris would entertain him in the library and play games with him.  He could communicate only by lifting one arm to answer yes. Chris is an incredible young man and does an excellent job with helping guests with most anything they may need onboard.

Barbara, our travel guide, lectured this morning on things to do and see in Hong Kong, while the afternoon featured Adrian Cooper who lectured on Diving in the Deep. Adrian spoke about the amazing creatures that live in the deepest parts of the oceans.

Water temperature/Idioms—During his daily sailing announcements, our ship’s captain mentioned the sea’s water temperature.  It has been gradually increasing and is now 84 degrees.  Not quite like San Diego.  He also shares with us various idioms, which come from sailing, like “toe the line, between the devil and the deep blue sea, hand over fist, as the crow flies,” etc.  We are surprised that so many of our idioms and expressions come from sailing ships at sea.

We took in the afternoon movie titled: One for the Money with Katherine Heigl, Debbie Reynolds and John Leguizamo.

The evening’s entertainer was an English comedian by the name of Kevin Devane. He had some interesting one-liners but the guests are getting tired of so many comedians.

King Neptune Ceremony

March 5, 2013  Sea Day

Today we crossed the equator and thus another reason to celebrate. King Neptune or Poseidon in Greek mythology is believed to oversee the equator. In order that we might secure safe passage for the ship over the equator we had a special ceremony. Making an appearance was the cruise director, Bruce, as King Neptune and the cruise hostess, Adele, as a mermaid. They officiated a ceremony where crewmembers from different departments were brought before a panel of the captain and his officers for judgment for a variety of fictional crimes. Each set of crewmembers was then covered in slime and thrown in the swimming pool. The Amsterdam orchestra was dressed as pirates and Equator Sling drinks were served and everyone had a fun time.

Aileen Bridgewater lectured on her interviews with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, Sylvester Stallone and Princess Diana. She seems to always be at the right place at the right time to get the interviews.

In the afternoon we went to the Wajang Theater to see the movie “The Five-Year Engagement” with Emily Blunt, Jason Segel and Chris Pratt.

Dinner was another formal affair followed by the King Neptune Under the Sea Ball in the Queen’s Lounge. We had dinner with friends Peter, Peter and Brian from Toronto, Canada, at their table in the dining room.  Wild and crazy recently retired guys! They boarded the ship in Sydney and will be disembarking in Hong Kong. The dining room was beautifully and colorfully decorated with all things under the sea. Brightly colored Mylar streamers with colorful fish attached were hanging everywhere. Mylar helium balloons of fish, turtles, lobster and octopus floated above every table. The waiters were all wearing white shirts with light blue vests and bow ties plus hats of brightly colored fish.

After dinner there was a Gala Ball in the Queen’s Lounge, which was also decorated extensively with all things related to the sea. The orchestra played dance music and the ships uniformed officers were on hand to dance with the passengers. The cruise director and the hostess were seated on thrones, up on the stage dresses as King Neptune and a mermaid.

Girl at the Makassar Market

Fish laid out to dry

Fishing boat in Makassar Harbor

Model of Indonesian Homes and Rice Storage

Makassar Outdoor Market

March 4, 2013  Ujung Pandang (Makassar), Indonesia

Prior to the arrival of Islam in the 16^th century, this area of South Sulawesi (Celebes) was governed by a number of small states divided between two related ethnic groups, the Makassarese and the Buginese. In about 1530 the Makassarese state of Gowas emerged as the most powerful state, and the ruler of Gowa adopted Islam in 1605.  The Dutch established a trading post at Makassar in 1609. The British occupied the area between 1810-1816, during the Napoleonic Wars, and the Makassarese attacked the British in 1814 and again in 1816. The Dutch eventually emerged victorious during 1858-1860 and extended rule over the whole of the region. The Japanese occupied Celebes during World War II. Clashes occurred between the Dutch and Indonesian troops in Makassar in 1950, and with the defeat of the Dutch, Celebes became part of the Republic of Indonesia.

Today the population is engaged in growing rice, corn, coconuts, coffee, spices, vegetable oil, sugar cane, soybeans, and sweet potatoes. Teak and rattan grow here as well. Deep sea fishing is also important. The manufacturing of cement, milled rice, beverages, chemicals, rubber goods, processes coffee, palm oil, woven cotton and silks, paper, metal ware, carved wood, and baskets.

With temperatures in the 90’s and the humidity to match, we ventured out on a tour of the town. Our first stop was the fishing port called Paotere Harbour where we saw Buginese sailing boats unloading fish. The boats are in poor condition and the water is swelling with litter although the fish drying on the ground around the port do not smell too bad.

The traffic in town is extremely hectic and the traffic lights appear to be only a suggestion as not too many drivers pay them much attention. Motorcycles outnumber the automobiles, and there is not much of a sidewalk to walk on so most of the pedestrians wander through the streets crossing with great difficulty. Three wheeled bicycles with a seat wide enough to carry one large or two small people are most everywhere and the drivers are most aggressive in wanting to take you somewhere.

We visited a large open-air market where mostly fruits, vegetables, fish and chicken were being sold. The chickens were being sold live or dead and whole, with the feathers removed and stacked on a table. It was not a very clean place but the locals were happy to see us and either wanted to take our picture or wanted us to take photos of them. One little girl was busy chewing on a chicken’s claw, I suppose as a snack.

Next we visited Fort Rotterdam originally built in 1545 of clay by the 9^th King of Gowa. During the reign of the 14^th King Sultan Alauddin, the fort was rebuilt of stone taken from the Karst Mountains. The fortress is shaped like a turtle because a turtle can live on land and in the sea as the kingdom of Gowa triumphed on land and at sea. During the Dutch occupation the fort was renamed Fort Rotterdam and used as central storage for spices from Eastern Indonesia. Today the fort contains a wonderful museum with a collection of artifacts, ethnic costumes, ceramics, manuscripts, coins and other historical items of the region.

Waist extenders—Kent found out about an interesting and helpful item from a fellow bus tour passenger.  It appears that the waist extender can be used to enlarge your pants around your increased waist—in case you need it, of course.  You can still zip your pants (only leaves a small gap) but it will add a needed two inches to your pants so you don’t have to buy new ones.  It just buttons in and then you can breath and continue eating at the buffets!  Great invention…now, where to get them?

Next we visited what was called a handicraft market called Jalan Somba Opu, but was more of a street lined with shops on either side. Unfortunately the vast majority of the shops were jewelry shops with locally made Kendari filigree rings, bracelets and chains of gold.

The afternoon found us wandering the streets in search of an Internet café or someplace where we could use the Internet cheaply. We finally found a local hotel, which allowed us to use the wi-fi in the lobby although it was not very quick.

The entertainment this evening was another performance by Steve Stevens who had performed several days ago. He plays the trumpet, sings and told a variety of jokes.

March 3, 2013  Sea Day

The Good Morning Amsterdam show featured Tina, one of the young ladies who works in the Pinnacle restaurant. Tina is from Indonesia and prepared all of the meals for guest who ate in the Indonesian restaurant last night. She also acts as chef for several special dinners in the Pinnacle restaurant when they feature Indonesian dinners.

Barbara, our Travel Guide, discussed things to do and see in the upcoming port of Puerto Princesa and Manila in the Philippines.

A new lecturer by the name of Dr. Aidan Cooper is onboard and lectured about life on coral reefs today. Aidan is an Associate Research Fellow in the Department of Geography at the Birkbeck College, London University as well as a Consultant to the BBC Natural History Unit. His principal interests are in oceanography, island eco-systems and tropical rainforests in South East Asia. He discussed all aspects of a coral reed as well he showed some wonderful slides of coral animals and fish.

Aileen Bridgewater shared her interview with the Dalai Lama and what a fascinating man she found him to be. She says that there is still controversy today in Hong Kong when discussing matters of the Dalai Lama and Tibet.

Kent had quite an interesting visit with one of our gay Japanese friends on board.  He is an older “chubby chaser” and was interested in sharing some of his personal videos.  Kent learned a lot!  Nothing more to say!

The entertainer on this evening was a woman by the name of Hilary O’Neil who is a comedian and vocalist from England. She was quite entertaining including her impersonation of Dame Edna.