Dearest Rachel – I’ve got a lot of stuff to take care of today – much of which built up while I was overseas, and some of which even has to do with this trip and others in the near future – and while I was contemplating it all, this word popped into my head.Continue reading “Sānùk (สนุก) and Suffering”
Tag Archives: culture
from Rachel: Now Answers / Delayed Actions
If you can relate, offer your own: what request were you fully convinced God had answered affirmatively?“The incidents that come to mind were all followed through fairly quickly. The most recent I can think of being my safety through surgery and the tumor being benign.” ⛤ In my own attempts to distinguish my desires fromContinue reading “from Rachel: Now Answers / Delayed Actions”
A Halifax Busy Day
Dearest Rachel – I realize that I should have taken a moment yesterday to wish you a happy thirty-third anniversary before I went on about our day, but as we were anticipating a busy day ashore, so we were rather preoccupied, I’m afraid. At the same time, do anniversaries still tally up when one partnerContinue reading “A Halifax Busy Day”
Oh Boy…
Dearest Rachel – I remember being at the hospital while the news was breaking about John Lennon being shot. I wasn’t at the hospital he was being taken to, of course; this was when my grandfather was being taken to be seen about what turned out to be a fatal case of lung cancer (andContinue reading “Oh Boy…”
Better Than Cook’s Tour?
Dearest Rachel – Back in the day, I understand that Thomas Cook & Son was considered to be the gold standard for tourism; the “Cook’s tour” was proverbial for being given a decent understanding of a place and situation, whether a new job or an actual vacation spot. So, taking into account that the jobContinue reading “Better Than Cook’s Tour?”
Ho Chih Minh City
Dearest Rachel – Well, at least this place, I expected to be seeing, if I were to wind up as a tourist in Vietnam. Not that I ever expected to be a tourist in Vietnam, to be sure, but on a trip like this, you get the whole buffet to taste and explore. Although, givenContinue reading “Ho Chih Minh City”
Nha Trang
Dearest Rachel – Another port city, another destination I know next to nothing about. In all honesty, when I realized we would be making two stops in Vietnam, I rather assumed that we would be going to the two former capitals – or at least, the port cities that led to them – Hanoi inContinue reading “Nha Trang”
Osaka
Dearest Rachel – So tomorrow is our last stop in Japan (and to think, I still have ¥10,000 in cash to get rid of – never mind the coins – I’d best find something to blow it on), and I need to do this latest destination at least a little bit of justice, seeing asContinue reading “Osaka”
Okinawa
Dearest Rachel – Well, finally, here’s a place we’ve heard about back in the day, even if it’s only through various manga and anime. This is the place where it seems every class field trip winds up going to during their third year; the land of shiisa and sata andagi. You would likely giggle everContinue reading “Okinawa”
Taipei
Dearest Rachel – Well, we’re back underway; after more than a day and a half in Hong Kong (and welcoming aboard a whole raft of new passengers – which could be the subject of a whole other letter, I suspect), we’re on our way to another city I’ve never been to, nor have I evenContinue reading “Taipei”
Manila
Dearest Rachel – I don’t know what it is, but no matter how many sea days I’m given, I can’t seem to do anything but wait for the last minute to put these things together. Ironically, while you wouldn’t necessarily be proud of me for that, you might well be pleased that I’m starting toContinue reading “Manila”
Bali
Dearest Rachel – As mentioned yesterday, our next stop will take us a short hop over from Lombok to Bali. Unlike today, which didn’t actually even start until early afternoon (the gangway wasn’t lowered until after 2pm), we’ll be arriving at Bali by seven in the morning. My excursion, however, being a literal day atContinue reading “Bali”
Lombok
Dearest Rachel – Every port we visit these days, I find myself having to apologize for not having done my homework weeks in advance, like I’m used to having done. Considering the changes that happen in some cases (such as the fact that we weren’t ever pulling into Cairns at all, nor did I manageContinue reading “Lombok”
Brisbane
Dearest Rachel – Once again, I’m waiting until virtually the last minute in order to put this report together, because so much else is going on for me to both write about and video. Something’s got to give, and these reports sort of wind up being that something. At least Brisbane has a bit ofContinue reading “Brisbane”
How the Honeyeaters Found Their Song: A Non-Legend
Dearest Rachel – I’m no more going to be able to write to you about my experience driving a quad than I could film it; at least, I could tell you about it immediately after the fact: After our adventure with the quad bikes, we had a snack and a go through of the MurrookContinue reading “How the Honeyeaters Found Their Song: A Non-Legend”
Sydney
Dearest Rachel – For all that I’m looking forward to visiting (and revisiting) certain places along this particular cruise, there are others that I’ve given rather short shift to. I clearly didn’t know anything about French Polynesia, and I really haven’t done my homework on anywhere in Australia either. Which is pretty unfortunate, as AustraliaContinue reading “Sydney”
Bay of Islands
Dearest Rachel – Located in a part of New Zealand referred to as the Winterless North (which is a strange pair of words for anyone from the Northern Hemisphere to utter in tandem), the Bay of Islands is about a 150 mile drive up Route 1 from Auckland. While not a long distance – andContinue reading “Bay of Islands”
Auckland
Dearest Rachel – I really need to start getting these reports prepared beforehand a little more; best to use the sea days while I have them, as they’ll be much fewer and farther between once we arrive in New Zealand. Sure, the trip from there to Australia will take a day or two of sailing,Continue reading “Auckland”
Honolulu
Dearest Rachel – For all that this trip is meant for me to visit a whole, erm, boatload of places that I’ve never been to before (and most likely, never will again – it’s nothing personal, after all, as the opportunity doesn’t arise that often. I’m still kind of surprised to find myself on myContinue reading “Honolulu”
The Sun Also Sets
Farewell, Japan – I will miss you. I will miss your forests, with your pine trees standing so closely together (and so close to the road) that your nature can be every bit as claustrophobic as the streets and alleyways of your cities. I will miss your customs, such as the belief that a pairContinue reading “The Sun Also Sets”
Shimizu – 清水
Dearest Rachel – Our trip is just about to wind down, and we’re down to our last stop before returning to Tokyo, and from there to Narita and home via Denver (which no, I am not going to bother writing about. I’ve already told you plenty about having been there). I’m not sure how muchContinue reading “Shimizu – 清水”
Kobe – 神戸
Dearest Rachel – Thanks for indulging me in a little bit of reminiscence about the city I remember best from my last time in Asia; I only wish I could have brought you with, so that you and I could have swapped stories about our previous visits. Granted, your homestay village of Tsumago is soContinue reading “Kobe – 神戸”
Staying Put… or Not
Dearest Rachel – Eight a.m., and we’re eating breakfast overlooking the enormous (compared to most of our other stops, including Tokyo; the roof is even with the level of the upper-deck cafe) station at the Kobe harbor. We’re going to be here until five in the evening tomorrow. Well, ‘we’ as in the passengers onContinue reading “Staying Put… or Not”
Kyoto – 京都
Dearest Rachel – I know I should be talking about Kobe, since that is the port that we will be coming into tomorrow. However, since our excursion is a Shinkansen ride to Kyoto – and this is the place I remember so vividly, as I walked around it during the day after the Emperor Showa’sContinue reading “Kyoto – 京都”
Takamatsu – 高松
Dearest Rachel – So now, we visit the third of Japan’s major islands, meaning we’ll have stopped at all but Hokkaido on this trip. And to think, we still have three more days before we’re back in Tokyo. Takamatsu is the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture, located in the northwestern part of Shikoku Island, theContinue reading “Takamatsu – 高松”
Hiroshima – 広島
Dearest Rachel – For all that Hiroshima has a certain singular claim to fame (if nothing else, it is the yardstick by which all nuclear devices are measured against, usually in terms of dwarfing it), there is so much more to this city than that one terrible moment. Indeed, the fact that it still standsContinue reading “Hiroshima – 広島”
Kitakyushu – 北九州
Dearest Rachel – So, after that brief sojourn on the tip of the Asian continent proper, we return to the islands of Japan. And I use the plural deliberately, since this is our first visit to a city on an island other than the main one of Honshu. Kitakyushu is a city located in theContinue reading “Kitakyushu – 北九州”
Busan – 부산시
Dearest Rachel – I know that, when cruises’ destinations are within the United States (such as to Alaska and Hawaii), there is a stop (or, more often, an embarkation point) in another country, so that the ship isn’t subject to the laws of the United States, which presumably are considerably more stringent than the internationalContinue reading “Busan – 부산시”
Kanazawa – 金沢
Dearest Rachel – I think of Japan (and the main island of Honshu in particular) as being much like California in shape and climate, if clearly not in culture. If we think of ‘cruise ship speed’ as equivalent to 25 mph on land (at least, that’s what we always referred to it as we droveContinue reading “Kanazawa – 金沢”
Niigata – 新潟
Dearest Rachel – Even before we head down the gangplank tomorrow, we should have a beautiful view, no matter where we are; the side of the ship not facing the city should be able to see Sado Island. At least, that’s what it looks like on the map of the prefecture, showing where the cityContinue reading “Niigata – 新潟”
A Bit of a Mess
Dearest Rachel – So, yesterday we went out on walkabout before our tour; today that’s definitely not going to be possible today, as our tour starts almost as soon as we’re docked and cleared to get off the ship. We will, however, have a good four or five hours before the ship leaves, in orderContinue reading “A Bit of a Mess”
Akita – 秋田
Dearest Rachel – We’ve now gone across the top of Honshu, and continuing our counterclockwise route around the country through the Sea of Japan (as opposed to the Pacific Ocean proper). Akita (literally translated ‘autumn field,’ which suggests we’re here at exactly the wrong time of year – evidently, the many rice paddies turn aContinue reading “Akita – 秋田”
Aomori – 青森
Dearest Rachel – As our one and only sea day comes to a close, I’m starting in on sending out these daily pre-docking reports, like we used to do as a family. As I’ve mentioned a few times previously, most of the research is being done by artificial intelligence – because there’s too many stopsContinue reading “Aomori – 青森”
Tokyo – 東京
Dearest Rachel – Since I’m going to be incommunicado on the flight, I figure I’ll have this prepared beforehand to send to you, and schedule it to arrive shortly before landing. After all, it isn’t as if I’m going to be discussing this with Daniel at dinner – while I expect we’ll be served severalContinue reading “Tokyo – 東京”
Nothing Worth Celebrating
Dearest Rachel – Well, 2021 is finally over with, and good riddance to bad rubbish. I can’t imagine how a year could have been worse than this. Now, I’ve been admonished not to phrase my observation so, because it’s like tempting fate. Asking “how could things get worse?” is a surefire way to actually findContinue reading “Nothing Worth Celebrating”
Culture Stunned
Dearest Rachel – Over the last week and a half, I’ve said a number of times about how ‘what’s mundane for one person is exotic for another.’ Naturally, it stands to reason that this situation goes both ways. What’s particularly weird is how it’s happened to me in both directions. I can’t say that IContinue reading “Culture Stunned”
Letters to Rachel 