Then to Teak wood sculpture factory, amazing artwork also. Prices included shipping but we again did not buy anything, but here we were tempted. Off to the Rose Garden for buffet lunch and cultural show. Back to hotel for night of leisure, but now we are invited to a cocktail party at hotel. No rest for the weary.

Aug. 30 cont. - Cindy saw all the signs for the Thailand Cobra show so off we went. It was a bit grueling, what we would consider animal abuse to a certain extent. It was still fun. We saw a man catch a poisonous snake in his mouth while holding a poisonous snake in each hand at the same time. Norm may have found his next job.

Aug. 30- Today long, left at 7:30am for drive to the Floating Market. On the way stopped at the coconut orchard and watched coconut sugar being made. Everything of the coconut is used- sugar, milk, purses, wooden objects of all kinds from the palm tree, and fertilizer and containers for orchids from the shells. The Floating Market was a fun experience. We took a 20 minute boat trip on a canal and then took a row boat through the middle of the market. In their boats and alongside the canal they were selling just about everything: hats, souvenirs, fruit, cooking coconut pancakes, fried bananas, etc. We tried Durian fruit. The locals say it smells like hell but tastes like heaven. They lie. It smells like hell and tastes like hell too. The smell is so bad that there was a sign in the lobby of our hotel in Penang saying no Durians allowed in the hotel. The former hotel manager who was our guide told us it takes one week to clear out the smell from a room.

Aug. 29 we visited the Grand Palace. Then we went to shop at the Jade Factory. It was amazing. Quality was far above China. We loved the carvings and the jewelry. We then had lunch at the Supatra River House for traditional Thai cuisine. Then we went to the gem factory and saw more beautiful jewelry but did not buy anything, thought about it though. Then it was time for our dinner cruise on the Chaophaya River. It rained but still nice.

Aug 28- We have arrived in Bangkok. The sun was out so we spent a little time at the pool. Staying at the Oriental Hotel and we are being treated like King and Queen. Decided to have Tai massages at Maiden Massage. They were wonderful and lasted for 2 hours. We then went to the weekend market. It was like sardines with local people. This is definitely the place to shop. Someday we will have to come back with empty suitcases. Had drinks outdoor on the 64th floor of the State Tower overlooking the river and sunset then buffet dinner on terrace of hotel on the riverfront.

Aug 25-27 was spent in Penang, Malaysia. We stayed at the beautiful Mutiara Beach Resort. The accommodations were spectacular with balcony, a lovely pool and beach. Restaurants were fabulous. We mostly rested at the pool and beach. There was some rain so we caught up on reading books. Finding a number of Clive Cussler books in Southeast Asia. Fun to read. We did venture out one day for a tour of the Tropical fruit farm, visited the local fishing village, the botanic gardens along with the local monkeys, and Fort Cornwallis. Norm is conquering his fear of heights and parasailed off the beach.

Aug 23 cont. - At around 5:30, we watched thousands of bats all leave the cave to go hunting for the night. They look like a huge snake in the sky as they leave. We even saw a bat hawk swoop through the line and snatch up a bat from time to time. Never thought we could walk so far in one day. Hundreds of stairs, inclines and many kilometers. Lucky for us we did this at our current age. No way if we were in our 60’s or 70’s. What an interesting day. Just when we thought we had found the middle of Nowhere, we find we were wrong. This place seems like the middle of Nowhere. It is best summed up by a T-shirt we saw. It said “Sarawak, it’s a jungle out there”. What a fun place to visit. After dinner at the Royal Mulu resort several of the staff performed a cultural dance show. Then as exhausted, went to bed.

In the afternoon, we went to Lang Cave and Deer cave in Mulu National park. Lang cave is a very low hanging cave and Norm had to duck most of the hike. Before we could get to the caves, we had to cross a suspension bridge and then walk 3 kilometers just to get to the entrance through the jungle. Cindy photographed lots of Rajah Brooke butterflies. No snakes were seen but the info at the park ranger station said to watch for pit vipers. One of them was enough thank you. The deer cave got its name from the deer that used to live in the cave along with thousands of bats (24 different species). The cave is the tallest and widest in Malaysia and is second only to Mammoth Cave in the US. There is a very clear profile of Abraham Lincoln in the rock. Inside is the most beautiful garden at the other end. It is called the Garden of Eden. There was also a shower for Adam and a shower for Eve just before the Garden. Unusual smells in a cave where the bats drop 3 tons of guano per day. One person wrapped a towel around her nose. Huge stalactites and water streams. We saw rapids in the interior river.

Aug 22-Flew to Mulu. This is the cave center of Sarawak. We visited 4 caves in one day and walked about 10 kilometers. We went to the Wind Cave and the Clearwater cave by small boat up the Mulu river. We were told there were 200 steps to get to the Clearwater cave. Our guide neglected to tell us that there were an incredible amount of steps inside the cave. We had lunch in the jungle and then went back to the hotel for about an hour.

Today, Sunday August 21, we hiked through Bako national forest. This is a jungle along the South China Sea. We saw several Proboscis Monkeys in the wild. We also saw a Pit Viper snake curled up under a log (very poisonous). The guide told us they sit in the same spot for weeks after eating and then they will move. Glad it didn’t like the looks of us or feel very energetic today. The guide said the trip was an easy, flat walk. Boy did he lie. But how can we trust a guide who grew up in a longhouse eating Cicadas that he caught and his mother cooked in the Wok. He told us he gets tired walking in the city but never in the jungle. Wow! No rain today but we got soaked in the middle of the lake in Batang-Ai just after we walked around the Tilapia fish hatchery floating in the lake. The jungles in Batang-Ai and Bako were both just amazing. This is such an interesting country. We are lucky, the wildfires burning across the mountains in Indonesia have not really been a smoke problem. The paper said they agreed to let Singapore seed the clouds to try and slow the fires in Indonesia.

Aug 18- After two days, we went to Batang Ai reservior. This is a man-made lake from a dam that has one hotel and lots of local “Long Houses”. A longhouse is where several families live in one long home on stilts in the jungle. Cindy got along well with the local people. She even joined in with a local dance and was the life of the party at the Delok longhouse, of the Iban ethnic group (former headhunters) that we visited. Wonderful experience of Iban hospitality and cooking (tea, rice wine, bamboo chicken and beef, jungle ferns, tilapia, jungle hill rice and long beans). The entire area on the lake and river looked like a scene from Indiana Jones or The African Queen. Just beautiful. I think we have now found the middle of nowhere. We are very close to the equator, somewhere below 10 degrees. We are actually on the island of Borneo. Who knew it had three countries on it. Malaysia on the North side of the mountains, Indonesia to the south and Brunei in between Malaysia. Very interesting. Main resources are pepper plants, palm oil, rubber, oil and gas. Norm bought a T-shirt of the map of Borneo and while walking on the river in Kuching, a man stopped to look at the shirt and then talked to us for about 20 minutes about Malaysia.

Aug. 16- We are now in Malaysia. Began in Kuching, the cat city. Nice riverfront with little restaurants. We went out the first night and had dinner at a Pizza Hut. Interesting combination of Chinese Temples, Anglican churches and Mosques all around town. We took a trip to the Semengoh Nature study center where we observed the morning feeding of the Orangutans being trained to live in the jungle after being orphaned or rescued from captivity. I think we observed them over a 2 hour period.

Then a tour of the city. They have a “Merlion” statue of a mermaid/lion cross. It is the heart of the harbor and the lion is the symbol of the city. It spouts water continually. We learned that Japan had bombed Singapore the same day as Pearl Harbor. There is a memorial celebrating the end of the Japanese occupation. Our guide showed us some wonderful local foods. We ate glutinous rice peanut balls in almond milk soup. Wow. Tastes great. We also had something called bamboo cakes. Kind of like a local Hostess snowball. That evening, had dinner along the river at boat quay, a river boat ride, and then to hear Jazz music later. We had a real nice time talking with Angelite the singer after her set. Turns out she was from Hong Kong. Her eyes lit up when we asked if she sang at the Kowloon Bay Shangri-La hotel. She knew it well. She offered that if we could stay until Wednesday, she and some friends were going wake boarding. We told her we left in the morning but thanks anyway. Turned out to be a fun night. She has a really good singing voice. She was amazed that Norm had seen Louis Armstrong play in concert. Quite amazing to see a Chinese person so interested in American Jazz music. We could have spent another two or three nights exploring this wonderful city.

Off toSingapore-Aug 14-15. What a beautiful flowered and tree lined city. Singapore just celebrated their 40th B-day celebration of independence. We went to the Night Safari at the zoo to see how the animals really live at night when they are awake. Very nice but too long a day after traveling all day from Boracay. Turns out Sunday is the busiest day/night so we had to put up with long lines. Next day we went to Sentosa island. This is the fun island of Singapore. Great view of the sea from the cable car ride we took to get there. Up the Carlsberg Sky Tower for a 360 panoramic view of Singapore, Malaysia and islands of Indonesia. Then history of the founding four ethnic groups; Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian, a walk through the butterfly garden and the underwater world aquarium.

Aug 6-13 we have been on Boracay in the Philippines. White sand beach as far as the eye can see, sailboats, diving, parasailing, massages, strolling vendors of all sorts. Then there is D’Mall D’Boracay with every tienda imaginable along the top of the beach. We even had drinks and appetizers at the famous Hobbit House. While it is typhoon season, we did have a few nice days to lounge in the sun/clouds. Has been very windy and rain on and off, but good respite.

A visit to Repulse Bay, Stanley Market and then to the local goldfish, bird and flower markets. Since there is not much space, most people have fish and birds as their pets. Hong Kong is the largest container port in the world that works 24 hour/day and has the longest suspension bridge. There are 6.8 million people in 440 square miles and is considered the greenest city in the world. In the evening we went to Kowloon Pier, took a Chinese junk cruise and had dinner at the Lei Yu Mun seafood village. The cruise back in the dark provided us a spectacular view of the harbor lit up at night. Then to our amazing harbor view room at the Shangri-La hotel overlooking Kowloon Bay.

In the afternoon off to Hong Kong and dinner at the Peking garden restaurant. We have become proficient in our use of chop sticks now.

Aug 5 we took the Peak tram to Victoria peak (built in 1888 by the British) for the spectacular view of Hong Kong and its grand harbor. Sadly it was overcast but it was still an amazing sight. Off to Aberdeen fishing village for view of beach, water and information of local religion and Feng Shui(theory of nature and balance). Then for a boat ride in the harbor to the Jumbo floating restaurant for dim sum.

Aug 4 we traveled to China’s Venice. We took a ride on a gondola and walked through the old quaint town. We walked over a 900 year old bridge.

Another typical lunch and off to the Shanghai Museum for the remainder of the afternoon. Various artifacts, vessels, jade, artwork, furniture, sculptures, seals, coins, stamps, and pottery dating back as far as BC years for some of the vessels. Our Guide took us to a local family restaurant for dim sum and then to the acrobatic show.

Aug 3 was a packed day visiting the Jade Buddha Temple where a festival was taking place. As we walked into the courtyard a blessing was occurring for a family’s vehicle, which was parked right there. Apparently the monks will bless anything for a donation. Although the way everyone drives in China, we suppose blessings of vehicles would be a necessity. There was a treasured jade sculpture which was brought back many years ago by a monk in his travels. There was also a large marble sculpture which was a present from Singapore. Then for a quaint walk through the 400 year old Yuyuan Garden and Old Town.

Aug 2 we drove to the outskirts of town and took a cable car up the mountain. It was beautiful to look over the city within the mountains and the farmland on the hills. We visited Elephant Trunk Hill and learned that elephants are Guilin’s symbol, although none of the residents have ever seen a real elephant, at least not in their neighborhood. Then to Fubo Hill and to Reed Flute cave. And yet another typical lunch and dinner before our trip to Shanghai.

Aug 1 we were transferred to the wharf for our Li River Cruise. It was a parade of boats as about 30 followed each other down the river. Guilin is considered the most picturesque area of China. One of the couples from our Yangtze trip were on the same boat as us. Along the way, vendors came up to the boat on their log rafts, hooked on and we were amazed how well they did selling their wares. Just goes to show there is no place they won’t find tourists. We arrived at Yangshou County and walked down “Western Street”, and what did we find but more shops. Then we had more Chinese food for lunch and dinner. Had to order a pizza from room service as a treat.

The next morning we departed the ship and drove 2 hours to Dazu where we experienced 50,000 sculptures in a jungle grotto dating back 800 years built by Buddhist monks over a 90 year period. That evening we flew to Guilin, but on the way to the airport since we had an extra hour we stopped for foot massages.

July 30 we climbed the famous 12 story Red Pagoda constructed against the cliff with no nails at the Shibao village. In the afternoon we had our Chinese 101 lesson. We sailed to Chongquing, metropolis area of 32 million people.

The second day, Fri. July 29 we again got up early for the tai chi. After breakfast was a shore excursion at Wushan where we took a river ferry and sampan down the Daning River to see the Lesser Gorges. In the afternoon there was kite flying and then we passed through the Qutang Gorge. We observed cliff tombs along the way with a casket visible.

We flew to Yichang and were met by Edward who took us to a dinner before proceeding to the docks to board the ship for our Yangtze River cruise. As we arrived and got out he said it would be 10 yuan for each bag for the porters. We were surrounded by men who began grabbing our bags and off down steep stairs to the ship. It was a sleezy experience. We had a nice room on the third floor. Slept great the first night and off to tai chi in the morning of July 28. We went to the Three Gorges Dam today. Our ship the Victoria Katarina docked at Sandouping and we went ashore to visit the three gorges project. When complete, it will be the largest dam and largest hydroelectric power plant in the world. We are sitting in the locks at this moment listening to music played on the locks speakers. It was built to provide flood control for the river and to provide power for the country. The country is moving 1.5 million people who will lose their homes when the dam is complete. The dam also is China’s version of the Panama Canal. It takes several hours to get from end to end through the ship locks. The scenery through the Xiling gorge was breathtaking. We spent time on deck just relaxing and being in the now with the mountains and river. In the afternoon we went to the doctor’s demonstration of acupuncture, acupressure and cupping. I was having aches and stiffness in my neck so I set up an appointment and had all three. It helped. We have met the most wonderful couples at our independent dining table. We spent a lot of time conversing with them. The food on the ship of course was wonderful. Breakfasts and lunch more American and dinner more traditional Chinese.

Xian is the old capitol of China. The most interesting thing was the terra cotta warriors. We saw several thousand warrior figures that had been unearthed and glued back together by archaeologists. Talk about humpty dumpty. When the peasants had an uprising, they broke most of them before the Emperor could be buried with them. The site was discovered by a group of farmers in the 70’s. The original discover signed our book. Very hot but not too crowded. Then we visited the Banpo village which is another historical site of a 5000 year old civilization. It is amazing how some things were so sophisticated back then. Then we were off to visit the Shanxi historic museum. There we learned of the Chinese zodiac. It is based upon the year you are born and there are 12 signs/animals that just repeat. Turns out Norm is a dog and I am a rooster. Jeanine is a pig and Brad is a tiger. Then they showed us their art gallery. We had dinner and saw the Tang Dynasty cultural production. Unusual, original instruments of the Tang period were played by the ancient Chinese instrumental ensemble. Then there was a cultural dance segment. The costumes and dances were beautiful. More music and the finale which we started to nod off to as we were exhausted from the day. On Wed., July 27, our guide Sally took us to the Big Goose Pagoda, the bell tower and the ancient city wall in the morning.