Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan Feb 24, 2026

The final day of our cruise brought us to the port near Tokyo. The morning was busy as we prepared to abandon ship. The night before, we placed our luggage in the hallway for the crew to transport to the dock. Debby, Nancy, and I made our way to the International Café for one last breakfast before disembarking. Instead of 3,000 passengers cramming toward the exit door at the same time, the crew gave everyone numbers, dividing us into smaller groups. When our number was called, we would make our way to the door, exit for the last time, retrieve our luggage, and then head to the ground transportation area. The seven of us made our way toward the exit and waited in a long line of tourists needing transportation. The people coordinating the taxi service were very efficient, and the line moved quickly. When it was our turn, the seven of us—with a ton of luggage—were given taxis to take us to our hotel. Our hotel was about 40 minutes away. Morning traffic was busy, and the taxis were spread out a bit, but they managed to get us to our destination within about 10 or 12 minutes of each other. We checked in, but we weren’t able to access our rooms until 3:00 p.m. The hotel allowed us to leave our luggage there until check-in time, which was very helpful. After deciding what to do, we headed up the street, following our GPS map. The streets were busy with people and vehicles. We kept forgetting to walk on the left side and often found ourselves spread out across the sidewalk, having to move out of the way of oncoming traffic, bicycles, delivery vehicles, and pedestrians. Eventually we ended up in an area I’ll call “Little Times Square.” The gathering area was outside a large subway entrance and was crowded with people. Tall buildings displayed video screens showing advertisements and other visuals, similar to New York’s Times Square. It was on a smaller scale, but somehow seemed even more expensive. There wasn’t much to do except people-watch. We managed to find places to sit and rest from the long walk. At our age, walking all day isn’t quite as fun as it used to be. Eric and I went into an outdoor store called Arcteryx. They’re known for high-quality outdoor clothing, hiking gear, and backpacking equipment. We went inside just to look around. We found $1,200–$1,600 jackets, $800 shoes and shirts, and $400 T-shirts. It all seemed a little excessive! The narrow store had several levels and we ventured up three or four floors before deciding to leave. We found nothing within our price range. Around the corner we checked out another store that sold almost every kind of electronic gadget imaginable. Eric bought a couple of things while I browsed around. When we returned to the street, we found the rest of our group and decided to go back and check into the hotel. Eric made reservations at a Kobe beef steakhouse, and I decided to go with him. It was about a 15-minute walk toward the Times Square area. Kobe beef is a premium type of Wagyu beef from Japan. It is known for its exceptional tenderness, rich flavor, and impressive marbling. Apparently, it comes from a specific breed of certified black cattle. I suspect these cattle receive daily massages, foot rubs, relaxing hot-spring baths, and maybe even counseling sessions. That must be why Kobe steaks are so rare and expensive. In case you’re wondering, our dinners were a little over $500. Yes…we know. After dinner, Eric and I walked into the heart of the bright lights, towering video screens, and wall-to-wall crowds in the Times Square area. It was impressive to see at night. There were many more people than during the day, and the lights made everything even more spectacular. The next morning around 10:00, our friend Oki arrived to show us around town. Unfortunately, it was raining and cold. In fact, it rained all day and into the evening, making our sightseeing a little damp. Oki managed to find shortcuts through subway stations and underground passages that helped keep us somewhat drier. One of our stops was a local Japanese garden. It was large and beautifully maintained. Not many people were visiting that day, probably because of the rain. It was miserable weather, but we were determined to see the sights. We visited a few coffee shops along the way, mainly to sit down and rest. Each stop gave us a chance to warm up and dry out a little. For lunch we went to a food court in the basement of a large shopping complex. If you could name it, they probably had it. Mike Pinkerton had some spicy Korean food. I had a Big Mac from McDonald’s. Everyone found something they wanted. The only challenge was finding enough table space for all of us to sit together. After lunch, Eric and I ventured upstairs to visit a huge Apple Store. It was spacious and brightly lit. Devices of all kinds were on display for customers to try. Appointments were required for demonstrations or closer inspections. Prices seemed a little higher than in the U.S. The iPhone 17 we looked at was around $1,400 U.S., though I didn’t know the exact specifications to compare it properly. After everyone finished exploring the mall, we visited the Japanese garden again and then stopped at another coffee shop. At one point we even went into a stationery store to check out pencils and paper clips. After all, that’s why people come to Japan, right? That evening, Eric, Debby, and I had dinner with Oki and his mother. She invited us to a Japanese-Italian restaurant. We had oysters, mussels, scallops, vegetables, and several other things I couldn’t quite identify—but everything was delicious. We especially appreciated her generosity and the opportunity to spend time getting to know her better. She was a very kind lady and seemed to enjoy our company as well. She has been having problems with her vision, though the doctors aren’t sure what’s causing it. Her condition is reducing her eyesight and causing dry eyes. I showed her one of my handheld magnifying devices. She was amazed at how clearly she could see with it. When we left, I gave her the device so she could read her medication bottles and other small print. She was very thankful. Oki escorted us back to the hotel by taxi. The next day he came by again as we checked out, just to make sure we had rides arranged to the airport. Once again we needed three taxis for the roughly 40-minute trip. Those rides cost about $150 U.S. each. Nothing in Tokyo is cheap. We checked our luggage and made it through immigration to exit the country. We arrived at the airport early—just the way we like it. The 9-hour flight to Los Angeles was long but not too bad. We were served a couple of meals during the flight. We flew Delta to Los Angeles and then American Airlines from LA to Tulsa. Originally, we planned to stay overnight in Tulsa, but we decided to drive straight on to Arkansas instead. We were ready to be home. Looking back, it was a great trip. Debby and Nancy planned the entire journey, and everything went smoothly. We had a lot of fun and saw places we had only heard about before. And I got my fix of seeing Vietnam again. Now I’m satisfied.

Shimizu Feb 22, 2026

Shimizu, Japan

   After sailing all night and into the next morning, we finally docked in the Shimizu harbor about 2:00 PM.   We met our tour guide ear the port entrance.  The area had several small curio shops that one could buy high priced trinkets right out of the gate.  We were reluctant to buy anything large because we would need to carry it around town all day.   There was a mix-up with us messaging our Guide.  After everything was straightened out, we altered his destinations a bit.  We scratched going to more Temples and Pagodas or to see more shrines or Buddha’s.  Instead, we drove up on a local mountain to an observation deck.  It was a beautiful and popular spot.  The deck was huge and well done.  We had a few photo ops with Mount Fuji in the background.  It was peeking out of the clouds all morning but showed itself a little more as the day progressed.  

   Leaving the mountain, our guide wanted us to go to a beautiful Japanese garden.  It just so happens that ther was a Temple there, too.  But it was well worth the visit.  The Japanese Garden around the grounds was well done and was home to many amazing plants.  One strange looking tree, for instance, was over a thousand years old.

   From here, our guide decided to show us one of his favorite places reserved mostly for the locals.  Tourists were not brought to this place as the locals wanted to keep it to themselves.  The off-road drive to the secret spot was a dirt road, rocky and narrow that wound through a forested area.  It emerged into a clearing and we saw a dozen or two cars parked facing what looked like a river with Mount Fuji sticking up in the distance.  We spent a few minutes taking photos and group pics.  It was indeed a peaceful spot to be in the evening.

   One sight in particular that we had not seen up close since we started this trip was the beach!  Our guide took us to a place where we walked along a pathway through amazing old growth trees, irregular in shape and drastically leaning away from the ocean.  He said it was because of the prevailing winds the trees leaned this direction.  We walked out on the sand and Eric and I walked down to the surf to get a closer looksee.  It was nice but not as nice as other beaches we had seen. I would give this one 3 or 4 stars.

   Back to the ship for dinner and we head for Tokyo. 

Osaka Feb 22, 2026

Osaka

   Today we arrived in Osaka, Japan, the first of our 3 Japan stops on the Diamond Princess.  Entering Osaka was a lesson in long lines.  Everyone aboard ship whether visiting Osaka or remaining on the ship, had to leave and go through Immigration.  They checked our papers and our backpacks.  We were photographed, finger printed,  scrutinized and basically made to feel like a suspect.

   When it was over we went outside and met up with our Tour Guide, driver and high- dollar private van for a look at Nada, or deer park.

   We were heading to the largest Buddhist Temple in the world.  It was huge, for sure!  Inside were several big Buddha’s and a couple of lesser Buddha’s.  One, in fact, had lost his body and the only part of him on display was his big head.  It appears that his wooden body had been badly burned many years ago and all they remained was his head.  Kind of like that one movie….you know, the head floating down the river singing, “I ain’t got nobody”.

   This huge building was of an amazing wooden structure.  Huge wooden pillars and beams held up its massive roof.  The pillars were made to look like trees about 2 feet in diameter and perhaps 20’ or 30’ tall (I don’t really know because I can’t see).  Our Guide thought this particular Buddha was the largest one anywhere.  He was carved from a large tree by a Buddha maker way back when.  

   The Temple itself was not the oldest but it was the largest.  Some say it was about 600 years old.  During that time, a samurai battle destroyed it…..twice.  

   About 1,200 European Deer roam the forested grounds as freely as squirrels.  If one holds his hand up above the deer’s head and then bring it down a little and back up, the deer will seem to take a bow, then everyone laughs.  People say the deer are showing respect or bowing down or something.  The truth is, the deer probably thinks he or she is being given food.  She looks up to see your hand coming down and immediately checks the ground for any dropped food,  then back up at the hand, then down again.  If the deer was to bend a knee, I could believe the respect theory.  

   So, the 1200 deer roaming the grounds are protected by Osaka laws and are not to be killed, eaten or injured.  They cross busy roads at their own speed… much like the Fijians. sometimes it takes a while when they cross end to end one at a time.  

   We ate lunch in a little restaurant that served good, unpronouncable Japanese food.  One was Japanese pizza that contained shrimp.  It was very good.  We had some of those Yakasobe noodles, know what I mean?  There was also bbq chicken chunks and a dish of cold peas, like snow peas but with a non-edible shell.  Anyway, lunch was very good.

   Afterwards we had an hour to walk around, checking out the small shops and buying stuff.  We found a pharmacy and bought some Salon Pas for our aches and pains and snacks not good for us, but always tasty.

   We visited a former Japanese house.  It was a typical house with a plain interior, small and meant for extended family to share.  It was very interesting.  Sitting on the floor around a small table for dinner may be nice, but my knees don’t bend that way anymore!

   We returned to the ship and was early enough to meet up with our friend, Oki, a former exchange student of ours when we lived in Oregon.  He lives in Tokyo but is in school in Osaka taking classes for his Master’s Degree.  We told him we were on a tour but he said he wanted to see us if it was only for an hour. 

   We met him beneath the big Ferris-type wheel. It was so good to see Oki and the young man he has become.  He was glad to see us, too,  We plan to meet up with him again on our end destination of Tokyo.  Oki will be our Guide that day.  Looks like we might get to have dinner with him and meet his Mom.  That will be fun!

   Back on the ship where we ate  dinner and then weighed anchor.  I think it was 186 pounds.

Taipei, Taiwan Feb 19, 2026

Taipei, Taiwan

   Who would have ever thought this Arkansas boy would someday find himself in Taiwan?  The only thing I knew about Taiwan was that they made a ton of cheap stuff and shipped it to the US.  

   After a day at sea, we arrived into the Port of Taipei about 7:00 A.M.  We got ready for our shore excursion and had breakfast before departing the ship.  Our tour was scheduled for 9:00 so we headed down to the Gang Plank about 8:30.  

   Our driver was a young man about college age.  He was a  “Driver/Guide” and a likable young man who laughed a lot.   His English skills were fair.  We could understand part of what he was saying.  Because we (our group of seven), are old, (except Eric), and partially worn out and also because we have had a ton of  information about dead kings, Dynasties, Buddhists, Catholic Churches built since 1975, Temples, Pagodas and the like, we opted to change him up a little.  

   Debby told him that perhaps one Temple would be sufficient and that he suggest a few things.  He mentioned a changing of the guard ceremony and we jumped on that as a “yes”.  Following our tour of Taiwan’s hero Chiang Kai-shek’s Memorial a huge facility in the heart of the city, we were open for options.  

   Our Guide, Ryan, suggested a look at Taipei from high up inside the 101 story building they call the 101 Tower.  We got there  and took a few pictures out front.  Ryan said the cost to go to the top would be $20 U.S. per person.  We budget buddies wasted no time agreeing that we would rather keep our $20 each and just go shopping.  And so we did.

   His idea of watching the changing of the guards sounded like something we could do. Besides the changing of the guards at Chiang Kai-shek’s Memorial, we drove our crowded 8 passenger van to another memorial site to watch another changing of the guards.  It was pretty cool to see their ceremonies of high stepping marching, rifle spinning, one foot standing and hand movements all performed in unison.  They had, apparently, practiced much.

   For lunch we went into a shopping mall, an uptown. Shopping mall, downstairs into a food court that offered just about everything you could imagine and much more.  I, for one, sampled a Big Mac at McDonald’s, of all places.  I wasn’t the only one.

   After lunch, Eric and I headed for the Gianormous Apple Store on the first floor.  It was very spacious and well lit.  They had all the devices Apple could find on display.  We looked at the Apple IPhone 17 Pro Max.  At a cost of $1,400 U.S. it was comparable to prices back home.  I was also intrigued by the VisionPro device but could not see a demonstration without making an appointment.  Maybe later.  It was a beautiful device for about $2,500.  

   Another stop took us to a Taiwan souvenir market, that was extremely crowded!  I reason that most of these people were tourist because no local in his right mind would be shopping for trinkets on such a busy day. Later, as we arrived back on our ship, parked across the bay was another cruise ship. That answered a lot of questions!

   As tour time ended, Ryan returned us to Port, where we headed for our ship. We had dinner at 5:20 in the International Restaurant, except for Debby and Eric, who sampled the buffet on the 14th floor. Debby was also kind enough to do our laundry so we can smell good as we cruise to Japan the next two days!

Hong Kong Feb 20, 2026

Hong Kong 

   I thought long and hard as we left Vietnam.  Visiting Vietnam was one of those bitter/sweet experiences that I doubt I will ever forget. Now that some time has passed as we have a full day at sea before our arrival at Hong Kong, my anxiety has diminished and I feel like Im getting back to normal me.  I’m glad we got to see Vietnam but I doubt if I will ever have a desire to see any of it again.  I did, however, leave a piece of me behind.  While in Nha Trang, I lost an Apple Tracking Device..  I have since located it somewhere in Nha Trang, still transmitting its location whenever two or more IPhones come close to it.  As soon as I get home I will check it closer and see if it is moving around or is stationary.

   It was about 6:00 AM when we entered the harbor in Hong Kong.  Our tour of the city was scheduled to start at 9:00.  This was a Princess tour as we felt apprehensive about creating our own.  

   Following breakfast, we were outside boarding Bus #2 for our guided tour.  Being first on the bus, we had good front seats.  Sandra was still limping from her broken foot injury a few weeks ago and walking too much was causing problems with swelling.  Eric was in a seat by himself up front until a crippled man and his aged wife came aboard.  Eric got up and offered them his seat.  What a good boy we have!

   Today’s adventure began with a large boat ride along the harbor.  From our vantage we could see hundreds of skyscrapers of various shapes and sizes.  Many of these tall buildings were apartments and housing for the 7.5 million Hong Kong inhabitants. Today, the streets would not be too busy as Hong Kongers are taking a few days off work to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which started last night.  I noticed that as we entered the harbor at dark-thirty this morning, I could smell the smell of last night’s fireworks.  I’m guessing that those who were celebrating, are now sleeping in

   It was quiet on the water as our boat made a circle around the shore, even going past our cruise ship.  We docked near the large Ferris Wheel and headed for the #2 bus.  

   We ate lunch with a lot of other tourists.  We sat at a round table that seated 10 or 12.  One other couple at our table was from north of Seattle, Washington.  We ate local type food.  Some of it was new to us but we did recognize the rice.  It was all good, as was the Jasmine tea.  Eric sat at a different  table than us as there was no room, but said he really enjoyed the food!

   We were bussed to the harbor where we were treated to a ride on a Sampan, a boat used by fishermen and for carting tourists.  It’s a simple boat with bench seating and a homemade canopy of tarps to keep out the rain on a day like today.  It was fun.  We passed alongside yachts owned by the rich, parked on the same water as the poor fishermen living in houseboats.  The rich and the poor, together in one place.

   From here we were taken on a ride to the top of a mountain.  Along the way we were able to stop at a local market to do some trinket shopping.  Ron tripped on a rock and banged himself up enough that he and Nancy’s sat on a bench while the rest of us wandered n and out of small souvenir shops.  

   Back to the bus and we were heading to the top of a high mountain where we took photos, shopped and then rode a Tram down the mountain to meet up with our waiting bus.  It was fun.

   The day went by fast.  The driver dropped us off at our ship and we went inside.  As I pulled on my landyard to show my Medallion to re-enter the Princess Diamond,  I discovered my land yard was empty.  Somewhere in Hong Kong I lost my Medallion!  I had to wait around and prove I was supposed to be on this ship.  Immigration, of course, also demanded proof that I was who I said I was.  After a while, two crewmen from the ship who were escorting me, got me past Immigration and made me a new Medallion.  Soon I was back in my stateroom and ready for dinner!

   Next stop…Taiwan.  Tomorrow would be a day at sea.  The wind is picking up and rocking the boat.  Feels like being in an airplane with terbulance.  

Da Nang Feb 19, 2026

Da Nang

   It was more than 55 years ago when I last visited Da Nang, Vietnam.  It had been a stop-over place as I traveled from Phu Cat where I was stationed, to an air base in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, where I would be working for the next 30 days.  They called it TDY to NKP.  During that time, Da Nang was another major air base in Vietnam where troops, ammunition, supplies and evacuations occurred routinely.

   I had never been to any downtown Vietnam city, with the exception of Saigon.  From what I had heard, Da Nang was a beautiful city.  

   Our tour that Debby created with Viator took us into the city of HUE.  It, too, was a beautiful city.  The Barrio’s were much the same as the other two stops we had made during the past 3 days.  The littler shops and storefronts looked much the same.  The main difference I noticed was the absence of the thick, white smog.  I could actually see several blocks away instead of just two!  

   Like other places, HUE was getting ready for the Chinese New Year.  There were lots of flowers on the streets with markets open for business to furnish flowers for customers.  We visited more monuments, Pagados and Temples.  Our Guide was a young Vietnamese woman who taught school as her primary job.  Her name was Loi.  She was very knowledgeable and fed us more information than we could retain.

   We visited the tomb of someone very important and the temple of Vietnam’s last king prior to their being taken over in 1945.  From then on, they had a few wars as the North Vietnamese Communists were trying to take over South Vietnam.  They would eventually succeed.  The French had been involved with Vietnam since the 1800’s.  In fact, the French fought in Vietnam for more than 20 years before the Americans came in to show the French how to do it. After 20 years, we, too, pulled out.  That’s when the Communist swarm came in and invaded South Vietnam like locusts.  We were told first hand how they would break into someone’s home, take everything, plunder people and valuables, imprison or kill families or just throw them out into the streets like garbage.  It was a bad time.  Now, 50 years later, here we are, friends and visitors like nothing happened.  They want to be like us, learn our language, watch our movies, listen to our music and be like us.  Times change, don’t they?

   We visited the Forbidden City, the residential palace of the last king.  We walked many steps during our one-day stay.  We visited tjhe hilltop memorial of where the king was buried.  There were almost 125 steps up the mountainside to get to the memorial.  Some of us walked all of them! There were no roads or elevators to help.  There never was nor will there ever be.

   The ladies wanted to go shopping and so our Guide stopped at a middle end shopping center.  We went in and looked around for a while; not much was purchased.  The flowers outside were gorgeous!  

   Lunch was furnished inside a busy restaurant.  Apparently, several other tours had the same idea.  We ate a myriad of dishes of local Cantonese foods that we could not pronounce.  All of it was good.  The Jasmine hot tea was very good, as well.  

   We visited another low-end market where we could buy Vietnamese trinkets and cheap stuff.  

   At another store, Loi, the Guide took us to a store where we bought a few things.   I bought a wooden turtle that was a three dimensional puzzle.  I will try to learn how to put it together.  It is carved from the Jack Fruit tree.  We watched a young woman make insence.  It was interesting.

   All in all, with all the places we visited and the walking we did, it felt good to get back to our rooms aboard the cruise ship, have dinner in the International Restaurant and crash early.  The next day would be a day at sea as we headed for Taiwan.

Nha Trang Feb 14, 2026

NHA TRANG

CAM RAHN BAY

   After completing my Jungle Survival School in the Philippines, I was flown to Vietnam in November 1969.  We landed in Cam Rahn Bay and caught a hop on the third day to Phu Cat thmy home for the next 12 months.  It felt strange to see the sand of Cam Rahn Bay again.  I remember it as a fine grit that blew through the cracks into my  temporary quarters and coated my bunk bed.  It was memorable, for sure!  A year later, when leaving Vietnam, I flew back to Cam RAHN Bay for my Pan Am freedom flight to the states.

   Nha Trang was very similar to Ho Chi Minh City. It was crowded for its size with a population around 500,000. I was surprised to see mountains surrounding the Bay where our cruise ship landed. They would make great hiking mountains. The scenery around Nha Trang was prettier and that it was near the white sandy  beaches of the South China Sea with plenty of access.    Unfortunately, the smog was so thick. I could barely make out anything two blocks away let alone get a good look at the pristine water..  

   All in all I was not impressed nor filled with a desire to return to Nha Trang.  Our tour guide, Michael, was fair to mediocre because of his poor English/.  He was hard for me to understand, not only his broken English,, but his pronunciations.  Even the  common words and phrases  he used were difficult to understand   Words with letters like “t” were pronounced with the letter ‘d” like he would say, “fodder and modder”for father and mother.  There are some professions some people should not attempt.  I wouldn’t make a good German tour guide because of my lack of knowledge and poor German language skills.  

   Liam, our guide in Ho Chi Minh City and Michael, here in Nha Trang,  told us a few statistics about the Vietnam people.  They said that 70% of Vietnam were Buddhist, 20% were Catholics and 10% for other religions.    Michael said he was a Buddhist.  Our driver spoke English and I think I understood him better than Michael. All he had to do was drive. He liked to honk the horn a lot. We passed by blocks and blocks of low end  stores and businesses that reminds me of the Philippine Barrios.  As we stopped at some of the more impressive sites, including a government area near the beach that contain a special rock formation right on the beach that comes with a fairytale story about a naked Siren and a sailor who lost his head.  I need to research that story on the internet someday and see if it is true.  

   Near the entrance was an open air building with seating where a band and some Vietnamese girls were playing beautiful music with unusual instruments.  It was also a very soothing and mystical  sound.  One instrument was a rectangular guitar.  The most unusual instrument was a row of various lengths of hollow bamboo where a girl clapped her hands together in front of the bamboo pieces to produce a sound.  She created a beautiful tune by clapping her hands together in rhythm.  It probably drew a larger crowd than the stack of rocks on the beach

   We visited a couple more Buddhist Temples and a large Catholic Church. That was built after the war.    Temples and shrines may look nice, but I’m not of the Buddhist religion and visiting more of the same was not calling my name.  I did find it interesting to drive past the many shops and stores along the streets.  I would have liked to stop and walk out on the pristine beaches.  I heard they were beautiful but could not see them well.    Debby said the beaches were beautiful and the water was clear. I would have to take her word for that.       

   We made it back to the ship  in plenty of time for our 515 dinner time at the International Restaurant.