Japan

Japan seems to be an efficient, industrial and busy country (as you would expect), interrupted by moments of exquisite aesthetic contemplation and beauty. Immigration took an irritating three hours in Kobe (not expected, what efficiency??) but Janna and I soon headed off to Osaka with a group to attend a 4 1/2 hour performance at the Bunraku Theatre, where puppeteers train for 30 years before becoming masters of their craft. The main puppeteer remains uncovered (but completely inexpressive); the other two are caped in black, which makes them become "invisible." The two plays we saw were from the traditional eighteenth-century repertory and told stories of love, betrayal, secret identities, and suicide (ie, all the normal stuff of life).The next day we headed up to Kyoto, one of the only cities not bombed in WWII, so it still contains some of Japan's most beautiful temples and castles. We saw four of them, with their attending gardens. In order: Sanjusangen-do, Nijo Castle, Ryoanji Temple, and the drop-dead gorgeous Golden Pavilion. Below, some views of each.At the Golden Pavilion, Janna tried to get a 2-year-old to admire pictures of Austin on her iPhone; I don't think the baby was all that impressed, but she sure had fun with the family. Thank goodness for plastic food. Food, of course, is another attraction (for one of us, at least; Janna seems to have been on the You Want Me to Eat WHAT? Diet since Spain), but since nobody speaks English (nor do we expect them to do so), everything is a challenge. A clever way to negotiate this is to take iPhone pictures of the ubiquitous plastic foods displayed in front of every restaurant, show it to the waiter, bow, mumble "arigato," and pray.Janna, ever resourceful when ice cream is in the vicinity, found a solution to her culinary woes by making friends with the "right people" on the ship; problem resolved.We stayed with the ship for the transit from Kobe to Yokohama, then went into Tokyo on the fast train from the port, where we enjoyed the Imperial Palace Gardens with the Toscanos, a yummy sushi lunch (David and I -- Janna was on her normal food strike), and then a view of the gardens from the stunning rooftop bar of the Peninsula Hotel.The last day we tooled around Yokohama (which contains Japan's tallest building)before sailing off toward Hawaii, 10 sea days from now. And finally, another peek at Krista and Austin (he's 7 weeks old).

China 2 (Beijing)

From Xi'an we flew to Beijing, another huge city full of high-rises, wide boulevards, expensive hotels and shops, and of course, the Olympic Village. We visited Tiananmen Square (the largest in the world) and the Forbidden Citythe Birds Nestand a Kung Fu demonstrationbefore spending the afternoon hiking the Great Wall. Shockingly, instead of the hordes of people I had been expecting to see, we ended up on the wall practically by ourselves. The weather was perfect, the light subtle, and the wall itself as billed: a veritable wonder. You go up to the top by cable car, hike along it, and then zoom down from it on a long and thrilling toboggan run.Two of my Semester at Sea students from summer '07 (Nick Aronoff and Scott Clelland) now teach English in Beijing, so they came over to catch up and to take some of our current students out to the clubs and bars.Our last evening treated us to a Chinese acrobats show, and the last morning we flew out to Shanghai, another strikingly futuristic city.We'll be in Japan tomorrow.

China 1 (Xi'an)

Our trip through China was simply perfect. In fact, it's probably one of the Top Ten trips we've ever taken anywhere. China is a dazzling combination of the past and the future —the energy is palpable, the rush to modernization dramatic, and the results impressive indeed. I won't burden you with too many details, but will try at least to provide some of the highlights of a 6-day trip that took us from Hong Kong to Xi'an, then to Beijing and back to the ship in Shanghai. Two blog entries.The ship sails into Hong Kong harbor, and all eyes move upwards. It's a vertical city, chock-a-block with ultra-modern high-rise buildings, bustling with commercial life and clearly a focal point for the economies of Southeast Asia. It's officially "China," but it's not -- different currency, different government, different passport permissions, at least for the time being.We flew off immediately for Xi'an, the heart of ancient China and the site of the discovery of the now-famous Xi'an Terra Cotta Warriors in 1974 by Yang Xinman, who now sits in the gift shop and signs books!The food was glorious (dim sum, Peking Duck, noodles), abundant, and fun: after all, any culture that eats dumplings for breakfast can't be all bad. (But here's a dilemna: when you want Chinese food in China, do you just ask for "food"?).In Xi'an we not only enjoyed the warriors but also a calligraphy lesson and an exquisite performance of traditional singers and dancers at the Tang Dynasty Show.

Vietnam

How can a country that suffered so much at the hands of American military policy be so warm and welcoming to Americans? That's the anomaly of Vietnam, a truly wonderful country, full of lovely people, delicious food, low prices, stark contrasts, and an entrepreneurial spirit (growth rate this year, 8.4%). I am Duty Dean for two days here (meaning, on-call for any emergencies), so we've decided to hang out in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the entire time to relax and get to know it more deeply.First, the food. Everyone knows Pho, but the complexity of the ingredients and sophistication of preparation are revelations. Every single meal has been memorableOK, not all the menu items have a delicious ring about them (we passed on the "false dog" dish).How friendly are the Vietnamese? Coming back from dinner one night, we stopped to watch a bride and groom pose for their pictures. We wished them luck, and they then insisted we join them in the wedding party photos!More food. One place, rated #1 on TripAdvisor (Guc Gach Quan), lived up to billing even a second time, although getting anywhere around Saigon is a major challenge. The motorcycles come at you from all sides, even on the sidewalks.We went to dinner following a performance of the Vietnamese Water Puppets, a wholly original show of hand-controlled puppets that takes place with live music in a pool of water. They were charming, engaging, and thoroughly entertaining.This has to be the oddest Communist state in existence because it is a Capitalist's dream. Stuff, stuff, stuff, stores, markets, sell, sell, sell, high-end, low-end. From embroidered T-shirts (3 for $8) to peacock shoes ($2200; thankfully, they didn't have Janna's size).We got caught in a torrential downpour after leaving the heart-wrenching War Remnant Museum (images that we remember from the sixties on TV).On the day before we sailed, the Archbishop and Leah took us (along with our friends Jeremy, Liz, and Becca) to a spectacular lunch at, you guessed it!, Cuc Gach Quan.+++++++++++++++And most importantly, Krista and Austin (now about 6 weeks old) are doing fine!We sail on to China.