ASIA to VANCOUVER (35
days)
on the DIAMOND PRINCESS Cruise Ship
April 15 – May 19,
2012
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| Singapore to Beijing |
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| Beijing to Vancouver, Canada |
This was an extensive
cruise with many ports of call and we travelled 19233 km. Our cruise
was very good with smooth seas, great food and very nice state rooms.
We had a cabin on the 5th deck with a outside window and
near the front of the ship. The ship was huge and at times felt too
large. Due to the size of the ship we had to dock in the commercial
container ports which meant you would have to take a shuttle bus into
the city (which was usually quite a distance from the dock) or be on
a tour. On smaller ships we enjoyed just walking off the dock into
town, but in this case we were unable to walk away from the ship due
to security with the port.
Visas were required for
China. Vladivostok is the only Russian port that you do not require
a visa to visit on your own. The ship did the paper work for the
Vietnam visa and charged us – which was easy.
All the destinations
were a breeze to enter except one. The Japanese boarded officials 3
days before we were to land and cleared the passports. They then
gave us a copy of our passports with the official stamp which we were
to use when exiting the ship. The only country that was horrible to
enter was the USA. We had 8 hours in Seward, Alaska and 4 hours
involved getting through US customs. People (including US citizens)
were outraged at this waste of time and unable to enjoy the port.
This was our first port after 6 days at sea and it was not a
welcoming experience.
Enjoy the following
pictures and the comments. Double click each picture to view it large and use the arrow to return to the main page of the blog.
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| Leaving Singapore |
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| Pattaya, Thailand |
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| Trucks using propane instead of diesel fuel, Thailand |
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| Sunrise over Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
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| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
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| A fancy bus rest stop along highway, Vietnam |
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| local fruit transportation |
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| local boat with 3 boys on board |
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| Welcome to Na Trang, Vietnam |
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| Street scene, Na Trang, Vietnam |
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| Street vendor |
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| Local market, Na Trang, Vietnam |
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| Chris with local women in market - note that they sit right by the produce |
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| Lovely beach front drive, Na Trang, Vietnam |
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| Taking Tender to the ship |
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| Approaching Hong Kong |
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| Welcome party - Hong Kong |
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| Kowloon |
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| Hong Kong from Kowloon |
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| panorama of Hong Kong - double click to get full view |
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| With new friends |
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| Panorama of Hong Kong |
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| Panorama of Shanghai |
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| A house boat Shanghai, China |
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| Transporting furniture |
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| Maglev Train, Shanghai, China |
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| Our top speed of 423 km/hour |
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| Looking down from the top down the center of Hyatt Hotel from the inside of Mao Tower |
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| Nanjin Pedestrian Street, Shanghai |
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| Nanjin Street |
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| Nagasaki, Japan |
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| Peace Park, Nagasaki, Japan |
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| Peace Monument |
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| Memorial to the Atomic Bomb explosion location with Canadian Wreath |
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| Nagasaki Tall Ship Festival |
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| Tall Ships in dock |
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| Panorama of Nagasaki, Japan |
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| Sail away from Nagasaki - the kids kept waving until we were out of sight |
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| Busan, South Korea |
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| A pensive beauty |
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| A working clock garden, Busan, South Korea |
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| Busan walking street |
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| Street scene, Busan, South Korea |
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| One of many bronze statues, Busan |
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| Chris and friends, Busan, South Korea |
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| Our Sail Away from Busan, South Korea |
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| Tianjin, China Cruise Port |
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| Dalian China |
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| The old old motorcycle used for trucking freight, Dalian, China |
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| Panorama of Dalian, China harbor |
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| Vladivostok, Russia |
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| Bike Rally, Vladivostok, Russia |
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| A light weight bike |
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| Historic Train Station, Vladivostok, Russia |
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| A room in the train station |
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| Russian Submarine in outdoor Museum |
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| Teaching kite making, Muroran, Japan |
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| Teaching flower presentations, Muroran, Japan |
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| Sail Away fromd Muroran, Japan |
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| Seward, Alaska |
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| Back in the USA |
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| Historical Bar |
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| With friend? |
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| Juneau, Alaska |
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| Ketchikan, Alaska - a pretty town |
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| Docked in Vancouver, Canada |
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| View of Mt. Baker, Washington - taken on flight home to Winnipeg |
