When we were living in Europe, we discovered that cruising was the most time-efficient, cost-effective and easiest way for a young family to see as much as possible. For us it is a perfect mix of kid vacation (Kids' Club), adult vacation (Kids' Club) and family vacation (pool, rock walls, cool sights, dining, shows), all in one place. And you can see the world without having to uproot and change hotels on a regular basis!
SO, when we determined that we were moving to a port city, David immediately starting researching Royal Caribbean's offerings in Asia and, more specifically, out of Shanghai. We really only sail Royal Caribbean anymore. We've done enough (9 for we adults and 8 for the kids) that they make things very nice for us. On this cruise, specifically, we were the mose seasoned cruisers on the ship! I think our travel agent likes us...A LOT.
Legend of the Seas for 7 days out of Shanghai it was! We'd only been in Asia for 9 weeks, and our willingness to jump into exotic traveling was still tempered by the shock of it all. This was easy. We didn't have to think, and it was a great break for us.
Departing out of Shanghai is an AMAZING sail-away.
We didn't pull out until 8PM, so the city was in full lights, and it was a beautiful clear evening.
Since we didn't have transportation costs to the port, we splurged on a suite...and local currency is all Monopoly money anyway, right?
Our first port was in Xiamen China, just south of here. We left the kids on the ship this day and winged it to find our way into town. We decided to see a Buddhist temple, and it was really crowded, as anything is here, but it was a nice day out.
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| Teach your child to pray |
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| Too much excitement |
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| Buddhist laundry...who knew they wear Calvin Klein underwear! |
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| Cell Phone? |
We had heard about Western children, especially those who are blonde and/or blue eyed, being constantly photographed by the locals. We even witnessed a red-head girl on our ship request RMB10 ($1.50 equivilant) of a couple that wanted to take their picture with her. Her mom says no one has ever paid her, so she has accomplished her mission.
David and I were stopped by a couple of girls in front of the temple, requesting our picture. The mom didn't even want a group picture with both girls...she had to take them individually with us. Afterward, I realized that we should have taken our sunglasses off so they could see David's blue eyes!
Meet Felix. We have had Felix since W was in grade 1 in France. There is a very enchanting series of stories written about Felix (in German, but we have 4 that have been translated to English) as he is seperated from his person (Sophie) at the airport and ends up sending letters back as he embarks on a grand adventure around the world befor he finds his way back to her. We try to take Felix on our travels and were much better at it in Europe, be we thought he ought to have a crack at seeing Asia as well.
After leaving Xiamen, we sailed across the China Sea to Kagoshima Japan. We had a full day at sea, which we usually use for family-bonding, swimming, games, rock walls, etc. This trip had a little something different planned.
We're used to rolling seas, and I'm usually the stoic one when it does get to be too much. Well, this crossing was too much for everyone...even the crew! We managad breakfast that morning, and he kids went off to Kids' Club for the morning, while David and I sat down with our usual coffee and the day's Sudoku. Very soon, we had a call that the kids weren't feeling well, and come to think of it, neither were we. All four of us snuggled down with our books to calmly ride the storm. Soon, the calories I consumed for breakfast were no longer an issue...
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| Our suite was on the 8th deck (and this isn't rain) |
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| All day and night, the drawers and doors flew open and closed |
At the evening entertainment, we had to wait an extra 20 minutes for it to start so the vomit crew could clean up from the previous show's audience...Needless to say, we were happy to sail into Kagishima the next day and have some calm...
Kagoshima Japan has an active volcano. Again, the children chose not to join us, and since we were just going to a garden, it didn't seem worth the battle.
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| We took the train into the city |
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| We didn't blend in very well |
I don't think our taxi driver knew the ship was out there, and I don't think he'd ever seen anything like it. He took my picture after this, with the ship in the background...
Our final destination, and the only place the kids were willing to join us on shore, was Beppu, known for it's curative hot springs and a mountain that is home to thousands of wild monkeys.
We were given simple rules to avoid causing them to become aggressive. Keep your hands in sight so they don't think you may be hiding a treat. Don't make eye contact. And check any large bags at the gate. It was all pretty easy, and they were adorable!
The hot springs are referred to as "hells", and their color comes from the different minerals in the water. This one is red (actually it was orange, but red makes for a better spectacle), so it's called "Bloody Hell"! 
It was way too hot to touch, but there was a cooler pool nearby, for dipping feet into. (which is kind of ironic as this was Maundy Thursday!)
At this point, I would feel free to share some of the pretty photographs we, as a family, had taken on the ship. If for no other reason, it proves that I was on the vacation too!
Unfortunately, the nature of my geographic location has made uploading a rather time-consuming process, and the writing of the blog post has taken more than a month.
I will try to be more timely, and I guess share fewer photos, in the future.
OK, maybe just one, because we Do clean up so well!
As I close out this blog post, our family is looking forward to the Summer in Michigan, as most expats clear out from both the heat and the monsoons! There will be adventures there too, but some of the best parts about that is that you'll be sharing them with us! See you soon!
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