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Twin Falls, ID June 02, 2020

Leaving Utah, we headed northwest into Idaho. We had reservations for a week at a campground about ten miles south of Twin Falls.

Twin Falls city, pop 45,000 is a lovely city with waterfalls, big and small in all directions. Twin Falls is the center of 500,000 acres of prime farmland irrigated by the waters of the Snake River. This area is referred to as “Magic Valley” because the early settlers seemed to magically transform the arid, largely uninhabitable land into a lush, agricultural paradise by irrigating their fields with water from the nearby Snake River.

Twin Falls is also on the edge of the Snake River Canyon which was gouged out by the Great Bonneville Flood 15,000 years ago.

The city got its name from the two falls co-located on the Snake River that resulted from this flood. However the 1935 Twin Falls Dam and power plant, built to control the flow of water for irrigation and hydroelectric power, diverted the flow of the Snake River away from the southern falls. This left a single waterfall that plunges 200 feet into the Snake River from upstream lakes. So Twin Falls is no longer a twin falls. The power plant is capable of generating enough power to provide electricity for approximately 31,900 homes.

Five miles northeast of Twin Falls city is the much more impressive Shoshone Falls where the rushing white waters of the Snake River plunge more than 212 feet. It is called “the Niagara of the West” which is quite a stretch in our opinion. It is said to be one of the tallest waterfalls in the United States and is 46 feet higher than Niagara Falls.

We stopped by the Visitors Center at the Perrine Bridge.

The bridge, called the “Gateway to Twin Falls”, spans 1,500 feet and rises 486 feet above the Snake River Canyon. It is a popular bridge for parachute jumping.

In a nearby park is the Perrine Coulee Falls, which free falls nearly 200 FT.

In 1974 Evel Knievel attempted to fly his sky cycle/rocket across the Snake River Canyon but was not successful because his parachute opened too soon. There was a memorial to Knievel for many years but the plaque was continually stolen so the memorial is no longer available.

Another day we drove the 68 mile Thousand Springs Scenic Byway through farmland with natural springs, hot mineral springs and cascading waterfalls.
We drove through Buhl, the “Trout Capital of the World” which produce a majority of the rainbow trout consumed in the United States.

Parts of the Byway had visible evidence of volcanic rock known in this part of Idaho. The area is known as “A Land Born of Fire and Water”.

We really enjoyed our visit to beautiful Twin Falls/Magic Valley. During the week the weather ranged from a high of 94 degrees one day followed by days with highs in the upper 40’s to low 50’s with strong winds.

Next up: Pocatello, Idaho as we work our way toward Yellowstone.

Brigham City, UT May 26, 2020

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Leaving Provo we drove 100 miles north to Brigham City, Utah pop 19,000. Brigham City is much smaller than Provo or Salt Lake City and we enjoyed the small town feeling of the city. Brigham City was named in 1877 for Brigham Young who delivered his last public address there in 1877.

Bill and I felt comfortable enough there to both get haircuts which we really needed.

We were there for a week and enjoyed touring the area. One day we drove 32 miles to Corinne where we visited the Golden Spike National Historic Site. It was here at Promontory Summit that the Union Pacific (UP) and Central Pacific (CP) rails converged to form the nation’s first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. A golden spike and three other precious metal spikes were placed to commemorate the occasion. Those spikes were then removed and replaced by a regular wooden tie secured to the rail with iron spikes to officially complete the railroad.

It had taken six million spikes and six years of hard work to complete the railroad. At times distracted by the Civil War, facing rough terrain and raids by Sioux and Cheyenne, they managed to get the job completed. Eight flatcars of material was needed for each mile of track and every rail, spike and locomotive had to be shipped 15,000 miles around Cape Horn. What a logistical nightmare! With the help of unemployed Irish, German and Italian immigrants, Civil War veterans, ex slaves and Native Americans, a total of 8,000 to 10,000 workers laid two to five miles of track a day on flat land.

The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 mandated that only American made iron could be used. The demand for iron for building the railroad helped boost the domestic economy. By the 1870’s the iron rail was replaced with sturdy steel rail which had become more widely available after the Civil War.

Congress authorized Central Pacific to build a railroad eastward from Sacramento and at the same time chartered the Union Pacific in New York to go westward. Due to a lack of precise instructions from Congress as to where the rails should meet and financial rewards for building the railroad, the two railroads prepared rail-beds parallel to each other for 250 miles.

Each railroad received loan subsidies of $16,000 to $48,000 per mile depending on the difficulty of the terrain. Once it was determined the rail-beds were parallel, the railroads were ordered to unite the track. No railroad tracks were ever laid on the parallel beds. Promontory Summit was then chosen as the point to join the tracks.

Central Pacific (CP) laid 690 miles of track and Union Pacific (UP) 1,086 miles of track across desert, rivers and mountains to unite the east and west coast with 1,776 miles of rail. This brought big changes to the country. People were now able to travel cross country, there were new opportunities for commerce and it opened up settlement in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah. What had once been a six month journey was now just a week. The prairie schooner was replaced by a railroad coach with all its comforts.

Legislation also called for a telegraph line to be strung along the transcontinental route to bring in a new era of instant communication from coast to coast. When word went out by telegraph in May, 1869 that the railroad and telegraph were completed, Americans celebrated in city after city with church bells ringing, cannons firing, parades, prayers, and singing of the “Star-Spangled Banner”.

Due to the pandemic we were disappointed that the Visitors Center and theater was closed. The working replicas of the 1869 steam locomotives named “119” (Union Pacific”and “Jupiter” (Central Pacific) were in storage and not in view. Last year on the 150th anniversary they were placed nose to nose.

We were able to drive the two mile East Auto tour which followed old railroad grades and showed the parallel grading completed by the railroad companies.

We saw the Chinese Arch formed by waves crashing against the ancient shore 300 million years ago which eroded the rock. It is believed it was given the name Chinese Arch in recognition of the presence and contribution made by the Chinese who worked on the railroad.

On the way home we stopped by the Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Rocket Garden. The garden displays rockets and missiles built from the 1950’s to the 2000’s.

One of the rockets is a shuttle booster that took the spaceship with its astronauts to a speed of 17,4000 miles per second. There is also a Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile, a Maverick air to ground missile designed to be launched from Black Hawk helicopters and an Atlas rocket motor just to name a few of the 39 exhibits.

Patriot missiles are a long-range, all-altitude, all-weather air defence system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft.

On another day we drove over an hour on the Logan Canyon National Scenic Byway to beautiful Bear Lake. Often called “The Caribbean of the Rockies” because of its intense turquoise blue water, the color of the lake comes from limestone that has calcium in it.

The calcium, like millions of microscopic mirrors, reflects light from the sky. Bear Lake changes color depending on the weather, wind and time of day. It is believed Bear Lake formed 455,000 years ago. From 1350-1850, thousands of years Native Americans such as the Shoshoni, Ute and Bannock tribes lived in Bear Valley. Bear Lake was discovered in 1812 by trappers returning home from Astori, Oregon. The valley became an important fur trade center. Most of the settlers came from Britain.

We enjoyed driving around part of Bear Lake on the Oregon Trail Bear Lake Scenic Byway. Bear Lake is so big it is located in both Utah and Idaho.

After six weeks in beautiful Utah it is time to move on.

Next up: Twin Falls, Idaho

Provo, Utah May 20, 2020

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We left Panguitch a day late due to high winds with gusts of 55+ mph forecast for the area. We had to drive back over the pass towards Salt Lake City and didn’t want to do that with extreme winds.

Our next stop was in Provo, pop 119,000 about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City. We were once again treated to beautiful views of snow capped mountains. The first thing we noticed at the campground was all the green trees and grass. After being in southwest Arizona for so long, we had forgotten the sights and smells of green trees and freshly cut grass.

We also noticed tiny white seeds falling from the cottonwood trees. If it had been winter we would have thought it was snow flurries. After an especially windy day the ground was covered in cotton seeds that looked like snow. We learned that this shedding of the cottonwood seeds occurs in late spring and early fall. In the past Bill and I have both had allergies from the cottonwood trees in Arizona. Thankfully this time they didn’t bother us.

During our time in Provo the weather was very chilly with nighttime lows in the 30’s.

Utah continued to be under a yellow advisory and we were still careful and wore masks when going to the grocery store. Other than grocery shopping we stayed away from stores and public areas.

When we planned our summer travels last fall we planned to visit the Utah state capitol building in nearby Salt Lake City. When we were in Salt Lake City five years ago we drove by the outside of the capitol but didn’t take the time to tour the inside. Unfortunately, this time the building was closed to the public due to the pandemic.

We did manage to visit Bridal Veil Falls, a short drive from the campground. It was a beautiful drive with the snow capped mountains around us. The falls is a beautiful natural 607 foot tall double waterfall in Provo Canyon along the Provo River. In 1961, a tram was built, supposedly one of the steepest in the world which took visitors to the top of the falls. The tram was destroyed in an avalanche in 1996 and was never repaired. Such a shame as that would have really been fun to ride!

One afternoon we drove around the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo. Opened in 1877 and with a 634 acre campus, it is one of the largest church related private universities in the country.

We saw the 112 foot Centennial Carillon Tower where 52 bells ring at intervals during the day. The university was closed and the campus empty due to the pandemic.

Next door to our campground was an interesting area with antique gas station signs.

We even saw Elvis and Marilyn!

Next up: Brigham City, our last stop in Utah

Bryce Canyon N.P. May 8, 2020

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We left Cedar City, Utah and traveled north on Interstate 15, still during the isolation rules of COVID-19 Pandemic. Since it was a short distance and we would be traveling over a steep pass, we decided I would follow behind in the car rather than towing. Look! There is Bill ahead of me with snow capped mountains in the distance.

We arrived at our campground near the tiny town of Panguitch, Utah. Its claim to fame is Butch Cassidy was born just down the road. Butch Cassidy and his gang once had their photograph taken in Panguitch. We last camped here in late August, 2015. It is a no frills and very reasonably priced campground. We settled in for a two week stay. The first few days the temperatures were perfect during the day but too cold at night. One night the temperature got down to 21 degrees! We left the faucet dripping during the night and fortunately had no problems.

Since our last visit here in 2015 we had been anxious to visit Bryce Canyon NP again. Of the five national parks in Utah, this was our favorite. While many Utah national parks remained closed, because of the virus, we were very fortunate to have Bryce reopen with some restrictions. The Visitors Center, most restrooms and most trails were closed.

On Friday we made the 25 mile drive from our campground to Bryce Canyon. To get to Bryce Canyon we drove on Highway 12, The All American Road. We passed through Red Canyon, part of Dixie National Forest with its beautiful red sandstone and limestone formations and through two tunnels.

The fee booth at the park entrance was not manned but they had maps and park information available.

Our goal today was to do the eighteen mile scenic drive and stop at the fourteen overlooks. Bryce Canyon isn’t really a canyon but a plateau with a series of horseshoe shaped amphitheaters carved in the edges of the eroding plateau. Bryce Canyon was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850’s and is named for Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon settler who homesteaded the area in 1874. It became a national park in 1928.

Some viewpoints could be seen from the road while others required short walks, usually on paved walkways. The views were all amazing. Our favorite was the many hoodoos, which are towering rock formations sculptured over time by ice freezing and thawing, some as much as ten stories tall. There are approximately 200 days of freezing/thawing at Bryce Canyon each year.

It was fun to let our imaginations run wild and imagine faces or figures in the formations. The Paiutes, original inhabitants of the area, believed that the rock figures were people turned to stone by angry gods. If you look closely you can also see fairy tale castle formations. Iron oxide gives red, yellow and brown tints to the limestone.

One overlook was at 9,100 feet and it was very chilly. The number of tourists was low and it was nice to be able to drive through the park with very little traffic and no crowds at the overlooks.

The following Friday we went back to the park. This time there was a person at the fee booth with the window closed, not taking fees but handing out information through a slot. Unlike the previous Friday the Visitors Center was open with limited capacity but the theater was closed. We wanted to see the informative movie about the park we remembered from 2015, but since the theater was closed we didn’t stop.

There was more traffic than the previous Friday. We passed by the prairie dog natural habitat area with signs warning of wildlife crossings. A prairie dog ran out in front of us and we stopped. He ran to the center of the two lane road, got confused and stopped. He then ran toward our car. We were unable to move until he moved to one side or the other. An impatient driver behind us honked his horn, and when we didn’t move, he zoomed past us on our right hand side. Not knowing where the prairie dog was we held our breath that he didn’t get hit. Usually when somebody does something irresponsible like this there are no police around to see it. But fortunately there was a Ranger headed in the opposite direction and saw what happened. He made a u-turn, turned on his lights and pulled the driver over. The Ranger looked pretty annoyed when he stepped out of his car. I never can understand why people come to places like national parks and are so impatient and in such a hurry. As for the prairie dog, he ran to the side of the road and lived happily ever after!

Our main focus today was to walk the rim trail along the top of the canyon. When we were here five years ago we made the arduous hike on the Navajo Trail down into the canyon. On this day the Navajo Trail was closed indefinitely due to severe damage from winter weather. We talked with a Ranger who said they were going to have to call in a geologist for advice on how best to repair the popular trail.

Our last days in Panguitch were very windy with gusts up to 45+ mph. We delayed leaving by one day because of the windy conditions since we would have to go back over the pass on the way to our next destination. Most of Utah is now open for business but physical distance and masks are required.

Next up: Provo, Utah

Sheltering in Place Spring 2020

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Hope you are all safe and well while sheltering in place. We spent most of March and all of April doing the same thing!

We left Yuma, AZ on March 15th and spent a week in Quartzsite, AZ. We were then supposed to spend two weeks in Palm Springs, CA. But as we watched the events unfold in mid March it became very clear we needed a safer area to shelter in place. We were following the daily statistics on the progression of the virus around the country and knew Palm Springs with its high density population was not the safest place to stay. We canceled our reservation and chose Needles, CA, a very small town right across the border of Arizona and California. From our campsite we could look across the Colorado River and see Arizona. The Walmart where we ordered groceries online for pickup was located in Arizona, ten miles away.

The campground did a nice job of protecting people by spacing everyone out so we didn’t have anyone near on either side of us. We were there a month, basically doing what everyone else was doing, watching the news, hoping for the end of the virus and for things to get back to normal.

By mid April restrictions were still not being lifted and while we would have been content to stay in Needles longer, but we faced a new problem. A Mohave heat wave was forecast to hit the area with daily highs well over a hundred degrees. It is not easy to stay cool in an RV with those temperatures. It was time to move on. We decided to cancel our reservation in Las Vegas because the city has a large population and it was due the same hot temperatures.

We found a campground on Indian tribal land in Cedar City, Utah. We wondered if they were accepting new people there since the country was still under quarantine. We held our breath and called. Thankfully they gave us a reservation! Bill continue to binge watch the TV show Nash Bridges and completed it.

On April 22nd we left Needles and headed to Cedar City. The 280 mile drive was interesting as we left California, passed through Nevada, then a small corner of Arizona and finally into Utah. The traffic was light except for a little congestion around Las Vegas. As we entered Nevada there were traffic signs reminding people to shelter in place.

It was a lovely drive with snow capped mountains in the distance and the beautiful red rocks of Utah.

Utah is such a beautiful state! Utah has a website that all visitors must submit their information on upon entering.

We stayed at the Cedar City campground for two weeks. We had a no contact check-in process and once again they spread everyone out so there was distance between us. We had beautiful views of snow capped mountains from our campsite.

With pleasant temperatures in the 70’s, we felt very fortunate to be there. We had avoided the 110 degrees temperatures in Needles CA. While there we continued to isolate ourselves and ordered our groceries online for pickup from Walmart.

We heard on the local news out of Salt Lake City that one day four Air Force F-35 planes would be flying over Salt Lake City to honor health care workers. The flight path would take them over Cedar City and then down to St George before flying back toward Salt Lake City. We waited outside during the time they were scheduled to fly over us. We were slightly disappointed because they flew so high they were barely visible but we could still hear them approaching. But still nice to see and hear!

Next up: Continuing our summer plans to Bryce Canyon, Utah

End of Cruise Part 2 FEB 14, 2020

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We went to bed the evening of Feb 13th wondering how soon we would get our travel details to go home. We knew we had long flights ahead of us.

At 5:45 AM on the morning of Feb 14th, we heard the dreaded DING DONG chimes. An announcement from the captain this early can’t be good news. But it was!!

The captain apologized for the early morning announcement and said the Prime Minister of Cambodia was coming from Phnom Penh to welcome the first passengers disembarking and going home. The captain had a special request of us. He asked for all of us to go out on their balconies and ship decks to greet the Prime Minister. And of course it would be a nice touch for us to wear our Cambodian scarves they had given us. After what this man had been through, no one was going to deny his special request.

A couple evenings earlier we had run into Captain Smit in the hallway and had a chance to personally thank him. Bill said he was our Captain Sully, a reference to the pilot who landed a plane in the Potomac River years ago. Captain Smit had spent so much time behind closed doors trying to find us a port, this was a rare sighting of him. We were so glad we had a chance to personally thank him.

We quickly dressed and fortunately all we had to do was step out on our balcony. Already the Cambodian press was setting up cameras and microphones. Cambodian officials were setting up a red carpet and tables of flowers.

We saw the helicopter flying in and it landed right on the pier. The Prime Minister presented flowers to Captain Smit as well as other ship officers. You can see Captain Smit in this picture with his Cambodian scarf. (man with balding head and glasses)

Then the first passengers began to disembark and the Prime Minister presented each one with a flower and shook each hand. Some American press later reported this was all a photo opportunity for the Prime Minister and that he had given permission as a favor to China, a close political ally. We didn’t care! We were just thankful to be going home soon.

We watched enviously as the first passengers loaded the buses to the airport. Our neighbors in the cabin next door told us they had been awakened at 4:00 A.M. with their travel arrangements. They would be leaving at 9:00 A.M.

Since we hadn’t received any travel arrangements we resolved ourselves to the idea we wouldn’t be going home that day and headed to breakfast. After breakfast we decided to walk around the deck for some exercise. At the last minute we decided to go back to our cabin. Five minutes later there was a knock at our door and it was our cabin steward hand delivering our travel arrangements. I could have kissed him! What a wonderful Valentine’s Day surprise!

We had thirty minutes to get our luggage out in the hallway to be collected. Fortunately we were already pretty well packed. First we were told we would be on the 2:45 P.M. bus to the airport. Thirty minutes later we were told over the loud speakers our group disembarkation time had been changed to noon. We were going home!

First we had to fill out a health questionnaire and get our temperature taken. Our group was then taken off the ship and put on buses. We sat on the bus for over an hour before we pulled away from the dock with a police escort. Here is a very helpful young lady who was with the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia checking on us as we sat on the bus. They were easily identified by their bright yellow hats.

It was about a 45 minute ride to the airport and on the way we got our first look at Sihanoukville. People waved at us as we passed by. We were so grateful to the Cambodian people, regardless of the motivation.

From the ship, in the distance Sihanoukville looked like a city with tall buildings and developments. We have since learned that over the past few years Chinese nationals flooded the tiny town building casinos and hotels. On August 18th the Cambodian Prime Minister issued a directive banning all online and arcade gambling to keep public order and maintain security. Since then 200,000 Chinese have left Cambodia with the vast majority leaving Sihanoukville. This has left the city with incomplete construction projects and abandoned buildings. Landlords have gone bankrupt and unemployment is rampant. As our bus drove through the center of town along unpaved, dirt streets, we got an up close view of the real Sihanoukville. How sad for these people. I thought about the 400 cases of beer and scarves gifted to us. I looked at the smiling faces of the people waving to us as we passed. I felt sad for them, and so very very grateful.

A hush fell over the bus as we pulled up to this small, third world airport. Our five buses of passengers crowded into the tiny terminal where we eventually managed to get checked in for our flight. After a wait of over an hour we boarded our flight on Malaysian Airways.

Now this is where it gets strange. We had been told everyone was flying by charter from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh. From there we would all board traditional commercial flights home. After a two hour flight we landed, a very rough skidding landing I might add. Bill turned on his phone GPS and said, “We are not in Phnom Penh, we are in Malaysia”. I proceeded to tell him his phone was wrong. Umm, no it wasn’t. We were in Kuala Lumpur International Airport Malaysia and not Cambodia.

After departing the plane our temperatures were scanned by the local medical staff and we were escorted into a waiting area and left there. The first sign of trouble was when I heard someone say, “I don’t know why we are in this room but there is no way out”. The only way out was the door we had entered from, and that was closed and guarded.

After a while some airport officials came and said we hadn’t been cleared to enter the country and couldn’t leave the room. People started getting agitated because they were going to miss their connecting flights. At this point Bill and I weren’t too upset because we knew we had a thirteen hour layover and were supposed to be taken to a hotel for the night. We were in no danger of missing our connecting flight. Because we had come in on a chartered flight we were all supposed to go to the baggage area and get our luggage to check in for our next commercial flight. The airport officials told us we couldn’t leave and couldn’t go collect our baggage.

Remember Susan, the nurse who helped the ill lady on the bus and stayed with her in the emergency room? Susan was in our group and stepped up again and took over. She called the ship and a number on a letter that had been given to us when we left the ship, just in case we had a problem. Now we had to wait to hear back to see what help was being sent.

Bill and I started to worry when the airport officials started handing out blankets followed an hour later with a boxed meal. Inside was a small cup of apple juice and a small cup of water. Bill and I immediately decided to ration the water to be sure we had water to take our medication later.

The room was cold. We were tired. We were getting more and more apprehensive. The airport officials wanted us to turn over our passports. We all refused.

We were in the room for four hours before Susan received word that the U.S. Consulate General to Malaysia would be there within an hour. At this point we were told we were being escorted to a better room or lounge. We trudged through the airport following the escort with our carry on luggage, blanket and boxed meal. We were herded onto a tram that took us to another part of the airport. We had no idea where they were taking us or why.

We were taken to a much nicer airport lounge, similar to a Star Alliance Lounge, with hot food, cold drinks and nearby restrooms. But we still faced a long night sleeping in chairs. Not the hotel room we expected. We were not allowed to leave the lounge or collect our luggage. The airport officials told us they would “try” to get our luggage on our flights. Since we had a flight to Tokyo followed by a flight to Los Angeles, we didn’t have a lot of hope we would ever see our luggage again.

The Consulate General and an aid arrived within the hour and we spent the night watching her work the phones to resolve the situation. Around 3:00 A.M. we were told someone would be there to get us at 5:00 A.M. to escort us to the gate for our 8:00 A.M. flight. Those who had missed their flight were stranded, awaiting details of possible new flights.

At 5:00 A.M. we lined up but no one came to get us. Finally at 5:30 an airport official arrived and the Consulate General sent one of her assistant’s with us in case there were any problems. We told Susan goodbye. She was one of those who had missed her flight the previous night and was waiting for a new flight.

At the airport check-in things were very disorganized with lots of red tape and waiting. The Kuala Lumpur International Airport is a pretty and modern airport but we did not have time to explore it.

But finally we were on the plane to Tokyo. We breathed big sighs of relief.

Our flight to Tokyo left late which meant we almost had to run to make our connecting flight to Los Angeles. The airport was very busy and our large airplane was unloaded down stairs and then buses to take us to an internal airport entrance. Another big sigh of relief when we made that final flight to California.

In Los Angeles as we stepped off the plane we were met by an airport representative holding a sign with our name. What now!

He told us our luggage hadn’t made the connecting flight and would be sent on a flight the next day. We were thrilled they even knew where our luggage was! It was delivered to us three days later by Fed Ex to our campground in Yuma.

We picked up our rental car and drove five hours home to Yuma, AZ where we had left our RV. From the time we boarded the bus at the ship to our arrival time at home, 46 hours of travel had passed, most of it without sleep. We were exhausted but so very happy and grateful to be home.

Thank you for following along with us on this journey. I told Bill I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t lived it!

On March 15th we will be leaving Yuma and beginning our 2020 U.S. travels. Can’t wait to share that with you!

End of Cruise Part 1 FEB 10, 2020

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After being turned away by the Philippines and Taiwan governments, we headed toward Japan. We still had five ports in Japan and one in South Korea for the cruise. At this point we felt it was unlikely Japan would let us in, and sure enough the next day the captain announced we had been denied entry by both countries. Holland America had no choice but to terminate the cruise early.

The captain said the ship would open up the ship to shore phone lines and internet would be provided free to all passengers. Bill immediately began the chore of contacting our airline to cancel our flight out of Tokyo. With everyone trying to do the same thing, it took hours to get a free phone line. Another complication was the twelve hour time difference 3 P.M. on the ship and 3 A.M. in the US.

The captain said the home office in Seattle was working 24/7 to get this resolved and everyone safely home. The ship, which had been steaming toward Japan hours earlier, came to a stop in the South China Sea, waiting for instructions. Passengers were very disappointed but more concerned about the next steps.

Meanwhile the wonderful hardworking staff and crew continued to work hard to make our final days on the ship as comfortable and fun as possible. An open bar Happy Hour with appetizers was provided one day, a “Chocolate Surprise” Happy Hour another day.

Speaking of the crew, 70% of the crew are Filipino. They keep our cabins clean, serve our meals, cook our food and do maintenance on the ship. They work an eight month contract. During that time they are away from their families. They were all so excited at the prospect of visiting with family the one day we were due in Manila. When the port was canceled, so was this opportunity. Some had newborn daughters and sons they were planning to see for the first time. Yes, we were disappointed to miss Manila. But can you imagine their disappointment. Our hearts broke for them. In spite of all this they put on a planned show for us one evening.

Another evening the Indonesian crew put on a wonderful show. Our favorite dining room waiter, Zacky, is seen performing here, second from the right, wearing a vest.

A few days went by and we were given the encouraging news there were two promising ports where we could disembark and fly home. We were told the US government and US Navy were working to get us home. A low point for us was when we learned Guam had denied us entry. Guam, a US territory refused to help us. Wow. But we still had those two promising ports according to the captain. This picture taken of our in-room tv shows we were close to the south end of Vietnam and the captain had not revealed what two possible countries would let us disembark.

Another day went by and the captain announced that we would be docking in Thailand. We would be taken by bus to Bangkok for our flights home. The captain said for everyone to immediately begin making flight arrangements as we would be in Thailand in two days. Bill had to wait a couple hours for a phone line for this, our third flight change, all with different airlines. Earlier when he had changed the flight from Shanghai to Tokyo, some airlines quoted a price four times what we had paid to fly from Shanghai. He managed to get a flight for two and a half times as much and we were grateful. Now we had to book a flight from Bangkok at last minute pricing. He was able to get a flight for about the same price as the Tokyo flight. The new Bangkok flight had a 24 hour free cancellation. Hopefully we wouldn’t need it.

The next day we were relaxing in our cabin when the captain announced that a Thailand warship was “escorting” us to a naval base and there was nothing to be alarmed about. It was right outside our balcony and sure looked ominous. Rumor among the passengers was we were being escorted to the base to only receive humanitarian aid of food, water and fuel. At this point we had a couple hours left on our free airplane ticket cancellation. I think you know where this is going.

We went to dinner and an hour after our free cancellation time frame ended, we heard the dreaded chimes. The captain announced Thailand refused us entry. All plans are off. We later learned that Thailand did not offer humanitarian aid. According to Thailand, our ship had never received permission to enter the Bay of Thailand. This was our second low point. It must have been incredibly frustrating for the captain and Holland America. Permission granted one minute can be swiftly snatched away the next. We had been following news reports on the TV and internet and had heard the Westerdam being referred to as a ghost ship or a pariah. Great, just great.

At this point the captain said they were still waiting on the second promising port AND Holland America would make and pay for everyone’s flight home. That was a huge relief because the credit card charges for flights made and canceled were piling up, not to mention the stress of trying to get a phone line. But first Bill still had to cancel the Thailand flight.

Days passed with no news. It was a good thing the carpets in the elevators told us the day because one day blended into another.

We passed the time on the ship with ship lectures and entertainment. A favorite of ours was a young lady and man who played dueling pianos and sang. One night they sang John Denver’s “Leaving On A Jet Plane” and everyone cheered. One day they played “What a Wonderful World” and when they “sang of trees of green, red roses too” I felt choked up. We all wanted to go home.

The Westerdam crew continued to work hard with cheerful smiling faces. Each evening at dinner the last week we were greeted with complimentary wine or champagne.

Now you are probably wondering what happened with all those airline charges and if we ran out of food on the ship. Out of the three airlines, two gave us a full refund. The other airline, Delta, would only give us a voucher for future travel. Bill has asked them to reconsider and is waiting to hear back. One airline charged us a change fee which Holland America will reimburse us. We actually came out ahead because Holland America paid for our flight home. But for awhile there we had a pretty scary credit card balance!

We did not run out of food. Well actually they ran out of ketchup, soy sauce, lemonade and honey. We could live with that.

After wandering at sea for ten days, good news finally arrived in the form of Cambodia. They would allow us entry. We would arrive at the port of Laem Chabang outside of Sihanoukville where we would be taken by bus to the local airport for a charter flight. We had all guessed the mystery port was in Vietnam. We were wrong.

The captain announced we would be arriving late the next day with the first passengers disembarking the following day. That evening all the staff and crew crowded the main stage to say farewell. All the passengers gave them a standing ovation and plenty of cheers that went on and on. There was no doubt how everyone felt about all of them.

The next evening we arrived in the port of Laem Chabang, and land never looked more beautiful. After dinner we were walking the deck and saw a white van pull up next to the ship. After a conversation with ship security, four young men hopped out of the van and unloaded 400 cases of Angkor, a Cambodian beer, a gift to the ship. Yes, 400 cases! Some other people brought bags of Cambodian scarves, another gift to the passengers. Later that evening two scarves were delivered to our room by our cabin steward. We don’t know what happened to the 400 cases of beer but we are hoping all the staff and crew enjoyed them after all the passengers departed the ship.

We were so anxious to find out our travel details. We had been warned it could take two or three days for the Seattle home office to make flight arrangements for over a thousand passengers who were flying home to destinations around the world. Complicating matters was the remoteness of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. We went to bed wondering, is tomorrow the day we are finally going home??

At 5:45 A.M. the next morning we heard the all too familiar dreaded DING DONG chimes.

To be continued….

Kaohsiung, Taiwan FEB 4, 2020

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And so the trouble began… . When we left Hong Kong we were scheduled to visit Manila in the Philippines. We sailed south all night and all the next day. Still in the South China Sea, the seas were very rough during the day. The dishes were clattering on the tables in the dining room at breakfast. Bill was fine but I had to double my motion sickness medication. People were getting seasick medication at Guest Services. I spent the day lying on the bed trying to sleep and ignore my queasy stomach. I started to feel better at dinnertime as the seas calmed.

In the afternoon everyone had to report to the main stage to have our temperatures taken, a requirement of the Philippines government. Everyone passed and we were all set. We were looking forward to our private excursion the next day which was a tour titled “Manila: Old and New”.

Just as we sat down to dinner, we heard the ship-wide DING DONG chimes which always announced the captain was about to speak. Usually we heard the chimes daily at noon as the captain announced our current location, speed and weather conditions. But this time it was not a weather report. It was bad news. In the days ahead we would come to dread those ding dong chimes!

This time the captain announced the president of the Philippines had denied us admission into the country. The denial was because the ship had docked in Hong Kong and was now “compromised”.

The captain cheerfully announced he had secured a berth for the ship at a new port in Hualien Taiwan and we would enjoy two days there. The ship turned away from the Philippines and headed north towards Hualien.

Once again we sailed all night and day. The next night just before dinner we heard once again the dreaded chimes. The captain announced that Hualien had denied us entry because it was a very small port and they were ill-equipped to handle the necessary screening. We were now sailing to Kaohsiung, Taiwan where the captain had secured a berth for two nights. Originally the cruise was to stay nine hours at this port. At this point Bill and I started calling it “The Cruise to Nowhere”.

The next morning we docked in Kaohsiung, which is Taiwan’s largest port and second largest city. Every passenger had to pass through Immigration and a temperature check. We made it through immigration and headed out to explore Kaohsiung. It was good to be on land again!

We had become acquainted with a very nice couple on the ship and we decided the four of us would explore the area together. We started walking and must have looked a little confused or lost because a lovely family enjoying the nice weather asked if we needed help.

After some discussion they suggested we take a taxi to the Dream Mall. Opened in 2007, it is the largest shopping mall in Taiwan and the 15th largest in East Asia.

But first we walked to a nearby pier shopping complex, mainly looking for souvenirs. We did find some Chinese knock off Lego kits of American attractions.

Finding no souvenirs, we stopped at the information desk to see if they could exchange our large Taiwan dollars for smaller bills to pay for the taxi. After finishing that business we asked where to get a taxi. One of the workers called a taxi, walked us to the taxi pickup location and told the driver where we wanted to go. Very nice!

The seven floor mall was huge and we discovered malls around the world are pretty much all alike. The curved and automated entrance doors were pretty cool.

We walked around for a couple hours, finding no souvenirs and after stopping in several pharmacies we found no masks or hand sanitizer. We were so glad we had brought both from home. And of course no visit is complete without a stop at McDonald’s in the mall for an Oreo McFlurry. The $55 Taiwan price was equal to $1.83 US.

Directly next to where the ship was parked was a carnival. We enjoyed seeing the colorful lights from the rides at night.

The next day we had booked an excursion in Kaohsiung to visit a large Buddhist Monastery. About 4:30 A.M. I got up to use the bathroom and noticed a letter had been slipped under our cabin door. A letter arriving in the middle of the night probably wasn’t good news, and it wasn’t. The letter announced that the Taiwan officials had held an emergency meeting and decided we were not going to be allowed off the ship the second day. All excursions were canceled.

At breakfast the dreaded ding dong chimes brought the announcement that we were also not welcome at our next port, Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. The captain said we would continue on to Ishigaki, Japan. At this point we could all see the writing on the wall. A hush fell over the ship. Little did we know how difficult the days ahead would become.

Next up: A ship with no home!

Hong Kong, FEB 1, 2020

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Originally we were supposed to be in Hong Kong for two days. Due to the corona virus and the fact that many tourist attractions were closed, the Holland America corporate office in Seattle made the decision to only be in port for one day, arriving at 6:00 A.M. and leaving at 5:00. I think the main reason Holland America stopped in Hong Kong was because some passengers were due to get off. They had only booked two weeks of the voyage. We also picked up passengers who were doing the final two weeks of the cruise. Our thirty day cruise was really two contiguous 15 day cruises.

We got up earlier than usual to see the sail in to Hong Kong. The cruise ship terminal is on the mainland area known as Kowloon. Our excursion today is located on Hong Kong Island and is accessed by a tunnel under the harbor.

While some were leaving the ship and new passengers embarking, we took a Holland America excursion in Hong Kong. Wearing our masks, we took the 45 minute bus ride from the pier into Hong Kong. Also included in the cost of the excursion was a ticket on the Hop On Hop Off bus, and transportation back to the ship.

We had heard so many things about Hong Kong and our expectations were high. We expected something similar to Singapore. We were sorely disappointed. We have ridden Hop On Hop Off buses in many places, including Singapore and many large cities throughout the United States. This was the worst Hop On Hop Off bus we have ever taken. Usually you hop on a bus, hop off when you want and then can catch another bus after a short wait. The Hong Kong buses ran a route and then waited 45 minutes before running the route again. We struggled to even find the stops and once we missed a stop we had to ride to the end of the line and wait 45 minutes to ride the route again. And it was miserably cold on the upper deck! In retrospect there were very few people moving around the city so The Hop On buses may have been on a reduced schedule for this reason. The big buses were empty except for cruise passengers.

Right before we arrived in Hong Kong the captain announced that because of the corona virus we would not be ending the cruise in Shanghai mainland China as planned. Instead we would be flying home from Tokyo. Bill spent part of his time in Hong Kong on the phone with American Airlines trying to change our flight. Little did we know it would be the first of many flight changes in the days to come.

We got off and walked to the Hard Rock Cafe so Bill could add to his Hard Rock t-shirt collection. We stopped in several pharmacies looking for more hand sanitizer but every store was out of stock. At one little marketplace a woman was charging over $6 US for one of those tiny purse size bottles. I left in disgust. I had three bottles on the ship, I didn’t need it that bad.

Hong Kong has many public toilets throughout the area. You had a choice between a toilet with a seat or a squat no seat stall.

The largest Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong, built in 1847

From 1904 The Hong Kong Tramway Company Runs All Electric

The city was dirty with trash everywhere. I kept thinking how this would never be tolerated in Singapore.

There was a lot of Hong Kong we didn’t get to see. We didn’t have time to ride the Green or the Blue Lines of the Hop On Hop Off buses because we had to meet our bus back to the ship at 3:30. Between hunting for bus stops, waiting for buses, eating lunch, being on hold with American Airlines and looking for hand sanitizer, the day passed quickly and before long it was time to head back to the ship. On the positive side we saw absolutely no protesters even though it was a Saturday. Before leaving the United States we had worried a little about the Hong Kong protests which had been reported constantly on the news. Little did we know it would be a virus and not protests that impacted our visit.

We may visit Hong Kong again but it is not high on our list of places to return.

Next up: A stop in Taiwan and the beginning of the end.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam JAN 30, 2020

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We caught the sunrise from our Westerdam ship.

On our second day in Ha Long Bay we took a small boat cruise around the bay. The tour was on a converted fishing “junk boat”. We had to climb steep wooden steps to the scenic viewing area on top of the boat. I was a little nervous because the wooden floor of the upper deck felt very rickety and we could see in some places where the floor had fallen through. Junk boat was a perfect name! This is a sister junk boat that shows you what our boat looks like.

We spent about five hours cruising Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were not allowed to take any plastic water bottles on the boat for environmental reasons. Limestone islands with huge cliffs and arches rising from the misty water amid peaceful coves dotted the landscape. It was a very peaceful cruise and we enjoyed spending time talking with other Holland America passengers.

Occasionally You See Individual Burial Sites

We did see what was left of an old movie set. Several movies have been filmed in Ha Long Bay including “Kong: Skull Island” in 2017 and the James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies” in 1997.

This concluded our time in Vietnam. We certainly enjoyed our time here.

Next up: One day in Hong Kong

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Author Archives: billNdiane selph

Twin Falls, ID June 02, 2020

Brigham City, UT May 26, 2020

Provo, Utah May 20, 2020

Bryce Canyon N.P. May 8, 2020

Sheltering in Place Spring 2020

End of Cruise Part 2 FEB 14, 2020

End of Cruise Part 1 FEB 10, 2020

Kaohsiung, Taiwan FEB 4, 2020

Hong Kong, FEB 1, 2020

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam JAN 30, 2020