London ! we are HERE !!!
After a great flifgt from Narita/Japan airport and the lovely chechout lady at the airport giving us fabulous seat we arrived safely at Heathrow (I used my British Passport and breezed thru customs within minutes,as for poor ole Annie who 0n being Australian is considered to be an Alien ! ) and collected by our driver who drove thru the heart of London and delivered us safely at our home for the next 10 days at West Ham Football Club and we were amazed that our room is a converted private box that we can sit in whilst no games are played ! Empty ground and of course I sang my rendering of ” I,m Forever Blowing Bubbles” which of course is West Hams ( The Hammers) signature tune ! We then connected our Internet and received the worst ever family news that devastated me and Annie and she will be very sadly missed (xxxx) Night wasn,t the best and after a lot of mind and soul searching we decided to continue the trip with tomorrows highlight being the meeting up of my son Michael,last seen 3 yrs ago
West Ham lives in the past and pictures and statues can be seen of Bobby Moore from 50 yrs ago winning the World Cup in 1966 (he was captain) This is West Hams last year at this ground (Boleyn) after over 100 yrs as they are moving to the newly built Olympic Ground at Stratford.The old ground will be house 840 flats !!!
R.I.P Kerry Ann XXX
As we arrived in Heathrow on our next leg we were heartbroken by the tragic news my niece Kerry Ann Luxton has passed away at the very young age of 41.Kerry and I go back since she was born and ALWAYS came to see me every time I visited Blackpool.One of me trips was to Canada around 10 or more years ago and I had this silly “umbrella” hat that KerryAnn loved and couldn,t stop laughing and I remember her blushing because I took this photo,,She was so full of life and my heart goes out to her mum and dad (Brian & Tresha) Brother Brian,sister Jenine,,Son Kole and Daughter Brianney (and of course all other family members) you will always be there Kerry Ann……Unc Geoff xxxxxx
Last Full Day spent at Sea
We are on the downward Run now and it is SO foggy outside that the front of the ship cannot be seen,for around 2 hours it was so dense the ships Foghorn was blasted every 2 minutes!!Annie kept busy during the day getting packed (way out of my league) and of course the heavy eating !! In the evening we watched a Magician ( he wasn,t too bad ) and then onto the main theatre to wtch a couple of Australian Musicians play a variety of instruments with the odd song thrown (she was not bad,he was bloody awful!!) and they go by the stage name of Mr & Mrs Smith !! Suitcases had to be packed and left outside the Cabin door by 8 am and we wtched the James Hunt movie (not bad) and had a late night.Due to travelling over the next couple of days NO alcohol is consumed! Day 8 and we are docked at out final destination Yokohama and after our last HUGE breakfast (for a short while) we boarded our bus for our final overnight hotel Narita Radisson and we had to wait 2 hrs before we could get into our room !! (not very helpful at all) at least the Internet is free and FAST giving me a chance to get my Blogs up to date (Linda,Canada) we had a delightful last meal conversation with a lovely couple of ladies from Toronto) In the hotel as we were waiting for our room lots of female stewardess,s from Delta Airlines were booking out and (sorry) not one of them looked under 60!! We are currently resting up in our room.Tomorrow we are up at 6 am for a final Japanese Breakfast and then onto Terminal 2 for our flight tl Heathrow and hopefully more interesting stories..
At the front of the ship is the Crows nest and protrudes over the Ocean BUT is hidden by the Pea Souper or Is it Pollution?
Currently at Narita Airport 2 hrs away from Boarding next stop London Heathrow..the stay over at Narita airport was abit dismal,we arrived at 1 pm and would have to wait till 3pm before getting into a room (wouldn,t answer questions about transport to the Airport till 3pm,staff unusually cold on communication (a first in Japan) Breakfast was warm ( as opposed to hot) Airport staff are lovely and very courteous) Next stop London and MORE Blogs to follow
Day 7 boring start BUT what a spectacle in the Town
We docked around 7am and I have to say the Port is terrible here in Aomori and our cabin is opposite a scrap metal yard and to the left huge mountain!! A”special” lunch was he order of the day aptly named the British Pub Lunch altho the meal was only mediocre we had 5 more people joined us and we had a good laugh with not one mobile phone to be seen ! I wore my convict T,shirt and me flat ‘at..We took the shuttle bus to the one and only drop off point near a magnificent building that can only be described as a Triangle!! and then the fun began.Stalls were placed around the park and Magnificent Paper Mache Floats were on view for public exhibition.these floats would grace any Blackpool Illumination Show.Massive drums were on stage and kids danced,played the triangle,flutes all in a big competition and they all performed brilliantly.I had a few funny moments with the local ladies and they enjoyed the barter especially when I asked to be photographed with them.I t was long weary day and also our last port call,tomorrow we will be at Sea until Monday when we disembark ay Yokohama and head for an overnight stay at Narita afore we board the plane for London..It has been difficult getting Internet connection after all we are on holiday !!! The day ended by having yet more food a movie,also our disembarkation notice has been given to us and we have to have suitcases packed the night before we leave (by 8pm)
The Floats and the People were very fun loving and always ready to pose for a picture,,seems Ive still got some magnetism !!
Day 6 Samuri,s,Geisha,s and a Japanese Garden in Kanazawa
Day 6 We docked early and went on shore to find WiFi for my blog ,it was there but very slow so I abandoned that idea and filled out a voluntary form for which I was rewarded with some lovely Origami paper (as was Annie)we then went to the Wheelhouse Pub to await our next trip around Kanazawa to view a historic Samuri,s House and altho very scarce of furniture (apparently that s how they liked it) it actually felt very comfortable and the outside gardens were a pleasure to relax in and filled the short space that is the back yard !Samuri,s have been abolished since mid 1800,s.We also went to a Japanese Garden Park which doesn,t do too much for me (especially on this 34C humid day !) so we virtually went in & out,and for some reason everything we have viewed is on top of a mountain with lots of steps. We walked arouund the Geisha area and Annie went into one of their homes to gain employment (after an hour she came out with $50 in 5 cent pieces and I enquired as to whom paid that? Annie promptly replied (with a smile on her face) ALL of them !!! (only kidding) It was a relief getting back into the lovely air conditioned bus and out of the heat.We arrived back at the boat where strategies were in use to farewell us from this port with a 100 Japanese Fan Dancers doing a traditonal song & dance routine,then a grat performance from some young modern Japanese dancers ( I had a good giggle with them posing with me for pictures) and to highlight the farewell as we watched from the comfort of our very hgh stateroom verandah a group of young men did a flag dance ( the flags were outrageously large( and as weaselled away ALL the dancers lined the dockside and bade us farewell (it is the BEST farewell performance I have seen) We were too knackered to venture out BUT I did consume full bottle of South African white wine! The TV in the room is very large and we have access to the latest movies..but for the heat this was a great day with a great ending !!!
The farewell was magnificent and every one of the performers were very happy and friendly,a pleasure to watch
Day 5 Koyoto and Beyond
The day started with the boat arriving TWO hours late due to an engine breaking down,,THEN we had to que for almost 2 and a 1/2 hrs because the Japanese insist the we had to “re-enter” Japan because of the short trip to Korea ! After all this was done we boarded the bus for Maizuru (Kyoto) for a tour of villages along a very steep,narrow mountain road with a long drop into the Ocean below,then onto a small boat for a short cruise around an area where thee houses are built over the sea.onward to a Shinto Temple and another Buddhist Temple we were sat next to ayoung lady from The Wirral in Chesire and she had her very talented bilingual (Italian/English) around 10 yrs old >Very charming travelling companions and eventually she told us she is the Captains wife!! (no airs or graces,just lovely people)We are starting to get travel weary coz Annie makes me walk for miles !!! We leave dock at 11pm and as we re boarding Japanese musicians were playing traditional music and what can only be described as very large zithers,each player was dressed in very good looking traditional costumes again making the departure ceremony one not to be forgotten Evening and Annie went to watch a Samuri display while
Blogs are difficult to put on daily especially on the Boat where Internet fees are very high and sloooooooow !
Day 4 and we hit Korea
we arrived very early in Busan South Korea and after yet another very hearty breakfast we waited for our 9 am trip in the main theatre and eventually herded onto our bus and a young Korean lady was to be our host (also a very lovely,bright,bubbling personality ) and of we went to the very mountainous Bhuddist Temple and upon reaching the lower car park we trudged up 200 stairs (its Annies way of killing me cos the cause of death cannot be shown like arsenic ! )Some of he carvings were magnificent but why on earth do these religious people have to pray at altitude? is it because they are nearer to their God? It is also a very hot humid day and I must have lost a lot of weight due to the sweating !! We then travelled onto the local Fish Markets and what a fabulous scene we witnessed.Annie slipped on some ice but she is OK and the selection of sea foods both dead and a live were incredible!! I bought a very cheap watch cos it looked good !! Annie bought a few souvenir trinkets and all to soon we had to leave,At the boarding venue a group of young ladies treated us to a farewell performance by dancing,singing and wore traditional costumes all of which was very “catchy” We settled on board for lunch and got chatty with a lovely American couple from Arizona and conversation was easy for all of us.After a bit of a cool down and short rest we headed off to Skywalkers club where Annie devoured FOUR Crouching Tiger Cocktails and after climbing into bed she declared the room was spinning !!! I.m just going to have to stop her late night habitual boozing !!! Still altho a very hot,clammy day a good time was had by all !! Including the memorable moon show shining on the Ocean leading directly to our verandah,,
Its avery fascinating place and we have literally taken 100,s of pics but only able to fit a few on here
Day Three on a bloody BIG Boat
We are currently in Nagasaki around an hour late due to a medical emergency where a passenger was taken ashore at Yokohama and another was air lifted via Helicopter mid Ocean at night time ( we hope these people are on the road to recovery) After yet another huge breakfast we embarked at Nagasaki Terminal ( why oh why do they call them terminals) and were able to get free Wifi and naturally caught up with email and managed to do a couple of blogs (Unashamedly I also downloaded a chapter of Coronation St just for Annie !) We boarded our bus and off we went to view the horrors that were Nagasaki & the Atom Bomb altho there are lots of horrific photo,s of he people and the devastation concerned in the events of August 1945 (my year of birth) out of consideration and respect I have decided NOT to put pictures on this Blog.We stood on the very spot where 500 metre above the power of the notoriously named A Bomb did its worst and how this City has rebuilt itself (even a 70 yrs) is a fantastic achievement for the locals and the feeling that overcomes the people standing on that spot is emotional almost impossible to describe.I am amazed at we people who live on a planet that has no equal in the known universes and yet all we want to do is kill each other !!.Memorabilia and artefacts from that era are shown in the Nagasaki Museum and not for the faint hearted.We headed back to he boat had more scrumptious food and drank wine on our balcony as a local school kids band played excellent orchestral music as we left port heading into a thick fog (or pollution !). Tomorrow KOREA>>>>
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 