Saturday, Sunday March 23-24:
A sea day on our way to Taiwan. BGM attended two lectures, yoga class, a happy hour to listen to the piano as well as her normal workout. I played in the poker tournament after going to an a very nice wine tasting which included some very nice wines. The head sommelier continues to impress me with his vast knowledge of wines.
Had coffee with the General Manager Damien who, unfortunately , leaves the ship for a two month vacation but returns in Rome for the last two segments of the cruise. That is good timing for us because our children and grandchildren join us in Rome.
Tomorrow, our first of two ports in Taiwan before heading for Japan.
Seas got rough enough that the show scheduled for 9:30 was cancelled.
Sunday March 24: PORT 9: KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN
What a pleasant surprise. This is really a terrific port. Previously, we had been to Taipei, where we go tomorrow, but this was a new place. Almost 3 million people. Beautiful wide streets, a lot of things to do and very nice people, many of whom speak some English.
Spent the day with Paul and Pat Farran following a plan essentially conceived by BGM which the three of us we happy to embrace with, essentially, no comment.
The weather was absolutely perfect, about 78 degrees, so not too hot, as was Manila, and not too cold as to require any kind of jacket. Since, as a general rule it is better for me to exercise early in the morning, I was able to get in my full routine and still not runout of gas before the end of the day. BGM prefers to exercise at the end of the day when the gym is almost always empty and most people are having dinner. I am not displeased with how I am doing physically, and, including, the 70 minutes on the treadmill ,had 21, 506 steps and 8.6 miles, the most I have had on this cruise to date.
We started out taking a taxi about 40 minutes to a very nice area, where among other things, we took a walk through a dragon in order to have good luck. It was a very nice area of the City, and, because it was a Sunday, there were lots of families out and about. The little children are really cut and dressed beautifully. Saw a lot of the city on this ride. Very wide boulevards, and not a lot of traffic for a place this big.
We negotiated a flat fee with the taxi driver, and the 40 minute drive cost about $7. When we left, we made a similar deal with another taxi to take us to a great shopping area where we spent several hours, had great food, as more fully described on the attachment, There restaurant, the most popular in the city, had about a 45 minute wait even though it held several hundred people. It was in the middle of a terrific food court on the bottom floor of a shopping center that was 5 or 6 floors and had just about every shop of significance in the world.
We then took our final taxi to another area a short walk from the ship and spent the rest of the day walking around. We visited a second beautiful park and an arcade selling all kinds of merchandise and food item.
HOT TIPS (SEVERAL)
1. UNLESS WANT TO SEE MORE TEMPLES, ONE CAN SPEND A VERY ENTERTAINING DAY WITHOUT BOOKING AN EXCURSION. THE FOUR OF US SPENT LESS THAN $100 INCLUDING A GREAT LUNCH, SAW MORE, AND PROBABLY HAD A BETTER TIME THAN ANY PASSENGERS WHO BOOKED EXCURSIONS THE COST OF THE SHIP’S EXCURSIONS VARIED FROM ABOUT $125 PER PERSON TO $200 PER PERSON.
2. EASY TO TAKE TAXIS, CAN MAKE A FLAT FEE WITH THE DRIVER, BUT EVEN IF THE METER RUNS, TAXI’S ARE VERY CHEAP.
3. CHANGE MONEY RIGHT INSIDE THE TERMINAL. IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE LOCAL CURRENCY UNLIKE SOME PORTS WHERE U.S. DOLLARS ARE READILY ACCEPTED.
BGM did a great job, with an assist from the Farrans, of scoping things out and we give our experience in this port A
Wix Photo
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