City Visits

Stopping by Estonia!

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Phil

Again, we apologize for the intermittent posting. Wi-fi is limited and absurdly expensive on the cruise ship, so we’re only able to post whilst at port.

Behold! Beauty!Salutations from Tallinn, Estonia! As our epic Baltic Capitals cruise continues to sail across Northern Europe, we docked in Tallinn and spent the better part of today in Estonia’s biggest city situated smack dab on the coast. Our oh-so luxurious and comfortable boat was only in port from about 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, so we endeavored to make the best use of our short time. Tallinn is yet another city that we knew virtually nothing about prior to visiting. Our trip has been extraordinary in helping us fill in these giant gaps of knowledge we have about a ton of places around the world like Estonia, Singapore, Vietnam, etc.

Tallinn is one of the smallest cities in one of the smallest countries that we’ve spent time in thus far. The entire nation has a population shy of two million. It doesn’t take long to discover that due to it’s small size and “favorable geographic location”, this is a country that has been invaded, occupied and controlled throughout its history by nearly every major European nation including Sweden, Denmark, Germany and, most recently and most notably, Russia. The more we see of Europe, the more it dawns on us how the history of these European nations is so intertwined. Estonian is the local language, but you won’t hear it much outside of the country. It’s unique to be in the midst of a language that only 1.5 million people speak among millions of Europeans.

Rocking it in the older part of townA large part of Estonia’s history involves being resilient while fighting seemingly endless oppression by much larger nations. In fact, in the last 800 years, Estonia has only had 40 total years of true independence! And twenty of those years have been since 1991. That’s crazy to wrap your head around. The country continues to grow on its own two legs and recently joined the E.U. and converted to the Euro just two years ago. Our lunch bill had the price in both the old Estonian currency and in Euros since locals are still adjusting to the conversions. In some ways, Brooke and I were exploring an entirely new nation comprised of a centuries old culture and people. We’re seeing parts of the world in a changing time with some counties experiencing independence and peace only in recent years. Estonia has a remarkable story and it is a remarkable time to for us to visit.

Also, please refer to me as the Baltic Fox moving forwardOnce again, the ever-present Hop-on Hop-off tour bus served us incredibly well. We’re on the cusp of writing personal endorsements for these buses.  When we only have a short time to dig in and see a city, these double-deckers are perfect. For just ten Euro a pop, we enjoyed a guided ride on two different lines covering a solid chunk of the city. Plus, the bus provided transportation to and from to the cruise port. We learned about the Estonian singing culture and their giant outdoor amphitheatre that can accommodate thousands of singers (Estonians apparently love to sing), Tallinn’s role in hosting water sports on the Baltic during the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and we got a good look at a scary looking seaside prison turned museum.

Since our Norwegian Sun was one of four, count ’em four, giant cruise boats clamoring for space in the port, our first sight in Old Town was tourists and more tourists. At first impressions, you might think that Tallinn’s main population is nothing more than confused looking middle-aged tourists with cameras and fanny packs. We explored old town for a bit which was made up mainly of beautiful old preserved buildings and churches and surrounded by an ancient wall that has large parts still in tact. Old Town itself has an authentic Medieval look and is quiet, sterile and only used now for historically preserved buildings, government buildings and souvenir shops. Wandering away from the crowds and down the hill, we ambled around the corner and we discovered this great Army-Navy Antique Store. The place was a wonderful mix of antique store and history museum with Soviet and Nazi era flags, metals, propoganda posters, busts of Lenin, Matchbooks and more. Just around the corner, the Estonian History museum was one of the best we’ve seen on this trip so far. The small but mighty museum included an exhibit on a recently merchant’s chest dating from 1350 which was unearthed from the Baltic Sea just last year.  The museum also has a very entertaining, tongue-in-cheek video that gives a colorful, brief informative history of the country. On top of all that, the museum has a bathroom that talks to you. I’m pretty sure the toilet was trying to teach me Estonian one word at a time.  It was a little creepy at first.

Around 5:00 PM, Brooke and I marched proudly back onto the boat satisfied with the job we had done. We hit the city hard and fast. Our reward? A quick history and taste of Estonia. Today was a good day: spending half the day exploring a brand new country in Estonia and the other half keeping busy on our giant boat. Speaking of our time on this massive rig, cruise living continues to treat us very well! We’re meeting friendly (mostly American) new faces around every new corner, kicking tail and taking names at trivia (particularly Name that Tune Movie Trivia) and we even managed to catch a Sunday Night NFL game which was pumped in live via Satellite late night in the Sports Bar. The food has been sensational in the categories of taste, availability and quantity. And running on the treadmill is a much more inspiring activity when the view from your window is the moving, open sea. Tonight was a delicious dinner with an ocean view in the main dining room, enjoying a live version of Deal or No Deal, watching a group of shipboard singers and dancers plow their way through Broadway Show tunes, and enjoying some more good luck in the Casino. Hmmm…is it too early to look into a fifteen day cruise? Next stop: St. Petersburg!

-Phil

One last image of some of Old Town from high above. The big church in the background doubled as beacon for sailors and has burned down like five times.

Check it out! Spring Awakening is coming to Tallinn! (We think that’s what it says)

Watching some Sunday Afternoon Football (at 12:30 AM!) on the Norwegian Sun’s Sports Bar on Deck 12 with new friends. Never that far from home…

Categories: Budget, Casino, City Visits, Estonia, Reflections, Self Guided Tours, The Cruise, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Cruising Life

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Brooke

In order for us to quit our jobs and travel the world for almost four months we had to be very budget conscious. We write down everything we spend, we set limits to our spending and shoot for cheap accommodations whenever possible. We have now embarked on the most luxurious part of our trip: a cruise! That’s right, we are currently sailing the Baltic Sea. Three square meals a day, anytime of day. Workout facilities. More activities and entertainment than you can imagine. But most importantly, this cruise has allowed us to unpack our bags and turn our stateroom into our home for the next nine days. Nine nights in the same bed–a king sized bed. We are thrilled!

WarnemündeOur cruise left from Copenhagen heading to our first stop, Warnemünde, Germany. Never heard of it? Neither has anyone else. It is a small seaside town which is popular with locals during the summer and caters to cruise ships which frequently dock there. It is approximately a three hour ride in each direction from Berlin by train, so some people on the ship went to the German capital for the day. While this sounds great, traveling that much makes for a very long day. After seeing that Frommer’s Travel Guide has less than two pages worth of material on Warnemünde, we decided to spend a very small bit of time scoping it out, and then take the regional rail to nearby Rostock.

As with so many cities in Europe, Rostock has a very old feeling to it. We didn’t know much about the town and figured we would discover things as we went. As soon as we got off the train we spotted an old church in the center of town. It was definitely our find of the day. St. Mary’s Church was built in the 1200’s. It is beautiful and grand, and the best part is that it is still in use today. At the entrance to the church they make it clear that it is not museum, but a place of worship. They were fine with people walking around and taking pictures. There was an exhibit about the life of Jews in Germany from 1933-1945. It was all in German, but we got the gist We were even able to listen in on an orchestra practicing for an upcoming concert. The music filled the church and provided the perfect background for us.

Astronomical Clock!However, the biggest draw to St. Mary’s Church is its giant astronomical clock. This clock does more than just tell the time of day, it also gives the day, month, year, moon phase, and zodiac sign. What more could you possibly need? Over 400 years old, this clock is still wound by hand each day. At noon each day there is a procession of the Apostles on the clock (sadly, we missed that). The current dial only goes to 2017, however they will be able to replace that when the time comes. The only thing that wasn’t accounted for when the clock was originally built was daylight savings time. Twice a year they have to account for this time change.

We wandered around Rostock a bit more, watched kids play in the fountain and absorbed all the sights, sounds and smells of this small town. When it was time to head back to the boat, we opted against taking the short train ride back to Warnemünde and instead we chose to take a ferry up the river. We soon realized the ride was a cross between a sight-seeing tour (all in German) and a booze cruise. Since we couldn’t figure out if the drinks were part of the ticket or not, we abstained. All the Germans on board seemed to be having a marvelous time, shouting at other boats and toasting to their own happiness. The ferry helped demonstrate what a busy port both Rostock and Warnemünde really are. There were tons of ships–not cruise boats, but ferry’s, cargo boats and even some decommissioned military vessels. It was a great way to see these two cities from a new perspective.

Our time in both Warnemünde and Rostock was limited, but we don’t feel too bad about it since we will be back in Germany later on in our trip. Actually, we were eager to get back to the boat and our life of luxury. We ate delicious food, did terribly at some very difficult trivia and played some $5.00 Blackjack. Because it was my birthday, the casino bought a round of drinks fo the whole table and gave me a $25.00 chip to bet. Sadly I lost that hand, but we were ahead in winnings quite a bit by the time we walked out, so that always makes it more fun.

We could definitely get used to this cruising lifestyle. Our room gets made up 2 or 3 times a day. The casino is never far away. There is wonderful entertainment: last night we listened to one of the onboard entertainers do a set of Neil Diamond covers. He’s so good! He really does sound like Neil Diamond, gravelly voice and all. Besides the entertainment, we find that we are simply having a blast! On the days when we are at sea, it is like mandatory relaxation. There is no pressure to make the most of our time or to see as much as we can. It has been a nice change of pace.

Our next stop is Tallin, Estonia and then we head on to St. Petersburg, Russia. We are incredibly excited about both of these stops and can’t wait to share them with you.

–Brooke

Categories: Budget, Casino, City Visits, Europe, Hotels, Relaxing, Self Guided Tours | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Carlsberg, Christiana, and Copenhagen

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Phil

Hello again from Copenhagen! We’ve been lucky enough to enjoy three full days of absorbing Danish culture, food, sights, fun and history. And now that we get into these older European town, there is more than enough history to go around. In keeping with one of the goals of this trip, we continue to see, learn and grow just a bit more each day. For example, we know now that the Danish flag employs one of the oldest flag designs in the world. And, finally, we’re back in a part of the world that has paper towels in the bathroom. Also, I’m slowly becoming able to sort out the distinct differences between the three Scandavian countries: Denmark, Sweeden and Norway. Until now, all three unfortunately ran a bit together like a jumbled mess in my mind.

Since day one, we’ve been resting our head in a variety of different hotels and hostels, but we’ve also had some terrific luck trying out Air BnB- a handy webstie that helps travelers find paid homestays. Currenty, we’re hosted by an incredibly gracious and friendly Dane named Thais who lives a short bus ride from central Copenhagen. We’re staying in his small, airplane-themed flat for three days; Thais has been a stellar host. His dream is to live in an old airplane, but since he is currently unable to do that, he brought the airplane to his apartment. Complete with a safety card that has important information, genuine airplane seats and an overhead compartment for storage, it is clear that he is a bit obsessed with airplanes. It is certainly the biggest theme home we’ve seen in a long time, but it works really well for him! In part, because he is a writer for several European flight magazines, reviewing aircraft, airports and all things aeronautics related. Thais has provided directions, suggestions and even pointed us to a nearby park, Utterslev Mose, where we were run in the morning. Our stay at “The Aerohotel” here has been great and we are glad the weather is finally cool enough (55-65 degrees) for us to run again.

Today we began with a tour of the Carlsberg Brewhouse and Museum. Until about a week ago, I though that Carlsberg (along with Heineken) was a Netherlands based beer. Wrong again, Phil. Turns out that not only is Carsberg one of Denmark’s biggest exports and industries, they are also the world’s 4th largest brewing company with over 500 brands including acquisitions of other European beers. While not that big in America, bottles and tap heads were common throughout Asia. The self-guided eleven dollar tour of Carlsberg (the etymology of the beer’s name is the combination of the name of the owner’s son and the Danish word for hill) was well worth it. The fact that the price of admission included a few beers didn’t hurt. While most of the main brewing facilities have been moved to the Jutland area of Denmark (just don’t ask us to point it out on the map), the company headquarters go back over a hundred years with plenty of well-perserved buildings that show off an interesting history.

I found some of the exhibits on the well-organized Carlsberg tour more interesting than some at the National Museum. The tour took us through that stables that are home to the company’s remaining Jutland Horses. This stout, large and somewhat rare breed, which resemble the famous Budweiser Clydesdales, were historically used to pull beer carts throughout the city and are still used in ceremonies today. The museum also houses a collection of 22,000 unopened beer bottles from the last couple of hundred years! 22,000 glass bottles, many donated from one Dane’s private collection, placed carefully on glass shelves in one room! Good thing we’re not in an area prone to earthquakes. They also really have kept their original buildings in wonderful shape to illustrate the brewing life back around 1900. The trip out there was worth it alone to see the entry gates complete with giant elephants and to watch the modern day brewing of small batch Jacobsen’s Ale while perched from an upstairs bar.

From Carlsberg, we took a trip to the famous Freetown Christiana: an area of Copenhagen that has been occupied by squatters on an old set of military barracks for more than 40 years. Christiana is intended to be an open commune where anyone can live and designed to encourage artists and foster free thought. But our reality was that it looked more like a bunch of burned out hippies sitting among sub-par graffiti art splattered across random buildings. The central draw is the Greenlight district or Pusher Street where they sell weed- lots of weed – openly. Just don’t take out your camera while nearby. Christiana residents declare themselves as not part of the E.U and eschew taxes, but they still receive city services such as mail, electricity and water. It has a long, complicated history and apparently the city officials conduct pre-announced raids from time to time. But for the most part, everyone is allowed to just occupy this space without much resistance. Visitors are welcome and a happy community of about 900 live carefree and proud of their little neck of the woods. It’s…odd. After a worthwhile visit, we left with more quetions then answers. We have determined that squatting is handy when you have an entire complex of well kept old buildings to live in and no one is going to kick you out, but even with understanding some of the turbulent past and issues, were still surprised that this large chunk of land is just allowed to be occupied unpaid by a collective mass.

As we wrap up Denmark for now, note that starting tomorrow Brooke and I are embarking on the most luxurious and relaxing part of our round the world trip- a nine-day Baltic Capitals cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Whilst we sail the open seas, we’ll have considerably limited internet access. For the next little bit, our blog posts may be intermittent as wifi becomes available. Off to Germany, Estonia, Russisa and beyond courtesy of the Norwegian Sun!

–Phil

So many bottles at Carlsberg!

Another photo from Thais’ Aerohotel!

Phil is showing his Denmark Pride (on Flag Day, nonetheless)

Categories: Beer, City Visits, Copenhagen, Differences, Hotels, Museums | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Our time in Copenhagen Continues

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Phil

High a top Round TowerAh, just two days in Copenhagen and we already feel like we’re fitting in. I think we’re ready to be issued our bicycles now. Each day, scores of blond and blonder fit Danes ride their bicycles past me with an inviting arm outstretched asking for a high five. Or they might just be signaling a left hand turn. I’m not quite sure. I know Brooke mentioned it before, but the amount of cycling as a means of transportation is inspiring and stunning. Eveywhere you turn, there are dedicated, large bike lanes spanning a flat terrain full of polite cyclists scooting about town. We’ve also seen a couple of guys on roller skates, but we’re pretty sure that just means that their bikes are in the shop. Thus far, it’s been a blast exploring Denmark’s capital city. It’s a compact area with a sea of orange, slanted roofs and low rises that emit both an old and modern look. In one small area alone, you can walk the serpentine path to the top of the nearly 400-year old Round Tower, shop in a late 19th century storefront or stroll past the modern “Black Diamond” – the striking Royal Danish Library. The city is entirely walkable with (yet another – we’ve seen so many) stellar public transportation system comprised of buses, regional rail and an expanding subway.

People on bikesIt’s easy to think of Copenhagen as a sophisticated, classy, old-world city. Clean, organized, and cultured. As for the locals, I think that the best way to describe the people we’ve met is engaging. Once you a start a conversation with anyone from the bartender to the guy on the bus, everyone is talkative and eager to share. It doesn’t hurt that just about everyone speaks English incredibly fluently as a second language and many speak a third or even fourth language. Reading scores in Scandinavia are higher in general since virtually all television is in English with closed captioning in the native language. Hence, the country’s youth is often reading while watching television.

Oh my, that's deliciousWe realize that reflecting on the food is becoming a common motif in our blog, but some delicacies are too good not to share. If there is one thing Copenhagen does well it would be bakeries. Storefronts loaded with freshly baked pastries, breads, tarts and more are almost as common as ads for Carlsberg. We’ve sampled the ware and they deliver the tasty goods. We also sampled the national mid-day lunch dish – Smørrebrød (don’t worry, we can’t pronounce it either) which is essentially an open face sandwich made of everything from meatball and pickled cabbage to roast beef. Available everywhere, we stopped in an unassuming lunch place to give ’em a shot. Delicious! Only problem was that we didn’t know the custom is to order two or three since they are a bit on the smaller side. Learning as we go.

My wife with no mere everyday weinerAnother sensational “local” dish we discovered is, believe it or not, hot dogs from a street vendor. In a land known for sausage, this is some of the best street meat we’ve had in months. Large, mouth-watering sausages wrapped in bacon loaded with condiments? More, please. These put (most) NYC hot dogs to shame. And, yeah, we’re going back for another round today. Copenhagen also lays claim to the “World’s Best restaurant” – Noma. How is it? Amazing and delicious…are the words that a world traveler who could dream of being able to afford to eat there might.

Example one of how to get lost in Copenhahgen

Street sign commonly seen in Copenhagen or example one of how to get lost

There is so much more to tell you about Copenhagen. Next time we’ll share stories of the Carlsberg Brewery, Christiana (the incredibly interesting community of squatters), and our amazing Air B ‘n B experience.

–Phil

Stunning buildings on the streets of downtown Copenhagen

Round Tower

The Rundetarn- or Round Tower- build in 1642 as part of a church and observatory complex. Very, very cool walk up.

 

Categories: City Visits, Copenhagen, Destinations, Europe, Landmarks, Transportation, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Discovering Copenhagen

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Brooke

Colorful Buildings along the canalThere is no mistaking it…we are NOT in Asia anymore.  From the moment we stepped off the plane and every moment since then, it has been quite clear we are in an old European city.  But even more than that, it is clear we are in Denmark.  Everywhere we look there are beautiful blondes riding bicycles (very politely, I might add).

After a short morning run, we truly began to explore Copenhagen.  Going off recommendations, we started our day with a canal cruise.  This hour-long cruise through the winding canal system was a great way for us to see several different areas of the city so we could then determine what we really wanted to visit. When the tour-guide began speaking German, we were afraid we had gotten on the wrong boat.  We checked to make sure the tour would be in English, but she definitely wasn’t speaking English.  As it turned out, she gave all the information in three different languages–Danish, German and English.  We were relieved we would be able to understand, and again felt awful about the fact that we seem to be the only people in the world who only speak one language.  As for the tour, we especially love looking at the architecture of the city.  They really take pride in their old buildings, some of them date back hundreds of years.  However, they also have a lot of new construction, including an opera house right on the water which was built less than ten years ago.  Because of this, the newer buildings really have to be spectacular so they can stand the test of time.  Unlike Tokyo or Hong Kong, there is no race for the tallest towers or highest buildings.  In fact, there are very few skyscrapers in sight.  As we walked the streets, we kept saying that it all looks so European–old, grand, brick buildings lining the street, some with huge squares in front where people gather.  It is exactly what we pictured before we got here.

CopenhagenThe riverboat cruise inspired us to head to the National Museum so we could understand a bit more about Danish history.  As we walked over there, we saw a crowd gathered outside an old church.  Today was Flag Day or Soldier’s Day, so there were lots of celebrations and officials about town.  There were clearly secret service types outside of the church, so we thought we might glimpse the prime minister.  As it turns out, they were waiting for the Queen (Queen Margaret) to come out.  Apparently this was her private church and she was inside.  The royal family here seems to be fairly accessible to the people.  Of course, they are guarded, but people can walk the palace grounds and the royals are often spotted about town.  We waited for a bit to see Queen Margaret, but as it seemed like she wasn’t coming out anytime soon, we continued on through the Parliament grounds and over to the museum.

Not real!The National Museum (Nationalmuseet) has a completely free admission and is rather large, consisting of exhibits from the beginning of time through the year 2000.  That seemed a bit overwhelming to us, so we started with Danish pre-history through the Viking era.  Intermingled with the exhibits discussing burial rituals and ancient tools were art pieces that provide a “modern interpretation” of history.  Clearly the Lego version of the Deathstar from Star Wars was a piece of art.  Unfortunately, they were not all so clear and we found ourselves incredibly confused about what was real and what was art.  We questioned the exhibit showing the grave of the “bog witch” who boiled diseased children creating a dense fog over the bog. However, it was the mermaid that really made us confused.  Laying in a case are the bones of a mermaid with the story of a man who dug her up while tilling his farmland.  We looked at each other, completely unsure of what was happening.  We know mermaids aren’t real, but was the story real?  Had someone placed bones together to make it look like a mermaid and trick the farmer?  We backtracked down to the information desk to figure out what was happening.  The woman working at the museum was not at all surprised by our questions and confusion.  She cleared it up…kind of.  Bog witch–fake.  Mermaid–fake.  However, they are next to other very real graves which are genuine museum exhibits.  She told us these artists are “interpreting history in a modern way to push the limits of our thinking.”  I think that is complete garbage and they should say instead they are creating mythology to go along with the history.  It is far too confusing to figure out what is real and what is made up.  If a seven year old kid walked through there, he would walk out thinking Mermaids are real.  I don’t think that’s what they are going for.

After feeling completely confused and like I had just wasted an hour, we scrapped Danish prehistory and learned about more modern times.  It was interesting to learn of their history with Sweden and Norway as well as the other countries in the region.  There is so much history and it was all jammed so closely together that it got to be a bit overwhelming and we found ourselves skimming through parts.  In more modern times, the history is quite similar to the America– Industrial revolution, child labor laws, women’s rights, etc.  With all of this culture and history under our belts, it was time to learn what Copenhagen was really all about and we figured the best way to do that was to find a good bar.

Awesome Bar

Amid the cutesy cafes and upscale bars in a rather touristy part of town, we managed to find Lord Nelson, a basement bar specializing in craft beer filled with locals and regulars.  Our friendly brother-sister bartending team, Morton and Ricki, were awesome.  Not only did they let us try every beer they had on tap, they  encouraged us to branch out our tastes and go with beers we might not normally drink.  We both enjoyed the Kiss Me Hardy, a delicious hoppy beer named after Lord Nelson’s final words to his First Officer.  Through this discussion of beer, we also learned a bit about Morton’s favorite places in Copenhagen and a little bit about life here.  We also talked for a long time with Perm, an older gentleman who has traveled the world and was excited to talk to us about all the different places he’s been.  We asked lots of questions about the relationship between Denmark and other countries and truly learned as much there as we did at the museum.  Lord Nelson is exactly the kind of bar we’ve been looking for and we were happy to spend a couple of hours resting after touring Copenhagen.

Beautiful, but not worth itWe managed to drag ourselves away from the bar so we could head to Tivoli, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, known for its beautiful lights and gardens.  We know it for being a huge disappointment.  We had to pay to get in, which we figured since it is an amusement park.  However, we had to also pay to do anything inside.  Rides, restaurants, games–everything cost additional money.  We walked around, unimpressed, and left thinking we could have spent our money much more wisely.  Oh well.  We were tired and ready to head home anyway.

Our first day in Copenhagen was a roaring success and we can’t wait for tomorrow.  We plan to hit the Carlsberg Brewery, Christiana and eat lots of delicious pastries.  We look forward to sharing what we find!

-Brooke

At Lord Nelson's

Morton, our awesome bartender at Lord Nelson’s, showing off his tattoo from his time in the Queen’s military.

Don't drink and drive boats

Here’s a bar right on the canal where boats can pull up to have a drink.

Soldiers

Royal Guard lining up for Flag Day events.

A typical example of the beautiful buildings that remind us we are in Europe.

Categories: Bars, City Visits, Copenhagen, Destinations, Diversions, Europe, Exploring, Museums, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Brief Run in Singapore

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Phil

The 2012 Singapore Skyline!Greetings from Singapore! Brooke and I are only in this small nation for two days as we close out the Pacific/Asia leg of our RTW trip. Our initial impression of Singapore? This is the one place so far that has most reminded us of an American city. In fact, and to be oddly specific, its kinda like Chicago. Add in the tropical foliage and location near the equator and Singapore has reminded us of Tampa at times as well. English serves as the official and primary language (thanks to 140 years of British imperial rule), and the city has an udeniably western vibe emitting from familiar looking shopping malls, big name hotels and modern skyscrapers. In short, Singapore has also been our easiest stop in a while.

Singapore is unique in that it manages to be a few different things all at once: a relatively small island geographically, a relatively big city socially and a sovereign nation politically. All wrapped into one happy enchilada. The country is made up of a hodge podge of people represented by four ethnic populations: Chinese, Malay, Indian and, um, Other. Yeah, apparently, that last few percent just gets kinda grouped together. Like many other cities we’ve seen, the city itself is heavily populated, but not as densely jam packed or teeming with bodies. Singapore has worked to keep the city full of open spaces, manicured landscapes that include a world famous botanical garden and even a few cricket fields downtown. In fact, urban Singapore has managed to become one of the world’s biggest exporter of orchids. Who knew?

A Singapore Landmark - Raffles hotel goes way back to the 1800'sAnd how do you get such a lovely, nice, town? By making it gut-churningly expensive. In fact, to encourage a cleaner, less congested city, there are measures in place to make it prohibitively expensive to even own a car. And Brooke and I are relatively certain that Singapore’s national pastime is going to a mall. There were lots of malls. Tons of malls. Endless malls. Many of them on the high end of the spectrum. If I had really wanted to buy Brooke an Omega watch, I had about a dozen opportunities. Cost was a factor when we skipped out on a classic visitor stop: ordering a Singapore Sling from it’s birthplace at the long bar inside the historic Raffle Hotel. At $23 a sling, that one was out of our budget. But the most amazing example of a city that works to control it’s environment through cost measures? The casinos: If you’re a resident of a Singapore and want to visit one of the stunning, new casinos in town, you are required to fork over a hundred dollars just to enter the gaming floors! I’ve never heard of such a thing – essentially an admission price to a casino that only locals have to pay.

In true Kollineiser traveling style though, we’ve managed to keep our visit on the cheap. We dropped a few bucks to grab a set on an open-air double-decker tour bus. Slipped on some sunglasses, sat back and took a guided-tour for a few hours around town. These buses are becoming our preferred method of sight-seeing when we only have a short time to pack in information. The tours can be a little lacking in personality, but are certainly an easy going and quick way to get a crash course on a new town. We stumbled upon Din Tai Fung – a phenomenal, busy Dim Sum restaurant where a team of cooks create dumplings and pork buns right on the spot. This might be a western city, but you can see the influence of the neighboring Asian countries all around. Particularly in the majority of dining options. Last evening, we even took some time to go see a movie. Another little international difference: upon purchasing tickets for “The Campaign” at the box office, we found that we had assigned seats in the theater!

That is a crazy buildingIf there is one gleaming landmark worth calling out, it would be the newly built Marina Bay Sands Towers: three fifty-five story hotel buildings linked at the top by a massive cruise-ship looking Sands Sky Park. From every angle, it looks like the brainchild of a demented I.M. Pei prodigy, but it works. The city really has a sharp set of grand architecture scattered throughout. Clearly, thoughtful efforts have been made to preserve the past by repurposing beautiful old buildings and build intelligently for the future with such provisions as limiting skyscraper heights. Singapore looks at times like one giant playground. We know that’s probably not an accurate representation, but alas. The number of endless water parks that are open year round (since there is just one season around here) doesn’t exactly help that impression. And they too have a giant Ferris wheel downtown – we’re seeing them everywhere.

But one of the best things that we did in Singapore was to take some time to sleep in. Our quality Air B ‘n B stay and comfortable bed allowed us to stay in bed as long as we wanted. After running at a breakneck speed through Vietnam and Hong Kong, we now feel rested and ready for Copenhagen! Overall, we enjoyed our short stint in Singapore. And since we didn’t embark on a major shopping spree or happen into some serious money to blow, two days worked out to be a good amount of time in town. Onward!

One last note: we discovered a piece of boarding genius at the dazzling Singapore airport. Passengers only have to go through a security screening once they arrive at their departure gate. Each gate has its own little security. Brilliant! Are you taking notes on this, America? Also, not one other country has made us take our shoes off while going through security. Just throwing that out there.

-Phil

Enjoying delicious Dumplings and steamed rolls in Singapore!

One last opportunity to buy high end goods in Singapore. This was the hundreth Swarovski store we saw…this one at the airport.

On the clean, cheap and modern MRT (subway) we kept hearing anouncements and seeing signs to Alight. I’ve never done so much alighting in my life.

Categories: Casino, City Visits, Diversions, Flights, Louisville | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Vietnam: Wonderful and Strange!

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Brooke

Brooke and Phil at Ha Long Bay!As our time in Vietnam has come to a close, we are realizing some important things.  This is truly a developing nation.  I bet it was far different 20 years ago and I’m sure it will be vastly changed 20 years from now.  In spite of that (or perhaps because of it), it has also been a wonderful place to visit and would be a great vacation destination for anyone looking for an exciting and interesting place to go.

As we’ve said before, we have been staying in a section of Hanoi called the Old Quarter.  The narrow streets were developed long ago when foot traffic was the only transportation.  Today, the combination of cars, motorbikes, bicycles and walkers stretch the limits of these skinny roads.  In addition, the sidewalks where one might walk are filled with shops, people eating and drinking as well as parked motorbikes.  We looked at a few of the markets, seeing what souvenirs we could get from our time in Hanoi.   So much of what they sell is clothing and shoes.  At one store we saw a big pile of Tom’s, the canvas shoes which I love.  The concept with these is when you buy a pair, one pair is donated to a person in need.  When I saw this pile of shoes, my first instinct was that they are all fakes.  I considered them, and as we walked away I said to Phil, “I have a feeling that there will be no donation to the needy when I buy those shoes.  As a matter of fact, those may be the ones that have been donated.”  Now, I certainly am not getting on a moral high horse and we did buy some  souvenirs.  However, with the rumors of child/forced labor that abound in countries which manufacture goods cheaply, we have found ourselves a little more aware of what we purchase.

Four is too many!

This photo is a little grainy, but can you see the two kids on the bike with their parents? No helmets, which is very typical.

Another huge sign that this is a developing nation is the general lack of safety regulations. It isn’t that we felt unsafe being there at all.  Quite the contrary.  However, the streets are filled with motorbikes, some packed four deep and children inevitably are rarely wearing helmets.  When we asked about helmet laws we  were told they are required starting at age 8.  Age 8!  The only protection for the little ones is the arms of their parents.  On several occasions, we saw children sitting on the laps of their parents in the front seat of a car, as well.  We also inquired about the driving age and after they hemmed and hawed for a moment, they told us it is 18, but no one really sticks to that.  The road regulations are not the only place where we felt this lack of safety enforcement.  It is not at all uncommon to be walking down the street and have electrical sparks shower down from work which was being done overhead.  No fencing to block the sidewalk, no sign of warning.  On more than one occasion I jumped out of the way so as not to be right underneath the spray of sparks.

The other thing that really seals it as being a developing nation is the lack of potable drinking water and the general conditions of the public toilets.  Of course, it is not uncommon to go somewhere internationally and not be able to drink the water.  However, along with that are the scams that arise from bottles of water being reused and refilled with the local water and then being sold as new.  In order to make consumers feel safe, companies like Aquafina and Evian put safety seals around the caps which ensure it has not been opened before.  In addition, the public restrooms are by and large gross.  This was to be expected.  However, the lack of toilet paper and soap only add to the feeling that things in Hanoi just aren’t very clean and visitors have to be careful not to spread germs and get sick while here.

Amazing viewsI hope I haven’t scared you off, because even with all that said, Hanoi has been one of my favorite stops on the trip so far.  We were able to take a day trip to Ha Long Bay, a group of 1900 tiny islets about three hours south-east of Hanoi.  It was far to go for a day trip, and it would have been better if we had done a 2 night/3 day which is their specialty, but we’re working with tight timing.  We had a delicious lunch on board the boat, then traveled around the bay.  Our first stop was a traditional fishing village, with small homes permanently on the water.  These homes only have generators for electricity and the children only attend school up to 8th grade.  (There is a one room schoolhouse on the water and if they want to go to the upper grades they have to move to the mainland.)  We were particularly interested in the wide array of houseboats, including some made with brick and mortar.  Sadly, having people live in the bay means it is littered with trash; however, further out in the water it is absolutely gorgeous.  We made our way over to “Heavenly Cave” and walked around looking at different rock formations.  Honestly, the tour itself was a little underwhelming, but being out on the water made it all worthwhile.  It would be a wonderful place to come for a longer stay.

Just a small section of Ha Long Bay

Just a small section of the former prison, this was one of two rooms of exhibits on American POWs. John McCain’s flight suit can be seen in the rear of the room.

Our final few hours in Hanoi found us doing two things neither of us is likely to forget soon.  First, we went to Ha Loa Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton. This was the infamous jail where many American pilots who were shot down during the Vietnam war were taken and held prisoner for several years.  What we didn’t know is that this prison was built during the French occupation of Vietnam and was first used to imprison Vietnamese nationalists in wretched conditions.  Most of the museum focused on the horrible abuses of the French towards any Vietnamese fighting for freedom.  Exhibit after exhibit spoke of the heroism of the Vietnamese Comrades and the torturous, villainous behavior of the French.  We kept waiting for any mention of the role this prison played during the war with the U.S.  Just when we thought it wouldn’t be mentioned at all, it finally came at the end of the exhibits.  Two rooms housed photos and artifacts “showing the conditions of the Americans” during their time here. It was filled with photos of them playing volleyball, basketball and putting up Christmas decorations.  It focused a great deal on the days when the American P.O.W.s were released, even mentioning the fact that they were given a “souvenir” of their time here.  We could hardly believe it.  They essentially made it look like summer camp.  There was not one picture of the prisoners in a jail cell.  At the end, it even said the Americans were grateful for the human treatment they received.  Unbelievable! That is not the same account we have heard as Americans–just read about the experiences of Senator John McCain while he was imprisoned there.  This illustrated another example of the one-sided information that we have come to expect from the museums here.

Brooke outside of Ho Chi Minh’s grand mausoleum

The final, most fascinating and most creepy thing we’ve done here is visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex, most notably the mausoleum.  Just like other important communist leaders Stalin and Mao, Ho Chi Minh’s body has been preserved, encased in glass, and is on display for public viewing.  This seemed like a unique experience that we just couldn’t miss.  First of all, the lines stretched outside the complex and down the street.  It was packed with people, partially because it was a holiday weekend.  Luckily, the lines moved very quickly and we were up to the mausoleum within 10 minutes.  We were told going in that we should wear long pants, covered shoulders and close-toed shoes.  It was very important that we be respectful.  Upon entering the mausoleum, I was instructed to take my sunglasses off the top of my head and others were told to remove hats.  As we filed around Ho Chi Minh’s body, gawking in horrified fascination, the guards moved us swiftly along.  We were not allowed to stop or walk too slowly.  The general feeling was one of excitement and intrigue.  We were afraid people would be more reverent and seem like they were in a sacred place, but there was really just a sense of curiosity.  As we walked outside, we immediately discussed what a strange experience that was.  Uncle Ho wasn’t looking too great, probably because he’s been dead since 1969.  By all accounts, this kind of fanfare is the last thing he would have wanted and doesn’t really fit with the kind of life he led.  All in all, I’m so glad we went because it is such a strange thing to do.

Adios VietnamAnd now, sadly our time in Vietnam must end.  We really wish we had more time and we are already planning to come back.  The people here are so friendly, the food has been awesome, and there is so much to see and do.  Now, we head off for a very brief 2 days in Singapore.  Interestingly, no other city has brought such a variation of opinion than Singapore.  Some people love it and say we’ll need more time.  Others have told us to skip it all together.  We met a British family living in Singapore who told us two days is just right.  We’ll go with that!

-Brooke

Categories: City Visits, Destinations, Differences, Landmarks, Museums, Unusual Experiences, Vietnam | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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