We visited the Jade Buddha Temple, the Yu Yuan Gardens, the Bund on the Huangpu River, the Arts and Crafts Research Institute, and of course we went shopping. Here are some photos. Joe

Shanghai, China                                Thursday, March 31, 2016 Greetings from Shanghai! We have spent the better part of two days exploring this City, which has a relatively short but exciting past, and a very exciting future ahead of it. This is our third stop in China – the first was Hong Kong, which is a special administrative […]

We spent a little time in the Port city Xiamen, which is a kind of a Gateway to China. It’s in a special economic zone and with 4 million people is a pretty big deal. By comparison, I think Chicago has about 2 million people. Anyway, here are some photos taken in Xiamen. Joe

Hong Kong, like New York, never sleeps. Here are some photos from the day and a half we spent there. Joe

Hong Kong                                         Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016 Greetings from Hong Kong! We are sad to spend Easter Sunday away from family and friends, but we hope you are all enjoying a lovely day. We arrived in Hong Kong yesterday, and this is some city! It consists of many islands, although only a few are inhabited, […]

We piled onto a junk with some friends to sail on Ha Long Bay, a UNSECO world heritage site. The bay is dotted with fishing villages at the base of some of the rock / island formations and it has an almost indescribable natural beauty. It’s kind of like the Grand Canyon in that you […]

Friday, March 25, 2016                                              South China Sea We spent the last 2 days in central and northern Vietnam – they are quite different from the southern visit to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.  Da […]

A visit to Chan Mae included stops at Hoi An, Dan Nang and China Beach. It is officially dubbed Marble Beach, but the official name is ignored in favor of China Beach. Here are some photos that include the bustling market in Hoi An’s Chinatown, the jungle in My Son (pronounced Mee Sun), and China […]

What a day it has been; We started the day with a lecture about ISIS from an excellent journalist, Stephen Cole, who could not have been more vocal about how serious the terrorism threat is. This afternoon we had a Purim Festival with our ship’s rabbi, with great rejoicing over the feat of Esther, saving […]