March 16, 2024 The Houthis are a group of makeshift radicals who have attacked cargo ships in the Red Sea under the pretext of solidarity with the Palestinians. The group, based in Yemen, and most notably backed by Iran, has said it will continue assaulting vessels in the vital waterways of the Red Sea. Their… Read more

March 14, 2024 Tianjin, China is where many cruise travelers will disembark to visit Beijing, China. The appeal is obvious. Beijing is the home of The Great Wall, The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The difficulty is that it is a 3-hour bus ride each way (on a good day) Now might be a good… Read more

March 12, 2024 Most travelers bypass Dalian, China enroute between Shanghai and Beijing. As our companies are registered in Delaware, we maintain a virtual office in Wilmington, Delaware. No one thinks of stopping in Wilmington (although it is a lovely city) enroute between NYC and DC. So it is with Dalian, China. The great part… Read more

March 10, 2024 If Beijing is the heart of China than Shanghai must be its soul. After my third visit to this city, I am still intrigued by how vibrant it remains. Shanghai is one of those cities that must be experienced rather than toured. There are three reasons why I think it is so… Read more

March 6, 2024 Fukuoka is the sixth largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Perfecrture Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of commerce. The area has long been considered the gateway to Japan, as it is the nearest point among Japan’s main… Read more

March 4, 2024 First, the pronunciation. Kobe is not pronounced with a long “e” like Kobe Bryant but rather with a long “a” like the Australians say “gooda”. Think Ko-bay. You will be corrected if you pronounce it incorrectly. Kobe, Japan is world famous for its marveled beef which can cost from $75.00 to $200.00… Read more

March 2, 2024 A different view of Tokyo… First and foremost, the Japanese are obsessed, no fixated, on Anime. (an abbreviation of animation) Not stores, but entire districts of Tokyo are inundated with as far as you can walk malls, shopping centers and actual people dressed up as anime characters. What began over 40 years… Read more

March 1, 2024 Of course the first thing most people associate Tokyo with is Mt. Fuji. The highest peak in Japan overshadows the city. Our son lives in Colorado and the Rockies are magnificent, but the triangular vanilla ice cream cone shape of Mt. Fuji is unique. Chongae and I are not excursion type people.… Read more

February 26, 2024 Okinawa, Japan is well known for the bloodiest ground battle of World War II. During this 82-day-long battle, 95,000 Imperial Japanese soldiers and 21,000 American soldiers were killed. The current movie sensation Oppenheimer (Actor Robert Downey, Jr. does a terrific job portraying United States Atomic Energy Commissioner Lewis Strauss) tells the story… Read more

February 24, 2024 This is the first time for the Zuiderdam to disembark at Ishigaki Island, Japan and I sure am happy she did. Many travelers only visit the major cities of a country and fail to find the hidden charms of more remote destinations. Ishigaki Island is one of those gems. By definition, Ishigaki… Read more