Each week our team rushes to the mailbox, not for package, but for a tiny slip of paper: a postcard.
Cruise Specialists Voyage host Tom Mullen has become a fixture on world cruises and grand voyages, helping to entertain and guide our guests. On the 2017 Holland America Line Grand World Voyage he once again shared special moments with us via old fashioned postcards and we’re thrilled.
Here are a few of our favorites and some fun notes about the excursions from his time in China
Nha Trang and Phu My, Vietnam
“Everyone loved the tour in Nha Trang. Especially the rickshaw ride and shopping on the pier – it is always the best place to bargain!”
Start your day with a stop at La Louisiane, a beachfront café that offers a great location for taking pictures. Here you’ll hop in a cyclo for a relaxing ride along the boulevard to the hand embroidery workshop, where you will find a range of exquisitely made works of art for sale.
Next, explore the ancient Ponagar Cham Temple. Ponagar was founded sometime around 781 AD and is located in the medieval principality of Kauthara. It’s dedicated to Yan Po Nagar, the goddess of the country, who came to be identified with the Hindu goddesses Bhagavati and Mahishasuramardini, and who in Vietnamese is called Thiên Y Thánh Mâu.
Continue to Xombong Bridge to observe the photogenic fleet of fishing boats below and visit the “Rock of the Husband” for another unique photo opportunity. Next, visit Long Son Pagoda to view the enormous Buddha statue. It is regarded as one of the main sites in the city. Finally, visit colorful Dam Market to enjoy a bit of shopping and witness the culture of the Vietnamese marketplace.
Hong Kong, China
This is a great overnight stop allowing for tons of exploration. See all that our team loves to do here!
“Docked at the New Kai Tak [Cruise] Terminal for one day and saw the ‘junk’ sail past the ms Amsterdam.”
Pictured on this post card is A Hong Kong “Junk”, a type of boat traditionally referencing Chinese wooden sailboats. It is also a catch-all phrase that refers to any Hong Kong boat charter.
Xingang (Beijing), China
“The Great Wall had snow today, and fresh winds from the Mongolian plains.”
Built in the Qing Dynasty and surrounded by grounds laid out by Emperor Qianlong as a place of retirement for his mother, the Summer Palace took on special interest for the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi, who fulfilled a wonderful dream by commissioning the palace in 1888.
The Great Wall, whose construction began as early as the 8th century BC, was extended this bastion against the invading Mongolians by the first Qin Emperor. Construction reached its zenith under the Ming Dynasty.
Today, the wall stretches some 3,600 miles. The visit features a walk along a restored section of the Wall’s battlements, which are wide enough to allow cavalry and chariots to pass.
Thanks to Tom for giving us a peek at the fun places their visiting this year and getting us excited to start thinking about the next Grand World Voyage!
