DIAMOND PRINCESS: Taipei

Nearly a third of a century ago (sentence came from this blog site in 2008), I took several trips to Taiwan:

One final anecdote is that PICHTR, exactly 20 years ago, worked with ITRI to produce an $80 million multiple product OTEC study for Taiwan, led by Paul Yuen and my engineering team.

Any type of visionary effort requires a dreamer.  This person was C.Y. Li.  Nothing much happened and the project faded when he retired in California.  I returned to Taipei several times, and there were numerous good memories, but the latest must have been a decade ago.  I was curious how the city had changed.

I also had project with Sun Yat Sen University in Kaohshung to study the potential of the whale shark replacing cattle for protein.  My visit to Churaumi Aquarium was helpful, for they showed some graphics with photos of 300 babies in a female whale shark.  Considering that a cow mostly produces one calf, the economics of a whale shark industry seems intriguing.

Today, Taipei itself has 2.7 million residents.  However, 16 miles away is Keelung Port, so if you include the whole metropolitan area incorporating New Taipei and Keelung, the population rises to 7 million,

That tall building is Taipei 101, with 101 floors.  It was #1 in the world until 2008 when the Shanghai World Financial Center was built, almost immediately surpassed by Dubai's Burj Khalifa.  T101 today?  #11.

The greatest collection of Chinese antiquities can now be found in Taiwan.  These artworks kept being moved during the Japan occupation and Chinese civil war until 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek retreated to this island, taking the very best, 600,000 pieces, on three ships.  8,000 years of history from the Neolithic to the modern.  And it was a good thing because Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1977 on the mainland destroyed much of Chinese ancient heritage.  The National Palace Museum finally opened in 1965. 

The political status of Taiwan is metastable.  The modern history is Japanese occupancy for half a century until the end of World War II, followed by American protection to check Communism.  The People's Republic of China says there is only one China, and it will only be a matter of time before they prevail.  Thus, that art collection?  No problem, they will all be effectively at home when the inevitable occurs.

The Diamond Princess was able to dock at Keelung Port.  We took the city tour.  The first stop was the National Palace Museum. How can I show 600,000 photos?  So I'll limit my post to jade plus:

Yes, don't look like traditional jade, but they were unusual.  The first one was the size of a wheel.  Vases, etc.

We then went to Martyr's Shrine to see a changing of the guards ceremony:

If you look closely, perhaps you'll see my reflection.

Then off to the Grand Hotel for an incredible Chinese buffet.  They had everything you would want, except for Shanghai Soup Dumplings:

There were ten stations of different food categories.  The beer was free.  Unfortunately, there was a mob of people and not much time to forage and eat.

Finally, my Blue-bar pigeon appeared at Confucius Temple and Da-Long-Dong Baoan Temple.  Not making this up.

Our final tour was to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall:

Chiang's reputation spans the full gap from revile to revere.  His respect in Taiwan has steadily declined because he executed many of the local educated and elite.  Interestingly, China is more and more portraying him as a hero for his anti-Japanese resistance during World War II.  Similarly, the U.S. twice tried to assassinate him, but now seems to look at him more favorably.

In any case, he ruled Taiwan from 1949 to 1985, passing away at the age of 87.  Madame Chiang Kai-Shek lived on for almost two decades till the age of 105.  She, Mei-ling, is one of the three famous Soong sisters, for older sister Ai-ling married China's richest man, H.H. Kung, while #2, Ching-ling, married Sun Yai-sen, Father of Modern China.  She went on to became the only Communist of the three, and became honorary President of China in 1981 just before her death.

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OKINAWA AND I

I've had a lifetime fascination with Okinawa.  This interest was primarily because we are twins:

• remote islands far away from the national capital
• annexed in the late 1800's
• about the same population (1.45 million)

• good weather, except that Okinawa has a lot more typhoons
• similar military presence (Hawaii 36,000 and Okinawa 26,000)
• tourism is important to the economy, and Okinawa in 2017 overtook Hawaii with slightly more visitors

There are some differences:

• Hawaii has phased out of the commercial production of sugar and pineapple, while Okinawa continues
• Naha has had a monorail transit system (right) since 2005--Hawaii is still struggling to build one
• Hawaii has 23 times the geographical area as Okinawa

I recently had a series of three posts:

• Are You Okinawan?
• Okinawa, Part 2
• Okinawa, Part 3

I have been involved in a variety of cooperative efforts with our sister state from Japan during my whole professional career:

• my original interest was Aquapolis, the showcase floating platform for the Okinawa World Fair in 1975
• I later, as a member of the planning committee for the Lisbon Ocean Expo in 1998, attempted to have Japan tow Aquapolis to Portugal because they no particularly symbolic facility
• unfortunately, in 2000,  an American company bought the platform and turned it into scrap metal
•  a quarter century ago I spearheaded Project Green Enertopia, which assisted Miyakojima become the solar island for the country
• two decades ago I helped Japan establish Kumejima become a deep ocean water experimental site, leading to their OTEC plant, and moderated various annual sessions to promote research cooperation

Standing, Yasu Ikegami of Saga University, currently the OTEC professor of Japan, and to my left, Mac Takahashi, retired from Tokyo University, who wrote a textbook on OTEC.  Ikegami is largely responsible for the OTEC efforts on Kumejima.

The site of the 1975 Ocean Exposition with Aquapolis is Ocean Expo Park.  Today, this is home for Churaumi Aquarium, which was featured yesterday, and the Tropical Dream Center (tropical plants).

As I ran out of time yesterday, here are a few more photos beginning with lunch.  First, I walked past an Okinawan food truck, but chose instead Ocean View Restaurant:

The eatery was a buffet of all the popular Okinawan dishes.  I had a great lunch with a fabulous view:

Typhoon Kammuri made landfall over the Philippines as a Category 4, and will turn southward in the South China Sea towards Vietnam.  A few days ago, this monster storm was heading for Taiwan, and suddenly turned left towards Manila.  Naha is 900 miles from Manila, but the effects (waves) have been so significant, that our Ishigaki Island stopover was cancelled.  Hard to use the buffet, for just walking is a challenge.  Hope conditions improve, as we have a Taipei tour today if the Diamond Princess can berth in Keelung.  Unfortunately, cruise ships have difficult entering the port in inclement weather, and a nickname of this facility is RAINY port.

On the ship we participated in a song trivia contest and lost by just one point.  We could have won a coaster.  Our partners from England were incredible.  Growing up in Europe, they recognized most the songs and artists, just about all from the USA.  They are Aiden and Val, plus Brian and Gill:

Dinner was Italian night at Vivaldi's, with the boss of the room, Mr. Ovidiu of Romania making Spaghetti Arrabiata as an initial appetizer:

Tomorrow, if our ship makes it into port, Taipei.

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DIAMOND PRINCESS: Okinawa and the Churaumi Aquarium

Sunset from the Diamond Princess:

A Santana concert at Movie Under the Stars:

Dinner was at our table in Vivaldi's:

Went to bed early, for we have a 5:30AM wake up call.  Ordered room service breakfast:

A shame, but we ate, perhaps 10% of what came.  Then on to the bus for Churaumi Aquarium at the Ocean Expo Park, which takes close to 2 hours each way.  This is the best aquarium in Japan, with the one in Osaka as #2.

I can go on and on, but here are some colorful fish:

And some other creatures:

Further Okinawa details tomorrow, especially the history of their Ocean Expo Park.

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DIAMOND PRINCESS: A Day at Sea

The day began at breakfast with a simple Western meal:

The buffet itself has ten stations serving an assortment of food:

I counted.  There were 82 different events.  Among them were fruit carvings and dessert-making:

There are sit down restaurants and an assortment of other types, most free, but Italian, sushi and steak places where there is approximately a $30 fee/person.  Lunch was a simple double cheeseburger and bratwurst with beer on my lanai:

You can gamble, dance and enjoy a wild nightlife:

I didn't do any wagering, probably will skip the onsen and doubt I'll be up for the nightclubs.  However, I did try the outdoor Movies Under the Stars theater.  It was so freezing, that I brought the room comforter and a martini to watch a concert from Waldbuhne:

At least I was more comfortable, for the Berlin audience suffered in the rain.  Unlike the 22,000 there, I was the only one of of the 2600 on the ship actually courageous enough to brave the cold.

Tomorrow, on the Okinawa and their great aquarium.

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