The Treasures of the Orient Explored by Sea

DIAMOND PRINCESS: Passengers enjoy exotic lands in modern comfort on a 12-day cruise to four countries

by Janice Mucalov
Special to the Vancouver Sun Weekend Travel Section
April 22, 2006

The mounds we stroll by look just like, well, simple grassy hills. It's hard to imagine that they're actually royal tombs from the ancient and mighty Silla dynasty, which ruled Korea for 1,000 years from 57 BC. But inside the Heavenly Horse Tomb, it's another story.

Glittering behind glass windows are an intricate gold filigree crown with four layers of antler-shaped branches, gold earrings and bracelets, and a gorgeous gold belt adorned with hanging pendants – just some of the 11,000 artifacts excavated from this tomb. Squeezing between throngs of excited Korean school children, we also peer at the painting of a flying horse on a white birch bark saddle guard (giving the tomb its name).

There are 270 Silla tombs in Gyeongju, South Korea. Designated by UNESCO as one of the world's 10 most historic sites, Gyeongju is often referred to as a "museum without walls."

There are so many interesting tombs, temples and treasures – including the world's oldest astronomical observatory and hiking paths among hundreds of Buddha statues and pagodas on nearby Mount Namsan – that we wish we had time to see more of Korea's ancient capital.

But we're only here for a day, visiting as passengers from the Diamond Princess on a 12-day cruise from Osaka, Japan to Beijing, China.

And that's the downside – and the beauty – of seeing Asia by cruise ship. You get a taste of each city or country visited, which leaves you craving more. On the other hand, you only unpack once, and you're accompanied by familiar North American comforts (like flush toilets and ice-cream).

And you worry less. Most of the food comes from the US where it must pass US health standards, and if you happen to get sick, you can consult the ship's doctor (the Diamond Princess is staffed by two doctors and four nurses and equipped with a mini-hospital complete with an ICU).

You also travel at a relaxing pace. On our trip, almost every second day was enjoyed cruising at sea. We took Pilates classes, tried a $200 US bottle of "Opus 1" at the Maitre D's wine tasting event, watched an art auction, napped, and indulged in facials and a seaweed wrap and massage. Not your typical activities on an Asian land tour. On my last trip to China, every day was a non-stop marathon of temple-tripping and marching through museums. Exhilarating, yes. But exhausting too.

Sailing on a 3,000-passenger, amenity-filled cruise ship like the Diamond Princess makes it easier for families to visit Asia too. On many of our shore excursions, we happened to join the same bus as a single mother from Hawaii and her ten-year-old daughter Sienna, who declared the cruise a smashing success. Sienna could still get her French fries, and she could make new friends at sea in the onboard supervised children's activity program.

The demand for vacationing in Asia this way is certainly increasing. Princess Cruises has boosted its Asia cruise capacity by more than 25% for the 2006-07 season. Two ships – the intimate 670-passenger Pacific Princess and the large Sapphire Princess (similar to the Diamond Princess) offer eight different itineraries, including a new Southeast Asia and India voyage that features Sihanoukville, Cambodia, the gateway for an overland tour to the legendary temple of Angkor Wat.

Our cruise took us to four countries – Japan, Russia, South Korea and China. After boarding the ship in Osaka, Japan, we stopped first in Nagasaki. While the city is best known for its atomic bomb memorials and peace park, we signed up for the ship's tour to Shimabara, a well-preserved, 17th-century village a scenic two-hour bus ride away.

Shimabara is home to a restored samurai castle, with a collection of original armour worn by feudal warlords. Several old samurai houses, through which we strolled, also recall the lifestyle of the samurai warriors centuries ago. Most intriguing are the water canals running down the centre of the quiet pebble streets, which were used for scooping out clean water for daily needs.

It was in Shimabara that we also encountered our first hole-in-the-floor squat toilets, typically found in Asia. Throughout the rest of the cruise, "Please let it be Western-style!" was the common plea among the female passengers when lining up to use the local facilities.

One of our nicest evenings was cruising out of Nagasaki at dusk. A light rain that had fallen earlier eased just as twinkling lights appeared on the hills ashore. On deck, champagne glasses in hand, we took in the night magic; a few other passengers enjoyed the changing scenery while soaking in the hot tub.

I don't know what I expected from Vladivostock, the homeport of Russia's Pacific navy fleet and our next stop. But I was surprised to see decrepit decades-old vehicles stalled on badly potholed streets, and apartment dwellers filling buckets of water from outside taps. It also didn't help that our local university student guide, while charming, wasn't very informative in talking about the city or Russian culture. We did have fun, though, crawling through a preserved WWII submarine.

And an excellent folkloric show back on the ship picked up our spirits. A troupe of 13 Russian musicians and dancers came on board to perform a colourful and lively Kalinka.

Gyeongju was a highlight of our cruise. As well as the Silla tombs, we visited the Bulguksa Temple (which means "Buddhist World"). An old path led us up a hillside to two stairways, which we were told would take us from the ordinary world outside to the spiritual world within. Completed in 751 AD, the temple is home to about 100 monks. We peeked inside one building; as the scent of burning incense wafted toward us, a monk prayed in front of three gold-plated Buddhas.

Shanghai was also a high point. On the east bank of the river that slices this ultra-modern city in two, remarkable skyscrapers in the business centre are built in the gleaming shapes of cascading wedding cakes, pinnacles and pyramids, and arched domes.

On the west bank, the curved tile roofs of Shanghai's old city provide an exotic contrast. In the centre is the 400-year-old classical Chinese Yu Garden, where Ming dynasty pavilions, carp ponds, ancient trees and elaborate rockeries are linked by a maze of bridges and corridors. Even the hordes of tourists we bumped into couldn't diminish the garden's peace and tranquility.

After Shanghai, we called in at Dalian, another Chinese coastal city, then disembarked in Beijing. Like many passengers, we stayed the night in China's capital before flying home. That gave us time to visit one of man's most monumental feats – the Great Wall. Rebuilt and extended during the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644 to keep Mongolian raiders out, this formidable granite-and-brick wall stretches across 6,400 kilometres of mountains, plains and desert.

A steep climb up stone steps took us to the top of the most popular section of wall visited, wide enough for five horses to have been ridden abreast. On the highest points, signal fires were lit centuries ago to send warning signals down the wall – one fire with one smoke meant the advancing enemy was about 100 men, two fires meant 500 men, and so on. Today, tourists curl up in the arches to snap photos of each other and buy postcards from hawkers shouting "Four for a dollar!"

Some things remain the same – even if you visit Asia by sea.

TRIP PLANNER:

• Fares for Princess Cruises' Asia voyages begin at $1,495 US for 12-day sailings.
• Air Canada flies non-stop between Vancouver and several Asian cities, such as Osaka and Beijing, that serve as cruise embarkation/debarkation ports. As flight times to Asia range from 11 to 14 hours or more, Air Canada's Executive First recliners are an appealing way to fly (oversize cotton pillows and comforters help you to nod off). The airline is currently introducing lie-flat seats for Executive First passengers on all its international routes.
• Canadians need a visa to visit certain countries like China.
• For more information, see www.princess.com or contact your travel agent.

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