Michael Martello Bailli Provincial Pacific Northwest  Monterey Bailliage The Leader of our "Motley Crew"
Michael Martello, Gayle Walsh
Harry Dokouzian, Bailli - Hillsborough Bailliage The person responsible for putting this trip together  Carol Dokouzian
Jim Ray Chargé de Presse Provincial, Southwest Region  Vivian Ray Bailli - San Antonio
Charles Marshall Bailli - South Coast Bailliage The person with the winning bid at the "live auction" San Diego Grand Chapître Susan Marshall
Gunther Schaule Bailli Sydney Australia Mary Ann Schaule The Australian Grand Grand Chapître will be in Sydney in 2012. Get your tickets early.
Paul Carelli Officier Commandeur Bailli Honoraire - Las Vegas Sharon Carelli
Clifford Davie Commandeur/Bailli Honoraire at Large Karen Davie
Lois Gogol Bailli Hillsborough California The only person in the world who has been elevated to the position of Bailli on top of the "Great Wall of China." Officier Stanley Gogol
Irwin Weinberg Bailli Honoraire - Cincinnati Barbara Weinberg
Judith Mazza Chargée de Presse Greater Washington D.C. Allen Kam
Winnie Dickerson. Chargée de Presse, Linda Coffey, Dame de la Chaine West Palm Beach Florida
Patrick Gaito Chevalier Cincinnati Ohio
Helen Gayner, Dame de la Chaine Newport Beach California Walter Gayner
Walter Renner Officier-Commandeur, Gastronomique, Hillsbourgh Bailliage Barbara Renner
Thomas Pearson Officier-Commandeur Springfield Bailliage Anna Pearson
Richard Albertson Chevalier, and Charlotte Ann Albertson Dame de la Chaine Naples Bailliage Ann-Michelle Albertson Dame de la Chaine Delaware Valley Bailliage
Pierre Bain Maitre D'Table  Monterey California Bailliage Marietta Bain
Ginny Coyle Dame de la Chaine Delaware Valley/West Palm Beach Leesa Conley
Inga Hiilivirta Dame de la Chaine Palm Beach Florida Robert Domm
Duncan McCarter Chevalier Monterey Bailliage Elizabeth Mc Carter
Donna Miller Dame de la Chaine Boca Raton Bailliage
Ruth Morelli  Dame de la Chaine Philadelphia Bailliage
Michael Vogan Chevalier Audrey Weaver Dame de Chaine Chicago Bailliage
Delphine Foxton Chargée de Presse William Willms Chevalier  Freeport  Bahamas
James Zierolf Chevalier  Chevalier Hillsborough Bailliage Beverly Zierolf

All individuals participating in this voyage came together in Shanghai between the 5^th and 7^th of May. Most arrived two days early in order to participate in a well-orchestrated sight-seeing tour of the city highlights and participate in pre-cruise activities. Shanghai is one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world and was once known as the Paris of the East. The city is now called "The Pearl of the Orient.”

While in Shanghai, the group stayed at the Park Hyatt Hotel. The Park Hyatt is located on the top 15 floors of the city’s new World Finance Center Building which is 101 storey's high. . The hotel lobby is located on the 87th floor with rooms above. This Park Hyatt is currently the tallest hotel in the world. As one approaches Shanghai from the airport, the extremely high tower, shaped rather like a bottle opener, is impossible to miss, looming high above the city and dwarfing the surrounding multitude of skyscrapers.

This is not the Park Hyatt. It is the camera view looking out the window of the Park Hyatt at another high and not-so-high buildings on a smoggy day.	Park Hyatt Hotel is at the top - view at night looking up from ground level

 

Photo of the World Finance Building with the Park Hyatt occupying the top 15 floors This is why it is said to look like a bottle opener.

On the first evening in Shanghai, the group traveled via private bus to one of the older parts of the city for dinner that served traditional Shanghainese cuisine – Bean Stick with Mushrooms, Vinegar Jellyfish, Wild Vegetable Roll, Sweet Jujube, Pakchoi with Plum Roll, Ink fish, Fish Head, Eight Treasures with Chicken, plus nine additional Chinese side dishes, all served with Chinese beer and sake (rice wine). The food was prepared and served as the Chinese did many generations ago. The only thing missing from this menu that the Chinese eat routinely was the “scorpion on a stick.” However, this little delicacy could be found being sold by street venders in many parts of the older city. All in attendance for this Shanghainese dinner had a great time. It was considered by most a very unique experience, however, the majority present stated they would not care to add this particular cuisine to their normal everyday list of menu items.

After dinner everyone gathered back in the motor coach and we travelled downtown to see a live stage show – the world-famous ERA Acrobatic Show – www.shanghaiacrobaticshow.com – an unbelievable,  jaw-dropping, mesmerizing, performance! This group of acrobats performed for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai Expo in 2010.

The following day was a shopping day followed by an evening  This was a wonderful group of gentlemen and their ladies. Many were transplanted Americans. We laughed, exchanged stories of our different cultures, exchanged Chaîne pins, and had a wonderful photo shoot. Dinner followed the reception and the awards and recognition followed the dinner.

Photos with a caption of  "***" indicates the correct spelling of that individual's name is currently under investigation.

The dinner tables are set and ready on the 90th floor of the Park Hyatt. Recognize the building out the window? That's the same one we saw from our window in an earlier photo above.	Click here for a better view on how these two buildings appear from the outside. Click on any thumbnail to enlarge photo!	Bailli Harry Dozukian, Bailli Provincial Pacific Northwest Michael Martello, Bailli Délégue de Shanghai Volkmar Ruebel.	Bailli Lois Gogol, Bailli Harry Dokouzian; Carol Dokouzian, ***	***, Bailli Gunther Schaule, Barbara Weinberg, Bailli Honoraire Irwin Weinberg, Mary Ann Schaule
***	Bailli Harry Dokouzian, Carol Dokouzian	Chevalier James Zierolf,, Beverly Zierolf	***, ***	Charge de Presse Provincial Jim Ray, Bailli Vivian Ray
Dame de la Chaine Inga Hiilivirta, Robert Domm	Officier Commandeur Bailli Honoraire Paul Carelli Sharon Carelli	***,***, Officier Emelda Ruebel, Bailli Délégue de Shanghai Volkmar Ruebel, Bailli Vivian Ray, Charge de Presse Provincial Jim Ray, ***	Samuel Dabinett, Bailli Harry Dokouzian, Bailli Provincial Michael Martello,  Bailli Délégue de Shanghai Volkmar Ruebel.	Samuel Dabinett,  ***, Gerhard Passrugger,
***, ***	Officier Commandeur Thomas Pearson, Anna Pearson	*** Chevalier William Willms, Chargée de Press Delphine Foxton	Leesa Conley, Dame de la Chaine Ginny Coyle
***	***	Bailli Provincial Michael Martello, Officier Emelda Ruebel, Bailli Délégue de Shanghai Volkmar Ruebel	Bailli Harry Dokouzian, Officier Stanley Gogol, ***, Bailli Lois Stanley, ***	Bailli Délégue de Shanghai Volkmar Ruebel, Bailli Provincial Michael Martello

Chevalier Duncan McCarter, Elizabeth McCarter, Chargée de Presse, Winnie Dickerson, Dame Linda Coffey	Dame Ann-Michelle Albertson Chevalier Richard Albertson	Walter Gayner, Dame de la Chaine Helen Gayner,	The Dinner	Dame de la Chaine Ruth Morelli, Chargée de Presse Judith Mazza, Allen Kam
	***, Samuel Dabinet, Gerhard Passrugger, Bailli Harry Dokouzian, Bailli Provincial Michael Martello, ***	It's time to recognize the wait staff.	Everyone here is a member of the Shanghai Bailliage. The lady in the front center is not wearing her ribbon because it is one or the other, the ribbon or the fine looking necklace she is wearing. I think she made the right choice.	A group shot with the Shanghai Bailliage and the members of the U.S. Chaine Floating Assemblage

Shanghai pin on left, US Floating Assemblage pin on right. The US presented its pin to the Shanghai Chaine members and vice versus. Pins above are actual size.

Good Bye Shanghai, the Pearl of the Orient.

Hello Silver Shadow 

It is time for “all aboard” the magnificent cruise ship, the “Silver Shadow.” The Silver Shadow is part of the Silver fleet of cruise liners. Other sister ships in this luxurious fleet are the Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Whisper, Silver Spirit, and the Silver Explorer. The Silver Shadow has the luxuries of a private yacht, the amenities of a country club, and the fine services of an exclusive hotel. The maximum capacity for guests is 382. It has 302 crew members. Everyone had an assigned butler.

Side note: Last year when the Floating Assemblage cruised from Nice France to London England via the Straight of Gibraltar and around Spain and Portugal, the group was on the Silver Whisper.

Looking forward here. We are leaving the waterway canal. To the left side are barges, boats, etc. coming in. We are on the right side going out.	Here is the view looking back. This is the busiest water channel in the world. The city is behind us.	Ok, guys & gals, we are now on the ship and we're going to have it a little rougher than when we were in that nice hotel.	Ok, Mr. Martello, we will try and do the best we can. We know it will be rough. Oh, by the way, can you send for my butler. I want him to have my hot toddy with that special recipe ready at 11:30 when I return to my room to retire.

 

I got the message Madame. Everything will be ready as usual.

Time goes by . . . Day 4 Everyone went to see the show the next day

Everybody just stay right where you are. The Chorus Line will be out in 60 seconds. Click on thumbnail photo to enlarge

Day 5 -6

The Temple of Heaven / The Empirical Vault of Heaven

Click to enlarge

This is the walkway to the Temple	Ah, we are getting closer	and closer	Just one more set of stairs	Here is where everything is kept
The Chinese use a lot of real estate for these types of projects. In some cases you could build a small city with the same space.

(A brief history of this temple) 

Construction of the Temple of Heaven began during the reign of Emperor Yongle and was completed in 1420. It was used by all subsequent Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In imperial China, the emperor was regarded as the Son of Heaven, the intermediary between Earth and Heaven. For the emperor to be seen, to be showing, respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The Temple of Heaven was built for these ceremonies.

The most important ceremony of the year took place on the winter solstice (when the sun in its orbit is the farthest distance from the earth), when the emperor prayed for good harvests. Upon arrival at Tian Tan, the emperor meditated in the Imperial Vault, ritually conversing with the gods on the details of government. He then spent the night in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

The Hall of Prayer was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1889. The official explanation for this appalling event was that it was divine punishment meted out on a caterpillar that was about to crawl onto the golden ball of the hall's roof (see pic #4 above). 32 court dignitaries were executed, for allowing this to happen. The hall was then rebuilt according to the original Ming design. By the way, the hall was rebuilt with tree trunks shipped in from Oregon.

The temple complex remained forbidden to all but the emperor and his followers/servants until the gates were thrown open to the people on the first Chinese National Day of the Republic, October 1912. On December 23, 1914, General Yuan Shikai performed the ancient ceremonies himself, as part of his attempt to be proclaimed emperor. He died seven days later.

That was the last time Tian Tan was used for ritual ceremonies. It has since been a museum open to the public.

(Let's Eat )

Everybody knows everybody's name from this point on.

Evening

The Entrance to the Wall Entrance occupied Welcome, we are happy to serve you The arch above the entrance to the stairs A lower view of one of the guard post Nice one Click on photo           Daytime Photo  Night Time Photo  Beverly Zierolf, Walter Renner, Helen & Walter Gayner, Ruth Morelli   Alex Ding Peng (Hotel Director)William Willmss, Bailli Provincial Michael Martello   Chevalier James Zierolf, Bailli Harry Dokouzian Stanley Gogol, Carol & Harry Dokouzian, Lois Gogol, Jim & Vivian Ray            Our 4-piece dance orchestra    Dinner and Seating arrangements  The dining Room. The light is fading fast. Photo a little dark.   Light is gone. This is with a flash.   Bailli Provincial Michael Martello, Chargée de Delphine Foxton, Bailli Harry Dokouzian, Maitre de Table Pierre Bain           Whoa! Here it is. First ever Bailli Induction on the Great Wall of China. Congrats Lois Gogol from the Hillsborough Bailliage in California Here are the guys and gals that made this thing great. I count 35 in the photo. There are at least another 13 off the end and off the front of this photo for a count of 48. There were exactly 48 of us. That's a one to one service kind of dinner.    One of the unknown heroes of the evening. Thank you, and all your friends, and possibly family members,  for your excellent smiles, attitude, and service. Maybe our paths will cross again in the future. The next morning Bailli Provincial Martello and Bailli Harry Dokouzian thanked the man that made it all possible. Vlad Reyes, Bailli Délégue de China - Bailliage de Peking and General Manager of the Hotel Hilton Doubletree Beijing (where we spent the night). What a dinner and what a hotel. Ok, Gang. Grab your bags. We are out of here. We're heading for Tiananmen Square..

Day 7

Tiananmen Square

Note: All individual photos taken of Tiananmen Square, Mao's Temple, and the Forbidden City were lost during transfer from the camera to a 2mb chip.

Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, named after the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heaven's Pacification) located to its North (North in this photo is pointing to the top of this photo), separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world.  The square was the center of the 1989 Chinese protests, where soldiers opened fire on protesters killing hundreds. In 1949 the government replaced each of the square's concrete blocks with blocks of granite.(That is one big load of granite!)

Our group had a professional tour guide as we went from one end of the square to the other.  At the far end (North) is Mao' Temple. .

Below contains additional details of the Forbidden City.

Our group started out at one end of Tiananmen Square. We walked from that end to the other end, through Mao's Temple (which is not shown), and toured the Forbidden City from one end to the other. Wow I'm hungry.

Day 8

at Sea

Day 9

The Island of Jeju

Jeju, the little pink spot above. This island is to South Korea as Hawaii is to the US. A place to vacation, for rest and recuperation, or to have vacation home.

Does this or does it not look like a volcano that has risen from the sea?  Click to open. We'll show you an interesting shoreline later, but first . . .     Cheonjiyeon-yon Waterfall (Means God's Pond) Open the pond photo and count the angles (back in those days, they were called fairies). don't forget the one that is flying. The Cheonjiyeon Waterfall in Jeju is also referred as “God’s Pond.” The legendary story behind this waterfall says that it was named such after the seven fairies, which served the King of Heaven, came down to the pond below the waterfall, by stairs of clouds, and bathed in its pristine water. In the older days, it was said for those who bathed in the water would experience good health and long life. Ok, let's go see it! You have to take a long walk through dense forest path to reach the waterfall. It makes a magnificent gushing sound - The waterfall is about 65 feet high and about 30 feet wide. Here's a couple of photos on the way to see it.   Let's go over this bridge Whoa, that looks a little rough. Yep, I was right. Look, I think I see it. Yep, here it is. "Vivian call that helicopter service to get us out of here."

While on this island, we learned that in the older days, the women were the boss here. They gave the orders, wore the pants, and made more money than the man of the family. What did most of these women do to make a living. . . . . . They were divers. They would dive only with a cloth around the waist, a net-bag, and a knife. Today, they wear rubber wet suits. Most of the food the women would bring up from the sea would be different types of shell fish. In the South Korea culture, women (which I did not know this) make better divers than men. (hmmm, I am remembering back when I was giving Vivian scuba diving instructions. (side note: This is why I have no hair). Well, all I can say is it's a good thing that Vivian did not live under those conditions. The family would not have anything to eat! See below, this is the type of conditions most divers have to confront.

Let's take a close look at the upper left corner where the little rock is separated from the rest. Expand to see the floating balloon. Look closely. What else can you see? Nothing? Look again with this photo Expand this photo, it will make things better. You can now see two women in wet suits with three balloons, and one man or woman standing facing away from the camera at water's edge in a wet suit and white gloves. Another woman is standing but her lower body is hid behind the lava rock.  What are they doing? Making their living. Diving for shell fish and selling the fish to the market.

Let's visit the Buddhist Temple

A few photos of the Temple

Let's have a first class South Korean lunch before we head back to the ship. Ok, back on the ship for the night. Day 10 Busan South Korea Ok, gang. Let's go see what there is to see in Busan. A little history  . . . At the 13th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, November 2005 (APEC) Leaders' Meeting, President Bush and the other leaders of APEC's 21 member economies came together to make progress on advancing free and fair trade and ensuring security in the region. Here's the round table where all the planning took place. The brass name plates are still in place from that meeting in 2005. Their Photo. Bush is identified in the photo. This photo explains what they are wearing. This gentleman is standing on the spot where President Bush was standing in 2005. The photographer did not remember that it was the plaque wanted in this photo. She thought it was the tree and the sky! Off to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery You wont find one weed in this cemetery. This is the graveyard for all the soldiers attached to the United Nations who were killed in Korea during that war. The local guard on duty It is now time to go eat and drink beer while sitting on the floor VIP table - they have chairs. End of the table is Martin Muller, Bailli Busan. He passed out Korean pins to our group and was our guide Anyone for a little shopping Day 11 The Gangs all Here Part of the day at Sea doing a little  Wine Tasting and dancing, then the end of the Cruise is coming up. Day 12     The last day on the cruise ship. 1.Cruise Consultant Alessandra 2. Restaurant Manager Nicolas Login 3. Hotel Director Helmut Huber 4.Bailli Provincial Michael Martello 5. Ship's Captain Cataldo Destefano 6. Bailli Harry Dokouzian 7. Cruise Director David Lawton 8. Executive Chef Jerome Foussier Seoul South Korea (post cruise) The City Looking out the hotel window. Formal Dinner with Bernhard Brender, Bailli Délégue Korea, and bailliage members, in Yougsusan           Marietta Bain, Bailli Harry Dozukian, Bailli Provincial Michael Martello, Beverly Zierolf,  Bailli Délégue Korea Bernhard Brender  Mrs. Brender, Bailli Délégue Korea Bernhard Brender , Vivian Ray, Bailli Busan Martin Muller, Bailli Provincial Michael Martello North end of the table  South end of the table  Table #2        Well Done Everybody. We must do this again next month!!!  Thanks guys and gals. You did a great job. It's time to go to the hotel and get some rest

We are coming to the end of our exciting journey. This is the last stop coming up We are going to the South Korea's Demilitarized Zone or the "DMZ."  The Korean conflict, which claimed over three million lives and divided the Korean Peninsula along ideological lines, commenced on June 25, 1950, with a Soviet-sponsored North Korea invasion across the 38th parallel. It ended in 1953 after international intervention pushed the front of the war back to near the 38th parallel. Each side agreed to move their troops back 2,200 yards from the front line, creating a buffer zone 2.5 miles wide (see photo #4 below. The Military Demarcation Line (MDL) goes down the center of the DMZ and indicates exactly where the front was when the agreement was signed. This border is the most heavily militarized border in the world.               #1 & 2 - And here we are. We are at one of the DMZ's major section stations     #3. Outposts and fence line that runs the complete length of the DMZ line. I believe they are placed every mile or so  along the DMZ.  4. The DMZ runs basically along the river and the 38th parallel.     5. The MDL runs down the middle.  The DMZ is 1.25 miles on each side of the MDL. From DMZ North to DMZ South is 2.5 miles. This is the buffer zone. There are some interesting facts that have happened after the Korean war was settled and everyone had agreed to follow the rules of non-military engagement. It appears that North Korea is a bad loser and has has been involved in numerous cases of incidents and incursions that have violated this end-of-war agreement. There have been a total 27 some-odd cases of these incidents that point directly to the North Korea military being the aggressor. Let's look at the four most interesting cases. Open picture #4 above and you will see four small circles that are labeled  1st Tunnel, 2nd Tunnel, 3rd Tunnel, and 4th Tunnel. Remember that the peace agreement was signed in 1953. 1974: The first of what would be a series of North Korean infiltration tunnels under the DMZ was discovered. 1975: The second North Korean infiltration tunnel was discovered. 1978: The third North Korean infiltration tunnel was discovered. 1990: The fourth North Korean infiltration tunnel was discovered. Three of these tunnels were over 500 below the surface of the ground. Estimates based on the tunnel's size, suggest it would have allowed approximately 2,000 North Korean soldiers (one regiment) to pass through it per hour. We were fortunate to be able to ride the elevator shaft down to tunnel #3 and then walk the length of the tunnel from under the DMZ line to the MDL  line where at that point (North Korea's land), the South Koreans sealed the opening with 10 feet of reinforced concrete  (One foot beyond this point would have put us in North Korea territory). All of us were given hard hats to make this journey  Anyone over 5' 1" had to stoop to keep the head from banging against the jagged granite ceiling. The way the North Koreans made these tunnels was using blasting dynamite with a large enough charge to make about a 3' X 3' hole, carry the debris out of the tunnel as additional dynamiting continued. The South Koreans are always looking for new recruits to work the DMZ. It looked like for a while that Vivian might be interested. After they told her that her primary duties would be an assignment with the tunnel hunters which included, upon finding a tunnel, searching it for booby traps, dynamite, etc. she changed her mind.   We took our last group photo and headed for the nearest restaurant.    Good ol' Korean food with pecan pie and vanilla ice cream. Nope, you can't beat that.  That's it, we're out of here! We're heading back to San Antonio Texas! . . . at least the Ray's are!