As we were leaving Manila the Captain had to wait in the Harbor to tender passengers who were on the last ferry from Corregidor   The port authorities would not let us stay at the dock as another ship was coming in to dock.  We were close enough to watch the Italians and Dutch compete for the best fireworks displays.  I didn’t even know there was a competition between countries for firework displays.  Anyway it was a treat but we don’t know who won.

I had a tour to go to Macau the first day in Hong Kong and I am happy I did.  First it is a magnificent city and has more gambling casinos than Las Vegas.   It is a combination of Chinese and Portuguese, and the old and new.  Tall skyscrapers and ancient sites.  The Macau Tower is the 10th highest freestanding tower in the world and we went there for a buffet lunch,  We even watched five people get ready for bungee jumping but we didn’t actually see them jump because  our tables kept moving around the buffet.   We took a ferry over and back and on the way back I felt my throat get scratchy.  Needless to say I got a cold so I stayed in my cabin for a day and one half trying to get rid  of itr fast so my experience in Hong Kong consisted  of going to the pharmacy.

Oriental night was fun and Julia (93year old mother of Fran) dressed as a Geisha girl.  A very fun night and I started to feel human again.