Travelling to Hong Kong by container ship!



Remember back in February I posted about my proposed trip by container ship to Australia? I then further investigated my fears about this, especially given the pirate activity in the Indian Ocean.

Photo courtesy of Darren B. Hillman at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dazzy1960/5922809930/sizes/m/in/photostream/
Not my exact ship, but the same Container company

Anyway, after discussions with the shipping agent and a long think, plus that discussion with my father, I decided to go for it!  So today, I have placed a deposit for a proposed July 2013 departure date.  However, having looked at finances, I will not be going as far as Australia.  I will take the following route:

m/v Ever Chivalry:

Itinerary:Hamburg
Thamesport (2 Days)
Piräus (10 Days)
Suezkanal (12 Days)
Jeddah (15 Days)
Colombo (23 Days)
Tanjung Pelepas (28 Days)
Kaohsiung (34 Days)
Ningpo (36 Days)
Shanghai (37 Days)
Taipei (39 Days)
Hongkong (41 Days)

Yantian (42 Days)
Tanjung Pelepas (46 Days)
Colombo (50 Days)
Jeddah (56 Days)
Suezkanal (58 Days)
Piräus (60 Days)
Rotterdam (68 Days)
Hamburg (70 Days)

In purple is the route I will take - so in total: 31 days from Piraeus to Hong Kong and spend a few days in Hong Kong.  

Looking at this itinerary, the longest stretch at sea will be between Jeddah and Colombo (8 days) and then Tanjung Pelepas to Kaohsiung (6 days).

How will I spend my days I wonder?  Well, don't forget I've already travelled by container ship across the Atlantic, so I am aware of what to expect.  It's a good job I now have a Kindle to store loads of good reading material before I go - plus write up a fantastic log of my journey!

Am I excited?  Oh yes!  My next question: does anybody know anybody in Hong Kong who'd like to show me around?  Or any idea of affordable accommodation?

And if any publication is interested in featuring my journey, do please get in touch.  I would love to hear from you.

Across the Atlantic

I've been promising this post for a long time now - my adventures across the Atlantic. 
Sorry I've neglected this blog for a while - the month of April saw me busy with the A-Z Blogging Challenge here.
So here it is!  Enjoy...

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Our route

“You’re going WHERE?” enquired friends.  It was not so much my destination(s) that fascinated them: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Colombia and Costa Rica – rather the fact I had chosen to get there by ship, no – not a cruise ship but a passenger on a Del Monte ‘banana boat’…a container ship if you will.

            “But why?” asked my father.

            “The journey’s all part of the fun…besides, you should understand, being an ex man of the sea.”  Having been nurtured since birth on stories of the great high seas and countries afar, my wanderlust for all things original had certainly been, in part, from his gene pool.

Boarding the ship

            I boarded the Hornlinie German Del Monte ship in Le Havre.  Registered in Liberia, she was an impressive sight – the bridge aft with the containers forward of that and as I was lead up the gangplank by Stewerd Slava, I felt a growing excitement well up inside:  5 weeks round trip – 11 days at sea until our first port of call: Guadeloupe.

My cabin

            My private cabin rivalled that of any cruise ship – champagne and flowers greeting me.  Unpacking I opened my cabin door at the knock and found a German couple standing there: Bernd and Christina from Breman.  They helpfully advised that there were 5 other passengers, the rest would be crew.  Bliss - only 8 of us!

            My days were spent writing, reading, being shown around and educated about the hold: cargo included electronics’ and cars to the Caribbean, swimming in the small outdoor exercise pool and chatting to the Latvian Captain on the Bridge.  I inadvertently found myself thrown into the unofficial role of EFL teacher to the crew – a new career opening, perhaps?

Fire drill training

Not 'haute cuisine', but delicious nontheless!

Captain & Pilot on the Bridge

            Eating with the senior crew three times a day – salads for lunch, delicious meat and fish dishes for dinner and experiencing sunrise and sunset at sea is an experience beyond explanation.  The captain explained in his 25 years of sailing, he had never missed a sunset – always hoping to catch a glimpse of refraction…that green light that bounces off the horizon when the sun hits – he’s only ever seen it twice, and no such luck for me either that trip – proving just how rare this phenomenon was.

            24 hr stops at our destinations allowed just enough time to tour the main sights: bustling local markets of the French Antilles, colonial architecture and the Walled city of Cartagena as well as armed guards with Alsatians tending our ship at Turbo, Colombia (pretty scary, but we were well looked after).

Loading in Turbo, Colombia

For me, the biggest impact of this trip was the sense of peace being at sea affords you: how life is put into perspective out here.  Seamen are quite spiritual people deep down, despite this crew’s Eastern European dour demeanour.  These 5 weeks spent at sea with them – I am starting to see the appeal.

Sunrise - day 1

Hence my decision to undertake another trip in the summer of 2013 - read about my proposed plans here.

Thank you, Kevin Griffiths at the The Cruise People for organising.

A not so conventional person?

I had a very odd conversation with my dad yesterday on the phone.

Me: "Hi dad"
Dad: "Hi love - I'll call you back." (Bless!  Even at my age, he still likes to save me money)
Me: "Hi again.  Have you heard what's happened in the Maldives?" Click here to see the story
Dad: "Yes - are you worried?"

(For those of you who might be wondering why I might be worried, see my past post about my planned trip next year).

Me: "Yes! But when I went across the Atlantic by container, we were in danger in Colombia too."
Dad: "Yes, but that was from drug lords - this is pirates.
Me: "My agent's told me the ships they take passengers on go at twice the speed of the taken ship, have armed escorts and are high sided."
Dad: "Yes, he's trying to tell you those ships aren't as easy to board.  Listen, there's an element of risk either way - you just have to decide if you want to do it."

THAT'S when I had my thunderbolt moment: I'm a woman in her late 30's, not married, no kids  planning a trip to Oz by container ship from Greece through some bl**dy dangerous waters. WHAT a bizarre conversation to be having.  How many other people would be having this sort of conversation with their dads? 

Do I have a death wish?  I know I have a slightly unhealthy desire to 'be different' and non-conventional, but am I pushing boundaries?
Clearly not too unusual as my agent's told me the trips get booked up with passengers up to a year in advance (let me make myself clear, this is NOT a cruise ship, it's a container ship passage).
Obviously, then, there are people out there like me who also take these trips.

The thing that makes me chuckle is the very laconic style of our conversation (my dad and I).
We finish off with:

Dad: "The problem comes is with the guns.  Clearly you don't want to get shot."
Me: "Hmmmm, clearly not, no. 
Dad: "If it comes to it, the crew will tell you to stay inside, and you must do so, understand?"
Me: "Sure - my agent had also said the problem is with the stupid passengers who want too much adventure and go out on deck."
Dad: "Good, so if you follow your instructions of the Captain, you shouldn't get shot at" (said in a very conversational tone I might add).
Me: "Yes, this might be the one time in my life I actually do as I'm told!"

I will have a serious think about this trip, stay in touch with my agent and keep myself well informed.

Container ship anyone??

Those who've read earlier posts will know that I love the sea, and yes, a few years ago I travelled across the Atlantic to the Caribbean by container ship.  I will write a separate post about this soon, I promise.

But now I am considering the ultimate: from Piraeus in Greece (where I am currently) to Melbourne to visit family, but it has to be on 2 ships, via Korea.

Am I mad???  Do I have the money more like.  I will have to look into it some more.  But let's get back to the 'Are you mad??' bit:
No, I don't think I am actually.  It is clear that there is room for passengers on such a journey, and surely the journey is all part of the adventure, not just getting from A to B.

One thing my first experience of a container ship voyage taught me: it's an incredibly humbling experience, being amongst and at the mercy of the elements and Mother Nature.  And sea faring men are very gentle, if not spiritual creatures (despite their gate, build and dour expressions).
And besides, isn't it always nice to try to do something a little different?  And I'll have plenty to write about!

So!  Take a look at this route:

Piraeus                   Day 10 (journey starts in Thamesport)

Suez Canal             Day 12
Jeddah                    Day 15
Colombo                Day 23
Tanjung Pelepas    Day 28
Kaohsiung             Day 34 (24 days total to Kaohsiung)

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Kaohsiung - Melbourne 11 days on HANJIN PRETORIA
No stops, so 11 days straight at sea.

I better get my world atlas out!