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Bali is an island populated by 95% Hindus, but are only 5% of Muslim-majority Indonesia.  As early as the first century CE, Indian traders spread Hinduism and Buddhism to East Asia, including what is now Indonesia.  Hinduism in Indonesia reached its height by the 7^th century. It was during this period that the Buddhist temple of Borobudur was constructed.  (Borobudur was featured in my previous Indonesia blog.)  By the 13^th century, Islam spread through the islands of Sumatra and Java, supplanting Hinduism.  However, Bali remained almost exclusively Hindu, despite the rise to dominance of Islam throughout the rest of what is current-day Indonesia.  Bali has maintained the ancient Hindu religious practices which are also still practiced in India. 

Saudi Arabia could become a great destination for tourists at some point in the future.  They just aren’t there yet.

This essay was written in March 2008, with reflections on visiting Detroit and living in Reno, Nevada. Some images are included.

Approximately one month ago, Houston, Texas was inundated by the storm surge caused by hurricane Harvey. In an unprecedented series of Atlantic hurricanes, Harvey was followed in quick succession by hurricane Irma which struck Florida, hurricane Maria which devastated Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, . . .

For the last twenty years, Dallas has been meeting friends he first met over fifty years ago while a student in Kiel, Germany.  This was the fourth reunion in Greece by the Kieler Old Farts.  Previously, they met on the Greek islands of Poros and Corfu.  This was their second reunion on the Peloponnese Peninsula, where KOF member David has retired.

Our Viking China cruise continued to three port cities I had never heard of before.  The Chinese government seeks to increase tourism, and our cruise is one of the first collaborations with the Chinese government and Viking Cruises.  The ship's staff is 100% Chinese, and the entertainers are all Chinese.  So this particular cruise is different from the usual Viking multi-national staff.

Our ship, the Yi Dun, is named after the first Chinese commercial ship launched in 1872, the Yi Dun.

Chilean wines of world class quality tend to be less expensive than similar European wines due to Chile’s lower labor costs. 

After spending six weeks in Mumbai, India, we were lucky to spend two nights in Instanbul, complements of Turkish Airlines because we had traveled business class.  We spent one full day at the fabulous Topkapi Palace.

In this blog I will share photos from several ports that did not receive blogs dedicated to them.  After the photos, I summarize my thoughts and lasting impressions of the world cruise.