March 21 - The Viking Orion cruised 500 miles to Semarang, a port city in central Java, Indonesia. This is a heavily populated area where 87% are Muslims. We've were told that everyone co-exists well with other sects - Hindu, Protestant, Catholic and Confucianism. We also learned that many traditions dating back thousands of years survived the introduction of different religions. One such tradition is the shaking of hands and asking forgiveness of ones family members and neighbors on a special day even if they are of a different religion.
We took Viking's free tour and visited a 15th Century Chinese Temple, "San Poo Kong," a circa 1753 Catholic, now Protestant Church and toured the "Rainbow Village." This is a slum area that was revitalized. It reminded us of Brazil's favelas.
Richard surprised me by asking the guide if he would have everyone on the bus sing "Happy Birthday" to me! I also received a bottle of champagne and a cake from Viking. The cleaning staff even put birthday greetings on my bed! I feel fortunate to have spent my birthday in his unique location!
Greeting on the Dock
Walking from the bus stop to the church afforded a fwe interesting sites including a call box repurposed as a smart phone charging station.
As several groups including a local high school group were ahead of us, we had to wait a while to enter the church. While we waited we listened to local music. We also sweated a lot.
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