Travel Letters: Japan, 1934

ReadAboutContentsVersionsHelp
m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_26

m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_26

the same food as 1st class, may be not as fancy names, but excellent waiters and stewards. All the boys are Chinese and very efficient. They look well in long white coats to their ankles, black trousers tied at the ankle and black slippers. The room steward the same. There is a good sized lounge and a very nice smoking room with a bar and above that room for deck tennis. also back of the lounge on deck a ping pong table. A nice swimming pool on deck which was used the first few days out. One very nice thing they do is to leave the gate open when in port so you can go anywhere on the boat and also before nine in the morning it is left open to give the tourists a chance for a real walk around the Promenade deck. They also invited us to the movie in first class and to the dance there, which seems pretty nice. We have a nice stewardess. Young but on these boats some time and she & our steward arrive with our tea every morning about seven.

Last edit about 2 years ago by Barbara
m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_27

m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_27

We have soup at eleven and a delicious English Tea at four. I can't think what more one could want. The people are all very nice. mostly quiet and friendly. Yet they leave you alone if you don't want to enter the games etc. There's no doubt about it the Canadian Pacific know how to do things and there's no comparison between this and the Lurline. Here everyone is anxious to do what they can for you and there is real tradition behind it all. On the Lurline the service was pretty poor and you had a feeling that the people doing things for you felt way above you.

The funny part is that we feel right at home. Banff is a pretty small place and yet its almost a password when you are travelling. I think the first to speak to us was a boy who wanted to know if Pete was Cliff's brother. He had spent some time in Banff. Then the Sergeant at Arms Sterling had seen Pete on the "Asia" four years ago, also had spent his leave in Banff last summer. Then the Staff Captain who is next the Captain in

Last edit about 2 years ago by Barbara
m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_28

m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_28

command came and ate breakfast with us the first morning. Again he had been in Banff last summer, knew the Brewsters and all. Next we met 'Coltreed?' from Vancouver, a passenger agent, he's a great skier and interested in Skoki. has been skiing in Japan, we had a long talk with him. He knows a lot we do. Then Mr Vienol who is head of all the food on the Empress boats travels back & forth. worked once at Lake Louise. Tonight the Doctor came and sat with us and our conversation was about weather, until he said where do you live? --- {continuous line} not one of the Whites in Banff? and again we were off. He had had charge of some camp in Banff in 1919 for disabled veterans and knew everyone. ended by our having liqueurs in his cabin and meeting Bonner an engineer who's sister in law we know well in Banff and he's spending his next leave there. Its really funny. Its been lots of fun in meeting so many with mutual friends.

Last edit about 2 years ago by Barbara
m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_29

m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_29

Thursday morning.

It hardly seems possible that we arrive in Japan at daylight tomorrow morning. I only finished Japan -Day - by - Day yesterday noon and counted on today to write letters. As soon as I started writing the waves grew in size and now this morning we are pitching up and down at a great rate. The Staff Captain took us up on the bridge and also under the bridge and Pete got some pictures of the bow going into the waves and the spray flying. It was hard as a gale was blowing and the spray blew back over the boat. Still he may have gotten something. the Staff Captain Goddard took us into his cabin. Pete changed his film & went out again while I was left inside to look through an album of photographs which Capt. Goddard explained at the same time smoking a rather powerful pipe. Pete came back and seemed in no hurry to leave though I kept thinking how nice fresh air would be. Its the first time I've felt one bit squeamish on this boat. Luckily we went out again before it was too late and now having had some soup I feel more like myself. Pearl Moore recomends [m..tines] so I may resort to a few before long.

Last edit about 2 years ago by Barbara
m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_30

m36_i_a_2b_i_94_03_30

The other morning we went with some others through the kitchens. It was very interesting and very clean and efficient looking. They have fresh milk & cream on this boat except for cooking and then they use the manufactured kind. There didn't seem to be nearly as many machines for things as they had on the Hoover, where everything was done by machinery. peeling potatoes and all. On this boat its all electric which makes it very clean and every one is Chinese but the Chief Chef and baker and maybe two others. Seems to me all the machinery they had on the Hoover took up an awful lot of room and would make the services very slow. Here it is almost [instan...eous] and way ahead of the Surline. The Chinese boys are awfully good and anticipate all your wishes like water butter & extra cutlery. After the kitchens we went through the store rooms and then down to steerage. They have rooms with thirty bunks or more in them. Two or three deep and you can look through gratings in the top & bottom of the rooms partitions They are very white & clean and are fumigated twice a day I believe. One room we saw was empty but the

Last edit about 2 years ago by Barbara
Displaying Page 26 - 30 of 303 in total