Pine Island (AV 12) - Naval Cruise Book

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Getting off the Liberty Launch at Blake Pier it -'-l seemed only natural for us to gaze around at the very cute young.Chinese girls, and to observe the well-turned ankle and leg exposed through the slit up the ,side ,nf their 'beautiful real silk dresses. 'After a few minutes of this interesting pastime we decided to get down to the business of sightseeing the area. -Ipnquiring for the direc- tion of the peak tramway, it wasn't too long before we were aboard the cable car for the ascent to Victoria Peak, 1825 feet above the city of Hong Kong. The sensation was like going up that first hill for a ride on a roller coaster, it was very steep and in some places it looked as if we were climbing vertically. Looking behind us we saw Hong Kong and Kowloon stretched out like a map and the Pine Island 'looked like a toy ship as did all the other ships in the bay. After a breath-taking ride down the side of Victoria Peak we turned our way towards Tiger Balm Gardens, the site of a former estate of af wealthy Chinese mer- chant that pooled a tremendous fortune from the sale of Tiger Balm, a patent medicine cure-all for snake bites including everything else from dandruff to' in-grown toenails. ' i . Anyhow this - garden surrounds a beautiful estate and it is terraced' along the side of a steep hill with many life-size statues and paintings depicting some part of China's past history. Towering over the entire .area is a 'large white Pagoda with many balconies and hundreds of steps to the top. Jumping into a taxi, No! Not from the top of the Pagoda, we drove tO Aberdeen Village, a typical unspoiled fishing village where everything goes on in the same manner as it was the custom for the past one thous- and years. The only noticeable change being the paved highway, the hand operated gas street lights or the few electric light bulbs in the houses and shops. The village is built facing its main source of revenue, mainly the small bay which was packed solid with large and small junkstor sampans, the shops or small work shops are many, the smitty is here hammering out'everything required aboard ship, the sailmakers are making sails or fishnets, the rope makers maybe seen hard at work, also the barrel maker making kegs and buckets by hand, each stave fitting into place perfectly, the fish ,hook maker' deftly turning a piece of wire into a fine fish hook and the shoemaker, man or woman, may be seen cutting the leather and stitching the shoe by-drawing the thread by hand. just about now was a good time for a swim, hailing another cab it was just a short ride to Repulse Bay Beach where we jumped into bathing suits for a nice cool dip in the refreshing waters of the clear blue Pacific. This place is surely a dream spot, one of the finest so far encountered on ourxcruise, we all thought' what a wonderful place in which to -spend a honeymoon with our sweethearts. It was at this very same spot that the Japanese came to take Hong Kong' and the familiar ,sight of their pillboxes can be seen from their camouflage positions serving the 'Chinese refugees as a home. ' t Finishing our swim and a toddy or two, well five toddies but who counts anyway, we cornered a cab for a quick ride over the' mountain ridge to the heavily populated Chinese business section of'Hong Kong for a bit of bargaining with the merchants. 'The air was filled with a spicy scent and the hum of many voices with the clang of Chinese music in the background and everyone shouting the me-rits of their merchandise, the men and women transporting the wares to' and from the shops and godowns- upon their shoulders. It seems that all China is transported on the backs of its people. i-Getting good buys on silk blouses, linen goods, suits and handmade shoes ,we withdrew from here to one of the 'famous restaurants for a delicious T-bone steak dinner, which set us back less than one U. S. dollar. So ended a day of. sightseeing. - A I J.iH. Boulger,,Lt. 82 ' . M ..-. ... - 5, s 1 E E i E l i l li 5 1 2 s 3 E C i E

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3 1 ilu iz 1 at 'l ii 2 ii fs l 4 Q, gi f Zi 4, Fi. '2 Qi 2 T 5 E Z -QM l Q 2 2 3 s 3 ii 15 A il fl is ll 4 , 41 f i E E31 ii 1 V! 9: fa 4 1 I l I 5-61 A For some of the men, this was the first Christmas away from home, away from their wives and familiesg awakening on Christmas morning on the PINE ISLAND two days out of Yokosuka, Japan, it seemed like avery dreary day. However, as the day progressed, the Xmas spirit began to prevail, especially with the holiday routine and a delicious turkey dinner complete with all the trimmings, which ' was reminiscent of past Christmases back home. - The better-part of the afternoon was spent in putting finishing touches to the Christmas trees prior to the arrival of the Tree Judging Committee, the few of us that toured the different divisions, to see what they had to offer in the Way of decorations, were well impressed by the ingenuity used to capture the holiday spirit with the small amount of material available. ' - A i It might well be noted here that in anticipation of our being at sea overthe Christmas holidays, enough Christmas trees for each division had been previously purchased in San Diegoand- stored in the ship's coolers. - Peter J. Roskowski, BMGI, as chairman of the Welfare and Recreation Committee announced, the winner-of the Christmas, Tree trimming contest to be the gang from Main Coinimunications, representing O-C Division, it was thought that they had the most outstanding and novel tree, using discarded radio tubes as part of the decoration and a flashing light for the main star. . ' ' . . ' , n Capt. L. C. Simpler' presented the division representatives with a large Christmas cake and spoke briefly to the crew, extending to them, on behalf of his ,officers and' himself, best wishesfor A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. - In the evening a Happy Hour was held in the crew's mess' hall, during which members of the crew with acting ability, put on a wonderful entertainment for all handsg this concert ranged from a barber-shop quartet to hill-billy songs, one out- standing performer was L. J. Kinkel, FCC, who kept the audience amused for a good half-hour with his guitar and his almost risque songs. A I ' Di J. Hanlon, SN' as D. H. smith, SN 34