Columbus (CA 74) - Naval Cruise Book

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After two weeks of intensive operations where do we end up for a three day break ? Buckner Bay ! Our brief sojourn at the lower, uninhabited end of Okinawa made us feel as though we were discovering a new island, although in reality the island contained several good-sized American cities. The two most popular spots at Buckner, however, were the EM and Officers ' clubs, both of which were a two minute walk from the landing. A few hardy explorers ventured inland as far as the capital city, Naha, but most explorations of any scale were hindered by the heavy rain and high seas, which made boating dangerous and caused liberty to be cancelled during a good part of our stay. Thus none of us was particularly sorry to leave or happy at the thought that our schedule called for a return trip in early June. Wooden shoes were much in evidence O ivtaoua Naha laborers take five

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a crowded harbor of sampans and junks . . . wealthy hotels and abject poverty . . . rickshaws and rolls royces . . . We had been told that Hong Kong was the place to buy, buy and buy more. The prices on the clothing, cameras, jewelry, luggage, — everything imaginable — were so irresistibly low that we couldn ' t afford to pass them up. So we bought, and at the end of our stay in Hong Kong our pockets were empty, our lockers full, and the shi p ' s draft had been increased two feet. But bargain prices were not all Hong Kong had to offer. The strange and interesting sights were a photographer ' s dream. The harbor was one of the most beautiful in the world. From the top of Victoria Peak, which we scaled by the cable car Peak Tram, the city of Hong Kong lay at our feet, Kowloon stretched across into the New Territories and the border, and the Columbus was just another dot in the harbor. The Egg People , who spend all their lives in tiny sampans rolling to and fro on the waves of Aberdeen Harbor, the garish Tiger Balm Gardens, the refugee huts, and the wealthy homes on the tops of the hills made up a picture of bright colors and sharp contrasts that we would long remember.