Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Adventurers' Club Newsletter May-Aug 2014


                                       Adventurers' Club of Honolulu
       Newsletter May-Aug 2014

When
Where*
Topic and Presenter
Call**
Deadline
Thursday - May 15
OCC
Sailing in Hawaii Continued
Steve Dixon
Erika Wyrtki at 949-2229
Tuesday May 13
Thursday - June 19
WCC
Thailand Travels
Caroline Yacoe and Bill Myers
Wendla Liljestrand at wliljestrand@hawaii.rr.com
or 554-9639 (email preferred)
Tuesday June 17
Thursday - July 17
MGR
The Gem Hunter
Gary Bowersox
Teena Urban at uteena@aol.com
or 946-3551 (email preferred)
Tuesday July 15
Thursday - August 21
PHR
Vietnam Up Close and Personal
Jerry Coiner
Tuesday August 19
*WCC (Waialae Country Club); MGR (Maple Garden Restaurant); 
  PHR (Pagoda Hotel Restaurant); OCC (Outrigger Canoe Club)
Adventurers’ Club members/guests may only book a reservation via our reservationists.
** If making reservations via e-mail, please include the words: Adventurers’ Club Meeting and the Meeting Date If you have to leave a message or are sending an email, please include your phone number.
If unable to reach listed reservationist, please call Erika Wyrtki at 949-2229
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
This year is the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the Adventurers’ Club of Honolulu. Sixty years is a long time but it still is in recent memory. Two of our current members are descendants of one who was there at the beginning. Wendie and Bob Liljestrand remember their father’s activities as a charter member of the Club. The Board of Directors is planning a special event to celebrate this anniversary year. It is made possible by a gift from the estate of Dick Bunker. Details are not available yet, but save the date of October 16 for something special.
Ralph Sprague
   
       Mahalo for renewing your Club membership for 2014
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AUGUST 21, 2014—Vietnam Up Close and Personal
By Member Jerry Coiner
     Jerry Coiner, holds a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Kansas and has extensive international experience as an informations systems design consultant for governments in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He lived and worked as a consultant in Vietnam between 1995 and 1999.   Jerry was intrigued and found it fascinating enough to return as a tourist.
     The name given to the economic reforms initiated in Vietnam in 1986 and 1988, Doi Moi, had the goal of creating a market economy. Because of these programs, Vietnam has since become a standard destination on the tourist circuit in Southeast Asia. The mountainous northwest area of Vietnam was a place of interest for our speaker; it was much less traveled and less familiar to tourists. Starting with the famous battlefield site at Dien Bien Phu, Jerry traveled north to the Chinese border, along the rugged roads that were the supply lines for the Viet Minh, who fought against the South Vietnamese and the U.S. during the Vietnam War. During his travels, Jerry became acquainted with the indigenous Thai peoples, who make up the majority of the population outside of the district towns. He will give us a look at the local weekly markets where a person
can buy a goat and other animals cheap for personal use. 
     Our discussion will take us on a trip through the mountains with the destination of the city of Sapa, the old French summer capital for the Tonkin area.  Coming down from the mountains into the valley of the Black River, travelers to the mountain areas frequently may take the night train back to Hanoi. This is the Kunming/Hanoi railroad which the French built at the expense of one Vietnamese/Chinese life per railroad tie.
Cocktails 6:00 pm Pagoda Hotel—1525 Rycroft Street
The parking lot for the Pagoda is on Rycroft Street. Park on the upper or lower level and use the parking machine to pay $1 per hour. Additional parking is in the ROSS building across the street, also $1 per hour.
Dinner 6:45 pm 
Clam and Taro Soup and Asian Chicken Salad . $20.00
Sake Soy Braised Beef Short Ribs …… $28.00
Seafood Linguini ………………………. $32.00
Misoyake Butterfish ………………......  $27.00
Roasted Salmon ………………………... $24.00
Program 7:30 pm (Approximately)
Reservations Contact Judy Simon at jsimon@hawaii.rr.com   or phone: 373-2359
Late cancellations and no shows will be billed.


LARGE CROWD AT THE FLOATING PAGODA RESTAURANT


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JULY 17, 2014—The Gem Hunter
By Guest Gary Bowersox
Maple Garden—909 Isenberg Street   6:00 pm
   Gary is a Fellow and active member of the The Explorers Club and the Gemological Institute of America Alumni Association. He is also an internationally recognized gem hunter, explorer, lecturer, author, and gemologist. In 1991 he brought the discoveries of high-quality emeralds in Afghanistan to the world’s attention through his "Emeralds of Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan" published in Gems and Gemology Magazine. In 1995 he co-authored the first authoritative book on Afghan gems, entitled GEMSTONES OF AFGHANISTAN, published by Geoscience Press. 
   Gary's love of adventure and passion for precious gems has taken him to more than 80 countries. He has driven three hundred thousand miles to display and sell his gems at jewelry store events throughout the U.S. For our presentation, Gary will tell his own personal story of over 48 years of searching for precious gems in the mountains and valleys of the countries of Afghanistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. During his many adventures of exploration, danger and intrigue, Gary traded gems and stories with miners, ethnic people, freedom fighters, government officials, scientists and on a few occasions international spies. His account is the true story of a life time spent hunting the beautiful rubies, emeralds, sapphires, aquamarines, tourmalines and lapis lazuli.
      Check the web for a photo of Gary in Afghan attire in his younger years.

  

               

































Message from the Membership Chair

In March we welcomed new members Judy Simon and Stanley Jones to our club. 
Their travels are extensive. We look forward to their contribution to our club.
  Now it is time to expand the club to increase the fellowship, make new friends,
and enjoy the presentations. Think of your friends who enjoy travel. Invite them
as guests, and urge them to join.

Let me know and I will send a membership application.

Janet Miller          Miller@HI808.US             732-3506
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  JUNE 19, 2014—Thailand Travels
By Members Caroline Yacoe and Bill Myers
Bill and Caroline traveled to Thailand; they traveled by a number of modes including elephant, car, foot and motorcycle. They first visited the Royal Palace situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in the Phra Nakhon District. The Grand Palace consists of numerous buildings, halls, and pavilions built entirely of wood set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam and later Thailand since 1782. Next they visited the old Khmer capital of Ayuttaya. From the 16th to the 18th century Ayutthaya was the capital and cultural center of the central Thai kingdom. The extensively restored historical park of Ayutthaya was selected as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994.
      Next they visited Phuket, somewhat smaller than the size of Singapore, and Thailand’s largest island in the southern provinces of Thailand. A friend of theirs had settled in this area. This friend invited Bill and Caroline to visit Issan, located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River along the border with Laos to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains. 
     In Issan, agriculture is the main economic activity. Production lags behind the rest of the country due to the poor socio-economic conditions and the exceptionally hot, dry climate. Isan remains Thailand's lowest economic region. When Bill and Caroline went to Issan, water buffalos walked through the streets. They saw rice paddies as far as one could see. Behind the houses silk weaving procedures resulted in beautiful fabrics unique to the area.
   They had a unique and wonderful experience sharing life with this local family.

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MAY 15, 2014—Adventure Sailing in Hawaii Continued
By Guest Steve Dixon
    Previously, Captain Steve Dixon spoke to us of his sailing trip on his sailing vessel, Lanakila, to Kauai and his escapades there. He extends his adventures this time, speaking to us of his favorite sailing trip to Hale O Lono, Molokai; Manele Bay, Lanai; Mala Bay near Lahaina, Maui, and Kaunakakai on Molokai. Steve began his sailing trip with two of his friends for a number of years and his two dogs. Steve's first crew left him at Kaunakakai, Molokai, where he subsequently wasjoined on this trip by his family, consisting of his wife, son, and two grandchildren. 
     On Molokai, the family enjoyed a stay at a timeshare and saw all the sights on Molokai including wild peacocks and turkeys at the timeshare, the lookout at the anchorage in Kalaupapa Bay, hiking and swimming in Halawa Valley and Bay. During their stay, they met up with an old friend who had sailed around all of the "great capes" of the world in a wooden schooner. The family bought fresh fish for dinner from the fisherman at Kaunakakai Pier. 
    Next, the family sailed to Manele Bay on Lanai. Their grandchildren were excited by the passage across the Molokai Channel with the somewhat dangerous thirty knot trade winds and six to eight foot breaking seas. Leaving Manele Bay, our intrepid sailors were delighted to be able to have the unusual experience of getting a slip in Lahaina Small Boat Harbor. Leaving Lahaina on their way back to Honolulu, the crew sailed "down wind" to Kaunakakai, then to Lono Harbor at the southwest end of Molokai. The passage was completed by sailing a "broad reach" through the very active waves of the channel between Molokai and Oahu.
   










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