Happy New Year; that is happy Chinese New Year. Today is the lunar New Year which is celebrated all over Asia, not just China. At breakfast this morning the servers taught me how to say happy new year in three different Asian languages. “Kung Hei Fat Choi” is Cantonese. “Selamat Tahun Baru” is Indonesian. “Megan Dang Umaga” is from the Philippines.

The Chinese zodiac has twelve animal signs depending on the lunar calendar and your birth year. This is the year of the pig. Each animal has certain personality traits. Sandy and I are both pigs as are seven of our forty-seven Road Scholar group. Perhaps, that is why we chose 2019 for this grand voyage. Regardless, Road Scholar gave each of us a little pink pig. I photographed mine with the Pacific Ocean in the background but it failed to upload.

The Lido deck, where we have our informal meals mostly lunch and breakfast, was decorated for the occasion. This evening a special Chinese dinner was planned. I ate in the dining room because I am spoiled by the service, but I did have Chinese food in honor of the holiday. The show, a magician/illusionist, was excellent as they all have been though he had nothing to do with New Years or pigs.