John and Diane's Amazing Adventure - Part II

[Johnny B]

March 29 – Day ?

Hong Kong to Guilin, China

 

On travel days, you sit and wait for the bus. Then you sit in the bus while you drive to the airport. You check in and sit waiting for the plane. Then you sit in the plane and fly to your destination. Then you sit and wait for your bus, sit in the bus and get to the hotel. With all that sitting, why in the world are we so darned tired?

 

We left Hong Kong at 12:30 and drove to the relatively new airport. When we flew in for the Handover in 1997, it was to the old airport, where we flew so close to high rise apartment buildings that we could almost see people shaving in the morning. Now, the airport is on Lantau Island, and it’s modern and beautiful and has so many upscale stores a person could spend millions. John found some really nice $100 (US) ties that we could have bought at Stanley Market at 3 for $10.00.

 

The flight was quick, only an hour and a half, and then things started getting a little complicated. It seems that our Guilin tour company thought we were coming in at 8:30 instead of 6:30, so suggested we just wait at the airport for two hours. That wasn’t going to work, of course, so Ellen got on the phone and shook someone up enough to get us a bus within about 25 minutes.

 

The ride to the hotel was extremely educational. We passed by rice fields and saw small, poor villages where people lived in wood and dirt hovels with dirt floors. There were small markets in the villages, all open to the front. Then we arrived in Guilin to find a modern city with lots of nice looking shops and hotels. Our hotel, the Sheraton, is right on the Li River, and the interior is built around an atrium that is open and beautiful. We didn’t get to dinner until about 8:00 because of our late arrival, but it was a wonderful Chinese and western buffet, with everything from dim sum to pizza.

 

After a quick walk by the river and a look at nearby shops, we headed back to the hotel to sleep after our basically do-nothing, exhausting day. Tomorrow is our cruise on the Li River and a visit to Yangshuo (about which we know nothing), so an early night is a really good idea.

[Johnny B]

Your m/v Discovery cruise sounds wonderful - except for the rough seas. We did see you in port, but, mea culpa, I forgot to mention it. We are really, really jealous of you getting to Seychelles. We instituted the anti-pirate measures too, but we didn't get the barbed wire on the back of the ship. Never having been to the Seychelles, I can say with authority that I would have liked it better than the "bikini police" on the Maldives. And yes, I'm sure our stabilizers are pretty good, but there were still "the bags" on racks next to the elevators as well as green apples and saltines in baskets at the front desk. Fortunately, we don't get seasick (knock on wood!), so we thought it was great fun.

 

Thanks for sharing about your cruise.

[Bescotti]

March 29 – Day ?

Tomorrow is our cruise on the Li River and a visit to Yangshuo (about which we know nothing), so an early night is a really good idea.

 

I did a land tour of China several years ago and our Li River cruise finished in Yangshou and I found the shops there were the best value of my entire trip through China. I don't know if that's still the case but I was kicking myself afterwards in Shanghai that I hadn't bought the items I'd wanted in Yangshou!

 

By the way, I'm really enjoying your blog - you should get an OBC from HAL as I'm sure a lot of CC members would now be looking at the upcoming world cruises!

[SwissMyst]

Your m/v Discovery cruise sounds wonderful - except for the rough seas. We did see you in port, but, mea culpa, I forgot to mention it. We are really, really jealous of you getting to Seychelles. We instituted the anti-pirate measures too, but we didn't get the barbed wire on the back of the ship. Never having been to the Seychelles, I can say with authority that I would have liked it better than the "bikini police" on the Maldives. And yes, I'm sure our stabilizers are pretty good, but there were still "the bags" on racks next to the elevators as well as green apples and saltines in baskets at the front desk. Fortunately, we don't get seasick (knock on wood!), so we thought it was great fun.

 

Thanks for sharing about your cruise.

 

Hi and thanks for your wonderful trip report. I am so sorry to hear about your mugging - these were strange souvenirs to bring back, but this too is part of travel and exploration of culture clashes. I am glad to know you did not let it ruin your trip.

 

The Seychelles were wonderful, but like everything else that hugs the equator as you noted, they were also extremely hot and humid which made getting around a real chore. But we did get to La Digue and swam in the very warm waters near those very picturesque eroded granite rocks. That is one of the most photographed places in this island group and what drew me half way around the world to see and experience it. It was to die for lovely.

 

And we did like the main island Port Victoria on Mahe a lot for its low key "colonial" life. The open air, ceiling-fanned Pirates Arms was the local social club and the ideal place for people watching along with their version of ginger beer and a very welcome club sandwich.

 

I would have been sorely disappointed to have missed the Seychelles and our captain arranged for us to have three different stops to get a feel for their variety. One stop on the cocodemer island, then La Digue, and then the main island Mahe.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I would not go back simply because of its equator location and the constant heat and humidity. Doubt if that makes you feel any better though. Yes, I think they might be worth a slow and lazy land based couple of weeks, basing yourself on the main island and poking around from there on your own comfort level and pace.

 

Do you think you might have missed this port because of the rough seas in this area instead of pirate warnings, though I bet HAL is more cautious about any possibilities after that last brush with this with the Rotterdam last year, than the Discovery, which I shared was full of stalwart Brits who would have given any pack of pirates a run for it. We later never read anything about any attacks there, but who knows what might have been on the radar then.

 

The moment in Port Luis, Mauritius we shared with the Amsterdam I remember best is when both ships tooted at each other leaving port together and you veered off to the north and we veered off to the south. Gives me chills just recalling our "two ships passing in the night", and never to cross paths again. (Until here!)

 

Bravo to you for walking all that way into town. Those rogue water taxis were a trip in their own right, but sure helped us to hit the ground running in Port Luis right away. Our three night stop there worked out better than we originally expected and it was nice to be docked in the same place for a while at this point. Plus .... ta da .... this was my 100th country that I have visited, so we really made it special. Now I get to join the Travel Century Club - finally. Now I don't have to worry about collecting new countries. My feet landed in Mauritius and that finally put me over the top.

 

Best wishes and happy travels. And thank you again for your wonderful trip reports.

 

We also had a total screw up in the Maldives and got very little out of it too and I have to put a black mark on the ships excusion for that one, since we splurged to have a morning over-view flight of the islands which was very pricey but since we would also have the afternoon at Kuda Bandos off shore from the capital city Male, for an afternoon of snorkeling in a drop dead gorgeous crater lagoon.

 

However, for some unknown reasons the flight was delayed until the afternoon so we had to miss the snorkeling and only wandered around that dreary little town to get back on the ship, be taken out to Kuda Bandos and then taken back to the airport island by speedboat and then had to sit in the airport for several hours until it was very late afternoon for our 15 minute flight.

 

It finally dawned on me at this late date this trip would be only 7 minutes up and 7 minutes back and they took us over their garbage island, the school island, the electricity production island and only a very few of the really pretty ones, plus since it was late afternoon, the sun was fiercely in our eyes on that side of the plane so half the trip (7 minutes of our total 15) you couldn't see anything. @##!%%!!!

 

Sure, they disclosed this and said it would be a 15 minute flight but somehow I thought it would be a circle tour or something, not 7 minutes up and 7 minutes back. For reference, it takes a few hours to get to the bottom of the island chain, so 7 minute away from the busy, packed capital and airport island was not really seeing these islands in their pristine glory. At all. Bummer.

 

So the Maldives was virtually a wasted experience for us and a huge dent in our shore excursion budget not only for what we got, but for what we didn't get by missing that dreamy snorkeling experience that sadly other passengers claimed was the highlight of their whole segment (Singapore to Mauritius)

 

Drat on Maldivian Airlines - don't use them anyone else! They were very indifferent to our plight and we barely got back to the ship in time as we then had to take the speed boat all the way back to the ship docked off Kuda Bandos. That was a very good time to be under the care of a ship excursion so at least we did not have to worry about being left behind. But what a total waste of money (about US$400 each!).

 

But at least we saw them and again, lands lying around the equator are a travel challenge. We spent a lot of our whole trip traversing it and it took its toll. I was so happy to get a few degrees south of it finally.

[Johnny B]

March 30

Guilan – Li River

 

We booked this tour to see the Terra Cotta Warriors, not even realizing that it included a cruise on the Li River. When we finally saw that, we said, “What’s the Li River?” Well, let me tell you, it is spectacular!

 

We hopped on our bus this morning, and had to drive an hour and a half because there’s been a serious drought here, and the part of the river that’s usually used for cruises doesn’t have enough water in it, so we get to drive further. It rained today, for the first time in a month, and they’re hoping that the summer rains will help raise the river level.

 

As we neared the river, limestone mountains stuck up in the mist like fat fingers covered with moss and trees. The river lay before us, edged with bamboo groves, and we saw dozens of three story houseboat-looking vessels lined up along the bank. We boarded ours, went to the second (non-smoking) level as assigned and sat down to large pots of Chinese tea – perfect to warm us on a cold, rainy morning. The Chinese smoke like chimneys, so we were really glad to be upstairs.

 

Our boat took off, proceeding down the narrow, rain-starved river, our attention drawn to the amazing green limestone peaks surrounding us. It seems like every Chinese art gallery has paintings of mist-shrouded peaks on a wide green river. Now we know where they’re painted.

 

Looking in front and in back, it seems to be a colorful parade of boats progressing up the river. Alongside us are little bamboo boats, holding at most four people and more open to the elements. There are even long, surfboard-sized boats made of bamboo trunks, on which a single man stands, paddles, and then holds on to one of our boats to try to sell his wares. They sold produce, eggs, and even carved figurines that looked like jade but were a much less expensive stone.

 

Later, as we got to the turnaround point, lunch was cooked on the back of the ship and served in large containers as a buffet. There were several mystery dishes, but overall it was quite good (I’m partial to the noodles) – at least until John saw dishes being washed in the river.

 

After disembarking, we drove about a half hour to Yangshuo, a charming little town with a pedestrians-only shopping area. I don’t think much shopping was done, but some people picked up little, inexpensive trinkets. One of the things we kept seeing was a display that said “Tibetan silver,” with a cloth covered with bracelets and other jewelry. Some of it was pretty, but I really can’t bring myself to buy something that came from a country that was taken over by China’s military. There was a McDonald’s there, of all places, but that was nothing compared to the TWO KFC’s. The Colonel is all over China!

 

Our final stop, for only 20 minutes, was at an art school/gallery, where they sell work done by the students. We decided to buy a smallish wall hanging, showing part of the Li River with bamboo trees in the foreground. It really is pretty – now we have to figure out where to put it.

 

Dinner tonight was the Chinese (shocking, isn’t it?) restaurant across the street. It was again a large table for 8 or 10 with a lazy Susan in the middle, on which they just kept putting more and more food. We had fried rice, sweet and sour fish, beef and onion, fried bananas, corn soup, pork skewers, salad, stir-fried vegetables and, for dessert, watermelon. It was really quite delicious.

 

Tomorrow it’s up and on the bus at 8:00, to the airport and fly to Xian for the Warriors. Can’t wait!

[Johnny B]

March 31

Guilin to Xian

 

Everyone’s seen pictures of the Terra Cotta Warriors and wondered, I guess, how in the world they came to be. Well, I’m here to tell you that they are just as spectacular in person – even more so, even on a wet and dreary day in Xian.

 

We were up early, off to the airport by 8:00, flew from Guilan to Xian and had a multi-course Chinese lunch – in the airport coffee shop, of all places. Then we were off to the warriors. Our Chinese guide was named Jenny, but we learned in Guilin that when Chinese students learn English, they must take an English name, so Jenny it was. I thought that must be the rule of some repressive Chinese department, but John told me that in his French class he was required to take a French name, too. The day was not lovely. It just rained and rained and rained. We know they’ve had a severe drought, so we couldn’t be too upset about it, but boy oh boy was it wet.

 

The warriors complex is beautiful, with pagoda-looking modern buildings housing all the important parts of the display. Our first stop was “Pit No. 1,” the largest excavation of warriors. The building itself is the size of a football field under a huge arched roof. This is the place where most of the photos are taken. There’s a visitor walkway around the inner perimeter of the wall which takes you from the front, where most of the warriors are, to the side, where there are still unexcavated areas, to the back, where they’re working on restoration of statues, to the other side where you can watch archeologists removing and putting together warriors. We were told that there are, in total, 7,000 warriors and that each and every one is unique. We could see that they each have different facial expressions and slight differences in clothing. . Probably the most interesting thing we learned is that every single warrior except one was broken and, like Humpty Dumpty, needed to be put back together again We just took picture after picture and hope that lots of them turn out well.

 

Next we went to the “Cinema Building.” There they have what Disney used to call Circarama, where the room is circular and projectors make the whole thing into a 360-degree movie. It tells about Emperor QinShihuang who unified China, built the Great Wall, and had all of these warriors made over his 40-year reign so that they could guard his tomb and protect him. Earlier, a king’s slaves were buried alive with him (charming little cultural tidbit), but that had been made illegal, so the terra cotta warriors would have to do. It was, however, still OK to bury a king’s concubines alive when he died. Thank you, Gloria Steinem. There’s a gift shop attached where “genuine imitation” warriors can be purchased in any size, from about 2” to life size, using the same processes as were used for the emperor’s warriors. We only bought the exhibit’s explanatory book and then had one of the farmers who discovered the warriors sign it. How cool is that?

 

After watching the 17-minute movie, we headed to Pit #3, the smallest, containing only 68 warriors, one chariot and four horses to pull it. It’s also the only one that is U-shaped.

After pits 1 and 3, number 2 was fairly disappointing, since, although it was huge, it is completely unexcavated. The best thing was that it had several beautifully restored warriors in glass cases, explaining who they represented and what identified them. The museum was next, and while it had some interesting exhibits, it was dwarfed in consequence by the pits themselves.

 

We finished up at the Tea House, our agreed upon meeting point, where you could just sit and rest, come in out of the rain, or have a Chinese tea ceremony. I watched them bring out six tiny cups in a large bowl of hot water, take them out, dry them, and give one to each person sitting at the table, preparatory to serving tea in them. It was great. We headed back to our bus, drove the hour to our absolutely wonderful hotel, the Shangri-La, in the middle of Xian, and had 45 minutes to “rest” before meeting in the lobby for dinner and a show.

 

Since we came back cold, wet and exhausted, I brought up the possibility of eating at the hotel, skipping the show, and going to bed early. John had other ideas, however, since people who had seen the show raved about it, so. . . off we went to the Tang Dynasty Dinner Restaurant. To begin with, the six course dinner was outstanding. We began with soy marinated chicken fillet, followed by mushroom consommé and crispy fried king prawns (delicious) accompanied by honey-glazed cashews (oh, yum). The main course was two small fillets of beef with rice, and the dessert was called “orange surprise,” a kind of orange soup with pineapple and palm seeds – much better than it sounds. The dinner got several thumbs up from our table.

 

But then the show began. I had had visions of Chinese opera, which I really don’t care for, but it was nothing like that. Everything was based on information from the Tang Dynasty, both from books and drawings. If you like costuming, this would have really interested you. The outfits were made of hundreds of yards of brightly colored silk. The program was divided into two parts, dance and instrumental. The dance began with what I think is called “ribbon dancing,” and was seen at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. The dancing was incredibly graceful, and the young ladies who performed had not one extra ounce of fat on any part of any of their bodies. The musical instruments used were all based on Tang history, and they have been re-created from pictures and writings of the period. It was a marvelous show, and I’m really glad that John talked me into it.

 

Today (it’s Thursday morning here now) we’re off to the Xian city wall as well as the Wild Goose Pagoda, followed by a dumpling lunch at Dufaching, and then on a plane to Shanghai to rejoin the ship. We’re hoping for the rain to hold off until we board the plane, but we know they need the rain, so we can’t object very much.

[DFD1]

Remarkable and Wonderful ! Great fun to read your reports filled with so many interesting things. Thank you so much.

 

This thread is a treasure!

[lagunaman]

March 30

Guilan – Li River

 

Spectacular AND awe inspiring

 

I did this same tour last August- one of the advantages of being in Phuket- Air Asia and the chance to easily visit so many exotic places.

 

Guillin itself I found more enchanting at night-with the lights on the lake and the sounds of opera singing also the Sheraton was very comfortable--I would certainly recommend it

 

Yangshou is characterful and charming, plus another day out from there takes you to scenery that rivals Switzerland !

 

I am adding myself to the long list of many readers that are so enjoying your writing and superbly descriptive style--your students were sure lucky --I assume that English etc was a subject you taught?

 

Like yourselves, I am a HAL fan and presently looking forward to 24 port intensive Mediterranean days on the Westerdam in May.

 

Continue to enjoy every day !

[Johnny B]

April 1, 2010

Xi’An and Shanghai

 

No rain! Sunshine! The joys of sightseeing in good weather. We headed out early to the

Big Wild Goose Pagoda and its surrounding buildings. The pagoda itself was designed by a monk who had traveled to India and stayed for many years to study the sayings of Buddha. When he returned to Xi’An (I learned how to spell it correctly as well as the correct pronunciation: See-Ahn), he was celebrated by the Emperor and his subjects and was given land on which to build a pagoda. It’s seven stories tall and was built in the 14th Century. More recently (only a couple of hundred years ago), other smaller temples were added as well as beautiful gardens, and I could have spent most of the day there, relaxing, meditating, and generally lowering my blood pressure. Jennie, our guide, told us that her father is the best-known landscape designer in Xi’An and that he had designed a large section of the grounds. It was really quite lovely.

 

Next, we headed to the Xi’An city wall. One of the ladies in our group asked, “Is it the Great Wall?” and Jennie’s answer was “No, it’s better.” The wall is 7.4 miles long and encloses 11.5 square kilometers, having been built in the 1300’s during the Ming Dynasty to enclose the ancient city of Xi’An. Jennie, said that the first time she traveled to Beijing and visited the Great Wall, she was disappointed because the top of it is narrower than “her” city wall. This one is 12-14 meters (37-43 feet) wide, and is complete. If you want to do the complete circuit, you can walk, rent a bicycle, or hire a bicycle rickshaw. It is advertised as “the longest, most intact, and best preserved complete city wall” in the world. It was great! We spent about 45 minutes walking a section of it and climbing to the upper story of one of the guard towers for a wonderful view of old Xi’An.

 

Since we had an early flight to Shanghai to rejoin the ship, we had an early lunch at Defaching, an extremely well known “dumpling” restaurant. We learned that in the south of China they call them Dim Sum, but in the north they’re dumplings. The meal was unbelievable. We again sat at one of the large tables with a lazy susan in the middle and began with cold plates: pea pods, a type of cole slaw, and green beans with shrimp, Then the dumplings began . . . and went on and on and on. There were 18 different kinds, and I think we tried all of them. There were ham and corn, tomato, vegetable, pork, spicy pork, chicken, mushroom, pumpkin and chicken, sweet walnut . . . and on and on. These were accompanied by our choice of beer, water or soft drinks, and the rice wine was unlimited. It’s a cloudy white color and tastes a bit like alcoholic tapioca. It wasn’t my cup of tea (which is what I had instead). After we had stuffed ourselves with dumplings, they brought out the hot pot, a chicken/duck/mushroom soup which is cooked on a burner in the middle of the table. They also throw in some mini-dumplings, and the number you have in your soup tells your fortune. For example, I had 5, which indicates that I will have a good harvest this year, and John had 4, giving him prosperity (maybe that suite IS in our future).

 

After lunch, we waddled out into Bell Tower-Drum Tower Square, smack dab in the middle of old Xi’An. The two towers are directly across from one another and the square is in between. In the old days, when people didn’t have watches or cell phones to tell them the time, the bell was rung in the morning to announce the opening of the wall’s main gate, and the drum was beaten in the evening to announce its closing. At one corner of the square is The Bell Tower Hotel, a perfect location. When we come back to Xi’An, that’s where we’re staying.

 

The flight back was rough but, thankfully short. We arrived in Shanghai, formerly the largest city in the world (since replaced by a city in central China, Ching Qin (I know, nobody’s heard of it) with 30 million people. The part of the city that we drove through was really new and quite nice, and the airport is the biggest I’ve ever seen. When we arrived at our ship, we found, to our delight, that, unlike Hong Kong, now WE have the view of the amazing buildings across the river. Right across from us is The Pearl, a truly wonderful building with spheres at the top and bottom and a three-sided vertical bit in between. One of the buildings has a huge flat surface on which a sequence of beautiful paintings appear. I particularly like the bamboo which blows in the wind. The lights were fantastic in Hong Kong, but Shanghai has upped the ante.

 

So, home again. While we like our wonderful and expansive hotel rooms, it’s nice to get back to our cute little 292 square foot room/verandah. Now, if we could just have one of those huge bathrooms that we left behind.

[Johnny B]

April 2 – Day 87

Shanghai

 

Whatever I expected of Shanghai, I was wrong. It is the most amazing city. Somehow I guess I thought it would be like a 30’s movie about China, with peasants squatting by the unpaved roads and girls with silk dresses slit up the side – stupid, I know, but that was my mental picture. Instead, it is an incredibly modern city, with more high rises now than New York and a shopping street, mostly pedestrian, about a mile long. I don’t know how you feel about communism, but that street is almost a temple to capitalism. There are more high-end stores on that thoroughfare and the ones nearby than I’ve ever seen in one place in my life.

 

The city is clean as a whistle (I just love clichés), in preparation for the Shanghai Expo which is to take place this year from May until October. It’s the equivalent of a world’s fair, and the city expects hundreds of thousands of visitors.

 

We began our walk this morning at about 9:30 by crossing the bridge to the Bund, the riverside area that just in the last couple of weeks has completed a total renovation. It is a wonderful walk, and we continued down to the Peace Hotel with its green roof, where we turned onto Nanjing Street, the shopping mecca of Shanghai. We continued up the street for the full mile, stopping in little gimmicky shops, department stores, and even a Starbucks. I learned later today that everyone else’s cappuccinos and mochas are about a third the price of Starbucks – a little late. At the end of the street is the People’s Plaza, a huge expanse of green containing the Shanghai Museum, which our port lecturer, Barbara, thinks is the best in the world.

 

From there we just wandered toward The Old City, finding a Hershey’s store where we bought a few goodies, and walking on some extremely high pedestrian overpasses to get across streets that were almost freeways. We finally decided to give up our search, because we just couldn’t find the darned place, and then a block later, there it was. It’s kind of like Old China by Disney, with matching buildings and about a billion people. There are restaurants, shops, a koi pond, the Yu Gardens, the Temple of the City God, and who knows what else. We decided it would be great to have another dumpling lunch and we found the sign for the dumpling restaurant, but we looked high and low and couldn’t find the blasted restaurant. Finally we decided just to walk back toward the area where we started, and two blocks later found a Delice de France, where we picked up two sort of sandwiches – actually bread baked with ham and pesto inside. They were perfect for eating as we walked, and we then just walked some more.

 

We had decided to go back to the Shanghai version of “Pick N Save” where we had bought a kaleidoscope, to pick up a dozen – enough for everyone at our table as well as our two waiters. They were, of course, incredibly cheap, but a fun little gift. After that task was completed, it was back to the ship, where we finally arrived at 3:00. If you’re counting (and we were), that’s 5-1/2 hours of walking, excluding only 20 minutes at Starbucks. Oh my.

 

Today is Good Friday, and services, as usual for port days, are at 4:30, just before sailaway at 5:00. We have absolutely loved Shanghai, and have added it, most enthusiastically, to the list of “places we’ll come back to.”

[Paul123]

As always a wonderful read. I envy you your incredible experiences on this trip. I think I must now arrange a land visit to this nation of 1.3 billion people (or wahat ever it is now).

[cruz chic]

I really look forward to reading your post everyday! It gives me something to look forward to until I go on my next cruise:). I also enjoy hearing about places I will probably never travel to. Thank you!

[I&J Cruisers]

Incredible. I'm so ejoying reading about your experiences. I love how you walk for hours and pick up the flavor of the places you are visiting. Almost as good as being there. You make it so real for us. It's so great that you are able to share this with us, and what a wonderful remider of yur trip you'll have. Can'T thank you enough.

Irene

[Limeygirl]

Thanks again for taking us on this journey with you!!!

 

Happy Easter!

[Kween Karen]

This continues to be fascinating reading. I am taking even more notice now that you are in places that I will see on my Grand Voyage 2011.

Thanks.

[Johnny B]

April 4 – Day 89

Easter Sunday

At sea between Shanghai and Beijing

 

Happy Easter! Two years ago we were on this cruise on Easter Sunday and we attended a wonderful Easter sunrise service while traversing the Red Sea. It was around the aft pool, with people wearing shorts and tee shirts and enjoying the early morning sun before it got too hot. Well . . . this year it was different. It was Easter and it was sunrise, but it was about 40 degrees outside, so the sunrise service was held in the Queen’s Lounge – at least the drapes were open.

 

Many people had to make a hard decision: go to sunrise services or watch the first of the two semi-final NCAA basketball games. We managed to do both. The service only lasted 30 minutes, so then we went to breakfast, headed back to our cabin and watched the second half. What a game! Sorry about that, Michigan State fans.

 

At 9:00 was the regular Easter morning service, also in the Queen’s Lounge, dislodging the tai chi people. The room was virtually full, and a choir of Christian crew members sang as part of the service. Then we headed back to the cabin to watch the end of the second semi-final, watching Duke thoroughly trounce West Virginia. We can’t figure out where we’ll be for the final on Monday night (Tuesday sometime for us), but we’ll try to get in at least part of the game.

 

Then it was off to the dining room for Easter brunch. For years, sisters Delhis (pronounced DeLeese) and Zelma were passengers on the world cruise. Among their legendary parties was the Easter Brunch. We were newbies, but because we were friends of Woody and Susie and Barbie, we were invited, along with about 120 other people. It was a fantastic, order off the menu brunch. Now that the sisters are no longer cruising (at least for now), HAL has an Easter brunch on the lower level of the dining room. However, because our friend Ellen Bethel, our “specialists” tour escort, was celebrating her birthday today, she invited the 11 people at our table to a special brunch upstairs. A good time was had by all, especially when Woody went downstairs to the dessert table and came back with a six-inch solid chocolate rabbit AND a dark chocolate Easter egg literally the size of a watermelon. Ellen put a knife into it, announced that it was her birthday cake, took a chunk of chocolate, and then passed it around. By the time we left the dining room, half of that egg was gone and the other half was being delivered to Tom, Ellen’s “partner in crime.”

 

However, now that all the events of the morning and noontime are over, it IS Sunday, and in preparation for tonight’s formal night, we plan to have a very quiet afternoon, probably including one of those naps we both love. We also have to rest up for the next two days. We have a private, independent tour of Beijing, with the car, driver and guide calling for us between 8:00 and 8:30 tomorrow morning and returning us to the ship the next afternoon before all aboard at 4:30. There are so many things we’ve looked forward to seeing in and around Beijing, and now we finally get to do so.

[shoppern]

Hello! Firstly, I must thank you for taking us all with you--your letters are fascinating. I live in Indianapolis, where the NCAA men's basketball finals are taking place..The little team that beat Michigan State is Butler University, a small private college. My husband is an alumnus, and the entire Indy area is full of "Go Bulldogs" signs. We attended a free practice session on Friday, and the crowd was about 40,000. I follow your letters daily, but my heart and full attention will be with the Butler Bulldogs tomorrow!!

[Johnny B]

April 5, 2010

Beijing, China

 

In all the photos I’ve seen of Tiananmen Square, there are hundreds and hundreds of bicycles being ridden across it. Like so many other times, I’ve discovered the truth is NOT in the photos. I really expected the bicycles to be replaced by motorcycles, as we’ve seen in other parts of China, but it’s CARS. They are everywhere: Toyotas, Volkswagens, Mitsubishis, and any number of Chinese models.

 

We had booked a two-day excursion to Beijing through a Chinese travel agent (China Travel Key), and we ended up paying just a little less than half of the CSI excursion and less than 40% of the HAL trip. We were picked up by Mr. Fong, our driver, and Anna, our guide, at the ship as soon as the Chinese authorities cleared us. The car was a Chinese sedan called “Red Flag,” and it was large and quite comfortable. We had a two-hour drive into the city, seeing some of the thousands of newly planted trees along the way, a practice that’s taking place all over China. We drove past the city of Tianjin, which has 9 million people. Anything smaller than one million is considered a “small city.” It was a great highway, but there weren’t very many cars.

 

We talked with Anna about life in China and about food. She told us that Chinese people believe that animals with four legs (beef, pork, etc.) are good to eat, but two legs (chicken, duck) are better, and no legs (fish) are the best.

 

As we approached Beijing after a two-hour drive, there were more freeways, more new buildings, including a subdivision with hundreds of identical but very nice single family homes, and lots and lots of cars. We noticed that there are still lots of old, run-down homes on the farms, but that the homes in the cities are becoming more and more modern.

 

Even with the number of modern buildings and new construction, there were still things like the ancient gate, part of the old city wall which enclosed the Imperial City, which is now full of high rise buildings, KFC’s, high-end stores and wide avenues.

 

Our first stop was at The Forbidden City, which we had learned at trivia has the largest number of ancient wooden buildings in the world. We knew it was big, but we didn’t realize that it was ENORMOUS! This was the complex that was the emperor’s domain, and common people were not allowed in, hence the name. We also learned that when the emperor married, his empress entered and then never left – until she died. The same was true of the hundreds of royal concubines. Boy, I’m glad to be a 21st Century woman.

 

You’ve probably seen photos of the main area, but as you keep walking around or through the buildings, there are more and more and more and . . . well, you get it. The buildings are beautifully maintained, with the colorful blue and gold trim repainted each year. For me, the most interesting building was the residence of the emperor and empress, with a huge red silk bed surrounded by matching bed curtains, and a large silk-covered cushion for the emperor to sit on. It really was good to be the emperor.

 

After time spent at the Forbidden City, we headed off to lunch at a little buffet restaurant containing choices of both western and Chinese food. We stuck to the Chinese, except when John tried the “Mexican beef” which nearly burned off the top of his mouth.

 

After lunch we headed to the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor went once a year to pray for a good year and good crops. If the ancient Chinese thought one building was good, they also thought that ten or twelve must be better, and we trotted through every one of them. They are beautifully maintained and absolutely full of tourists.

 

Our last sightseeing stop of the day was The Summer Palace. This is really somewhere I’d like to go back to. Three-fourths of its acreage (which is substantial) is a huge, beautiful lake with dragon boats, rowboats, and little paddle boats. Nearly everyone at the Summer Palace was also Chinese, although we saw the odd westerner. If it were hot in the summer, the breeze off the lake would be wonderful.

 

Finally it was time for the promised Peking Duck dinner. We were the only non-Chinese in a medium-sized, rather ordinary restaurant. The duck was really good, and, like everything else, it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I expected a roast duck, and instead it was very thin slices of duck (breast, I think), a plate of crepe-like pancakes, slices of leek and celery, and a bowl of hoisin sauce. We were told by Anna to spread out the pancake, add slices of duck and use the cucumber and leek to put the hoisin sauce on it. Then you just roll it up and eat it. Yummm!

 

Finally to the hotel around 6:30, and early to bed because we’re being picked up at 7:00 in the morning to go to the Ming Tombs and THE WALL. Can’t wait

[Johnny B]

April 6 – Day 91

Beijing/Xingang

 

We’ve done it! We’re now among the select group of about 12 trillion people who’ve walked on the Great Wall. Yes, I know, most of you have probably already been there, but we haven’t and it was just so darned exciting.

 

We were picked up at our hotel at 7:00 this morning and drove an hour out of the city to the Ming Tombs, covering 124 square kilometers. We were the first visitors at 8:00, so it was quiet and peaceful, as a tomb should be. We learned that the empress died first, so the emperor and his “wise men” looked all over the area outside Beijing to find a place to bury her with the right feng shui. Because this location has the mountains behind and water (a reservoir) in front, it was determined to be the most auspicious place for her tomb, where he (and a couple hundred live concubines) joined her several years later.

 

Yesterday was a public holiday called, in translation, “tomb sweeping,” when people go to the burial places of their near and far ancestors to clean the graves and leave offerings. Apparently thousands of people came to the Ming Tombs yesterday, and we saw fruit and money offerings everywhere.

 

Afterwards, we headed to the Badaling Great Wall, the most popular spot and perfect for Great Wall beginners like us. As we drove toward it, parts of the wall came down on both sides of the freeway, so we were able to appreciate both wall and guard towers. I had no idea that the Wall ringed the area in concentric circles; I thought it was just one big 700 km wall – another preconception shattered.

 

We entered and turned right, like most of the other newbies. We managed to hike to three guard towers, and the last one had a fantastic view. Next time we’ll take the “sliding chairs,” a sort of slow roller coaster which goes from the guard tower down to the base. We also had a young woman ask if she could take a photo of her mother with me. I guess blonde hair is in short supply in these parts. Actually, it’s a lovely compliment to be asked, so we are happy to comply.

 

On the way back to town, we took a two-lane side road through the mountains, and I thought we were going to die. I didn’t know that passing at high speed on curves could be so exhilarating. We also passed the Beijing Disneyland. You’ve never heard of it? That’s because it was built (but not completed) in 1978 and never opened. And no, I don’t know why. Just another interesting fact about Beijing.

 

After lunch and a visit to the cloisonné factory and connected Friendship Store, we had a three-hour drive back to the ship, where we were greeted with a line about 200 people long, all waiting to go through Chinese security. We waited and waited, and finally got through and back to our home sweet home.

 

Our two days in Beijing were like a marathon, with little naps in the car between stops, just to catch up on sleep. We loved everything we saw, and while we don’t feel that we saw nearly everything we would have liked to, it was an excellent start and we’ll no doubt begin from there when we come back. We both highly recommend the trip.

[irwinler]

I began reading of your adventures before departing on a 2-week transCanal cruise on HAL. Now that we're back, I was able to catch up on your great accounts. Loving it all.

 

Regarding chewing gum ban in Singapore, the story I heard was that a wad of gum on a track caused a bad train crash, and it has been banned ever since. Don't know if it's true, but it makes a good story

 

NMI

[Kween Karen]

It certainly sounds as though your tour was successful.....I will bookmark the company and explore using it for my fall 2011 visit. Any further comments on the tour company would be appreciated.

[Johnny B]

April 7 – Day 92

At Sea en route to Jeju, Korea

 

Some miscellaneous impressions of China:

 

• One morning, driving through China, we saw about three dozen ladies in a park. We thought they were doing tai chi, but it turned out that they were line dancing! We saw the same thing at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, where line dancing was the order of the day.

• The pollution is just as bad as you have heard.

• We saw lots of small children being cared for by their grandparents while their parents work. Retirement age is 50 for women and 55 for men, so they then become the child minders.

• Most public toilets are of the “Turkish” variety (sometimes called squat toilets) and toilet paper is really quite rare. When you travel here, be sure to have a pack or two of Kleenex in your bag.

• The monuments we saw are in wonderful condition. Our guide told us that they are repainted once a year and that the photos of Chairman Mao are replaced each year.

• People selling things are, to western sensibilities, very aggressive, even in regular, walk-in stores. We went into the shop in the Crown Plaza Hotel last night and two different people kept after us to buy something, so we just left.

• Unlike most big cities, we saw very few beggars. Most of those we did see were missing one or more limbs.

• The farms we drove by, both outside the cities and in the countryside near Guilin, had homes more accurately described as hovels. Life in the cities is pretty good and getting better, but 70% of the population (down from 80% ten years ago) still lives on farms.

• The number of bicycles is way down, although we still saw “bicycle pickup trucks.” There were lot of motorcycles in smaller cities, like Xi’An and Guilin, but not many in Shanghai and Beijing.

• There is an incredible amount of construction: high rise office and residential buildings, port facilities, freeways and all other sorts of things. If you work in construction in China, there’s always a job.

• Freeway signs are in both Chinese and English – probably in preparation for the Olympics.

• Drivers use their horns more than their brakes.

• While going overland, we were unable to access Facebook, and the only thing we could get on Google was information on Chinese hotels.

• Overall, the city is very clean. Only once in our week in China did I see anyone use anything for a broom that was not of natural origin – tree branches, usually.

• The young people, probably more in Shanghai than Beijing, tend to be very fashionably dressed and in possession of the requisite cell phone.

 

Visiting China was an eye-opening experience for us, and we’re very glad that we chose to travel inland, to Guilin and Xi’An, enabling us to see smaller cities and part of the countryside. China has many facets to it, and I’m sure it would take more than a lifetime to fully understand it.

[ironin]

Wonderful travelogue! Thanks so much for taking the time to do it. Just FYI, the "Beijing Disneyland" was an unauthorized rip-off that generated quite a bit of controversy in 2007. (See this Wikipedia entry). I imagine that the park closed when Disney & the national government got serious about negotiations for the opening of a Shanghai Disneyland. An agreement for that project was announced in November, 2009.

[Johnny B]

April 8 – Day 93

Jeju City, Korea

 

I know we’ve been in Asia for some time already, but today really felt like it. After we were met with music and dancing by costumed Koreans this morning, we took the shuttle into the city, which left us off at a large duty-free “mall” with extremely high end stores. We weren’t too interested there, so we just walked down the street about a half mile until we came to the E-Mart, a somewhat upscale version of K-Mart. We arrived just as they opened, and felt like we had entered another dimension.

 

Imagine, if you will, walking into K-Mart and finding a young lady dressed in a business suit (skirt and jacket) at the end of every aisle, standing almost at attention. A recording of a few Korean words played intermittently, and after it did, each young lady bowed low and repeated the same phrase in unison. As we walked throughout the store, there were similar young ladies everywhere, and each one bowed deeply to us. For two people from California, this was somewhat creepy, although I know that it is simply a sign of respect.

 

After we had explored the main floor, we took the escalator upstairs and discovered the Korean restaurant. If it had been lunchtime, we would have pointed at one of the plates in the picture and tried some local fare. However, it was too early, so we just headed down to the basement to the huge grocery store. I need to preface this by saying that I just love grocery shopping and grocery stores, and I always find local grocery stores extremely interesting, because it gives insight into the culture. There was, as you might expect in an Asian country, a huge fish section, but there was no fish smell, which I found interesting In fact, in one open refrigerator case, they had some kind of medium sized whole fish, strung together with twine into an arrangement attractive enough to be hung on a wall.

 

We looked for Coca Light, which is the overseas version of Diet Coke (though not as good), but the closest we could come was Coke Zero. I can drink that at home, but overseas they use something as a sweetener that makes me gag, so I avoid it. We also found the overseas chip mainstay: Pringles. It is amazing to me how many places you can find them – in a choice of flavors, some of which you’ll never see in the U.S. I’ve seen a fish flavor and seaweed, but there must be others.

 

After we finished our window shopping expedition, we headed back up the street to where the shuttle bus was waiting, but we continued beyond to look at some small stores. John found a red “Go Korea” soccer jersey in honor of the World Cup, so that will now become part of his tennis wear. We wandered across the street to the Jeju Grand Hotel, and found a lovely oasis in the middle of the city, with a lounge overlooking a garden with a waterfall. We wandered a little through the shops, rejecting the idea of a $180 Greg Norman golf shirt. The public restroom was amazing: it not only was western style, but it had toilet paper and a heated toilet seat. Amazing!

 

Finally it was time to head back to the ship, since today’s sailaway is early, at 2:00. Our friends ended up on the same shuttle back to the ship, and after picking up some quite delicious orange chocolates in the little shop at the dock, we were ready to get back on board and find some lunch.

[CtheW0rld]

i always check out the grocery stores, too. i find it very interesting.