Viking China (Part 2)

[sisterpower]

Wow, "rhskls" nice post it sounds like you are definately enjoying yourself. Thank you for posting - any tips for the trip would be appreciated if you can.

[Rodie H]

Rhkls and Bruin Steve. Many thanks for your posts as it gives those of us lined up for the cruise great info. Know that we appreciate you taking time to posts. Enjoy yourselves!!! Sounds like factory stores are the shopping stops unless one goes on their free time.

[Peregrina651]

Sunday disembarked at Chongqing which was quite an adventure. Somewhere on this website someone posted a picture of the steps there and it was no exaggeration plus you have porters grabbing at you to try to carry your bags.

 

Before the building of the Three Gorges Dam, there were a couple of hundred more veerical feet of stairs that had to be climbed from the docks to the road. Chongqing was known for those thousands of steps and for the porters (called bang-bangmen) whose job it was to carry freight and luggage up and down those stairs. The bang-bangmen have all but been put out of business by the dam because the path from the river to the road is not longer as long or as arduous. However, they still try to ply their trade and make a bit of money. These are the porters the RHSKLS is describing. You can read more about the river and what it was like before the dam made the river navigable in Simon Winchester's book The River at the Center of the World.

 

IMHO, let the porters help you, especially of it is raining or even damp on the catwalks; you will feel more surefooted if you don't have bags to carry. Give them a few yuan when they have brought your bags to the bus or the ship.

 

I tell you this from experience. I came prepared to let the porters take our carry-on bags but all my reading here was for naught when my traveling companions chose to do otherwise. Our arrival in Chongqing was in the pouring rain; the steps were a waterfall with water inches deep and no hand-rails at that time. We all arrived at the bus upset by an ordeal made even worse by the fact that we were carrying heavy bags that we could not even put down because they would get wet--sodden wet, not just a bit damp on the outside.

 

Had my traveling companions not been so stubborn about accepting help, we all would have been in a much better mood when we finally made it to the bus. It is OKAY to accept help; it is not a sign of weakness nor a curbing of your independence; it is just commonsense. The porters are not there to steal your bags; they are there to help you navigate safely. It is their job; hire them to do so.

[caribill]

I tell you this from experience. I came prepared to let the porters take our carry-on bags but all my reading here was for naught when my traveling companions chose to do otherwise. Our arrival in Chongqing was in the pouring rain; the steps were a waterfall with water inches deep and no hand-rails at that time. We all arrived at the bus upset by an ordeal made even worse by the fact that we were carrying heavy bags that we could not even put down because they would get wet--sodden wet, not just a bit damp on the outside.

 

What was in the carry-on bags that weighed so much? Why could the heavy bags not be taken ashore by Viking?

[Turtles06]

As folks here know, I absolutely loved the Viking trip to China, and I had very few complaints or even suggestions for improvement. But one piece of feedback I gave Viking then in my comments and I'll repeat now is that I think Viking itself should provide porters to assist pax getting on or off the boat in Chongqing. Even for the able bodied, just having a carry on to deal with across the water and up or down the stone steps (wet or dry) was challenging.

 

I think at this location, it would be great if Viking provided porters for those who would like that assistance.

[rhskls]

I wished later that I had let the porters help me with bags. Our local guide on the bus kind of put us on a guilt trip saying that was how these people made their living. And it would have made it much easier.

Today we flew to Beijing. In the past the Shanghai to Beijing route did niot go to hulongs(sp). Now they do and we were so glad. First we went to a tea ceremony which puts the one on boat to shame. Then a rickshaw ride through area with a visit to a home. The owner of this home is an artist who does inner painting and it was quite interesting. At both tea ceremony and home there were items to buy and especially at tea house felt pressured to buy. This afternoon was an unexpected delight.

[Chloe's mom]

When we disembarked in Chongqing I arranged, through our guide/den mother, to have help with our hand luggage because my husband has some physical issues. One of the crew from the ship carried our bags, for which I gave him a tip, I believe our guide suggested 100 yuan. I don't think that there are enough crew available to carry the hand luggage for all passengers, but for anyone that really has an issue with their bags, this is something to talk to your guide about. Also, after we got off the ship one of the locals came over and insisted on taking my husband's arm, despite my husband's protests, to "help" him up the steps. When we got to the bus he insisted on our giving him money, and our guide told us to give him 40 yuan to avoid any trouble.

 

I will say that it was extremely helpful to have the person from the ship carry our bags. It was raining heavily, and having our hands free allowed us to carry an umbrella and also use hand rails where they were available. But even without rain and slippery steps, not having to carry bags would make things easier if you have heavy carry-ons. It was cool in April when we there, but I imagine that in summer heat and humidity it would be more pleasant not to have to do the work of schlepping bags. So my suggestion is that you not hesitate to avail yourselves of the services of these local "porters", but just be sure to have yuan in small denominations easily accessible. You can even ask your guide in advance what amount would be appropriate to pay for the service.

[Peregrina651]

What was in the carry-on bags that weighed so much? Why could the heavy bags not be taken ashore by Viking?

 

Our heavy bags were handled by Viking and we didn't see them until we identified in the Xi'an airport for transfer to the hotel.

 

What was in the carry-on bags (at least the ones I packed) were meds, electronics, a change of clothing, wash-up kit and anything of value. In other words, anything that I could not afford to lose or be separated from. In the rain and after you have carried them so far, no matter what they weigh, you want to but them down for a rest or you need both hands to manage the steps.

 

Interestingly, while he spoke of them the night before disembarkation, our escort did not encourage us to use the local porters. IMHO, a big mistake and part of the reason that my stubborn family insisted on carrying the bags themselves.

 

In any case, I agree with Turtles. Viking should arrange have better arrangements in Chongqing. The escorts should all be suggesting that passengers take the help offered, especially when it is raining and pricing should be explained. We don't handle the situation well because we don't understand the system and we are afraid that our bags are going to be stolen when in fact the porters are just doing their job in a way that is consistent with their culture.

[rhskls]

Climbed the great wall today. We went j to the left. It seemed to be less crowded than other side. Most in our group walked to tower 3 or 4. About 6 of us climbed to tower 7, the top one. Between towers 3and 4 it was a real killer but if you could make it to four from there on it was bad but not as bad plus after 4 there were hardly any people. It was unbelievable that there we were on the Great Wall of China. Peking duck dinner tonight. BTW I think I failed to mention that in Xian the Tang Dynasty show was incredible.

[Peregrina651]

Here is a reminder for travellers in 2015:

 

Your passport must be valid for at least 6 month after your return from China.

 

Now is the time to check and renew if necessary.

 

FYI. Viking has pre-trip checklist on its website. It is full of very helpful tips--and a couple of "must-do's."

[Going Coastal]

Thanks for all your tips. Really appreciate them. All we have to do is have 48 pages added to our passports.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[milling73]

We just returned from the Jewels of China. The entire trip is fantastic. Truly there isn't one part that is better than the other, each day and each experience all merge into this wonderful, trip of a life-time memory of seeing in person the things we have only read about or seen on tv. None of which represent the true depth or beauty of the experience.

 

We were amazed at how beautiful, clean, decorated, and pristine Beijing and Shanghai (really all of the cities) are. Flowers are everywhere. The hotels (Ritz Carlton, Hilton, Shangri-La (with a tv in bathroom mirror -- seriously!!) are all 5 star plus. The local people welcomed us with a smile.

 

Viking does a fantastic and flawless job of getting their passengers from one point to another (with their luggage). One would have to look hard to find anything to fault them on. Our guide was Francis, and he was "mom" keeping diligent track of everyone and belongings.

 

A couple of comments / suggestions that may be of help to future travelers:

 

1)Our entire 5 days on the river were spent in constant and dense fog and mist, as in barely able to see beyond a few hundred feet. That may have been a weather front, but the guides and a few locals told us dense fog is now common on the river due to the dam and the new water level depths, and particularly in the warmer months. That was disappointing as we are going through such beautiful area of cliffs and gorges. I think we cold best describe our views on the river portion as "China through the Mist". In Beijing and Shanghai we were fortunate with blue skies and 80 degrees. We experienced almost no mosquitos or flies -- not even on the river.

 

2) The humidity on the cruise is constant, and it is a damp coolness outside and on the boat. We were expecting 90 degrees plus for June, and packed lots of sunscreen -- instead we ended up buying windbreakers. (Viking sells them at $140. My advice is to take one.) The cabins are damp. There is no way around it, few a/c systems could cope with 100% constant humidity. Expect your clothes to become damp.

 

If it is true that fog conditions are a constant, Viking should cancel the dam visit. No one is allowed to actually tour the dam itself. There is only viewing of it, and China has created some pretty incredible outdoor escalators and viewing area for that. However, with the fog, we couldn't see anything other than the guide pointing where it all was.

 

3) For anyone staying at the Hilton in Xi'an who does not go to the Dynasty Show. For a great experience of local culture, go out the hotel, turn right and walk about 3-4 blocks. There is a large, well-lit park on the left and many locals go there each evening to ballroom type dance, group exercise, show off their adorable children, etc. We spent a couple of hours there, (even invited to dance) and watching it all was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

Expect to have a wonderful time and adventure. You won't be disappointed.

[milling73]

On the Beijing / Shanghai June 7 tour. The summer palace was offered as an optional tour. We had about 6 in our group that went to it.

 

Our guide, Francis only said it would be difficult to book that as well as the Opera due to traffic / time constraints.

[caribill]

Our entire 5 days on the river were spent in constant and dense fog and mist, as in barely able to see beyond a few hundred feet. That may have been a weather front, but the guides and a few locals told us dense fog is now common on the river due to the dam and the new water level depths, and particularly in the warmer months.

 

Our trip was in early August and we experienced no fog on the river at all.

 

(This was after the dam was constructed.)

[milling73]

If you have extra time at Beijing -- we strongly recommend a tour to see the Great Wall at Mutianyu. It is in a different location / direction than the one Viking includes. The drive to it is very scenic and we thought the views from Mutianyu were visually better, and more dramatic. We walked several portions of the wall and towers, and the visual aspects were spectacular to see that wall snaking over the mountain crests for as far as we could see. Considering the terrain, height, and width of the wall...it was all mind-boggling on how they built it.

 

Another plus is that you reach the wall by chairlift, and then have the option of coming down by chairlift or by bobsled (about a mile run) which my husband declared great fun and would have been more than willing to pay to do it again.

 

There are several local venders, and all in all, it is a great trip.

 

We arranged it in advance by emailing the hotel concierge as soon as we had our hotel assignment. We were so glad we did, and that we had a second opportunity to view and walk that Wonder.

[milling73]

Our trip was in early August and we experienced no fog on the river at all.

 

(This was after the dam was constructed.)

 

Maybe we were just a front then.

 

I talked to several of the reps / boat crew, about the fog. They just said it was pretty frequent, as did our guide at the dam. In her lecture to us, she stated that clear days of viewing were rare. But maybe she said that so we wouldn't feel so disappointed at not being able to see anything!

 

I hope for others the weather is often more clear, the glimpses we saw of those mountain gorges looked spectacular.

[Happy Tourista]

2) The humidity on the cruise is constant, and it is a damp coolness outside and on the boat. We were expecting 90 degrees plus for June, and packed lots of sunscreen -- instead we ended up buying windbreakers. (Viking sells them at $140. My advice is to take one.) The cabins are damp. There is no way around it, few a/c systems could cope with 100% constant humidity. Expect your clothes to become damp.

 

Passing along valuable advice I read somewhere here on the forum: as soon as you check in on the Emerald, ask the front desk for a dehumidifier. We did this and housekeeping brought one within half an hour. We kept the dehumidifier running the whole time and couldn't believe how much water we dumped out daily - the tank filled up in less than 24 hours. I think having the dehumidifier in the cabin really helped to keep the dampness level down.

 

We also experienced a lot of fog on the river earlier this month. Only the first third or so of the dam was visible. That was disappointing but I still feel it is a worthwhile stop.

[milling73]

After reading this thread I got my video out

Do they still make the video of your China cruise?

 

 

Yes they do. They started showing it on about the 3rd day of our cruise. And then kept adding to it.

 

It is a great memory option. The photographer, called KGB, cause he's from Russia and because he would pop up unexpectedly, is very good.

[milling73]

On our tour, the people on the OPTIONAL

it was a ride to the Terra Cotta Warriors...Pretty amazing...

They advise you to NOT buy the little boxes of warriors from the street merchants roaming around the site but to wait for the lunch place--which is in a government owned gift shop...

They would have served us better telling us to buy from the street merchants...but to wait until we were getting back on the bus...

This is EXCACTLY right..The guides do reakkt discourage us from buying from the venders. As we walked back to the bus a vender offered us a set of 4 warriors, 1 horse for $1.00 US. How I wish we had bought it. Seriously who cares for $1.00 what the clay quality is -- they looked the same as the ones in the official shops that were so much more expensive. They would have been perfect as a shelf souvenir.

Edited June 26, 2014 by milling73

[sisterpower]

Wow, "milling73" wonderful information and review - my sister and I leave in 7.5 days for Beijing - Shanghai route can hardly wait. Thanks for all the great tips also I will remember to ask for a dehumidifier.:)

[caribill]

Maybe we were just a front then.

 

I talked to several of the reps / boat crew, about the fog. They just said it was pretty frequent, as did our guide at the dam. In her lecture to us, she stated that clear days of viewing were rare. But maybe she said that so we wouldn't feel so disappointed at not being able to see anything!

 

I hope for others the weather is often more clear, the glimpses we saw of those mountain gorges looked spectacular.

 

When we went.

 

1) Our day at the Dam

2) Our day at the Dam

3) Wu (witches) Gorge

4) Dragon Gate Gorge

5) Misty Gorge

[Mark_T]

The photographer, called KGB, cause he's from Russia and because he would pop up unexpectedly, is very good.

 

Something else I missed in earlier reports.

 

I hope being 'very good' includes not getting in the way and quickly learning which guests really have absolutely no desire to be video'd while on holiday :)

 

We developed a great dislike for the typical 'ship photographer' many cruises ago, but have no problems with a well behaved and discreet video cameraman.

[Bruin Steve]

We are disembarking the ship this morning...

Skies have been gray throughout...and it rained on us the past two days--pushing the school visit indoors...

But, we were able to get some striking photos of the Gorges...albeit with gray skies above.

We were told the gray skies were common...

[Host Jazzbeau]

We are disembarking the ship this morning...

Skies have been gray throughout...and it rained on us the past two days--pushing the school visit indoors...

But, we were able to get some striking photos of the Gorges...albeit with gray skies above.

We were told the gray skies were common...

 

I took a class on Photoshop Elements and learned how to paste a background of a blue sky (which you have shot previously) onto any gray-sky scene. You can make your memories even better than the experience!

[Turtles06]

If you have extra time at Beijing -- we strongly recommend a tour to see the Great Wall at Mutianyu. It is in a different location / direction than the one Viking includes. The drive to it is very scenic and we thought the views from Mutianyu were visually better, and more dramatic. We walked several portions of the wall and towers, and the visual aspects were spectacular to see that wall snaking over the mountain crests for as far as we could see. Considering the terrain, height, and width of the wall...it was all mind-boggling on how they built it.

 

Another plus is that you reach the wall by chairlift, and then have the option of coming down by chairlift or by bobsled (about a mile run) which my husband declared great fun and would have been more than willing to pay to do it again.

 

There are several local venders, and all in all, it is a great trip.

 

We arranged it in advance by emailing the hotel concierge as soon as we had our hotel assignment. We were so glad we did, and that we had a second opportunity to view and walk that Wonder.

 

I totally agree with the recommendation to visit the Great Wall at Mutianyu. It is beautiful, and different enough from the Badaling section (where Viking takes you) that we did not feel we had duplicated our day. Also, it was very nice to be able to spend as much time as we wanted on the Wall and go at our own pace. (We went out there with a private guide and driver.) Another plus is that it's not as crowded as the Wall at Badaling, which is where most tourists are taken.

 

We accessed the Wall at Mutianyu via cable car (the chairlift is at a different access point).

 

(The blue skies are not Photoshopped!)

 

 

 

 

 

(The Great Wall, Mutianyu, by turtles06)

Edited June 27, 2014 by Turtles06