Viking China (Part 2)

[caribill]

Are Western rest rooms widely available at tourist sites?

Is it possible to sometimes leave the group and just go off on your own a little? (I would always let the guide know I was leaving)

 

 

Your guide will know the location of western style restrooms when you are touring. Sometimes there may be just one or two where there are more oriental style at the same place. There may be a long line since other westerners want the same thing.

 

Any shop or restaurant or hotel or museum the tour takes you to will have some western style restrooms.

 

Now if you are off touring on your own, it may not be easy to find a western style restroom. If you plan some touring on your own, ask the guide to write for you in Chinese the words for asking for a western style restroom.

 

Yes, you can wander on your own if the guide knows where you will be meeting him/her again. You will have the the cell phone number of the guide in case you get lost.

[rahrah50]

Thank you for your reply caribill. Just the information I was looking for. I have been to Bangkok and Japan so I am a little familiar with the bathroom situation. In 1 year and 4 days, 10 of us will be leaving for this fabulous trip. Standing on the Great Wall and going to Shanghai have been on my bucket list for years. I do not plan on going off completley on my own at all, unless I see a fabric store, but sometimes a small group just want to wander a little bit.

[caribill]

Thank you for your reply caribill. Just the information I was looking for. I have been to Bangkok and Japan so I am a little familiar with the bathroom situation. In 1 year and 4 days, 10 of us will be leaving for this fabulous trip. Standing on the Great Wall and going to Shanghai have been on my bucket list for years. I do not plan on going off completley on my own at all, unless I see a fabric store, but sometimes a small group just want to wander a little bit.

 

At places like the Great Wall and part of the time at the Beijing Summer Palace and in Shabaozhai and within museums and some other places you will be on your own for x amount of time anyway.

[Lori Dobson]

Thank you for your reply caribill. Just the information I was looking for. I have been to Bangkok and Japan so I am a little familiar with the bathroom situation. In 1 year and 4 days, 10 of us will be leaving for this fabulous trip. Standing on the Great Wall and going to Shanghai have been on my bucket list for years. I do not plan on going off completley on my own at all, unless I see a fabric store, but sometimes a small group just want to wander a little bit.

 

 

 

If you are looking for silk, there is an absolutely FABULOUS shop in Beijing. If you are staying at the Regent, you will be quite close, able to walk there in 10 minutes - but you can get there from any hotel. It's in the big pedestrian mall, almost directly across from the street food market (which I call Diagon alley!) There are hundreds and hundreds of beautiful bolts of silk - there are lots of off the rack clothes too but they have tailors that will custom make any item you want from any silk you want. Very expensive, of course, but gorgeous to have!

Have a great trip! :D

[dcl999]

Just got back last week. I was able to borrow a transformer at each hotel and on the cruise ship. All the wall receptacles had two sets of openings. The top one looked like the US plugs but I never could get a polarized plug in and had to use an adapter for the things that didn't need the transformer.

[dcl999]

Wished I had taken: swimsuit and swim cap (pools in hotels were inviting), Exofficio type pants, rigid container of some sort to pack fragile market finds (one vendor had some folded ribbon animals that would have made great grandchildren presents)

Glad I had packed: hangers (great for drip dry laundry), antiseptic wipes (to wipe shoes, etc. after plane ride home), casual clothes, female urination device, sunscreen, undercover money holder (one person left passport and cash behind at a restaurant in our group - it was recovered - and one person in another group couldn't find passport, delayed whole bus and affected sightseeing for that bus)

Should have left at home: robe, half my clothes.

Also should have organized clothes so we didn't have to open more than one suitcase at a time.

We should have packed in 2 medium sized suitcases and small carry ons instead of one checked bag and 2 maximum sized carry ons. Transfers in China would have been much easier.

[recyclelady]

Wished I had taken: swimsuit and swim cap (pools in hotels were inviting), Exofficio type pants, rigid container of some sort to pack fragile market finds (one vendor had some folded ribbon animals that would have made great grandchildren presents)

Glad I had packed: hangers (great for drip dry laundry), antiseptic wipes (to wipe shoes, etc. after plane ride home), casual clothes, female urination device, sunscreen, undercover money holder (one person left passport and cash behind at a restaurant in our group - it was recovered - and one person in another group couldn't find passport, delayed whole bus and affected sightseeing for that bus)

Should have left at home: robe, half my clothes.

Also should have organized clothes so we didn't have to open more than one suitcase at a time.

We should have packed in 2 medium sized suitcases and small carry ons instead of one checked bag and 2 maximum sized carry ons. Transfers in China would have been much easier.

Thanks!

 

Little bits of wisdom like this are great to find. I'm soon to be on the trip and trying to refine my packing list.

 

I'm assuming your meant the sort of funnel-like device for women? I've been wondering if I need this. (I'd have to practice first!:o) How much use did you get from it?

[Turtles06]

 

I'm assuming your meant the sort of funnel-like device for women? I've been wondering if I need this. (I'd have to practice first!:o) How much use did you get from it?

 

Not needed! Pull your clothes up and away with one hand, have tp in the other, squat just a little....

 

Haven't folks hiked in the woods???? :)

 

(Obviously, if someone has medical/physical issues, that's a different story and I'm not trying to be glib about that.)

[Peregrina651]

We should have packed in 2 medium sized suitcases and small carry ons instead of one checked bag and 2 maximum sized carry ons. Transfers in China would have been much easier.

 

But you said you only needed half the clothing...

 

We flew over with just carry-ons (one large rolling bag and one personal item each). Once there, we turned the larger carry-ons into checked luggage that we let Viking handle on the transfers. Of course, our two person bags had morphed into 4 by this point and we had to buy another suitcase to get home. ;)

[Peregrina651]

Of course, our two person bags had morphed into 4 by this point and we had to buy another suitcase to get home. ;)

 

Make that personal bags please.

[dcl999]

Thanks!

 

Little bits of wisdom like this are great to find. I'm soon to be on the trip and trying to refine my packing list.

 

I'm assuming your meant the sort of funnel-like device for women? I've been wondering if I need this. (I'd have to practice first!:o) How much use did you get from it?

 

About 2/3 of the off boat, non restaurant happy room stops.

[pacmom]

Can't believe--3 weeks from today we leave for our China adventure. Visa arrived safely as did the Viking package. We are diligently reading.

Tonite we are having local Chinese food to practice using chopsticks. Am still rereading the thread--am up to page 45. So looking forward to meet new travelers. Pat

Edited September 29, 2012 by pacmom

[pacmom]

Report of use of chopsticks----will not gain weight if I don't improve!!!! Will have to eat a lot of rice--can manage that. Pat

[caribill]

Report of use of chopsticks----will not gain weight if I don't improve!!!! Will have to eat a lot of rice--can manage that. Pat

 

Forks will be available on the ship, at all hotels, and on Viking tours.

[claudiane]

Can't believe--3 weeks from today we leave for our China adventure. Visa arrived safely as did the Viking package. We are diligently reading.

Tonite we are having local Chinese food to practice using chopsticks. Am still rereading the thread--am up to page 45. So looking forward to meet new travelers. Pat

 

Hey Pat

 

I don't believe it either that there is less than 3 weeks before we leave. As of us, our visas are about to arrive and so is the Viking package (what the travel agent told us).

 

Don't remember in wich hotel you will be staying in Beijing but I do recall it is not the same as us. We'll be at the Ritz Financial District. So where would you like us to meet on the ship the day we board ? Front desk ? Emerald bar ? Observation lounge and bar ? (Have looked on the Viking's site for these...)

 

About the chopsticks, we always use them here whenever we eat in an asian restaurant and we love it ! Don't worry you'll get better and better each day ! :)

 

Diane

[claudiane]

Thanks!

 

Little bits of wisdom like this are great to find. I'm soon to be on the trip and trying to refine my packing list.

 

I'm assuming your meant the sort of funnel-like device for women? I've been wondering if I need this. (I'd have to practice first!:o) How much use did you get from it?

 

Are you on the October 22nd Cultural Delights trip ?

[recyclelady]

Are you on the October 22nd Cultural Delights trip ?

Claudiane--

 

My first choice would have been October. By the time I booked the trip (about a year in advance!) October was no longer available and I had to chose between August and November. August seemed too hot, so we are on the Nov. 3 trip. I have not found anyone on this board on our trip.:(

[Big#10020]

We are on this one. From what you said it must be sold out.

[pacmom]

Diane, now that I know that forks are available (as a last resort), I won't worry. Let's meet in the Emerald Bar for a drink after dinner the first nite on board--just in case we all arrive at different times.

See you in about 3 weeks. Pat

[jcrandle]

Report of use of chopsticks----will not gain weight if I don't improve!!!! Will have to eat a lot of rice--can manage that. Pat

Now you know how an oriental person diets. They use ONE chopstick.:D

[pacmom]

But they can still stab things--like I did to my shrimp last nite.:D The Amazing Race started off this evening in Shanghai--the bund area is just brautiful--am really getting anaxious to go. Pat

[claudiane]

Claudiane--

 

My first choice would have been October. By the time I booked the trip (about a year in advance!) October was no longer available and I had to chose between August and November. August seemed too hot, so we are on the Nov. 3 trip. I have not found anyone on this board on our trip.:(

 

Oh so you will be following us. Funny but the first choice we made was for that same date but then we changed it for the October one. We'll try to let you some things to see !!!!!!!

 

Have a very nice trip :)

[claudiane]

Diane, now that I know that forks are available (as a last resort), I won't worry. Let's meet in the Emerald Bar for a drink after dinner the first nite on board--just in case we all arrive at different times.

See you in about 3 weeks. Pat

 

OK Pat Emerald bar after dinner the first night it will be.

 

Have a wonderful time in Beijing and Xian !

 

See you onboard on the 26.

 

Diane

[kbert92069]

We are on this one. From what you said it must be sold out.

 

The October trips have all been sold out for many months for this year. There are different trips all leaving slightly different days. Like others here we have not found anyone yet on our exact dates.

 

We leave Oct 19th (in less than 3 weeks) on the Imperial Jewels itinerary. What is yours? We fly from Shanghai to Wuhan to board the Emerald and join people who left Shanghai a few days earlier on the longer trip (Cultural Delights?)

Edited October 1, 2012 by kbert92069
typo

[Turtles06]

But they can still stab things--like I did to my shrimp last nite.:D The Amazing Race started off this evening in Shanghai--the bund area is just brautiful--am really getting anaxious to go. Pat

 

I love The Amazing Race and it was fun to see Shanghai and especially the Bund in last night's season premiere. As beautiful as the Bund is during the day, be sure to go back at night; it's gorgeous with all the lights.

 

Have a great trip!

 

 

(photo by turtles06)