and so it begins.....RTW16

[Emma Chisit]

emmachisit.....how are you doing? I've bought more earrings since you've been gone....don't think i've spent more than $15US for any of them!!! I miss you and wish you'd come back.

 

Miss you all too (and the ice cream) – but real life back home is very busy! Had the Toxic Tots* and their minders here for Easter - and we mind them again next weekend while their parents have a wedding anniversary weekend away. Meanwhile I should be in bed as it’s after midnight here, but have been sketching a possible painting instead....

 

* So called – for those enquiring minds who want to know – because they love to smooch their grandparents and pass on whatever the current bug at school and kindy is....

[cbb]

emma chisit--and the darn kids are sick for about 3 minutes and we adults remain ill for 2 weeks...and yet, we keep wanting them to come stay with us....what is wrong with us?

 

Mr Wonderful called our munchkin a "domestic terrorist" for bringing home bio-weapons from the madrassa (aka pre school)...(I'm probably going to trigger some sort of alarm somewhere for publishing those words!)

 

tomorrow is change-over day here. Glad I'll be off ship when they board, although a smaller number is expected to board than the larger number getting off. Halls are filled with suitcases.

 

we're finishing Day 90 tonight....I prefer to think that we have 90 more days ahead!!!

[Rigby]

Thanks for your quick reply and very useful info. I'll keep following you as you take your trip. I hope we get to do the same.

[2552phxcrzr]

Thanks for your quick reply and very useful info. I'll keep following you as you take your trip. I hope we get to do the same.

 

Rigby, we're on the 2017 RTW, and as far as we know, any overlands will be extra ... none included in the fare we are paying. Of course, we might be surprised when the official excursions/overlands are finally listed; so far all we have to look at are a collection of what has been offered in the past, with no specific details such as pricing, etc.

[osandomir]

I had researched the area so I had a Frommers walking guide and with Mr Wonderful's gps loaded with maps we left the Bund and struck out on a walking tour west.

 

cbb - thanks again for your wonderful blog. We love to follow you on your voyage. Can you please share what type of GPS does your husband have that loaded with the maps from all over the world?

[Paulchili]

cbb,

I continue to enjoy your trip vicariously.

I second the Shanghai museum, Also, if you get a chance, walk into the old Shanghai Hong Kong bank building on the Bund - marvelous interior.

Enjoy your next 90 days as much or more than the past 90!

[globevest]

emma chisit--and the darn kids are sick for about 3 minutes and we adults remain ill for 2 weeks...and yet, we keep wanting them to come stay with us....what is wrong with us?

 

Mr Wonderful called our munchkin a "domestic terrorist" for bringing home bio-weapons from the madrassa (aka pre school)!!!

 

cbb.....I look at the sick kids issue as the Lords way of keeping the world from becoming over populated. Kids stay with grand parents for a couple of nights or grand parents pick up a sick kid from school because quite often both parents are working. Grand parents end up with the flu and other things....their immune systems are in bad shape in their 70s and 80's and there you have it.......population control.:D

 

Love your blog.....thank you very much.

[canuck.qc]

Your posts and Blog (wonderful pictures) are a pleasure to read. Cruising vicariously thru you. We've even had our own 'code red' here at home, noro-type germs passed on to us by our grand kids.

[cbb]

from cbb mr. w: I take a hands-on, high tech approach. I have Magellan Triton 400 gpses (I actually have 3 with me for 6 months). I create the maps using a program gMapMaker, which will download Google/Bing/OSM maps for whatever area and resolution you want (large areas + high resolution = VERY LARGE downloads).

 

THe maps are then combined and prepared for the Triton using TritonRMP. Using TritonRMP you may also take any photo file (.jpg, .bmp...) and calibrate it as a map. I also use this to include in my GPS map list walking tours from Frommers, Fodors and others, Hop On Hop On bus route maps and anything else I'd like to have. (metro maps are rarely to scale)

 

After we've toured/walked the Triton provides a trail (where we were every 10 seconds) that I can use to geotag our photos. This places the latitude/longitude of the photo in the metadata fields of the .jpg. Many point&shoot cameras include this info as part of the camera. I use Microsoft Pro Photo Tools to geotag.

 

If this is way beyond your comfort or activity level (I spent 6 months preparing maps for this 6 month trip) there's a simpler way.

 

For your Android phone (and perhaps iPhone, but I have no personal knowledge) install the MAPS.ME application and choose the countries/states that you wish to map.

 

MAPS.ME will get the OSM maps, including routing information, and your phone will act as a GPS. IT is also searchable for things like ATM, post office... This takes MUCH less time than what I do, but doesn't include HoHo route maps. Install and try it at home before you leave.

 

So I'm high tech, high touch. You may wish to use something more user friendly.

Edited April 3, 2016 by cbb

[RJB]

from cbb mr. w: I take a hands-on, high tech approach. I have Magellan Triton 400 gpses (I actually have 3 with me for 6 months). I create the maps using a program gMapMaker, which will download Google/Bing/OSM maps for whatever area and resolution you want (large areas + high resolution = VERY LARGE downloads).

 

THe maps are then combined and prepared for the Triton using TritonRMP. Using TritonRMP you may also take any photo file (.jpg, .bmp...) and calibrate it as a map. I also use this to include in my GPS map list walking tours from Frommers, Fodors and others, Hop On Hop On bus route maps and anything else I'd like to have. (metro maps are rarely to scale)

 

After we've toured/walked the Triton provides a trail (where we were every 10 seconds) that I can use to geotag our photos. This places the latitude/longitude of the photo in the metadata fields of the .jpg. Many point&shoot cameras include this info as part of the camera. I use Microsoft Pro Photo Tools to geotag.

 

If this is way beyond your comfort or activity level (I spent 6 months preparing maps for this 6 month trip) there's a simpler way.

 

For your Android phone (and perhaps iPhone, but I have no personal knowledge) install the MAPS.ME application and choose the countries/states that you wish to map.

 

MAPS.ME will get the OSM maps, including routing information, and your phone will act as a GPS. IT is also searchable for things like ATM, post office... This takes MUCH less time than what I do, but doesn't include HoHo route maps. Install and try it at home before you leave.

 

So I'm high tech, high touch. You may wish to use something more user friendly.

Sounds great, but are you talking English? Way above my pay grade.

[cbb]

"Sounds great, but are you talking English? Way above my pay grade."

 

It is a fact of life now....if you understand calculus, your salary is probably going to be above those of us who clueless.

 

I keep telling everyone, one must travel with a techie...techies can solve many problems. (and also provide cables, fix other people's cameras, back up stuff for others)

 

the other truth...just because we don't understand tech, doesn't mean the 12 year old down the street doesn't!

 

btw....i know there are many people on this thread who understand what Mr. Wonderful wrote.

[osandomir]

from cbb mr. w: I take a hands-on, high tech approach. I have Magellan Triton 400 gpses (I actually have 3 with me for 6 months). I create the maps using a program gMapMaker, which will download Google/Bing/OSM maps for whatever area and resolution you want (large areas + high resolution = VERY LARGE downloads).

 

THe maps are then combined and prepared for the Triton using TritonRMP. Using TritonRMP you may also take any photo file (.jpg, .bmp...) and calibrate it as a map. I also use this to include in my GPS map list walking tours from Frommers, Fodors and others, Hop On Hop On bus route maps and anything else I'd like to have. (metro maps are rarely to scale)

 

After we've toured/walked the Triton provides a trail (where we were every 10 seconds) that I can use to geotag our photos. This places the latitude/longitude of the photo in the metadata fields of the .jpg. Many point&shoot cameras include this info as part of the camera. I use Microsoft Pro Photo Tools to geotag.

 

If this is way beyond your comfort or activity level (I spent 6 months preparing maps for this 6 month trip) there's a simpler way.

 

For your Android phone (and perhaps iPhone, but I have no personal knowledge) install the MAPS.ME application and choose the countries/states that you wish to map.

 

MAPS.ME will get the OSM maps, including routing information, and your phone will act as a GPS. IT is also searchable for things like ATM, post office... This takes MUCH less time than what I do, but doesn't include HoHo route maps. Install and try it at home before you leave.

 

So I'm high tech, high touch. You may wish to use something more user friendly.

 

No wonder that your wife calls you Mr. Wonderful. It's amazing amount of efforts that you put in preparing for this voyage.

 

Thank you for this high tech detailed post. Our GPS has just Europe preloaded. I'll pass your post to my husband and try to put a Ph.D part of him to work...or better invest in upgrading my iPhone 6 to the 6+ with a bigger screen and download the apps with all the maps.

 

Enjoy the second half of your cruise.

[no fuss travel]

Thank you for all those wonderful pictures you are posting in your blog. You are bringing back lots of wonderful memories of prior cruises.:D

[cbb]

april 4-5:

 

We decided, after losing the overnight in Beijing, to sign up for an overland excursion package from O. It took 10 days for the Chinese government to approve but by early February we were in! "It is called Ancient Capitals of China" and is 4 days, 3 nights.

 

We left the ship at 6:30am and bless them, Terrace opened early for us so that we could grab breakfast before leaving....thank you!!!

 

We flew from Shanghai, our last day there, to Xi'an and immediately transferred to a bus for our ride to Defachang restaurant for a dumpling lunch. We were astounded at the number of dumpling dishes brought to the table. Who knew one could put so many different fillings into pastry?

 

Our guide for Xi'an was the fantastic Lindy. We all loved Lindy. She, like Jason, is a national guide and her English was perfect and she taught us important things such as knock-offs are labeled "grade a"- "grade d" with grade A being so well made that it can fool the most discerning.

 

Lindy taught us that Xi'an was the ancient capital of the Qin Dynasty and the First Emperor standardized script, currencies, weights and measures. He began the construction of the Great Wall, built a large palace and was responsible for the construction of the Terracotta Army. Of course to do this, he enslaved the labor, was a ruthless leader, and was revered as Emperor but pretty much feared and hated.

 

Afterwards we visited Xi'an's city wall which was pretty amazing. Our weather was cool, misty, and while not quite raining, seemed to threaten to. We had free time to wander and to take pictures.

 

We had 75-80 steps to reach the top but they were fairly easy to do for the majority of the 27 in our group. Will, the "new" assistant cruise director was in the bus with us and Jason, our guide who greeted us at the Shanghai airport and took us to the bus in Tianjin port.

 

We then visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda which was lovely and even though there were Chinese tourists there, no pushing or shoving, just a pretty spot. It is one of China's most revered pagodas and showcases figurines of Buddha.

 

We then checked into the Hilton Xi'an and the rest of the day was at leisure with dinner on our own. Many of us dined within the hotel since 5:30 wake up was a verrrry long time ago. Our room was lovely and I heard no complaints.

 

Day 2 began with a breakfast buffet at the Hilton and included both fried rice, egg station, and baked beans.... that covered many nationalities' needs!!

 

We then arrived at the Terracotta Warriors Museum shortly after it opened. I'm pretty much unable to describe how amazing the sight is. For those of you who have visited, you know what I mean, for those of you who haven't yet had the opportunity, it is incredible.

 

There are a series of large ceiling rooms with no constructed arches to hold the roof that is protecting the clay warriors from outside elements. Each of the rooms show different things, some show the reconstructed warriors as you've seen on countless tourist shows, but others show the ongoing work being done.

 

Some of the rooms show horses, others what the unrecovered rooms look like. Some show the warriors as they have been lying there for hundreds of years....broken into countless pieces.

 

Lindy said she has been told that less than 1% of the warriors have been uncovered and new estimates say that probably the site is about 10 sq miles that remains untouched. Who knows what they will uncover in the future?

 

We were prepared for pushing and shoving by Chinese tourists but surprisingly, with a few exceptions, everyone got a chance to see what they came for. One woman, with a definite British accent, stated quite firmly "do not push me", the Chinese woman responded with something and we all pushed back at each other. Order was restored by taking our turns!

 

The warriors were destroyed many years later by farmers who were mad at the emperor for enslaving them,and the roof with its original wooden trusses was burned, causing the layers of matting, clay and dirt above the trusses to fall onto the remaining warriors further breaking them. All of the warriors we saw were painstakingly put back together.

 

We left for lunch, after spending 3 hours there, another Chinese lunch that was a wide variety of dishes which we all loved, and then continued on to the Great Mosque. It is one of the oldest and largest and very well preserved Islamic mosques built in China. The gardens are lovely and serene. Many of the cherry, almond, and peach trees were blooming and even though it was lightly raining, it was lovely.

 

We walked back through the Moslem Quarter and there were stalls and stalls on tiny streets throughout the Quarter and if it hadn't been raining and being on a tight time budget we would have been delighted to stop and shop.

 

We then transferred back to the hotel, where many freshened up and then departed for the Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show.

 

Some of the people were a little leery of a "dinner show" but were delighted with the costumes and dancing...just seeing the fabric of the women dancers was worth seeing! Dinner was Chinese food, but the beer and rice wine flowed and several people left the show in a very happy and relaxed mood! We were back at the Hilton by 10pm and had a great night's sleep.

[smoothsailors]

Welcome Back Onboard...your posts have been missed!!! (Seriously, they're like my morning jolt of caffeine!)

 

As others have said, THANK YOU for taking so many along on your incredible journey especially those who could not physically take this trip.

 

The photos on your blog are amazing...look forward to your next post!

 

And continue to enjoy!!!

[cbb]

April 6

 

After a buffet breakfast at the Hilton we headed for the airport for a 9am flight to Beijing. Jason, our shepherd, stressed over the flight because he said that the flights from Xi'an are notorious for being delayed or cancelled. We had no problems.

Important Note: Jason said that the airports are getting very very picky. Nail clippers will be confiscated so put them into checked luggage, same with any type of small scissors. The same is true for all liquids, regardless of ounce size so everything should be put into checked bags.

 

Our problem was that I travel light so all I was carrying was a backpack which would not get checked. My contact solution is a must if I am to see tourist spots so our much loved Will, the assistant cruise director, packed our liquids, which were in a quart bag, into his checked bag, as well as others' quart bags that also needed to be in check luggage. Yay, Will.....we so owe you! Lesson: don't pack lightly!! Take a small bag that can be checked.

 

No problems with the flight and we arrived in Beijing and were taken to lunch. Lunch was at a restaurant on the 2nd floor of a jade store. We were supposed to be shown how jade items are made from the stone, and then have time to shop but Jason recognized our hunger was making some of us impatient, so off to lunch we went.

 

Lunch was excellent with lots of different kinds of food coming steadily. We were all fans of the big lazy susan in the center of the tables we had encountered because we could get seconds without bothering our table mates...always a good thing! Everyone was able to find something they enjoyed then shopping began! I did not purchase anything...remember my whole "travel lightly?"

 

After lunch we went to the Great Wall at the Juyongguan section. The day was misty but did not rain. Some wished for the sun but I think it added to the beauty of the area to see the mist over the mountains....at times it looked like a painting.

 

Every one of us climbed the wall but stopped or continued at their own pace. All of us could have bought the tee shirt with "I climbed the wall" and it would have been the truth.

 

The Chinese people were all in a holiday mood and there was much laughing and posing for family photos. Several of us were approached by them and ended up in their photos. I guess it is no different than us taking pictures of people in African ports!

 

One of our guys had stopped at one of the rest spots and appeared in a picture with 3 Chinese, then 7-8 more showed up and he was in that picture and eventually he thinks there were 15 or so....he was gently patted on the head several times...perhaps he is now a favorite uncle!!

 

We checked into the Regent Hotel by 6 with dinner on our own. Many of us found restaurants, fast food, snack places, but we also walked down to the Night Food Market and saw the stalls selling fish, turtle, cricket, worms, roaches, snakes, pigeon, and pork, chicken, beef and a variety of baked sweets.

 

You could pick your skewer of fresh meat and they would grill it immediately for you. I was not that brave, but the locals and some tourists seemed to enjoy it. I don't know of anyone in our group that ate street food. I do not want to pick up an intestinal souvenir so I'm pretty careful of what I eat.

 

One of our guys had a small medical problem and was encouraged to seek help at one of Beijing's best hospitals where they did absolutely nothing for him. At the end of this land trip he returned to the ship and the ship's physician immediately took care of the situation and he is fine today. Everyone on board, that I've heard of, that has had any medical problems has been pleased with their care on board.

 

April 7:

 

I threw open the curtains only to be blinded by the brightest blue skies, lovely sun and not a cloud, smog, fog or any sort of pollution anywhere! From our 13th floor room we could see the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. How cool is that!!!

 

All of the flowering trees were in bloom so it was pretty hard to take a bad picture. We arrived just as everything was opening so Tiananmen Square was not crowded at all and we were able to easily walk around.

 

Then we walked across the street and began walking through the Forbidden City complex of buildings. What a beautiful place that was. One would walk around a corner or through an arch and there would be peach trees, a fountain, and old rocks, then through another arch and cherry blossoms were everywhere...just gorgeous!!! Lovely little carvings on all the lintels and soffits. What a great time to visit!

 

I wanted to bring home every Chinese child I saw, particularly the little girls. One little one, about 18 months old was in shoes we would call "mary janes" with a little red dress and coat and hat that all matched. What was so adorable, however, was that she had mastered a swagger to her walk, and her hat was so perfectly off center that she was absolutely a joy to watch.

 

I waved to her, and she looked at me very solemnly, looked up at her mom, back at me, and broke out laughing! Oh my goodness, I just wanted to pick her up and bring her home with me...if we all could just play with other nations' children, maybe it would be a more peaceful place to live.

 

Ok....so very little pushing and shoving the past 4 days; the Chinese are among the hardest working people I've seen, their country is immaculate and trees and flowers are groomed to perfection. Along every roadside and on every street, people were weeding, sweeping, and grooming the area.

 

Google and Facebook is blocked by the central government, one must hope that their number is picked in the lottery held every 2 months to be able to purchase a car. If you drive without the legal document the fine is thousands of Yuan, which of course they can't afford, and there are road checks often.

 

The 1 child policy was changed last year to permit a second child but if one already has a 2nd child it is not a legal child and therefore will not receive an education. Their birth is not registered so they don't exist. Now the government is allowing for a 2nd child but has not issued any information about whether children born before this year will be "grandfathered in."

 

Those 2nd children could be educated at the parents' expense but the private schools are either too expensive for most Chinese families or are so awful that no parent would send their child there.

 

I was blown away by the Terracotta Warriors and did not expect to be. Just the amount of human effort that it took to make those thousands of figures was almost beyond my comprehension.

 

Lindy was standing beside me when I got my first glimpse and I said "awesome" and she said that no matter how many times she sees them or takes others to see them she has the same reaction.

 

I expected Beijing to be the Beijing that I had seen on television when I was young; dark clothes, drab buildings, people not really looking at each other, and not much joy in their lives. Instead, Beijing has high end department stores (Prada was close to our hotel, and the Ferrari and Aston Martin dealer was on the other side!)

 

The men and women are very well dressed in bright colors or very stylish black, the buildings are outlined in lights in a variety of colors and although the flag reminds me that I am still in Chairman Mao's country, it seems as capitalistic as NYC.

 

The Chinese government has had hundreds if not thousands of flowering trees planted along all roads all the way from Beijing to Tianjin port. There are many "mushroom" towns that have been built with hardly anyone living in them. Just enormous tall apartment or condo buildings, with shops for people who don't live there.

 

The Chinese will be hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics so they are also starting to build venues for that as well. As the joke goes, "what is the national bird of China?" and of course the answer is "the building crane." Jason says the Chinese people overwhelmingly support the Olympics being held in their country which is not necessarily true in other countries.

 

Jason tells us that the Chinese government and Chinese people hope to be the #1 economic power in the world. Will they surpass the US...I, of course don't know the answer to that.

 

We did hear stories of corruption in high places from CNN, that if you know someone or are in a position of power, your 2nd child can get registered, you would be able to buy a car when you wanted to, and would be able to afford to live wherever you wanted.

 

I do know that in 207BC the peasants overthrew the great Qin dynasty because of the Emperor's misuse of power and Tiananmen Square stands as a testament to what almost happened because of the people.

 

These young Chinese people will find a way to access the internet, to be on Facebook, to be able to google, to make China a different place than the current leaders want. I know of one little girl who already has her swagger....watch out world...she's coming!

[Floridiana]

So enjoyable to read your report!

[TenerifeSharon]

Cynthia,

 

I never tire of reading your wonderful reports. They are like getting letters from a good friend who is on a phenomenal journey, and just bubbling over with the sheer joy of experiencing new places. Thank you again, and again!

[no fuss travel]

Thank you. You brought back many pleasant memories of the various sites we visited while we were touring China. I agree with you about the Terra Cotta Warriors, there are no words to describe what you are viewing.

[Emma Chisit]

Good to hear you enjoyed your China trip – and had acceptable weather and lots of blossoms. We ate at that same dumpling restaurant in Xi’an - it wasn’t part of our tour, but we sought it out as it’s very famous. (We had read that Xi’an is supposedly where the art of dumpling making was refined – and if you come there and haven’t eaten dumplings as well as seeing the Terracotta Army then you haven’t truly seen Xi’an!) Enjoyed the Tang Dynasty Show too, touristy or not. Not sure about your affection for the Lazy Susan though. You get sick of them after a while on longer tours, especially when braised celery featured every time – and kept circulating forlornly while the more appealing dishes were quickly scoffed.

 

Not long now till you visit your two Japanese ports of Hiroshima (11 April) and Kobe (12 April). Looking at the Japan Guide website with an update on the 2016 Cherry Blossom (sakura) season, it looks like you should see some cherry blossom there too. Peak viewing is around 6 -7 April in Hiroshima and Kobe (Kyoto) so it's pretty close to your visit. Looking forward to the photos!

http://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/

Also looks like Seoul has similar timing (6 April full bloom) so as you will be there 9 April (today here) there should be some great viewing as well.

[Emma Chisit]

Not long now till you visit your two Japanese ports of Hiroshima (11 April) and Kobe (12 April). Looking at the Japan Guide website with an update on the 2016 Cherry Blossom (sakura) season, it looks like you should see some cherry blossom there too. Peak viewing is around 6 -7 April in Hiroshima and Kobe (Kyoto) so it's pretty close to your visit. Looking forward to the photos!

http://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/

Also looks like Seoul has similar timing (6 April full bloom) so as you will be there 9 April (today here) there should be some great viewing as well.

 

Whoops! Checked the website and it seems they had a storm and the petals are falling in Kyoto and Hiroshima. Hope there are still some of the later-blooming ones with blossom when you are there. Maybe today in Seoul there will still be blossoms. They are unpredictable as I remember from when we lived in Washington DC and quite often the Cherry Blossom Festival had no relation to what was happening blossom-wise.

[travelglobetrotter]

We spent about a month in China in 2003, and very much enjoyed our visit to Xi'an, which we found to be very impressive. In 2003, we were warned about not using tap water to drink, or brush teeth. In the western hotels you stayed in, is that rue today? I'm wondering on behalf of a nephew who will be traveling there in June. Thanks, Marlene

[Floridiana]

The hotels provide bottled water. It is not advisable to drink the tap water.

[cbb]

No, do not drink the water in the asian countries; bottled water is provided in the better hotels--use that for meals and brushing teeth.

 

Since we were on an excursion bus, there were bottles of water, sometimes chilled, on the bus and the guides regularly refilled the cooler. We always took more than we needed since we'd discreetly bring our own water to the dining tables.

 

A glass of beer, soda, or spring water wasn't enough for us at dinner or at lunch...we're water drinkers.

[Floridiana]

I just want to let you know hat I read your blog as well, great photos! Actually, I come to this thread only for the two cruise reporters. It's so refreshing to read about an enjoyable adventure.