Saturday, April 20, 2013

Today we didn't have anything planned until the evening where we were taking a Dinner Cruise down the river.  However we hadn't seen the "real" Reclining Buddha and we had found out that it was right down the river from us.  We had been right next door to it the day we went to the Grand Palace.  After breakfast we went and talked to the Concierge.  He said that he could arrange a private tour for us on a long boat where we would see an Orchid Farm, Fish Farm, Canal tour, and Floating Markets.  He would then drop us off at Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha) and w would find our own way back.

We went up to our rooms for a bit to decide what we wanted to do.  We finally went downstairs and told the Concierge we were ready.  He walked us to the pier which was right around the corner from our hotel and told them what we wanted to do.  They said it would be 2 hours and would cost 2200 Baht for the 4 of us.  That was about $75 for the 4 of us.

We walked through a ferry to get onto the long boat.  We had to step down some to get on it but we all managed to get on ok.  He took us all through the canals.  I had no idea that people lived this way.  It was really pretty interesting.  We then stopped at an Orchid Farm where he told us to get off.  Once we got off they told us it cost 20 Baht each to walk through  This was less than $1 but we didn't realize that we were going to have to pay anything else after paying our 2000 Baht.  They had lots of pretty orchids but you can only look so much.  

The next place he took us was the floating market.  We weren't even sure what it was.  First of all I fell getting out of the boat and landed on my knee that I had replaced so that smarted some and also swelled up some. Once off, I found someone that spoke English and asked them what we were looking at and they said it was a very small floating market.  When we got there we were told that we had 2 minutes.  I am not sure why he even told us to get off.  We could have seen just as much riding past it but I guess we had to get off and walk through part of it to really get a feeling for what it was all about.

The next place was the Fish Farm. All we did here was buy a loaf of bread from some woman and broke it up and fed the fish.  They were all over the place and pretty big.  After we did that it was time to go see Wat Pho but not before some women rowing their boats next to us to sell us souvenirs.  We all bought something from them. 

When we got to the pier to get off to see Wat Pho, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get off.  It was a huge step up with the boat bobbing up and down in the water.  I finally crawled out of the boat but the ground was so hot it burned my hands trying to stand up.  To top it all off, the boat had already left and the woman there told us we had to pay 20 Baht each to land there.  Talk about being mad!  He was supposed to have let us off at the public pier.  After paying our money we went straight to Wat Pho.  There were lots of temples of there and I would have like to look at all of them but it was so hot after being out on the boat for 2 hours and the temperate had to be at least 100.  

It cost 100 Baht per person (approx $3) to see it.  We all wanted to get change but the girl wouldn't do it.  I had put 500 Baht on the counter and she told me I was paying for everybody and my friends were paying me back.  We argued with her but she wasn't budging.  We found the Reclining Buddha easily.  It was HUGE but it was so crowded.  They did have free ice water after we finished looking at it.  Good thing because I had already drank 2 bottles of water and needed some more.

We decided that because it was so hot we weren't going to look at anything else so now we had to figure out where the pier was that we needed to catch a ferry.  We walked the wrong way first but after asking several people we finally got turned around and finally found it.  We were once again dripping wet from the heat.  They were selling soft drinks there so I got one because I had already drunk the bottle of water I had received at the temple.  

We had been told to get the Orange Flag ferry ad ride it to Pier N1 so we did just that.  When we got off we were at the Oriental.  We could see our hotel but couldn't figure out how to get there.  We walked and walked and walked -- sometimes winding up on dead end streets.  We knew our hotel was there but just to find it.  We finally got on track and I kept thinking it was right around the corner.  I felt like I as having a heatstroke but I kept going.  We passed several men dressed in suits along the way talking on walkie talkies.  We finally found our hotel.  It wasn't the wing we were staying in but we could at least get in the cool and walk through the building to get to our wing.  As we neared, I saw a parade of cars leaving the hotel.  I think they were being led by a Police escort.  There were even more men on walkie talkies.  We made our way into the lobby and plopped our wet bodies on the first seats we found.  Someone immediately came over and brought us cold towels and offered us water.  I know they probably thought we were street people.  We continued to sit there.  We were convinced that somebody important was still coming and we wanted to sit there and see who it was.  After all, we would be the first people they would see when they walked in the door.  

I looked up and there was a man in a business suit looking over our way.  I figured he was the equivalent to Secret Service or something.  He then started walking towards us.  I said well i guess this man is going to come tell us to leave.  It was quite the opposite.  He wanted to know if there was anything he could get for us.  We told him we were just cooling off and would be leaving soon.  We asked him what all the walkie talkie men were doing and he said that they had just said goodbye to some Dignitaries but that we were important to them also.  Now wasn't that nice!

We had cooled off enough to make our way downstairs to the buffet.  It was good again.  I think the best thing for me was the little hamburger that I had them to make for me.  After eating we went back to our rooms to rest up for the evening.  We were going on a Dinner Cruise on the river.

We decided to go downstairs a little early and get something to drink at Happy Hour.  We hadn't been there long until they came and picked us up for our Dinner.  We had a short ride to the pier where we got on our boat.  They had assigned us seats which was good so we didn't have to fight for a table.  We were at Table 1 on the upper deck.  We had really good views but it was not air conditioned.  Thankfully as the sun went down it cooled down a little, plus there was a breeze.

The food was just ok or less than ok but the entertainment was excellent.  We passed by several of these boats on the river but non of them looked like they were having as good a time as those on our boat.  It lasted about 2 hours and then they took us back to our hotel.

Mary P and I have a 6:00 am flight out in the morning so we had to get back and get packed up.  It was around 11:00 pm before we got to bed and we had a 2:00 am wake up call the next morning.  Oh well, we can sleep on the plane.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Today we had another all day tour which left our hotel lobby around 7:00 am.  We had to once again get a quick bite to eat at the complimentary breakfast buffet.

When they picked us up this morning there were more people on the mini van and we were the last to be picked up. We were crammed on there like sardines and I was miserable.  However, we only went a short distance until they took us off the van and put us on a big bus.  However we were among the last to get on there and there weren't any seats together.  Mary P sat at the back near the Rosga's and I sat near the middle next to a woman from Arizona.  We had a nice talk along the way.

We went to several temples along the way.  The first place that we went to was really big.  I don't remember the name of it.  They had golf carts there that you could rent for an hour to drive to the different buildings so we did that.  It was well worth it.  I think it cost 400 Baht (approx $14).  I don't think there was any way we would have been able to walk it all in the amount of time we had and to be able to see all of it.  Another of the places we went to had a Reclining Buddha.  This was one of the reasons we booked the four.  Unfortunately it wasn't the correct Reclining Buddha.  At that stop I decided to go to the restroom and there was this lady that yelled at me and wanted me to pay (I had walked past her and ignored her) so I just went back to the bus.  I didn't really need to go, I just wanted to check it out.

After this, we drove back to Bangkok and got on a boat where we were served a buffet lunch and did some scenic cruising.  I really enjoyed that part.  There was a young couple at our table that told us they had just gotten married.  Terry asked them if they were on their honeymoon. They didn't know what he was talking about.  They were from Barcelona and knew some English but not a lot so they didn't know the term "Honeymoon".  Terry tried to explain it but I am not sure they ever understood.  We had a lot of fun with them.  Mary P told them that her son was a Fireman.  They didn't understand what she was saying.  I explained that he was los bomberos and they understood.  Craig had taught me that when he was working.

That part of the tour was about 2 hours and after that they took us back to our hotel and it was about time for Happy Hour again.  However after Happy Hour we went to the Italian Restaurant in the Hotel because we had a coupon for pizza that we wanted to use.  It was just ok but it was still fun.  We had a time trying to find the door into the restaurant.  They had seating outside but it was still hot so we told them we wanted to eat inside.  They seated us upstairs right next to the kitchen!

Thursday, August 18, 2013

Today we went down to get a quick bite to eat at the complimentary breakfast bar.  The tour company picked us up around 7:00 am for our all day tour.  It was a private tour today which was good -- which means there were only the 4 of us on it.  We were traveling to the Bridge Over River Kwai and the Death Railway.  

We had a 2 hour ride in the mini van.  Along the way we stopped to look at a cemetery..  We also went to a museum about the railway showing how the POW's built it.  After a quick look through there we got on a long boat that took us to the Bridge Over River Kwai.  We walked over the bridge ad did a little bit of shopping.  It was soon time for the train.  We elected to upgrade on the train for 300 baht per person (about $10).  We were told on this car we would get a snack and drinks.  I wonder if we would have gotten it anyway but we went ahead and paid our money.  

The train ride was an hour and we saw lots of pretty scenery along the way.  It was also hot in there because the train wasn't air conditioned.  We rode with the windows open.  When we got to our stop our guide had us to rush to get off the train so we could get ahead of all those getting off.  It seems that a lot of us were heading to the same restaurant.  Some of them were on big buses and we beat them and were among the first to get there.  It was a buffet lunch and pretty good. I can say that so far I am pleased with the food in Thailand -- much better than China! On the way to the restaurant we saw some monkeys on the side of the road.  I was able to get pictures of some of them.  

After lunch it was a 3 hour ride back to our hotel.  The best part of getting back was that it was just about time for Happy Hour again and once again we didn't have to buy dinner again!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Today we had to leave the beautiful Diamond Princess. We had to vacate our cabins by 8:00 am which was fine because we had requested to get off the ship at 8:00 am because the hotel was sending a car to pick us up at 8:30 am.  Around 7:30 am we went to the Departures Lounge for Suite Passengers.  It wasn't crowded at all.   They had pastries, coffee, juice and water available.  We had gotten room service and ate on the balcony at 5:30 am so we weren't hungry.  Soon after we arrived at the Departures Lounge we were told we could leave the ship whenever we wanted to so we headed towards the gangway to get off.  There wasn't a line and we got off quickly.

It was raining outside so it was a mess.  The terminal building was hot and I had difficulty finding my luggage but finally found it.  Unfortunately they were not very prepared and there were no luggage carts to load our luggage onto.  The 4 of us had entirely too much luggage and it was more than we could drag outside.  We found some porters and asked for their help.  We thought maybe they had a trolley to put the luggage on but they didn't.  We just had a string of porters grabbing our luggage and we took some also.. We moved it outside to wait for our ride.  

There were people everywhere waiting for their transportation.  We frequently went out into the crowds and looked for a sign with our name on it.  Finally at 900 am I found someone working there with a phone and had them to call the hotel and ask where they were.  It seems they were there but having problems getting in to pick us up.  He finally found us and and we got another string of porters to help us carry the luggage out to the van.  We had reserved van which was supposed to be for 6 people and normal luggage.  We thought that since there were only 4 of us and an abnormal amount of luggage we should be fine.  We made it into the van but it was a tight squeeze.  The driver had to put some of the suitcases in the front seat with him.  It was crammed in the back so tight that they had to be really careful when the opened the back when we arrived at the hotel.

The ship had docked at Laem Chabang which was a 2 hour ride into Bangkok.  At least we were comfortable during the long ride.  When we arrived at the hotel and entered the lobby we approached the desk and we were directed to a couch and chairs and told to sit there.  They gave us water and cold towels.  They collected our passports and credit card information.   They then returned back with paperwork for us to sign and they gave us our room keys and we were off.  This is the 3rd time I have stayed at a Shangri-la and they have excellent Customer Service.  

We were next door to the Rosga's -- Rooms 1555 and 1556.  The rooms were beautiful and very comfortable.  All of the rooms in our wing had balconies overlooking the river.  It was hot outside but we kept our rooms ice cold.

We headed to the buffet and got a quick bite to eat because we had a tour to go on at 1:00 pm.  The buffet had everything imaginable on it and it was all delicious.  

The tour company came to our lobby to pick us up.  There 8 of us in our group.  We went to the Grand Palace.  We got there late in the afternoon and it was still very hot and a lot of walking.  The temples were so beautiful and colorful.  After that we thought we were going back to our hotel but they said we had one more stop.  The pulled into a jewelry store and led us inside.  We all got a complimentary soft drink and were shown a movie on gems mined in Thailand.  After that we were led through a room where they were making jewelry and then into a jewelry store.  Each one of us had a different person following us wanting us to buy something.  They had some pretty stuff but I wouldn't even look at it because I didn't want any high pressure from them.  We quickly found our guide and told her we were ready to go so she found a van to take us back to the hotel.  

Once we got back to the hotel it was almost time for Happy Hour.  Each evening from 5:30 - 7:30 they have complimentary drinks -- beer, wine, mixed drinks, soft drinks, coffee and tea along with an assortment of snacks.  There is also some entertainment which is really good.  We went and camped out and got our coffee and Cokes and ate their food.  After that we didn't have to buy dinner.  We called it a night soon after that because we had an all day excursion booked for the the next day that leaves the hotel at 7:00 am.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Today was our last day of the cruise.  We all decided to have breakfast served to us on the balcony.  Unfortunately the Rosga's got theirs about 30 minutes before we got ours and they were already finished and gone back into their cabin by the time we got ours.  They invited us to come sit with them while they ate but if we did that we wouldn't be able to hear them when they came to deliver ours.

We went and played in the casino a little today.  I played keno and got 6 out of 7 numbers 2 times for a total of $175.  That was nice to win something on the last day.  I just wish it had been more.

We all went to the International Dining Room for lunch.  Pat had to rush out for a lecture that she wanted to go hear and we went back to our room to start packing.  We are to have our suitcases out in the hall tonight between 8 and 10.  It seems a little early because there are still plenty of things going on that might be good to see.

We decided not to go to the dining room tonight.  I got a glimpse of the menu and none of it sounded good.  We went to the show.  It was the comedian that we saw the other night.  He was good again as usual.  After that we went to the buffet to get a bite to eat.  The food there was really pretty good and I enjoyed eating there. We filled up our plates and sat by the pool and ate.

It was time to go back to the room and finish up final packing and make sure the suitcases were out in the hall.  Everything is done.  We set our clocks back 1 hour tonight and will be getting off the ship around 8:00 am in the morning.  We have ordered room service for breakfast and requested it to be delivered at 5:30 am.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Today was a sea day and not much going on.  Just enjoying the cruise before it is finally over.

I had an appointment at 8:00 am for a facial.  I needed to eat breakfast first so I went to Sabatini's at 7:30 am when they opened.  I was the first one there.  I told them I had an 8:00 appointment and was in a hurry.  I gave them my order as I was walking to the table -- pineapple and Special K cereal.  They had it on the table in front of me in about 2 minutes.   By the time the Rosga's got there I was almost finished eating.  I made my appointment in plenty of time.

There were 2 sessions of bingo.  I mentioned to Mary P that on all the other cruises we went on that we usually won bingo every session.  So far we had won nothing.  Our luck changed.  I won $50 and Mary P won $300.  It was about time.

Mary P and I had lunch in the International Dining Room while Pat waited in the room for Terry to return.  He had gone to a Veterans Get Together.  I found him after lunch in the casino.........

The show was the singers and dancers.  They were pretty good.  However, we sat on the first row so that nobody's head would be in front of us and it was a little hard to focus on all the activities on stage being that close.

Nothing else much going on.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Today we were in Singapore.  I guess they got the problems with the ship fixed.  We were only 30 minutes late.  We docked at approximately 9:30 am.  It was raining.  Hopefully it won't be like that all day.

Each person getting off the ship had to go through a face to face immigration leaving the ship and returning to the ship.  There was quite a long line when we got off the ship but it went quickly.  Getting back on the ship went quickly as there weren't that many people getting back on when we did. I think they were all in the ship terminal using the free wifi.  They probably waited until the last minute to board.

There was a free shuttle to the Millennia Walk Mall.  It was about a 15 minute ride.  With it being Sunday there wasn't much traffic.  Once we got off the shuttle we walked to the Singapore Flyer.  It is much like the London Eye but bigger (I think I read that somewhere).  We had purchased our tickets ahead of time.  Once we picked up the tickets we went up to board.  There weren't many people in line so we waited 5 minutes max if that much.  The ride lasts 30 minutes because it goes around slowly.  The views of Singapore were great.

After we finished with the Singapore Flyer we stopped at a "Fish Spa" where little fish eat the dead skin off your feet.  It felt really funny and tickled.  This took around 30 minutes.  Then we were off to the Hop on Hop off bus.  We took the red route which took a little over an hour to go around.  We didn't get off at any of the stops because we were running out of time.  There were shopping malls all over the place -- a lot of them very high end.  

We walked back to the Millennia Walks Mall to catch the shuttle.  It was about 4:30 or so and I was starved.  We hadn't eaten since breakfast so we found this little fast food place right by the shuttle and got a quick snack.  It was next door to Outback Steakhouse which had free wifi so I was able to tap into that while we were there.

After a quick snack and rest we caught a shuttle and went back to the ship.  We had just enough time to clean up before time for dinner.

After dinner we came back to our room so we could watch the sail away from Singapore.  We then went to the show in the showroom -- a singer.  She was very good.  I had seen here earlier in the cruise.  Still looking for something to do, we went to the Piano Bar and listened to this guy play the piano and sing.  I couldn't sit still through that so I asked if we could go somewhere else.  We went to another bar to listen to the entertainment but it was so bad we left after about 15 minutes.

We got on the elevator to go back to the room (so I thought) and Pat mentioned going up to the 14th floor.  That is where the buffet is.  I told her I didn't want anything but I would go.  She announced that she wanted to go to the movies.  I knew I didn't want to do that.  Terry had already punched 10 on the elevator.  I told her I was getting off on 10 and that Terry could go with her to the movies.  So that was how the night ended.  

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Today was a sea day.  Not much going on -- mostly eating and resting.

During the afternoon, the Captain came on and said that they were having some kind of problems with the ship and we were not able to go as fast as we needed to go in order to get into Singapore at 9:00 am on Sunday as scheduled.  His technical people were continuing to work on the problem and he would let us know of any changes but it was looking like we wouldn't get into Singapore until 1:00 pm on Sunday.  We didn't have any formal tours booked so it wouldn't really affect us that much.

During dinner, an announcement was made that they had a medical emergency and needed anybody that donated blood regularly with O+ blood.  I am not sure how many people were able to help out but we did see one man leave the dining room when the announcement was made.

Later around 10:00 pm the Captain came on the speakers in our state rooms.  He never does that unless it is something really important.  He said that because of the medical emergency we were going to have to airlift one of the crew out.  We needed to be closer to Singapore before this could be done so they were going as fast as they could.  The Singapore Air Force were going to be doing the airlift and would be there around midnight. 

Probably about 10:45 pm or so, the Captain came back on and said the helicopter was already on its way and would be there earlier than midnight.  We were told not to take any flash pictures.  Several cabins on the 11th and 12th floor towards the front of the ship were evacuated from their cabins because of safety issues.  They were moved to several of the lounges where they would be kept comfortable until this was completed.  

It wasn't long until I heard the helicopter pass over our balcony so we all went outside to watch.  They made several passes, getting lower each time.  Finally we didn't see or hear them anymore.  We heard the next morning that the airlift was successful and the crew member got to the hospital in Singapore safely.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Today we were docked in Phu My, Vietnam by 7:00 am.  We had a private tour booked to go to Saigon.  We were to meet them on the dock at 7:30 am so this meant getting up early and having room service for breakfast.  We got on the dock about 7:25 am and they were there waiting on us.  Our tour guide's name was "Near".  We also had a driver but I don't think we were ever told his name.  There was just the 4 of us and we were in a Mercedes Benz Van that seated around 14 people so we had plenty of room to spread out.

The drive to Saigon was about 2 hours from Phu My.  Our guide gave us a lot of information on Vietnam on the drive into town.  The traffic seemed to be more regulated than it was in Nha Trang but there were still people going every which direction on scooters on all the streets.  It was pretty scary when we had to get out of the van and walk across the street but our guide went ahead of us and tried to stop traffic as well as possible for us.

The first stop was the Jade Emperor Pagoda.  He told us lots about it and we went in and he explained things as we went but I didn't even catch 5% of what he said.  I do know that they were selling fish and turtles outside the entrance.  You could purchase them, say a prayer and put them in the water or something like that.  We saw a turtle that had someone's name written on it.  I guess you couldn't do that to a fish.  He also went through some kind of ritual and gave us red pieces of paper that we were to put near our money and it would bring us luck.

The next stop was a factory where they made lacquer wear.  They showed us the process on how it was made.  They had some beautiful pieces. We did some shopping and bought a few things to bring back home.

Then it was time to go to the War Museum.  Of course the views were slanted and it wasn't very pleasant. With the things that were on display, I don't see how they wouldn't have animosity towards us.

We then went to see Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office.  We weren't able to go into the Cathedral because it was only opened certain hours to tourists. We did go in the post office.  They  were selling trinkets and Mary P and I bought fans to help with the heat.

They took us to see a Water Puppet show.  It was quite entertaining and I am not sure how they did some of it.  Of course it was all in Vietnamese so we didn't know what they were saying.  It lasted about 30 minutes so at least it was a chance to get a little rest in a semi-cool place.

For lunch they had recommended Pho 2000.  This is a noodle place where Bill Clinton had eaten in 2000.  We decided that we really didn't want any Vietnamese food.  We asked them to take us to the Rex Hotel Rooftop Restaurant where they had both Vietnamese and Western food.  It wasn't too hot outside in the shade and it was nice and relaxing.  Of course we ordered way more food than was necessary.  The billing was only $140 this time but they did take USD. In fact, everyplace that we went to took USD.

After lunch they had planned for us to go to the Ben Thanh Market.  We had seen about enough markets but we agreed to go in.  There were 2 different kinds of stores -- stores where the prices were set by the government and you couldn't bargain and stores where you could bargain.  We just went in the stores where the prices were set and bought a few things.  We were supposed to be there an hour but we finished up in about 30 minutes so we asked them to take us to the only Starbucks in Saigon for coffee to go on the way back to the port.

The trip didn't seem like it took as long to get back but the traffic going back into Saigon was terrible and our guide was going to have to go back into Saigon after he dropped us off at the port.  He said his day starts at 3;00 am and it is over around 7:00 pm.  He was a very good guide and thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

One thing that he told us was that in Northern Vietnam, they eat dogs.  In Southern Vietnam, they eat clean rats.  Terry asked him if the rats tasted like chicken. He said they were better.  I will just have to believe him because I am not going to try either one.  He was from a small town in Southern Vietnam near Cambodia.

After we got back to the ship we rested up a bit until time to go eat dinner.  They were extremely fast tonight -- probably because there weren't many people there.  All about time was 7:00 pm.  We were supposed to have left earlier but because of the tides they were giving us longer in port.  Pat and I went to the show and saw the violinist.  He was just ok.

Tomorrow is a sea day so we can rest up for our day that we will have in Singapore on Sunday.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Today we were in Nha Trang, Vietnam.  We woke up around 5:00 am and it was raining and thundering.  We figured we were ok because we were still 3 hours away from port.  We were on a private tour today (non ship tour).  There were 3 groups of 18 and we were in group #3.  We all met in the casino at 7:30 am.  They were supposed to start tender operations at 8:00 am and the ship was arranging a special one for our group so that we didn't' have to go get tender tickets.  There was a huge lag time and we didn't know what was going on.  We were soon told there was a tropical storm outside that was affecting the tenders.

After going through Vietnam immigration and having our landing card stamped we finally got on a tender around 9:00 am.  It was so hot and steamy in there.  I was just glad it wasn't a long ride.  Only about 15 minutes.

We went to several places today -- mostly trying to get us to buy something.  We started out at the embroidery factory.  They had beautiful work there.  I thought we were just going there to see the process and watch them embroidery.  Then a lot of people started buying pictures.  Someone said they got one for $10.  I would have liked to have had one but I was afraid I would have a hard time getting it home and then if I got it home I don't know where I would hang it.

We then went to the Orphanage.  They let us out at the corner and we walked down this muddy road with kids following us trying to get us to buy things from them.  When we got to the orphanage we were told that most of the orphans had gone to the beach on a field trip.  There were about 5 or 6 little kids there taking their nap that they let us see.  Also one of the monks brought out a little child and put it in Mary P's lap.  I wasn't able to get a good picture of them, I just hope Pat got one.

We then went and saw some ladies make straw mats.  A lady in our group even got down and tried it.  She said it was hard work.  Once again they were trying to get us to buy.  The price was right -- $2 for little one or $5 for big one but I didn't know what I would do with it when I got it home.

We then went to an old house for a tour and then had a bite to eat on the outside patio.  They served us fresh fruit and tea or sold us soft drinks or beer for $1.  It was a nice break to get out of the heat because they had a fan in there.

They the took us to see ladies making conical hats.  They were selling them for $2, but once again I had no idea how in the world I would get it home.  Somebody said put it in your suitcase and fill it with things but I would be afraid it would get crushed courtesy of the airlines.

They took us to a factory to see how rice paper was made.  It was so hot and dirty in there and I don't think I ever want to eat rice paper.  This was being done by women and they had coats on.  I don't see how they could stand it.

The women were the ones doing all the work.  They get up around 4:00 am to start work and go to bed early.  The men get naps in the daytime and the women don't.

We went to lunch at a restaurant on the river.  The stuff  I ate was good but I was selective in what i ate.

Along the way we stopped at the Big White Buddha for pictures and then later stopped at a temple where I chose to stay on the bus because I was worn out at that point.  

There was one last stop at the market.  It was a madhouse and maybe even scarier than the one we went to in Hong Kong.  This one had people riding scooters through there.  You had to be careful or you might get run over.  They made no noise so you couldn't hear them coming up behind you.

I don't think there were any traffic signals or stop signs.  It is a free for all.  As our bus driver came to an intersection, he honked the horn to warn people he was coming through.  There didn't seem to be any lanes.  People were all over the place..  If we got behind a vehicle that was going too slow our driver just honked at them to get them to pull over.  It wasn't unusual for multiple people to ride on one scooter.  I saw a family of 3 -- Mom, Dad and little baby laying down asleep.

We were on one of the last tenders back to the ship.  All aboard was 5:00 pm where we are now sailing to Phu My, Vietnam.  We have a private tour booked where we are going to Saigon.  It is 2 hours away from the port but there are only the 4 of us so we will get to do more of what we want to see without waiting on others.

We were exhausted when we got back to the ship and also starved.  We cleaned up for dinner and once in the dining room we ate everything in sight whether it was good or not.  We rushed through dinner so we could go see the 7:00 pm show.  It was an Australian singer that was pretty good.  It was all we could do to stay awake during the show.  On the way back to the room we started hearing noises that sounded like wind whistling.  When I got into my room I realized it is storming outside.  It is lightning and thundering really loud.  I hope we can still stop at Phu My tomorrow.

Oh well, I am tired so off to bed I go

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Today was a sea day and we took it easy.

We started out having breakfast in Sabatini's which was good as usual.  As always, Terry ordered everything on the menu.  The waiter told me he was worried about me because I only ordered a bagel and pineapple.  I guess he couldn't tell by looking at me that I hadn't missed any meals.

We stopped briefly at the casino where I once more had no luck.  I then went to the lecture where we learned what to expect in Vietnam where we will be the next 2 days.  It is really pretty scary listening to it all.  We have private tours the next 2 days so hopefully everything will work out ok.

Pat stayed and listened to another lecture and I went to the room to take care of a few things before time for lunch.  I had to eat in a hurry because I had a spa appointment for a massage.

The massage was good but I had to hurry to Bingo.  Mary P had already bought my cards and I got there right as they started.  No luck again.

We went back to the room to wait for our chocolate covered strawberries before dinner.  Unfortunately they didn't arrive and we had to leave to go eat.  

We hurried through dinner so we could go to the early show.  It was the singers and dancers.  I hadn't seen any of their shows on this cruise so thought I would go check it out.  They were pretty good and it was only a 30 minute show which was long enough.

I needed to get change for our port tomorrow.  We were told they take USD and to take small denominations.  The smallest I had was a $20.  I found what I thought was a change machine in the casino.  I put a $20 in it and out came $20 in tokens for the arcade.  I then had to go to the casino cashier and get my money for them as well as getting small bills for my other money.  Oh well, lesson learned.

We then went to Club Fusion to listen to a group sing that Pat & Terry had told us about.  They were good.  When they went for a break at 8:30 pm we decided to go back to the room to get everything ready for tomorrow.  We will anchor at 8:00 am and have to catch tenders in to port.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Today was our second day in Hong Kong.  We had opted for a tour to Macau so had to meet in the showroom at 7:45 am.  Yesterday we had to tender from the ship but today we are docked at the Cargo Ship Terminal so the only way in or out is on a shuttle or a ship tour.  We were late docking because of the traffic into the terminal.  

When we checked in for our tour, they gave us our passport because we needed it to travel to Macau.  We then went to sit until time to leave the ship.  We had been sitting there about 5 minutes and all of a sudden I realized I had left my room key in my room.  Of course for those of you who have cruised, you know that I need that to get off the ship.  I told someone working there what I had done and that i was going to get it.  We were in the showroom at the front of the ship and my cabin was 3 floors up at the Aft end of the ship.  I ran all the way there and all the way back.  I was exhausted but I made it.  Then we still had to wait a little longer.  If I had known that, I wouldn't have run the whole way!

Once we got off the ship, we took a short bus ride to the ferry terminal.  We had to go through immigration leaving Hong Kong.  The ferry was nice with assigned seats and plenty of leg room (well maybe not for Terry because Pat and I put him in the middle).  It took about an hour to get to Macau where we then had to go through immigration entering Macau.  There was then a bus and a guide waiting on us.

We first visited the ruins of the 17th century St Paul's Cathedral and the Museum of Macau which had a vast collection of art and artifacts tracing Macau's history.  Unfortunately we only had 15 minutes in the museum.  It had 3 floors and I could have spent 1/2 day there.  It looked pretty interesting.

It was then time for lunch.  We were going to the restaurant at the top of Macau Sky Tower on the 60th floor.  The meal was served buffet style and there were lots of things to choose from but the desserts were the best.  We haven't had many good desserts on this trip so this was a nice treat.  We had less than an hour for the lunch but that was long enough.  

After lunch we drove through town and then went to the A Ma Temple which was erected in the 15th century by Chinese fishermen as a shrine to the goddess A Ma, for whom the city is named.  It started raining while we were there so I went back to the bus early.  It was pretty crowded there anyway and we didn't have enough time to do much else.

There are lots of big casinos there but we only drove by them and didn't get to stop and go in any.  We were on a tight time schedule and had a 4:00 pm ferry to catch.  This time we rode on a Turbo Jet Ferry which was supposed to be a little faster than the earlier one.  

We had to go through immigration once more leaving Macau.  When we got back to Hong Kong we had to go through immigration again entering Hong Kong.  

We got back to the ship around 6:00 pm -- dinner time.  We went straight to the dining room because after all we didn't want to miss a meal.  

We called it an early night.  After 2 days in Hong Kong we were pretty tired.  When we were sailing out of Hong Kong we sailed right through the middle of the light show that we had gone to see the night before.  We watched it from our back balconies and were able to see things we hadn't seen earlier.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Today we woke up in Hong Kong.  It was going to be awhile before the officials cleared the ship so we ate at Sabatini's for breakfast and then went back to the cabin to do a few things.  We had to tender so we wanted to wait until some of the crowds had gone ashore.  We finally went to the tender around 10:30 am.  It was a 30 minute ride so we got ashore around 11:00.  We had already decided that we would do the Big Bus Tour (Hop on Hop off).  We tendered in to Pier 4 and the Big Bus Tour left from Pier 7 so we didn't have far to go. We hadn't been able to get much Hong Kong money and they took credit cards so that was good.

We got on the Big Bus and got good seats on the upper level.  There weren't many stops on the route but we did get to see lots of pretty things.  We finally got off on the stop where we could get the free sampan ride.  We got them to take us to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant where we decided to eat lunch.  We had no idea what anything was on the menu so we just told them what we wanted.  It was all excellent but when the bill came it was $150 for the 4 of us.  It turned out that I ordered the most expensive thing.  Oh well.

After we ate, we needed to get back on the sampan boat to take us back to shore.  It took us a couple of boat trips before we got back to shore and then we had to walk to get back to our starting point.  We had a short wait for the Big Bus.  It wasn't long until we were back to the starting point.  It was time to head back to Pier 4 to check in for our night excursion.

Our night excursion left around 5:00 pm.  We drove to the Walk of Stars and walked along looking at the handprints of their stars. The only one I recognized was Jackie Chan.  After the guide gathered everyone back together we took a short walk to the restaurant -- Peking Gardens.  They served us Peking Duck.  It was the best meal that we have had that was served Chinese style on the Lazy Susan since had started our trip.  After dinner we took another short walk to get a place to watch the nightly light show.  We were on Kowloon side looking across the water and all the buildings lit up and put on a light show that was synchronized to music.  It lasted 13 minutes.  It was good but not as good as a light show we saw while riding the river boat down the Yangtze River.

We were then off to a night market.  It was crowded with lots of people and junk.  We didn't stay there long until we found our way back to the bus.  We were so tired by then but it was a short bus trip back to the tender so we could get back on the ship.  However once we got to the ship there was a tender there unloading the group ahead of us and it took them FOREVER to unload.  I think it was close to 11:30 pm when we got back to our rooms.  When we were coming in to the ship, a bunch of the crew was waiting for their turn to go ashore.  I guess they partied the night away.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

We decided to eat at Sabatini's for breakfast this morning.  This is a speciality restaurant that they open for the Suite passengers to eat in for breakfast.  It was good and great service.  They asked us where we had been for the past week.

They had a talk on Hong Kong port and things to do.  We went to that and got some ideas for the first day.  I think we will probably do the Hop On Hop Off during the day.  We scheduled a ship tour for the night which includes dinner and a light show that can't be seen from the ship.

It was then time for lunch.  I had to eat quickly.  Tonight is formal night.  I had made an appointment at the spa to get a facial and have my hair done.  I messed up when I booked it and did it in the middle of bingo but Mary P went and played for both of us.  Once again, no luck.

We scheduled dinner today at Sabatini's -- specialty Italian restaurant.  The menu was definitely different but the food was good.  I don't think it was as good as the steakhouse but I am glad I tried it.

After dinner we went and stood in line at the money machine to try and get Hong Kong Currency.  When it was my turn, I put $100 bill in and it was accepted.  I then tried to put another $100 bill in for Mary P and it wouldn't accept it.  I tried and tried but with no luck.  I went ahead and just got the currency for the $100 bill that it accepted.  After that Terry tried his money and it wouldn't accept his $100 bill either.  I told Mary P that we could just split the money that I got and if we needed more, we could deal with that later.

The show was the singers and dancers so I passed on that.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Today was supposed to be Shanghai.  We had a private tour scheduled and were supposed to be picked up in the terminal building at 7:45 am.  We got up, had room service and got dressed.  It was very choppy outside and raining.

Soon the Captain came on and told us that Shanghai port was closed and we were experiencing 85 mile per hour winds.  Things were not going to improve anytime soon.  We also had been trying to get into port since 1:00 am so we were still 6 hours out.  The decision was made to skip Shanghai.  I was relieved because I didn't care anything about going out in rainy weather for a tour.  I feel bad for our private tour guide because they weren't able to make money from us that day.

Since this was an unscheduled sea day it was taking them awhile to get things opened up on the ship.  They soon gave us a new daily schedule but there really wasn't much added.  They did add bingo so we went to that but once again had no luck.

Just another slow lazy day.

Later on in the day the Captain came on and said he knew we were all disappointed about missing our call in Shanghai.  We were going full speed ahead and were making preparations for us to have 2 days in Hong Kong instead of 1.  I was glad because I think I would rather go to Hong Kong 2 days so things are turning up good.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Today was another sea day.  Not much to report.  Just eat, eat and eat.  Resting up for our day in Shanghai tomorrow.

We did go to bingo but had no luck.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

This morning we arrived in Nagasaki, Japan.  We had a tour scheduled for 7:30 am to go to Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Museum and City Drive.  Since we had to go through Japanese Immigration we had to meet for our tour at 6:45 am.  This meant that we were leaving too early for room service and had to go to the buffet for breakfast.  Things are very orderly in there -- one way in and one way out.  They also control how many people are in the area at one time.  However, there are still way too many people in there so not my favorite place to eat.

Mary P had gotten sick on our excursion yesterday so they had quarantined her to the room.  She wasn't sure if they would allow her off the ship for the excursion.  They called her a little after 6:00 am and after a brief talk with her, they released her to go ashore.

When we got off the ship we had to stand in a long line.  We were instructed to bring a copy of our passport page with us.  First we went to one person who glued a form to the back of our passport page.  We then had to go to another line where they took our fingerprints and gave us permission to enter Japan.  At one point I was told there was a man holding a machine or something that was taking our temperature as we passed through.  I didn't see that one.

Once through all of this we were on our bus right at 7:30 am.  The bus was very nice and roomy and we had gotten on the last bus for this tour and it wasn't full so we had lots of room to spread out.  I am glad we went early so we could visit the sights before the crowds got there.  

Our first stop was Peace Memorial Park.  We went through and saw different monuments and our guide Hiroko explained them all to us.  At one part we met a man that was a survivor.  He comes to the park daily and greets visitors.  There was a very brief stop at a gift shop.

Our next stop was the Atomic Bomb Museum.  First we walked to ground zero to see where the bomb went off.  We then went into the museum.  They had lots of displays and you probably could spend hours there but I breezed through things because of the crowds.  It would have been more interesting to have had a guide or the audio headsets to listen to as you went through.  I went in the gift shop and they didn't take credit cards.  I had no Japanese money so I didn't buy anything.

We then went for a brief ride through the city on the way back to the ship.  We passed by one place called Lucky's.  It looked like a casino, but the machines didn't look like our slot machines.  It looked more like Pachinko Machines.  I wish it had been closer to the ship so I could have gone back and checked it out.

Our tour was short and we were back on board by 10:30 am.  Of course we were hungry so we went up to the buffet (the only place open for lunch) and they were still serving breakfast.  We waited until 11:30 am to eat lunch.

After lunch, Pat and I went down to the cruise terminal to get the free wifi since the wifi on the ship was turned off while in Japanese waters. It was very slow and not very productive.

It wasn't long before it was time to eat again.  After dinner I went to the show.  It was a comedy variety show with Pearson & Harvey.  Part of it was good and part of it was not so good.  After the show I called it a night.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

This morning started out as a leisurely morning.  We once again had room service and had a lazy morning.  In fact we didn't leave our room until time to go eat lunch.  Once back from lunch it was time to go on our excursion for the day.

We were docked at Busan, South Korea.  We had an excursion to Ja-Gal-Ch'i Market and Beomeosa Temple.  We went to the temple first.  It was about a 45 minute ride outside of Busan.  This is an active temple.  I stood in line and patiently waited for my turn to take a look inside and it seems that as soon as I got up for my turn they shut the door so we couldn't see in there.  After this happened about 3 times I decided to go ahead of the group and be first in line so I could look in one.  After that I left the people alone and didn't try and take anymore pictures of them praying.

We were there about an hour and then it was time to go to the Market.  This was a fish market.  They had all kinds of fish for sale on the side of the street and inside a building.  Some of the things they were selling I had no idea what they were.  We walked through different parts for about 45 minutes to an hour.  It was pretty interesting but it did stink.  I was taking pictures of one woman that was cleaning the fish and she got mad and yelled at me and told me "No!" so I left her alone.  She looked like she wanted to come after my camera.  There were others taking her picture and she didn't say anything to them.

By the time we got back to the ship it was time to go to dinner.  It was good once again.  After dinner Pat and Terry went to the show but I opted to come back to the room. We have an early day tomorrow.  We will be in Nagasaki, Japan and I have an excursion at 6:45 am. so it is off to bed pretty soon tonight.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Today was a sea day and time for some relaxation. We lost an hour of sleep over night so we decided to have room service for breakfast.  When they delivered the breakfast, the woman delivering it told us her name and said she was our room service attendant.  She then began to set everything up.  She put a table cloth on the table and then took everything off the tray and set it all up on the table for us.  This is the first time anything like that has ever been done for us.  It was a very nice touch.

They had a port lecture this morning on Busan, South Korea and Nagasaki, Japan that I decided to go to. It was very informative.  She even showed us pictures on how we are supposed to use these squat potties that they have in Asia.  I sure hope I don't have to try it anytime soon!  We have ship excursions in each one of these ports so we won't have to be finding our way around either one of these ports on our own,  However she did explain things in detail which would make it easier to do on our own if we so chose to do so.

I then visited the casino for a bit and deposited some of my money.  They did have Keno (my game of choice) but they were 25 cent machines and they didn't have 4 card keno.  They also will let you play using your room key which means I don't have to carry money with me.  Of course that could get very dangerous.  We were in the casino while Pat was at an enrichment lecture that we didn't want to go to.  Once that was out we were going to lunch.

Lunch today was in one of the dining rooms that advertised they had British Pub Style food.  I opted for the fish and chips and they were good.  However, I think there was something going on with the server.  He seemed to have a real attitude problem.  Things had gotten better by the time the meal was over but it wasn't too pleasant at the beginning of the meal.

It was time to go back to the room and work on pictures.  I had been putting that off until I had access to Facebook.  I did the ones on the one memory card that I had filled up but didn't do the ones on the memory card that is still in the camera.  That will come later.

One of the suite amenities is we can order snacks each day.  We ordered chocolate covered strawberries.  They delivered them to us and they were good.  There were only 4 but that was plenty.  Then there was another knock at the door and they were delivering our corsages for formal night which is tonight.  Soon after that there was another knock and they were delivering chocolate covered strawberries.  Mary P told them they had already been delivered to us and he told us to enjoy them.  The Rosga's had not filled out their order so we shard with them and they ate the 2nd order we got.

It was time for dinner.  It seems all we do it eat.  The first night on the ship Suite passengers can eat at Sabitini's Restaurant free.  When we called to get reservations once we got on the ship all they had available was 9:00 pm.  We told them that was too late.  They then told us we could eat at the Steakhouse free the following night if we would like to.  We opted for that so that was where we were going.  I figured it was like the Pinnacle Grill on Holland America.  Boy was I wrong.  It was better.  I got a filet and it had to have been one of the best steaks I had ever put in my mouth.  It came with a baked potato, grilled tomato, grilled mushrooms,  and creamed spinach.  I also ordered some corn casserole which was enough for Mary P and I to share.  The waiters were attentive, funny and talented.  They even sang for us.  For dessert everyone got creme brûlée except for me.  I got chocolate pecan pie.  It was good but probably not as good as the creme brûlée.

After dinner we walked around the ship to see things we hadn't seen before.  We found the buffet, 2 pools, the pizza bar, hamburger bar, and the spa.  Mary P and I didn't want to go to the show so we went to the casino for a bit.  Mary P hit 6 out of 7 on keno and won about $90. I didn't do so good but she shard with me.  

We went on back to the room and called it a night. 

Monday, April 1, 2013

This morning we woke up knowing this was the day we were to get on the ship.  We were all so tired and ready but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

After breakfast we all boarded the bus once more for a tour.  The first stop was Tian'anmen Square.  There were lots of people there with heavy police presence.  They told us we were getting a group photo made there and I was glad.  Of course once the picture was made we were told it would cost us 100 Yuan -- about $16 USD.  It did come in a book so I purchased it.  

After this brief stop we went to the Forbidden City.  This place is HUGE!  I can't remember how many acres it covered but it was a lot.  They said it had over 8,000 rooms in it.  Evidently the Emperor had lots of concubines and needed lots of rooms.  The tour was entirely too long and to much walking and too many people.  Of course I was anxious to get on the ship.  I think we stayed there about 2 hours and it was all outside and very cold.

Once this tour was over it was time for lunch. They took us to a restaurant where they served us Peking Duck among other things.  The duck was good I thought.  Some of the other foods, not so much.  They served everything on a lazy Susan again.  This restaurant was in a very touristy place with lots of shops and a Starbucks.  Unfortunately we were only there long enough to eat.  A few of the people were able to pop into Starbucks and get something but others were not so lucky -- Pat and Terry.

It was then time to get on the bus and head to the ship.  It was about a 2 or 3 hour bus trip to get there.  They did stop midway for a restroom break. Once to the ship there was a line outside the building but it moved very quickly.  We first had to go through security which was very easy.  The longest line was to check-in and it didn't take that long and once we got up to the counter I think they were quicker than any cruise that I had been on.  Then off to the ship -- or so we thought.  There was one last step.  We had to go through Chinese Immigration.  They weren't too friendly.  The way the guy was looking at me I didn't think he was going to let me out of China but he finally waved me through.  

There wasn't too long of a walk to get onto the ship.  The last stop before getting on was the dreaded photo.  I haven't even gone to look at mine yet.  I am sure I won't buy it.  This ship is bigger than any I have ever been on and it is beautiful.  There are also lots of elevators which I am glad of.  We are at the Aft end and it seemed like a very long walk to our cabin.  Once we opened the door we were pleasantly surprised.  It is very nice.  We booked a suite which has lots of amenities.  Each cruise line has different types of amenities for its suite passengers.  This one included the first set-up for the mini bar free.  There were lots of little bottles of liquor, beer, water, etc.  We had our cabin attendant  to trade all of them in on Diet Cokes. I think we got about a case which should last us just about the whole cruise.  

Our cabin attendant is May.  She came in and talked to the 4 of us telling us what all we needed to know about the suite amenities and who we needed to contact for what.  In all of my cruises I had never had anyone to personally take out the time to tell us anything like that.  I usually had to read up on things and figure it out for myself.  She is excellent!

Soon after we boarded we had the dreaded lifeboat.  It really wasn't that bad.  Our muster station was in a club where we carried our life jackets and sat and listened to a presentation through a speaker. It was very orderly and people were actually listening.  They covered more than what is usually covered in a life boat drill.  After the presentation we were instructed to stand up and put our life jackets on and make sure we knew how to do it.  Once we were satisfied, we took the life jackets off and were dismissed.

It was time for dinner.  Pat and I took the life jackets back to the cabin while Mary P and Terry went to the restaurant and figured out where our table was.  We have always had problems with our dining messed up so we didn't know what we were to expect.  When Pat and I got there they were already seated.  We were pleasantly surprised.  It was a table for 4 right by the window and we weren't crowded in with other people.  The food was excellent and the service was probably some of the best we have had.  

As we were finishing dinner we looked out the window and there was a smaller boat coming straight for our ship.  I guess it came to pick up the pilot but it was a bigger boat than they are usually on and it was going very fast.  In fact it felt like they bumped the ship.  We figured the pirates were coming to get us!

We didn't go to the show.  We decided to go back to our room and unpack and get out laundry ready to send out.  We had lots since we had been away from home almost a week.  

Sunday, March 31, 2013

This morning we had a 9:00 am flight from Wuhan back to Beijing which meant an early wake-up call.  We had called the front desk and left a 4:30 am wake up call.  I actually woke up earlier and got in the shower before 4:30 am.  I heard the phone ring and I heard Mary P answer it.  Within seconds there was a bang at the door.  Mary P went to the door and answered it and told her it was our wake-up call.  She told them they had already called us.  He then dialed a number on his phone and handed the phone to Mary P.  The lady told her that since that was the first time we had stayed there and didn't answer the wake-up call they were coming to the room to make sure we were awake.  There was no way the man could have gotten from the 1st floor to the 15th floor as quick as he did after the wake up call.  He must have been standing outside of our door the whole time -- very weird.

We had to individually check in for our flight in Wuhan which took a little bit longer.  By the time we got checked in, went through security and got to the gate it was almost time to board.  In fact I went to the restroom real quick which was right by the gate and when I came out they were boarding.  We had seats on the next to the last row so I got to see everybody that went to the restroom.

When we got to Beijing we had to claim our luggage.  Mine was the last off the carousel.  When then had to take the luggage upstairs to give to someone and then get on our bus.  It was very cold.  In fact the day before, Beijing had gotten snow!

We had a tour to go on which had a lot of walking.  It was the Temple of Heaven.  I have no idea what it was about because I was tired.  After the tour, we went to a tea ceremony which was just trying to sell us stuff.  It was very short and I didn't buy anything but the tea we got to try was very good.

We were then on our way back to the Peinsula Hotel.  This was the hotel we started the tour out in.  The luggage we left behind was in our room when we got there.  We had a few hours to rest and then we had to go to a banquet that Princess Cruises was giving.  The food was just so so -- like all the other food we have been having.  They had a show for us.  I am not sure what it was supposed to be because we really didn't have good seats and the music didn't sound very good.  However, it didn't last very long and I was able to get wifi while I was there so I was good.

We got back to the hotel about 9:30 pm and had to have our luggage out by 11:00 pm.  This took careful planning to make sure I kept everything out that I would need in the morning.  We put our luggage out a little after 10:00 pm and they picked it up around 10:30 pm.  The next time I see it, I will be on the ship!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

We were docked in Mao Ping his morning.  We normally have to walk up lots of steps to get to our transportation for our tours but at this port we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had cable cars to take us up the hill.    

We had an early morning tour to the Three Gorges Dam project, the largest hydroelectric power project in the world.  I am not much on these types of tours but it was very impressive.  We normally would have gotten to go through the locks on our river cruise but the locks had been under maintenance earlier in the month and ship traffic had gotten backed up so they weren't letting cruise ships through there yet.

After our Dam Tour we went back to the ship briefly for just enough time to eat lunch.  I had joked earlier that our lunch was going to be hamburgers.  I was presently surprised to see that was one of our options on the buffet.

After lunch we boarded a bus for about an hour ride to the train station.  We rode the bullet train from Yi Chang Dong to Han Kou which was the stop for Wuhan.  It was about a two hour ride.  We actually got to the train station early and had to wait for a bit.  When they did call our train, we got up immediately to go to our platform.  We had to go down an escalator, walk down a very long hallway, walk up lots of steps and almost run to the first car because they were blowing the whistle ready to go.  I am not sure why they didn't give us more time to get there, but we did all make it on.  

The car was very nice and roomy.  They had booked us first class which only means bigger seats -- no free drinks or anything.  The train stewardess came down the aisle with the cart of drinks.  She just went up to the front and back out without saying anything to anybody.  Somebody motioned for them to come back so they did.  She was able to buy bottles of water from them and the lady across from her bought some kind of flavored water.  The lady asked if they had coffee and they said no.  The stewardess then left the car again without saying anything to anybody else.  Then she came back through with cups and a coffee pot and went to select people.  I thought it was coffee and she told them it was a dollar which is about 16 cents US money.   When she got to Terry he told her he wanted some so they poured it in a cup and it turned out to be hot water.  He told them he wanted coffee and they motioned the other direction.  We thought they were telling him he needed to go to the dining car to get his coffee.  After they left him with the hot water, he got up to go to the dining car and he met them coming back his way with his coffee.  They told him to go back to his seat.  When he got to his seat, they gave him 2 cups of coffee and he asked how much and they said ten dollars each.  He got out his money and they just took 15 from him and said that was ok.  I really don't know what was going on but it wasn't long until one of our tour guides came and said the train people said she needed to come sit with us.  Nobody else caused any more problems.  It was all really comical.

When we got to the train station, we had quite a walk to our bus.  They had said it would take us a while to get to our hotel but it was very quick.  We were staying at the Shangri-la for the night.  I was a little disappointed.  It wasn't nearly as nice as the Shangri-la I stayed at in December.  We had a buffet in the hotel restaurant that night.  They had lots to chose from but I didn't know what most of it was.

When I stayed at the Shangri-la in December I joined their club.  I asked the front desk if I could get points for my stay and they quickly put the information into the system and when I returned to my room after dinner our fruit plate was there along with the daily newspaper.  The only problem was that I had on my profile that I wanted a local newspaper and this one was in Chinese.  I guess I need to change my profile before we get to Bangkok Shangri-la!

Ode to My Daughter

I think you all should know how great my daughter is. I wish she was with me right now to take care of me in Asia.  She is so loving and caring and always looking out for other people, especially me. I know you know how great she is but I wanted to share with you again how wonderful she is and how much I appreciate her posting my blogs for me while I'm away and blocked from blogger.  Without her, you would not be able to read about my journey until the end of my trip. So if you see my daughter, give her a hug and tell her thank you!  Oh and I don't want to forget to mention how wonderful her boyfriend is too. She found a keeper!

And for those reading this -- do you really believe I wrote this?

Friday, March 29, 2013

Today we awoke in Badong.  The day started out with an optional excursion to White Emperor City.  We opted not to take this excursion on the advice from our International Guide.  We then had scenic cruising on the Yangttze through the two of the three gorges -- Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge.  

We then went on an excursion down the Shennong Stream.  First we went directly from our ship to a ferry which we rode for about an hour.  We then transferred to little wooden boats which held about 15 people.  I was on the first row with the guide.  They gave us life jackets to put on.  Mine only had one place to tie it so I am not sure how much good it would have been.  

There were 5 men oaring our boat -- First Captain, Second Captain, and 3 trackers.  At one point the 3 trackers got out of the boat and over on the shore.  They had a rope that was connected to our boat that they used to pull the boat up the river.  This was a way they used to move the boats and I understand that they have some that are naked when they do this.  I guess it is because of the heat.  I am sure they told us why they were naked, but I don't remember.  Ours thankfully were clothed.

After this demonstration we were transferred back to our ferry where we went back to our ship.  It was a nice boat ride where we saw lots of pretty scenery.

After back on the boat we had the Captain's Farewell Dinner.  It was served Chinese Family style where they put all the food on the lazy Susan and served us that way.  The food was just ok again.  

After dinner they had a talent show that I attempted to go to.  I got bored and left early.  I went with Pat to settle her bill and then back to the room.  

After back in the room, around 10:30 pm or so we heard a noise and looked out our window and we were already docking.  I guess we didn't have far to go that night.  We stayed there until the next morning.