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.