Sunday 31 March At Sea

Another quiet day, we arrived at the port of Tianjin, China, at 5 pm.  The area is a flat landscape, not much happening out there although the port building is massive.  Not sure how many cruise ships come here but presume lots as it’s  the port for Beijing.  Beijing is 132 kms away and the town/city of Tianjin is about 25 kms away so there’s absolutely nothing to get off the ship for tonight. And the gangway will be off limits between 11 pm and 5.30 am so you wouldn’t want to go out and get lost LOL!!!  After breakfast today there was an excellent lecture on North Korea entitled ‘The Weirdest Place on Earth’ delivered by a lecturer who visited the area back in the late ‘90’s. Sue and I played trivia this afternoon and got a score of 7 out of 15. Not proud of that and next time we’ll be looking for a musician, a scientist, a nerd and Chloe to help us get a better score!!!! The entertainment tonight was at 5.30 instead of the usual 9.30 due early starts tomorrow. The programme listed ‘Multi-Talented Vocal Entertainer Danny Elliott “Strung up and Blown Away”, all the way from Australia!  Heard some people in the elevator say they’d spoken to some Australians and they’d never heard of him.  I said I too was Australian and had never heard of him!!!  So, I went along anyway and he was fantastic, had about 8 instruments which he played beautifully, including piano, and he even had a didgeridoo which he played before singing a fabulous rendition of Waltzing Matilda.  A truly talented guy.  Wonder where he’s been hiding!  So, as we have to be ready to assemble for our tour tomorrow at 7.15 it’s going to be an early night!  Footy scores amazing this weekend, I got 3 tips in!!!! 

Saturday 30 March At Sea

A cold day at sea today. Definitely no sun worshippers on this cruise. We hit some turbulence mid afternoon, the ship did a bit of rolling and this caused a few passengers to miss the Captain’s welcome party at 6 pm.  We had planned to dine with Sue & Rob from Bendigo but she wasn’t up to it in the end. Instead shared with a rather whacky couple from LA and apart from me being berated at one point! it was a very funny evening.  He is a retired doctor, appeared to have an itch under his toupee!  The Captain is a rather dishy looking young man from Sweden who seems to have a great sense of humour.  I got a hug from the head of food & beverages, recognised me from our last cruise.  As did another of the waiters. The entertainment tonight in the theatre was ordinary, hope it will improve, it was no doubt difficult dancing with the ship’s movement.  

We’ve been in the East China Sea and now through the Yellow Sea en route to Tianjin and will arrive there at 5 pm tomorrow. No pics from today.  

Friday 29 March Shanghai Pics

The same view, different times of day

Friday 29 March Shanghai

I’ve had a day of rest, cancelled my tour and sent George off on his own!  The tour included some places we’d already been so I didn’t feel bad about not going.  I did, however, miss lunch at the Oriental Pearl Tower which is the pink tower in the pics I posted earlier.  Instead I caught up with some domestics, had a late breakfast and then lunch on the pool deck.  Met a lovely couple from Los Angeles and am sure we’ll keep in touch.  Funny who you meet and who you gel with. Another couple from Portland, Oregon, are great, too, we’ve had a good rapport over the past 4 days.  Saw them at lunch, she said ‘what do you drink Maureen?’ When I said ‘anything’ she said ‘right! we need to have a girls afternoon tomorrow and have a good chat!!!! ‘. All good for a laugh, and no, I don’t drink ‘anything’!!! I was wearing a Columbia polar fleece jacket yesterday & they said Columbia is a Portland owned company where their son works and so they get lots of freebies.  Have just been sitting on the balcony watching an amazing array of boats pass by - mostly container barges but also some larger  and a few pleasure boats. I waved a couple of times but no response so guess thats not allowed.  A guy just poked his head around from the next suite and introduced himself as Stephen.  Asked where he was from - Melbourne.  Turns out we know his sister very well, G knew his dad through business and  his wife is a friend of Lyn.  Small world.  Sat with a couple from near Düsseldorf Germany at dinner, were able to have a table with a wonderful view of the skyscrapers.  We sailed at 8 pm and are now en route to Tianjin, the port for Beijing.  Yes, we’re going back there but Tianjin is quite a distance from downtown Beijing so we’ll  do a local tour there.  I went to the show billed as ‘International virtuoso pianist Liana Forest’.  She is a Russian lady now living in San Francisco and she played classical and popular to Broadway & Boogie music and was very good.  

Thursday 28 March Shanghai Pics

Photos are from the Old Town, Yu Gardens, view from ship. 
Apologies for poor quality of night shots.  

Thursday 28 March Shanghai

It was difficult getting started this morning - early breakfast, bags out for collection and on the bus at 8.30. Again, breakfast was chaotic with several hundred Regent passengers along with other guests all looking for the coffee, eggs and waffles!!  After check-out we travelled to Shanghai’s Old Town, where we could meander the narrow streets, pass traditional shops and take in the local sounds and sights. Some French ladies on the tour had Pearl necklaces made during the half hour we had free - they are very elegant and I’m sure chose well.  Then, for a completely different experience, we went to the nearby Yu Yuan Gardens, an oasis of tranquility that dates to the 16th-century Ming Dynasty. Highlights included intricate rockeries, dragon walls and beautiful pavilions.

From there on to the Jade Buddha Temple. While the original temple was destroyed during a revolution, the temple’s two precious statues of Buddha were saved. A new temple was built in 1928 to house the statues, one of a reclining Buddha on a redwood bed, the other of a sitting Buddha decorated

with semi-precious stones.  Both statues were carved in Burma out of white jade, a rare form of nephrite mineral known for its creamy texture.  The Jade Buddha Temple is an active monastery with dozens of resident monks. Was definitely a very peaceful place.  George opted to remain on the bus at the Temple, too many steps and thresholds. 

Lunch was at a huge restaurant with upstairs and downstairs filled with Regent passengers.  The food was delicious with about 10 different dishes served on a ‘lazy Susie’ as our guide described it!  

Got to the ship around 3.30 pm, we have the most incredible view across the Yangtze River of skyscrapers of all shapes and sizes.  And when it got dark the lights were like fairyland.  I’m actually totally blown away by the buildings and obvious wealth here.  As I said to someone yesterday the Melbourne Metro would have been built in 10 days instead of 10 years if the Chinese had a part in it but guess they’d be hampered by environmentalists in Australia anyway.  Would find a pink tailed possum somewhere!!!!

The Mariner has 700 passengers, the rooms are smaller than on other Regent ships we’ve been on, and it could do with a bit of refurbishment.  We ate in Chartreuse French Restaurant last night, one of the specialty restaurants.  I chose well, absolutely delicious food, George was not so impressed as his snails were not served the traditional way.  Cant remember how I used to do them at home when we had a garden!!! Fell asleep starting this last night so a late edition today!  Forgot to say that the highlight of my day was seeing a very positive win by the mighty Pies over Richmond.  Thanks for kicking those goals, Beverley!!! 

Wednesday 27 March Beijing

These early morning are killing me, I don’t think I could manage a land tour any more and can’t wait to get on the ship tomorrow and hang everything up and put the suitcase under the bed for 18 nights! After breakfast we drove to the Temple of Heaven, this was a really lovely morning, still lots of people around but nothing like yesterday.  The first entry point took us into the gardens and it was really amazing to see so many locals there, mostly senior citizens, retired people.  Men retire at age 50 and women at 55 so there are lots of people exercising, playing cards and other games along a wall, some doing tai chi and others singing in a choir.  Another group, we were not allowed to go too close, were grandparents matchmaking!!!  Apparently they lay out sheets of paper with photos and details of their grandchild and try & make a deal!  The Temple was beautiful, we couldn’t go inside but could walk all around.

Description

 It is an imperial complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing,  the complex was visited by the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to heaven for good harvest.  

From there we were driven to the airport - quite a fiasco to be honest, got charged for bags being overweight, (expected that), then another couple also needing a wheelchair had to wait before going through security separately.  That’s when the proverbial hit the fan and boy! there were lemons everywhere but no gin so I had to wait until arriving in Shanghai to get a well deserved glass of Chinese wine!!!!! Must be day 4.  The flight was without incident, a tour guide on the bus talked for over an hour non stop and so we arrived in the downtown area at our hotel at 6 pm in the dark and Shanghai looked amazing.  Once again all the designer shops are here, the hotel Ritz Carlton is very grand and people are lovely.  Had a nice Chinese meal at an adjacent restaurant.  

Wednesday 27 March Beijing Pics

Was difficult adding these pics but two are at the  Temple of Heaven. This Temple is built entirely of wood and has marble surrounds. Another pic is of seniors doing daily exercise in the park, others seniors are playing cards, knitting or just gathering on a daily basis and the people behind the 8 stones are  grandparents matchmaking! 

Tuesday 26 March Beijing

Tuesday 26 March Beijing

Up early this morning, these couple of days pre-cruise are a bit like being on a Trafalgar tour!  Breakfast in the hotel was chaotic - doubt the staff had expected 200+ westerners land on them at one time since the Olympics!  Americans looking for coffee (the urn was empty) Aussies looking for tea (no cups), me standing in line for 20 mins to get poached eggs for us both - everything all too much! For a Shangri-La hotel seems a bit odd.  Anyway, still good.  4 buses took us on a wonderful tour, left the hotel at 8 am, already having met some very nice people along the way, and there are quite a few from Australia, the US, Canada and England.  First stop was the Forbidden City - someone who knows someone who has a connection (!!) in the police force here was able to get our buses right up to the entrance point.  This is when George asked the guide about getting a wheelchair but sadly! he should have pre-ordered it  and so had to remain on the bus.  The rest of us joined the throngs of people anxious to enter through security and walking almost single file in order to keep up with the guide. It was all pretty amazing!  The former Chinese Imperial Palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (1420-1912) now houses the Palace Museum. This city served as the home of emperors and their households as well as being the political centre of Chinese Government for over 500 years.  80,000 visitors go through the turnstiles every day!  OMG! Some of the people were incredible - pushy, rude, like they’d just come down from the hills and had no idea how to behave.  Our guide was great, with the aid of a ‘whisper’ we were able to hear his whole spiel.  The buildings were amazing, decorated very ornately, with every feature telling a story.  There is no way G would have managed on crutches, and I doubt it would have worked with a wheelchair as there were hundreds of steps and rough surfaces and as I said earlier 79,799 other people around!!!!

Back on the bus for the drive to Tiananmen Square.  This time George did leave the bus as the square is flat and seemed like a good idea however in order to get there we had a lot of steps down and then up again to go under the road!  He managed but not without a bit of effort.  The square is massive, quite spectacular, and security is high before you can enter.  

From there we drove over an hour towards the Great Wall, stopped for lunch at a restaurant which seems able to accommodate several hundred people at one time.  The food was nice, if not a bit bland, but that’s probably a regional thing.  On then a short distance to The Great Wall section at 

Juyonguan.  It was really pleasant there, nice and cool and without the hordes of people we were used to.  Guess there are many different entry points as lots of people could be seen climbing in the distance.  I stayed in the lower level, nothing heroic about me, I know my limitations!!!  Interesting to hear how many people have had hip, knee & shoulder replacements and who couldn’t climb more than a few steps.  On the drive back to the hotel we passed by the Olympic Games area, saw the Water Cube and the Birdsnest  as well as all the other stadiums (stadia?) and then there are new ones being built for the Winter Olympics which will be be held in Beijing and another city in 2022.  

Tired and footsore we decided in dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the complex underground from the hotel.  Had a whole Peking duck with all the trimmings - can’t go to Peking and not have it!  Needless to say it was delicious.  

Tomorrow is another early start, with some sightseeing before we fly to Shanghai. 

 

Monday 25 March Beijing Pics

The ‘Pants’ Building, right outside our window
Flowers in the foyer, below

Proof that pigs can fly, below
7

Monday 25 March Beijing

Well, firstly I have to eat humble pie - can’t fault Air China really, seats not quite as wide as other airlines but the service was spot on! The crew were fantastic, couldn’t do enough for us.  We arrived on time at 5 am, wheelchair waiting at the door  and after a very long walk and an even longer 

skytrain ride we were met by the Regent representative and taken to a waiting limo, the young lady wheeling all the way!  The Shangri-La China Hotel is beautiful, our guide this morning said it is the most luxurious in Beijing.  The foyer is rather like a palace (most Asian hotels are anyway) and we were not meant to check in until 2 pm or earlier if the room was ready.  We got lucky and they had a room right away!   Not sure what I was expecting in Beijing - maybe a bit of Hong Kong, Bangkok but I was totally blown away by the drive to the city, in the semi darkness everything looked so clean and fresh, the cars new, traffic organised, no honking or road rage.  It was 2C when we arrived, felt great, and has risen to about 20C now. So far no smog but won’t hold my breath about that.  Below the hotel and surrounding buildings there are acres of shops.  I thought great! I can meander around for a few hours in typical Chinese stores but in fact I’ve never ever seen so many designer stores in one place!  FA Swartz NY have massive ads all over and will be opening soon. We both walked for a couple of hours then came back to the hotel as G needed to rest.  I went back and did it all again, bringing some Taiwanese takeaway for a late lunch.  We were given wifi details on check-in but when we got to the room found that we couldn’t get Gmail or Facebook etc.  I went back to the foyer, asked a young guy and he was fiddling around with my iPad when a man eavesdropping said ‘you won’t get those things, they’re blocked’.  So I went to the other desk to ask again and an American guy standing next to me told me the same thing.  He suggested I buy an app which we’ve now done and it allows us to get Gmail, Facebook and everything we need.  Tomorrow we have tours including the Forbidden City.  Lots of walking I gather, our guide told us it’s possible to rent a wheelchair with wheeler so I’m putting my money on that one!!! People here very friendly but not much English spoken.  

On board

O
Am thinking I might try the intensely dark bloody Shiraz with my stir-fry for dinner.  

Sunday 24th March

Waiting to board our flight to Beijing.   With Air China 😱 Hope they have newer planes than those I watched take off from Essendon airport in 1969/70 when they bought Ansett’s old Viscounts!!! We were so pleased to see them go, didn’t consider them very airworthy!  Air China passengers are entertained in the Singapore Airlines lounge but to be honest there’s not much to photograph so saves me thinking about it!  Wheelchair  option at check-in was interesting - wait for someone to come or I do the wheeling, I opted for the latter as would have missed the lounge area since we might have waited an hour for a wheeler!  Anyway, all good, I’m gathering brownie points already.  And 2 Sav Blancs have helped. Next post from Beijing.  We arrive at 5 am so don’t wait up!!!!!  M X

Theme

Before I go.......

My theme for this cruise is in the next post