Day 13 ~ Xiamen, China (pronounced Shamen)

We dock about 11:30, go through the Chinese formalities, and start to congregate in the theater about 12:15 and the shore excursions meet, exchange our tickets for bus numbers and then we're off the ship about 12:45 for an exciting afternoon of the "Treasures of Tong'an. Don't forget your room key and the photocopy of your passport! Simply the drive is fascinating; lots and lots of motor bikes and scooters, fewer cars. The foliage is very tropical, Chinese law requires that builders provide about 3x green space in ratios footprint of any buildings, and the parks & gardens allow all citizens to enjoy the local greenery.

There were any number of plants I recognized from Florida; split leaf philodendrons, powder-puff plants, royal poincianas, jacarandas, and orchid trees. Felt like home and the warmest we've been on the trip, about 75. Warm!

The Treasures of Tong'an are the Fan Tian Temple, the oldest temple in Fujian Province, at more that 1400 years old. Although most of what is there now was built in the 18th century, there are some glimpses of the past in the bell tower (the bell actually), some of the carved stones. I'm starting to get the hang of  the Buddhist Temples; the 4 guardians - North, East, South & West two very genial and two quite terrifying, dragons on the roofs to ward off evil, and incense everywhere carrying the prayers to heaven. Still celebrating the New Year, there were many of the Chinese following once a year traditions and for the first time we saw an incinerator with people throwing in huge amount of printed yellow paper about the size of a newspaper. Our guide explained that the printed yellow paper represented money in this life, and the faithful were burning it for their next life. A visit to the Confucius Temple followed. It was a very different experience - first of all it wasn't crowded; very few people, it was a center for learning, a museum, no incense. Built in the 10th century it was rebuilt 900 years later; the gardens are beautiful and the grounds are filled with a collection of carved stone artifacts that span over 2000 years. John sat with a lovely British couple while I wandered. Found magnificent 2000 year old carved horses, lions and emperors.

Time for the drive back to the ship and champagne! Ohh, a lovely bottle of Veuve Clicquot waiting for me!

Day 12 ~ En Route to Xiamen, China

Lovely day at sea! Sorry, but I love them, quiet pace with little to do other than to please yourself. We've loved the Artful Traveler series featuring both Frazier and MASH. We're going to have to get both series via HBO Go or something once we get home - we've been in stitches! And when you consider both series were from the 80's, and the writing was so great it's still enough to make you laugh out loud!

Leisurely day followed by a lovely dinner and for the first time, we enjoyed the sensational singer, Justine Balmer. Magnificent voice and operatically trained. I'm sure you'll hear more of her. She's just on the brink. We lose her in Hong Kong and Rory Kennedy and family will board.

Day 11 ~ Finally caught up

Today we cheated; we were all set for an 8 hour "Best of Shanghai" and we bailed. JM was sleeping & out like a light, so I advised the tour desk we would miss the tour. Regent asks that we please advise them by 6 pm the day prior to the tour, but I missed the deadline. I think they appreciated the fact that I advised them at all...

We had a leisurely breakfast then off the the Tao Bao Market... the bargaining market. Oh what an adventure! It involved handbags and a "souvenir" suitcase - trust me, it's a must! (found beautiful handbags, very good quality at "Summer" Top of the escalator to the left. She's just delightful, speaks very good English, and offers spectacular bargains! It's a shopping don't miss.) Dinner reservations at Signatures tonight, one of the specialty restaurants on board. What a treat! Foie Gras, a to die for Mushroom soup worth licking the bowl for and magnificently cooked lamb.  We're looking forward to a glorious day at sea tomorrow... then Xiamen (pronounced Shamen) for an overnight.

Day 10 ~ Quiet catch up day

Quiet catch up day with some R&R, visiting the shops, picking out my birthday gift (lovely emerald & diamond bracelet), reading and a little Spa time - finally a chance to really see the ship and investigate all Regent has to offer. There's a brilliant program aboard, "The Artful Travelers", that is hosting writers from the TV shows Frazier and MASH, as well as Lauren Prestileo, series Producer for PBS's award-winning  history series "American Experience", discussing the life of a documentary film. Perfect Day!

Day 9 ~ Inchon/Seoul, Korea

A bit concerned about a 6-hour Highlights of Seoul tour, but it was a great. Most of the time was taken up with the commute from Inchon to Seoul, and once we arrived at the National Folk Museum we enjoyed the artifacts and dioramas of Korean life; lifelike displays of life's critical moments in time; a wedding ceremony, children, the household, then death and an incredible burial bier. Explanation of honoring the dead, the last four generations on the east side of the house, and the west side for everyone else... A walk through the Cyeongbokgung Palace (again all outside) and watched the changing of the guard, with one incredible huge bass drummer. About an hour shopping at Insadong Antique Street where we found great brushes (calligraphy brushes, but they are made from weasel hair, so they should work for oil paints) and some great paper... I love paper!

Home sweet home, and we're looking forward to our first day at sea and some relaxation and more champagne!

Day 8 ~ Dalian, China

China continues to surprise me, I guess I expected a much more rural experience, but Dalian is a surprisingly dynamic and progressive city with big high rises, beautiful open gardens and spaces, mostly build within the past 20 years. Our tours were conducted by students and they were quite open about their life in China, and the recent changes; nothing political at all. Smiling, beautiful English and delightful to tour with. They filled our travel times with stories, superstitions, and Chinese traditions. It was FREEZING with stops at a city overlook with a birds eye view of the metropolis of Dalian, the Peoples Square, famous for kite flying (none of us were willing to stop long enough to even think of flying a kite!). On to Xinghai Square, even larger than Tiananmen  Square and beautifully planted (well it would have been spectacular if in bloom) and gorgeous sculptures depicting the various sports enjoyed by its citizens - There were also bicycles that looked like go carts for rent, available for 2 or 4  people, but no takers today it was just too cold. I found a very moving sculpture that was 100 years of footprints; on the ground, about 100 yards long by 3 yards wide that included some lotus feet that had been bound. Fascinating. Our guide, JoAnn told us she was one of 3 children. Contrary to what we have heard, the one family, one child rule has relaxed considerably. It seems that if the 1st child is a girl, then the family can have a second child, hoping for a boy to continue the name. Jo Anne's parents had two girls, but defied the rules and had a third child, and luckily it was a boy. Jo Anne was sent to live with her grandmother in an attempt to circumvent the rules, but a neighbor turned them in, and her father did time in prison for the crime. It seems the the rules have relaxed even further since then (20-25 years ago) and the new rule is that if two only children marry, they can have two children. She said she loves her sister and brother and it was well worth it for her father to go to prison. (No mention of how long).  

So many of the superstitions are woven into stories about love and heroism. We crossed the Beida Bridge where lovers cross the bridge together, exchanging a small gift in the middle to show their love. Stories about the bride's family and friends blocking the door and making it difficult for the groom to pick up the bride for the wedding ceremony in order to prove his devotion. She told of wedding traditions and pranks played on the bride and groom. The couple's friends and family hiding under the bed and demanding that 18 pieces of clothing be thrown out of the marriage bed... I asked just when the poor couple would be left alone, but never got an answer!

The last stop was Tiger Beach... once upon a time there was a very nasty dragon, and a tiger went to battle against the dragon to protect the people of Dalian. The tiger and dragon fought for days and days until finally the dragon was defeated, but the tiger was so badly wounded that he died of his wounds. There is a fabulous sculpture of the "tigers" that has 6 tigers carved in stone, but regardless of how you look at it, you can only see 5 tigers. It's really quite lovely, but it was so cold, many didn't get out of the bus! Last stop was the Dalian Friendship Center filled with overpriced treasures and special New Year's food. I found mushrooms, about 6 inches long, quite fat and sumptuous, packed in boxes lined with silk for about $40 and some things we've seen everywhere but have no clue as to what they are; they look like mini-skinny starfish, stacked about 8 or 9 high... beautifully boxed but absolutely no clue as to what they were!

Home to the ship, time to defrost and swill a bit of champagne!

Day 7 ~ Boarding the Ship

Ready for the ship transfer by 11 we all waited in the lobby for the buses. Regent hosted their passengers in Beijing at the Peninsula, so there were a number of passengers waiting to board. There was  bit of a crush on the first few buses, so we hung back to avoid the mad dash. It was almost a 3 hour transfer to Tianjin via bus with a planned "happy" stop in the middle. Alas, no toilets at all... just holes, but I did survive. Since there is never any paper in the bathrooms, I  was prepared, but there are usually one of two stalls with real toilets, but not this time. Back on the bus for the rest of the trip with an hour or so ETA.

Approaching the port of Tianjin we were amazed to see how huge the area is - the roads (deserted) looked as wide as runways, and there was no other traffic. It took close to 20 minutes to get from the entrance of the port to reach the ship. Then there was Chinese Immigration, and our "face to face" inspection while the immigration police inspect your passport, look at you, look back at your passport, and back at you... actually this can go on for 2 minutes or so; thank heavens I had the same hair color as in my passport photo or I'd still be in Tianjin! Additionally,  two copies of our passports with all sorts of official looking red stamps with the date hand written by the inspector. So now you have three critical pieces of identification. They keep one of the stamped copies, give back one stamped copy, and then stamp your passport! And we're told to guard the stamped copy as if it was your passport!

Finally aboard the ship, a little lunch, a little wine, and everything looks better! Hallelujah! Bags that were shipped by Luggage Free have been delivered to the cabin before our bags from the hotel. Wow! That's service! Little do they know there will be one more bag on the return. Unpack, hang up, organize and we settle into our home for the next 18 days. Life is good, champagne is good and we're under way!

Day 6 ~ Forbidden City

Originally we had planned to tour Beijing on the 19th, along with the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and one of the famous Hutongs, but Sonja recommended that we reverse the schedule as the weather was expected to deteriorate, and deteriorate it did! It snowed! And snowed, then snowed some more! Holy Toledo did it snow. Big fluffy flakes that accumulated quickly. Thank heaven the hotel had umbrellas in each room, one was put to good use on the 20th of February. First snow for this Florida girl in a long time and it was beautiful to look at, but not so much to muck through. Sonja picked us up at 9am and we headed over to Tiananmen  Square with Mao's portrait over the entrance to the Forbidden City (Gate of Heavenly Peace), it's HUGE, and will hold up to 1million...  we stood right about where the student confronted the tank; but the incident was never mentioned by the guide. From what we understand, the Chinese people are unaware of the attempted rebellion, there just wasn't any mention in any communication channel - and most of the young people today hadn't been born! The Square was packed as the New Year was still being celebrated (total of 7 days, and in some cases 14, as with the tailors). We made our way to the underground walkway that saved us from crossing 10 lanes of traffic, and to the main ticket office... still snowing. I had been dreaming of this for years! The Forbidden City, featured in so many of the novels I've loved, the beauty of the architecture and the chance to see how the Emperors lived... We entered the Meridian Gate, stomped through the snow, made it to the Hall of Supreme Harmony and climbed the steps, walked around the Hall of Supreme Harmony and climbed down the steps on the other side (it you stuck to the middle of the steps, it wasn't too slippery, but there were THOUSANDS of Chinese, with no sense of personal space, but saw no other  tourists.  Ok so I could walk you through the climbing up and down the Hall of Middle Harmony, Hall of Preserving Harmony, but we were getting a bit testy - NOTHING was open for viewing. I guess it was a snow day for the Forbidden City! From one end to the other, up and down, being pushed and shoved, and nothing but stairs and buildings. Yes, yes, we did see magnificent architecture, with incredible Feng Shui, exquisitely decorated buildings, the bronze vats, the marble dragons, the magnificent lions, snow and steps... but, I was so disappointed! Obviously a bad day to visit the City.

But we salvaged the day - we took our guide and driver to lunch at the Quanjude restaurant established in 1864 - now a chain through out Beijing - it is THE place for Peking Duck! And it was delicious!

It has stopped snowing by the time we left the restaurant, and with our tummies full, Sonja and Bill took us to one of the most famous Hutongs, Nanluogu Xiang - nothing like a little shopping therapy to put on in a better humor.  It was a mostly pedestrian street (note the mostly) with about 5 blocks of little shops, restaurants, street vendors. I had my chop designed and found a lion hat for Erin, our granddaughter... it was a grand day after all!

Once back at the Peninsula, we tracked down the cruise desk for "pre-checkin", getting the required two copies of our passports and were advised to put out our suitcases by 11pm for transfer to the ship. Tomorrow we board Regent Seven Seas Voyager, I can't wait to settle in and unpack!

Day 5 ~ Great Wall of China. Chinese New Year's Day

We had arranged to meet our guide, Sonja, from "Tours by Locals" at 9:30am for the 1 1/2 hour ride to the Wall. As we were getting ready to leave the room, we saw a troupe of Lion Dancers getting ready to enter the lobby. Drums beating, cymbals clanging, bells ringing with yellow and red lions dancing toward the entrance. We descended to the lobby as the lions started jumping, dancing, cavorting and celebrating with various acrobatic tricks to scare away the evil spirits and bringing good luck to us all for the year of the Ram (or goat, or sheep - seems they are all synonymous to the Chinese). We took photos, and posed for pictures with the lions before heading off with Sonja and "Bill" our driver. This was New Year's Day and one of the most important holidays to the Chinese - a time when they "go home" to spend time with their families, back to their roots for a day of gathering and sharing traditions. I felt guilty that we were taking both Sonja and Bill away from their families, but would not have missed the Wall for anything, what an experience! I'm not sure what I expected, but we passed hundreds of thousands of new trees, all dormant, but planted row by row and quite a variety!  It won't be long before the countryside around Beijing is forested with bright green, eventually helping control the pollution. The small towns we passed along the way had the sidewalks in front of their stores filled with stacks and stacks of red, yellow and orange boxes waiting to be sold to the celebrants for the New Year's festivities. There were so many boxes and so many stores, it didn't seem possible to sell everything on display!

We were dropped at the entrance to the Great Wall, Sonja picked up our tickets and we were on our way. We had chosen the Mutianyu access as an easier access to the Wall with less walking... HA! We walked thru about 1 1/2 miles of street stalls as we steadily walked upward and onward and still we walked on. The souvenir stands displayed Chinese Army Hats, T-shirts, huge fur hats (wolf?), ear flap hats, stalls with coffee, hot chocolate, water, snacks... it was cold!  We reached the junction where you either started climbing the trail to the Great Wall, or you continued to climb up to the available enclosed gondolas, but we were still climbing the two sets of steps trying to reach the ticket booth! Ah, but wait there's more! There was probably another 5 minutes of climbing steps and inclines before reaching the cable cars, followed by some deep breathing and gasping for air... it wasn't cold anymore! Throughout the climb, you would catch glimpses of the wall snaking its way through the surrounding hills and up the mountain, just like the pictures! It was spectacular. First built during the Northern Qi Dynasty in the 6th century it's been restored and rebuilt throughout history and it offers some of the most unforgettable views of towers winding across the forest and mountains. They say on a clear day you can see the deserts of Mongolia... we didn't see Mongolia, but the view was spectacular. The ride up to the top was uneventful other than John's screams. Once we got off the gondolas, there was even more climbing... and several more ascents and levels before we actually made it to the to the top of wall. The last push to the top was a series of steps, each with about 15 inch risers. And once you finally made it, you spent your time trying to keep your balance as nothing was even! You were either on an incline or decline, or tilting to one side or the other. Big stairs, little stairs, up and down but no level ground to be found. We didn't walk any great distance along the wall, but did the touristy thing for about an hour taking pictures of the Wall and each other and simply marveling at the massive structure as the Wall snaked below us, above us, until it faded into the distant hills on the horizon. There were arrow niches and drains about every 4 yards between the towers; it seemed impregnable, but we understand from our guide that it was only challenged twice, and both times it failed... I'm pretty sure that I've read that it's the only man-made structures on earth that can be seen from space.

On our descent we encountered a Chinese couple, probably in their 60's or 70's that were coming down the walking trail just below the cable car turn around... through gestures we determined they had walked up and were in the process of walking down! Holy Toledo! I can't imagine. We were all exhausted even with the cable car and ready for nice toddy! Happy New Year! 

Day 4 ~ Chinese New Year's Eve

We slept well and got up at our usual time - 6:30 am; wow, the time change couldn't be this easy, could it? (More to come) We had the day on our own and after a sumptuous buffet we dressed for the elements - much colder than Florida - and sallied forth to explore. We headed for Wangfujing Street, the pedestrian street close to the hotel. The Apple store was on the corner, there were tea shops, a traditional Chinese pharmacy (didn't recognize a thing! All jars of herbs labeled with Chinese characters.), high end department stores with Gucci, Tiffany, Prada, etc, supermarkets, foreign language book store, Bank of China and street food including scorpions, sea horses and star fish on a stick - living! And any number of unrecognizable delicacies Patti & John did not try. There was red everywhere and everyone wore a touch of red for the New Year. On either side and above each doorway there were red banners with auspicious wishes for the New Year. There were boxes of candies, traditional sweets and drinks available for sale everywhere. Red lanterns were hung in sets of two or more above doorways, or entrances to buildings. I found a silk store with the most incredible rainbow of colors and patterns it would have been hard to chose, but I had my heart set on a dove grey and found the perfect color. I'd planned on  having a dress made but unfortunately the tailors were off from Feb 15 to March 1. Oh well, we'll see what they can do back home. We headed back to the hotel, made reservations for a special New Year's dinner, left a message for our friends the Murphy's  and promptly fell asleep, missed the reservations, but had a grand reunion in the lobby bar over cocktails and planned our tour to the Great Wall the following day. 

Day 2/3

Of course it was confusing! I had no idea what time it was or exactly where we were... 20 hours in all, with a 14 hour flight to NRT, then a layover and 4 hour flight to PEK. So a little nap, a little dinner with Continental and Chinese option and 3 movies, and we land shell shocked for a two hour layover, then onto Beijing. Arrival at Beijing was a surprise, but I'm not sure what I expected. I've read way too many spy novels, good guys vs bad guys stuff. It was very bright, very modern, very clean and huge! Made ready for the Olympics, it was one of the best airports I've been in. We arrived about 10:30 pm, so there weren't huge crowds, and even Immigrations was a pleasant surprise... much easier than entering Russia, and no apparent "minders". It was fantastic to see a gentleman dressed in topcoat and tie from the Peninsula Hotel there to guide and assist us to the car with our luggage. Considering the time of evening, and being close to Chinese New Year,  the traffic was minimal and the drive much faster than we'd expected. I missed the Rolls Royce pick up, though the BMW 700 series was quite acceptable. We were met in the lobby by the Concierge, and check formalities were done in our room; fast, convenient, and professional, making us feel at home. After a few minutes of settling in, we were toast!

Day 1

Party girl and boy of yesterday are a couple of party poopers tonight. After a 3:15 unexpected wake up call - we're exhausted. I made good use of the time to solve Saturday's Suduko, take a few things out of the suitcase, and run a mental list of what I still need to pack. Sorry, I really don't know how to pack light; I always want a few options. Back to bed at 5am and was able to sleep in till 7am. There was plenty of time to finish up the last minute details - trash, dishes, changing sheets and breakfast before closing the suitcases and heading to the airport with COATS! Haven't done that in ages! Flew to DCA, transferred to an airport hotel close to IAD, and dang, it was COLD! Early dinner and a few minutes of SNL 40th before crashing. It's going to be a long flight tomorrow... ANA, to NRT, lay over then on to PEK, and ready for the next chapter.

Luggage Free!

It still hasn’t sunk in... we’re going to CHINA! Like in 4 days. All the planning, all the researching, all the anticipation is almost unbearable. We did something we’ve never done before. We are shipping luggage! I’m delighted – I get to pack all the of my “fancy” cruise clothes that I’d like, extra shoes and all sorts of things I’d have to leave at home. Flying domestic then international, both with different weight limitation is frustrating – one bag domestic up to 50 lbs, and then magically I can have two bags up to 70 lbs on the international flight, but I can’t get there from here! Luggage Free was recommended by Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and I decided to take the plunge! They couldn’t have been more accommodating, convenient to use and courteous. You can book on line (www.luggagefree.com), but since I had a million questions, I picked up the phone and called them at 800-361-6871. Depending on your destination, they will tell you when they need to pick up your luggage to make it to your destination on time, but you choose a specific time for the pick up with a one hour window. I had asked for pick up between 10am-11am, and right on the money, the doorbell rang at 10:05! Perfect. You receive on pick up confirmation via email and then emails as the bags make their way along the route. Ft. Lauderdale, Memphis, Anchorage, Inchon... and today they are at customs. Bags are insured for $1000 complimentary insurance, and you can purchase additional insurance is you wish. They are covered with protective luggage wrapping, Luggage Free completes all the Customs Documentation, and you only pay for what you pack... in other words, you are charged by the pound. AND, you are not charged until the trip is completed and you are 100% satisfied. Best of all, you don’t have to hassle with the extra bags or excess luggage charges. Oh, and PERX can offer you a $25 gift card!

Just a few more days and we’ll be on the way. I can’t wait! Next stop, Beijing!