I cannot believe that the time is finally here! We have been planning this trip for nearly a year now, and suddenly the date is upon us. This will probably be the last you'll be hearing from me for a while. I don't plan on spending time on the computer while we're gone as there will be too many interesting things to see and do once we are half way around the world! I put the final touches on my bags and took them down to the Postal Center to be weighed. I was tiny bit overweight (only by 2 1/2 pounds total), so I came back home, omitted a few items and re-packed (not my favorite thing to do!) When you're literally counting ounces, it's unbelievable how much light weight clothing, safety pins, band-aids and bobby pins weigh! I'm sure my poor suitcases feel as though they have been going to Weight Watchers meetings since they have had to "weigh in" so many times! When I used to go to Weight watchers, I would take off everything that I possibly could without being arrested for indecent exposure in order to weigh less at the meetings. Can you believe that I think I have everything I'll need for 3+ weeks in these two bags??? I can't and trust me ... it was a struggle!
The flight over will be a long one and I'm always a little apprehensive before I start a trip like this. We'll go to San Francisco on American, then get aboard JAL and fly to Tokyo and then on to Beijing. Our total travel time going over will be almost 20 hours. Fortunately, our seats make into beds, so we'll be a little rested when we arrive. The hotel butler will be meeting us at the plane and handling all our luggage, customs, etc., and have a limo waiting (I can get used to this treatment very quickly) so at least we won't have to deal with all of that. We won't get to Beijing until 9:30 at night, so we can go to bed when we get to the hotel. Coming home, we will fly Cathay Pacific out of Hong Kong to LA and then on home on American. We've flown Cathay Pacific before and they are wonderful. I can't describe the service that you get on Asian airlines. They really spoil you! I don't think the little flight attendants ever sleep. They're there to help you every minute of the flight and they're pretty little things and so very polite. We have beds on that flight as well, so that always helps.Our 21-night adventure will explore China’s cradle of culture with a 9-night cruise on the Yangtze all the way from Chongqing to Nanjing. We will see the wonders of Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. Uncover the roots of Chinese civilization from Jingdezhen, birthplace of porcelain, to Mt. Jiu Hua’s remote Buddhist Temple complex, to Nanjing, capital of ancient China, and Suzhou, “Venice of the East.”
We will be cruising for 9 nights along the Yangtze River aboard one of the best ships on the river. The lounge has panoramic windows to view the sights as they go by, or we can enjoy the views from the sun deck or our cabin’s private balcony. On board, our meals are overseen by our Swiss catering department and alternate between Chinese and Western entrées so I’m not concerned about not having anything to eat! Our guides will be English-speaking and they will take us to the Great Wall as well as hidden gems like the Yue Yang Tower at Dongting Lake. We will get to explore ancient Chinese culture at the Wuhan Museum, Ceramic History Museum and Suzhou’s silk factory. In Xian, we’ll be able to view the 6,000 terra cotta warriors Emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned to guard him in the afterlife. W watched a special last week on the HD channel about this and no two warriors has the same face. We have friends who just returned from there and they said that this was one of the highlights of the trip. We will also attend a Chinese acrobatic performance, the Peking Opera and a Tang Dynasty dinner show.
We had added a 4 day extension to our trip and once we have spent several days in Shanghai and we will then travel to Hong Kong and Guilin We have spent time in Hong Kong in the past and I’m looking forward to getting back. It’s such an exciting city and I love Stanley Market, riding on the Star Ferry and people watching! I’m not much of a shopper at this stage of my life, but there are bargains at Stanley Market that can’t be resisted!
We will be cruising for 9 nights along the Yangtze River aboard one of the best ships on the river. The lounge has panoramic windows to view the sights as they go by, or we can enjoy the views from the sun deck or our cabin’s private balcony. On board, our meals are overseen by our Swiss catering department and alternate between Chinese and Western entrées so I’m not concerned about not having anything to eat! Our guides will be English-speaking and they will take us to the Great Wall as well as hidden gems like the Yue Yang Tower at Dongting Lake. We will get to explore ancient Chinese culture at the Wuhan Museum, Ceramic History Museum and Suzhou’s silk factory. In Xian, we’ll be able to view the 6,000 terra cotta warriors Emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned to guard him in the afterlife. W watched a special last week on the HD channel about this and no two warriors has the same face. We have friends who just returned from there and they said that this was one of the highlights of the trip. We will also attend a Chinese acrobatic performance, the Peking Opera and a Tang Dynasty dinner show.
We had added a 4 day extension to our trip and once we have spent several days in Shanghai and we will then travel to Hong Kong and Guilin We have spent time in Hong Kong in the past and I’m looking forward to getting back. It’s such an exciting city and I love Stanley Market, riding on the Star Ferry and people watching! I’m not much of a shopper at this stage of my life, but there are bargains at Stanley Market that can’t be resisted!
I have included a slide show of the hotels where we'll be staying along with some of the places we'll be visiting. They aren't as sharp as I'd like for them to be as I scanned them from our brochure, but I promise much better photographs when we return!
Below I have listed the hotels where we will be staying and I have also included our itinerary if you're interested in following our travels. I would ask for your prayers for a safe journey and good health along the way.
XOXO, Pcasso
Here is our itinerary. China’s Cultural Delights River Cruise: Itinerary - www.VikingRiverCruises.com We will go over 3 days early to get over the long flight and also have extra time in Beijing. We are taking the extension trip to Guilin and Hong Kong as well. I've always wanted to see the Li River and Guilin.
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