We are so fortunate that Ashley is willing to come, bring her own dogs, and live in our house while we are away. It solves the problem of finding a kennel for 3 dogs and it keeps the house occupied while we're gone. It's the best of all possible worlds. And we try to treat Ashley well too!
I so enjoyed keeping a journal of our Russia trip, but things will be different this time. I have been told that there is no wifi on the ship and the only internet access will be on the ship's computers, which apparently move at the speed of dial-up. But we are only on the river five days and there is supposed to be wifi available when we are in hotels. So I am going to write journal entries every day, so that I will have a good record for me, but I may wait to post them until we are on land, so there may be several entries posted at once and days will pass with no entries. Or I could get lucky and discover that if I have a flash drive I can post them on the ship's computers. I'll have to wait and see.
China has so many restrictions (you can't get Facebook or Google in China, I understand), that it may be that I won't be able to post the story of the trip until we get back home again. We'll all just have to be surprised, won't we.
But in case you're interested, here is our itinerary as we know it now....
W 11 | Lv. SFO 1:30 am <-- Note that is AM!!! | ||
Th 12 | Change planes in Hong Kong. Ar. Shanghai 10:30 am, Check in | Portman R-C | |
F 13 | Old Shanghai & Yuyan Garden tour in am; silk carpet workshop & Shanghai Museum in afternoon; acrobat show in evening. | B,L,D | Portman R-C |
Sa 14 | Fly to Wuhan in am; museum & bells performance in afternoon; board ship. | B,L,D | V. Emerald |
Su 15 | Cruising; school visit in Yueyang in am; welcome reception in evening. | B,L,D | V. Emerald |
M 16 | Cruising; Three Gorges Dam Tour in afternoon; cruising through locks in evening. | B,L,D | V. Emerald |
Tu 17 | Cruising; Lesser Three Gorges tour in small boat; cruising overnight to Shiboazhai. | B,L,D | V. Emerald |
W 18 | Shiboashai Pagoda tour in am; cruising the rest of the day. | B,L,D | V. Emerald |
Th 19 | Visit Chongqing zoo in am (SEE PANDAS!); fly to Xian after lunch; optional dinner show in evening. | B,L,D | Kempinski |
F 20 | Terra Cotta Army in am; fly to Beijing after lunch. | B,L,D | Regent |
Sa 21 | Great Wall tour in am; Ming Tombs after lunch; optional Peking duck dinner and Peking Opera in evening. | B,L,D | Regent |
Su 22 | Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City in am; Summer Palace tour after lunch; some free time in afternoon. | B,L,D | Regent |
M 23 | Fly to Guilin | B;L,D | Shangri-La |
Tu 24 | Li River cruise in am; walking tour of Yangshuo village after lunch; fly to Hong Kong. | B,L | Kowloon Shangri-La |
W 25 | Hong Kong Island tour in am; free time the rest of the day. | B | Kowloon Shangri-La |
Th 26 | Free time in Hong Kong. | B | Kowloon Shangri-La |
F 27 | Lv. Hong Kong 2:05 pm; Ar. SFO 11:35 am | B |
We will only be on the Viking Emerald for five days, which I'm sad about, since it was so nice to load our stuff into the ship in Russia and then not to have to pack again until the end of the cruise. But the trade off is that all of our hotels are supposedly 4 star hotels, and reports about the hotels from people who have already done this cruise are glowing.
I'm starting to get excited.
Additions to the royal urinary habits discussion from yesterday:
John S Fitzgerald: The British motto of a "stiff upper lip" must apply to their toiletry habits as well...never show emotion and never need to pee
Linda Courtemanche: I kept thinking that if it were me up at that altar, I'd be saying, "Dad. I have to go. No, I really have to GO! NOW!!" :-)
Miriam H. Nadel: Oh, come now. Surely you remember the folk tale of the Princess and the pee.
Marte Brengle: You know how they took the wedding party aside after the ceremony? It wasn't just to sign the paperwork. :)
3 comments:
I went back and read your previous entry and saw the comments about taking lots of handkerchiefs. On our buses, there was always a cooler full of bottles of water, and lots of individual packets of single wet-wipes, which had been chilled in the ice. These were WONDERFUL! Our guides were always telling us to be sure we had water. Our hotels were 4*, too, so maybe your trip will do the same. We sweated SO much, our clothes were always soaked at the end of the excursion.
What month were you there, Mary?
Last month, in Cambodia and Vietnam. That's a good bit further south than you'll be. You'll be surprised at the number of folks you'll see wearing surgical masks. Some of it is to protect from germs, I'm sure, but I'll bet a lot ore of it is as a barrier against dust and pollution. That might be another reason for suggesting the handkerchiefs. You might find toilet paper in short supply, so you might keep some personal wipes in your tote when you're out and about.
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