Ashore in Vladivostok

Vladivostok Russia marks the end of the line for the Trans-Siberian Railroad. That was our venture ashore yesterday. The ship was docked right in the middle of the city so it was an easy walk to all the sites. The city only gets 2 cruise ships a year - this repositioning and then the return next winter. The city generally has not learned to take advantage of the tourist who want to spend their money buying local items.
Our first stop was at the train station which finally came out of the fog. Ornate outside plain inside. Around the street corner was the large square dedicated to the protectors of the East. May 9Th is May day with a large parade to commemorate V Day of World War 2. The Admiral of the Pacific Fleet is the inspecting officer and they were doing a practice. There were many units on parade as well as the missiles on trucks (I suspected they were the tactical nuclear weapons); as well as the short range missiles as well as the armoured personal carriers and hospital trucks and various other trucks. We shot video of the parade and will see what we have when we get back.

Russians on Parade

We also toured the WW2 submarine with "10" sinking during the war as well as the wall of remembrance (Vietnam like memorial) for those who died in the war. After that we walked a long way up the main street looking for the local market. The markets are usually places of interest. We did come across a restored(?) Russian Orthodox church and a chapel in a nice mid city urban park. We wandered some more and finally found the market which was nothing but a meat and vegetable place. Not much of interest. We wandered back looking for a local pub but never recognized one. That ended our 5 hours ashore. As we prepared to get moving as the fog rolled in an American Cruiser (a cruise missile ship) came into port for the celebrations.
They did have a Russian group on the ship for a performance. It was very poorly done. They insisted that they use their our microphones which did not work. They walked off stage. The ship fitted them with head mikes which they did not like; then stand up ones which they did not like. Off stage again. Finally they sang without them. You can imaging a 1000 seat hall without amplification. They did not bring any Russian dancers with them. All in all it was poorly done from their point of view.
Today we are again at sea. We finished Japanese immigration and they have promised that the "thermal screening" will only take 2 and a half hours tomorrow instead of the 5 that it did the last time in Japan. The bands will be playing, free hop on and off, drum ceremony at the end of the visit. They know what a good reception will mean if dollars today and in the future. Seafood buffet for lunch today. Cheers.
P.S. For those that need glasses, get them! For our good friend, happy birthday to you. Mike please print this out.

A Stop In Pusan Korea

We had another interesting stop in Busan or Pusan as we call it in English. The customs and Immigration health screening consisted of a thermal check as we all went ashore. The port itself is the 5Th busiest in the world and after seeing it we can appreciate that fact. One thing that they do there is to build ships and there were some very large ones under construction.
   Our tour consisted of a 4 hours trip to as Buddhist Temple quite far out of the city. There are so many bays and hills around that the trip takes a long time. The temple itself was very interesting as we learned about the 4 levels required to reach Nirvana. It was Children's day in Korea (another country another holiday) and the place was decorated with lanterns of many bright colours. The guide was very knowledgeable and did an excellent job explaining the various buildings and symbols of the place. After that we headed back to the city and made a stop at The United Nations Cemetery which has the sites for the fallen of the 16 nations that fought in the Korean War. Canada had a large plot with many from the Princess Pat and Canadian Regiments interned there. It was a very interesting place. After that it was back to the city and the ship. We wanted to take the shuttle downtown but the amount of time was limited. The day ended with a traditional Korean Drum Ceremony. It was a much smaller scale than the one in Japan. Speaking of Japan they have started immigration procedures for our visit although it is days away.
    Today is a sea day - finally a sleep in. We enjoyed the line dancing this morning. Veronica did an excellent job teaching 3 new dances. We were happy not to spend the whole time doing the electric slide. The ballroom Swing class was very difficult. I can't move my feet that fast. Now it is just relax waiting to eat again, which we just finished. Vladivostok Russia tomorrow. I am looking forward to see the train station of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. It is at the end of the line. Cheers

Going Ashore in Japan

Drum Ceremony

After a restful day at sea, we arrived in Kagoshima Japan which is in the southern most part of Japan. This experience almost qualifies as the stop from hell. The day before landing were needed to be checked out by Japanese immigration. That was fair enough. We reported at the appropriate time for finger printing (thankfully they did it electronically) and picture taking. That was to get out departing form signed. It was a bit slow but we did that on our sea day. However the next day we had to go through 'medical screening". That involved another form and thermal scanning. I guess with the flu scare it was somewhat understandable. We even received a medical mask. Every person including the crew needed to do that before they would release the ship and let the passengers go ashore. This screening started at 6 am. That was the time we came alongside. It was also the time of fireworks and the 30 minutes of marching songs by the local band! Who gets up at 6 am! In any case it was nearly 11 am before they released the ship and we were suppose to be on a tour and the ship was leaving early. The captain was on the blower apologizing; the tour office offered to refund any money so people could cancel, etc. When was the last time you heard of that!
We headed ashore, took the very fast 15 minute ferry ride and were off to visit the volcano. The guide we had was very good and explained all the details about the last eruption and the ash that occasionally comes down on the city. Walking around the volcanic area was interesting as the ground was still "warm" although the last eruption was many years ago. After that it was back to the town and a tour of on of the feudal lords original estates. It was not that big but the gardens and the view were very nice. She did point out the bullet holes in some of the walls from a past revolution. Then it was back to the ship.
It the officials were slow to accept the ship, the people were not. There was a traditional Japanese drum performance and many people were out to see the ship depart. After the 5 hour custom wait it was a good way to end the day. Cheers!

Back to China

    Our first stop on the cross Pacific trip was Dalian China. It was only an overnight sail so after running around for a few days, we had to get up and go almost immediately the next morning. We should comment that the Chinese custom and immigration people were well prepared and we had no delay at getting ashore.
   The Princess line does not go into Dalian very ofter so they were bending over backwards to make our stay as good as possible. The only problem was that it was still the may 1st holiday break and that people were everywhere. The bus tour that we took started with a trip down the

Russian street. This is a left over from the Russian occupation of the area in the pat. Then we stopped at a small plaza where a "folk show" was being put on for the local celebrations. It was probably the best part of the day. The drummers and dancers were very good even though some were a bit long in the tooth! We stayed for about 30 minutes and we were slow to leave.
The next stop was at the polar aquarium for a look at polar animals and to see the dolphin and whale show. We were suppose to have reserved seats but there were so many people that when we got in there were 5000 people seated; another 1000 or so (give or take a few) crowded 10-15 deep standing in the upper aisle. The decision was made to go to an earlier show so we were given some time to view the exhibits. That is what we did, then we wee sitting on the patio overlooking the parking lot when the buses started to pull out. We did need to have an ice cream! In any case we hustled down to the bus and the tour guide was frantic because we were 1. late and 2 lost. Apparently she changed the instructions after we left. The whole bus clapped.
The next portion was a drive down a scenic coastal highway but since we were late, we could not stop for photos. we were the last group to arrive at a very nice coastal hotel for a great Chinese (what else) style lunch. The head of the tour company (or tourist bureau) was very distraught and keep calling us "distinguished guests" and say let us make this up to you! All I could think of he needed Princess to come back! In any case he gave us a choice of either going back to the show or shopping. By then most people on the 8 buses wanted to go shopping (which turned out to be very disappointing). We chose the show - we paid for that and we wanted to see it. When we arrived there were 4,950 people jammed into their seats and about 50 empty front row seats for us! VIP all the way. The show was very well done and we figured that we got the best of the people on that tour. Cheers!
P.S. Loved the the posts from Dave; Remo and Leo! Will try to upload some photos if they will allow it.

Summer Palace and the Great Wall

The next morning we finally joined the 28 others from our group and headed to the Summer Palace. May 1 weekend is a big holiday in China and Beijing was jammed with people. If was wall to wall as we tried to navigate the Summer Palace grounds. we did have a short boat ride across the lake and picked the bus up for the trip to the Wall. We stopped for a Chinese lunch (provided) at a Friendship shore. They are stores where the prices are sky high but the quality is backed by the government. Finally the Wall. It is all you think it will be. We picked the "hard" climb - what else is new. One advantages was that although it was very steep, there were very few people on it and we could enjoy the beauty of the achievement of building the Wall. I should mention that there were vendors up on the wall as well as all over the entrance area. I did find something of interest that I bought. After it was back to the hotel and a meal with Chinese dancers and entertainment.
 

Friday saw us at Tienanmen Square except this time it was wall to wall people. The photos will bear proof of that. Then over to the Forbidden city. Now that was crowded beyond belief. It was more than we imagined with the size of the ground and the number of buildings. Then it was time for lunch - what else Chinese food Chinese style and the trip to the ship. We finally boarded the Diamond at about 5 in the afternoon.
With the 13 hour time change we are still a bit off; awake at odd hours. Our table has 8 people at it and they all know Bob and Marilyn who got us together for the trip and then had to cancel for medical reasons. We only knew Nanette and Jerry from a previous cruise. However because of the pre-tour we have plenty of familiar faces. The ship currently has about 1900 people on it. We are headed to Japan on a sea day. I will give you an update of Dalian later. Cheers

China on our Own

On Monday we finally got on the United flight. Because we were a rebook, we ended up at the back of the plane in the middle seats. For 13 hours we were not able to see anything! 2 meals and a snack later, after 3 movies we arrived at the very impressive Beijing airport. Of course we had already missed the flight to the Terra Cotta warriors.
We were met at the airport by Bessy from the tour company and taken to the Beijing hotel. When asked what do we do now she answered "Free Time for 2 days". after checking in we wandered to Tiemanen Square and the Forbidden city. After all the time changes we were pretty tired.
The next day during "Free Time" we went to the silk market. 5 floors of vendors all selling the same stuff. The aisles were very narrow and the stalls about 10 feet wide. Every vendor began yelling for attention and offering a special price. They also would grab you as you went by. Funny that the Chinese people were not bothered. I looked at a belt that started at 375 local currency and ended up paying 40 for it. Judy bought a few small items. After that it was over to the Temple of the Sun for a look, following down embassy row and finally a stop for a Yanglin beer. The restaurant (off the tourist trap) did not understand the order for beer and a tea. We did manage. Back to the hotel and finally our for Chinese food at a courtyard restaurant. It was excellent. That was about it for our first full day in China

Travelling To Chicago

We left Windsor on Saturday night with our driver and assistant picking us up at the appointed time. After a nice dinner in Detroit, we were dropped off at the Weston Hotel on the airport grounds. We wanted to be close to the airport to avoid delays.
The next morning we sailed through customs without a problem although Orange level was in effect. Boarded the plane on time. After about 30 minutes in the air (for a trip that takes about an hour) the pilot announces that we are circling over Grand Rapids and will not have enough fuel to stay in the air. We were 19th in the priority list to land. Seems that thunderstorms over Chicago held up traffic. We landed in Fort Wayne refuelled and waited 45 minutes. we finally arrived in Chicago 4 hours after taking off from Detroit and about 90 minutes after our flight to China left. There is only 1 flight a day.
Needless to say we needed to rebook and were going to miss part of the China tour. We ended up staying the night in a Chicago hotel with only our backpacks. We did manage to get on the flight the next morning.....