Jul 21, 2014 - Tianjin, China

Pete called from Tianjin and things were fine. This was a turnaround day and he did not plan to leave the ship. He did mention that there had been a personnel change in the band - a new guitar player arrived to replace the one who was not performing satisfactorily. The new musician, who is from Ukraine, seemed to be doing well so far. We also received an email with some more information about possible future cruise schedules for Pete but nothing definite yet.

Jul 19, 2014 - fThree Gorges Dam

Happy Birthday Deena! We celebrated your birthday, before you were awake, so I guess in China you are 12 hours older, HA! Well we have not made it to the morning exercise class of Tai Chi, but we always seem to make it to breakfast, go figure! This morning we attended a presentation on the construction of the Three Gorge Dam. George was all over this. After lunch, we docked in the town of Yichang, which has grown into a large city due to the relocation of many of the farmers from the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. We loaded a bus and...

Jul 18, 2014 - Cruising the Yangzi

After a restful night, we woke to heavy haze, humidity and heat on the Yangzi. We spent some time enjoying the flat scenery from our verenda, then headed down to breakfast. I don't know why I thought I would lose weight on this trip, because that is not going to happen. The food on the ship is very good and in high abundance. It was a leisurely day on the river as we crusied upstream towards Yichang. Our itinerary had us visiting a local school today, but because school is out for the summer, the students were going to visit us on the ship....

Jul 17, 2014 - Farewell to Shanghai!

We had a restful morning to pack and get ready to take the 1st of our 3 inter-China flights. We are heading to Wuhan today to catch our cruise ship. Before we leave Shanghai we made one more stop at the Bund, which is the city's riverside promenade. This area has a very western feel to it because after the Opium War the British built many of the buildings here. 10 - 15 years ago the other side of the Huangpu River was rice paddies and farms, today it is filled with highrises and condos. Just more evidence of how fast Shanghai has grown in...

Jul 17, 2014 - Tianjin, China

Today was a turnaround day for Pete with extra shows scheduled, including a parade and a welcome aboard show, as well as lifeboat drill. He was not planning to leave the ship because the port at Tianjin is a freighter port with no amenities for visitors and the trip into Beijing is pretty long.

Jul 16, 2014 - Touring Shanghai

Up early a little tired, but ready for the day. After a buffet breakfast in the hotel we met out tour guide, Daniel (his name has to be a good omen, right?) and the other 38 folks in our group. We loaded our comfy bus and headed towards old Shanghai, while Daniel educated us on the history of Shanghai. It is a fairly young city, but they have retained some of their tradition in the Old City (Nanshi). Daniel warned us of the local vendors and the tendency of pick-pocketing that occurs in this area. We made our way to the Ming-dynasty Yu...

Jul 16, 2014 - Hong Kong 12 - 17 July

We've had a fantastic few days in Hong Kong: This is one of the reasons why we're here - Julie was here as a young 'un for a few months, living at the end of Nathan Road, Kowloon. Things have probably changed, just a bit! Here's Julie and one of the Star Ferry boats - They're both the same age and both ageing well :-) Can a selfie containing 2 people be called a selfie? The amazing waterfront shows Hong Kongs verticality - yep, I just made that word up (I think). Spotted this guy watching us in our apartment from a hotel pool...

Jul 15, 2014 - Back to Shanghai

We started our last day in Hong Kong relaxing and enjoying our view of Victoria harbor. Today was a travel day. The plan was to leave Hong Kong on a 1:40 flight back to Shanghai to meet up with our Viking Cruise group. Due to high winds and torrential rain in Shanghai, our flight was delayed 5 1/2 hours. Hong Kong airport is a very busy place and finding a seat was difficult, but thank goodness for our business flight status, we were able to pass the delay in the comfort of the business lounge, were food and drink are complementary. We...

Jul 14, 2014 - Xmas Shopping at Stanley Market

Yeah, we slept until 5:30 this morning. We must be making progress. We took a taxi to the other side of Hong Kong to visit the Stanley Market along the South China Sea. This was a very unique place that was visited by Bill Clinton in 2002. How do we know this? Every shop owner that he purchased items from has a picture with him displayed in his/her shop. They will even tell you what he purchased from them. He obviously made a big impression, they are all rooting for "his wife" to be our next president. Interestingly, they didn't know her...

Jul 13, 2014 - Buddhas & High Tea

It's 3:00 AM and we are wild awake, watching a movie. Yikes, how do you adjust to the time zone change? Any suggestions? After breakfast, we grabbed a taxi to the other side of Kowloon Island to visit the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. It was very hot and humid as we hiked up the steps of the monastery. We observed many locals making tribute to their ancestors who had passed on. The question of where do the Chinese bury their dead in a crowded city like Hong Kong has been answered. They are buried in these temples on the side of mountains. The...

Jul 12, 2014 - Sites of Hong Kong

We were up early this morning, still working on getting on the right time zone. We took the ferry across the harbor to main land Hong Kong and found our way to the Peak Tram. It was hot and humid this morning. We understand why the Chinese use their parsoles, to shade themselves from the sun, it is intense in this part of the world. We took the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, which is the largest mountain in Hong Kong. The views from this vantage were amazing, check out the photos. We had lunch up there at Bubba Gump. Shrimp Co. Deena and...

Jul 11, 2014 - Tianjin, China

Today is a turnaround day on the ship, with new passengers boarding in Tianjin. Pete's schedule remains much the same for several weeks, with a home port in Tianjin and multiple stops in South Korea. The high temperature in Tianjin today will be in the low 90's. As of today, Pete has traveled 46,456 miles since he left Indianapolis 18 weeks ago.