Vladivostok

Sunday, May 6th

This is a stop that we have nothing planned...and from what I have read....not much to do!!!!!

Not really the best day but can't complain. We have really had great weather for the entire cruise so far. We walked in to town. The town was actually a little nicer than I thought it would be.


Train station...end of the Siberian Railway. Below, ceiling in the train station.




Statue of Lenin across from the train station.









Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Mother






Submarine Museum


Motorcycle rally in the Central Square...officially known as the "Square of the Fighters for Soviet Power in the Far East"


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Busan

Friday, May 4th

Today, we will stop at Busan, South Korea. There was a stop at this port on the first cruise, but we were off the ship fir iyr excursion to Xi'an and Beijing. We have nothing scheduled for this port. Hopefully we will be able to get some ideas of what to do from our fellow cruisers that stopped here last week.

.......Talked to people that stopped here last week..really isn't much to see. We took the shuttle in to town and walked around a little.....then it was back to the ship. This is a port that should have been a "stay on board"day.....












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Dalian

Wednesday, May 2nd

Yesterday were rejoined the ship in Tianjin Xingang to continue our cruise to Vancouver. We had a wonderful time on our land tour. I'm so glad we did it. We saw so much that I will never forget....NOW..let the second part of the cruise begin.....

Today we have a full day tour arranged by Joyce Caballero. We will be visiting Zhongshan Square, the Beida Bridge, Xinghai Square, the Laohutan Scenic Park, the Russian Culture Street and the Dalian Local Market.

We had a nice day. The city was very modern and clean. A pretty city but did not see much I would consider as important. Like we have seen all over China, construction is everywhere!!!! There is apparent prosperity is this part of the world.

Joe....being JOE!!!!!!!

Guess there is no overhead for this barber shop!!!!







A church turned in to a KFC!!!!! It seems like there is a KFC on every corner in China.



Russian Cultural Street.....



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Beijing Day #3

Monday, April 30th

Today we will visit the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu and the Ming Tombs.

First stop of the day was at the Ming Tombs. Really not much to see but the relics displayed were very beautiful...











Then it was on to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. The crowds were unbelievable!!! We took the chair lift up to the base of the wall.





Enjoying a local beer as we climb the Wall






AMAZING......AWESOME.....I can't believe we are really here!!!






Charlie with Angela..our guide for Beijing


This is an example of the traffic we experienced leaving the Wall.....our driver was following another car down the oncoming lane of a two lane road!!!!!! Bus was bigger than us.....


We added the KungFu Show on our last night in Beijing. The show was recommended by an Australian man we met in Xi'an...it was OK but nowheres as good as the Acrobatic Show.


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Beijing Day #2

Sunday, April 29th

After breakfast at the hotel, we met Angela to start our day. Today we will visit Tian'anmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace and end the day with the evening Acrobatics Show.

First stop of the day was the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)...a sprawling landscaped park on the edge of Beijing built by the Empress Cixi. She had it rebuilt twice. Once after it's destruction by the French and English in 1860 and again in 1902 after it was plundered during the Boxer Rebellion.











From the Garden of Virtue and Harmony, the Long Corridor zigzags along the shore of the lake. The ceiling and beams of the corridor are decorated with over 14,000 scenic paintings.





The Marble Boat....Empress Cixi paid for this extravagant folly with funds meant for the modernization of the Imperial Navy.


Longevity Hill....

Next was our visit to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. The crowds were enormous!!! This weekend is a National Holiday...May 1st.....









Waiting for Angela to buy our tickets to enter the Forbidden City.


Gate of Heavenly Purity








Check out the split......guess what that's for!!!!!


The Inner Court where the Emperor, Empress and the many imperial concubines actually lived.


Empress Cixi bedroom



Next it was on to the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) where the emperor would make sacrifices and pray to heaven and his ancestors at the winter solstice.








Last on the day was the Acrobatic show...it was the best acrobatic show I have ever seen.....





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