Asia – Day 7, Tuesday, October 14, 2015

So that everyone is aware, tomorrow we are going to Beijing and that means that our ability to use the internet is very limited.  We will not be able to do the blog as it is blocked in all of China as it is park of Google.

 

When we awoke, the weather had turned for the better and the sun was out and the sea was calm.  The only problem was that with a little wind, it was way too cold to lie out so we spent the day inside.

 

After breakfast we went to a wine tasting.  Then we shopped and also picked up our formal picture from last night. 

 

Then we sat in a very nice lounging area and had tea and snacks while planning out our trip to Soul in a few days.  Basically, we just really relaxed in the morning.

 

Then for the first time ever, we had lunch in the main dining room.  Service was excellent and the food was also; however, we probably won’t do that again as it takes too much time.

 

Then it was time for the blackjack tournament which Ed won!!  This was the first tournament that we ever remember that we were ahead going into the final round and the only other person at the table could not catch him – so it was perfect.

 

Then we played a session for the first time on the cruise and didn’t do well but at least we were able to put in some time at the tables.

 

For tonight, the show was earlier and so we went to it and then to dinner.

 

At dinner, we were joined by a new couple from Scotland who have traveled extensively around the world so they will be fun sitting with.

 

Then it was back to the casino where Ed more than made up for his loss during the day.

 

After the casino, we went back to the room to pack for tomorrow.  Three days in Beijing, the second largest city –it should be fun.

 

The next blog will be written on Friday night.

 

Night for now

Asia – Day 6, October 13, 2015

This is going to be our first full day on the ship and when we woke up the weather was very, very windy and cold.  During the night, the drawers in the closet kept opening and shutting because of the motion of the ship and woke us up so we had to put pillows in front of them to keep them shut.

This was the roughest seas that we have ever had.

I went down to the computer lounge and found out that their system will not be able to transmit pictures, so the blog will be without pictures until we reach Tokyo.

We went to a presentation by the shore excursion head about the different cities that we were going to visit and found out some additional information about our trip.

Then we went to lunch and then to the main theater to hear a person who has written a book about Buddha. 

Next it was the slot tournament where Ed won, just barely beating out Barb who came in second.  The winning amount was a net of $174. 

As is our tradition, it was time for a nap before getting ready for dinner.
Tonight was the first of three formal nights and at dinner, we met the additional people at the table.

Following dinner we went to the show.  It was supposed to be a ballroom show; however, they changed it because of the rough seas.  Instead it was a 70’s show and it was pretty good.

We then went to the casino but didn’t play as there were not any players at the tables so we went to bed a little past midnight.

Tomorrow is another sea day.  Night from the sea – somewhere in Asia.

Asia - Day 5, October 12, 2015

I awoke to a great card from my best friend, my wife wishing me a Happy Birthday.  What a way to celebrate – to wake up in Shanghai, China.

 

This is our last day so we got up early and had breakfast in the Executive Lounge.  While this Marriott is a little more expensive, having a great breakfast, wonderful room and more food in the evening in the lounge is a great perk.

 

We then took a cab to a true antique market, which was actually about 6 city blocks of outside stalls selling everything that was supposed to be old – or at least they looked old!!

 

We had fun walking through it and even bought a couple of things.

 

Then we took a cab back to the hotel and walked the couple of blocks to the huge indoor market where we finished covering the floors that we had missed yesterday.  Barb bought a couple of pairs of Toms, two purses and a few other items.  Ed found the iPhone 6 screen protector that he was looking for.  The prices were amazing and what fun to bar gin.

 

Then we went back to the hotel to wait for our guide and drive take us to the port and start our cruise.

 

Riley and the driver picked us up promptly at 2:00pm for the short ride to the cruise port.  He had asked us the day before if we knew where the port was and we brought the information about the port that we had.  The problem was that they did not know where the cruise port was.  They first went to a small port and they didn’t know anything about our ship.  Finally, after a lot of “problems” we saw our ship in the distance and made it. 

 

Check in was as usual a breeze and we were in our room and heading for food by 4:00pm.  We ate, walked around a littler, set up the internet and went back to the room to unpack and try to get the blogs on the internet.

 

We went to dinner at our usual time of 8:30pm and met a nice, well-traveled couple from England.  The rest of the people at our table were not there so hopefully they will be there tomorrow.

 

Then it was on to the Casino where we met our Host and the Casino Manager, who also just arrived today.  We also saw several dealers who we had played with before.

 

As it will be a long cruise, we did not gamble to night but we did go to the show and it was a sample of the entertainment for the two weeks.

 

Time to go to bed and I am sorry, but the pictures will not load.  Will try again tomorrow.

 

Night

Part of the bathroom

Time to buy a clock

The view from our room on the 58th floor - wow!!

 

Asia - Day 4, October 11, 2015

We were picked up by our guide at 9:00am from the hotel and drove 1 ½ hours to the ancient river town called Zhujajiao.  The town is very well preserved and it resembles a Chinese Venice with lots of waterways and lots of shops lining the sidewalks.  It dates back to the Ming Dynasty.

We spent a couple of hours there walking the streets and buying a little, but mostly just looking.  As we were at the far end, we took a boat ride back and did that ever save our feet!!

Then it was back in the van to go downtown where we had a fun Chinese lunch at a very nice restaurant.  We had the usual too many courses but the one we liked the best was cooked Eel – a great taste.

Following lunch, we then went to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center which is currently the 7^th highest building in the world by one of the judging standards.  In 2008, it was the highest.  The ride up was quick, the weather was wonderful so the views were amazing.

After that they dropped us off at a huge building close to the Marriott called Shanghai’s Fake Market it was probably one of the best if not the best market we have ever been to.  It was 5 floors full of Chinese souvenirs, bags, shoes, fake watches, Apple products and just all kinds of “stuff”.   We had fun for a couple of hours and then went back to the hotel to eat in the Executive Lounge as we were still a little full from lunch.

At 6:15, our guide and driver picked us up and took us to a very good Chinese Acrobat show and we had a lot of fun.  After the show, we took a cab back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we will have the morning to do some things by ourselves and then we will be picked up at 2 to go to the ship.

Shanghai has been very interesting, especially since it is in a Communist country and it is the largest city in the world.  It was not what we expected.

The wages here are very low and apparently there is a high unemployment rate.  On the other hand, the prices of food are very, very low.  We probably never paid more than $5.00 total for the both of us for lunch.

The lack of cars in also amazing.  The hotel is located at one of the major intersections and there are fewer cars going buy that on Veteran’s Parkway in Bloomington.

 

Our own river boat

 

Eel and it was very good!!

 

From the tallest building

 

Another good lunch - this was all for us!

Making lunch

Snacks for lunch

 

 

Asia - Day 3, October 10, 2015

We really crashed the night before and we were well on our way to catching up on our sleep when, at 3:21am, the phone rang with question about a customer’s bill for our latest event.   The problem was that after the call, it was impossible to go back to sleep so we were up much too early.

 First thing in the morning, the Asst Manager took us to the highest library in the world on the 59^th floor and then thru a “secret” door out onto the roof – what a neat sight from up there.

Then I spent sometime in the Executive Lounge with the Manager trying to find a way to get tour blog.  It seems that going into web design for our blog is blocked because it is part of Google, which is blocked here.  Also blocked is Facebook and Twitter!!

 We met our guide and driver at 9:30am and off we went.  One of the amazing things about this city, which is the largest in the word, 3 times the size of New York and 10 times Chicago is its lack of traffic.  They have great wide main streets but hardly any automobiles.  It is so neat to go out on the streets at 9am and no hear traffic.

 We first went to the Shanghai Museum, the Jade Buhhda Temple, and a silk factory and then it was time for lunch.  At the Museum, we saw amazing works of porcelain from 13 bc as well as bronze works from as early as 6^th century bc – what a great museum.  The Jade Buhhda Temple is one of the most famous Buddha religious temples in Shanghai.  At the silk factory, we saw how silk is actually made into materials.  Their biggest product that they were displaying were comforters for beds and of course they wanted us to buy one – we didn’t.

We then had a traditional Chinese lunch at a nice restaurant before going to an area call The French Concession.   This is an area made up of old streets with a lot of shops and restaurants.  Then it was onto the YuYun Gardens were 400 years ago a very wealthy politician built these amazing gardens for himself. 

After that we went to the YuYan Tourist Mart which is a huge market that serves over 37 million Chinese and overseas visitors each year.  Basically, there are lost places to eat and lots and lots of places to shop!!  We spent a couple of hours there, ate dinner and then met out guide and driver to go on a night-time river cruise.

 It was perfect weather for a boat cruise and it was a lot of fun.  This is an amazing city and everything along the waterfront is lit up at night – it makes quite a sight.

 The costs of items is very interesting.  There is not a lot of tipping – nothing to cab drivers and restaurant workers.  Also, food is very cheap.  Our dinner tonight cost about $5.00.  But then other things are very expensive.  Our driver and guide were excited when they say my new iPhone 6 the first day.  Today, they announced pre-sales in China and a new iPhone 6 will cost $1,124  - and they are made here!  I only paid $299 plus received a $200 trade-in. 

This is such an interesting brand new city that we are seeing.  Most of the major sections were built after 1990.  Our guide said that Shanghai has all of the money and Beijing has all of the power so it will be interesting visiting both of them.

After the cruise, we were taken back to the hotel where we went up the Executive Lounge for snacks and then back to the room where we went to sleep -this time making it up until 9:0pm.

 

 

 

Lunch was good

 

Buddas

A great lunch

The Gardens

Skyline from the river cruise

 

 

 

Asia - Days 1 & 2, October 8 & 9, 2015

The day started by boarding an American Airlines flight from Bloomington to Chicago.   A good flight and then after a couple of hours wait, we boarded the American 777, a huge plane for the trip to Shanghai, China.

We had splurged and used to points to upgrade to the front of the plane and WOW was that an amazing experience.  Instead of seats that are $1,500 in coach – these seats were $5,500 - each!  The first thing that we noticed was the control panel for the seats.  Then we had a separate control for the entertainment system.   A full size pillow and a very large blanket, slippers, an amenities kit and other “stuff” rounded out the items that came with the seat.  Plus a very attentative set of flight attendants.

After we took off, they immediately started serving us drinks and snacks as we read from the menu as what choices we would have for the flight.

We were in huge seats and they were basically pods of two seats together and the person behind you could not even touch your seat.   When you put the seat in sleet mode, we still had room at the end where we had stuff stored on the floor, in front of the bed – what fun!!

Our first course started in about an hour from when we took off and it was seared Tuna – wow was it good.  Ed had never had it before and the taste was amazing.   One of the things that we were expecting was to try a lot of new food items in Asia and this was the start.  After that came the main course and Barb had a pasta dish and Ed had a filet and they were both really good.  Then Barb had a cheese and crackers tray and Ed had a big ice cream Sunday!

When we were about 5 hours away, they served us a snack and we both had sandwiches. 

About an hour away, they served brunch and Ed order a Din-Sun which was boiled dough with meat inside with noodles – very good.

Arrival was right on time and our guide was waiting outside customs and he took us to the van with his waiting driver.  The ride from the airport took about an hour and a half and then we arrived at the JW Marriott at Tomorrow Square.    We learned along the way that about 80% of Shanghai is new since the 90’s and it is the most advanced city in mainland China.  From what we saw coming in, everything is big, new and bold!!

With 23 million people, an interesting fact is that they limit the number of license plates that are available each year by holding a lottery.  If you win a plate, the cost is $12,000 just for the privilege and then you have to buy the car.  It looks right away there is a huge difference between classes of people here.  We found out that jobs are very hard to come by and the wages are very low.  It is going to be interesting.

The lobby for the Marriott is on the 38^th floor and they upgraded us to a corner room on the 54^th floor – wow what a view!!  Our guide then left us and will return tomorrow. 

We unpacked, looked around the hotel and then went out onto the street.  We are right in the heart of the city and it is huge.  We took a little tram from the start of a major pedestrian friendly street to the other end, and then took the tram back.  Lots and lots of young people out having fun walking up and down this major shopping area with parts looking like a big city back home with the same brands, Nike, Apple, etc.  Of course they are selling local products!!

We went into a multiple story food market and on the top floor they had a food cooking areas with absolutely no information as to what we were looking at.  We pointed at a bowl of food that looked good and ordered it.  It was a bowl of cooked some kind of meat with noodles and other things in it.  We sat and shared it and then walked back to the hotel.

At the hotel, we went up to the Executive Lounge and they had great snacks so we finished our dinner there.  At that point, it was 8:00pm and we simply crashed into bed and slept until 4:00am.  We are now both up, watching the city wake up.  Hopefully after today, we will better adjust to the time change.  Ed forgot to turn his phone off and a call came in at 4 – it will be off in future evenings!

The time between here and the US is hard to think about.  Right now, it is 6:00am on Friday and it is 5:00pm yesterday in Bloomington!!!

Our first impression is that while this is a Communist country, it is certainly different than our trip to Russia.  This is big, bold and commercial and looks like any big city of 23 million in new buildings.  Russia was not – It was big but cold.

At 9:30am this morning, our guide will pick us up and we will start our journey in Shanghai.

What a great start to an adventure we have been looking forward to for a long time.



A major shopping street

Lunch was???

The lunch restraurant

Ready for the trip

Way too many controls

Grilled Tuna for a snack and it was really good!!

Trolly down the main walking street








 

 

October - 2015 Trip to Asia

Oct 8 - Bloomington to Chicago, Chicago to Shanghai
Oct 9 - Arrive in Shanghai.  Check into the JW Marriott
Oct 10 - Shanghai
Oct 11 - Shanghai
Oct 12 - Board the Celebrity Millennium
Oct 13 - At Sea
Oct 14 - At Sea
Oct 15 - Beijing - Stay at Beijing Marriott
Oct 16 - Beijing
Oct 17 - Beijing - Return to Celebrity Millennium
Oct 18 - At Sea
Oct 19 - Soul
Oct 20 - At Sea
Oct 21  Jeju Island, Korea
Oct 22 - Kobe, Japan
Oct 23 - Kobe, Japan
Oct 24 - Mt. Fuji
Oct 25 - Tokyo
Oct 26 - Tokyo - Marriott
Oct 27 - Tokyo - Marriott
Oct 28 - Leave Japan - arrive Bloomington - 10:05pm