Sept. 30-Oct.2/15 Beijing

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Our rain is influenced by Typhoon…lots of rain
Mu5151 flight number to Beijing  2 hrs. …domestic …..Hungqiao airport.

26 million in Beijing … 1.3 billion in country.  Since 1979 only one child…..fined if have more than one…man could lose job.. .  Farmers are allowed more. 8 million killed because there were more born….mostly girl babies.  30 million men now cannot find wife.
Lottery to get licence plate.
Pushers cram people onto subways(as in Japan) although we never saw any…..ladies could find themselves pregnant and no shoes……(lol… guides sense of humour)

6 times bigger than Hong Kong
10,000$ /sq. m. ….2,000,000 yuan…..to purchase condo.
From 1420 th dynasty <strong>Tianimen  square</strong>.  Largest in world….44 hectares , hold a million people.  Oct.1/49. National….liberation day….so we were here on the day in 2015….66 years after it began.
<strong>Forbidden City</strong> …Imperial Square.     Poy last emperor. 9,999.5 rooms in Forbidden City.  Couldn’t be 10.000 cuz there is supposed to be that many in heaven.  You can not imagine how big this place is….all for one emperor.  It was <strong>home to 24 emperors</strong> of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) Dynasties. Started to be built during the Ming Dynasty (1406), and completed in 1420 using 1 million workers.  The Forbidden City covers an area of about 72 hectares (178 acres) with a total floor space of approximately 150,000 square meters (1,600,000 square feet). It consists of <strong>90 palaces and courtyards</strong>, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms.  Yellow roofs…symbol of power. Anyone besides emperor with yellow roofs were killed.  You can tell the most important building in each of the MANY squares by how many animal figures are on the roofs.

Beijing is so very different than Shanghai..weather is definitely cooler, the buildings are utilitarian looking, at least from the outside but the hotel we are staying is Japanese, very beautiful lobby and rooms.  Bathrooms with separate shower and bath and toilet seats are state of the art…..are heated, have spray for front and for rear, soft or harder, blow dry.  Amazing!!!

Before 1960 because of natural disasters…drought…no food.
1200 yuan /month income…200$us.

October 1…..its not raining….blue skies.  I guess the typhoon is no longer affecting the local weather.  There was no wind with it.  It also might, and I am guessing here, that the rain took the so-called pollution out of the air because we were never aware of any air-pollution that we all have heard so much about.

First stop today is the Jade factory.  Jade highest value..for the emperor…..is living stone, takes on body oils…translucent more value.
Bangle wear left side…promote circulation….shiny and clear…good health.
Baby dragon (means wealth) at front door and back to protect….no clear path between front and back or money come in and out.
At 12 girls given jade in symbol of year of birth.
Products that are made here. Are taxed at 35%… Very expensive.
1260-1400s Great Wall  built to keep invaders out… During Ming dynasty. 4,300 miles built.  Now 7,000 Kms. long. 7 th century BC started to 221AD   Last part built in 1406AD. 5 sections around Beijing but are unconnected. 5 million died in building of Great Wall.  15 million died building Terracotta Warriors. Longest tomb in the world.We went to the Great Wall.  I’ll have you know that i walked over 8000 steps and did 51 flights of stairs that day according to my Fitbit.  Amazing when you think I am waiting for knee replacements but …….I used my Nordic Walking poles.  If I didn’t have them, I would never have made it.
US$1.1/litre for gas….not too much different than ours.  VW first car manufacturer in China.  Doesn’t seem to be any Chinese cars.  Lots of Audis, VW, BMW (be my wife), some Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundais.
Goals to own in:-1970…bicycle, watch, sewing machine,
-1980… Colour TV, fridge, wash machine
-1990… House, car, iPhone
-2010s… Private plane???
There are 54 minority nationalities plus the majority that are Hun.

October 2/15….we fly home today via Icheon airport in Seoul, Korea.  Although we never left the airport so cannot say what the country is like, the building itself is very nice.

Both legs of our journey home were on Korean Air.  We are most impressed!  Lots of legroom, fed a meal on the 1.5 hour trip from Beijing to Seoul plus of course on the leg from Seoul to Vancouver….no charge for anything.  Flight attendants were professionally dressed (wow) and absolutely lovely.  If I ever have the option to fly with them again, I certainly would.

FYI….There were more crowded conditions on the bus from the Bridgeport Station to the ferry than at any time in either China or Japan.

Sunday, Sept. 27/15…Shanghai, China

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Sunday, September 27/15
We arrived in Shanghai sometime during the night.  We apparently were to travel for 5 hours up the river once taking on the pilot.
Oh man are there a lot of boats coming and going up the river.  I am not surprised that there are collisions here.  The water is brown….dirty….not sure if that is pollution or soil that has been washed down for up stream….like in the case of the Amazon.  And the smog…..well you cannot see much more than 5 kms.  But we can see blue skies when looking up.
A guide with a sign saying On-line Vacations, greets us, checks us off and we walk…..forever it seems.  Some are thinking we are walking to the hotel but no we are going to the bus.  And then we sit….and wait!  I think there are 4 buses for On-line Vacations.
Our guide is Shelly….Xie given name in Chinese. Sialee..
First we go to the 400 year old Yu Gardens….during Ming dynasty 1591.  Built by Pan.  Water, plants, architecture & rock. … 4 element of garden.  In 1982 became national monument.
Shanghai tower not open yet. Huangpu River mean yellow river in Bund area on western side.  Then we went to Shanghai museum.  Drove by the Bund (means Waterfront) & acrobat show, $60 U.S. Plus lunch and dinner.
The acrobat show was like nothing any of us had ever seen.  The cost for day at $60 U.S. Would have been worth it if the show as the only thing we ever saw.  Incredible!   A guy balancing on a triple or quadruple thingy, tossing up from his foot to the top of his head, about 10-12 bowls,then a cup and then a spoon into it.  Amazing!  8 motorcycle going around and around on the inside of a sphere without hitting each other, others flying through the air.  There were about 30 individuals all probably under 25 years and apparently from acrobatic families.  If anyone ever gets to Shanghai, go to see them at the ERA Theatre.  I don’t know if you can find anything in the internet but ……
Driving 60 km/hr on elevated ring road….not very fast.  Modern cars, buildings going up all over the place.  In some cases 5 new apartment buildings in a group being built at the same time.
Coconut oil, cannabis oil & beeswax mixture that lady on tour gave me to put on my knees.  Worked so very very fast.
Public park for exercise. And dancing. Doing ballroom dancing to Chinese music….kind of weird.
Lots and lots of people…holiday.  KFC, Dairy Queen, McDonalds, Hagen-Daas.
Lots of motorbikes…no helmets, driving all over the place.  Max and I saw this man with a child in front of him and one behind as well the wife behind the child and she was holding a baby……all on a small motorbike built for one.
Moon festival……it is now August 15 in Chinese lunar calendar.

Largest container port in world and China’s and Far East’s financial centre.
1949 People’s Republic of China established.

Shanghai has been in existence for 2000 years. The original name of Shanghai was Hudu…Hoodoo….from bamboo fishing traps….means upper reaches of the sea.
1842 beginning of trade with the world.
Hunfu is name of traditional dress.
The Bund…1000 metre waterfront…with banks, clubs ….is a preserved area…..built up in the early part of the 20th century, after the Opium Wars.  Art Deco style. Colonial era style. 33 meter long bar…longest in world at time… A person would be positioned along it according to status.
19 ferries 40 piers along river.
Huangpu River divides the two sections of Shanghai. There are 6 bridges ,7 tunnels …..one is double decker and over 3 km long.
Paris of east. China’s NY.  Jinmao tower
Nanpu Bridge fashioned after Alex Fraser bridge….can see where World Fair Expo 1982.. were.  ….first steel bridge… Built 1991
3rd largest free span in world at the time.  Ferries cheapest and fastest to cross. Huangpu river is 114 km.  Apparently there is a 36 km long bridge is being built south of city …longest in world.
400 financial institutions in Shanghai…..changed from manufacturing to financial centre.
Super Brand Mall …..a Shopping Centre……300,000 shoppers each weekend…..13 stories, 70 restaurants.
Oriental Pearl TV tower is 468 metres high. 3rd highest after TO. & Moscow.   Very beautiful!
Hudu….from bamboo fishing traps.2000 and 20,000 fishing boats and junks per year on Huang Pu River.
Pu Dong… 522 sq mi 1.5 million people.  In 1991 Pudong was just farmland.
Oriental Pearl TV tower…..492 metres; Jin Ma Tower 88 floors in 45 secs. ; Shanghai Tower when complete in 632 metre high 128 floors 9 cylindrical units with exterior outside that twists.  ..collects rain water and somehow is used in AC.  supposed to be completed in 2014 but not done yet.
Population increases by 10% annually.
Monsoon sub-tropical climate .  From below freezing in winter to 35 C in summer. June plum season, heavy rain; August /Sept. …typhoon season.
Shelly our guide from yesterday said that if you have not seen Shanghai by night, you haven’t been to Shanghai.  Well we decided to walk to the Bund to see what all the talk was about even though it was raining.  Everyone in this city has an umbrella.  Remember this is monsoon country!  We walked all along the waterfront.  There were lots of cruise boats that looked like they were serving dinner on board…..you know a romantic cruise while wooing your sweetheart.  And across the river all the beautifully lit buildings in the Pudong area.  Absolutely breathtakingly!  And then at about 8:45, fireworks that went on and on ( probably 10-15minutes).  If I am not mistaken, they are on every night.  Wow!  This city is so not like what we were expecting.  Yes there are a lot of people and all the motorbikes that don’t obey any rules or lights (cars don’t much either) and they all honk their horns constantly.  It is really amusing actually.  It poured so bad….we were so drenched.
Tuesday sept 29/15
X-ray square  6 elevated ring roads..non Shanghai licences not allowed on highways in busy periods. There are no tolls.
London plane trees aka sycamore, everywhere.  Look like maple leafs but have patchy/blotchy trunks.   Buddhism from 1st century. In 80s govt relaxed ban of all  recognized religions while when the country became communist, all religions were banned..  Confucianism and Taoism are not  exactly religions but thoughts and ways of life.
Close to beautiful Jing’an Temple is Plaza 66 all designer such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc and local brand names.went Jade Palace, then to Pudong to go up the Jinmao tower.  Travelled 88 stories in 45 secs…fast yes???  But alas could not see a thing…totally socked in.  But we could look down the entire centre…all 88 stories.  Kind of weird sensation.  The hotel  in this tower is the Grand Hyatt from the 56-88th floor….the highest 5 star lobby in the world.

Fungshui ?
1882 Jade Temple
Suzhou is a place that we need to go to  on next trip….country side and canals, rickshaw rides
Yangtze  water canal…delta town to visit…..

Day 11. Tuesday Sept. 23/15.  Yokohama and Tokyo. Start of an interesting day. We see freighters after container ships upon entering the harbour of Yokohama, the port city for Tokyo. Our ship travels under the Yokohama bridge clearing it by 2 meters. Phew!!! Then into the dock…a bridge like those from plane into airport terminal. We go through the immigration process very quickly even though there was a delay because of a computer malfunction….believe it! It really was fairly slick even though we all were fingerprinted….without ink. When the guy was taking mine it took 3 times for it to be taken.Yokohama is the 2nd largest city. Oh oh…. They drive on left side of street. It is “Silver week”for Japanese…a holiday so be prepared for lots of tourists….Japanese tourists. We will be back at 2 because we are 1 hour late in leaving. Hoyasake is the name of our tour guide. Ohio….meaning good morning, arigator..thank you, domo….sorry. Bowing is Japanese culture. Fifty percent bend to 30 % depending…30 for good morning. Japan is smaller than California and has half the population of US crammed into it. It is especially crammed because 67% of the area is mountainous. Lots of reclaimed land. Ginkgo trees….leaves turn yellow in fall…like golden carpet. Emperor just a figurehead. Samurai society started 750 years ago…peaceful society…. Edo period. I believe our guide said that they were so far behind the rest of the world when an American warship came to the country that they felt then they had to catch up……fast. The shoguns had to retire..it was 1851. (They caught up in a bug hurry).  Chinese and Japanese characters are both the same so they can communicate although verbally, they cannot. They are pictograms! There are 5000 parks in Tokyo….lots of green space. Have to spend 3 hours travelling to work.. One job is pushing people. It pays 1000 yen/ hour. If you don’t have a certified parking space you cannot purchase a vehicle. In Japan 1 in 2 people have car but in Tokyo 1 in 4 families has a car. There are only 1.3 children per family. Population is declining.  29 and 28 average age for marriage. Everything is very spotless…no garbage anywhere.  Went in tunnel under Tokyo Bay. 1000 earthquakes per year.Yokohama Bay bridge built 1982 joins Yokohama and Tokyo (former name Edo).  Bullet train is so punctual so only 30 sec is average delay. Bicycles are for rent on the street but are free on Sunday. 300 variety of cherry trees. Kyushu to Hokkaido. Bloom from south to north at the same rate as someone walking from south to north so must have trees to bloom constantly.Imperial palace Versailles-looking building for visiting dignitaries.Baseball, soccer and tennis are favourite sport pastimes. We went to the Tokyo Tower. It looks much like the Eiffel Tower. It’s quite a spectacular view. It is absolutely amazing.  Although the number of people that are waiting to get in and up but the wait time is surprisingly fast. And…. They let passengers off on a different floor….sure saves a lot of hassle.  19% are Shinto and 80 are Buddhist. Every Christmas all Japanese become Christians. Shintoism was first religion but the Japanese cross between the two. Shinto believes in harmony in everything. Buddhism teaches them how to live.No garage receptacles on the street since 9/11. Generally people take their own garbage home. The students have to clean the washrooms before leaving for the day. Each student also has to learn to serve 35 students lunch. They all have to learn responsibility and cooperation. They are all so polite and gracious.  Impressive!  There are over 700 universities. National medical insurance for all those if you don’t have company to pay…….students are covered. In Tokyo fine 2000 yen if caught smoking. In Yokohama if someone says they don’t like you to smoke, you cannot.This may be a holiday but there are not hoards of people……lots but not hoards and only at the tower…not on the street.No crime…young kids(7ish) can walk to school alone or to park to play. More people on street translates to safer environment.We returned to the ship an hour and half late but we still had time to walk over to the shops in the former shipping building stores for Japanese tea. The number of people anywhere today had not bothered me but when we walked in there…..well oh my! Made me want to get the hell out. Everyone was ever so polite but just way too many people. Example that our guide had said that she had waited in line for 5 hours to get some special pancakes before…not necessarily there……just explaining lots of people.As we were to leave port there was a band with flag twirlers that played on and on till we set sail so to speak…..all the time saying see you again. What a send off! We should be doing something like this at our docks. It felt like they appreciated us being here.   Day 12. September 23/15We a beautiful day soaking up the rays, going in the pool several times, walking the deck circuit and reading our books until sailing into Kobe around 4 pm. In someways it could remind one of Honolulu or Vancouver the way the mountains surround the city. Quite lovely although it appears as if there is smog. Maybe it is humidity? Again we were greeted by a band. Wow! Can you believe it? I wonder if that will be the case in China. It was a real slow process bringing this relatively large ship into the dock…..an awkward pier. They had to use a tug to push the back end towards the dock. It will be interesting getting out of here tomorrow afternoon. It was a breeze getting off this ship though as we had the copy of our passports and the documentation on the back that the immigration people had put there yesterday…..all the paperwork had been done. Once inside the building everyone was head down on their devises trying to catch up with family and friends. (I tried but not sure how successful I was). Anyway it is free….no password needed and quite fast. Another wow for Japan. We left the port building and took the free shuttle into a shopping area in search for Kobe steak amongst other shopping . This shopping street kind of reminds us of Freemont Street in Vegas with it overhead domed covering.  The price for the steak was a whole lot cheaper than if we had purchased that excursion with Celebrity but still quite expensive…. $48-140 depending on the location on the cow, not like $350US fir excursion price.  It looked too fatty for Carol and Max so we headed back to the ship in time for last call at the dining room. You cannot believe the cleanliness of the streets, the politeness, the unruffle-ability (I’ll bet there is no such thing as road rage here…hard to believe but…). Another thing that is so noticeable is the industrialization of this country. We need to be doing more manufacturing and doing less selling of raw materials. Tomorrow is an early start. 7:15 in the lounge. We have an 8.5 hour tour that includes going to Kyoto on the bullet train so night-night.Michiko is our tour guide for Kobe and Kyoto. It is raining today. They did say there was a 100% chance of rain.  Going to bullet train (Shinkansen) first. Each stop is only 2 minutes then the doors close.1995 big earthquake here in Kobe..now it is totally recovered. It is the country’s 6th largest city.The Shinkansen we catch, we are in car #14 in seats 16 a,b&c. It is 16 cars long and carries 1500 passengers. The time to Kyoto is 30 minute…..a distance of 73 km. We are travelling at 200+  km/hour….I think she said.Some executives go to work in Tokyo from Kobe. The company they are working for have to pay the fare. It is $150 U.S. one way from Kobe to Tokyo. If you come here for an extended stay she suggests that for $240 U.S. You get a one week rail pass. Lots of leg room in it unlike airplanes. Our guide said that no one should sleep…..must keep focused. This is a non-smoking car but obviously there are some cars that allow it cuz we immediately upon entering, get a whiff of smoke. It wasn’t obvious that we were travelling at a high speed other than occasionally a light would flick past. For most of the first leg, we were travelling in tunnels.Next we are going to the Golden Pavilion…a Buddhist temple. Rebuilt in ’55 after a monk set fire to it. There are1600 temples in Kyoto. Kyoto was not one of the areas bombed during the 2nd World War so they are all still in existence. In 1868 a new govt. was formed moving the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo. They got rid of the shoguns….(it was a feudalist society). We touched on that previously. No buildings can be higher than 56 meters in Kyoto so they are no higher than Buddhist temple. Parking $150-200 per month here ….one third of Tokyo price. Homes are average 150 sq. meters (1400+/- sq. ft.) 60% own. 35-40 million yen or $400,000. There are 8,000,000 gods in Shintoism. In 1397 the Golden Temple (covered in gold leaf) was built as a villa for a Shogun, who was Shinto originally but became Buddhist. After his death it was converted to a Buddhism Pavilion. In 1994 it was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site.  Next after a very nice lunch at the Kyoto Toyku Hotel we were taken to the Kiyomizu Temple which means clean water temple. Built in 778 AD. It is a World Heritage site for UNESCO. It is unbelievably beautiful. Had a real “Wow” factor! Sorry but I can’t post  pictures until I am home and have decent wifi. While there, a young man carrying a baby slipped and fell on the wet sloping deck. A little while later a lady that looked like she had chemo treatments, slipped when going up but fell back down several steps.Japan is only 370 square km.  Kyoto is surrounded by mountains except on south.Farmers are only less than 2% of the population. They have to have part-time jobs in order to survive. Rice farmers have to be subsidized. It is cheaper to buy imported fruits and vegetables here than to buy local. Sound familiar?  Something that I have not mentioned before…..in the taxis, each seat and headrest is covered with lace coverings. The highways have corrugated walls along side in an attempt to keep pollution and noise levels from the homes and people. I asked if it really is affective? “Well something is better than nothing” says our guide. June/July is the rainy season when rice is planted. It is ready in about 3 months. There is less and less consumption of rice…the Japanese are becoming more interested in different ethnic foods. Same as for dress. The ladies and girls only wear kimonos for special occasions. The Japanese prefer western attire.Highways and trains travel in tunnels under the mountains. Not surprisingly when you consider the country is predominantly mountainous. Now I have seen some really primitive bathroom facilities in different parts of the world but today in the hotel, I experienced for the first time in my life a heated toilet seat. The toilets include bidet style flush as well as regular and small flush. Top of the line. Another WOW! And absolutely spotless. Because the Americans brought flour to the Japanese after WW2, it is called “American powder”.Children go to school on their own…..again we hear this. School starts in April not September like us. There is a lot of pride in this country…I believe because of Shintoism.  Cars have to go through testing station every 2 years.Exiting from this pier was a bit of a struggle. Big tugs had to pull and push. Basically it pushed sideways from the pier using the bow thrusters and then totally pivoted.My legs are just aching even if we were on the high speed train and buses.. We did a lot of climbing and descending stairs especially at the Kiyomizu Temple. Day 14 Friday September 25/15Oh my did we ever have rough seas last night. It really was a little freaky. And did it pour down. It looks like a way nicer day today….still rocking but sunny skies.Yesterday, as we were leaving Kobe/Osaka Bay, our ship suddenly swerved to avoid connecting with a freighter coming almost straight at us from the starboard side. I cannot remember who has the right of way at sea. Maybe someone can tell us. I experienced the swerve from our cabin at the rear of the ship ( a water bottle went flying off its place on a dressing table) but the other gals saw the other ship coming right at them from the starboard side Rendezvous Lounge.  

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Max is convinced that we only missed by inches.Coming into Miyazaki…wow is it ever looking beautiful…..rocky out-cropings, mountains down to the sea, tropical looking and it it is hot, hot, hot! 81F. today with high humidity……sort of steaming. This is the first ever time that Celebrity has ever been to this port.We are beginning

to feel panicky because the cruise is soon over. Fumiko is our guide today. Aboratsu and Miyazaki are on Kyushu island, the southern most major island in the archipelago of Japan. There are active volcanos that erupted several years ago. There are 25 mountain peaks…some big, some small. It is a breathtakingly beautiful island……peaks and rocks that come down to the waters edge….waves pounding and splashing the edge.The average annual temperature is 17C…….so pretty warm, sub-tropical actually with lots of rain. 2-3 times more than NY (her quote). 100 inches or 2500 mm/ year rain. They grow lots of rice in what little areas that are flat. They also grow mangos. Mangos very expensive..some are 5000 yen each or $50 for large ones. Skip jack tuna and bonita and now lobster (’tis the season) are caught in the surrounding waters. There are lots of Obi cedars…like cyprus trees…but look like redwoods (are very straight). And are water proof, etc.. We go first to Obi Castle. It was destroyed by 3 major earthquake in the 17th century…..in the1680’s. It originally dates back to the Edo period.We visit the chief samurai house from that period…..the only one that was not destroyed (and then restored or rebuilt). The area close to the castle was/is surrounded by homes belonging to the “upper crust” of society at the time. From there we travel to Aoshima Island and beach where there is a shrine in the middle of the jungle……really thick jungle. The island looks like “Gilligan’s Island” (much like Devil’s Island for those of you that were on the Amazon cruise)……lush! It is just so beautiful here. And the beach is covered with broken shells as opposed to sand….like Shell Beach on St. Bart’s. Along the way we see the “Ogre’s Washboard”, a phenomenon caused by the ocean pounding on 2 different types of rock…..sand rock and mud rock. Unfortunately the tide was in so couldn’t walk on it.From there we are taken to the Udo-Jingu  Shrine. The path to get to this shrine used to be 800+ uneven sandstone steps up and down. Now only it is only 300+ uneven steps…each way. Oh my God…..the heat (81F), plus the humidity and all those stairs. Well the sweat was pouring off my nose and into my eyes, stinging them. Other people, their shirts were totally soaked. It is not for the physically challenged but I made it…….slower than some cuz, well, if you know me, my knees suck!59,000 people in Japan are over 100 years old. 80 for men &amp; 86 for women is the average expectancy.Miyazaki means Miya means shrine and Zaki means by the seashore. There are lots of shrines all along the shore. 20,000 died in Japan when the earthquake of 2011 but most actually died as a result from the tsunami.. At that time all nuclear plants were closed but just recently a plant in Kyushu reopened. The govt has been encouraging the development of solar power.Walked 10+km today. Please pardon my writing grammar etc. I really can do better but this is not ideal writing conditions. Next day #14 Saturday Sept. 26/15. We are at sea…..another time change last night before arriving sometime after midnight tonight, in Shanghai.