"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #52 Sailing Towards Xingang (Beijing), China February 21, 2017 Tuesday Partly cloudy & 35 degrees 37 Pictures

Checking the stats on the TV this morning at 8am, we learned that the outside temperature was 3 Celsius or 37 degrees F. Gosh, it had warmed up overnight. The Amsterdam was only going 9 knots and the winds were 6 knots blowing over the decks. The distance to Xingang was only 116 nautical miles or 133 miles, so that was the reason we were going so slow. The good news is that the seas have flatten out, and we were no longer rocking and rolling. The bad news is that we still had no network programing on the TV. Besides the ship's promotional stations, the only options are ESPN ( mostly the guys are happy about that), and four movie channels. The guest speaker's lecture was being rerun from Korea, along with Barbara's fun talk about Asian dragons. Watching both at least twice, we are now experts on both subjects. We are curious as to why we have lost these stations in this part of the world, as no explanation has been offered. Later in the day, ESPN was also gone.

After breakfast, we ventured outside on the lower promenade deck to find chunks of ice falling from the overhead boats. The gutters were full of ice that had been scraped off of the decks. Being careful not to step in anything wet, we knew it could be dangerous walking. There was a bit of sun coming through the hazy fog, but not enough to warm you up. Just made us walk faster and longer. Later in the day, the skies turned dismally gray and a heavy dry fog blocked most any view of the dozens of ships passing by us. We did a few miles before we headed back inside.

We got serious about packing for the side trip we are doing beginning tomorrow. Here is the plan…….we will be picked up around 10am, or whenever we are cleared through immigrations. There should be an English-speaking rep holding a sign with our names to take us to our vehicle and driver. From what we remember from our ride from the port to Beijing, it should take up to three hours to get there. Or less, because we will not have to wait for bus-loads of folks making the pit stop along the way. We sure hope the facilities for this stop are a lot better than what we remembered from 15 years ago. Back then, it was basic holes in the ground in every stall. And since the Summer Olympics took place here in 2008, major improvements had to be made…..this stop being one of them.

We will spend one night at the Shangri-La Hotel, then the next day, be transferred to the airport for a flight to Xian, a 2 hour and 15 minute flight. We will spend the next two nights at the Shangri-La Hotel in Xian. This evening we will have a dumpling dinner for an 18 course banquet meal. They call it tasty xiaochi, or little eats that will come in a steady stream to our table. That sounds like fun.

On Friday, we will be visiting the Terracotta Warriors and Shaanxi Provincial Museum with a Chinese lunch onsite. Then back to the hotel after an exhausting day.

Saturday, we will fly from Xian to Chengdu, a one hour and 40 minute flight. We will spend the next two nights at The St. Regis Chengdu Hotel. That afternoon, we will go to the Giant Panda Breeding Base for a half day tour.

On Sunday, we have a trip to Le Shan for the day. It is 2 hours southwest of Chengdu, where we will see the first Buddhist temple in China, as well as the Giant Buddha carved out of a hillside. At 71 meters high, it is the largest Buddha in the world. We will also board a boat to view this scene from the water too. Lunch is included as well.

On Monday, we will fly from Chendu to Guilin, another one hour and 40 minute flight. We will be staying two nights at the Shangri-La Hotel Guilin with a deluxe river view room.

On Tuesday, we will go on the Li River Cruise and visit the village of Yangshou. We are really looking forward to this, since many of our friends highly recommended doing this excursion. Keeping our fingers crossed for good weather and clear skies, as we heard there are wonderful photos to be had here. Lunch is also included onboard the boat. We go back to the hotel, then head off for an evening show called Impressions by Liu Sangie outside of Guilin. Liu Sangie was the creator and co-director of Beijing's 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony. The 70 minute performance features 600 actors singing with Chinese music and dramatic lighting effects. Also recommended by good friends, this should be a great way to end our adventure.

On Wednesday, we will fly from Guilin to Hong Kong, via Shanghai. Don't know why we have to do this longer route, but we understand there was no direct flight back to Hong Kong.

We will spend one night at the Shangri-La in Hong Kong, then be joining the ship on Thursday, March 2^nd.

Lunch was fun today, as Barb, Aart and Ellen joined us in the dining room. We always have so much info to share, that the time flies by. After enjoying peach pie and chocolate profiteroles, we needed to take a longer walk outside after lunch.

There were two good talks today about the Great Wall of China and shore excursions from Hong Kong to Mumbai. They certainly keep ahead of themselves don't they? At least, it is something new to watch on TV later.

Around 5pm, Gene, the cruise director, came on with an announcement about tomorrow's immigration procedures. It will be held in the terminal, and it will be a "zero" count, meaning absolutely everyone on the ship will have to clear before being allowed back onboard. For us, that means we will have to be packed and ready to go with all of our stuff by 9am or so. There must have been problems with our last immigrations check, because Gene begged everyone to be kind and polite to each other during this procedure. We have to admit that we have noticed some very unpleasant passengers at times, giving the staff and the other guests a bad time. Hate to see that no matter where we go.

Dinner for us was in the King's Room, a special invitation to dine with Orlando and his wife, Gerald Bernhoft, Pamela, from public relations in Seattle, Henk Mensink, Karen Mercer, and Hazel Donald. Captain Jonathon was unable to attend because he was busy bringing the ship into the port of Xingang. And Arnold Donald had left the ship in Incheon for business reasons, so he was not present. Several new passengers made it into the President's Club on this cruise, and eight of them were "pinned" this evening. Four others were inducted two nights ago at a similar dinner. Oh yes, we each had a gold box with a pretty ribbon wrapped around it. Inside we each received an engraved jewelry box with the skyline of Shanghai and the Amsterdam sailing out of the harbor. Very useful keepsake as it is lined with velvet.

The food and drinks were over-the-top beginning with a champagne toast, Dom Perignon Brut Imperial. A smoked salmon appetizer and one vegetarian muse began the meal. That was followed with a five spice honey duck breast, and seared scallops with a slice of pork belly. The main was a slice of beef tenderloin and veal sweetbreads. Two wines were served with each course, but we were served one JD and a scotch over the rocks instead. Manny remembered that at least three of us did not drink wine, and brought our drinks without even asking. Several times during the meal, Manny asked if we wanted refills. He really takes care of us. Finally, a trio of chocolate macaroons, baked mousse, and crème finished the meal. Coffee was served while Orlando gave the closing talk and wished us all a good night. The evening was really nice for us, because we were sitting with our favorite people……Eddie and Lee, Don MacD, Barb's trivia buddy, and two hosts….Pamela and Henk, the hotel director. Eddie always brings his cameras, so we did too. Always nice to share this fine meal with everyone who is interested in creative cooking. The evening wrapped up shortly after 9pm, then we spent a few moments with Gerald and Orlando before leaving the room. The discussion continued in the hallway with Karen and Hazel, who shared some interesting info with their experiences on the ship so far. Guess they hear many gripes from passengers that believe they might have the power to change things. They are polite to listen, but their suggestion is to put things in writing on the comment cards and turn them into the front desk folks.

Most everyone was off to the Queen's Lounge for the "Dance" performance with the singers and dancers of the Amsterdam. Their show had to be cancelled last night due to high seas. Now that we are "parked" they were able to perform safely. As with many times, we had taken in part of this show during rehearsals.

By the time we got back to our room, we turned on the TV and found that it was snowing heavily outside, according to the ship's camera on the bow. Captain Jonathon mentioned we can expect temps in the 20's tomorrow, and perhaps more snow flurries. You can bet that all of us will dress properly.

As long as we have access to internet, which we know we will, our reports should be continuing as usual. So, stay tuned……

Bill & Mary Ann

Ships passing us all day