It appeared that today was going to be a better one with some sun shining this morning. There is still that smokey-like haze, but it seemed to lift so we could see more than one mile away. With a city of almost 16 million people, it would be miracle if there was no smog. And that's just Tianjin, the port city, not Beijing. Pictures always come out better with the sun out.
One of our cute waitresses in the Pinnacle Grill was so excited to tell us all about her Great Wall crew excursion yesterday. Since the wall is located over 150 miles away, a lot of her tour time was riding in the bus. We recall it taking all of three plus hours to drive there, and that included a stop along the way for restrooms and souvenir buying. Once they arrived to the Wall, they had an hour to walk part of it, take photos, and buy some mementos at one of the numerous tents set up. She said they only took cash, which we remember. There was no lunch included for them, so they bought cups of noodles at the rest stop. Smart kids- the crew. Perhaps the crew would have a chance to see the Taj Mahal or the Egyptian pyramids if we were going that way. Maybe next time…..
Our day was almost a repeat of yesterday, where we took the shuttle to the Aeon Mall. Since all aboard was 5:30pm, and the last shuttle left the mall at 4pm, we left earlier at 9:30am. Between the guests and the crew members, these buses filled quickly. At the far end of the mall, we went outside and walked towards a stadium which turned out to be the TEDA Soccer Stadium. The stadium and the surrounding area was huge. That's one thing about the Chinese, when they build something they go big. Like Tiananmen Square in Beijing, it is the larger such square in the world we think. Of course, the crowds can be overwhelming here as well. Especially when there are home soccer games. We figured this arena looked fairly new, but when we researched the facts, it was built in either 2002 or 2004. Now it appears they are adding more retail shopping with more restaurants across from the stadium.
That's when we noticed there were signs for a garden, which was right around the corner of the mall complex. The name of this garden was Asaba Garden and was located 150 meters from the mall. Following a path, we found the entrance expecting there to be a fee to go inside. There was no one around to turn us away, so we entered the pathway that was flanked with bamboo stalks forming a fence and a wall. Overhead hung several red Chinese lanterns. The pathway meandered to a teahouse that over-looked ponds and trees. There were evergreen trees such as cedar and pines that made a barrier to the outside. Other deciduous trees were wrapped with a felt-like cloth cut in long strips. The entire trunks and some of the larger branches were green with the felt. As well as protecting the trees from frost damage, it makes a barrier for boring insects that will kill the trees in time.
There were ponds that connected to each other with a couple of bridges over the water. There were ornaments hanging from the evergreens and lanterns hung in the pavilion – all bright red. It appeared that workers were watering everything by hand. Boulders of various sizes were placed along the pathways, and some larger areas were paved with small white rocks.
Located in the very center of the garden was a structure that at first looked like a space ship. It was a dome with two stories with long oval windows. It appeared to be made of marble as was the path to it. The structure was surrounded with a small lake and the water level appeared low. Curiosity got the better of us, so we walked the path to the ornate doors and went inside. Our first impression was that it served as a reception hall with the second level suitable for special occasions like weddings. The lower level had a receiving desk full of white flowers, restrooms, and a sitting room with books in the center. Upstairs was for cocktails and dining we assume. Knowing that no one spoke English, we simply walked around and left the way we came inside. We could do some homework on this when we get back onboard. Or so we thought.
We went inside the mall once again, and walked both floors mostly to get some exercise. We had missed one bus, and waited for ½ hour for the next one to leave. That worked better since we had our pick of seats. On the way over yesterday, we had to split up and take any seat that was left. It took exactly ½ hour for the ride, and on the way back, we had to turn in our passport copies with the barcode. If we had taken our passports off with us (only needed on an overland tour), we would have to turn those in as well. The departure clearance would be very strict, and had to be followed to the letter. We would find out that things can go wrong anyway.
We had Dive-In burgers and hot dog with fries, keeping the meal earlier and lighter. We had decided to go to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner tonight for a change. We knew that with a couple of long tours today, many folks would not dine in this venue.
Captain Frank came on with his normal 5pm talk, explaining that due to protocols with the Chinese officials, we may not be sailing away until 8pm. Somewhere in his talk he mentioned some tours were coming back late too. Good thing they were HAL excursions because the ship will wait for them. We will have three days to arrive to Hong Kong with 1450 nautical miles to travel to get there. He expected some winds and a low of 41 degrees and a lot of ship traffic along the route.
So our departure time of 5:30pm came and went. We still had not left by 7:30pm when we went to dinner. Just as we had expected, the Pinnacle was not too busy, and we had ringside seats to watch the activity on the dock. What we saw was no activity. Our meal was great with wedge salads, clothes line bacon, 8 ounce filets and a shared baked potato. It is a real treat to go here every now and then. Desserts were one crème Brulé and a few scoops of mango sorbet. We did get a plate of chocolates and chewy candy, but declined as we were totally full. And the ship still had not left the dock. However, at 8pm, we noticed five buses returning to the terminal and tons of folks running back onboard. That had to be the late arriving buses.
It was 10:30pm before we finally saw some movement. We do hope that this lost time can be made up in three days as we sure don't want to be late arriving to Hong Kong. By the way, the Shops and Casino have been closed ever since we arrived to China (their rules we assume). Tomorrow they should open once again for business as usual.
There was a singer, Tim Tamashiro, who is Canadian. He has recorded albums with songs/stories cabaret style.
Bill & Mary Ann
