It’s time for our overnight at Hong Kong. We arrived early this morning. The pilot actually boarded the ship around 5:30am, and took us into port. I hit the gym at 6:00am and got my workout done for the day. Boy, was today a day I could have skipped it. At the time of this writing, 9:24pm Hong Kong time, I’m at 25,526 steps for the day. I am exhausted, but I need to get this written out for you all because tomorrow is another excursion and my brain goes into overload if I have two port days to write at once. O.K., so I digress. After the gym I came home to get ready for the day. There were a few announcements made about delays in clearing the ship for immigration from the Chinese officials and those who had earlier excursions were delayed in their exiting of the ship. We did not meet until 9:15 am so that gave us time to go to deck three where we were treated to a Dragon and Lion Dance and Drum Show. The also served complimentary milk tea and sponge cake to those who wanted it. We met our group at the Main Stage and we were off for the day. Today we traveled to Lantau Island. It is the largest of the 261 islands in Hong Kong. Our guide said since only 20% of the land in Hong Kong is able to be developed due to its mountainous terrain, it makes the land here the most expensive in the world. I have not had time to fact check that one. Our first stop was at a vista point where we could hike up and see two suspension bridges leading out of Hong Kong. One went to Lantau and I am not sure where the other one went. The scenery was beautiful, despite the over cast cloud cover we had most of the day. On our way to Lantau we also passed a sign to turn to go to Dinsyeland….so close, yet so far!! We also passed a turn off to go to Macao. There is a bridge that is 35 miles long that takes you to Macao. It was stated to be the longest bridge over water in the world (no facts were checked as of the time of this post). We made our way through a mountain pass to the Tai O fishing village. Homes and structures are built on stilts beside the river. It was unique to see this village and how the people there live. Then we traveled by bus to the Po Lin (Precious Lotus) Monastery. It is home to the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world…now I think I had heard that before earlier in our travels at another Buddha. But they love their lore here and if it makes them happy to believe it, who am I to argue? We had a lovely vegetarian lunch at the monastery, because they are monks and they “don’t eat no meat”…hear the My Big Fat Greek Wedding accent in that line please. It was delicious and we are not 100% sure what we were eating, but sometime there is language barrier and the don’t ask don’t tell is a moot point. Megan and I finished our lunch first cause we were excited to hike to the top of the hill to get a closer look at the bronze Buddha. We had about an hour of free time so we hiked up the 279 steps to the top and felt quite accomplished. After we hiked back down we visited a shopping area and bought some souvenirs. It was well planned out as this area is a huge draw to tourists and there was much to see and do here. Then it was time to get back on the bus and head back to the ship. Today’s weather was much different than we had experienced up till today. It was overcast and warm and at times the humidity was suffocating. It changed throughout the day and we had to put our sweatshirts on and take them off numerous times throughout the day. After the bus arrived back to the port we decided to hop the free shuttle to the APM mall here in Hong Kong. We enjoyed walking around the 9 story shopping mall and walking through many shops. Some we were familiar with and several were new to us. We enjoyed some french fries at Five Guys and then we an opportunity to visit our first grocery store in Asia. We sampled Saki, bought some snacks and picked up some fresh sushi that we took back to the ship for dinner. It was a very long day. 12+ hours today. Many steps. So many wonderful memories made. A little damage done to my credit card. And I am pretty proud of Megan and I as when it was time to come back to the ship from the mall the shuttle service had ended for the day. So we navigated hiring a taxi and getting back to the ship without a hitch. I am feeling pretty accomplished. We also had the chance to pick up our custom ordered tailored items from Princeton Tailors. Megan’s dress is unfortunately not quite to size. So they are taking it back and they will meet us at the cruise terminal when we disembark in Singapore. My silk blouse and blazer came out beautifully and they are a wonderful treasure I will have for years to commemorate this trip. Enjoy my photos from today. They are an array of things of old and things of new from today. It is time for sleep. Tomorrow we will have a second excursion here in Hong Kong. But, you will have to wait to hear about that tomorrow.

It’s our last of three Sea Days today. And the activities abound like always. We opted to sleep in a little this morning since we had such a late night last night. We were up and ,moving in time to join our Project Linus group at 9:00am. At 10:30am Megan and I went on a kitchen tour and got to see some of the working of what it takes to feed 1950 passengers (when at capacity) and hundreds of crew members three meals a day. It is quite impressive to see the size of the dishwashing areas, prep areas, and cooking stations. Some of the family took a kitchen tour in 2020 when we were on the world, but I had a slight cough so I was asked not to participate. For two years we have watched the Pinnacle Grill staff sneak into the kitchen throughout our meals there and today we went in through the main dining room and exited through that very door. On the other side stood Holland America employees who gave us a glass of champagne and thanked us for taking part in the tour. It was a really great perspective for us as long time cruisers to see the other side of how things work. Of course now we were hungry after seeing all the pastries being prepped, oh what wonderful smells we smelled. But, lunch isn’t served until noon so we headed back to the cabin so I could take care of some emails and Megan could work on school. At noon we headed to the Lido for lunch and sat with our dear friend Gail and Marty. Then I had a follow up with the esthetician from my appointment a few days ago. Megan came to stay hello to Dr. Raquel with me. Last year Megan helped her learn how to crochet and Dr. Raquel worked with Megan with continuing to learn Spanish. It was fun to see them catch up. Everyone comments on how much older she looks, how taller she got, and how different she looks this year without her braces on. Next, it was back to the cabin to changed into our swimsuits for a dip in the pool. At the noon announcement today Captain Frank van Der Hoeven said his goodbyes as tomorrow he and his wife Alexandra will get off the ship and the new captain, Captain Friso Kramer will resume the helm. His lovely girlfriend Chantal will also be joining him. Megan and I had a lovely time on a couple of excursions with her last year and I am looking forward to seeing her as well. These are the same two captains that did the World Cruise last year. This year they just reversed who took the first half and who had the second half. I feel blessed that in our short time on the ship we had an opprtiunity to see them both. We received our first towel critter today, a cute frog that our cabin stewards embellished with the pink Stitch Megan bought at the Disney store in Tokyo. It is pink to commemorate the upcoming Cherry Blossom festival. Tonight we had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill again. We had to say goodbye to some crew that are leaving us tomorrow from Hong Kong. Their contracts are up and it is time for them to head home after having been away on the ship for so long. They are always so excited to be going home to see their families, but we love having them here and it is always hard to say goodbye to those we cherished being with as they are also like family to us as well. Tomorrow we will wake up in our last port of China. Hong Kong. We will be there overnight and will have two days of excursions. Looking forward to new adventures. Hugs.

Ahhh…another lovely Sea Day. This morning it was gym day to start the morning. Up and ready to release those endorphins to get the day started. Then we headed to project Linus so we could “sit and knit”. Actually we crochet but that rhymes so that’s what they call it in the When and Where brochure. Today was also my groups turn to do arts and crafts. We made a cute Panda notecard and a pair of Panda earrings. There was also an option to buy an additional craft kit from a different group so I purchased it and made a pair of pearl drop earrings and matching necklace with pendant. I love having the kits all ready and the instructions there to follow along. Easy Peasy. We had dinner tonight in the Main Dining Room and hosted crew member Joost. Last year he was a cadet and this year he has since been promoted to a third officer. It was nice to share dinner with him and catch up. Tonight was also the Zuiderdam Ball and Megan and my only opportunity to participate in a formal event on this segment. It was an evening filled with lots of live music and a special time dancing along with DJ Nyron. There was a special time of introductions of the officers and their significant others and the Captain and his wife were invited to take part in the first dance of the evening. Everyone was dressed in their best attire. It is always a fun evening when we get to see the crew relax and join us in the festivities. Drink flowed freely and Megan and I stay out until about 11:00pm. We were exhausted and our feet hurt a little from balancing on our heels on the rocking boat, but we really do love it. So much laughter, so many smiles and everyone looking their best. It really filled my heart to see.

I am going to take a little detour from my regularly scheduled broadcast here to talk about our least favorite part of our visit in China. Can we talk bathrooms for a second? If you analyze the photo below what can you see is missing? First of all, there is no toilet. If you seek hard enough you can occasionally find a handicapped stall in China, which means it has what they call a “western” style toilet. But those are few and far between. So this is the manner which one must go the restroom. Secondly, there is no toilet paper. If you’re lucky there is a communal dispenser in the entrance into the restroom but more than likely even if there is one, it’s empty. So you can imagine the balancing/cirque de soleil acrobatics that are required to do what you need to do, while keeping anything your own from touching the floor. No railings for balance. And don’t even get me started on the splash factor. I have to say I now fully understand why they don’t wear their shoes in the house. Ewwww. Oh and lastly, most bathrooms don’t have soap in them. So after all the wall touching and the balancing act has come to a conclusion you can not even properly wash your hands. I will not be caught unprepared when we get off the ship in Hong Kong in a couple of days. I will have my bathroom “kit” on the ready for any trips to the loo. Consider yourself warned for any upcoming travels to China.

Ok. That’s my post for today. I hope you all had a most wonderful day. We are cuddling in for a good nights rest. Tomorrow is another wonderful Sea Day. Ahhh…

Ahhh…how I love me a Sea Day. After a rough two days on our overland of being go, go, go a Sea Day was exactly what we needed. We needed it so much so that when we awoke at 8:45 am we couldn’t believe how late it was. We got up and moving quickly so we could make it to Project Linus. We are in the homestretch of finishing our first blanket and I am excited to donate it to this wonderful organization. After Linus Megan went off to play MahJong and I stayed and crocheted a bit longer. We didn’t have breakfast or lunch today. I am still just feeling so incredibly full from all the food we ate on the overland. I spent the rest of the morning taking care of “business” ie catching up on emails, writing some correspondences, and completing some work I had to do. I also had a facial this afternoon and treated myself to a little pampering. It was a nice treat and not something I usually do for myself. This evening went to dinner with Gail and Marty in the Pinnacle Grill Steakhouse. I had stuffed mushrooms, steak tartare and Lamb for dinner. Marty and I split the baked Alaska dessert. Then it was back to the cabin for me tonight. I remember putting on a movie. I had intended to write my blog and crochet. But I don’t remember anything after putting on the movie. Sleep was needed and my body was ready for rest. Tomorrow another glorious sea day and more time for activities, fellowshipping with others, and the Zuiderdam Ball…..I can’t wait.

This morning we awoke in Beijing, China. We are not on a ship and there was no movement in our cabin last night. We awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the downtown area over the CITIC tower. It is the tallest building in Beijing and the ninth tallest building in the world. The tower has the nickname China Zun, zun, is an ancient Chinese wine vessel which inspired the building design We dressed and packed up our few belongs we brought along and headed to the lobby for a humongous breakfast buffet. We weren’t hungry still from our dinner last night but enjoyed looking at all the local favorites served. They had a section dedicated to our “western” food and so much fresh fruit and pastries. Megan and I settled for a couple of soft boiled eggs and some fresh fruit. We had a little extra time before bus loading time so we ventured out into the streets to snap photos in front of the Aston Martin, Maserati and Ferrari dealerships that were technically in the same building as the Regent hotel. If you know, you know. Then it was onto the bus for a short drive to Tiananmen Square. We started on what was to be a 5 hour walking tour. We hadn’t quite expected it to be that long and were mildly unprepared. Big thanks to Cruise Specialist escort Keith for saving the day with a backup charger as I drained my phone camera taking so many pictures today. We walked through and learned about the history of the events leading up to that fateful day in Tiananmen Square. We learned about the ruling parties and leadership in the government from the past and the present. Our guide was absolutely amazing. One of the best guides we have ever had on a tour. He was beyond knowledgable, funny, and went above and beyond to take care of our group. If I ever came back to China I would seek out and hire this guide again. He introduced us to Donkey burgers, a local delicacy and ever went out of his way to purchase them for us while we ate our lunch so we could try them. Another food added to our weird food list. Oh, it tasted liked corned beef and it was served on a flaky pastry crust. It was pretty darn good. After we left Tiananmen Square, we got into the line to await our opportunity to enter the Forbidden City and the Imperial Palace. I had no idea what to expect and it was vast! I heard that it was closed yesterday and that would explain the extremely large lines of people visiting today. I have to say though, once we got through the crowd and lines to get in, the city is so large with so many places to go and visit inside the walls, that a few times we were the only people in an entire courtyard of the city. I know we didn’t see it all, and there is much to further explore on a future trip. What we did see was breathtaking, grand and ornate. Again, we learned so very much about the palace and the forbidden city as at one time it was not allowed to be visited by “commoners” such as ourselves. I have much more to learn about it and trips like this spur my desire to learn more and read about life here and delve deeper into what I learned today. As we exited the city, we took a double decker bus back to an area near where we had started our walking tour and we were greeted by rickshaw drivers who took us through the Hutongs. My first rickshaw ride ever and our driver was quiet, but nice and attentive. These Hutong areas are made up of narrow streets and alleys and date back to the Yuan Dynasty. Many people still live in them today. I could not imagine how they navigate these alleyways without getting lost. I am sure in time you get to know your “neighborhood” but I was grateful to have guides to help us traverse these areas. After we got off the rickshaw we walked through the alleyways and saw food vendors and shops all occupying what we would consider an extremely small space. They were selling their food and wares and were excited to see us walking through. So many photos taken of us again the last couple of days. I learned we are again the first cruise ship in the area since COVID four years ago. So many pictures were taken of us today everywhere we went. Next, we boarded back onto our bus and took a short ride to the restaurant where had lunch the Oianmen Jianguo Hotel. Another wonderful meal of far too much food. All of our group meals this excursion were served what we would consider family style. There was a large lazy susan in the middle of table and the dishes were lined around the outside the circle as we turned it around and around to try all the local delicacies served to us. We were served beer, coke, tea and water at all the meals and last night we were also served wine. By the time we finished lunch it was time to bid goodbye to a few of the members of our group so they could head off to the airport for another overland tour with the amazing Cruise Specialist and a fresh escort, Tom, as he didn’t come on this one with us. We opted for just the one night overland to Beijing this time as we are only on the cruise for 24 days and we didn’t want to spend too many of those days off the ship. I can’t believe our time on the Zuiderdam is over half over already. I am grateful Megan and I will have the few extra days in Singapore, but I am already dreading saying goodbye to our friends and “family” here. We had about a three drive back to the ship after lunch. I know I got a small nap on the way. It was nice to get “home”. When we got back to the ship we unpacked and sent out our laundry. I felt like I overate the last two days so I went to gym for a workout before I got back and showered. Megan took a bubble bath. Currently, I am sitting in the crows nest catching up on all my blog posts for you wonderful people while my travels are still fresh in my mind. We skipped dinner tonight. I am drinking a bunch of water as I am feeling a bit dehydrated and the air quality here seems to be reeking some havoc on our skin. We have our longest stint of sea days ahead of us, three consecutively. We are delayed for some reason leaving here. We are looking forward to time to visit with our friends as much as possible, enjoy our sea day activities, rest and relax. I promise to take some time to count my blessings. May I encourage you to do the same. Ok, now it time to sort through more photos to find the best of the lot to share with you all. Hugs!!

Hello from our next port in China. Due to a bit of delay in our departure last night, we had a bit of a delayed arrival this morning. There was some electrical issues with the gangway that prevented us from being able to get off, but they were rectified as quickly as possible and we were off. Today we embarked on an overland or overnight tour with cruise specialists. We headed out by bus to Beijing about 3 hours drive away. We made a stop along the way for lunch at an establishment that also specializes in Jade carving as well as jewelry. Not a bad set up for them. Many tour buses come here on their way to the Great Wall such as ourselves. Due to some unforeseen delays, we arrived at the Great Wall with a little more than an hour to enjoy the wonderfulness of this majestic sight. Megan and I hiked to the tallest watch tower near where we rode up the funicular. It was much steeper than it looked and I got credit for 30 flights of stairs climbed on my watch. We took several photos and then just took a few minutes to just be in the moment of where we were. We were thankful for this opportunity to be here in this place at this moment in time. I reflected on the history of those who had stood here before me from centuries gone by. I placed my hand on the wall and just listened. It was quite a moving experience and one I know I will never forget. As we stood up there soaking in all the majesty around us, our soulfulness was interrupted by a local asking to take a photo with us. Even at the top of the Great Wall of China the locals are in awe of the American tourists and want to take a photo with us. It made us laugh but we complied. On the hike back down from the tower, I had a water bottle and I rolled it down the wall to Megan who was standing below me. I can find fun in almost everything! Megan purchased an “I Climbed the Great Wall” t-shirt at the bottom before we headed back onto the bus. On our way to the restaurant our bus driver was so proud to take us through the Olympic Village in downtown Beijing. We saw the building where Michael Phelps broke his olympic records and the amazing coliseum the built called the “bird nest”. We saw the hotels where the Olympians stayed and where they called home while they were here. It was pretty exciting to see. Our next stop was a restaurant that is one of the oldest in Beijing that serves a traditional Peking Duck dinner. Each duck is cut into exactly 108 slices and the remain duck is used for other dishes and soup. There are no bones served, the meat is layered onto a dish that looks like a duck and the meat placed onto it resembling its feathers. My understanding is it is a long honored tradition. It is a sin how much food the served us. I felt so very glutenous leaving so very much food behind, but when we thought we could eat no more, they would bring more dishes. I felt guilty not trying them all but by the end I felt like we almost left more food on the table than we started with. It was easily enough food to feed 10 more people. After dinner we went to our hotel, the Regent in downtown Beijing. Along the way we got to see Tianamen Square and many of the tourist spots all in lights. We will visit them again tomorrow. By the time we arrived at the beautiful hotel we were tired and it was about 8:00pm. The lobby was breathtaking and I felt like royalty. Megan and I got settled into our room for the evening. She took a shower and I couldn’t resist the tub so I took a bubble bath. Our alarm is set for 6:00am as breakfast starts at 6:30 am and we have to be back on the bus by 7:30am. I could go on and on about all the history we learned today. About the ruling parties and the struggle for control of China throughout the centuries. About the Ming dynasty and the culture. May I encourage you to study about these places more deeply if you are touched by my experiences. May I encourage you to book your own adventures and travel and make your own memories whether they are near or far from home. O.K. let’s delve into all those photos so I can find the best ones to share with you. Until tomorrow.

Today was a wonderful day. My heart is full of love for a new culture and for the people of Dalian. I started my morning at the gym so I could get those endorphins going for the day. I got to start my morning watching the ship pull into the port as the sun was rising over this beautiful city. I don’t usually get to see many sunrises at home as there aren’t many windows at my gym back at home versus here where the entire wall is filled with them. I sometimes want to stop my workout to take more photos, but push myself to work first and play later. The dock was filled with tv crews, police, military and I ever saw a drone flying over. I was to discover why later today. Megan and I got ready for our day and grabbed a quick breakfast at the Neptune Lounge. We met our tour group at the Main Stage at 8:45am and we were off for our tour titled, Dahlian Favorites. We started our tour at the home of a lovely couple. Our bus was split into three smaller groups and we each visited a different home. By home I mean the top floor of a 31 story apartment building near to the port. Our hosts was a delightful retired couple who’s family lives close by. The gentleman was so excited to tell us all about his home and life and the translator had to squash his excitement from time to time so he could take a breath so she could translate. They more than rolled out the red carpet. They had much food for us to share with them, tea and allowed us into their home to see how they live. When no one was eating he served us food and “made” us try the food that they had purchased and prepared for us. Everything was so delicious. They even made Megan take food with us on our way out as they were so eager to share all that they had. I had never felt so warmly welcomed and desired in a complete strangers home. It was the absolute pinnacle of kindness and hospitality. After we left the home visit we drove to the Oriental Music Cultural Museum. We were supposed to visit a nursery, but I assume since it is the weekend that the nurseries were not open today. Instead we were treated to several performances but local musical groups and dance groups performing traditional Chinese art. It was a fascinating to watch the performances complete with traditional costumes, make up and music. Next stop was a lovely restaurant that we found out even the locals frequent for a family style Chinese lunch. I have to say I was still so full from visiting our host family but everything here was fantastic as well. We sampled several different traditional dishes, local beer and egg drop soup. By the time we got back to the bus we were all in a food coma and I know Megan and I took a short nap as we drove to People’s Square for a quick photo stop. Then onto our next stop at the Pole Aquarium. We got to see walrus, penguins, seals, turtle, Bulga whales and dolphins. We also got to watch the dolphins and the beluga whales give a performance in their large stadium. It was packed full with locals and tourists alike. Quite an experience to watch the little ones so excited to be there and take part in the show. I miss my granddaughter very much and we bought her a stuffy while we were thinking of her. Our last stop of the day was at what is affectionately called the lovers bridge. It is on the side of cliff and it is said that newly married couples come here to proclaim their love to be taller the mountain and deeper than the sea. We had a lovely drive back to the pier along the scenic cliffs for a while as we looked out to the oceans. Much like our very own Highway 1 in California. So all day today we had a camera crew following us. The photographed us continuously. They were at every stop we were at taking our pictures and filming us. We could not understand why? We also received our usual looks of amazement from the locals for being Americans and light hair people, but these two were always there. AS we when through customs and boarded back onto the Zuiderdam. The captains farewell announcement put the days mystery into perspective. Today we were the very first ship to dock at the Dahlian port since Covid. It was a huge ordeal for the entire community to welcome a cruise ship back into their port. There was a huge banner at the port with the name of our ship and today’s date welcoming us. It was obvious that much time and care was put into preparations for our arrival and we felt the love and genuine kindness all day. Our guides were from the Dahlian University language program and all the activities we did were planned perfectly to appeal to our interests as well as to highlight the things that they are most proud of as a people. It was so wonderful. Tonight we went to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. After dinner I went to the Billboard Lounge to spend a little time catching up with Gail and Marty and friends, sharing all about our days. I am now home and writing to you all. I have photos to upload for you and then I am off to bed. We are en route to our next port of Tianjin where will have an overland trip to the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen square. I will not have my computer so I will be MIA for a couple of days, but I will share my adventures with you all when I return to the ship in a couple of days. Enjoy my photos from today. Good morning to all of you waking up back at home. Look to the West and think of me as you start you wonderful Sunday morning. Hugs from China.

Today was a lovely sea day filled with lots of relaxation. So much so that I didn’t even go to the gym this morning. Instead, I went out on the back of the ship on deck nine and watch the sunrise. It was cold, but it was a beautiful. I went and had breakfast at the Pinnacle Grill by myself this morning and let Megan get some extra rest. She met up with me at 9 AM as we met with our Project Linus group. We spent the afternoon just kind of relaxing and just taking in the wonderful opportunity to be on vacation. Our room is tidy, our laundry is done, Megan is caught up on her homework and we are almost done with our first blanket. We are also ready to pack tomorrow after our excursion for our overnight tour in a couple of days out of the port in Tiajia. This evening I attended a cellar dinner at the Pinnacle. I was seated with two lovely couples and we have a wonderful evening. The wine and conversation flowed. The food was phenomenal and the service was impressive. It was the nicest meal I’d had on board this trip. Megan went to the main dining room and had dinner with Gail and Marty. A wonderful end to a wonderful day. Hard to believe we are almost already halfway through our segment around Asia. I am feeling very blessed for this opportunity to travel and experience these new wonderful places. I hope you are enjoying following along. Hugs!!

Greetings from Shanghai on this our second day in port. We have several overnights this 24 day segment we chose to do this year and it has changed the way we plan our days. Generally on over nights we can do an excursion, go back out and explore independently, and then have an excursion the second day as we did this time again. I started my morning at the gym knocking out my daily workout. Then it was home to get ready for the day. I grabbed a quick breakfast from the Neptune Lounge and Megan skipped breakfast today. We met our tour group at the Main Stage at 8:45am this morning. We were all bundled up for another cold day. Today we started with a bus ride to the Maglev train station. There we caught the train to the Pudong Airport. Here is the excerpt from our excursion description for the day.

“Made with the help of cutting edge European technology, the Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Train is the new state-of-art mode of transportation in Shanghai. Using no wheels, the train floats on an electromagnetic cushion, propelled along a guideway at incredible speeds. Meandering for 20 miles from Long Yang Lu Station to Pudong International Airport, and built with a budget of more than US$1 billion, the train can reach a speed of 267mph—the highest ever for any operational transport on the ground.”

Since COVID times for some reason they no longer accelerate the train to its full capacity. We reached a maximum speed of 301 km/hr or 187 mph. It was definitely quick and it can take about 45 minutes to drive the distance that we covered in just 8 minutes of the magnetic train. After we left the train station we boarded back on the bus and headed to the Jinmao Hyatt Building in the heart of the city which stands 420 meters tall. At one time it was the tallest building in China. It was completed in 1998. We took the elevator to the 88th floor in 45 seconds at a speed of about 9 meters per second. The architects that built the Sears tower in New York are the same that designed and built this tower. The panoramic views from the top were amazing. It was a slightly foggy day, but we were able to take photos back towards where we took picture from yesterday along the Bund. The highlight was the center of the tower is “hollow” from the 53rd to the 88th floor. These are all the floors that make up the Hyatt hotel. There is glass on the 88th floor that allows you to look straight down to the 53rd floor below. It was incredibly creepy to look down that far. Megan and I had a brief amount of free time after we came back “down to earth” so we found a Starbucks and tried something old and something new. Then we were back to the bus for an hour long scenic drive back to the port. Our guide was so knowledgable. we learned so much about the history of Shanghai, the buildings we saw, her family and their challenges of living in Shanghai, and the war on Opium. She even taught us to speak some Chinese. We learned about the Pearl TV tower and it’s 11 “pearls”, we learned about the Shanghai World Financial Center affectionately called the “bottle opener”, and we learned about the Shanghai tower which stands 642 meters tall and is currently the second tallest building in the world. As we drove back along the Bund we saw all the British influence in the buildings that still stand there today. One of the most famous place in the Bund area is the Peace Hotel. As we arrived back to the port we decided we were very pleased with the time we had here. We saw so many wonderful sights and absorbed some wonderful history and cultural experiences that are unique to this area of China. We headed to the Dive In and had burgers for the first time this trip. Then Megan and I put on our swimsuits and spent time in the hot tub as the ship pulled out and sailed away from Shanghai. We had dinner together in the main dining room this evening as they had a “Chinatown” themed dinner this evening. I had roasted duck served over garlic rice and Megan had the beef lo mein. The food was very good. I headed home to write my blog and Megan went out to visit and spend time with friends. Tomorrow is a sea day and I am looking forward to a day of rest. We will do some tidying and enjoy our sea day activities. Please enjoy the photo dump I add below. I know it will be difficult choosing the best photos of the day but I want you to feel like you were along our journey with us today.

Hello from China. Yesterday we were on a slow boat to China and this morning we woke up and we were here. In 2020, when the world cruise ended abruptly, it was here our luggage was finally off loaded months after we were put off the ship in Australia. From here it went on a cargo ship and sailed back to us in California. Kind of a neat place to finally visit even though our luggage had already been here. I started my morning as usual. I tackled the gym upon opening at 6:00 am. I did end my workout a bit early as the view coming into the port was spectacular. We came in through the shipping corridor and there were more ships than I had ever seen in the waters with us before. There are two other ships docked here and we came in right between. That some fancy parallel parking if you ask me. I headed back to the cabin to wake Megan. We grabbed a quick light breakfast in the Neptune lounge and headed to the Rolling Stone to meet with the Cruise Specialist team for our excursion today. Today we took the bus to the Bund area of Shanghai to visit the Jade Buddha Temple that was built in 1882. Please enjoy the many photos I took while I was there. There are none though of the six foot solid Jade Buddha that is there as we were not allowed to take photos of it. Next, we boarded the bus and headed further into the downtown area. It reminded me of Jersey City where you look across the river to the skyscrapers on the other side in Manhatten. We visited the Yu Garden which has over 40 scenic spots in the inner and outer gardens. It has many old wooden buildings and structures like most of the Old Town area that is found in the heart of downtown Shanghai. Due to deterioration and fires, few of the original buildings remain. There are several being renovated at this time and many scheduled to be dismantled to make way for new high rises. The rate at which Shanghai is growing is said to be astonishing. The skyline has changed drastically just since the last world cruise was here about 5 years ago. After the garden we were given about an hour of free time and with some recommendations from our amazing tour guide we had delicious Bao buns, unique Chinese tea and we shopped for and purchased some Jade pieces to commemorate our visit to China. We met back up with our tour guide at the designated time and decided we weren’t ready to head back to the ship yet. After verifying the pickup spot for the ship shuttle, so we could catch it back to the ship later, we ventured back to the shopping district for some more fun on our own. We stopped for a Tsing Tao beer, walked through a chocolate shop that had life-sized chocolate animal sculptures, watched them make dumplings at the street side cafes, saw artisans pounding and creating silver jewelry, saw so many tea shops, and just soaked in the atmosphere that was the culture and history of this part of China. A few times I just had to stop and take a breath and make a mental memory of what I was seeing, hearing and smelling. After we finished our time in the shopping district we decided to walk along the waters walk way to enjoy the amazing panoramic views of the skyscrapers across the river. Tomorrow we will venture up one of them as part of our excursion, but you’ll have to wait to hear about that then. About 5:00pm we decided to head back to the ship. When we got back, we grabbed a light bite at the Lido, our first meal there of the trip, and then headed to the Main Stage for a performance. The ship brought on a local performance group called the Shanghai Spectacular and we were treated to several different types of Shanghai entertainment. We bumped in Gail and Marty after the show and caught up with them and shared what all we did today. It is now almost 10:00pm my time and I am so very tired. I have over 28,000 steps on my pedometer for today and it was worth every step. I have many photos to sort through so I can give you a taste of our day in pictures. I hope you are enjoying our adventures and that you are having a lovely time living vicariously through me. Wishing you sweet dreams (or actually to you, a good morning).