May 6th – joining the good ship ‘Diamond Princess’!

Next phase of the Ozbus trip! We all left the King’s Joy Hotel in Beijing, laden with our original bags and backpacks and with a few more if we’d bought a lot along the way. We made good time to the sea terminal and said goodbye to Pete and Gary who’d come to see us off. After that it was a bit of a wait till we could check in and embark. Those who did the online check-in didn’t get through any quicker than those of us who didn’t bother! And then we were on a glass covered plank onto the ship (at a great height so I kept my eyes on the head in front). What a massive boat! Our cabin is not bad, fairly roomy – until you squeeze four people in and lower the two upper bunks. But a great wardrobe and bathroom area. We were directed to the foodcourt on Deck 14 – so up we went and I got the best salad since somewhere in Europe. This promises to be a nice break from the trip so far!