Ground Hog Day should have been Monday 16th May, the day we crossed the International Date Line and repeated a day. But one of the peculiarities of being at sea, and under the direction of the Master Under God, or MUG as the captain is correctly known, is that you can have ship’s time (aboutContinue reading “Ground Hog Day and other peculiarities”
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Just Cruisin’ Baby…
Friday 13th! This is the post without any pictures because it’s all about the people on the boat, and I have no wish to be taken to court. Actually, I will eventually put some in, of the ship’s interior. But no people. And certainly not the man with three teeth. First there’s the Ozbus lotContinue reading “Just Cruisin’ Baby…”
Vladivostok – finally made it!!
In 1969 when I first trotted round the world, I met a guy called Phil in Western Australia and we hatched a plan for the following year. I was to fly out to Perth and together we would hitch a ride on a banana boat, or something similar, from Freemantle to Vladivostok. On arrival inContinue reading “Vladivostok – finally made it!!”
Busan – Jewel in the Sea of Japan
My first ashore trip, having been too lazy at Dalian and not in the mood on account of the rain at Qingdao. Busan was on the original itinerary, but was changed by the cruise company after Christmas due to friction between North and South Korea. At that point, Nagasaki was substituted but after the earthquakeContinue reading “Busan – Jewel in the Sea of Japan”
Day 1 aboard – non-visit to Dalian
How lazy can you get! People left the ship in droves to go ashore at Dalian but I decided to chill out for the day and stay put on the ship, using the relative emptiness to explore and get my blog text up to date. It turned out to be a very good choice –Continue reading “Day 1 aboard – non-visit to Dalian”
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 usContinue reading “May 6th – joining the good ship ‘Diamond Princess’!”
Beijing again – and bye-bye!
Well, what’s left to do in Beijing? Quite a lot really, and what I would like is to return and spend more time just wandering through the hutongs, taking the underground and buses to various places, exploring in a rickshaw. If I ever return to China, it will have to be as a lone traveller,Continue reading “Beijing again – and bye-bye!”
Walking the Walk
Well, two walks actually. On the road to Beijing we stopped at Badaling to walk along (part of) the Great Wall, and then went on to the site of the Ming Tombs and walked along the avenue depicting various animals. First the walk on the wall at Badaling, just 70km outside Beijing. Until you’ve actuallyContinue reading “Walking the Walk”
Back to the border – Datong
May 2nd Back on the coach with our guides, Gary and An, and heading off to Datong, with two stops on the way. We passed through Datong on the Trans-Siberian (Mongolian…Manchurian) train some days…weeks? ago, and here we are heading north again. The countryside is beautiful, we drive through valleys with terraced hills on eitherContinue reading “Back to the border – Datong”
Pingyao!
Pronounced like a bullet ricocheting around your ears… An absolute jewel of a place – severe dust-coloured city walls enclosing a bustling rabbit warren of streets and lanes. We were taken by coach from Xian to the outskirts of Pingyao where we met An, our new guide from here to Datong, his hometown. We seemedContinue reading “Pingyao!”
Patamateria 