Ground Hog Day and other peculiarities


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 (about 15 minutes different from shore time…?) and can play around with the days because it suits you. Not the passengers, the Captain and Management. And so it was decided that our two repeat days should be Sunday 15th, for administrative reasons (can’t repeat a working day, apparently). The first we knew of it was when we received the Princess Patter (yes, really called that!), the daily newsletter giving us advance warning of all events and jollities on board ship, so you don’t miss that all important quiz or balloon drop or enrichment lecture. The PP for Sunday 15th (Day 1) was followed 24 hour later by the PP for Sunday 15th (Day 2). We asked our steward who confirmed he didn’t get paid double time two days running. Didn’t ever get paid double time actually….

So the following day, Monday 16th (when it finally arrived) brought with it an announcement from the Bridge: we would cross the International Date Line at 13.15, but would only cross latitude 180 later in the day at about 21.00. The reason being that the IDL does not do straight lines, but veers off at angles to include neighbouring islands who don’t want to be a day apart.

By the way, I’m writing this at about midnight, sitting on the toilet. I am sharing a cabin with three others, who I thought were asleep, and not wanting to disturb them with the light from my screen, I removed myself to the ensuite… only to be disturbed by Linda on a nightly ‘comfort’ visit. After both recovering from palpitations and then stifled hysteria, I vacated my post only to find Pat sitting up in bed, giggling. She’s also had the urge to write up a middle-of-the-night blog but I got the toilet first. Linda has now returned to bed and I’m back in the office.

So, what other peculiarities on board? The singing waiter at breakfast who did a powerful rendition of ‘O Sole Mio’; the strange eating habits of people when faced with unlimited food; the fact that the silver Princess vacuum mugs meant for coffee are most likely secretly filled with alcohol, at all times of the day – and who’s to know. The fact that the AA meetings are delicately referred to as ‘Friends of Dr Bob & Bill W. Meeting’; the fact that there is a lift from deck 16 to the Skywalker Bar which I knew nothing about till a couple of hours ago as all those who know keep it a secret. Deliberately and with malice aforethought. But the most beautiful peculiarity of all is seeing a couple of volcanoes which form part of the Aleutian Islands, totally covered in snow and emitting smoke or steam from the summit. So pretty.

We had a farewell dinner tonight for Sandra and Tony, who will be missed. Sandra won 11 games of Arsehole in a row this afternoon, and even after losing another was crowned Finale Champion and had a cocktail bought for her by the abject loser. Not me, by the way. Now that she is departing at Anchorage to fly off to Hawaii (while we cope with the Green Tortoise, sleeping like sardines, no showers and camping at Chicken) we will maybe have a chance of winning. We may bump into her and Tony in Vancouver and New York, so I have my Terracotta Warrior playing cards at the ready in my handbag. Aces at dawn, don’t mess with me.

Tomorrow (actually today…) at 09.15 we have a date with U.S. Customs downstairs in the Santa Fe restaurant. After which we can go ashore at Seward and try walking on dry land again after days and days at sea. I have a bag full of stuff to send home in order to make room in my luggage for more purchases, so first stop in Seward will be the Post Office. Second stop will be a bank as I need US $$$. Third stop a pharmacy to see if I can get codeine… rumour has it you can’t get it without prescription in the U.S. We disembark at Whittier the next day (tomorrow already) and then after a couple of days in Anchorage we’re off to Denali National Park.

I have been giving a lot of thought to the first trip I made round the world in 1969, making some comparisons with this one, and having a right old sentimental memory trip. The thing that sparked this off was being told this evening that we will make a stop in Anchorage at a supermarket for outdoor stuff so that those who don’t yet have sleeping bags can purchase them. The name of the store is ‘Fred Myers’. Those familiar with the story of Poor Cold Fred will need no explanations. For anyone else, I will relate the sad tale at a slightly later date. I guess enough time has passed (42 years) for me to go public at long last.

It’s 01.36, the ship is lurching madly and I’m sliding off the toilet seat so am going back to bed.

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 lot – a great bunch who in varying degrees love the cruise or are bored rigid after 8 days…Some are throwing themselves wholeheartedly into every activity, others, like me, are hiding a bit and making the most of the space available on this ship before living at close quarters again for the remainder of the journey from Anchorage to New York. And we will be at close quarters when we sleep shoulder to shoulder on the Green Tortoise bus.

Then the passengers, average age 64 apparently, but I feel immeasurably younger than most on board. The younger Ozbussers on our trip are indeed the youngest on board, apart from sightings of about four children (I’ve seen two). It’s no doubt a lovely life for those retirees who have the funds, just going from cruise to cruise. Someone uncharitably motioned towards all the blanketed forms lying on loungers by the pool and uttered the words ‘floating retirement home’. But as these elderly people make up the bulk of the passengers, and it’s not school holiday time, the entertainment on board is geared accordingly and as a result not really catering for the younger (in age and at heart) passengers. Mind you, on formal nights, they do scrub up well: the long skirts/dresses, the red cummerbunds and bow ties, the flashing jewels – and that was just the man with the diamond (?) encrusted belt. The photographers have a field day, posing people at the foot of the stairs: ‘Madam, place your hand on your husband’s heart and look into his eyes’, and then charging them a fortune next day when they are all displayed in the photo gallery. I should mention at this point that I shared a lift one evening with two couples and a single man. They were sparkling, groomed to perfection and sweetly perfumed. I was in my black and turquoise bathing suit, modestly semi-covered by Victoria’s borrowed pink and yellow sarong and wearing flip-flops. I commented on being underdressed and how lucky they were I wasn’t on my way back from the hot tub, sopping wet and smelling of chlorine.

And finally the crew, divided into 3 groups: the front of house waiters etc. and our lovely cabin steward Luis; the captain and his Mates who are driving the ship and exist only through the loudspeakers; the entertainment crew who are driven by the Hi-de-hi culture that used to be the preserve of Butlins and the like.

So where do I put myself? Well, I’m not in love with cruising as such. I think it’s by far the best, most comfortable and pleasant way to get from Beijing to Anchorage (failing an outright invitation to get on a motorbike with Charlie Boorman). As my good friend Linda says: ‘As a holiday destination it sucks.’ Having said that, I am not bored. I read my Kindle – currently the John Locke novels about Donovan Creed, an assassin who has me longing to change career and counteract all the good I have done in the world up to now; I have a coffee package which entitles me to 15 REAL coffees as well as free house coffee (filter) and hot chocolate whenever I want – and there’s a nice coffee lounge to relax in;

I can plug in my laptop almost anywhere – especially in the Skywalker Nightclub which tends to be sadly attended by the younger Ozbus crowd, vainly looking for new young people to drink and dance with. Sadly none forthcoming. With like-minded friends I have played two games from the library collection; I have been in the swimming pool and the hot tub – the latter even on a foggy, windy day when my shoes nearly blew away; I have walked round deck 16 several times but round deck 7 not quite. I will accomplish that before the end of the trip – following literally in Pat C’s footsteps!

I have used the launderette twice; I have attended ‘Enrichment Lectures’ on volcanoes, the people of Japan and the people of Russia. I have had some lovely food. And drink, including the alcohol-free cocktails. I have also watched an outdoor movie from a poolside lounger, swaddled in three blankets and still frozen stiff as the Arctic breezes gently howled across the deck.

And now the things that haven’t thrilled me…
Karaoke: apart from our valiant Andy who sang a Coldplay song – ‘Shiver – all the rest were quivery-quaky renditions of ‘Que sera, sera’ by a Doris Day look-alike (more of her later), ‘Love is a many splendoured thing’, also quivery-quaky by an octogenarian and sweetly dedicated to his wife, who sang something oddly off-key back at him in return. There were about three more in the same vein then they all had a second go, except Andy as time ran out.
Blankety-Blank: this followed on from the Karaoke and curiosity kept me in my seat. It was dire, never to be repeated. Enough said.
Trivia Quiz: not too bad, could have been more enjoyable if we hadn’t been exhorted to forever put up our hands if we were enjoying it…or not enjoying it. And if the quizmistress hadn’t insisted on spelling words like ‘beer’, ‘cider’ and ‘coke’. And if she had done a little less hi-de-hi stuff and cajoling of us oldies.

Among the other stuff I haven’t tried yet – Bingo, casino, anti-aging skin-care seminar (too late surely?), LGBT Get-together, tap-dancing sessions. And the enrichment lectures given by someone who worked in the space industry and who in his golden years gets a free cruise for himself and his wife (look-alike Doris Day) by lecturing every other day and answering questions from the audience, translated into American by the said Doris Day.

But there’s still a week to go!

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 in Vladivostok, we planned make our way to the railway station and from there travel on the Trans-Siberian train to Moscow, or St Petersburg (this was all USSR in those days) and then make our way across Europe to London. Home for me and a year or two in the UK for Phil. The plan came to nothing as I got married. Then years later, when I dreamt of Vladivostok, it was too late: the Soviets had closed the port to the rest of world as it was the base of their navy and therefore a site of top secrecy. I’d often seen photos of the station and so getting off the ship and actually being there, was something I’d been looking forward to! Definitely a sentimental journey – about 42 years late!

Unlike other ports where you need a shuttle bus to take you downtown, you get directly off the ship in the heart of Vladivostok and you’re there. I made for the railway station right away – across a bridge from which there were steps to various platforms. The outside of the station is beautiful. Tsar Nicholas, before he ascended the Russian throne, went on a trip in 1891 and laid the foundation stone for this station, designed to link the far east of the nation with the rest of Russia through the rail network.

As well as a beautiful facade with lovely roof decoration and picture tiles around the edge, the entrance hall has an interesting ceiling mural (is that the right word?) depicting the building of the railway from its start in western Russia, right across the continent to the end in Vladivostok. There was actually a train setting off for Moscow when we were there. A peculiar feeling.


Outside the station, the land rises quite steeply, and pedestrians access parallel streets higher up by steps. I’m not sure what Lenin is pointing at, but it could be our ship, which towers over the waterside area like a massive hotel with hundreds of windows. Vladivostok is not the most stimulating place to be and apparently young people leave to go elsewhere if they can. It’s the end of the world, really. If you go north you’re in an inhospitable part of Siberia with poor roads and only a few towns. South is China, and most locals go there to buy their vegetables and sell at exorbitant prices in Vladivostok. West is the railway, and East is the sea. The navy, moored near us, looks in need of repair, but granted I saw only a few ships. Maybe the rest are out on the high seas.

Before setting sail, we were treated to a performance of dance, singing and music courtesy of a local group from Vladivostok. Really beautiful, lovely costumes, very Russian – passionate and stirring! There were three main female performers – all very different from each other, with one of them definitely aiming to get out of Vladivostok and on to a wider circuit! The men performed typical Russian dances, squatting and kicking – great muscle control….. And the musicians, lovely.My lasting memory of Vladivostok will be the lovely lady who stopped to chat to us and was so pleased to see visitors in the city. And the crowds who stood and waved as we left port.

I was actually reading up in the conservatory as it was bitterly cold outside. But when I saw two of the crew waving to people on the ground curiosity got the better of me and I went outside on deck to see what girls they had in this port! I was amazed to see the people lining the harbour as we moved away, waving and taking photos. Vladivostok is not a place I’d want to live, because of its isolation and general greyness and its long history of communist oppression and deprivation. This ship calls in for a day just twice a year, so it’s quite an event. It’s yet another thing on this trip which has highlighted how fortunate we are to live where we do, in the West, with the freedom we take for granted.

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 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we reverted back to Korea. With an additional stop at Seward in Alaska, a day before disembarking at Whittier.


Apparently Busan was the scene of massive fighting in about 1953 – but you’d never know it now. It’s a busy, thriving city, stretching for miles along the coast and bordered inland by mountains that look picturesque from all angles. Four of us took the shuttle bus from the ship to the Phoenix Hotel, our drop off point downtown. We had a student doing his first day as guide on the bus; he had a little trouble pronouncing certain words and raised a laugh with his ‘Penis Hotel’. Pat C, being more charitable than the rest of us, took him aside for a quiet word to ensure he didn’t spend the rest of the day as a figure of hilarity amongst shuttle customers. She felt he didn’t know what ‘penis’ meant anyway, so no harm would have been done. And more people would have been able to report this in their blogs…. Anyway, we were deposited outside the hotel, paid a quick visit to Starbucks to get water, visited a beauty shop with a beautiful shop assistant to get more wet wipes (staples on a trip like this!)then looked for the local city tour bus we’d seen advertised. With half an hour to kill, we explored the area around the fish market – some seriously strange fish here. Some of them looked really unappetising, almost poisonous. Surely you’re not meant to eat bulbous orange fish with blue tinged spikes? Doesn’t nature make them like that to warn you off?

Although the city is swamped in signs – you could be killed if they all fell down – they are partly in English, so Busan seems a lot easier to get around in. Quite a relief really, after Russia and China; you don’t appreciate roman letters until you’re in a part of the world that doesn’t use them! You can get seriously lost if you can’t read the signs!

Busan is a beautiful city and the tour we were on – more than 1.5 hours – took us through the main city and out to Gwangalli Beach which you can see in the top picture (reminded me bizarrely of Bondi Beach…same shops and cafes..) and further on to Haeundae Beach, full of luxury hotels and apartments and expensive boats. Everything was so clean and attractive – if the exchange rate were favourable it would be a great place to live, or spend a few months of each year. I’m thinking about it. We returned to the city via the amazing Gwangan Bridge, which just floats across the bay in an ethereal sort of way, in the mist which descended from the mountains now and again. Apparently at night it is magical, with over 100,000 lights twinkling along its length. Finally, before reaching the bus station and getting a taxi back to the International Cruise Terminal, we passed the city Arboretum and the UN Memorial Cemetery, where there are graves of many allied servicemen who died between 1950-53.


So, the ship: this was the first time I’d been off it and able to view it from land properly. Quite an amazing sight, so huge – and from the right angle a bit predatory! Like a shark. I have to say, after exploring most of it, that my favourite spot on board is still the stern open area, with a small swimming pool, splash pool and three hot tubs. It also tends to be quite empty, perhaps because of the ‘breeze’! But you get fantastic views and a feeling you’re alone on the ship. A nice place to go if you want to avoid the other 2,799 people on board. Or thereabouts.

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 – I had the reading room with its many sockets to myself for a while and was able to people-watch and listen in to interesting conversations. Like those I overheard in the ‘future cruises’ booth right next to me: ‘My wife and I want to do Australia – nothing less than 30 or 40 days – watcha got?’ As far as I know, the ships on this line dock at Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney, so not much time on day excursions to ‘do’ Australia. There are a lot of people doing this leg from Beijing to Alaska, who have been on board since Singapore. One woman I spoke to has had sea-sickness since Singapore, but loves the cruise!


Also in the reading room: a table with a jigsaw laid out, free for anyone to walk by and do for a time if they wish. I pointed it out to Douglas and he found three pieces. I found none. It’s actually a lovely place to hang out if you just want to drink a coffee in peace and listen to music. It’s just off the central atrium where they regularly have string quartets and pianists playing. I try very hard not to think of the musicians playing on as the Titanic went down…. Next door to the reading room is the library, with a fair selection of books and board games. Not a bad set up.


After lunch, I decided to check out the pools. The two main ones were rather crowded round the edge, but then I found the little one right at the stern and had a dip, did my aqua-physio knee exercises and then fell asleep on a lounger till after 3. Woke up to a very hot left shoulder and leg and fairly cool elsewhere. Great sea breezes!

A woman had meanwhile taken the lounger next to me and I couldn’t help admire her lovely toenails…a deep raspberry shade with delicate white flowers on her big toenails. If only I didn’t have such misshapen nails, quite deformed really after having nailbed cauterised… Enough of that! I love being at the stern, watching the wake disappear into the distance. It’s very peaceful, and you can forget the many, many hundreds of people on board. But I guess people will discover this little gem eventually and paradise will be invaded.


As I knew we were departing Dalian at about 4.30 I started checking out the best place to take photos from; on the way I explored the top decks, the Sanctuary (Ciaran and Jonny waving from a spa pool), the conservatory, coffee by a pool, and finally, the highest point I could reach in the open air to take photos. Wonderful views all around and a good vantage point to spot wandering Ozbus people. All 3 of them.


Outside the arms of the harbour I could see lots of large and small boats at anchor in the Yellow Sea, probably waiting for us to leave so they’d have some space to dock! Such a huge ship to manoeuvre, really impressive to watch it all. Bumped into Ciaran and we had an ice-cream – just because you can! This could become a daily habit.

There’s a chart showing our journey from Beijing to thee point where we steam between the Japanese islands – before heading for open sea for the remainder of the cruise. Such a pity we can’t visit Japan; we didn’t get clearance due to the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

A little later I met up with Pat and Linda and we had a meal in Horizon before watching an open air film at Movies Under the Stars. We settled on some loungers before realising they were wet…so moved, and with three blankets apiece settled down for the evening. Bitterly cold! Next time I’ll do a trial run of my goose-down-filled sleeping bag! But, the film was good (The Dilemma) and we were brought warm cookies and milk. We also raised a few laughs from people walking by – three mummies in a row. Hot coffee afterwards in the warmth before bed. A great life!

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!

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, not on a tour, so that I can move around as I wish and spend as long as I like in different places. I love the country, its culture and history, after this first experience of it. But I also know I could never live here. In the midst of all the fantastic experiences we’ve had, I’ve never really forgotten the oppression people lived under for so many decades. Before this trip, I bought several books by two Chinese authors. The reason I didn’t bring them along was because I learnt that both authors have been exiled and their books banned in China. One of them lives in London. This controlling attitude is still evident in China today. It is difficult for people to leave or return to the country – hence the checks at borders. People are happy and relaxed and enjoying the wealth which is now theirs for the taking (well, for some people) but there is still a communist government, and no free passage – or speech – when you want it.


We spent the morning at the Summer Palace, a lovely landscaped estate on the edge of the city. Story has it that an emperor, Qianlong, visited another palace on a lake and was hugely impressed, so he returned home and turned one of his royal gardens into a smaller identical version of the one he’d seen on holiday. This was sometime in the 18th century, and his landscaping and embellishments (he created new hills, islands in the lake, etc) employed over 100,000 labourers. It is undoubtedly a beautiful place, with temples on the hills, arched bridges across to the islands and an amazing long wooden corridor winding alongside the lake, decorated with fine latticework and painted panels.


A later resident at the palace, the dowager empress Cixi, was a bit of a spendthrift. When the buildings were damaged during the 2nd Opium War, she used the money which was earmarked for a new, modern Chinese navy to repair the damage. The only concession she made to the navy was to have a marble boat built at the edge of the lake. She liked taking her lunch on it, apparently. She was also quite cruel – and not a woman to be crossed. She would order 50 or 60 dishes be prepared for each meal, and then only sample a few – after her official taster had tried out all dishes in case they contained poison. Not only wasteful, but also a bit paranoid. Unless, of cure, she had good reason to believe people wanted her dead. She wasn’t exactly beloved of her people; probably a bit of rejoicing when she finally died.


The buildings do have the most charming names: Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion, Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, Temple of the Sea of Wisdom, Cloud Dispelling Hall. And the boats that carry you from mainland to the islands are beautiful, with canopies and embellishments, dragons and other animals at the prow, all painted and goldleafed. It’s a very popular day trip for locals from Beijing and a bit of a tourist attraction for parties of Chinese from all over. And us.


Our next – and last – stop was back in Beijing at a traditional Tea House. A proper tea ceremony to round off our time in China and make sure we got a good dose of the culture. It was a beautiful ceremony, highlighting the Chinese philosophy that it’s not just the end result that matters, but the entire process. So from the heating of the teapot to the final pouring (from a great height) of the boiling water onto the leaves, it was a great thing to watch. We tasted about 5 teas, examined them in their dry state – amazingly they wrap some teas up in tiny rose petals, so they unfold in the boiling water. The art of hand rolling teas before using them is an alien concept to us Brits, accustomed as we are to the dust in our teabags.


The rest of our time in Beijing was our own, to spend as we wished. I really appreciated being rushed from place to place because otherwise, in the short time here in China, we’d have seen relatively little. But it was so nice to just have a day where you could get up when you wanted, sit in the bar or explore shops at your leisure. I went off to find a jade shop I’d seen the first time we were in Beijing, and ended up with lots of small pieces which I can incorporate into jewellery. It’ll look stunning together with silver! I also went to the Artists’ Village in Beijing with three others. a great morning out but could have spent longer. It’s built on the site of an old munitions factory – it must have resembled a small town, with its many streets, railway lines and countless buildings. It’s now been converted to artists’ studios, shops, galleries and cafes. A lovely place. I wandered around for just over an hour, bought a watch to hang round my neck for a fiver. One shop I particularly liked, selling beautifully crafted silver jewellery. I managed to pick up a few ideas…..


There are still reminders of its less peaceful past in the rail lines, engines, huge pipes and boilers which used to service the huge munitions factory. Funnily enough, these provide favourite backdrops for wedding photos! I saw a girl being heavily made up in the back of a car before such a photo shoot, as well as several bridal couples in flouncy finery being snapped against a backdrop of rusty boilers.


We also had a last meal with Margaret and Pete, who left the Ozbus trip at Beijing. Margaret has returned to the States but we may see her again in New York. Pete is flying back to the UK and will be resplendent at his niece’s christening if he puts on his Chinese gear and displays his tattoo. We will miss them both. At the dinner, which was in another hostel which also has a restaurant – very atmospheric – Ciaran, Andy, Ben and Jonny had a surprise for us when they announced they had Awards to hand out. We all got a certificate for something: Linda for battering gypsies (when she foiled an attempt to steal her bag in Moscow), Pat for her Rocky moments, me for being better late than never (joining at Warsaw), Sandra for being a cardsharp, Andy for the best blog, and so on. Some I can’t mention. A lot of fun.

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 actually been there, you can’t imagine what a feat of engineering and pure hard slog on the part of the workers this must have been. They didn’t necessarily take the most direct route over the hills, rather the ones which would give them, as defenders of their country, the best advantage.

As well as steps up to a small terrace, there were a combination of steep steps and steep slopes, with handrails to cling on to. And I did cling. It is said that if you visit Badaling on a weekend, you are reminded that China has the world’s largest population. Luckily we went on a Monday, and when the main bulk of local Chinese and other visitors headed off to the hills on the right, we went left, which was steeper quicker, but much quieter. This section of the wall was built during the Ming Dynasty ((1368 – 1644) and restored over the last 60 years. It’s really impressive as it snakes over the hills. Well worth the visit.

The Ming tombs, a little nearer Beijing, are the final resting place of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors. They had unlikely names, such as Jing ling and Ding Ling, and this is where the immaturity of our group became evident.

Only three tombs are open to the public, and are not hugely interesting or decorative. Maybe even a little grim. On the coach Gary told us about the much more interesting Animal Walk leading to the tombs, then said he’d take a show of hands: animals or tombs. Unanimous animal vote.

So off we set, our relatively scruffy group walking down this beautiful avenue between the weeping willows and the stone animals and soldiers guarding the road to the tombs. Some of our party showed less than due reverence towards these ancient statues, but we had Gary’s blessing as long as no one saw us. A lovely way to spend the last day before hitting Beijing again. The Ming Tombs, according to the Lonely Planet Guide, have the best visitor toilets around – 5-star apparently. I’d give them a 3 at most, on a par with the Trans-Siberian trains. It’s amazing how important toilets become when you’ve been on the road for weeks…..

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 either side and in the distance hills stacked up in the mist behind each other, the stuff of Chinese paintings.


Our first stop was at the Buddhist Monastery built precariously into the side of a cliff. It’s easily the most fragile thing I’ve seen – especially as the ancient structure is supported under its base by long poles which seem to teeter dangerously on crumbling areas of the cliff. There are lots of rules and regulations for those visitors to the site who want to make the journey up countless steps to the rickety walkways. I didn’t venture as I got an attack of vertigo on the second set of steps….

The monastery was originally lower down in the Jinlong Canyon but raised several times to higher spots on the cliff in order to escape the floods which would race down the canyon. Farther up the river, which now flows quite serenely, you can see the massive dam being built to hold back flood waters. The monastery is built on the side of one of Taoism’s sacred mountains, Heng Shan. All around are barren hills until the road winds down finally to the plains below where there’s more vegetation and farming.


Not too far away we came to the Yungang Caves or Grottoes. These are either the earliest, or among the earliest, Buddhist carvings in China, and are absolutely fantastic – I could have spent much longer here, just wandering around and taking (even more) photographs! There were originally 21 caves or grottoes, fronted with wooden buildings which have now largely disappeared. They were built over a 60-year period with the largest Buddha (out of about 50,000 altogether) about 17 metres high and the smallest about 2.5 cm. Lots of lovely buildings on the site, making it into a good attraction with plenty of amenities. Also loads of stallholders, all selling similar things, but a lot of fun haggling and getting pretty little bracelets, jade (soapstone) carvings and the like.

This was the last stop of the day before arriving at our 4-star hotel for the night. The Datong Hotel, built in only about 1974 but to an older, more traditional template! Our rooms – twin again – were very spacious and the foyer was elegant, marble and fairly plush. We decided not to explore what seemed the business area of town for other restaurants, and went to the hotel dining room instead. With about ten staff catering for four of us. We ordered too many dishes – they were so cheap that I thought they would be little side portions. They weren’t. After eating about half the food on the table and feeling fit to burst, they brought about three more, including a heaped platter of egg and noodles and another of spring rolls. The whole thing cost us a tenner each – including wine – and we could barely waddle to bed. The next morning, after a very good breakfast which was wasted on me, we left for Beijing – passing a woman walking round a tree doing a sort of tai chi and a group of employees doing their morning keep-fit exercises on the pavement outside work. I seriously think we need a bit of that.

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 seemed to circle the dust-coloured city walls on about three sides before being emptied out, with our baggage, outside one of the city gates. The city within the walls was apparently traffic-free. Almost. Well, there were barriers across the roads which were lifted early in the morning and again in the evening to let stallholders and shopowners get in and out with stock etc. Not to mention those rich enough to drive some of the flash cars we saw. Beside the barriers were stiles made of metal which we had to get over in order to get to our guesthouse. We were told that it was a traditional house, and my biggest fear was that there would be squat toilets for two days….


But, I needn’t have worried. Our hotel – De Ju Yuan – was a restored traditional house, completed quite recently (with Western toilets!! in a wet room): an inner courtyard with rooms off and tables and chairs in the courtyard, plants, decorated wooden fascias – so picturesque it takes your breath away. Everything was authentic country Chinese – the feeling that at last after Beijing and Xian we were seeing the real China. The fact that so many Chinese come here for their 3-day Labour day holiday is confirmation that this is a great place to be.

I took many beautiful photographs to jog my memory in the future: Andy playing his guitar in the courtyard, the rest of us drinking out there, the Aussies and Jonny playing arsehole, Crazy Linda scowling or delighting us with her personality….

Now Crazy Linda – she was something. One of the waitresses, she introduced herself as Linda, Crazy Linda; she soon captured our hearts and made us rock with laughter. Nineteen years old, looking as if she slept in her clothes, but such a live wire. She could come across as rude or bossy – and that was to the customers! But she was extremely helpful, would sit beside us and order us about, then order her older colleagues about. She confessed to having ambitions to be a guide, whereupon we agreed she’d be very good, as she had a great personality. This was a word she didn’t know in English, so she wrote it on her hand and continually spoke it aloud to learn it. Such an ambitious girl.

Her observation that Pete was cute but Ben was handsome amused us all, especially as Ben has been asked by groups of girls, ever since entering China, to pose with them for photos. Gary found out why: apparently Ben resembles Prince William, in the eyes of teenage Chinese girls. At any rate, crazy Linda liked him (and hung round him a fair bit – see photo of two of them with our guide Gary!) and apparently there was a marriage ceremony of sorts one morning. She passed on her email contact details to us before we left – so she’ll no doubt hear from some of our group!


The food – best so far in China, as far as I’m concerned. So tasty and a good variety of delicious dishes to suit my vegetarianism! And it was served in a dining room that resembled a Great Hall – very atmospheric. The guesthouse was very old and when it was a family home it housed several generations: the grandparents would have the main house opening off the main courtyard where Pat and I had our room, other generations would have their quarters in another courtyard, or upstairs in the attics. Guests would be offered room off the main courtyard too. This particular house was in private hands until the late 1940s when the government seized it. Decades later, the present owner bought it and restored it to its present glory. With upgraded toilets and ensuite showers. Lovely.


On one of our days, we did a walk along the city walls before descending into the chaos of the little narrow streets and visiting a temple – a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist – which turned out to be a quiet little place to escape from the turbulence of the street outside. We then joined queues of seemingly hordes of Chinese tourists who wanted to visit the first bank in the region. Quite a contrast to the temple… it was absolutely heaving, we couldn’t hear An give his guided tour, and actually lost him and Gary a couple of times. In the end, some of us gave up, escaped, and went back to the guesthouse. Pat and I took a mad rickshaw outside the city walls later, as we were running out of cash and needed a bank. Then we walked back, spending money as we went in little shops and stalls on the way. Got some lovely paintings in a little shop. We also found a place to have massage – I had the foot and leg massage – the most wonderful one since Pattaya about 8 years ago. I was walking on air afterwards.