Wednesday 16th March As we could not sail the Pacific we are now making the most of our time on the west coast to see things we haven’t had chance to see on previous visits. We collected a hire car in order to explore the west coast and reach Seattle in order to continue with […]
Tuesday 15th March We have just completed an exploration of the cable car network of the Downtown and Fisherman’s Wharf Districts. Essentially these are a tourist attraction but for some local people they are an easy way of getting up and down the steep hills of the city. Some of these hills are at least
Monday 14th March We were up and at it early this morning in order to guarantee good seats for photography for the first open top bus tour of the city. The morning was bright, dry and a little crisp and Fisherman’s Wharf was coming to life. For the next two and a half hours the
Sunday 13th March Dear Readers Today has been another getting there day. We left Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport on a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 777 – 300 extended range, which means it can fly the Pacific with ease. This 10 hour flight was necessary because of the cancellation of the container ship. The railway journeys
Saturday 12th March We arrived in Shanghai a little late at 8:15 as a result of track maintenance and single-line working during the night. Shanghai station is a more modern and spacious one, quite near the city centre. Following check-in and breakfast back at the Yangtze Hotel we revisited some of the Art Deco buildings
Friday 11th March Today we have a train to Shanghai to catch so we have time for some final visits and lunch before catching train Z94. Our first stop was the Bell Tower which we accessed from underground in the middle of the roundabout upon which it is located. The Tower was built in 1384
Thursday 10th March Today has broken as a much better day than yesterday. It is certainly crisp but we can see the blue sky! Today’s mission is to see what has been described as ‘the Eighth Wonder of the World’: The Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Site Museum or more commonly known as the Terra-Cotta Army
Wednesday 9th March We arrived virtually on time and leaving the station it was amazing how many hundreds of people were all moving to the exit with our two faces, again, being the only European ones in sight. This has been the case since leaving Frankfurt! Somewhere to the left in this mass of humanity
Tuesday 8th March Today was a ‘getting there day’ and part of our circumnavigation that we didn’t expect to be making. However, Chinese railways have provided a way of seeing more of this wonderful country. The day broke with strong winds and drizzle and there had also been a dramatic drop in temperature. We did
Monday 7th March We write this after dinner when one member of the team had sweet and sour pork for his third time. We have had to change our plans as the container ship, MS Hanjin Geneva, has had its itinerary changed and consequently there is no other way for us to cross the Pacific