Unpacking

I woke up early but did not get up so I fell back asleep. When I did get up, it was after nine. I drank a quart of water and swished with coconut oil. I checked e-mail and deleted most of it. I checked my phone for messages. None. I unpacked my suitcase, putting all the clothes in the laundry because I don't remember which ones I might have washed. I put the lights in one basket and the darks in another. I took the bag of fabric scraps out and dumped it on the floor. I separated the scraps into piles by color and print. The purple was the biggest pile and the biggest pieces. I put them in a bag. Dynee texted me, saying she hoped to see me soon. So I told her I would be out shortly to check on the plants. I got dressed and went out. I started watering the potted plants in front of her house. She came out and we had a chat. But at 11:15 she had to go. I finished watering the plants. I changed my top. I took my vitamin C. I ate some kimchi and sweet potato sticks. Then I picked up the bag of scraps and the bag of red, white and blue fabrics. I walked down to Housing to sewing class. Lacee was in charge and she was setting up tables. Two other ladies were there. So I greeted all of them. I gave Lacee the bag of scraps. Then I pitched in to help set up. She had fussycut triangles to make stack-n-whack hexagons. Dynee made several. Nagesaw made one. Suzanne worked on her own project. Monica made one (on my mail-ahead machine). We did not have enough thread stands, so I looked for spools, and did not find any. That surprised me. Monica had to use the tiny spools we keep for handsewing. Evelyn brought olives, cheese and breadsticks. Anna came late, and brought little hotdogs wrapped in bread. Lacee and I talked about suggestions for upcoming projects. At the end, everyone helped clean up. I walked out with Lacee.
I went home. I saw Chris had been there. He left the bread machine open so I started a loaf of bread. I ate leftover chicken in the fridge, then made and ate breakfast. I wanted to move the photos from the small laptop to my laptop. So I called Chris and he told me where to find a thumb drive. He also told me he had put the laundry in the washer and dryer. So I took the whites out of the dryer and hung up the shirts. I moved the darks to the dryer and hung up the delicates. I opened the boxes Chris had gotten from the post office - more supplements.
Dynee texted me that she wanted to walk the trail. So I went out to meet her. We walked the trail and had a nice conversation. I picked some pokeweed leaves along the way. A cure for constipation. When we got back, she went to make supper. I went to finish the photos. I used the thumb drive to move the pics. Chris came home so I asked him where my camera was. He reached into his laptop bag and pulled it out. I had already searched it and not found the camera. I hooked it to my laptop and found 5 files. One had pics from China, spanning three days. I made dated files in my pictures folder, then moved the pics from the camera. The other files on the camera were older. I figured they had been downloaded before, but just in case, I made a special folder for them. Then I deleted the folders from the camera so the next pics would be all in one place. I started processing e-mail and doing Sudoku. Chris was ready to watch TV so he came and sat with me. We had a Netflix disc with episodes of Lucifer, something Michele and Marie recommended. Well, it wasn't boring. Lucifer comes to Los Angeles on vacation and stays to help a detective solve murders. Interesting premise as long as it doesn't get dark. Chris went to bed because he had to get up at 4 for a 5am call. He helped me clear the bed of all the things I bought in China. Then I stayed up to post to my blog.

Going back to Korea

Tuesday

I heard the tablet shut itself down during the night. It must have run out of battery power. I got up and plugged it in, then went back to bed. I didn't sleep much after that. I got up a few times to use the bathroom. I noticed the toilet must have a motion sensor, which turns on the light. It is so automated that you wouldn't need to wash your hands afterward.
Hot flashes kept me awake. And eventually daylight came in around the curtains. I ignored it for some time, but then got up at 8. Soon Chris was up, too. We got ready for the day. I did a little packing and then we went down to breakfast. The Damours had left hours ago. We said goodbye to some of the couples who were still here. We got plates of food from the buffet. I slipped a hard boiled egg into my purse for lunch.
When we were done, we went back to the room to brush teeth and do some more packing. Chris checked his e-mail and I checked mine. Then we went for a walk. We started on the ground floor and wandered through the associated mall. We went out the back and around the side. The street was busy, so we went back into the building, up to the second floor, and across the pedestrian bridge to a building called China World Mall. It was very open and spacious. The shops were high end, and there was little product to be seen. After walking around, we went outside again. I was hoping for a street with a row of little shops, but everywhere were big office or mall buildings. We walked around the block, taking pictures. Eventually we found our way back to the hotel. I don't think the block was actually square. We saw a lot of bicycles, mostly owned by the city. The person scans the plate, rides it to their destination, then scans it again and leaves the bike there. I don't know how maintenance is handled, or redistribution.
In the hotel we walked up to the second floor to see the Viking desk, for which there was a sign, but no desk that we could see. So we went back to our room, to check e-mail and make sure everything was packed.
At 10 till 1, we took our luggage down to the lobby to meet Tingting. Chris checked out and turned in the room keys. Then we followed her out to the van and put the luggage in the back. The driver drove us to the airport. He unloaded the luggage and Chris tipped him. Then we followed Tingting inside. She showed us which counter to check the suitcases and get boarding passes. Chris was informed that the flight would be an hour and 45 minutes late. So departure time went from 5pm to 6:45pm. She told us how to get to our gate, then she went on her way. We walked through a set of machines that scanned our passes. Then we got on a train to another concourse. There, we went through immigration and then security. No patdown this time. We sat at Gate 28, not knowing which gate we needed. Chris tried to get on the internet but needed a code. So he went somewhere to get one. While he was up, he saw a board listing the gates for the flights. So we moved to gate 27. There was a charging station there. We plugged in his computer and my tablet. I played 2048. He sent a message to someone to call the taxi driver and tell him we would be late. I ate the rest of the seed crackers and some fruit. I looked through some of the stores. I gave Chris some fruit and we shared an orange. Then I worked on Sudoku to let my tablet charge. When it was almost time to board, I put the last apple in my purse and folded up the bag.
We got in line to board the plane. We sat in row 8. I kept the tablet and Sudoku book with me and the rest went in the overhead. Though we boarded on time, we sat on the tarmac for 40 minutes, waiting take off. There was time to fill out the arrival cards and other forms. Then Chris played 2048 on the tablet and I did Sudoku. Once we were in the air, they served supper - very like the last plane meal we had. I gave most of it to Chris. I ate the remaining apple. I looked out the window to see when we flew over water. But the darkness fell too quickly. I did Sudoku until we landed. My ears did not pop completely, but it wasn't too painful. We went through Immigration, picked up our luggage (first on, last off so we really waited), then walked through Customs. Then we entered the airport lobby. The taxi driver was waiting for us. He looked pretty tired. He had not gotten the message so he had been waiting for hours. Chris and I both used the restroom, and then we followed him to his car. He and Chris loaded the luggage in the taxi and the drove took us back to Chinhae. We had to stop just outside the gate for Chris to get his ID out of the luggage. Then we showed our ID's and the trunk was searched. The driver dropped us off at our place. Chris paid the driver more than he was expecting. I apologized for not having any cookies.
We came in the house, and went straight to our computers to check our google accounts. I had trouble accessing Yahoo on my laptop and had to reboot. I had trouble getting to my blog as well. But eventually it worked out and I typed up everything that happened since the last time I posted. And now it is after midnight and we are going to bed.

Kung Fu show

At 6 we went downstairs to dinner. I wore my new jade earrings. The other Damours were waiting for us in the restaurant. We got food from the buffet and sat down to eat. At 6:30 Chris went upstairs to brush his teeth. I went back for a plate of fruit and also took an orange which I slipped quietly into my purse. I finished eating and used the restroom. Cecily walked in after I did, so I met the tour guide and told her Cecily was coming. We all boarded the bus. Tingting was our guide for the evening. The bus took us to a nearby auditorium. We were shown a row of reserved seats. So Marie, Cecily, Chris and I sat down to watch the show. Michele and Alfred stayed at the hotel.
There was a long narrow screen at the top of the stage which showed text that was in English or in Chinese. It was supposed to help us follow the story. But the verbal narration was in English. It was the story of a young boy whose mother leaves him at the monastery. He grows up to be a monk who can stand great pain, break boards with his head, and do acrobatics. Periodically a pretty young woman appears to tempt him and the way he dances with her, he is not resisting temptation. Nevertheless, he rises in monk status. Then there is a battle, and his side wins. His mother dies and there is a funeral (so I was told). The monk who trained him passes on the staff to him and dies. Then the title monk initiates a new boy.
Then all the performers came out and took a bow. I clapped and fanned myself. Then we trouped out of the auditorium and back to the sidewalk. Tingting called the bus to come get us and take us back to the hotel. It was after 9.
We went upstairs to our room. Marie and Cecily came over to say goodbye. They have to leave for the airport at 6:30am tomorrow. I went next door to say goodbye to Michele. Then I came back to my room to take some melatonin and magnesium, and write up the evening for my blog. I left my camera in the room, so I have no pictures of the kung fu show. So here is a random building in Beijing.

The Great Wall

After I posted to my blog (pics later), I checked e-mail and there was one from Cassie, the tea lady on the ship. I was happy to hear from her. I wrote her back. I also had a bunch of e-mails that I thought I deleted, but the 'delete' did not go through. I got my unread e-mail down to 86.
Monday
I woke up sweating. So I got up to pee. I saw the digital time on the mirror read 5:27. I told Chris that the wakeup call would come in three minutes, but the phone rang in less than one. In 15 minutes we were both up, getting ready. He went down to breakfast first. I put seed crackers in my purse, read email, then went down to the restaurant. I told the hostess at the buffet that I just wanted food to take on the tour because it was too early to eat. She said only whole fruit and bread were allowed. She went to fix it so I sat with the Damours. She came back with an apple and a pear and two plastic containers of baked goods in a hotel gift bag. I told her I only wanted fruit so she came back without bread, but more fruit. Chris went up to brush his teeth. Then we got on the bus.

The bus took an hour and a half to get to the tourist part of the great Wall. The guide talked about it on the way. Parts of the wall were made at different times and with different materials, sometimes just rocks and dirt. Those parts are wild and overgrown now. It would be difficult and dangerous to try to walk the 6000 miles of wall.
Our bus took us pretty close. We walked to the tourist shops. There was a place for a group to sit and stand so as to have their picture taken. Our picture was taken and we were promised the opportunity to buy the picture in a book about the Great Wall. Then we headed for another set of tourist shops which lead to the Great Wall itself. There were steps going up to it. Not bad. But the wall itself follows the ridge line. So walking along it was steep and slow. We walked to the highest point we could see. We could have gone further, but the view wouldn't have been any better and you could only go so far before the renovated part ran out and signs were posted to stay out. The bricks along the sides were at least 600 years old, but they were new in comparison to the thousands year old ones they replaced. Chinese names were scratched all over them. It was hard to make out the original names, which the emperor required so he could punish the makers (or their descendants) of bad bricks. Michele came with us, turned back and then changed her mind and joined us at the highest part. It was scary coming back because of the steepness. I went down backward so I didn't have to look down.

Back at the place we started, I shopped. I got a t-shirt and some bracelets. That was most of the money I had. Then we all went back to the previous tourist shops. I bought a scarf and the lady sold me another t-shirt for half the price of the first one. Oh well. I looked at magnets, but there wasn't one in the shape of China. Then we went back to the place where the group photo was taken. When the whole group gathered, we walked back to the bus.
This time the bus took us to a jade factory, the number one in China. The manager gave us a tour and let us see people working on the jade balls. There was a huge jade dragon boat and other large impressive pieces. She said jade came in 30 colors, even blue.
Then she took us to the second floor for lunch. Again, there were large round tables with a rotating center. Under her close supervision, dishes were brought for us to sample. She brought me a separate gluten-soy-free plate. I ate it, and tried to sample the dishes on the table when she wasn't looking. The soup was good. There was a sorghum drink nicknamed firewater. And it was. We only had a little, but it was potent. The others went off to shop. I went to the restroom and then Cecily and I joined the others in the jade room.

There was so much to look at, but the salesgirls kept asking me what I liked and what color did I want and did I want earrings, or a pendant or a necklace? Being it was certified jade, it was not cheap, even though what I was looking at was the soft jade. The hard jade was even more expensive and I couldn't tell the difference. Nevertheless, I bought a set to go with my navy ball gown. It was purple rather than blue, but Marie thought it would look fine with the dress. I wished I had a picture. But finally I gave in. The pendant was so pretty and it looked better in the purple than it did in the green. She gave me a chain to put it on for free, like it was a big secret. But she handed me the ticket to take to the cashier so it couldn't have been secret. I walked around and looked at other pieces. But again with the questions. I just wanted to look.
The group was leaving, so I followed them to the bus. The next stop was the Ming tombs, surrounded by cherry trees. Vendors were selling cherries on the roadside. I was excited to see the tombs, but we did not go that way. We walked the opposite way, down a path lined with stone statues of people and animals. Perhaps they were guarding the path to the 13 tombs? Only one tomb had been excavated and our guide said it was not very safe because of all the people trying to crowd in. It was seven stories underground.

From there, we went back to the hotel, passing some of the Olympic buildings in the distance. We tipped the guide for the whole tour and the driver for our time in Beijing. When we got out, there was the same man on the street, selling silk wallets, scarves, handbags, t-shirts, hats and maybe other stuff, that was there every time our bus pulled up. Someone said he must know our schedule. Some of our group crowded around him. Chris and I went up to the room to drop off our stuff. Then I wanted to go back down and see what he had. It was hard to get close enough. The deals were good, but I didn't believe his claims of 100% silk. Still, I managed to get a scarf and a t-shirt for a lot less than I paid at the tourist spot (even after haggling).
Then Chris and I went to the second floor to check the class schedule for the fitness center. We leave the hotel at 1 tomorrow and I hoped to get in a yoga class, but there wasn't one. We went to our room and I typed notes for my blog while Chris checked e-mail.
Then I got dressed for dinner so we could all meet at 6 in the lobby.

Tiennamen Square and the Forbidden City

After posting to my blog, I worked on my inbox, which was really big. I also emailed test messages to the two Chinese ladies from the cruise ship. Then we went to bed.
Sunday
I woke up early in a sweat. The comforter was too much. I needed just a sheet. I got my black and white wrap, which was just the right thickness. We stayed in bed until 7:15. I got up first to use the bathrrom. The toilet is high-tech. Lift the lid and the lights come on, a fan comes on, the seat heats up, like it's happy to see me. And automatically flushes. Chris took a shower while I washed up and got dressed.
Because he had the cheesecake from last night to eat, I went to breakfast alone. I stopped at the front desk to request a sheet for my bed. But they did not understand. So I said 'thin blanket'. They looked it up, and discussed among themselves, then said that Housekeeping would take care of it when they clean our room.
I entered the restaurant. The waitress led me past Michele and Marie (who asked where Chris was) to a small table in the back. I went to the buffet and filled my plate with fruit chunks plus an apple and an orange.

As I ate, other couples from our group sat near me and we conversed. On the way out, I took another apple and got a glass of apple juice. The hostess would not let me take the glass, so she poured the juice into a paper cup. I took the food back to the room. Michele was there with Chris, playing on my tablet. Chris locked the apples and tablet and laptop in the safe. I put some chocolates and seed crackers in my purse. I wrapped up one chocolate for Shirley. Then we went downstairs to find our bus. When the last two people arrived, we were on our way to Tienneman square – an hour or less away.
We alighted from the bus into a crowd of people. We walked, and paused as the guide told us about the history. (We did a lot of pausing to listen during the day). There was an underground passage leading across the street to the square. There were security guards there, but they were not searching anybody. We were told not to take pictures of guards, but I did not see many. The square covers 109 acres. At one end is Mao's mausoleum. I wanted to see it, but it was closed. On the sides were the national history museum and the great hall of the people. We had free time to take pictures, but did not need 20 minutes just for that. Then we went to the far end, where a painting of Mao hung on a brick wall and looked over the square. We used the restrooms there, then entered the first courtyard of the Forbidden City. It certainly wasn't forbidden today because the crowds were swarming all over it. It used to be just for the emperor; common people could not enter it. The security was tighter here and our handbags were scanned.

The city was a big complex. I think he said 9999 rooms. Only a third is open to the public so far. The place looked just like it did in The Last Emperor. The guide led us through the parts he thought we should see most. One place had windows so you could see how the empress lived. But it was hard to take pics because of all the people. I ate my seed crackers there, and reminded Shirley to eat the chocolate before it melted. It had already gotten very soft. My camera battery died, so Chris gave me his. But it died, too, before we left the city. Ann and Shirley were in wheelchairs because of all the walking, and the heat. Ann had had enough, so James told her chair pusher to go to the far end and wait. But he spoke no English and she was alone with him in a crowd of people who spoke no English. When we arrived, she was not happy. So Chris held her hand from then on.
We left the city and went down a street to where the bus could meet us. The bus took us to a restaurant called Hua's. It was from the same chain as the one last night. We walked in the front door, past tables, and the kitchen, and out the back door. ??? But there was a long narrow building, like a row of storage units, each one just right for a round table of 10. So our group divided, and occupied three rooms.

We were offered one beverage each, and water counted as one. Then a large bowl of rice was placed on the central rotating circle. We each took some rice, then conversed for a long time, long enough to wonder if we had been forgotten. But no, the restaurant was just especially busy because of the Dragon Boat Festival, which I don't think we are going to see.
More dishes came. I told James not to order the chicken for me if it was full of bone fragments. When my dish came, there were no bones. I tried a taste of each dish on the table, and at my dish of chicken, celery and spinach.
After lunch, we went back to the hotel. Chris stayed in the lobby to get our passports back. I went up to the room to check my e-mail and recharge the cameras. I fell asleep listening to a tapping audio on my tablet.
At 5, Cecily knocked on our door to say they were going to the bar for drinks and would be there until suppertime. We declined to go along. Chris read e-mail on the laptop while I read e-mail on the tablet until it needed charging too. Then I wrote notes for my blog in a notebook.
I changed into a dinner outfit. I put Chris' camera in my purse. We went downstairs to meet with our group. James put us all in the care of another guide named Tingting. She led us to a bus, which we boarded, and were off to another version of the same restaurant; Hua's.
This time we went up to the third floor. Ann held Chris' hand going up the two escalators. I knew he liked older women. Should I be worried?

We were seated at another 10 person table. Dishes were placed on the center rotating circle. Tingting brought me a plate of gluten-free eggs, tomatoes, rice, and cauliflower. As before, I tasted the other dishes. Tingting told me which ones were gluten-free and I had more of those. The snow peas were excellent. For dessert there was watermelon, cantaloupe and cherry tomatoes.
She gave us a 10 minute warning and we used the restroom before gathering downstairs to head for the bus. The bus took us back to the hotel. It wasn't that far away.
Chris went up to the room to get the laptop on the internet for me. I walked up a grand staircase to the second floor to check out the fitness center. I was hoping they had a mini trampoline. It was a large place, with a big pool, a yoga room, and all kinds of weight machines. The lady at the desk showed me through the ladies locker room, also very big. It had a sauna, whirlpool/hot tub and a steamroom. I thanked her and left. I went back to the first floor. I spied the bar and thought Cecily might be there, so I walked in. But I did not see any Damours there. So I headed to the elevators. On the way, I saw the hallway to the department store. So I walked through and marveled at all the expensive jewelry and clothing. Then I went back, and joined Chris in our room. He turned over the laptop to me. I wrote up my blog post while he used my tablet.
We will probably go straight to bed because the bus leaves at 7am for the great wall. Stay tuned.

Arrived in Beijng

Saturday
Our wake-up call came at 6am. I picked out clothes for today, then packed everything else in my suitcase. I bagged everything in case the suitcase was searched or came unlocked. I did my exercises. Then I washed up and got dressed. I put some peppermint and ginger essential oils in a glass of water and drank it. We put the suitcases outside the room and went downstairs for breakfast. Al and Cecily were there, but Michele and Marie had just left. So we took their spots. Cecily gave me another Dulcolax. I filled a plate with fruit and drank a glass of grapefruit juice. Then we went back upstairs. I took my supplements, and deleted e-mail on my tablet while Chris checked his work e-mail on the laptop. He got a referral for a job in Seoul. Then I packed my carry-on. I took out two chocolates from my stash and wrapped each one in a clean napkin from breakfast. I used the bathroom twice since we were taking a long ride to the airport. We met Michele at the elevators and went down to the lobby. Chris turned in the room cards and checked out. Boxed lunches were handed out. Mine had a special tag written in Chinese, probably gluten-free. I gave Cecily one of the chocolates. Then we boarded the bus. Shirley was sitting in the front seat. I handed her the other wrapped chocolate. I did not have time to explain. Soon we were on our way to the airport. We could see large burial mounds in the distance. Unlike Egypt, here the burial places of the Emperors are not to be disturbed. Historians want to dig them up and write about the finds, but the archeologists want to keep them intact and untouched.

An hour later we got off the bus at the airport. James handed us our passports. We went inside through light security to gather as a group. Some of us took the chance to use the bathroom before the flight. James took Ann and Shirley on ahead. We sang Happy Birthday to Chris. They have trouble walking and often use wheelchairs in the airport. The others gave him a round of applause.
Then we all went through strict security with a full body patdown. From there, we walked to our gate and waited. I nearly missed the bathroom because my eyesight thought the sign said 'Tickets' instead of 'Toilets'. Most of them were the squatty pottys.
We started boarding a little late. My seat was across the aisle from Chris. I conversed with my seatmates as Chris did with his. Then I leaned back and fell asleep. I noticed later that we were moving and dosed off. But we were still taxi-ing. In fact, it went on so long that I wondered if we were going to taxi all the way to Beijing. It was after noon until we actually took off.
My butt was already asleep. I did not wear my earplugs, but my ears were ok. When we achieved altitude, I noticed that Al was eating his boxed lunch. So I got out mine. There was a banana on top. Under that, was a sandwich shaped like a brick. The bread was hard and dry and cake-like. Maybe this is what gluten-free bread looks like? I ate the cucumber pieces and the lettuce, but left the mayo and most of the bread. Under that was a rectangle that tasted like custard. I gave that to Chris, as well as the muffin. Then I ate the banana, even though Chris read on the internet that greenish bananas are binding.

Soon, the stewardesses passed out the airline lunch. There was a small tray of rice and beef, which I ate. It was spicy. I also ate the package of pickled something that smelled odd. I gave Chris the package of crackers. He did not want the roll, so I threw it away with the remnants of lunch. There was bottled water, and I sipped that over the course of the flight. Normally I would not drink bottled water, but it is the only potable water here.
I wrote up my morning for my blog and then tried to sleep again. I was not successful. The seats were uncomfortable. But after almost 2 hours, we landed in Beijing. After a bit of a wait, we deplaned and boarded a shuttle bus to the airport. We waited in the baggage claim area for some time. The tour guides claimed the baggage and sent it off to the hotel. It was too early for us to check in, so we got on a different bus. We drove for an hour or more. We got off on a street corner. I needed a restroom again, but there wasn't one. We collected ourselves, then walked across the street to a long line of pedicabs. They were bicycle versions of rickshaws. We filed in, two by two. Then our man pulled out and pedaled in line with the rest. They took us through the narrow streets of the old neighborhoods, which the government was preserving. I forget what they were called, but once they were inhabited by high officials. But now, the blocks were divided up into smaller units to create more housing, thanks to the communist party.

We were invited into the house of a retired woman. With our guide as an interpreter, she told us this used to be her grandparents house, but now she takes art classes and helps her niece. Her niece painted the insides of bottles and other glass to create ornaments and necklaces and such. I wanted to buy a piece, but did not have enough money left. The lady mentioned that she had to go across the street to use the public restroom since her part of the house did not have a bathroom. Cecily and Michele and I went over there. It was clean, but there were no western style toilets, no doors on the stalls, and no sinks. Afterward, we walked down the street. A man was trying desperately to sell fancy chopsticks, and pocket purses, and fans. I was having a hot flash, so I talked him down to 10 yuan for a sandalwood fan. At the end of the street, we found our pedicabs waiting. They took us around and down a few more streets. Then our driver indicated we should get out. Everyone was getting out, so we tipped him and followed the group. In a big paved market square, we could see the drum tower at one end and a bell tower at the other. We went into the bell tower building. It had been converted into a tea shop. There was one room big enough to hold our whole group, with small tea cups on the tables. We sat down. A lady explained that China had over 3000 teas, but 5 main groups.

As she talked about them, another lady was making tea. The first lady poured some tea from the first group in each cup, and passed around a jar of tea leaves so we could see and smell it. Then she explained about the second group of teas and what they are good for. Again, she poured and we drank. Then the third and the fourth and the fifth. She also showed us cups that change color when hot liquid is added, and a little boy figurine that pees cold water when hot water is poured on him. When she was done, we went into the tea shop where she showed us packages of the teas that we drank. They were expensive. But if you bought stuff, you got a free pee-boy. I got two small tea packages, and then a third which was recommended for hot flashes. It was over $100. What was I thinking? Anyway, we went back to the courtyard. We gathered in a circle around a man who was the Guiness record holder for keeping an object in the air. It was like a hockey puck with feathers, just like in the zoo a few days ago. He kicked it around, then to people in the audience. Chris did the best. We were all impressed. Our guide handed each of us one of the hockeypucks. We walked to another street where we caught the bus. We marveled at the creative architecture of the new buildings. Then the bus stopped in front of a restaurant. My camera battery died at that point. We went inside and up to the third floor.

There were many large round tables. We sat at the ones with James' name on them. They each had a glass lazy susan. Waitstaff brought out dishes and put them in the center. I was presented with a full plate of chicken, and vegetables in a salad form. Still, I tasted the dishes on the table. Some were excellent, others so-so. My chicken was almost inedible because it was cut in cubes irrespective of where the bones were. So there was gristle and bones slivers in almost every bite.
After the meal, we went back to the bus, and finally to our hotel, Kerry. The guide explained about the internet access. He got a number for our group to use and a password. We waited while he arranged it with the hotel and then handed out room keys. We went to our rooms and found our luggage waiting for us. Also inside the room, were two apples. I ate one, then laid down on the bed to stretch. Cecily came to the door and said they were ready to go to the bar to have birthday drinks with Chris. Chris got the internet set up for me and then he left to join them. He insisted it would be alright if I did not join them.
I typed up my blog, first from the notes about the morning, and then from memory. While I was typing my blog, a man rang the door bell. He had a cheesecake on a tray. Since I did not order it, I tried to elicit why he brought it. But we could not communicate. So he left. I went back to typing and the phone rang. The lady explained that it was for my birthday. I said, yes, my husband has a birthday today. In a few minutes, the young man was back with the cheesecake. I put it in the little fridge that held drinks. But in a minute, Chris came through the door. I handed him the cheesecake, but he was too full, so he put it back. He said the bar had a really loud band and his mother stuffed paper napkin pieces in her ears. But they'd had enough and were back. Chris used my tablet to check e-mail while I worked on my blog.

Dinner theatre

5:19 Friday

I added pictures to the most recent posting. Then it was time to go. I changed into a nicer top and pants. Then we went to the elevators to meet Michele. She wasn't there so I went to her room and knocked. A voice said “Who is it?” and I replied ”your mother.” But it was Marie that opened the door and said Michele had already left. Chris and I took the lift down to the first floor. Michele was waiting by the front door. Cecily came out of the bar to say hello before we left. They were having dinner at the hotel and we (and more than half of the group) were having dinner out. We boarded the bus and left about 6:10. We arrived at 7. It was like a dinner theatre, where tables replaced the traditional seating.
We had complimentary menus/programs which we could keep. But we did not order, we accepted the dishes that were preselected for our group. It was more food than we could eat but not as much more as many places so far. The waitresses did not speak much English if at all so it was no use asking what a food was. We were served rice wine in a three-footed cup, which was refilled constantly. It was good and did not taste alcoholic.

The guide left a note in Chinese on my placemat. I assumed it said 'gluten-free'. The first course chicken in sauce with dumpling and salad. I did not get a dumpling and my chicken was spiced but not in a sauce. Then we got mushroom soup. It had a strong mushroom flavor. Chris gave me his. Then there was crispy prawns and fried fish with cashews glazed in sesame seeds. My prawns were boiled or steamed, and I got broccoli. Michele gave me her cashews.
I left the theatre to use the bathroom. The guide said it was a 6 star bathroom. The facility was a 4, but the service was a 6. A lady greeted me as I came in. She pointed me to a stall. She went in first and wiped the seat. When I came out, she turned on the water at the sink. She put soap in my hand, and handed me a paper towel when my hands were clean. I was looking around to see if the other ladies were tipping her, But no one had finished washing their hands. I asked her, but she did not understand. So I asked a lady nearby if I should give a tip and she said no. So I went back to our table.
The meal ended with Orange Sago Surprise. It tasted like orange soup with tapioca balls in it. A tiered tray of sweets was placed on each table. Up to this time, there was a row of female musicians playing on the stage in front of a beautiful red curtain.

They finished and we clapped. Then they left. Other musicians filled in both sides near the stage. There was much picture taking until the lights dimmed. There were two screens, one on either side of the stage and high up. The far one was in English and gave a synopsis of each act, but it was hard to read from where we sat.
The play was about the first (and only) female Empress of China. It was all done with dancing and costumes. I enjoyed it very much but there wasn't enough history in it for Chris. It lasted about an hour. Then we trouped out to the lobby to meet our guide. We boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel. Along the way, we saw many beautiful lights on buildings, and the city wall. I tried taking pics, but most were blurry.
When we arrived at the hotel, we went to our room. I sat down to type up my blog, and then pack for the trip to Beijing tomorrow.

Terracotta Warriors

Friday
The wakeup call came at 6. I was already awake and hoping to go back to sleep. I was worried about the clothes I laid out to dry, but most of them were dry. At 6:30 Cecily knocked on the door to say they were going down for breakfast. It seemed too early to eat. Chris went ahead. I got dressed and followed. When I got there, Chris had already gotten me a glass of apple juice. I looked for fruit on the buffet. There was very little, so I just had a small plate. I drank the juice and we went back to our room.
I packed some seed crackers in my purse. I put on my name tag and got the receiver that we wear around our necks to hear the tour guide. Chris and I went to the elevator. It took so long to find a car that wasn't full, that we were worried we'd be late. When we got to the lobby, those ahead of us were on the bus, so we boarded. In 5 minutes we were on our way to see the terra cotta warriors. The guide told us about the history on the way there, about an hour. I ate my seed crackers. The museum complex had just opened. We walked through the gates with tickets the guide had given us. We also had to go through a security check. Then we boarded carts which took us all the way to the covered pits. There were buildings surrounding three excavations. We visited the first and largest one. I took pics as the guide talked about the warrior statues and the details of the faces and clothing. We had some free time to walk around the giant pit. We saw the section where the statues are assembled and glued together. Then we went to the third pit. It was much smaller, and most of the statues did not have heads.

Then we went to the second pit. We had heard there were archaeologists working there, and I wanted to see that, but it was not to be. Still, what little was unearthed, was interesting. Then we went to the exhibition hall where the bronze weapons pieces were. There were pictures of bronze chariots and horses. Afterward, we went to the gift shop, but we did not buy anything. The book was $25 and Chris did not want it.
There was a long walk back to the parking lot. We passed a lot of trinket stalls and street food. I guess that's why there are no cart rides back. We boarded the bus and were off to see a clay factory that makes replicas of the statues in different heights. We had a tour by the manager. Most of what we saw was for sale. We saw how the figures were made, and how you could get your own face put on a figure (for a price). The shopping area held figures of clay, bronze, jade and porcelain. Lots of tea sets. There was jewelry, t-shirts, chopsticks, scarves, trinkets, purses, etc. Then we went to the second floor to see the lacquered furniture and hear how it was made, and why it was so expensive. I must say, it was beautiful. After that, we went to the third floor to have lunch. There was a buffet with salads and hot dishes. Along the way, a man was making noodles and his assistant was putting them into soup. The tour guide asked the waitress to bring me a gluten-free meal. While I waited, I went to the buffet and picked out things I thought were gluten-free. Soon after I returned, the waitress brought me a plate of salad and chicken. I was able to eat both. Everyone raved about the noodle soup so Michele got me a bowl. I just tasted the noodles, but drank all the broth. It was very good.

When lunch was over, we stopped by the restrooms. When I came out, Chris was practicing his French with a man from Canada. Then we had to wend our way amongst all the things for sale to find our way to the exit. Coincidence? I think not.
We boarded the bus and came back to the hotel. The guide talked about what we would do tonight for supper and tomorrow, after flying to Beijing. Good thing my clothes are dry.
Back in our room, I laid down for a bit. Cecily had given me a Dulcolax but there had been no effect. I tried to emulate a castor oil pack. I had ginger essential oil, which I put on a wet washcloth. Then I put the washcloth plus a dry one on my stomach and topped it with the iron on low. I gave it 20 minutes or so, but there was no effect. Chris could not get the vpn to work, but he could look up remedies. He suggested caffeine. So I tried to heat water in the coffee pot, with no success at first, but then I plugged it into the outlet in the bathroom and it heated right up. I made a cup of green tea and drank it. I started reading my e-mail on my tablet. Eventually Chris got the vpn to work and I was able to post what I wrote about yesterday. Then I started writing for today. I posted that part while I had the chance.

Off to Xi'an

Thursday after breakfast:

We gathered our carry-ons with Group D in the 2nd floor atrium. Soon we were walking a pontoon bridge to the shore. Men were lined up, asked us if they could carry our bags for us. We waved them off. Several people were demonstrating flying toys that they were selling. I haggled one down to 3 for 10 yuan. Further down we boarded a bus and it took us to Chongching zoo. A local tour guide told us all about the city on the way there. First we hit the restrooms, then walked to the panda cages. We saw red pandas and big black and white pandas. Then we walked a long way to see tigers: Bengal, Siberian, and South China. On the way back to the pandas, we saw large egrets and storks.
There was a lady selling hacksacks with feathers on them. She got one of the men in our group to play with her. Michele took a turn and I did, too.
The zoo was very park-like and there were lots of groups of people doing synchronized movements. Tai Chi?
From the zoo, we walked to Howard Johnson's for lunch.

We were fed in a room on a basement floor. The tables had lazy susans and the waitress kept adding dishes to it. But the tour guide told me to wait. So I watched the others eat (we weren't really hungry) until the waitress presented me with a gluten-free plate of bok choy, chicken, green beans and mushrooms. I stole a taste of the other dishes from Chris' plate. We used the bathroom before leaving, then found the bus in the restaurant parking lot. We rode to the airport, hearing more about the city and its history. I tried to take pics on the way, but fell asleep. I woke up at the airport. I got out some cash so Chris could tip the local tour guide and I could tip the driver. Inside the airport, James gave us all our passports. We and our carry-ons went through a security check where we were patted down thoroughly. When the group was back together, we went to gate B3. But once we got comfortable, the gate was changed to B1. So we went back there. We did not have long to wait. Soon we were in line to board the plane to Xi'an. Our group was not seated together, but the Damours were. I wore my ear plugs on the way up. We were served preserved tomatoes (dehydrated) and assorted nuts and water. I asked Chris to read me the ingredients. I ate the nuts but gave him the tomatoes.

I was sorry afterward because I had major hotflashes right in a row. But eventually they subsided. I tried to nod off, but with limited success. It was only an hour. Then we landed just short of Xi'an. We took a bus to a Sheraton in the city. The check-in was handled by the tour guide James, who collected our passports again, and handed out room cards. We went to our room to unpack. It was a very nice room. The bellboy delivered our checked luggage. Michele knocked on our door and wanted to go to the pool on the 5th floor. She went to her room to put on her suit and came back dressed in a robe and slippers. I wasn't sure that was appropriate attire to be walking around the hotel, but she didn't care. So I put on my suit and the robe and slippers provided by the hotel. We went to the 5th floor. We found the pool area. They stopped us at the desk to sign a piece of paper. Then we were given towels. We found a deck chair in the pool area and laid our robes and towels there. We tried the hot tub first. I went in the cold pool briefly. Then we swam in the big swimming pool. A man came over and handed us swimming caps. I did laps. Michele went back to the hot tub. I found the ladies locker room. It was big enough to get lost in. There were showers and lockers, a whirlpool, a sauna and a steam room. And a small dryer. I went out to get Michele. We took one last dunk in the hot tub and the cold tub. Then we went to the sauna for a few minutes. Michele wasn't impressed. We dried off and put our robes back on. There was an exit from the ladies room so we took it. Eventually we found ourselves back at the desk. We handed in the caps. The man escorted us to the elevators and called one. I wondered if he was trying to get us out of there.

On our floor, 15, we ran into others of our group. We told them we'd been in the pool and sauna. Then we went to our rooms for a shower. I dressed for dinner in the blue outfit. I noticed that my suitcase smelled a little funky. I wanted to do laundry, but this was a place where you pay by the piece to have it done for you. I did not want to pay $60 for a load of laundry. We went down to the first floor to join Cecily and Al and Marie for supper. It was a big buffet. I had three plates of food, which did not include bread or the many desserts which the others indulged in.
After supper, Chris and I went to the front desk to ask about a nearby laundromat. But we were not able to bridge the language barrier. So we went back to our room. I washed clothes for tomorrow in the sink. Then I noticed we had a hair dryer, so I tried that. And then the iron. But there were no markings on it to show how hot it was. I washed and ironed all evening. I hung up everything in my suitcase to air out. Then I sat down to type up my blog. But the VPN would not connect, so I could not post it.
I stayed up late, in the bathroom, hoping for improved motility, playing on my tablet to pass the time. Because we had to get up at 6, I eventually gave up and went to bed.

Last day on the ship

At 1:55 we met the family at the 4th deck atrium. The group of us went into the wheelhouse to see the navigation area and hear a talk on the subject. Then we went to Al and Cecily's room to talk about gratuities to the staff, etc. From there, Marie, Michele, Al and I went to the observation lounge to play Mahjongg. We played two hands, and then it was time for the dumpling lesson, in the same place. We watched the chefs make wontons while the activities director explained. We also had handouts. Then the group was invited up to try forming wontons. Waiters passed out already cooked wontons and they were good.
I went back to the room to play 2048. I was continuing the game Michele started which had a 4096 in it already. I almost fell asleep. We missed the presentation on Chinese culture and the captains cocktail party.
I got dressed for dinner and at 7 we walked with Michele to the dining room. We were joined by Shirley and Ann. There was a lot of gluten and dairy on the menu. So I got the potato soup and ordered a large plate of fruit (which wasn't on the menu, but they said fruit was available.) Michele shared her vegetables with me, as did Cecily and Ann. Thankfully the others helped me eat the large plate of fruit.

After supper we went to the room to fill envelops with tips. Chris gave one to the man who cleans our room (twice a day). We gave one to the Maitre D'. I took some time to pack my large suitcase. I used the hairdryer to finish trying my nightgown. Then I went to see Dyveen who was vacuuming the sewing area. I gave her an envelop. She asked for my e-mail and we traded. Then we walked up to see Cassie, who was cleaning the tea area. I gave her an envelop, too. We traded e-mails, too. Then the three of us talked for hours. Another lady joined the conversation briefly. She was talking about washing silk. She also said the shampoo here was a very expensive French brand and had no chemicals in it. At 11, I had to go. Dyveen walked me to my room. She took our photo with her phone and my tablet. Then we said goodbye.
I told Chris my suitcase was packed, so he put it in the hall to be collected later. I wrote my blog in a notebook to post later. I read the bottle of shampoo. Most of it was in Chinese, but the words PEG-40 and PEG-7 stood out. Oh well.
Then we went to bed.

The ship was moving quickly, presumably to get to the next port on time. Chris had set the alarm for 5:30, but we did not get up until an hour later. I took some vitamin C. We washed up and got dressed. I ate some seed crackers. Then we went to the dining room. Michele and Marie were at one table and Al and Cecily at another. We had to sit at a third. We had a nice visit with a couple sitting there. I ate lots of fruit, to improve motility. (Perhaps I should just drink the water?)
Then we did the last minute packing. I typed up my blog so far and posted.

Shopping

I went to bed, listening to my ipod. Eventually I fell asleep.
Wednesday
I woke up when daylight crept between the curtains. I did not feel like getting up. So I tapped. After awhile, there was a tapping at the door. Michele said they were going to breakfast in five minutes. I washed up and got dressed. Chris stayed in bed. I went down to the dining room. The family was there, and another couple. I got a plate of food. This time, boiled eggs were on the buffet. I sat with the others and we had a little chitchat, but not like usual. On the way back to our rooms, we stopped to get our passes for the excursion. I got Chris' pass. We also signed up for the tour of the wheelhouse. I signed both of us, figuring he could handle that. When I got back, I asked Chris if he wanted a banana, but he said no. I also asked about the pass and the wheelhouse and he said yes. He got up to get ready, and found my fanny pack behind his duffle bag. I went searching for James, our tour guide. I told him Chris was coming along and that he found my fanny pack. It was embarrassing to admit that both Michele and I missed it when searching the room, but I had to tell him as soon as possible. While looking for him, I passed the tailor shop. No one was around, so I got two pieces of fabric from the trash. When I got to the room, I picked up my tablet and discovered we had internet. So I deleted a lot of e-mail. Then I sat at the laptop to start typing up today's post.

At 8 Michele knocked on our door to say they were going down for the excursion. I put everything I thought I needed in my fanny pack. Then we went down to the first deck. We walked through the first deck of another ship (double parked again) and onto the dock. We walked past a few trinket stands, then onto the floating planks that led to shore. Some Chinese ladies were washing their clothes in the river. I hurried to keep up with the group. We turned on our receivers so we could hear the guide. James (our guide) passed the microphone and scepter to another guide. (The scepter is a stick with a paddle on top that shows a large letter D for our group.) She talked to us about the temple and it's restoration as we walked past many stands selling colorful goods. I wished I had brought money. It was a long walk to the temple and we kept stopping to let other groups go ahead. Then we came to a suspension bridge that was for foot traffic. I felt a little unstable but I made it across without being traumatized. Then we slowly made our way long the dike toward the 9 story temple. We were told there was only one way up and one way down. So once you start walking up the 99 steps, you can't turn back. Up to this point I had had two bouts of light stomach cramps. And now I was having a third one. I wanted to see the temple, but did not want to risk getting sick in a narrow stairway with nowhere to go. So I told Chris and Michele that I was going back to the other side of the bridge. Cecily and Al had already turned around so I thought they would be there. I found a bathroom on the other side of the bridge and took advantage. Then I walked back through the stands to the ship. People kept calling me over to look at their wares. The items were pretty, and pretty much the same from person to person. I kept telling the owners that my money was on the ship. When I admired an article, they would put it in a bag and pantomime going back to the ship with me. I had to wave them off.

But I was keeping track of the prices. Near the road to the ship, I looked at some tablerunners. She had a very nice red one that I really liked. I told her I had no money and would come back. But she didn't want me to leave. A passing Indian woman told me to just walk away. So I did, and talked to her for awhile. She said to offer them 1/3 and leave if they did not accept. I guess she is used to haggling. I walked back to the ship, got my wallet from the safe, and went back out. I haggled very nicely with a few people, buying scarves and a t-shirt. The phrase “It's cheaper over there” works too. I found the lady again and offered her even less than last time. She eventually took it. I also got a indigo table cloth that I think might make a nice quilt. I ran into Cassie and Dyveen buying mangos. They said it cost less for them than it would for me. Yup. Just like back home. There's the Korean price and the American price. They hurried back to the ship and I continued looking. But at 10:15 I decided to go back since the ship was supposed to leave t 10:30. I expected to see Chris and Michele coming back from the temple. I ran back, not wanting to hold up the ship. But I ran into others from our group. Chris was standing at the pass box, waiting for me. He had both our passes. He had gotten back earlier and been looking for me. I don't know how we missed each other.
Anyway, we came back to the room. Michele came over to use the tablet. I washed my nightgown in the sink and hung it up to dry. I went upstairs to chat with the doctor about Chinese medicine. He said a consultation was 320 yuan. I didn't have that much. But we had a short conversation. I came back to the room and I typed up as many events of the day as I could before lunch. Then we went down to the dining room. Chris went back to get my red long-sleeved shirt that I wear like a jacket.

I did not order anything from the menu. I went to the salad bar which was crowded. For today, they had the usual offerings, plus some local Chinese favorites: pig tail, pig ear, chicken feet, and jellyfish salad. I had some of each, but the chicken feet were gone when I got there. Most of our table ordered the onion soup with their meal. I remembered the maitre d saying it had wheat in it, so I didn't. But then he came by just as I finished all but the pig tail. He said he had ordered a gluten-free onion soup for me. Then I remembered that he had said he was going to do that. I thanked him. He brought me the soup and a chicken foot. The soup was good and the chicken foot was like the pig tail, mostly fat and cartilage.
After lunch, we went back to the room. Michele came over to use the tablet while I typed more of my day. Then we had to meet near the stairs for the wheelhouse tour.

The rest of the day

At 4:30, I went to the observation lounge for the presentation on recent Chinese history. It was interesting and not flowery like I expected. Cecily said she hoped there were not spies aboard who might arrest the MC for saying what he really thought.
From the observation lounge, I went to the front desk to check their lost-n-found to see if my fanny pack was there. No. I explained to them that I thought it might be on one of the buses we used recently. They said they would check with local guides. I went back to our room, but saw our guide James in the hallway. I told him I thought my fanny pack might be on one of the buses because it wasn't in my room. He asked which day it disappeared and I didn't know exactly, either Thursday or Friday. I went in my room to review the ship's daily paper. Michele was there and said she remembered me having it on Thursday. But I could not remember if I had it on Friday for the trip to the city wall. She checked the room and did not find it. She played 2048 while I did something. Then it was time for the port talk and disembarkation announcements. I went back to the observation lounge. Only Cecily and Marie were there from the family. We listened to the next day's activities. Then he talked about leaving the ship on Thursday, checking out, leaving gratuities, etc. Then we gathered with our groups to hear about what we were doing after leaving the ship. Our group is going to the zoo and then to the airport to fly to Xi'an. It was time for dinner so I went back to the room to collect Michele and check on Chris. He was up and feeling well, but did not want to risk eating. Michele and I went to the dining room. I saved places for the two ladies from Britain. We ordered from the menu. The Maitre D' came by to make sure I knew what to order that was gluten-free. I got the prawn appetizer and the sea bass without the sauce. Michele had been to the afternoon tea and, having eaten tiny sandwiches and pastries, was not
very hungry. She just ordered the cheese plate, which consisted of two blocks of cheese the size of a pink eraser, two crackers, a candied date, and a walnut. One cheese was blue cheese and the other was a Saint Raiten (or something like that), made by Tibetan monks. I tasted just a tiny morsel and it was good. But I had to avoid dairy products because they trigger hot flashes. My sea bass, when it came, was very good. So was the broccoli, but it was covered in butter.

So I let Michele and Marie have it, and I asked for some plain steamed broccoli. I had to point to the butter pats on the table and say 'no butter'. She nodded and presently returned with a plate of broccoli. But when I tasted it, it was buttery. Someone suggested it might be margarine. In any case, I did not eat further. I let others have it. After the meal, I went back to the room and asked Chris if he would like an apple. He said yes, so I went to the front desk which had 5 apples sitting on it and asked if I could have one for my husband. She said I could have them all. I picked up one with a tissue and carried it back. Since the tap water is not drinkable, I asked Chris if he wanted me to wash it and he said no. He was playing a game with Michele. They finished their game while I played 2048. After Michele left, I actually hit 2048 and continued to play for a bit. Then I looked through my pictures to see if I was wearing my fanny pack in any of them. I determined that I did not lose it on the trip to the museum. Then it was time to see the Chinese ladies and collect fabric.
I did not see them on the 4th deck, so I checked 3, 5 and 6. No luck. I went back to my room. I typed more of my blog and tried to post it. While waiting for a connection, I looked the for the girls again, but did not see them. I came back to the room and posted to my blog.

Sampan boats

Monday night
I played 2048 until 10pm. I went out to see the tailor lady, but she was still working. I checked the observation lounge to see if anything was going on. It was not. So I went back to Dyveen. The tailor left and Cassie came down. The three of us conversed in English so they could practice. I gathered a few more scraps of silk. Then they went for their midnight snack. I went to the room. Chris was already in bed. I put on my nightgown and turned out the lights. I remembered the ipod, and felt my way over to it. I put on the headphones and got in bed. It helped me to sleep.
Tuesday
When I awoke, it seemed too early so I went back to bed. A little later, the daylight seemed stronger. I went to the window to see the scenery. We were moving past mountains with villages. The daylight helped me read my watch. It was exactly 6:45, time for tai chi. But I was reluctant to walk through the ship in my yoga outfit. I did some yoga stretches. I signed onto the tablet and laptop. There was some internet connection so I struggled and prevailed at posting my blog from yesterday. I did not bother with pictures. They can come later.

Then Michele knocked on the door. She was dressed and inviting us to breakfast. Chris asked her for some more of Marie's medicine. I told her I'd be along shortly. I took a shower and got dressed
I went to breakfast with the family. The two ladies came late. The family left one at a time, but I stayed until Ann and Shirley left. I got my pass to leave the ship. Once in the room, I washed clothes in the sink and hung them on the chairs on the balcony. To prepare for the excursion, I searched for fanny pack, but could not find it. Then again, the room was dark because Chris was still sleeping.I followed the family to the excursion. We were handed water and wipes. We walked a trail that included ramps and passageways through other floating vessels. Then we got on sampan boats. A cute young female native tour guide and driver went with us. She talked all the way. The information could have been condensed a lot. She kept telling us we were having a good time and should come back. She sang for us an interactive song and we had to participate. She showed pictures from a book, and kept demanding we look at it, but I wanted to see the countryside. She was selling the book and a set of bookmarks. I didn't have any money, but I didn't tell her that because she might have followed me to the ship to make a sale. Marie tipped for all of us. The guide asked us to write comments on a sheet. I didn't think she wanted my comments.

We got off the boat and walked through all the passageways back to our ship. We were given ginger tea. I checked on Chris. He was still sleeping. I took my tablet and went to the lounge on the 6th floor. I joined Marie there. We watched the countryside and I played 2048 until lunch time. I checked on Chris again, then got a long-sleeve shirt and went to lunch.
Ann and Shirley were not there, although I suspect they came in later. Another couple asked to sit with us. They were from England and we traded stories. They recommended flat coke and bananas for upset stomach. After we ate, Cecily ordered a glass of coke and gave it to me to give to Chris. I took a banana on my way out. When I got to the room, Chris rolled over. I told him the coke and banana were from his mother. I laid down for a bit. I had felt a few twinges in my stomach earlier. Chris got up and opened the drapes. I asked if he wanted tea. He said yes. I heated water in the coffee pot. I went to the tea station on the 5th floor and got several different packets of tea. I asked the tea lady what she recommended and she handed me something I cannot remember. I picked up a honey stick, too. I went back and gave Chris the selections. I made him the chamomile and for me, what I thought was tea but turned out to be coffee.

I poured it away and made mint tea. I used the extra hot water to pour over our toothbrushes. Then I checked on the internet. Nope. I played games on my tablet until I heard the sound of e-mail downloading. I deleted what I could before it stopped. I played again until the sound was back. I deleted all the e-mail I could, then typed up my day so far. Chris ate the banana and read. I posted while I had the chance.

Three Gorges Dam

I went to bed, unable to post. I listened to the ipod and fell asleep. I had just the cover of the duvet on. But for some reason, I got cold. So I woke up, and threw on a blanket as well. I was still slightly cold. But I went back to sleep. Then when daylight began to appear, I got hot and had to throw all the covers off. I wanted to go to tai chi again, but had been up too late typing my blog and trying to connect to the internet to post it. Around 7 I got up to try again. I turned on the laptop and signed into the vpn. Things were going well until the internet went down. I think it was because the ship had entered the Xiting Gorge. There were tall mountains on both side and then I noticed we were floating closely past a tall wall. We had entered a step lock. The gate swung shut very slowly. Then the ship began to rise at about the speed of an escalator. Soon, instead of a wall outside my balcony, there was a public street. When I realized that I was still in my nightgown for all to see, I shut the drapes and went back to the laptop. But there was still no signal. And it was past time for breakfast. I washed up and got dressed. Chris was in the bathroom and did not feel like eating. So I went to breakfast by myself. I ran into Michele on the way, but she had already eaten.

When I got there, Cecily was there, as were two other people I did not know. Al was up at the buffet table. I set my purse down and did some chatting before collecting a plate of food for myself. We visited with the people who were at our table. Marie joined us, but not to eat. Two other people came to join us, and the first two left. Shirley and Ann came in later and had to sit elsewhere. When Al heard about Chris, he offered to give him a package of Immodium AD. So when I finished eating, I went to the room to ask. Chris was sitting and talking to Michele. He said yes. So I left and happened to see Marie in the hall. She offered me her package. I gave it to Chris. We hung out for awhile. Because of the fog, the ship stopped moving forward. We could not get to the excursion point, so they rescheduled the tea ceremony to fill the time. Cecily, Al, and I went to the tea ceremony. The tea lady gave it and you could tell that she was nervous. She talked about the health benefits of the different teas. She showed how the tea utensils are prepared and how the tea was made. Cups of tea were handed out. I stayed late, chatting with Cecily and another lady. When I left the Observation Lounge, I was looking for Michele. The tea lady was nearby so I asked her, but she had not seen Michele. I went up to deck 6. I saw Ann and Shirley sitting at a table outside. I sat and chatted with them. Michele dropped by to say she had heard I was looking for her. I told her I had my tablet so we could play 2048, but she wanted to read instead. She left.

The ship started sailing again. I guess the fog had lifted enough. Other people came up to see the scenery going by. It got a bit chilly. Then the MC gave a talk about what we were seeing: the landscape, the people, the way of life. Then it was time for lunch. Ann had gone looking for something, so Shirley asked me to save them seats at our table. I went to get Chris, but he still wasn't eating. When I got to the dining room, all the other Damours were there. I arranged the napkins to save seats for A and S. I ordered the coconut pumpkin soup on Cecily's recommendation and loved it. So we recommended it to Ann, but when she got it, she did not like it. I went to the salad bar for a plate and got some veggies.
On the way back from lunch, we stopped at the reception desk for passes. I got Chris's as well, having heard that he intended to come along. On the way up, I saw Cassie and Dyveen talking at the tailor's station. So I sat and talked to them. She gave me some more silk scraps. Then the PA system announced the tour to the Three Gorges dam. I went back to our room to get Chris but he still wasn't sure he should leave the vicinity of the bathroom. I grabbed my receiver and headphones and headed out. I returned Chris' pass.

I did not see our family members, so I figured they had gone on ahead. As I left the ship, I was handed a water bottle and a packaged wet wipe. I walked out, over to the gangplank and up to the shore. There were more steps and I came out on a small street. I could not tell where to go from there, so I hung back until other people went ahead of me. As we walked the street, we were mobbed by ladies selling t-shirts and fans, and other wares. We hurried to the bus. I got on and sat with Michele. We were bused to the dam, listening to our guide all the way. We alighted, went through a security check, then met the buses on the other side of the building. We were taken to a parking lot. We saw a model of the dam and 5-step ship lock. We had some free time to shop but it wasn't much. Then we rode 5 escalators to the top of a hill. We had time to take pictures of the dam and ship lock. Then we went down the other way, using steps instead of an escalator. It was a lot of walking for Ann and Shirley, who both used canes. Eventually we came to a concession spot. I checked out the wares and got two bracelets. I paid the asking price, then heard that other people were haggling. I saw one more thing I wanted, but Michele was tugging at me, saying it was time to go. We got back to the buses, which brought us back to the place where we were mobbed. There were more than a dozen stands set up. Michele and I started looking.

I went on ahead as she looked at coins. I was hounded by sellers but managed to wave most of them off. I found a dish of colored glass eggs. As I examined them, a man showed up. They were 10 yuan each. I got one, hoping to find a way to put it on a necklace. I kept going. Another place had the thread-stitched placemats for 50 yuan. I offered 35 and he said 40, so I agreed and picked one out. His wife tried to sell me another one, but none of the others stood out. I went back to look for Michele. One shop owner rushed out to tell me that the picture in my hand was only 20 yuan at her shop. Maybe I should have gone, but I figured she had the same selection as the first lady, so I kept going. Michele was not at the place I had left her. I walked back to the ship. Each returning passenger handed back their pass, then received a moist cloth to wipe their hands. I wiped and threw the cloth in the bin reserved for used ones. I went back to our room. Michele was in there with Chris. I brought out the tablet and she started playing the game. I got on Chris' laptop. The internet was back up. Luckily Blogger had saved a draft from last night. I posted it as is in case the internet went down. Then I went back and added pictures. I typed up today's activities. Michele put down my tablet and went back to her room.

I picked up the tablet and played 2048 until it was time to leave. We went to the observation lounge for the nightly talk on the next day's activities. He said when they got permission to go through the locks, we would be notified so we could gather on top and watch. And tomorrow we would board sampan boats for a trip up a tributary. Then we were dismissed to dinner. Chris went to get Michele and we all went to the dining room. The maitre d' came by to show me the gluten-free options. I wanted the lamb dish and he said to order it without the sauce, and to replace the potato tart with boiled potatoes. So I did. The lamb was quite tasty and I chewed some of the remaining meat off the bones. The others ordered dessert and I got the dish of watermelon. I salted it and the ladies from England remarked that they had never seen watermelon salted before. Chris excused himself and left. Later I left to check on him. I typed up my blog on his laptop, hoping to avoid the exposure to blue light just before bedtime. Just as I finished typing it, the ship started its engines and pulled out toward the locks, leaving the internet behind. I may have said a few unladylike words.

The Chicken dance

Last night I washed a pair of underwear and hung it on the chair outside to dry. There is laundry on this ship, but they charge by the piece. Each piece of underwear costs $1.50 to have washed. I tried to post to my blog, but the internet was too far away.
I woke up kind of early. I wanted to go to tai chi on deck 6, led by the doctor. But having had a hard time falling asleep, I went back to bed. There is no top sheet on the bed, just a comforter. It is too hot, but the AC is too cold without it. We stayed in bed until Cecily called for breakfast. But we weren't ready, so she and Alfred went by themselves. Then we got up to get ready. But the internet was back up so I tried to publish my blog post. Chis was helping me au naturel. Michele knocked on the door, so he hid in the bathroom while I opened the door and convinced her to come back in 5 minutes. But five minutes later, he was taking a shower. So she came in and hid on the balcony until after he was dressed. The two of them went to get coffee. I washed up and got dressed. They came back, having had coffee and croissants. I was faced with going to breakfast by myself. :( But then Michele agreed to come along.

On the way, we passed the tailor shop and I introduced Michele. We got to talking and were still there when Cecily and Alfred came back from breakfast. Then Michele and I went to the diningroom. I filled a plate from the buffet. As she and I were talking, the subject of quilts came up. The lady across the table said she was a quilter too. So we talked quilts. She showed me pictures of quilts she had made on her phone. I didn't have my phone, so I gave her my name so she could check my Pinterest page. Then she and her husband left.
Soon Michele and I went back to our room. Chris was reading. He had the tablet on the internet. I tried to get Blogger up. While waiting, I introduced Michele to the game 2048. I warned her that it was addicting. I should have warned myself that I might not get my tablet back. When I finally got through to Blogger, I posted for last night and started today's post.
There was a presentation on the Yantze river followed by a lesson in Chinese. But we missed them both because we (Michele and I ) were engrossed in playing 2048. We only paused it when lunch was being served. We went to the diningroom to find our companions waiting. There were menus but I decided just to eat from the salad bar. The Maitre D' came by as he usually does, to point out the gluten free items on the menu. It was another long meal due to the telling of stories, mostly ours to Ann and Shirley who are now accepted as family for the cruise. After lunch, Michele followed me back to the room to play 2048 again.

But soon it was time for the Mahjong lesson. The waiters were setting up the tables and tiles in the observation deck. We all went but Chris. And even he put in a short appearance. We had to sit with others of our group. Four people could play at a time at each table. James, our guide, explained how to mix up the tiles, then set them in rows in a square, roll dice to determine which tiles to take. It seemed an elaborate way to make sure no one could control which tiles they got. From there, it was a lot like playing Rummy: looking for three of a kind or three in a row; picking up from the new pile or the discard pile, etc. When I got to play, I won twice. It was interesting but it was good that some people had played before and could remind us of all the rules about setting up each new game.
We got back to our room and played 2048 again. When it was almost 5, I grabbed my purse and we went downstairs to get passes. We walked down to the first deck and exited through another ship to the dock. I guess we were double-parked. We walked up to the top of the dyke, and down the other side. We boarded buses and were driven to another parking lot. We disembarked and walked along the city moat.

Eventually we saw a statue and took pictures. Michele admitted that she had forgotten to put on shoes and was wearing the hotel slippers. Our guides had a discussion with someone, and then we walked down to the bridge and across the moat to the old city wall. We rode glorified golf carts to the gate that led inside the city. From there, we climbed up steps to the top. Chris and I went inside the building and continued up to the second floor. It might have been a temple, but it was full of trinkets for sale. I wandered around and took pictures. Then we went all the way down and got on the carts and rode back along the moat. At some point we got off and walked across to another statue. Then we went looking for the bus, but we did not find it. Eventually the buses found us and took us back to the dock. By then it was raining, so a man was handing out plastic rain coats in Korean packaging. We were greeted at the entrance to the ship with raspberry tea. We went to our room to change for dinner. Then we went to the dining room. I was glad we had walked in town, because I hadn't been sure I could eat another meal. For the first course, I had a spinach salad. For the main course I got cashew shrimp. The family recounted many stories for the benefit of Ann and Shirley.

We could hear the ship get underway as it headed to the next destination, the three gorges. At 9 we retired briefly to brush our teeth. Then we met in the observation lounge for a show put on by some of the staff, mostly the restaurant and housecleaning. It seemed a little makeshift, but the costumes were pretty. At one point the MC asked for two volunteers to wear the costumes. Chris and another man raised their hands. They were told to go backstage. When they came out, they were wearing rooster outfits. It was so funny (or embarrassing, I thought Michele was going to die.) Each costume had eggs buried in the tail and so the men were instructed to shake their tails to get as many eggs out as possible. Of course the chicken dance song was played. The crowd roared with laughter. The MC thanked the men, and they returned to their seats – minus the costumes. Then there was one more dance number and the show was over. I excused myself and went out. I saw Cassie and Dyveen sitting in the tea room. The three of us went to the tailor counter. Dyveen allowed me to pick scraps out of the bin while we chatted. Cassie asked questions about Protestants vs. Catholics. I answered as best I could and wished Chris were there. In a few minutes, he showed up. We chatted for a while longer and then bid them goodnight. We went to our room. I emptied the scraps from my purse. Chris took the comforter from its cover for me (because it was too hot). I finished typing up my blog, hoping to post it tonight, if the internet allowed it.
* I forgot to take pics of mahjong so I grabbed one from the internet. *