From Shanghai to Wuhan

After posting to my blog, I listened to my sleep track on the ipod. It was late and I fell asleep.
The next morning, Al and Cecily called at 6:50 to say they were going to breakfast in 10 minutes. Chris and I showered and got dressed, then joined them in the restaurant. The choices on the buffet were similar to yesterday.
After breakfast we went back to our room. II finished the last of the kimchi. I brushed my teeth and packed. By 8:15 we had our suitcases outside our door for pickup. By 9:30 we were checking out and getting on the bus. Our bus stopped not far away at the Bund. Chris and I had walked there before. But this time, the guide spoke to us through our earpieces and told us about the buildings we could see along the river. Then he gave us 20 minutes to go look at them. All we got to see was the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation. It was in a very old building and had mosaics from all the large cities in the world, plus signs of the zodiac and Greek words emblazoned on the walls. No pictures were allowed. Then we went back to meet the bus.
Our next stop was the airport. The checked luggage was being handled by the tour agency. As we got off, we tipped the female guide and the bus driver. We went inside, through a kind of presecurity check. Then the male guide gave us back our passports. He also handed out boarding passes. The female guide handed out box lunches. But I was given a bag lunch. Eventually we were allowed to walk through to the regular security check,except for Marie, whose checked luggage had raised questions. Cecily and I went through security together. Then we met the others and walked to gate 66. We sat to eat our lunches and wait to board. Everyone else had ham sandwiches and cheesecake. But my gluten-free lunch contained a salad, kimbap, sliced apples and something else.

I ate the kimbap and something else. Then we found out that the gate was changed to 63, which was on a whole other level. We gathered our carry-ons and went down an escalator. We found seats by gate 63 and waited, and waited. Finally we got to board. All of us were in the same row except for Alfred. There was another wait until the plane took off. I was sleepy and almost out when the stewardesses came around with another boxed lunch. This one was rice, with carrots and beef in sauce, plus pickled veggies and apple juice. I gave my apple juice to Cecily who was not impressed with the food. I wasn't either but I ate it. Chris gave me his carrots. We spent the rest of the flight talking amongst the family.
After we landed, it was a long taxi to the airport in Wuhan. Then everyone stood in the aisle waiting to exit the plane. But it was a long wait. And then, they took the stairs away and got another set. The passengers deplaned to the tarmac and got on a shuttle, which ran several times to get everyone to the airport. Then there was a lot of standing around. I had to sit after a while. Eventually we went out of the airport to find more buses waiting. We spent an hour listening to the guide talk about Wuhan and riding to the port where the cruise ship was docked. We lined up and got on board. A nice young lady took Chris and I and Michele and Marie to our rooms, which were across the hall from each other. The place was very nice, if not particularly spacious. I watched the TV in the room which was showing information about the ship. I finished the salad from lunch and ate a banana oatmeal cookie. Then I left to find the others. I walked around the central portion where you could see all the decks. There was a tailor shop and sample fabrics. There was a tea shop with beautiful tea sets. And a jewelry shop. I found them in the in-laws room on the 5th deck, drinking wine. We talked for a bit, then went to the bar. We ordered drinks, but I only had water. Chris asked me if I wanted tea so I said yes. Then he disappeared. Everyone's drinks arrived. No Chris. We talked and talked. Still no Chris. Cecily was getting worried so I got up to find him. He was sitting across a small table from a pretty young woman at the tea shop. She was brewing tea, one small cup at a time, and they were discussing the finer points of the French language. I took a picture and went back to the lounge to show the family. Then I returned to Chris. I sat beside him and he explained that she was brewing pu'er tea, a fermented tea.

We chatted with the young lady who was a senior in college studying English. Our family came out and told us to join them in 15 minutes in the ship dining room on the second deck. We finished up with the tea lady, and went downstairs. We found the Damours sitting with two older women. We took our seats and learned more about them. Michele had sat with the oldest one on the plane. She had been a pilot and a nurse. Her friend had been a nurse, too. We were handed menus to pick an appetiser, a main course and a dessert. I ordered two appetizers because I couldn't choose and none of the main courses called my name. So, first I had the Thai fish cake. Later during the main course, I had the saffron cauliflower soup. Cecily gave me some of her main course. The conversation went on a long time. Other tables were empty. A couple stopped by to say how nice it was to see a family cruising together and that they were going to take their kids next time. Finally I signaled Chris that I was ready to go. So we said goodbye to everyone. On the way to our cabin, we passed the tailor shop. There was a man sewing and a lady ready to take orders. Chris asked her if I could use one of the machines. She said yes, but they did not have any scraps of fabric yet. My heart leaped at the thought of getting to sew on scraps of nice silk and brocade.
We went back to our cabin and closed the drapes. Sadly, because it was such a nice view. But I did not want to be someone else's nice view. Chris got on his laptop to read e-mail. I had a heck of a time getting my table to connect. I had to try different parts of the room. Finally I was able to delete e-mail, but that was all. Then Chris let me use the laptop to post to my blog.
I don't think I mentioned that Shanghai was full of motorcycles and bicycles. Wuhan had fewer, but still you could see the stands of brightly colored bikes for rent. Also, it is not safe to drink the tap water, so we live on bottled water. The tour company provides it often. Ice cubes are fine on the ship, but not out in town.