The great stairs of china

I was lucky enough to get onto a crew tour to the great wall. As we were docked a good distance from Beijing and still further from the main entrances of the wall, the Shore Excursion Dept. Organized a tour to the wall for the crew that was a bit closer. Still, a three hour bus ride each way was not my idea of close. We had an overnight in Xingang (Beijing) so enough time for a long day tour. The day was perfect. We left Xingang and it was smoggy so I couldn’t be sure if the weather was good or not. It seemed overcast because of the smog. Upon arrival at the Great Wall, the weather/smog had cleared up and it was now a perfectly gorgeous and no longer humid day! I took the crew tour even though I could have done a free tour with the guests, I find I need time to myself for the “big” tours. I did not want people fighting on the bus and complaining to taint my experience. (Argentina was the last time I will escort a tour after a fight broke out between an unrelated man and woman).

As it turned out, I had thought a few of my friends would be on the bus with me but they had all landed guest tours and a few were on the overnight tours. I thought it might be not as much fun since I wasn’t close to anyone on the tour, but I met some of the Indonesian guys from the Pinnacle Grill on the way up and we fell into step. We had a great time and I also enjoyed having a peaceful day to myself to do whatever I pleased!
Seeing something so vast, something that still stands the test of time (parts of it are rebuilt, but we saw some original parts too) and has been the subject of so much history, war and wonderment was miraculous. I had a cold, but was inspired to climb as far as I could go and further than most (well, except for the springy cast members who dance for a living). We came back down the steps of the wall and had a typical Vancouver lunch, er Chinese lunch. There were some fried things on a turntable, mystery meat and mystery goo. I certainly enjoyed the broccoli and some sort of vegetable stew.

Usually on an overnight, the crew does anything to get off the ship and go out. I was so tired from the tour and being an hour or more out of Beijing and close to nothing in Xingang meant that we drank in the OB (Officers' Bar) and went to bed. That was our big night in Xingang!

Dalian, China. $135 Visa well spent

Our first stop in China was met with excitement. Unfortunately for much of the American crew, it was not the same. Many of our department and crew including Lucy, Bruce and Rosanna were not able to get a Chinese Visa in time for their departure from the states. Even though it would be more expensive, they were counting on the consulate in Japan to receive their visa’s. The day we left Tokyo it was a national holiday and they were not able to process their visas. I shall now take this time to thank the bazillions of Chinese people in Vancouver for living there and having our very own consulate that I could go to and have my visa the next day.

So, for Steve and I who gave up Kagoshima and Kobe so the others could get off in Japan and we could get off in China, it was our first port in (what felt like) a while. We didn’t know what to expect, but often there’s not enough time to do any research so we didn’t really care as long as we were on land. We took the shuttle from the ship to Dalian’s “Friendship Store” which is basically an overpriced mall for the passengers to spend their money, get back on the shuttle and go back to the ship. From the store, we found a cab driver and I had just been joking about how I’d like to see a Panda Bear when a man came out of nowhere with a map and a picture of a Panda. We negotiated a price for our new friend to take us around. He took us to the seaside where they had various monuments and every where you looked, modern buildings and ramshackle homes butted heads like bighorn sheep.
Our driver took us to the Panda Park which was much larger than I expected. We spent 3 hours in the park, realizing it was more of a downtrodden zoo than a park. We did see the panda, asleep in the corner of his cell. We also saw monkeys, bizarre-looking toucans, lions, tigers and elephants. We saw kangaroos, seals, tiny panda-raccoon animals with vicious looking teeth. I have a love-hate relationship with zoos: I’m excited to see the animals so closely, but sad that they are kept in captivity and especially in that particular park, the facilities being so stark and dirty. It was still nice to be outdoors walking around. However the “fresh” air we were getting was really mostly smog and I had a sinus infection for the next 5 days.