Viking China

[Cruise Vanessa]

We were on March 18 Cultural Delights tour. We had $250 in US singles and $300 worth of yuans. The US money was accepted in 95% of places. We used credit cards whenever possible. Counterfeit money is an issue in China so avoid having to get change by using small denominations of yuans. Yes, it was bulky to have so many small bills but we kept much of it in the safe in our hotel/cabin. I found it helpful for negotiating to have a small wad of singles in my pocket. Don't ever pay the original asking price. At the end of the tour we had about 50 US singles left and used it toward tipping. Shopping and bargaining is part of the Chinese experience. Have fun with it.

[Lady Meer]

Hi everyone on 29/30 May Cultural Delights. We have just received our visas and British Airways have changed our departure terminal back from the new (but chaotic) terminal 5 to 4 at Heathrow - so we have a good chance of travelling with our bags now;) .

[arlenez]

Did anyone on previous China tours have time to use the pools in the hotels? I'm trying to decide whether or not to pack a swimsuit. I know a hot tub will be wonderful after long tours at the end of the day.

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

[Osnab]

Counterfeit money is an issue in China so avoid having to get change by using small denominations of yuans. Yes, it was bulky to have so many small bills but we kept much of it in the safe in our hotel/cabin.

 

Cruise Vanessa- you raised a good point that I wanted to elaborate on. Not only is counterfeit money an issue, but also the Chinese will not take any US bills that are extremely worn or have writing on them. If they are torn, they won't accept them.

 

The problem I had with the bulkiness wasn't while in the room/cabin, it was when the suitcase was out of my sight. That's why it's a good idea to have a lock, and not the plastic ones the tour guide provides. I mean, anyone can use their knife to remove it, and then your stuff is gone. I'm talking about the kind you can get from Magellans. It should be TSA-approved, tho.

Felicia

[Osnab]

Did anyone on previous China tours have time to use the pools in the hotels? I'm trying to decide whether or not to pack a swimsuit. I know a hot tub will be wonderful after long tours at the end of the day.

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

 

Arlene:

I did on my last day which was in Beijing. The pool there was so beautiful I took pictures! It was at the Westin. They had what looked like large living room pieces all over the pool area.

I also got in the hot tub in Shanghai- I've drawn a blank on the hotel name, but you'll probably have a hot tub where you stay.

I took an old bathing suit that was really worn and left it behind after my Beijing swim!

Felicia

[MSEm]

I think that all of the hotels had pools, but we did not have time to use the facilities.

 

Have a great trip,

Emily

[Csora2547]

March 23rd, 2008 12 days Viking River Cruise Trip

Have enjoyed reading all of your posts so decided to add my own 2 cents worth in the hope that it will help someone. First of all let me say that we

had a great trip to China! Viking River Cruises does a top notch job of taking care of it's customers and I know you will enjoy your trip also. We had a group of 6 couples and everyone thought it was a wonderful trip!

 

The following is long. Basically I just wrote out my daily notes. Probably repeats many things already said but at least you know that things haven't changed. I enjoy shopping so have included lots of shopping tips for those who are interested.

 

March 23, 2008 - Sunday

Left LAX on Easter Sunday at 8:30 AM. Great news! We were able to do a last minute up-grade to business class for $599 each. If you are interested in this check on it right away at the airport. They only do this if there are seats available. It sure made the flight over easier. We actually slept for 5-6 hours!

 

March 24th - Monday

We arrived in Beijing on time at 2:30 PM and were met by our tour guide Max when we got off the plane. Our luggage was whisked away to our hotel and we got on the bus.....no fuss and no hauling our 44 pound bags! Which reminds me .... no one ever checked our bags for weight and we could carry much more than an 11 pound carry on. I don't know why Viking makes such a big deal about this since it is never enforced. That was the one thing that had all the ladies on our trip worried before hand .... wasted worrying! It is nice to pack light though and not worry so much about what to wear. I did find a light $14 Twenty-four inch duffel bag at Target that I packed in the bottom of my suitcase. It was perfect for packing all the treasures I purchased along the way. Back to our trip. While at the airport we were given the keys to our room at the Beijing Westin, a very nice hotel. By the time we got to the hotel it was 5:00 PM and everyone was ready for dinner. This dinner is on your own and everyone ate at the restaurant in the hotel. I had planned to shop in Beijing after we arrived but never had time. The hotel is located in the business section of town and we weren't sure how far away the "pearl market" and other good shopping areas were. There were some women who skipped the scheduled tour and shopped one day. They went to the Pearl Market and got some real treasures. Don't know what day I would have skipped as I found everything in Beijing very interesting. Maybe they arrived a day early. We wanted to do that but with the great price on airfare had to go with Viking.

 

Since we arrived at the end of March it was a little cool but good weather for touring. We were expecting the air to be terrible but I guess we were lucky and it was sunny and fairly clear.

 

Max, our guide told us to meet in the lobby at 8:30 AM tomorrow morning and be ready to walk!

 

March 25 - Tuesday

The next morning we got on the bus at 8:30 AM and went to Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. There was a lot of walking (fairly flat with a few stairs) but we really didn't notice since we were seeing so many wonderful sights. When we were in the Forbidden City we saw a large group of monks but no one seemed to be watching them or looking for trouble, very peaceful.

 

Be prepared to be surrounded by street merchants. They are nice people just trying to make a living but they do get annoying after a while. They sell Olympic hats (you should be able to get them for one US dollar, I finally was getting them 2 for $1.50) fake Rolex watches ($3 for the real junk ones but you should be able to get some good fakes for about $15) and assorted other things. Max tried to steer us away from buying from the street people as he said most are really bad fakes, don't hold up, etc. The best fakes are in Shanghai!

 

That evening was the Welcome Peking Dinner and Peking Opera....skip this if you can! No one in our group liked it. The food wasn't that good and the music very hard to listen too. Not sounds we are used to and made for a very long day. My husband and I skipped the concert and dinner (took the advice of other Cruise Critic posters) and had a quiet night at the hotel listening to music in the lobby and relaxing. Everyone in our group said they wish they would have done the same!

 

March 26th - Wednesday

Today we went to the Great Wall. It is about an hour and half bus ride from Beijing. It was interesting to see the countryside. The Great Wall is steep in places with uneven stairs so wear good walking shoes. On the Great Wall and at the base are merchants selling T-shirts, hats, etc. We purchased "I climbed the Great Wall" T-shirts and other gifts for friends back home. Paid $1 for pashminas, $7 for the T-shirts, $4 for a dozen chopsticks, etc. There is a pretty large gift store there but the prices were a little high. You will have more time to shop here than most places so take advantage of it. We didn't buy anything big there. After the great wall we went to the Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs. It was OK....interesting but we didn't get to see any tombs so that was disappointing. On the way back we drove past the new Olympic Stadiums ...... the bird nest stadium is very impressive. Everywhere we looked in Beijing there was construction going on. The city is working really hard to be ready for the Olympics. They are cleaning and sweeping everywhere. Slums are being torn down and replaced with high-rise apartment buildings. We were told that the people like their new homes but I'm not sure all the Chinese shared that opinion. That evening we had a buffet at the Westin Hotel ....... it was delicious!

 

Speaking of opinions. If you can, watch the news in the morning on TV when you are getting ready. From what our guide Max told us you can only get CNN and other western news in the hotels. It is not readily available to the citizens of China. The news has a 3 sec delay so the voice and the lips were not together. Since Tibet was just getting started and a very hot topic there was plenty of news about that but when something was said that China didn't like it was blacked out! So every now and then the screen would go black and then come on again. I only noticed this when news about Tibet was on.

 

March 27th - Thursday

Today we went to the Hutongs and a silk carpet factory. The Hutongs are the "old neighborhoods" of Beijing. I personally think I would prefer to live there than in a large high rise even though they are old. We were taken to see how a family lives. I think it was staged for us to see the best living conditions in the old part of the city and wondered if a "family" really lived there. We took a rickshaw ride through the area and that was fun! Lots of Kodak moments!

 

The silk carpet factory was basically a showroom with very beautiful high priced goods. They didn't bargain much and few people purchased anything. In the afternoon we flew out of Beijing to Xian. The new Beijing airport had just opened up that day so we were one of the first people to see it. It is a beautiful airport and very efficient....we had no delays and everything went smoothly.....big contrast to Heathrow that opened a new terminal the same day! We flew to Xian on a new airplane. Service was good and the hour+ flight was uneventful. We landed in Xian and drove for about an hour to the city and the Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show. It was a very good show and the dinner was good. We had some special rice booze. I didn't care for it but a number of people liked it in our group. It was another very long day and even though the show was entertaining many people were dozing off! We got to our hotel around 10:00 PM and our luggage was waiting for us in our room. Yeah Viking, a home run again! We went right to bed as we had a full day waiting for us in the morning.

 

March 28th - Friday

Terra Cotta Army: It was a short drive to the Terra Cotta Army site the next morning. I didn't realize that the whole site is inside. They have built a huge building over the army to protect them. It is very interesting and we really enjoyed it. The gift shop there is good and we purchased a copy Terra Cotta Warrior for about $900 us. Three of us got one so we were able to bargain the price down. I also got a jade bracelet. Bargain here. I got them down about 35% which I felt good about. Outside they sell small sets of Terra Cotta Warriors. Be careful as these sell for a few bucks US but tend to stink! We got one anyhow!

 

After lunch we flew for about an hour+ to the city of Chongqing.....it is home to 30 million people! It was foggy there and we later learned that it is foggy there most of the time! But this fog makes for beautiful women with lovely skin! Many of the people who work on the boat are from Chongqing. This is where we boarded our boat for a tour down the Yangtze River. Our Viking River Cruise boat was new and modern. I think Viking has the nicest boats on the river. Our room was comfortable with good storage. The shower was much better than the regular cruise ships. It had actual doors that close instead of that plastic shower curtain that sticks to your backside! The boat is noisy, however. You hear the engines but you soon get used to it. Our room was 352, on the 3rd floor at the back of the boat over the engines. I think being at the front or middle would have been a little quieter...maybe.

 

There is only one dining room and one seating for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The room is very noisy but if you sit at the entrance to the room on the side it is a little quieter. The food on the boat was OK. Breakfast was very good, lunch was good but dinner needs to be improved. Dinner was often Chinese food though you could get a steak or chicken breast if you asked for it. The Chinese food was not "American Style" so if you are thinking PF Chang you will need an attitude adjustment! Ha! In fact all of us loved the trip but were disappointed in the dinners on the boat and at some of the showroom lunches......nothing was bad we just weren't used to the flavors. Our guide thought the meal we liked the least was the best one! Since we were there to experience China that was just part of the package!

 

The people working on the boat are all so friendly and nice. They work really hard to make sure that we all have a great time. I loved how they would be all lined up to greet us when we arrived back to the boat from our tours. The boat is super clean! The room attendants keep the rooms spotless and well stocked with whatever you require. Many of the employees love to talk to the English speaking customers to help improve their English. We were so impressed with their work ethic and positive attitude!

 

March 29 - Saturday

The Yangtze River is beautiful, surrounded by green and lush countryside. We stopped in the city of Fengdu and had a choice of going to the Snow Cave (cave with beautiful staligites and mites) or to the city of Fengdu and visit the New Town where the people have been relocated due to the rising water. Most people went to the cave and enjoyed the drive there (beautiful scenery) and the beauty of the cave. We went to the city and I really enjoyed the town tour. We watched a community group of people dance and sing and got to sing and dance with them. Then we went to their food market.....what an experience! They eat so many things that are foreign to us. Blood thickened and cut into squares, tripe, duck feet, penis, tongue, pig snout, whale blubber ........ you name it and it was there! We also went to a "shopping mall" where they had the typical stuff for sale. Jeans, clothes, household goods etc. Here we picked up some things to give to the children when we visited them at the Viking School. Just stuff like erasers, pencils, paper, etc.

 

We were back on the ship for lunch and then had a restful day cruising and playing cards with friends. That evening was the welcome reception. Hardly anyone dressed up for this. In fact, since we were only allowed to bring 44 pounds in our luggage there was very little dressing for dinner. We wore tennis shoes in the day with jeans or cotton pants and sweaters. Several days we wore long johns to keep warm with our heavy coats. As we moved south the weather warmed so by the time we arrived in Shanghai the weather was fairly warm and we didn't need our heavy coats anymore. In the evening we often wore black pants and black basic shoes with a sweater and a little jewelry. Some women dressed up a bit for dinner but those are the ones that know how to pack an overnight bag and look great for a week! I stuck to basic colors and managed fine. I did wear everything I brought from home and that is unusual for me, so pack carefully!

 

March 30th - Sunday

Wu Gorges and Lesser 3 Gorges. What beautiful scenery! After breakfast we boarded a smaller boat and cruised to the Lesser Three Gorges. It is so green and peaceful. We stopped for lunch at the covered Viking picnic area. When you get off the boat here there are people selling things and cooking food. Little quails on a stick and whole small fish on a stick.....gives new meaning to "fish sticks"! The picnic lunch is OK. The boat has fixed the food and brought it to the site before we arrive there so you don't have to worry about how the food was prepared. In the late afternoon we were back to the boat and continued sailing down the river. Around 9 PM we arrived at the locks. Unfortunately it was dark and we were unable to really see what was going on. We were very close to the walls of the lock and could actually touch the sides with our hands!

 

March 31 - Monday

We toured the Three Gorges dam in the morning which is quite a project. It will be completed in 2009 and then the river will be 75 meters higher than it is now. All the "new towns" that have been constructed are way up the sides of the hills and the old towns are being covered by the rising water. Most of the people seem to be happy with the new towns since they have newer and nicer housing in tall apartment building .... but I know some of them must be sad to see the homes that their families have lived in for many, many years destroyed. Many of these new apartments do not have elevators so the people must walk up 10 and 12 flights of stairs if they live at the top.

 

There is a good gift shop at the 3 Gorges dam ... check it out. This is also the stop that you want to get your Chinese jacket. They are not silk but are fun! Where the cruise boat is docked there are tons of people trying to sell things but we only had about 15 minutes to make our purchases and get back on the boat. We all got a jacket for $10 each and wore them to the Captains Dinner instead of paying $110 to have one made for us on the boat. Even the men bought black jackets with yellow designs and funny hats with pigtails ...... made great pictures and was lots of fun!

 

April 1 - Tuesday

We arrived in Jingzhou and took about an hour bus ride to the Viking River School. This was one of my favorite days! Here we got to see the country side and see how the people live outside of the cities. Many are poor and the sanitation isn't very good. The children at the school are darling and I could have taken 10 home with me. They put on a great show of singing and dancing and even brought some of us on stage to participate with them. Just melts your heart! Then they took us into their classrooms where we saw their text books and spoke a little English with them. A child will take your hand and take you to their desk, at this point you are putty in their hands! They have little gifts for us......marbles, pictures they have drawn, etc. This is when we gave them the little gifts that we brought. The classes are large to you will need to bring about 40. They love everything and I wish I would have known about this before hand so I could have brought some fun things from the US. I think they would have loved things with Disney on them or something that was typical of the USA. I stop at the 99 cent store or Big Lots before the trip would be a great place to find things. The kids loved to have their picture taken, we are sending copies to the school for them to have. Many people also gave a money gift to help with supplies, etc. It was a very fun day and we have tons of great pictures. Bring something for the kids ..... you will be so glad you did!

 

This is our last day on the boat and I was a little sad. That evening we had the good bye dinner and show. The crew members on the boat entertained us and it was a great show, very talented group of people! We all looked special in our $10 Chinese jackets! Before dinner they showed the CD of our cruise. The man who did it does a good job and since it is a small ship everyone is in the video!

 

April 2 - Wednesday

Wuhan/Shanghai: We left the ship at Wuhan and went to the museum where we heard the chimes and bells. It was a nice show and an interesting museum. Small gift shop ...... didn't buy anything. We went to the Wuhan airport and flew to Shanghai. About an hour flight. We were taken to a very nice Westin Hotel. We had a mini suite with living room and bedroom! The food was excellent and driving into Shanghai at night was special. New Shanghai is only about 15 years old and an architect's dream come true. The buildings are amazing ..... so many beautiful ones. The pearl building is unforgettable with it's round spheres all lit-up at night! There are 20,000 building over 20 stories high in Shanghai. It is said the city bird is the crane ... mechanical one that is! The New York City skyline is nothing compared to Shanghai! We had a yummy dinner in the hotel and went to bed. Another long day!

 

April 3 - Thursday

In the morning we went to the Bund and walked around for a while. The river is wide here and full of ships....a very busy port. We then went to the Shanghai Museum. The museum store is very good so be sure to save some time to look around. I purchased several things there. I was impressed with the quality and fair prices. I think you can feel safe that you are buying good quality things there. We had lunch at an embroidery factory where many people purchased pictures. Again feel free to bargain. My friends got great deals when they purchased several items. After lunch we went to the Yuyuan Garden. Several of us decided to skip the garden and shop at the large area next to the garden. Here is where I did most of my shopping since there was so little time to shop during the rest of the trip. There is a big store right over the bridge to the right and we all did pretty good there. I got a stone stamp with my English name and my Chinese name carved into it. At the top of the stamp was a pig since I was born in the year of the pig. Purchased several as gifts and paid about $25 each. Also got a Jade ring for my daughter and everyone purchased little pearl and sterling silver chain necklaces for $15 each. We all wished we would have gotten more of these necklaces as they make great gifts and were $30 on the boat at the pearl shop. (You can also bargain on the boat but go in when no one else is there for the best deals!) I did buy some pearls on the ship and I am not sure I got a great deal. I definitely recommend that you check out the price of pearls before you go on this trip to know if you are truly getting a good deal. I purchased a knockoff purse, watch and a silk duvet and cover in this shopping area. I also got some T-shirts as gifts and did all my last minute shopping. The prices were good but we didn't have much to compare them to since we hardly got to shop on this trip.....reminded me a great deal of the Holy Land cruise. Just so much to see and do that there wasn't time to shop.

 

Wish we would have had one more day in Shanghai. I would definitely like to go back there! It is a beautiful city with wonderful buildings and beautiful landscaping. The people here were the least friendly but our tour guide said the people of Shanghai are known for being snobs! That evening we had our farewell dinner at a nice restaurant and then went to the acrobat show which was amazing. The next day we went to the airport ...... another brand new beautiful airport that had only been open a few days. We had a good tail wind and the flight home only took 9 hours! Flight was full so no upgrading to Business Class.

 

It has taken us over a week to get back to normal. All of us kept waking up at 3:00 AM ready to boogie and falling asleep at noon.

 

Toilets: Almost everywhere we went there were western style toilets but the lines were long. Viking is really good at find clean and western style bathrooms! If you are able to, try using the Chinese style toilets. They were fairly clean and didn't have lines! Be sure and bring toilet paper in your purse .... few places have any. They don't often have paper towels to dry your hands or soap so bring hand cleaner. I like the wet wipes since the hand sanitizer seems to ball up in my hands when I rub them together .... yuk!

 

Never drink the water. The hotels and boat are very generous about giving you bottled water .... use it! Don't forget to use it to brush your teeth. No one got really sick in our group but we were all very careful. A few got mild diarrhea or stomach rumblings. I was expecting to get allergies etc. from the bad air but we were fortunate and the air was OK. I did visit our doctor before we left and got prescription antibiotics and anti-diarrhea medications just in case we needed them. A few people borrowed my diarrhea meds but that was it.

 

If I could do anything over again I would have skipped the tour day in Shanghai and just shopped. The day tour was good but I wanted to shop more and just never had enough time! I should have done more research and gone off on my own with other girlfriends and a husband or two. There are good buys in Shanghai but you need time to bargain. When you are bargaining never pay more than 50% of the asking price. Go really low and then work to the middle. They will never sell you something unless they are making money on it. Too bad our dollar is worth so little. When we started on our trip the exchange rate was 7.0 Yuan to 1 US dollar. When we left it was 6.7 and going down fast. Speaking of money. We brought about $1,000 US money and changed several hundred into Chinese money when we got there. We didn't spend all our cash and used some for tips etc. at the end of the trip. The few big ticket items we purchased we used our credit card.

 

One last thing. If you have trouble walking this trip will be challenging for you. Not only is there a fair amount of walking but the walking you do is often over uneven ground.

 

I hope the above information helps someone. I use Cruise Critic every time I take a trip and want to thank everyone who has written. Your comments and suggestion help to make all of our trips so much better!

[Lucky Granny]

Wow, csora, that was a wonderful account of your trip! I am glad to have so much shopping information as it was looking like we might not get to shop at all. Thanks for writing all that. I probably would never, on my own, consider skipping part of a tour, but I will definitely think about it now.

 

Mary Frances

[jandacruise]

Wow, great account. Did you get the Hepatitis A vaccine? I see that it is recommended, but not required. I'm not sure how many people are getting it for this particular tour.

[kim ogrady]

CSora, thanks for your post. We are leaving in just under 7 weeks, I'm starting to get excited. We're going the opposite way, Shanghai to Beijing. We purchased our own airfare and are arriving a day early, so we will have an extra day in Shanghai to shop.

 

Jandacruise, if you do any amount of traveling you should get the hep A, hep B and tetnus. It can't hurt. Last year when we traveled to Kenya we also got a polio booster. Before that we didn't even know you needed one. My feelings are better safe than sorry.

 

I also have a recommendation for getting your visas. I did not use the company Viking recommended. We needed 4 visas, which is pricey. I found a company on line and saved $50 a visa ( a total of $200, that can buy alot in Shanghai). The company's name is OASIS International Travel Corporation. It is located in Potomac, MD, just outside DC. I mailed my passports (something I hate doing) on Tuesday, April 8 and they were at my door Wednesday, April 16. I did pay about $3 extra for Fed Ex delivery. It took them just over a week. It was great. Their web site is http://www.oasischinavisa.com. So if you haven't applied for your visas yet I would check them out.

Kim

[arlenez]

DH and I both got Hep A and B shots and tetnus. We still need the 3rd dose of Hep B in July. My doctor was pleased to hear that we had the shots when I went for my checkup last month.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[MSEm]

We were on the longer Cultural Delights going from Shanghia to Beijing. We had 3 nights in Beijing. The second night was a dinner at a resturant (for tourist). Many in our group skipped the dinner and when to the Silk Market about 30 minutes after we returned to the hotel. I wish I had skipped the dinner. The poorest meal of all and nothing to see or do.

We also skipped the Chinese Opera. We went to the Silk Market on that night. Good pizza place on the 5th floor. Lots to see and possibity to buy. I bought scarves, a few watches. Some in the group did all of their Christmas shopping for their grandkids. It was fun to see what was for sale. We did buy a small bag for all of the goodies we bought, including the photo books of many of the places we visited.

 

Have a great trip.

Emily

[arlenez]

Hi:

 

To those of you who visited a school on the Imperial Jewels tour, I understand that the children perform for the group and then take you by the hand to their desk and present you with a gift. I have purchased a lot of gifts for the children, all made in the USA, but would it be appropriate to present the one child with a separate gift? I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

[coasters]

Arlenez,

We were asked to present all gifts to the teacher to be certain that each child would receive something.

Best to ask your guide if this policy has changed.

Jerry

[borabora4]

Now that the River is filling due to the Dam, is a river cruise not worth it since the Gorges might not be as dramatic as they once were?

[Dale]

Now that the River is filling due to the Dam, is a river cruise not worth it since the Gorges might not be as dramatic as they once were?

I’m sure for those of us that haven’t seen the gorges before, will think they are quite dramatic. Dam or no dam.

 

One more note. Would someone on the 5/30 Cultural Delights leave a light on for us, as we won't be arriving in Beijing until 9:40pm.

[Lady Meer]

One more note. Would someone on the 5/30 Cultural Delights leave a light on for us, as we won't be arriving in Beijing until 9:40pm.

 

Hi Dale will look out for your - hopefully we will still be awake after a 6 am arrival.

[borabora4]

I see you bought a life size Terra Cotta warrior. May I ask what you paid? What is it made of? And how did you have it shipped home?

[borabora4]

How do you declare your Designer fakes when clearing US Customs. Does US Customs ever questions these and want to inspect them and potentially confiscate them?

[SuziCruises]

We are leaving Monday for Imperial Jewels of China - Shanghai to Beijing. Thanks to all who have posted such good information. I don't think I've ever prepared as much for a trip in my life before! For those of you who have been... Did you take the VRC black ticket case with you? If so, did you use it to keep any valuables (passport, money, credit cards, etc.) It seems like that's what it's designed for, but in the interest of security, I don't think I'd wear it. What was your experience? Thanks!

 

Suzi

[dpump]

Didn't use ours at all. Saw others who rec'd umbrellas, bags, etc. Found ourselves looking longingly at much more useful items than a black document folder.

[MSEm]

We used 1 of the two we received. It was great to have the full schedule of our trip. I put copies of our flight schedule in the document case. Also we kept our passports, extra credit card and extra ATM card in the document case. I kept the document case in my small back pack (hands free for touring). The pack was great for storing umbrella, rain jacket and extra money. I had a very small purse for ready cash and 1 credit card.

I carried credit and ATM cards from 1 bank. My husband carried credit & ATM cards for a different bank.

 

Have a wonderful trip. Enjoy.

Emily

[MSEm]

Check with your USA carrier for the new Luggage policies. Most will allow you to check 2 pieces for luggage each weighting less than 50 lbs without addition charge for YOUR OVERSEAS flight. If you have flights to connect with your overseas flight, many airlines are allowing only 1 piece of luggage without additional charges.

Good Luck,

Emily

[Lucky Granny]

Have a wonderful time, Suzi, and be sure to post a report when you get back.

[Lucky Granny]

I am bumping this back up, Borabora, in hopes of an answer to your question. I would surely hate to have to give all my gifts to Customs! Do designer fakes have to be declared? and is there a chance they might be confiscated? :(