Viking China

[Koda]

We were told that Viking's schedule in ‘08 starts in January with 2 month hiatus for Olympics (no, I don’t know which two) plus they will start 2008 cruising in January rather than April.

WIT

 

We have signed up for Roof of the World leaving Beijing on Oct 6, 2008. They do have tours during the Olympics -- for the German market. We chose to go just after the Olympics. Figured they will have their new buildings complete (although Spain was still under construction for the Olympics in Barcelona!), and there will be fewer people. My husband originally wanted to go to the Olympics, I said too many people.

 

We don't go for over a year. Anyone else signed up that far in advance? Viking just posted their 2008 dates.

 

I've enjoyed reading all the posts here. It's given me a lot of info for when we finally go.

 

Kelley

[coasters]

Jennifer:

Glad you had a good time.....

What is size 43 in US sizes? Do the Chinese use "European" sizes?

 

What's the current exchange rate? (So how much is 80 yuan?) I plan on getting more up to speed on this when Sept rolls around, as I'm sure it will change between now & then.

 

Felicia

Felicia,

Perhaps this clothing size conversion chart might help you and anyone else looking for the same information.

(searched Google)

http://www.chinadirectstore.com/size_chart.htm

Jerry

[Osnab]

Felecia,

Perhaps this clothing size chart might help.

(searched Google)

http://www.chinadirectstore.com/size_chart.htm

Jerry

 

Yes, that helped. Thanks.

Also, I wanted you to know I have printed out your journal and plan to read it on the plane next weekend. (I have a short trip planned.) It looks like you've included a lot of details, which I love.

Felicia

[Osnab]

Jennifer...thanks for the tip about the free drinks and snacks at the St.Regis! Would not have known about that. My brother and I are also starting in Shanghai and ending in Beijing and are happy to hear you "saved the best for last" which is what we had planned. Five weeks and counting!

Dorothy

 

Yes, Jennifer, thank you. I made a note in my "China" file so I wouldn't forget.

Dorothy, I'm very envious that you have only 5 weeks. That's the worst part, though, close enough to just about taste it, but too far away to do much more planning.

Felicia

[Osnab]

Check your local times to be sure, but "Anthony Bourdain-China" is going to air on the Travel Channel on May 14 (I think from 9P-10P Central time) and again on May 15 (12midnight-1:00A, again Central time.)

 

I'm going to record it, so if anyone misses it and wants to see it, I'll be happy to mail them the VCR tape.

Felicia

[coasters]

Felicia,

please forgive spelling errors in the journal ... my wife tells me there are many...

perhaps due to my mini laptop keyboard.

Thanks

Jerry

[twototravel]

Thanks to the last group of travelers for all their comments. We leave in two weeks on the 27th of May taking the Shanghai - Beijing route. Can't wait. Suitcases are out and we are gathering clothes, etc. We are expecting very warm, humid weather so packing should be easy. Finding out that the ship provides ponchos for sudden rain showers during the Yangtzee portion was helpful. I'll be sure to post our impressions upon return.

 

One note to all the avid photographers. Go to the Costco website and look under their Photo section. They have a great deal with My Publisher that allows you to download the software at a special rate and then buy the product. You can publish all those beautiful China pictures in a bound book. You design the pages (number of photos, captions, colors, etc) and then a few weeks later a hard back book arrives perfect for keeping or giving as gifts. You don't have to be a member of Costco to particiate.

 

Cathy & Peter

[coasters]

Hi, just made some updates and corrected most spelling errors ...(I think)

Hope those of you who are planning on Viking River Tour will find the information helpful.

I tried to cover everything we did and all of the unresolved questions I had seen asked on this site before we left on the April 11, 2007 pkg. plus the Guilin & Hong Kong extension..

Enjoy

http://glevitz.com/ebayimages/vikingjournal.htm

Jerry

__________________

[travelsfun]

Looks like you will be back shortly before we leave on June 16 for Imperial Jewels. Would appreciate any last-minute tips and information on the trip. And, yes, we know it's going to be hot and humid! Please try to post when you get home. Thanks, and have a wonderful time.

 

Dorothy

[how]

Anyone see "fake Rolex" hawkers? No one seemed to mention watches.

 

How

[coasters]

Anyone see "fake Rolex" hawkers? No one seemed to mention watches.

 

How

Every street corner, every time and place that the tour bus stops..you will be offered fake Rolex.

Prices range from 3.00 to 15.00 (USD) depends on how many times you say no thanks or "boo yaw" (I don't need it).

Jerry

[cmthomas]

The quality is shown by the bottom line price that they will accept. The ones for $3-5 may still be running when you get them home but not much longer. However, the ones for $10-15 can go for a year or two.

 

Like Jerry said, you won't need to find them - they will find you over and over and over! We bought ours at a market stall in Shanghai where the seller was very frank about the difference in quality. Of course it didn't hurt that we had a Chinese speaking friend who lives in Shanghai with us!

 

Just keep in mind that they are nothing more than novelty items and you won't be disappointed.

 

Clarence:)

[couchking]

You can buy these on the streets of New York. No need to go to China to buy them.

Larry

[how]

You can buy these on the streets of New York. No need to go to China to buy them.

Larry

 

Thanks Larry... I have bought many on the streets of New York, but being in Seattle, i's almost as easy going to China from here!

 

I still have a couple I bought over 10 years ago, believe it or not...but most break within a year or two.

 

How

[WIT]

How do you stay healthy in China? Want to do more than making sure you hear every water bottle-top ‘click’ as you open it? For starters, what makes you sick on the boat probably entered your body on the long flight over. How can you improve your odds on the plane? Here are some suggestions:

 

Start taking Airborne a few days early, then twice on the 13+ hour flight over.

 

Hydrate on the plane. It will give you an excuse to stretch your legs more often. You should also keep your eyes and sinuses (primary virus transmission sites) moist with eye drops and saline nasal spray.

 

Consider changing what you choose to touch. Faucets, the knob on the airplane bathroom door, arm rests, the food tray, - almost any surface you would like to grab to steady yourself is already contaminated with microbes that perhaps have never before visited your intestinal system. If you touch all the above items with the heel of your hand rather than your fingertips your odds of staying healthy go way up since it is the fingertips that usually touch your eyes, nose, or mouth - easy transmission areas. The alternative would be to wipe all likely surfaces with antibacterial wipes.

 

The following apply to China generally .

 

If you can’t keep your fingertips away from your contact areas, there is always 60% alcohol hand sanitizer like Purell. It also helps dry damp hands after washing in local (aka contaminated) water in the restaurant washrooms you will encounter on the tour. Use it after touching the bathroom exit door. You will not find paper towels, but sometimes a hot air blower.

 

Since we are talking about bathrooms, sometimes on the tour the hotel bathroom that our group visited had a very clean white porcelain hole in the floor for your convenience. Bring whatever hygiene items you think would help. Dark skirts are worth considering.

 

Water in China, even in the nice hotels and on the boat, is not potable. You can shower and probably shave with tap water, but drinking it or brushing your teeth with it will make you sick. The boat and each hotel will provide each room/cabin with two plastic bottles of water daily. Your bus driver will always have safe water for sale - usually two for $1. Bring small disposable paper cups to facilitate each morning in the bathroom.

 

If you are determined to eat on the street - order tea with the meal. Not to drink. Instead, you should place all your eating utensils in the bowl and pour the boiling hot water over them. Eating utensils washed in tepid water look just like sterile ones.

 

Finally, bring Cipro, just in case.

 

We did most of the above (never ate on the street) and had no digestive distress at all.

 

I've uploaded some captioned photos of Xian and Chongqing to my webalbum at

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/billwitowski

 

WIT

[Miss Priss]

Thanks again to all of you for taking time to do the posts. I'm jotting everything down so when the time comes, I'll be prepared. Still 3 1/2 months away. Keep the reports coming! Marian

[carolat]

WIT,

 

Re: digestive distress. I was EXTREMELY careful on our 4-22 Viking Cruise, however I was one of the victims of "digestive distress". Have traveled to many parts of the world including a number of third world countries, and this was my third time for such illness.

 

Luckily, I was prepared and my CIPRO did the trick -- Although I was looking for 5 star bathrooms for a few days, I didn't miss any of the trip to speak of (except for dinner a couple of nights.

 

The reason I am writing about this is to reinforce that everyone must take their own "personal pharmacy". The vast majority of travellers will not have any problems, but for those who do, the appropriate drugs can make a huge difference, as they did for me and a few others on our trip.

 

 

Carol

[WIT]

WIT,

 

Re: digestive distress. I was EXTREMELY careful on our 4-22 Viking Cruise, however I was one of the victims of "digestive distress". Have traveled to many parts of the world including a number of third world countries, and this was my third time for such illness.

 

Luckily, I was prepared and my CIPRO did the trick -- Although I was looking for 5 star bathrooms for a few days, I didn't miss any of the trip to speak of (except for dinner a couple of nights.

 

The reason I am writing about this is to reinforce that everyone must take their own "personal pharmacy". The vast majority of travellers will not have any problems, but for those who do, the appropriate drugs can make a huge difference, as they did for me and a few others on our trip.

 

 

Carol

Carol - I'm glad to hear you were well prepared and I admire your willingness to 'get back on the horse', figuratively. You are absolutely right - everyone should bring a well-packed med kit including Cipro.

WIT

[WIT]

I've added a video clip to my Xian/Chongqing webalbum showing the closing (dancing during the rain)scene of the Tang Dynasty performance in Xian. The sounds bring it all back.

 

I've organized photos relating to the Viking Century Sun, Yangtze River, and Three Gorges into a new album. It ends with a clip from the VCS recording firecrackers on shore - we learned later probably for a wedding celebration. Must have been a 1st marriage since it was in the morining. (all 2nds in Northern China are in the afternoon) Both are at:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/billwitowski

 

WIT

[coasters]

I've added a video clip to my Xian/Chongqing webalbum showing the closing (dancing during the rain)scene of the Tang Dynasty performance in Xian. The sounds bring it all back.

 

I've organized photos relating to the Viking Century Sun, Yangtze River, and Three Gorges into a new album. It ends with a clip from the VCS recording firecrackers on shore - we learned later probably for a wedding celebration. Must have been a 1st marriage since it was in the morining. (all 2nds in Northern China are in the afternoon) Both are at:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/billwitowski

 

WIT

Wit, thanks for the updated posted album.

Sure does bring back wonderful memories of our Viking China trip./

Jerry

[WIT]

China requires foreign businesses to have some sort of partner in China and Viking assists two Primary schools. We (the 4/11 Cultural Delights tour) visited the one in Jingzhou. Education is clearly the method by which China plans to hurdle past countries who progress more slowly. We saw 4th grade classes using parenthetic expressions (pre-Algebra). China today has more English speakers than the US.

 

The Jingzhou portion of my Fengdu-Jingzhou-Jingdezhen webalbum ends with a video clip of the Viking School kids performing.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/billwitowski

 

WIT

[WIT]

Check your local times to be sure, but "Anthony Bourdain-China" is going to air on the Travel Channel on May 14 (I think from 9P-10P Central time) and again on May 15 (12midnight-1:00A, again Central time.)

 

I'm going to record it, so if anyone misses it and wants to see it, I'll be happy to mail them the VCR tape.

Felicia

I enjoy Bourdain's irreverent approach to travel and particularly liked his China version of 'No Reservations' when it aired earlier this year. I don't think I would eat street food like he does unless your trip allows extra time for the 'porcelain throne' (his words during the show). His hotpot meal was my favorite.

WIT

[travelsfun]

WIT...Did you find it necessary to use masks for your mouth and nose due to the extreme pollution I read about? I haven't seen anything about this on the board. Thanks...

Dorothy

[cmthomas]

I found a very interesting article in the news about the wearing of face masks. Basically it said that they were of no use whatsoever. A typical surgical face mask that you see is designed to filter the wearer's breath as they exhale. This is useful in an operating room environment. It just doesn't work in the other direction as there is no seal between the mask and the face and the particles are so fine that they will easily get around the mask as you inhale.

 

This makes sense when you consider that people working in environments where such protection is needed wear respirators that seal around the nose and mouth. They are very cumbersome and hot and would probably alarm anyone who saw a group of people wearing them!

 

So, like many things, if it makes you feel safer then by all means wear one but don't expect it to really filter out anything. If it did it would be black on the outside and when is the last time that you saw anyone wearing one that showed anything on the outside?

 

Clarence:)

[WIT]

WIT...Did you find it necessary to use masks for your mouth and nose due to the extreme pollution I read about? I haven't seen anything about this on the board. Thanks...

Dorothy

Dorothy - The only folks we saw with masks were the occcasional bike or scooter rider and every single public employee cleaning the roadside. Here is one we saw on our way to the Great Wall from my Beijing webalbum:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/billwitowski/BeijingApril07VikingCulturalDelights/photo#5066656713171053954

 

I agree with Clarence - a mask that was actually effective would soon be covered with whatever it filtered, and I never saw a dirty mask.

 

My spouse has asthma and used her inhaler when she expected bad air quality. We had no trouble with steps anywhere or getting around but we did notice that we tired more quickly. You will find stick people (our guide's term for bearers) wherever there are more than a few steps who will carry you to the top for a few dollars. They did a lively business at Fengdu with its 160 steps.

 

WIT