Sapphire Princess SE Asia

[ExBC]

We are booked on this cruise for October 26, 2006. Any info on the ports would be very much appreciated.

Beijing-Nagasaki-Okinawa-Shanghai-Taipei-Hong Kong-Nha Trang, Viet Nam-Ho Chi Ming city-Singapore-Bangkok. We are taking a 3 night post cruise package in Bangkok, staying at the Shangra La Hotel.

[lois1112]

I will be sailing on her right after you, from Bangkok to Beijing! So I'll be watching this post too!

Did you read the review of Asia on this board. Lots of wonderful information!

[ethelvinfl]

Ditto i will be watching for your trip report about the various ports and the pre and post hotels.

 

Regards,

Ethel in FL;)

[patlanta]

You'll enjoy the Shangri-La and the post cruise package. A few remembrances to pass along: Dinner at the Shangri-La was especially nice on the patio along the waterfront; at the time there was no need for reservations. Pictures of The Golden Buddha turned out best with no flash, otherwise it looked too yellow. If your camera or your software has the capability, take panoramic pictures at the Grand Palace, especially in a corner facing a corner of the temple--so, so much gold. Try the banannas covered in sticky rice and fried in coconut oil, a yummy treat.

 

Enjoy your cruise. The itinerary is an enjoyable one.

[raringtogo]

HI ExBC

we were on the Diamond Princess Christmas/New Years cruise and we used a really excellent tour company in Vietnam- this is their e-mail. They also have an office in San Francisco. All e-mails are answered promptly and they are very professional. I arranged a group of 20 and it was quite easy to do. viet@indochinatravel.com

hope this helps. btw we had a wonderful day in HCM.

Rather than take the long (very long) drive into bangkok, we had a group of ten of us went to the Pattaya Elephant Park. This was the absolute highlight of the trip and I can highly recommend it.

[hoppy2]

While in Bangkok, you should definitely dine at Prachak. It's a very short walk from the Shangri-La. Take a right when you get to Charoen Krung (New Road). It's across the street before you get to Robinson shopping center.

[golferdude63]

My first time using cruise critic! We are on Sapphire cruise on Oct. 26. Looking forward to chatting with others - Holiday Inn Central Plaza was recommended so we are staying there in Beijing. Plan to take taxis to see sights. What is best way to get from airport to hotel since the hotel doesn't have shuttle?

[jonmacks]

My wife and I will also be on the Sapphire Princess for the Oct. 26th departure. We are traveling with a number of couples we have previously cruised with, including our travel agents who are former neighbors. We hope to stay at the Shangri-La for two nights. Then we plan to stop in Tokyo on the way back and spend 7 days in Japan.

[Smiles3usa]

I thought that each of the ports on the Beijing to Bangkok cruise was exciting and interesting. We didn't take any of the ships tours during the cruise, but took several arranged by different members of our CC roll call group. One that I particularly enjoyed was the indepependent excursion that CC member Thuyronald arranged for some members of our roll call in Nha Trang. On our rollcall thread, Thuyronald indicated that she made arrangements for the tour through Albert from New Orient Tour (I note that there is a web site called new orient tour (without spaces) dot com.) Since I did not make the arrangements, I cannot comment further on how they were made. However, I do know that this excursion is something for a group rather than an independent traveller or two. Do note that the tour cost $37 per couple--and Princess was charging $49 per person for a similar tour that didn't include the magnificent lunch.

 

Nha Trang was a tender port. After tendering in (BTW, our group was on the first tender in--ahead of the Princess groups--but I don't know how that was arranged, I just showed up when and where I was told to :) ), we walked a short walk up a hill to what I would best describe as an aquarium. We had a tour of the facilities--it is a rather good size and includes a complex of buildings--including good commentary by the tour folks. From there we got on the bus and headed to Po Nagar Cham Tower (Thap Ba) - a Hindu site dating back to the 2nd century AD. Here, in addition to the site, the bus met many "aggressive" vendors who choose to crowd the bus and follow us around (BTW--almost everything is $1.00US). The water at the top of the hill--where the site is was $1.00 and was most welcome as it was VERY hot.

 

After visiting this site we again took a bus to the Long Son pagoda where we saw the giant seated buddha and lying buddha on the hill behind the pagoda. BTW, at both of these sites we ran into many Princess cruise excursion passengers.

 

From here, we took what seemed a long bus ride to a local restaurant that was on the water. The ride was fabulous, as it was off the beaten path and gave a glimpse into the "normal" life away from the tourist attractions in Nha Trang. I doubt that we would have found this local restaurant on our own. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the restaurant--but it was REALLY nice. First, the seating is outdoors, on the waterfront. The food was served family style. (I didn't eat the fish with the eyes still on it--LOL) There were several local dishes and I, who usually prefers "normal" stuff, enjoyed quite a bit of the meal and skipped the parts that seemed too adventurous. BTW, our group was joined by a separate group who asked questions from Thuyronald during our rollcall. We were the only ones there--and there was tons and tons and tons of food.

 

After the meal, we again boarded the bus--which by the way was larger than the Beijing buses and air conditioned--and headed to Cho Dam market. Some of our group (including me and hubby) got off at the market, others in the group went to the beach. While at the market, we looked around at several things, used the internet cafe ($1.00 for 5 hours--lol) and shopped some more. At approximately 4:00 pm, the bus came back to the market to pick us up to return to the port. Do note that the bus did not take us into the port--only Princess buses were allowed into the port--but it dropped us off at the gate to the port, which was only a short walk away from the tender to the ship. BTW, I used the opportunity of being dropped off at the gate to explore the many shops up and down the street. There is also a post office for stamps and post cards on this street.

 

It was a rather long and interesting day. It's a independent group excursion that I would highly recommend.

 

Let me know if you would like a write-up of any of the other ports.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[KLLund]

Let me know if you would like a write-up of any of the other ports.!

 

I would love to hear what you have to say about Nagasaki and Shanghai... we will getting off when the Oct 26th people get on. Thank you in advance

[Smiles3usa]

Kllund,

 

Will post on the shore excurisons in both Nagasaki and Shanghai. I have sent off a few emails to some of my rollcall mates from last year to help with the details for our Shanghai tour. As I recall the second half of the day in Shanghai was a independent excursion that was arranged with only a few days' notice because our cruise departure time was moved back to 11:00 pm from 7 pm. (We were not going to do a tour because there was insufficient time, however, when Princess gave us 4 more hours in Shanghai, several of our rollcall group decided to participate in a 1/2 day tour). When I get the additional info, I will be sure to post on our Shanghai experience. Here's what I remember of the Nagasaki port:

 

We docked in Nagasaki rather early in the morning. Shortly after departing the ship (after the Princess photographer took passengers' pictures with the Geisha girls) there was an outdoor table set up to sell one-day tram passes. The cost I believe was either 500 yen or $5.00US each. Unfortunately, this part was disorganized as there were only 2 people trying to serve 3,000 pushing and shoving folks. [For those interested, a copy of the Nagasaki streetcar tram map may be found here: http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~chikyu/intro_e/trammap.htm. Further, for those who want to plan their time in the port of Nagasaki on their own, this site shows a few walking/tram tours: http://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/naisnet/en/ ]

 

Anyway, we had decided to do this port independently (Note, I had contacted the goodwill ambassadors to try to arrange a guide for a group of us at the port. Unfortunately, there were no guides available because others had reserved them in advance. If you are interested, email napia@nia.or.jp and let them know you want to utilize a good will guide during your port visit. Generally, you pay for the guide's transportation--the tram ticket, and lunch, but there is no fee). Nonetheless, several from our rollcall decided to stay together for the port duration. After getting our tram passes we exited the port and the tram station was right across the street. Unfortunately, the trams were packed like sardines...with many more folks waiting to board them too. So, our group had the bright idea to walk a bit further down the street and catch the tram before the others boarded! Guess what? It worked and was very nice too!

 

We took the tram to the Peace Memorial Park. This was near ground zero where the second nucleur bomb was dropped. It is a very interesting place. There were memorials, sent from different countries, as well as some created in Japan. Lots of origami paper flowers left at several of the different places. There are plaques near almost every major structure or tree informing you of the significance of the pieces. Here, we also met lots of Japanese school children who wanted to practice their english on us.

 

From the Peace park we walked over to the Atomic Park Museum. This place is awe inspiriing, and a must see. There is info on the history of the dropping of the bomb, the after effects, the cries for peace (not too much on the war in general, mind you). Anyway, it was very educational and interesting...and thought provoking too. It is a rather large place. One thing that struck me was the number of school children there. There were so very many, and each school it seems has a different uniform. All the children wore very nice school uniforms. There are also alot of Princess Excursion passengers at the museum. (This place is so easy to get to alone that I am not sure why folks bothered with a Princess excursion).

 

From the Atomic Park Museum we took the tram downtown to look in the shopping areas and to have lunch. The shopping "mall" was huge, with several small stores and alleys. We looked in lots of stores, but I don't remember buying anything downtown (I may have to amend this, as hubby isn't around right now for me to ask).

 

I am not sure if we took the tram to Glover Gardens or not. I had read so much about it that I am not sure if I am remembering my reading or actually visiting the place now. I do remember stopping in a 7-11 somewhere to get a snack as we waited for a tram. I got what I thought was a nice can of grape soda. Turns out it was a very sticky sweet (and strong) wine.

 

Anyway, we did take the tram back towards the pier. We didn't get off at the pier, but near it. There is a street that goes up a hill near the pier that has several small shops. We loitered here for a bit. I remember buying a nice japanese jug of saki here--the "jug" is beautiful. Lots and lots of souvenirs here--and post cards and such. We picked up several.

 

We walked back to the ship. There were several taxi cabs waiting right outside the port. There was also a show being put on --on the pier--by school children. We watched a bit, it was quite interesting. Oh, and the post office is right outside where the ship docks too. We dropped off our post cards there before reboarding the ship.

 

All in all, it was a good day. The weather was nice and comfortable, the pace was relaxed and enjoyable. The only thing that bothers me thinking back is that I cannot remember what we had for lunch. I remember that I had reservations at a restaurant that I was not able to make because we were late leaving the museum, but I don't remember what I ate. That tells me that we did not have too good a meal, I love regalling folks with talk of the various restaurants.

 

Hope folks enjoy Nagasaki!

[Smiles3usa]

As promised, here is my port review for Shanghai. Because the excursion was arranged at the last minute, I did not have a great recall of it. Thanks to Cruisinlivin, Thuyronald (cc roll call mates) and hubby for refreshing my memory of the port stop.

 

We were scheduled to be in Shanghai on a Thursday from 7 am till 6 pm. Because there was so little time to see the sites, and there was a long shuttle ride into town (and because I wanted to do some major shopping :) ) hubby and I opted not to take either the Princess excursion, or the one being planned by some members of our cc group. However, a couple days beforehand (and I am not sure when) we were informed that we would be in Shanghai until 11 pm that evening. During one of our cc get together someone asked if folks would be interested in doing a ½ day excursion in Shanghai since we had more time. Many of the group agreed and arrangements were quickly made.

 

We arrived in Shanghai as scheduled. Unfortunately, we were between 1 and 1½ hours outside of the city in a container port (the time difference is attributable to the heavy traffic—I think we made it into the city in about 45 minutes, and it took about a hour and a quarter to return to the ship). Consequently, the only means to the city were either the Princess shuttle at $10/pp each way or a Princess excursion. Neither private buses nor taxis were allowed inside the pier. Further, folks were prohibited from walking from the ship to the pier gate (you would not want to anyway—it’s a long way). Our plan was to be on our own in the am and meet with the group in the afternoon for the excursion.

 

There were many shuttle buses right at the pier when we got off the ship. As each filled up, it went into the city. The ride into Shanghai was uneventful. The bus was air conditioned and comfortable. While on the bus we were given a xeroxed sheet of sayings in English and Chinese. The sheet proved very useful when using a taxi—none of the taxi drivers we encountered spoke English, but all understood where we wanted to go just by pointing to our little piece of paper. The only bad part was that the sheet had been copied so many times that it was a bit hard to read for the taxi drivers.

 

The shuttle dropped us off at the Julong Handicraft and Silk Exhibition Hall. From here we crossed the street and got a taxi (which we shared with others from our roll call) to the Xiangyang Market. I have never seen ANY place like that before. It is a very large market, with numerous stalls that basically sell either fake name brand stuff or seconds or overstock of the same name brand stuff. The market had lots of North Face, Nike, Rolex, Gucci, Prada, etc. Lots of purses, brief cases, clothes, watches, DVDs, CDs, you name it, it was there. (I understand that China has closed the market in an attempt to cleanse its image before the 2008 Olympic games; I also understand that similar type places are popping up in Shanghai). The vendors each try to out do the others to get your attention. Well, we spent about 3 hours in this place before taking a break for lunch.

 

One of the reasons I had not wanted to go on a planned excursion in Shanghai was because I wanted to eat at a restaurant on the Bund that a couple of my colleagues had spoken highly of. Well, I missed that restaurant in order to be able to continue shopping. Consequently, we walked out of the market place and crossed the street to a McDonalds for lunch. None of workers spoke English—except one Manager who corrected our lunch order; we basically pointed to the signs to get our lunch. There were several Chinese fast food restaurants in the area, but my hubby was having none of them. Similarly, there appeared to be 2 or 3 nice sit down places, but I wanted to continue shopping. After a quick bite, we shopped a little more and I bought some luggage to carry our bounty back to the ship.

 

We took a taxi back to the exhibition hall to meet with our group. Since we had a little time once back at the hall, I explored it a bit. Basically, the hall contained a lot of fashions that were not name brand and that were highly priced compared to the market from which we had come. So we didn’t buy anything inside. Outside, we met a couple folks selling Mont Blanc pens for $1.00. What a laugh. I bought a couple just for fun—good thing cause they were not worth $1.00—they ran and basically were not useable for writing. Live and learn, I guess.

 

Anyway, our bus for the private excursion picked us up at the exhibition hall. From there we went to the Jade Buddha Temple - the temple is famed for its exquisite and priceless white jade Buddha, brought from Burma in the late 19th century by a Chinese monk. The place was rather large and interesting. While there, our group was treated to a “tea party.” In a small “store” of sorts, we were introduced to numerous Chinese teas that are used to treat different types of ailments (e.g., upset stomachs, rashes, some to help you sleep, etc). I think we tried 10-12 different teas. A guide explained the benefits of each tea and made a pot of each for us to sample. Some were really quite good. Of course the teas were for sell after the party at quite a high price for China (ok, yes I did buy a few too—I really liked a couple.)

 

From the Jade Buddha Temple, we boarded the bus and drove through old town Shanghai to the Yu Gardens. This was a classic Ming Dynasty garden featuring more than 30 halls and pavilions. What was most memorable to me was the lake with all the beautiful red fish. We took a lot of pictures here.

 

After we left the Yu Gardens, we went to the foot of a TV tower where we boarded an evening cruise. We cruised around the harbor for about an hour and a half. It was fascinating seeing the city all lit up. I was awestruck by how huge the city was. This place made NYC seem like a ‘lil hick town. It was a bit chilly on the water—and I wished I had brought a sweater or jacket.

 

After the evening cruise, we rode around to see the Bund and some surrounding areas. (We were giving some commentary by the tour folks who spoke rather good English). At the conclusion of our drive around, we went back to the Exhibition Hall to catch the Princess shuttle to the ship.

 

I don’t remember when the last Princess shuttle was, but we took one of the later ones. I do remember that we had late dinner (8:00) and we did not make it back in time for it. We saw quite a bit of Shanghai—the harbor cruise really lets you see the enormity of the city. It was an exhilarating and exhausting day. It’s a city I’d like to return to one day.

 

BTW, Kllund, I believe your cruise has an overnight in Shanghai. I remember reading on one of the rollcall threads that one couple stayed overnight in Shanghai rather than take the shuttle both ways and enjoyed their stay in the city immensely. There is oh so much to see.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Mapu]

Thanks for your info on Shanghai. It is the only place where I have read about a Princess Shuttle ( for minimal cost) into Shanghai. I thought we were going to have to sign up for the Shanghai Sampler tour to get us into the city and back.

[KLLund]

Thank You Sooooooo much ... Your information on all three cities has been illuminating to say the least ... I just re-aranged excursions ..

 

Gotta love these boards

[cruisecruzer]

Hi Smiles3usa,

 

You're info on Nakasaki is great! Can you tell me more about the shopping there? You mentioned that there is a huge shopping mall ....is that on the red or black line on your map?

 

Also, from looking at the map, the city looks like I can probably roam around on my own without having to sign up for Princess' excursion. Am I safe to assume that?

[Smiles3usa]

Hi cruisecruzer,

 

We caught the red line to the "mall." I use the term mall loosely inasmuch as where we went it was not an enclosed area of stores, rather it was a bunch of small stores, close together like a mall, but not in one central building. And yes, Nagasaki is an easy city to get around on your own. The trams are very easy to follow and they take you all over the city. As far as shopping goes, Shanghai was certainly preferrable to Nagasaki . The shopping I did do was very near the pier.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[KLLund]

Smiles

 

 

What time of year did you go and what was the weather like ... thanks

[cruisecruzer]

Hi cruisecruzer,

 

We caught the red line to the "mall." I use the term mall loosely inasmuch as where we went it was not an enclosed area of stores, rather it was a bunch of small stores, close together like a mall, but not in one central building. And yes, Nagasaki is an easy city to get around on your own. The trams are very easy to follow and they take you all over the city. As far as shopping goes, Shanghai was certainly preferrable to Nagasaki . The shopping I did do was very near the pier.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Hi Smile3usa,

 

Thank you for the info! You lit a lightbulb in my head...I should have thought about staying one night in Shanghai cuz it makes sense. Why waste the time going back to ship where I can stay in Shanghai and enjoy the beautiful city, the fabulous food and not to mention the shopping?

 

I was there last October on a land tour and didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted so this will be great.

 

Thanks again!

 

Ann

[cruisecruzer]

Smiles

 

 

What time of year did you go and what was the weather like ... thanks

Hi,

 

The weather in October can be brisk so bring a light jacket and umbrella.

 

I was there last October on a land tour and while we were at the Bund it started raining and thank goodness we had our umbrellas.

 

Ann

[jonmacks]

Dear Smiles,

 

In your post, you mentioned that the Princess Shuttle "dropped us off at the Julong Handicraft and Silk Exhibition Hall." I could not find this Hall on my map of Shanghai. What is it near? I am thinking of arranging a private tour and will need to tell my guide where to pick us up.

[cruzcation]

Dear Smiles,

 

In your post, you mentioned that the Princess Shuttle "dropped us off at the Julong Handicraft and Silk Exhibition Hall." I could not find this Hall on my map of Shanghai. What is it near? I am thinking of arranging a private tour and will need to tell my guide where to pick us up.

 

My understanding is that it is adjacent to Peoples Square, Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Grand Theater.

[stingraynz]

The location where the Princess shuttle drops off and pick up is also called the Silk Exhibitions Hall at 190 Dagu Road (Dagu Lu).

 

It is a very tiny side street about a 5 minute walk from the People's Square and all that stuff.

[Spikesgirl]

We just returned and it would be so great to do this trip again as 'the first time'. We were on the Pacific, so we didn't tender into anything. In Hong Kong, we docked at a four story mall (to the left of the Star Ferry terminal). All the excursions wer did was through the ship, mostly because I am a Nervous Nelly when it comes to getting back to the ship on time and this way i can relax and enjoy myself. It is true that you can do much of this trip on your own, but I loved the flaovr we got from each one of our guides. All were locals and all were desperately 'selling' their country. I found the separation between classes in Vietnam a little disquieting - there is such a large gap between the 'haves' and 'haves-not'.

 

If you do go out on your own in Hong Kong (public transportation is really easy to deal with. We took the subway, public bus and cabs with no trouble) or in Shanghai, be prepared for the traffic. We've been all over the place and had never seen traffic like this. We had a nine-hour tour and most of this time was spent in traffic travelling around in a ten block radius. Be very mindful of when you need to get back to your ship. It's also helpful if you carry a slip of paper that has the dock and your ship's name in the local script. Many people speak a little bit of English, so don't count on being able to explain yourself, espeically if time is ruuning short. Also, strike a price beforehand.

 

In Saigon, do be mindful of the bike traffic. The tourist board has put monitors on the busiest of street corners to help you cross. This may sound weird, but we were told that over 7,000 pedestrians were killed each year due to bike accidents.

 

Many people on board our ship had a real problem with the Museum in Nagasaki. We had a very abbreviated trip due to Typhoon Kaimai and didn't get there. The ones that did were very troubled at how Americans were portrayed. I'm not saying not to go, just be aware, especially if you lose someone in the war. Our adopted Japanese son was very embarassed and kept apologizing to everyone. We understood what was being done and why, but a lot of the passengers on the ship were really angry about it.

 

In Shanghai we thought the Wu Garden was too crowded to give off the 'peaceful respose' attributed to it. It dumped you out into the Market, where our guide warned us not to follow anyone into a back room. We made jokes about being Shanghai'd, which she didn't understand. There were many bargains to be had here if you like to haggle. We truly enjoyed the Shanghai Museum the most during this stop. The fourth floor (I think) had incredible scrolls and artwork not to be believe and my DH loved the mask display on the top floor

 

We really enjoyed out time in Bangkok. We stayed at the Four Seasons and thoroughly enjoyed the hotel and the surrounding areas. it was close to the "L" and there were taxis all over the place. I was especially fond of the pink and green ones. The Princess representative in the hotel fixed us up with a driver. If you go to Nong Nooch, make sure we make time for the gardens. We were rushed through so that we could see the cultural show. I'd have rathered stay in the gardens.

 

Have to say though, our favorite stop was Beijing and we would go back there in a minute. Just the flavor of the city was intoxicating beyond words. Walking the streets, make sure you check out the book stores, was too fun. Umm, drivers don't pay much mind to traffic lights and pedestrians don't pay much mind to cars, so just watching the tango that man and machine danced was entertaining.

 

Oh, one more suggestion. Bring a lot of ones and fives. US currency was accepted nearly everywhere we went, except Stanley Market in Shanghai. We took $100 each in ones and fives and didn't come back with any. They were esepcially good for small purchases and tips. This was the best advice we got befor the trip.

 

As I said before, I'm envious. Have an incredible cruise...

 

Charlie

[golferdude63]

Charlie,

I loved your posting today - what do you suggest for our first night in Beijing? We are staying at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza - we have a tour planned for next few days with friends. Used china highlights.com. How much money on Chinese currency should we bring as well as dollars? My tour books say not to tip in mainland China but that's hard to believe. Thank you for your info. Are you on the Sapphire Princess out of Beijing on Oct. 26?

Mona

[Spikesgirl]

It took me a bit to find your hotel, but suddenly there it was. You're a little bit from where we were. I'm going to assume that your tour will hit all the big places, such as T Square, Forbidden City(heads up here, the place is huge! Three miles if you walk straight across. Take an umbrella for either rain or shade and good sturdy shoes as the paving is very rough.). When we were there, the city was renovating the Summer Palace and so we ended up at Ming's Tomb. This was okay, mostly because we were really tired. It did have squished penny machines -my cat sitter collects them - and really clean bathroom.

 

Are you doing Beijng to Bangkok or the other way? If it's your first night in the city, I would suggest just wandering around the area and kipping in early. CITS arranged all our tours in Beijing and they wupped my fanny with their pace. Did thoroughly enjoy their services though. If this is your first night in the city, but not on the tour, I would recommend taking a taxi (or bus if you're adventureous) to Wangfujing. This is a pedestrian only street that specializes in just about everything. You can go for the inexpensive souvenirs or the top-of-the-line goods here. We went here for the bookstore, the largest English bookstore in the city) and ended up at The Outback for dinner - after 28 days, we were seriously craving some 'back home' food. It was located at the Raffles Beijing hotel, second floor.

 

Do be warned, you might be huslted when you're on Wangfujing. We had serveral people approach us with "Are you Americans?" and then try to sell us something. One girl tried to convince us that we should be her very gifted sister through art school. As long as you know what's going on, it's okay, but some of them can be pretty sly. Also, my DH was offered 'services' three times there. You would think, being there with your other half would prevent such offers, but it didn't. Oh well...

 

On the money front, it's going to depend upon how long you are in Beijing as to how much money you convert. We started with $200 in Shanghai, then I did another $100 in Beijing. Chris just converted all the money he'd been carrying from Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, etc. We exchanged what we didn't spend at the airport. Probably didn't get the best rate, but wanted to get rid of it before the trip home...he also hit the shops at the airport. As for regular money, we brought along $100 in one and another is fives and used them all. This was reallly good for walking around money. Any really big purchases we used our cards for. Stuff is really pretty inexpensive, I think the rate was about 8 USD to 1 yuen. you can barter just about anywhere except the Friendship Store.

 

Just for the record, we didn't bring any currency other than USD. We exchanged money on the ship or when we went on shore. Nearly every place we went took USD with the exception of an ice cream store in Stanley Park - which just happened to be next door to a money exchange stand.

 

If you're going there to the Friendship Store, just remember where you got stuff. There are about fifty departments and they will take your item and hold it for you, giving you a receipt. When you're ready to leave, a main cashier totals you up and you pay, getting back duplicate receipts. Then you have to go back to the person you originally dealt with to get your bag. If you mass shop here like we did, this can get really interesting. Thankfully, a kind employee took pity on us and helped us out.

 

We tipped everyone in China and no one refused it. A couple of times we were told that the tipping had been taken care of, but we had one bellman that went above and beyond and wanted to do something for him. Tips aren't necessarily required, but we wanted to, so we did. If you take an organized tour, then you should tip both the giude and the bus driver.

 

Hope that helped a little. If you'd like more details, you can always send me an e mail at ckirby@deltacollege.edu.

 

Cheers and sail safe,

 

Charlie