Imperial Jewels of China – Day 6 – Jingzhou – school and old wall

I woke up around 6.20 am and looked through our patio doors. The sun was just rising over the Yangtze River, it was so beautiful. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a couple of pictures.

Today we are mooring in Jingzhou where we will visit a school in the morning then this afternoon visit the old wall.

We dock just before 7 am so I watch the boat as it moors. Our balcony faces the port side so after breakfast we sit on the balcony watching the comings and going’s. Men are fishing on the bank, others just walking around.

Each day the staff give us a small booklet with has the latest news from home. We obviously get one on Britain which is a great idea.

Our bus is leaving at 9 am to take us to the school so we have plenty of time to sit and read before we need to leave.

We are just back from our school visit. I wasn’t sure what to to expect. When we arrived we were greeted by 100’s of children ranging from 6-12, all waving at us. They would come up and high 5 you.

We were treated to a little show where 3 groups of children performed different dances. We were then taken to see them in their classes.

Each child came and took one of our hands and asked us to sit in their seats. They are grade 2 children so haven’t learnt English yet. We tried to talk to them. My hubby was across the classroom from me and I could see about 4 children around him, fascinated by his camera and beard!

Many of the children board at the school while there parents work in Shanghai or Beijing. They only get to see them about once a year. The little girl with me was a boarder too. It broke my heart to think of her not going home to her parents each night.

Their grandparents would be playing a big part in their lives, but there is nothing like a mothers love and I’d imagine she must have missed her parents so much when first sent to school.

She was so cute. When I left she gave me a big hug and I can’t help but wonder if she is missing affection? I have nieces her age and I couldn’t imagine them not seeing their parents for long periods of time!

In China the parents devote all their money to make sure their children get the best education possible, so I can see why they have to board their children if they want to earn good money in the city for them, but it is still very emotional.

When you leave you can give a donation to the school which of course we did.

Now back on board I’m chilling on our balcony after another great lunch of prawns on toasted bread to start, pork ribs for main and green tea icecream for dessert. I mustn’t forget my glass of fizz!

When we returned to our cabin we had a lovely surprise. We have got friendly with another couple on the boat. They have a suite which also came with a bottle of champagne. As they don’t drink it, they had it sent to our room. I couldn’t believe how thoughtful they were. Hubby and I will certainly enjoy it, so thank you Joe and Kellie.

As I sit here on the balcony I notice a women on the bank. She is washing her laundry in the river. If you look at my photos above you will see how dirty the water is and I can’t help but wonder how clean she gets her clothes.

She first wets the item in the river then lays in on the bank where she takes what looks like soap and scrubs the items, first with her hands and then her feet. She takes a long time with each item before rinsing them in the river. It seems sad that this is her only way to wash her clothes.

I could sit here forever watching the world but I need to head to the bus again to go to the old wall.

It’s only a short trip but gave us an opportunity to visit the city walls and experience some of the locals selling fruit. It was nice just to walk around and see how they live. A man was carrying 2 buckets of water hanging then on either side of a plank of wood balanced on his shoulders. Little moped trucks were piled high with boxes or scrap metal etc.

The county really fascinates me.

We get back to boat around 4 pm so we have time to chill in our room catching up on the BBC news before we have to get ready for dinner. It’s a western menu tonight.

As I look out from the balcony there are now some men swimming. I give them a wave and they happily wave back. They swim over towards our boat for a closer look. Others are fishing. We decide to go up to the top deck for a walk and people watch more.

It was perfect timing as we were just setting off again down the river. We stayed a short while just soaking up the quietness and reflecting on their way of life. Eventually it was time to shower and change for dinner. But not before watching a he sunset.

Before dinner there is a briefing on what is happening tomorrow, as we travel through the 3 Gorges. I am expecting a huge change in the landscape tonight as we sail towards them.

After dinner there is a show where we will be shown different traditional dress. Sadly hubby has come down with a cold today so I’m not sure if he will make it.

We decide to go to get he shied after all and it’s good fun. The staff are dressed in an array of costumes and perform traditional dances for us. It’s all bright and colourful. A lovely end to another good day.

Imperial Jewels of China – Day 4 – Saying Goodbye To Shanghai

It was a bit of a lay in this morning. The alarm was set for 6.40 am. Today we leave the Westin hotel in Shanghai to go to the airport, to fly to Wuhan where we will board the Viking Emerald.

I’d packed most things last night so this morning I only had to shower and pack the toiletries into the case, ready to be collected at 7.30am.

We don’t leave the hotel until 10.45 am for a 1.25 pm flight, but Viking are sending our luggage ahead. We don’t see it now until we are on the boat!

After the cases are outside our door, we settle to have our last morning cup of tea in our room before heading to breakfast.

As we have scales in our bathroom hubby thought it would be good to get on them as see how much Our weight has changed in the last 5 days. We seem to have eaten so much I wasn’t sure I wanted to know! In for a penny, in for a pound, I got on them. I had stayed the same! Woo hoo I was so pleased. Then hubby got on. Drumroll please………….. he had lost 1.4 kg!! How on earth did he do that ? I was gutted! He is always lucky that he can eat and drink what he likes and not worry too much about it. That’s men for you ladies! I can put weight on just eating lettuce!

Talking of food, we then went down for our last breakfast in Shanghai. I’m sure the breakfasts for the rest of the trip are going to be just as good but in the meantime we savour the selection available to us.

We now have just under 2 hours before we leave for the airport so I relax on the chaise lounge in our room and catch up on @MYDIY on YouTube with Kathy. Today she is making scarecrow wreaths. They are so cute. I do enjoy watching her videos. The only challenge is in China you have to use a VPN to use your phone or iPad. It keeps cutting off, which frustrates me. I do finally get to watch it all though.

Right, it’s time to check out. We still have 2 weeks left of the holiday, but it’s still sad to be leaving Shanghai. We really have had a great time and our room has been so comfortable. The bath especially which is free standing and big enough to fit 2 people side by side! The boat will only have a shower but fingers crossed our rooms on Xion and Beijing will have baths too.

We are now on the bus to the airport. Terry is giving us an update on what will happen when we get to the airport. He is a character. He was telling us that when he sees phrases on movies he has to check it is suitable for tourists.

We arrive at the airport and are given our passports and boarding passes as well as our lunch boxes. Viking do make things so easy for you. All we have to do is go through security again.

We head to our boarding gate and all open our lunch boxes. It was supposed to be a club sandwich. When we all opened the bags there was a roar of laughter. Many of us instead of a club sandwich got something with a purple and orange layer! It tasted of butternut and yams. Hubby was lucky and got a club sandwich so kindly split it with me.

We were also given a banana and 2 madeleines which were nice. I was craving bananas so it was timely.

Our flight is boarded as I settle down. Hubby has taken the window seat again. The gentleman next to me has an awful habit of picking his nose. Not a little go by a full on rummage for most of the flight. To make it worse he was flicking it or wiping it on his table. I was literally heaving. I was desperately trying to not look, but it was so difficult. I was desperate to get off the flight.

There was some positives though. The air hostess noticed I was reading my book so put my light on for me. They also brought around water for us which I kept on my lap, not wanting to put anything in the seat pocket.

I did have a look at the duty free shopping magazine though. Now, I have to say I have never seen anything quite like it. When I first opened the magazine I came to knives, saucepans and kettles! If that wasn’t bizarre enough, I turned over and saw fridge, cooker and bikes! I couldn’t wait to see what their trolley looked like. Sadly I didn’t buy anything as my baggage allowance might have been exceeded!

The flight landed and thankfully the guy next to me rushed off so I was able to get my antibacterial wipes out without offending anyone !

As Viking were taking care of our luggage we just had to identify it so they could check everyone’s had arrived. As we left the airport Terry informed us that the sandwich issue was a mistake and had ordered us all a KFC to eat on the bus. That was a really thoughtful gesture and went down well with everyone.

Unlike UK KFC this wasn’t fried but marinated chinese style and was delicious.

Before going to the boat we did a detour to Hubei Museum where we first were treated to a traditional bell performance followed by a tour of one of the exhibitions.

The Bell performance was so relaxing I could have fallen asleep. I was so enchanted. The musicians and dancers were in traditional dress using old musical instruments, which were beautiful in themselves.

We were then given a private viewing of an exhibition of Marquis Yis. When he died, he had buried with him 13 girls and women whose ages ranged from 14 to 26. All were killed as human sacrifices. Within the tomb were musical instruments, food and wine vessels along with furniture. He believed in the afterlife, so all the items were placed in the 4 chambers for him. The women were to care for him and play him music. The tomb was discovered when some soldiers were trying to build their houses. It was really fascinating.

After the museum, we headed to the boat. As I got off the bus and I walked down the gang way I was so excited.

When on the boat we are greeted by the staff who take us to our stateroom and show us around. The staff are all very friendly and really want you to have a good experience.

The stateroom has a king size bed, sofa, coffee table, dresser and plenty of wardrobe space. On the balcony we have 2 more chairs.

The bathroom is basic with just a shower but I was over the moon when I saw they use l’octaine products. They had these on our previous cruise with them, and I have to say I do love them.

As it was after 7pm we went straight to dinner. Tonight was a western menu. You choose off a menu and as is Viking, they cater for all tastes.

I had ham and melon to start, salmon with new potatoes for main and sorbet to follow.

Alcohol is free during mealtimes so they keep you topped up with a drink of your choice. Mine was white wine.

The dining room is set out in tables of 8 so you get a good chance to meet and get to know the fellow passengers.

After dinner we have a briefing on floor 5 in the bar area so get ourselves a drink. Carey who took us to our room earlier serves us and he has already learnt our names, which I think is brilliant in such a small amount of time.

We are due to sail at 9.30 pm so hubby and I go onto the top deck. The buildings around us are lit up and change colour in unison. It is spectacular.

We sit on the desk for a while over a glass of wine, until the lights are now a distant memory.

We planned to have one last drink in the bar before bed, however we got talking to another couple and settled in for the rest of the night.

As we were outside of meal times you pay for your own drinks. We were recommended the drinks package. For £250 for both of us, we could have unlimited drinks. We decided this was a really good deal and signed up for it. I was even more glad I did it when I found out you could have fizz too.

Finally it was time for bed!

Imperial Jewels of China – Day 3 – Shanghai & Yoyuan Gardens, and so much more!

Another 6am wake up call today. This will be the theme of this trip I am sure. It is great to wake up and have a beautiful cup of Chinese tea, or two while getting ready. I am really a massive fan of it. I will definitely have to bring some home with me.

Today we are off to old Shanghai and Yoyuan Gardens but not before breakfast.

Chinese breakfasts are also a favourite part of the day. Hubby commented about how adventurous I am being with my food. I am determined to try new things each day. Today was pork stuffed dumplings. I also had to have my boiled eggs in tea, although I learnt today it also has Soy Sauce in it. I really need to try making them when I get home.

Today is also the first official day of the trip – Imperial Jewels of China. The last few days were an optional extension to the tour. Everyone will now have arrived, so it will be interesting to see what they are all like and where they are from. The people we have met so far are mainly American or Canadian, with only another couple from the UK.

I look around breakfast to get my first view. Most of the people here will be on the same trip, getting something to eat before we leave for our trip at 8 am.

We are a large group so for the rest of the trip we have been allocated our guide. We still have Terry who has been with us since we arrived which we are really pleased about.

We all meet in the hotel lobby where Terry checks the batteries to our voice boxes. These will be with us throughout the tour so we can always hear him. We were also given badges to write our names on. This is new as we didn’t do this on our last Viking trip. I’m so bad at names this will really help me.

The weather is awful. It is pouring with rain and a lot of today is outside. The hotel has provided umbrellas in our rooms which will certainly be needed today, plus we have our waterproof jackets.

We get on our bus and meet some people from the day in Suzhou and discuss what we all did yesterday. New arrivals were feeling tired after long flights the night before. I remember how tired I was and have been thankful for the extra days to help me adjust.

The first stop is a trip to old Shanghai. It only takes a short time on the bus. I have to say, from now on, I’m sorry but I won’t able to confirm the cost of the things we see, as Viking are excellent at including all tours in the price of the trip!

As we walk to the old town from the bus, it is still pouring with rain, but it doesn’t take away the beauty of what I saw. Traditional Chinese buildings surround us. It is surreal when I look up and see the top of my hotel roof from down here. I feel I’m in a completely different city.

I’ve learnt that in China it is as important to look up as it is to look straight ahead. There are so many hidden gems in the roof tops. Beautiful architecture including many carvings.

We walk through the old town to Yoyuan Gardens which dates back to the Ming Dynasty. Here it is really important to look up. Carvings of ancient warriors and dragons adorn the roof tops. The curves of the roof add to the beauty. It’s still raining but we still enjoy walking around some of five acres of gardens, through rockeries, pavilions and grottos. It is just so peaceful here.

We are then given some free time to explore the garden and old town more.

In a shop window a lady is making something which looked like a sweet dumpling. She saw us watching and smiled a beautiful smile before showing us what she was doing. Another thing I have found is that the Chinese are so friendly.

The rain hasn’t stopped so we are relieved when we head to our next destination – a silk carpet and embroidery workshop. I have to say, the silk embroidery absolutely blew me away. One piece in particular was of a leopard cub. See what you think :

It is absolutely stunning isn’t it.

A lady is sat showing you how they are made. Some take over 200 days to make. It is a great skill to be able to produce something like this. Plus what amazing eyesight they must have.

There were carpets too. Sadly whilst I’d have loved to bring a few back, they were not in our price range this time, but who knows, if we win the lottery we could be making a call!

From here it was time for lunch. In China, it’s not unusual for lunch to be served from 11.30 am.

We were told that lunch would be dim sum in a local restaurant just above the carpet and embroidery workshop. I wasn’t expecting much except a sample of a few dim sums, so when lunch arrived, I was blown away. It consisted of about 10 different dishes ranging from noodles, fried rice, egg plant, beef and chicken dishes to the dim sum itself. This was accompanied by a local Chinese beer.

If I’d have realised how much food was coming, I’d have cut back on breakfast. I know I could have said no to some of the dishes, but it smelt and looked so good. It tasted good too. This is the trouble with Viking, they give you the most amazing food everyday, you can’t help tucking in.

After lunch we visited the Shanghai Museum. Over 4 floors you can explore art and antiquities from over 5000 years. For us the statues were of most interest, but each floor was full of amazing things.

Can you believe that this is actually a pillow. I’m not sure I’d swap my feather ones for it today!

After the museum the tour should have ended with a trip to the bund. Due to the rain it was decided to delay this until tomorrow morning, so we all headed back to our hotel, arriving back at 3 pm.

As if we hadn’t eaten enough, dinner was to be served in the Crystal Garden Restaurant in the 5th floor. We decided to have a bottle of beer with dinner. The cost in the hotel is 58 Yuan which is about £7.25 for a 330 ml bottle. I didn’t see the wine list so can’t say how much it is.

I have been having wine in my room each evening while getting changed. A Chinese wine from the local store is about 42 yuan (£5.25) and has been really nice though.

After dinner we got back onto the bus to another hotel to visit the Shanghai Theatre, to see the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe. I was sort of expecting something like the Circus Du Soleil, however this was very different to that. We were not allowed to use photography during the 1 hour show so I can’t show you any pictures. What I can say is that that it was a really good night out. A lot of humour, audience participation (well for the unlucky ones that got plucked out of the audience) and some very talented performers. I would certainly recommend a visit.

We are now back in our hotel. Tomorrow we catch a flight from Shanghai to Wuhan where we will see our home for the next 8 days – Viking Emerald.

Viking are as efficient as ever. They already have our passports to check us in. We just need to leave our cases outside our hotel room door at 7.30 am tomorrow and the next time we will see them will be in our cabin.

When we arrive at the airport they will provide us with lunch boxes to keep us going until dinner too.

So it’s time to say good night for now and enjoy our last sleep in our amazing hotel room. I shall really miss it. Our time in Shanghai has been amazing and thank you to the staff at the Westin Hotel and the various Viking staff for making it so special. Terry will continue with us throughout.

Live every day like it’s your last!

In the last 10 days I’ve heard of 2 people we know who have passed away suddenly. One was a friend of my husbands and the other a young lady who works with us!

It is so sad to think that she tucked her young children up in bed, with her whole life before her, then never waking up!

As with my hubby and his friend, we have all been in shock!

My heart goes out to both families.

I like many others have really been reflecting on this.

The reality is that none of us know when our time will be up. No one has a date in their diary saying the exact date and time we are going to become ill or pass away suddenly.

As some of you know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. I was officially diagnosed the day after my 43rd birthday! I certainly never expected to have cancer at such a young age! Thankfully I’m all clear again now, although last week I had a horrible scare. I’m so grateful for the NHS and my private health care through work, as we only had to wait 24 hours to know if it had returned. Those few hours though were hell. I can’t begin to tell you everything that was going through my mind! What wasn’t was wishing I’d argued more, got angry more, had more money or a better car!

Im glad to say My cancer hadn’t returned, but again it highlighted how fragile life can be!

How many times have you fought over something so trivial that days later you can’t even remember what it was about? How often do you worry about silly things that don’t really matter?

Life is so precious we should be making the most of it!

Tell those dear to you how much you love them. Embrace life. Follow your dreams. But most importantly, don’t take anything for granted.

Have fun, be kind, laugh, love and be happy and grateful for what you do have! Focus on the positives.

Live today like it was your last.

Are you ready for Valentines Day?

I have to say, there is no excuse for anyone who travels along the road I take to work, to forget it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

There is a bright red sign reminding every car. It’s been there for a week, and is actually an advertisement for a florists! A very good marketing strategy.

I know many people feel that Valentine’s Day is just a gimmick to make money, but I really like it!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my hubby wasting money on over priced flowers or presents, but it is a great excuse to remind ourselves why we are together.

Life gets so busy these days, so it’s nice to take time out together. Valentine’s Day is a perfect excuse for that. Again, I’m not talking expensive restaurants, a takeaway or a meal in the local pub is absolutely fine too!

It’s about spending a few quality hours together over a meal cooked by someone else, and sharing a bottle of wine or fizz together.

I treasure my life with my hubby. I really enjoy his company (most of the time ha ha !!). So will we be doing anything tomorrow? We certainly will.

I have booked a table at our local pub – The Kings Head. https://bit.ly/2ti1dYy. It’s a nice pub and after its forthcoming refit, will be even better.

At the moment, it’s nothing amazingly fancy, but it will be good food, good wine and even more important, good company.

We will spend the evening together talking. Probably planning where we will go if we won the lottery, or what we would like to buy if we had an open purse, or just telling jokes. The important thing is, we won’t be distracted from each other.

Since getting married, we have made sure we take a night away, or just a meal out every few months. It gives us time together, and stops us taking each other for granted.

We work together and live together, which you would think means we are together 24/7. Reality is, we don’t. We both work full time, when we get home, there are jobs to be done and we both like time out separately to enjoy our hobbies! If you ask my hubby, he will include cleaning as one of mine! For the record, that’s not true!! Although it is satisfying when the house is clean and the washing and ironing done, but don’t tell him that!!

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, to just have some quality hours together, oh and someone else cook my dinner!

I have a bottle of Slimline Fizz on chill too, to enjoy before we go out and when we come home. With work the next day, I know by drinking that, I am guaranteed not to have a hangover!!

So if you have that someone special in your life, why not use tomorrow to show them how important they are to you.

Remember, it’s not about how much you spend in money, it’s about the quality of time together!

Whatever you do tomorrow have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

The Curse of Strictly!

Ok, is it me, or is this curse just a modern way of covering up 2 people whose relationships are in trouble, spend time with someone else, then act on it?

You may say I’m looking at it all too simply, but lets look at the facts!

I used to do a lot of Salsa dancing. I loved it. I even went on Salsa holidays, which were not holidays in the sense you know it. From the time you woke up to early evening, it was Salsa/Latin classes. A quick dinner, shower and change before we headed off to a club for the evening, to yes, you guessed it, dance Salsa until the early hours of the morning.

I suppose the main difference for me, was that you danced with a variety of men during the week. The whole point was to dance with as many different people, of different levels, to improve your dancing.

When I met my husband, I stopped dancing. Not because he asked me to. He was happy for me to continue, as he knew how much I loved it. It was because I didn’t feel comfortable going out each weekend, dancing very intimately with other men. I don’t mean intimately in a sexual way, but Salsa/Latin dances, do require you to be very close to your partner. Especially my favourite dance – the Batchata!

If my hubby had come with me, it would have been different, but if anyone knows him, even watching it, would be his worst nightmare!

So going back to the curse!

These celebrities are spending around 7 hours a day, for around 4 months with each other! Of course they are going to get close. Who wouldn’t? But is it a curse that will kill their relationships? I don’t believe so!

Lets look at who has been allegedly struck by the curse in the past:-

Kevin Clifton & Louis Rednap (2016)
Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice(2015)
Ben Cohen & Kristina Rihanoff (2013)
Rachel Riley & Pasha Kovalev (2013)
Matt Di Angelo & Flavia Cacace (2010)
Joe Calzaghe & Kristina Rihanoff (2009
Natasha Kaplinsky & Brendan Cole (2004)

Strictly 2018 is no different with Seann Walsh and his dance partner Katya Jones taking the spotlight for more than their dancing, and more recently, and probably not so high profile, it is said that Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell are now intimate.

So it is the curse of strictly?

In my opinion no!

There are more couples out there dancing the same hours, with the same intimacy, who don’t go on to have affairs or relationships.

Anton De Beke has been there from the beginning. I’ve danced with him outside of the show, and believe me, he has massive charisma. A firm bum and is not bad looking! So why has he not been struck down with the curse?

Why have others not been either?

For me its simple! They are in a good strong relationship or good place in their lives. Ok, in Anton’s defence, some of his earlier dance partners were certainly not his or anyones type! But with beauties like Ruth Langsford, he could have been tempted, but he wasn’t, and neither was she!

I firmly believe, it isn’t a curse. Its 2 people, who do have an attraction. It may be infatuation, brought on by the time they are spending together, but they would only act on it, if they had cracks in their own relationships.

If either of them were in solid relationships, this ‘curse’ wouldn’t happen.

The sad thing is, that due to the heavy schedule, instead of trying to fix their own relationships, they embark on these affairs. Why they think they are going to get away with it, heaven knows. Cameras are going to follow them everywhere!

I would rather they had a honest conversation with their partners before entering the show. If either have doubts, and they think they have something to save, they shouldn’t go into it.

No amount of money can replace a good relationship!

You might not get the call from Strictly, but before embarking on a 1 night stand, or an affair, ask yourself why you are doing it? Is it worth losing what you have?

If the relationship is truly over, end it. Don’t have the affair and hurt others by along he way.

There is no curse, just bad choices!