Our trip down the Yangtze River begins in Qingdao where the ship docked on 10/16. For some reasons Noreen and I had to report to the Chinese customs officials who came onboard for individual attention. Other passengers getting off the ship for over nights just got their passports and left. It may have been because we were flying deeper into China or would be gone for several days. I personally think they were concerned about Noreen’s impact on the country. Anyway, it took us about thirty minutes to get cleared. But there was a good side. A customs official offered to have his driver take us to the airport. The problem was that we ended up being rushed and I forgot several of our support documents. This was to have a bigger impact when all our travel and backup plans fell apart and we couldn’t get back to the ship….but more on that later.
Qingdao is a moderate size city with a large naval presence. Here are some pictures around town and naval vessels from our ship and as we drove to the airport.
There were seven subs docked across from our ship.
A VIP arrival ceremony on naval ship.
Chinese coast Guard.
This lady was just sitting at her window, fanning herself and watching the world go by. Not to different from all over the world.
This architecture is seen in all the major cities throughout China.
High-rise/apartment living with laundry hanging out is the norm.
The Qingdao airport
Our first restaurant meal on the local economy.
Eating French Fries with chop sticks.
In tourist heavy places they mark western facilities' in the restrooms. If there are any.
But if you want to go local. In many places we went this was the only option. Yoga practice helps.
This is a drinking fountain. It only dispenses boiling water for making tea and instant meals. The Chinese buy containers of just add hot water for a meal as we do sandwiches.
Boarding our first flight; Shandong Airlines.
A bit hard to figure out where we were. It was run in English now and then. Smaller seats then in western carriers but we had a good meal and a pleasant flight.
We arrived in Chongqing after dark, were met by our local guide and driver and whisked off to the Century Sky. Chongqing city and surrounding area has a population of 32 million people.
A quick interior tour of our ship. Our cabin was larger than standard. There were six of these “mini-suites” on the ship. Not sure why we got upgraded. It was bigger than our cabin on the Amsterdam.
Western toilet; OH JOY!!
This is our room “work area.” It may look a bit off. The deck was higher in the center and slopped to the side. The furniture is square so on the slopping floor it looked crooked. Interesting effect.
Around the ship
Bar and show area
Top deck indoor observation area.
External top deck observation area. Note the weather; it was overcast and foggy the entire trip with occasional rain showers.
Our captain and senior crew. The guy on the right is “Jack” our cruise director. It is Captain, Chief Engineer, Reception manager, Hotel manager, and I never did figure out who the last guy was.
A double fisted Cruiser--Noreen with her Amsterdam and her Century Sky Cabin keys.
Our dinner table and companions. The assigned sitting put non-Chinese speakers together. We had two Israelis, two New Zealanders, two Canadianss and another American couple at our table.
Commercial photo of us walking off the ship. Each stop had these long pier walks. You can see the weather.
The following are river scenes from our entire trip along the Yangtez. I’m doing it this way rather than jump back and forth between the river and stops. If the pictures appear dark and gray it is because it was overcast and foggy.
There were many pagodas along the river.
River Pagoda
We saw many of these individual or a few homes located along the river.
Looking down river. We sailed down river.
The cloud deck was often lower than the mountain tops.
A ship like ours going upstream.
End of part one. We’ll start making stops in part two.
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