Busan (Pusan) Korea

March 1 is Independence Day in Korea. We walked the streets, fish market, the Central Park , a temple..... The people are very friendly. It is a very nice country. Bus an is the third largest seaport in the world!

Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven

The Forbidden City was built in the early 1400's for the Chinese Emperors only. It really has NOT changed much since 1420 or 1985 when we were here last. We saw huge condos and industrial complexes built in the suburbs but not in the city center....or maybe the smog made it difficult to see? It was a nice visit today....even had some snow in shady parts.

I have more pictures on my blog. Http://travelingyoungs.blogspot.com

The sea days are slow for me..now going from China to Korea and Japan. Looking forward to coming back to sunny California next week. Too much food too... Getting weighted down.

Dalian, China

Dalian is a port that has been part of Russia as well as China.

We spent the rest of our Chinese yuan on dried yak meat jerky, a brown jade bracelet, nuts, booze and a $7 walking stick. Not many speak English and they seem attracted to tourists. The weather is in 30's and 40's, but we did a walk about.

We are hoping for wifi in Korea. China monitors email and prevents Facebook .

I am getting tired of 4 course meals with unlimited desserts.... And the knowledge that I will need to work on losing the weight of two cruises since my broken hip after the trans Atlantic prevented me from going to the gym. Life is good.... We can walk for several hours around town before our knees start aching in the cold.... Feeling our age.

More pictures on our blog.. Http://travelingyoungs.blogspot.xom

Shanghai skyline

I do not remember this modern city skyline from 1985. New towers, global spheres, wonderful city lights as our ship pulled out at night. This is a beautiful city...and does not seem too crowded...good pedestrian streets and efficient subway.

Statues in Shanghai

Notice the public art is strong... Mao ... And modern......

Ms Volemdam...our ship

Our Holland American ship holds about 1450 passengers, but only has about a thousand now... A little too cold to be popular. We left Shanghai a couple days ago on way to Beijing. Sea days are a little boring for me, but we did see academy award nominee movie Argo and lots of entertainment . I finally went to gym and hip felt good on elliptical. Papa has a cold...from walking all over Shanghai.

Tomorrow we arrive at China's 3rd largest city after Beijng and Shanghai. Wanna guess it's name? The next day we have 12 hour tour to Beijing to see major sights and how much it has changed since we saw it in 1985.

China sights

Atticus,
There are lots of decorations for Chinese New Years . It is cold so motorcycles have built in hand Warner's. this is the year of the snake. You were born the year of the rooster.
Love, Grandma and Papa

Shanghai

The Bund is the walk along the water....Europeans developed it. There are a few temples nestled among the skyscrapers. We saw the pure jade reclining Buddha. There are lots of "year of the snake " decorations all over the place.
Hal and I walked for 11 hours. Got tickets to the Shanghai acrobatic show $25 compared to ship tour price of $55.
We have a much better impression than when we were here in 1985
The people treat us well....on guy bought our metro ticket for us. It is pretty easy to get around.
I did a little shopping ...bargain down to half their original price. Got a hand carved chop for Atticus to stamp his name on all of his paintings.


Our second day will include a museum,, People's square, and a stop by the Apple store with free wifi to sent out this update. I am going to dress even warmer tomorrow with high of 42 degrees.

First day on China sea

24 hours at sea....and already lots of food...delicious food with even a kitchen with cooking classes from the chefs. I am learning and doing Tai Chi too.
Yesterday we boarded the ship and then sailed through the Hong Kong Harbor. Today, we sailed between mainland China and Taiwan . The seas are rough. Hal is seasick...lost his lunch...and now under a blanket in bed. I am hanging in there but not assuming that Hal will take me to the formal dinner in an hour....champagne toast and all. We both now have put the sea sick ear patches on and are rocking and rolling. I guess this is all part of the adventure.

Laser show

We saw the laser show from the other side of the bay tonight. Papa andI rode on the top deck of a double decker bus today all over the Hong Kong side of the bay. On the shopping street, we saw Wonder Woman, this guy and the older lady was a famous movie from China.

Here are the laser show pictures you asked for. We are at McDonald's because they let me use wifi if I buy an ice cream cone..only 40 cents here. We will take a ferry back to our hotel soon....only 25 cents for senior citizens. Love Grandma