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