Live Voyager Beijing to London

[OrpingtonT]

Thank you s2000drvr. I am really enjoying your posts, largely, I think, because of your very positive attitude to all around you.

[RachelG]

Glad you are having fun. Wish I was there for trivia! And for Petra!

[Gilly]

Me too, Rachel! It seems a long time ago that we left Voyager in Beijing. I'm really enjoying your posts s2000drvr, hope Petra is everything you imagine!

[s2000drvr]

The last few days have been extremely busy.

 

First the Petra and Wadi Rum excursion was about the best excursion we have ever been on in our cruising years. It was worth the 6:30a departure. The coach was extremely comfortable as we rode about 2 hours to Petra. We did both Petra and Wadi Rum the same day, 13 1/2 hours of excursion.

 

Once we got to Petra, we walked through a souk and then the main gate was at the end of the souk. The bad thing was it was all down hill to the Treasury meaning uphill for the return walk. The walk was on gravel, cobblestones, and then cement. The gorge was just beautiful as our guide explained the different carvings along the walls. If you did not want to walk, you could hire a horse for 7 or so minutes, or take a carriage pulled by a horse to the end where the Treasury was. We decided to walk as it was downhill and there was alot of shade.

 

The Treasury was just beautiful as the sun hit it and the different hues were shown. We were there very early and it was not as crowded as it did become. Our guide took us to the amphitheater which was another hike downhill. Downhill is slight, not a very steep decline.

 

We opted to walk back up to the restaurant where a buffet lunch was being served. It took Rich and I almost one hour to walk the entire way. Even though the incline was slight it was constant. We made it though.

 

The Treasury has been on our bucket list for a few years and we are so thrilled to have been able to see it. It was worth the walk.

 

Our next stop was Wadi Rum. This was a hoot of a tour. We were in the desert on 4x4's, 6 to a truck. There was a top over the back of the truck to protect us from the sun. It would have been fine if there was sun, but there was none. Instead we got pelted with rain!! We did not think ever we would have rain in the desert. We were soaked by the time we got to the Bedoin tents for our dinner. The rain soon let up, music was playing, wine was flowing.

 

They had three pits that were cooking part of our dinner, potatoes and lamb. There were long tables filled with salads, hummus, pita, chicken, etc. It was a beautiful display of huge bowls of different foods.

 

We took the 4x4's back to the coach and were soon on our way to our home-away-from home. We were lucky that we gained an hour as we were totally exhausted. This was by far the best excursion. I have not given you much of it here, as there was so much more to tell. It was worth the 13 1/2 hours.

 

More later.

[s2000drvr]

After doing the 13 1/2 hour excursion, we chose to do the 10 hour trip to Luxor the next day. This excursion was offered to those of us in transit. At least this tour started one hour later.

 

It was a 3 hour ride through the ever changing desert. From mountains to flatness and there was not much to see. Just arid and quite warm.

 

Our first stop was to the Temple of Karnack (not sure of spelling). Now it was quite hot and sunny and we toured an hour. Rich likes these types of tours so I just go along. It was impressive. Rich really enjoyed it.

 

We had a buffet lunch at the Sonesta Hotel which was very, very good. The last stop was the Temple of Luxor. This was quite small compared to Karnack. By this time it was hitting 104 degrees, little shade. I endured the talks and tried to take in most of what the guide was saying, but I was just too hot. Rich wandered around having a great time taking all his pictures and just enjoying himself. I was happy to get on the a/c bus.

 

Our guide told us about the Bedoin tribes and how they live. They marry within their tribes and can marry first cousins. They die relatively young about mid-60's. We did see a Bedoin lady on our trip home and she was out in the middle of the desert and we could not find any villages near her. Do not know what she was doing out there.

 

This was our only experience in Luxor and it is quite different from all the cities we have seen so far. There were many river boats tied to the piers with no passengers, traffic was very light, few buses. There was quite a bit of poverty around, buildings were only half finished, railway system not complete, highway uncompleted or having been washed away by flash floods. It was a depressed city. However, there were beautiful flowers and flowering bushes in the medians, green grass, beautiful trees. The Sonesta Hotel was lovely, but not busy. Definitely tourism is down here.

 

We are back in Aqaba, Jordan, today. We walked all around this busy place. The Jenna Spa is fantastic if you want your nails or pedi done. We walked from City Center back to the ship in under one hour. Took the shuttle in, but decided the exercise would do us good, especially in the heat of only 99 degrees!

 

More later.

[tallship]

Just catching up on this thread this morning. Loving your reports

[OrpingtonT]

After doing the 13 1/2 hour excursion, we chose to do the 10 hour trip to Luxor the next day. This excursion was offered to those of us in transit. At least this tour started one hour later.

 

It was a 3 hour ride through the ever changing desert. From mountains to flatness and there was not much to see. Just arid and quite warm.

 

Our first stop was to the Temple of Karnack (not sure of spelling). Now it was quite hot and sunny and we toured an hour. Rich likes these types of tours so I just go along. It was impressive. Rich really enjoyed it.

 

We had a buffet lunch at the Sonesta Hotel which was very, very good. The last stop was the Temple of Luxor. This was quite small compared to Karnack. By this time it was hitting 104 degrees, little shade. I endured the talks and tried to take in most of what the guide was saying, but I was just too hot. Rich wandered around having a great time taking all his pictures and just enjoying himself. I was happy to get on the a/c bus.

 

Our guide told us about the Bedoin tribes and how they live. They marry within their tribes and can marry first cousins. They die relatively young about mid-60's. We did see a Bedoin lady on our trip home and she was out in the middle of the desert and we could not find any villages near her. Do not know what she was doing out there.

 

This was our only experience in Luxor and it is quite different from all the cities we have seen so far. There were many river boats tied to the piers with no passengers, traffic was very light, few buses. There was quite a bit of poverty around, buildings were only half finished, railway system not complete, highway uncompleted or having been washed away by flash floods. It was a depressed city. However, there were beautiful flowers and flowering bushes in the medians, green grass, beautiful trees. The Sonesta Hotel was lovely, but not busy. Definitely tourism is down here.

 

We are back in Aqaba, Jordan, today. We walked all around this busy place. The Jenna Spa is fantastic if you want your nails or pedi done. We walked from City Center back to the ship in under one hour. Took the shuttle in, but decided the exercise would do us good, especially in the heat of only 99 degrees!

 

More later.

 

Wonderful. Sounds a superb day. I would love to do that. Thank you.

[msmole]

s2000drvr, thanks for your first hand reports.

[xrvlcruiser]

Do the people, horses and carriage all go though the same narrow area to get to the Library in Petra?

 

Loving your reports!

[Travelcat2]

At one point they are separated...... then everyone and everything is on the same path. Quite the adventure!

[TedC]

First time at Petra almost everyone was walking. We were fortunate to have a geologist with us who explained beautiful rock formations and colors.

[s2000drvr]

Do the people, horses and carriage all go though the same narrow area to get to the Library in Petra?

 

Loving your reports!

 

What TC said is correct. As you walk down, on your left is a path for the horses and carriages, but then that ends and you must both share the same walkway. You always had to listen for the carriages coming or going, to move over to the sides, but there was enough room as long as everyone moved over. Also, you had to look down occasionally so that you knew where you were stepping. The carriages move at a good clip, but not so fast as you would get run over, you just have to move over!

[RachelG]

Wow, loving hearing about your trip. I can't wait to do this, but must until our oldest son can go along.

[xrvlcruiser]

My husband and I were in a carriage both ways - more than 10 years ago - but seeing the walkers - many of whom were my friends - as we flew by, made me very nervous.

 

Anyway, Petra was fabulous.

 

S2000drvr, I'm enjoying your postings.

[s2000drvr]

We will be leaving Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt shortly. We took the shuttle into town. It was a quick ride in, about 15 minutes.

 

This is a lovely resort area, lots of hotels, set slightly back from the beach. There are named hotels: Sheraton, Hilton, Marriot, etc. There are many restaurants in front of the hotels, then there is the beach which is just full of loungers. The sand is quite coarse, so if you just had a pedi, beware that it is like sandpaper.

 

I did put my feet into the Red Sea, the water was very warm, and it was swarming with pinkish jellyfish. They were everywhere, in the water, on the sand.

 

There are many little shops to poke your head into. We decided to walk along a walkway to almost the end and enjoyed looking at the beach. There were not many people here. Maybe the tourism is down here as in Luxor.

 

The weather is the same, hot and dry. It was nice walking though and I did not mind the heat at all.

 

Tomorrow we will be transiting through the Suez Canal. Nice sea day before we start our many days of tours. It will be very hectic as we have some long tours in Israel.

 

More later.

[s2000drvr]

Enjoyed going through the Suez Canal. We were in a convoy of 15, and we were number 4. The different scenery on each side was dramatic at times. One side would be all desert, the other with greenery and buildings. We spent a lot of time on the balcony enjoying the scenery.

 

Yesterday was our first time in Israel. We took the Safed, Kibbutz Visit and the Golan Heights, about a 10 hour tour.

 

In Safed we walked through the artist colony and went into a few shops. From there we walked to a synagogue. It was very small and parts of it had survived an earthquake.

 

We ascended the Golan Heights and visited a Kibbutz which is a communal and had a delicious lunch there. It was buffet style and it was plentiful. We all had to take our trays to the kitchen and put everything in large baskets as the baskets went to the dishwasher. Everyone in the communal has chores and that one was ours. We learned about their life and how it is run. On their land was a Syrian bunker and we were allowed to go and check it out.

 

The scenery is breathtaking up on the Golan Heights. As we descended, it was almost a Mama-Mia ride, sharp S curves, and a very long way down. Would not want to take that ride down in wet weather.

 

The next stop was the Jordan River. People were getting baptized. They wore long white robes.

 

It was a long day. Our next excursion we had booked, we cancelled and instead will do a shorter tour.

 

The weather was sunny, a bit cool when we started, but quickly heated up.

 

More later.

[s2000drvr]

Today is our second day in Ashdod. The weather has beautiful skies and is sunny. A bit on the cooler side. But, remember we are use to the over 100 degree weather.

 

We took the Acre and the Crusaders' Kingdom. We are so glad that we took this tour. A great tour guide makes a huge difference and we got lucky. Too bad we did not have this guide yesterday.

 

We visited the old city of Acre. There was a large fort like structure with underground tunnels. These tunnels were quite a bit to maneuver if you are tall, like Rich and I. It was not like that all the way, only partly. The guide explained how one section of the tunnels was to move the gold off the ships that were anchored in the harbor into the fort. The people needed the gold for the crusaders to buy their supplies.

 

We walked along narrow ways where there was a fish market and a few other shopping stalls. From here we walked to the harbor.

 

From there we drove to see the Baha'i Gardens which was just beautiful along side a huge hill. I am not giving this tour justice, as it was a great tour, but made so by our guide.

 

Tomorrow we will be in Ashdod, Israel and we will be taking a walking tour.

 

More later.

[Maligator]

Got in on this report a little late, but I'm riveted. A dream trip, for sure.

[jklc123]

I look forward to each installment! Thanks for taking the time to share.

[s2000drvr]

Oops, in my post number 92, meant to say we are in our second day at Haifa, not Ashdod. Today we are in Ashdod and will be doing the 8 hour Jerusalem Old City walking tour.

[s2000drvr]

Yesterday was our Old Jerusalem Walking Tour, 8 hours of touring. We were first driven by many sites in Jerusalem before our walking tour began. On our way to the city we saw many farms filled with wheat, fruit trees. It was a nice scenic drive.

 

The walking tour began at the Jaffe gate that lead us to the church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church was very crowded. There was a second floor to the church and we went up the very narrow stairs. There were two different alters there.

 

We then walked the area that Jesus was said to have walked carrying the cross. We did this in reverse as we walked down the hill instead of up the hill. Our next walk was to the Wailing Wall. It was a bit crowded. Men entered on one side, the women the other side. You could leave a written note and put in in the wall, if you wished.

 

From there we went to the Kibbutz for a fantastic lunch. There was so much food, way too much to even do sample sizes. There was pot roast, chicken, many salads, fresh fruit, and desserts. They served wine, water or sodas. The hummus was the best and the pita was excellent, so fresh.

 

We viewed the city from Mt. Olives and just took in the spectacular view. It was a great excursion and our guide, Lydia was so knowledgeable.

 

More later.

[s2000drvr]

Today we are in Limassol, Cyprus. Our tour was the Kourion, Kolossi and Limassol Shopping.

 

It is much cooler in the mornings now and today it was very windy making it feel so much colder. We went to the Ancient Ruin of Kurion and was very interesting. There was an amphitheater which was probably built towards the end of the 2nd century BC. The main building had mosaic pictures that were in good shape. This area was known to have earthquakes so much of the buildings were destroyed.

 

Our next stop was to the Kolossi Castle. The views were fantastic on the top of the castle. Getting up the narrow staircase was worth the climb.

 

Went we arrived in Limassol we were shown around a bit in the downtown area. There was a bit of time for shopping. This tour was good as it was short in nature, 4 hours. I think that is about all we can handle at this time. The sun was shining, but we did see rain off in the distance.

 

I liked this part of Cyprus very much. There were many areas that were closed up due to the economy. As we walked along the streets of Limassol, there were many cafes and the smells were so inviting. If we had been able to be there longer, we would have stayed for lunch. We left port at 3p. Now we are on our way to Rhodes, Greece where we will see the Acropolis of Lindos.

 

More later.

[RachelG]

Enjoy Rhodes. It is one of our favorite ports and a great one for just walking around.

[Maligator]

Enjoy Rhodes. It is one of our favorite ports and a great one for just walking around.

 

Agreed. You can skip the aquarium at the far end of the island, though. But we enjoyed the stroll.

[WesW]

Thanks s2000drvr, your wonderful word pictures of Jerusalem and Greece bring back fond memories of our time there on the Voyager last April. Enjoy Rhodes and believe you get a nice Greek lunch with your Acropolis excursion if memory serves.