Just Back from Imperial Jewels and Shopper's Paradise

[jubilada]

First of all, thanks to all of the board members who helped us prepare for this wonderful journey. You really paved the way for a successful tour. A special thanks to Shirley Binder for the information on the guide for the Jewish Ghetto in Shanghai.

 

This Viking itinerary is strenuous and covers an amazing amount of territory.

(5 intra country flights!) Doing the reverse schedule allowed us to acclimate in Hong Kong, which is so Westernized, but still Chinese. We also gained an extra night on the Century Sky, which is a beautiful ship.

 

Our wonderful tour guide, Angela, was with us from beginning to end. Her English, like that of the local guides was excellent.

 

The hotels were very luxurious, but we were disappointed that our lodgings in Xi'an and Beijing were not centrally located.

 

Food was mostly good. Breakfasts satisfied every taste throughout, some family style Chinese meals did not suit Western tastes. Most meals on the Sky were excellent.

 

We feel that Viking provided a comprehensive overview of China and gave good value for the level of comfort we experienced.

 

I would be happy to answer any questions.

Tanya

[MrsGarden]

Hi Tanya,

 

We will be going on Viking's Cultural Delights in March of next year. We opted also for the Hong Kong extension. I notice there seems to be a lot of free time for us to explore and do what we want. Are there any specific things you would say are "must do's" for Hong Kong? Any restaurant suggestions?

 

Also, for anyone who has advice on this -- I know vaccinations are not required for the China trip but are there any shots that we should have as an extra protection? Did anyone get any vaccinations before they left? My DH found on the CDC site that some hepatitis shots are "suggested". We do plan to talk with our physicians about this before we go but I was interested to see if anyone has taken vaccinations before leaving.

 

And while I'm at it... I read on a post at one time that it is a good plan to have US $1's and $5's .. Is this a good idea and how much? Can we use USD in Hong Kong too?

 

Phew....lots of questions..

Thanks in advance for the usual good help and input I've gotten from this board! :)

 

Joyce

[DL111255]

We just returned from Imperial Jewels on the Century Sky (09/10/05) and yes bring lots of ones and fives. I had $250 in ones and the same amount in fives, could have used less fives though. The street vendors are numerous and are willing to bargain for everything! Even the stall venders at the venues are willing to bargain. We did not get any innoculations, however, we were in the Amazon last year so we were good from that trip. The trip was wonderful and the shopping too. Have a great time. Don't forget to bargain.

[MrsGarden]

Thanks, DL111255,

 

We were planning to take some US bills with us. How did you carry those "wads" of dollars with you??? My husband is a money belt fanatic.. so I am wondering if you took that amount of dollars by carrying it on you??? or in a wallet in a pocket or purse?? .. or??.. I would guess you got new bills from a bank to make the packets a bit more compact? Would appreciate some help on this because heaven knows I need to shop there!! :)

 

Joyce

[jubilada]

Hi Joyce!

 

I agree with DL. We didn't use many five's. The singles were great in the markets. My DH carried his in his money belt, I took some in my purse and then we kept a stash in an envelope that we left in the safes.

 

We did get hepatitis shots as per our Dr.'s recommendation.

 

We enjoyed the Jade Garden restaurant which is in the same building as the

Friendhship Department Store, across from the Star Ferry. There was another place that the concierge recommended arcross from the Kowloon Shangri-La. I don't recall the name. In addition, we had high tea at the Peninsula Hotel.

 

We really liked the inexpensive ride on the Star Ferry that goes from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. We visited the Soho area with its incredible outdoor escalators. We also appreciated the lovely Hong Kong Art Museum. The collections were great and so was the gift shop.

 

Hope this helps.

Tanya

[DL111255]

Yes, carring all those one's and five's was bulky, but I have a purse I use just for travel, made by Baggalini. It has a "secret" compartment in the back that I use to keep passports, money and travel documents. My DH also helped carry some.

The Viking brochure recommended changing US$ to yuan when arriving in China and I really was stressed over this. However, when we arrived our guide recommended only changing about $50, just in case we got seperated from our group and needed to take a taxi back to the hotel. Let me tell you we had trouble getting rid of it after. American money is accepted every place except in cabs. As a matter of fact the vendors wants American money, at the time of our trip the exchange rate was 8:1 US. We did end up using the yuan for a cab ride on the last day of our trip, we went on a shopping trip on our own as the rest of the group left early in the morning and we didn't leave until 9PM. Hope this helps.

[MrsGarden]

To Tanya and DL,

Thanks so very much for responding... After I posed that "how did you carry the wads of money" question, I was thinking it sounded sooooo dumb! But generally we take a few $50's and $100's and rely on credit card and debit/atm.. so I was amazed at thinking how the heck we would accomplish taking 400 or 500 bills!.. (without looking like my DH had some weird growth out of his waist!! LOL!)

But after some thought I realized we would have to split the bounty just as suggested!

And thanks for the restaurant suggestion.. sounds like a good plan!

 

Guess we will go with the vaccinations as our MD office told me via phone they have given "several" innoculations for Asia trips of late..and doctor suggested the hepatitis ones..

 

Our trip is still nearly 5 months away but wow wow.. excitement is building as this is far and away the most "exotic" trip we've ever planned!

 

Again to both of you... THANKS so much for your time and very helpful and kind responses!

 

Joyce

[jubilada]

Dear Joyce, you are most welcome. I know you will have a wonderful time. Just to let you know... Shirley Binder (SHIBIN@aol.com). Is happy to share some journals from other China/Viking cruises. I found reading those (one even has great photos) was very helpful.

 

Safe journey,

Tanya