A China Journal / Part I / Shanghai to Nanjing

10/20 - Monday Home - Chicago - Shanghai

We checked our packing, did the final departure checks to the house, and drove to Quality Inn O'Hare in company of our grandson Theodore, who had been with us for the previous four days, and reunited him with his Daddy. I think both were extremely happy to see the other. The hotel was very decent and a good Park, Sleep &Fly bargain, so it's a good candidate for a repeat performance. We ate dinner at a Spaghetti Factory across the street, and actually found a crosswalk close by we could use and not become road kill.
Up around 0500 without much sleep after 0300. Showered and checked out, had the QI breakfast, which was predictable for a hotel with a total bill under $100 (including the extra parking days). We had reserved the shuttle to ORD at 0700, which left on time, and by the time we picked up two more people at a Super 8, it was full.
Check-in and security at ORD went very smoothly, and we camped near our gate waiting for plane time. Plane boarded on time, and was obviously going to be very full. Had the usual display of behavior from people who believe they're not going to get a seat- boarding pass with seat number to the contrary notwithstanding. Took off right on time at 1034.
United did a better job on this flight than our last one, but the flight duration itself made it something very like torture.....and we had purchased the "Economy Plus" seats at $560 for both of us, round trip. Not to denigrate the upgraded seats, because it was a big improvement over the "sarcophagus" model in regular Economy. I have concluded that the only improvement to airline seating I'm interested in is to be containerized in baggage with sedation, IV, O2 & catheter lines.....just wake me when it's over.

10/21 - Wednesday - Chicago O'Hare (ORD) - Shanghai Pudong (PVG) / (Tuesday lost due to passage IDL; will "get it back" on return)

Landed at PVG (Shanghai Pudong) earlier than predicted, somewhere a little under 14 hours. Going through Chinese immigration, quarantine & customs was no problem. They had an infrared scanner operating just after emerging into the immigration area so the rumors about H1N1 flu screening evidently are credible. Customs was not in the least concerned about what might be in our bags. The few officials that were there were more interested in talking to one another than in anything we might be carrying. I suspect big groups of tourists coming through invite little attention.
The Viking River Cruises people were right in the area outside customs, waving signs and flags, so no one would miss them. Our luggage was tagged and we were given our room keys, the luggage to appear and disappear magically through the next three weeks. This is a very nice feature of VRC. There was about an hour of waiting for everyone to assemble and for a wayward bus to arrive, then another hour for the drive from Pudong into the Westin Bund Center, where we were moved into our room.
The Westin was very nice indeed, as we were given what amounted to a suite, with a very large living / bed area, and another extremely elaborate bath area, with separate large tub and shower. The lighting system for the suite would do justice to a stage performance. My biggest criticism of the Westin was that a 26-story tower needs more elevators. They were quite fast & efficient, but just not enough capacity for large numbers on group tour schedules. We ate in the Stage Cafe at the Westin the first evening, being told that the hygeine at restaurants outside couldn't be guaranteed.

10/22 - Thursday - Shanghai

Up way too early; again, not enough good sleep for either one of us. Showered and went down to a very impressive breakfast spread, which was our first provided meal. All manner of fruits, meats, cheeses, breads, omelet stations, etc. There was also a Chinese breakfast buffet. We departed at 0800 for our full day of touring Shanghai....a FULL day, without nearly enough hours to do everything attempted. We visited a silk carpet factory, and a famous private garden. Lunch was quite good; the lunches in Chinese restaurants are better than provided lunches on our European Viking tour. We went back to the hotel, being given a whole 1.5 hours to rest, then on to dinner and then the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe. The dinner was excellent, and the acrobats were extremely accomplished. Much food for thought in people who begin a full-time career at age 7, are finished at twenty, and go.....where?

10/23 - Friday Shanghai - Suzhou- Nanjing - Embarkation

Up....again, too early and without enough sleep. Something's got to change; maybe when we get to the boat. Showered & felt better, but this day will not wear well. Put bags in hall with ribbons intended to bring them to our cabin on the Viking Sun. Went down again for a last shot at the Westin's bountiful buffet. I decided to eat a variety of the Chinese breakfast buffet, and decided that noodles were quite acceptable for breakfast. Also had an omelet and other Western items.
Boarded the bus at 0800 and rode 1:40 to Suzhou (old Roman phonetic Soochow), which is the focus of the silk cultivation and manufacturing industry. Our guide, Sharon, spoke English with the more characteristic "singsong" Chinese accent that we recognize as Americans, because of the preponderance of Cantonese speakers in the U.S. The facilities for showing the silk from the beginnings as moth, egg, and worm, to shops where one could purchase the finished goods, was quite impressive. Bought some silk hangings as gifts.
We then visited the "Master of Fishermen's Nets" garden in Su Zhou, which is quite famous, having had part of the garden reproduced at the Metropolitan in New York. While Chinese gardens may be something of an acquired taste, I think it's a taste that could grow on me.
Lunch was again very good, at a hotel with an unlikely name- The "Glamor".....names often don't -quite- translate in China. This was the first restaurant where the one provided drink was by the glass, rather than the original container for the drink. This appears to be quite common, but the underlying reason was not immediately apparent. I have concluded that it's because some restaurants desire to save money by purchasing the beverages in the larger containers, and so ration the drink by the container into which the beverage is poured.
After lunch, we settled into the bus for our 3-hour ride to Nanjing where the Century Sun was moored. We stopped on the expressway about halfway for a pit stop, with the usual fuss among the womenfolk over the squat toilets. The more pragmatic concluded that if one wants to go badly enough, squat one will. We visited a rather whimsical "supermarket" which nonetheless had ice cream and beer. I purchased several half-liter bottles of the finest brew of the "Qongjing Beer Group, Ltd." for a few Yuan.
Entering Nanjing (or "Southern Capital," as Beijing is "North"), we once again saw that China has more than met the Western standard for hideous traffic. Traffic rules appear to be, as our guide Francis observed, more in the nature of "suggestions." I would describe the traffic in the worst parts of Shanghai & Nanjing as a semi-professional blood sport. Our bus driver demonstrated the skill of a professional race driver and the panache of a bullfighter....he was given a nice gratuity.
We boarded the VCS a bit after 1700, apparently the first group to arrive. We went directly to our cabin, where our luggage had already been placed in the passageway outside our cabin. Before dinner at 1930, I secured a bucket of ice from one of the unbearably cute cabin stewards who are constantly darting about, and iced down a beer, which Mary Margaret and I shared.
Dinner at 1930 was quite good. I had a carpaccio of black forest ham and melon for appetizer, a cauliflower soup, and Mary Margaret stole my bread. The entree was a stuffed chicken breast with onion sauce, and cheesecake for dessert. As with all alcoholic beverages on Viking Ships, the extremely high prices (small draft beer $4.50 US, up to $10 for some mixed drinks) more or less preclude drinks with meals on a regular basis. It's not so much that we can't buy them, we just won't at those prices. The acoustics of the dining room are simply impossible. I was unable to hear anyone but Mary on my left and the gentleman on my right. The low overhead and lack of any systematic sound attenuation is a serious defect, and will figure in my evaluation.
After an attempt to sit up after dinner in the small forward observation cabin on Deck 4 and watch the river traffic began to quickly descend into slumber, we returned to the cabin and did just that.

.....to be continued in Part II

.....go to Part III

.....go to Part IV