Fried frogs and quail eggs ? Yuk! I never did like Asian food!

Don't give McDonalds the recipe!

This is such a new side to you, Ngaire! I love it! You have such beautiful clothes now to go with all of your beautiful jewelry. I think I need to travel with you more often!

Great pictures, Kim! So good to hear from all of our Pagoda friends.

We've had such a super time here. Day before yesterday we went to big 4 story building where they sell everything, I got some Channel lipstick for $4 and genuine fake knock off Jimmy Choo hand bag.

Yesterday we went on the bullet train which was soooooo cool, 270 mph ! Last night we ate in Sette Mari with Ralph & June, Ngaire & Ken and Olivia. It was delicious.

Today we went to Pearl City and I got 5 pearl necklaces for gifts, Tom got 4 pairs of pants (perfect Asian fit for his skinny legs) and he stocked up on underwear and tee shirts. I got sunglass readers which I can never find in the USA, Tom got new prescription glasses. The gal said he needed glasses that make him look younger for his handsome face, all he needed to hear he was off to the races! They can read the prescription off his glasses. They really are nice and 1/4 the price of ones at Costco. I had a burger at McDonalds. We have had such a good time the past 3 days and did some great shopping as well.

Tonight we're in P7 with Kim & Alice, Cheron & Mark, Olivia.

In Hong Kong many years ago I saw this sign:

" Genuine Fake Jewelry Manufacturer!"

Yes, it was chilly, but I was determined to have breakfast outside La Veranda at least once this cruise. It is one of my most favorite things:



Well, for our 'bonus' day in Shanghai, Alice and I (along with some of our Aussie friends -- Wendy, Frank, Wendy and Alan --- took taxis to the MagLev train station. MagLev stands for Magnetic Levetation. The train operates on magnets and does not touch the track. We went to the airport and back just for fun at top speed of 258 mph!








Then we took the subway back over to the shopping area. On the subway, a young Chinese man (19 yrs old) approached me and said " You look like a fairy." He was very intested in talking with our group. BTW, Wendy looked like Cinderella and Alice looked like Snow White.

We enjoyed walking the streets and shopping for more pearls and small souveners.













When we returned to the ship at 3:00, having been out since 9:00.
I sat on the pool deck and watched dusk fade into the bright lights of the Shanghai night. We sailed at 2 am, probably. Don't know since I was konked out after a faboulous P7 dinner Marcie and Tom set up for us with Mark, Cheron and Olivia.

Thanks for posting everyone and happy belated birthday Olivia. We're glad everyone is having such a great time. We miss all of you. The shopping in Shanghai sounds great.

Mona is feeling a lot better and is now off of her medication. But this cruise still would have been too much for her to handle at this time.

Hope to see you all soon. Tom.

Happy birthday, Olivia.what a great way to have spent it! Thanks for all the sea mail and pics. Our second regent/radisson cruise was Tokyo to Hong Kong so really enjoying the reports. We leave Sunday for Beijing, maybe see a few of you cruisers there?
----------------------
Helen

One of my favorite Regent memories is having dinner on my balcony looking at the lights of Shanghai. Thanks for the great photos!

Boy do these pictures bring back fond memories! Glad everyone is having fun and belated birthday wishes, Olivia.

I am loving all the adventures and pictures. Lauri we felt same way about our balcony in Hong Kong - magical!! Glad to hear Mona is feeling fine. We hope to see all of you soon too!

Kim and Alice - so much fun to travel with!!! PLUS they are doing a super job of posting pictures - much appreciated. They were great and particularly that last day in Shanghai.

The fog that caused us to stay in Shanghai and therefore miss the port of Kobe ended up being a good thing. We may have missed Kobe but we enjoyed that extra day in Shanghai - it was sunny but cold. We also missed some bad weather by staying that extra day and are now sailing in pleasant seas - I think almost everyone was happy.

A day at sea today, more cards and fun, I do enjoy sea days. Time is flying by, and I am eating too much, plus I have an additional land tour in China after we get off. Got to watch it and I am eating lunch downstairs that helps me control the volume of food I eat too much at a buffet.

All is well on the Voyager.

You all seem to be having such a great time! Keep the sea mail coming…I am living vicariously through all of you

Glad Mona is feeling better Tom. We too are having a great time and its almost time for morning cards. Seas are nice and calm today and the sun is shining. Looking forward to another sea day. Dinner last night with Food and Beverage Manager was very nice and he is a delightful man, as is Annie the head housekeeper who also joined us.

Had a fantastic day in Hiroshima yesterday. Beautiful sunny day and pleasant temperature. After the endless immigration process we went to the island of Miyajima by bus then ferry. Beautiful place and a nice shrine plus lots of local color. The outfits of the young girls was amazing. Ken took a few pictures hopefully he can post them at some point. Very hard right now the internet is slow.

Today was our last sea day. Lots of cards and scrabble and so relaxing. Sorry there are not more on this trip.

Have to leave and get ready for yet ANOTHER nice dinner tonight with Tom and Marcie and Mark and Cheron. Nice company too!!!

Photos from the excursion to the shrine on Miyajima island Ngaire mentioned above:

At low tide you can walk out to the gate






Ken and Ken:









As we sailed into Hiroshima, we saw hundred of floats for oyster beds



The A-bomb dome. I think the only structure that survived the bomb:

Kim, loving your photos and those oysters look delicious!!!

Keep the photos coming Kim.
Really are enjoying them.

Thanks Beth! The oysters were grilled we had to walk around with them awhile to let them cool off they were so hot!

We found a cherry tree in Miyajima , but it is too early for the blossoms overall.

We were up at 5:30. Headed to the DMZ excursion that meets at 7:30 in constellation theater. La veranda opens at 6:00, but we are a minute too early, so grabbing a cappuccino at pool . It's foggy and dark.

Kim, the A bomb dome is eerily beautiful!

Double order of huevos rancheros for each of us finished in the dark with the fog horn sounding. Another cappuccino while Alice finishes her green tea and here are a couple more photos

Alice with Ken and Sheila in Miyajima ,



Ready to be entertained in the constellation theater

Love the pictures! Hope you enjoy visiting the DMZ--we really did when we were there a couple years ago.

Hi PAGODAers. Sure have enjoyed hearing about this cruise. Hate to see it come to an end!

Thanks for all the posts. Enjoyed traveling vicariously and loved the pics. Will you be posting for the land cruise?

Arrived in Inchon today to dense fog. Most were going into Seoul today but we decided to do the short tour in Inchon.

Sheila and I decided to bail on the "panoramic tour" as we figured it may not be very panoramic in the fog. Ken and Ken love to just go walking the street so they decided to do that instead.

Tom and Marcie decided to bail too and just take the shuttle bus. They debarked the ship and got into a bus and just sat there waiting to leave. The bus never moved and the driver spoke no English and no one else came to the bus. They finally figured out it was NOT the shuttle bus!

The fog started to lift and Ken and Ken had a great day and a Chinese ship Captain invited them into his home for coffee. My Ken got his glasses fixed (he broke them and was struggling without them) for a $1.00. He also bought some more - so expensive $4.00. They were very happy with their morning.

Ralph, June and Joan decided to do the tour anyway as they had not been to Korea. They came back full of smiles and delight they said the best tour they have had on the entire trip. They loved it all, the guide, the fish market everything they saw.

Meanwhile Sheila and I were going to play scrabble but instead we sat and talked from 9.30 am to 12 noon the time just flew by. Jill joined us half way through and we solved all the mysteries of life this morning.

So it is a happy bunch today. I am sure those that went into Seoul had a great day too.

Tomorrow Dalian, and we booked a tour visiting a local family those are usually fun.

Hate the thought of packing up but looking forward to a 12 day land program we are doing in China with a 4 day Yangtze River cruise. Without Kim along to post pictures Ken is going to have to start doing his duty and posting some shots on LCT. Looking forward to the seeing that group coming in for that tour as well.

As always LIFE IS GOOD.

Loving the pics and reports. We arrived in shanghai today, and will see some of you soon. We are staying at the waldorf astoria. It is very posh. Due to George's Hilton status, we were upgraded to a junior suite, and it is huge. Bigger than our first apartment with a huge walkin closet, fancy bathroom with electronic toilet, separate office.

Hi Rachel - welcome to China!! Look forward to seeing you in Hangzhou!! Enjoy the train.

Tom & I are in the first class lounge in Tianjin now. It was a nice surprise as I thought we were in Asiana Business Class but when we checked in we were actually booked in 1st Class using UAL miles (3 classes of service). My suitcase weighed 77 lbs (7 lbs over limit) but we weren't charged....whew! We opted to not do any post cruise since we have spent time in Beijing before.

We had such a wonderful vacation, sad to see it end with lots of hugs good bye last night and this morning before our private car arrived (thank you Titantium perk). The drive from the port to the airport was an easy 45 minutes. We have a 1 hr.45 minute flight to Seoul, short layover and then a 11 hour flight to LAX. It will be nice getting home and seeing our four, 4 legged kids again.

Wishing all the fellow Pagodas a safe flight home after their stay in Beijing and a fabulous experience for all the ones going on the 12 day trip around China with Ngaire & Ken (including the 4 days on the Yangtse river).

Last night we had dinner with the Simpsons and Olivia celbrating Sheila's birthday. A perfect way to end such a wonderful memorable trip!

Some Photos From PAGOTA: Sorry I am so late posting, but Kim has done a great job:


Our welcome to Japan.


Shanghai from the Voyager.


Ken imitating a dragon.


Any fish cake you wish.


Some of the PAGOTA group.






Fashion statement.

Dumpling anyone.

I'll piggy back on to Ken's great photos adding some photos from our wonderful Pagoda trip. Most of these were taken by Ken Simpson in Tianjin, China when we took the shuttle into a large mall with Ken Simpson and Mark & Cheron Kneedy.
The others were taken in the beautiful Japanese gardens, dinner in Sette Mari and Olivia's birthday dinner.


L-R Mark, Cheron, Marcie, Tom


Cute Cheron


Mark bought me some ice cream!


Darling Chinese girl who asked if she could take our picture








Tom being Tom


L-R Frank, JoAnn, Dave, Marcie, Joan, Tom


Olivia's Birthday Dinner

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/marciematassa/PagodaDinner_zps3eadddbc.jpg[/img]
L-R Olivia, June, Tom, Ralph, Marcie, Pam, Jim in Sette Mari

Thanks for all your pictures. Looks like everyone had a great time. Sorry your cruise is over but hope we will hear from Ngaire on the land trip.

Great to see new photos! Thanks Ken and Marcie! We are at Cathay Pacific lounge in Hong Kong . Slow internet in the hotel- but it was a very nice stay in Beijing. We are in the Cathay Pacific lounge in Hong Kong waiting for our flight to JFK. Awesome trip! And so great to share it with LCTers!