IMPERIAL JEWELS OF CHINA, October 1-2, 2015

We were so pleased to be able to share our trip with Judi's brother, Bob and sister-in-law Francine. We left Nova Scotia before our departure from Ottawa on October 1, travelling through the States to Ingleside, Ontario.  The flight from Toronto to Shanghai was direct and 14 hours.  We were very surprised to not only have a full flight, but a flight basically 99% Chinese.  We later learned that we were arriving in China at the beginning of one of the country's holiday weeks.  Schools as well as government offices were all closed.  Our tour was through Viking Cruises and was 6-star all the way. Once we got on the plane in Toronto, we were well cared for until they put us on the plane in Hong Kong to come home.  We will go through each day and post some of the 3,500 photos we took.

Day 1, October 2 - Shanghai China

Our plane landed late in the afternoon and we put on our little red "Viking" stickers so we would be identified for our transfer to the hotel.  Not knowing what to expect with immigration and customs, we were somewhat surprised.  At immigration we had to present our Chinese visas (in our passports) and then they took our smiling pictures .... except, Bob and Francine did not get theirs taken.  Guess Eric and Judi looked kind of shady??  We then walked through a large doorway and presto we were officially in China.  Customs was somewhere in there.

Of course as with everything in Shanghai, the airport was ultra-modern and spectacular.  When we came to the exit, there was a multitude of people lined up, holding signs in Chinese.  We were told to look for the red Viking sign and they were certainly looking for us ... no challenge for them as we were the only 4 whites in the place!  Thus began our official tour.

The bus trip to downtown Shanghai took over an hour and if had taken the bullet train, it would have been 8 minutes; but we got to see so much.  First impressions were interesting.  What does one expect to see in China?  We were expecting rice fields, small houses and people.  Well, there were people, but everywhere we looked there were 32 story apartment building and cranes on each one.

Here we are looking somewhat jet-lagged, but glad to be in China

Our hotel was the Ritz-Carlton Portman in downtown Shanghai.  We got to meet our guide, Jimmy for the first time. Our passports were taken and we were checked in.  Free time until the morning!  Any sensible person would have slept and Eric and Judi decided to check out the local area.  The hotel had an underground shopping area as well as a five-story shopping area being built next door.  We were advised to take some time and walk through it.  Turned out that it was a flagship mall for most of the top-end luxury stores in the World.  Being vacation time, the streets were all lit up, as well as the buildings and there were people everywhere.  Most were young people who all had cell phones and smoked.  We had  just met the wealthy young Chinese people.  Getting back to the mall .... the flagship stores were spectacular and beside most of the stores, there were the matching children's stores.  For example the Gucci store had the Gucci Children's store beside it.  A foreigner would never shop here as the Chinese add duty as well a luxury taxes.  It was fun to walk through the stores, especially the 3 level Louis Vuitton store.

Beautifully lit street outside hotel

Uber is alive and well here. Outside our hotel

Outside hotel, but still under cover

Part of the lobby

View from our room

Our first day was over and we were ready to start our tour in the morning.  Please stay tuned for our next blog as we work through the 18 days we spent in this beautiful country.  Also, please share with anyone as we would love everyone to be able to experience China.