Quick post I am pooped. Lhasa has 108 monasteries and everything seems to focus on religion. We went to the temple yesterday and two monasteries today and we will be doing more touring tomorrow.

I find the people very interesting they make offerings of alcohol, yak butter, money and food stuffs. The smell of the yak butter permeates the monasteries. Money is everywhere the monks are counting it. The pilgrims are taking money out of the offering plates as change and replacing with a larger bill.

Our lunch today was on the top of a mountain under a tent. The chef had prepared it on hot plates and the table was set with a marvelous view. It was just for us so that was quite special. The food was okay. The altitude we are getting used to so that problem is easing now.

Interesting Marc, I like China far more than Tibet. Of course Tibet is extremely unqiue and seeing the Chinese military presence here and talking to our guides (both Chinese and Tibetan) has given us more insight in to the Chinese/Tibet situation. Not that I would ever claim to even understand the basics of the complexity of the political issues involved.

PHOTOS FROM JOKHANG TEMPLE & BHARKHOR DISTRICT:




Pilgrims.


Potala Palace in the distance.


Monks admiring the camera.


Bharkhor District.


Tibetans love their hats.




Ngaire with Buchung our guide at prayer wheels.

Our Picnic Lunch.


Potala Palace at the base of the mountain.


Dress shop downtown.

Ngaire & Ken, this entire thread should be turned into a book. What a fabulous job you two are doing of sharing your trip with us through words and photos. AMAZING !!

I had to laugh at the hat sign. Will show it to George tonight. He would of course have his cowboy hat on.

We are having the best time following you on this wonderful adventure! Many thanks for taking the time to keep us all up to date!

Wow Ngaire and Ken! What an adventure!

Loving the posts and photos! Thanks so much for taking the time to share all this with us. It's truly amazing.
:lct:

Ngaire, have you or Ken tried yak butter anything yet? What does it smell like? I hear they prefer it rancid.

Andi - Perhaps they simply consider the yak butter to be "properly aged", like fine cheese and fine wine. "Rancid" may be a bit harsh, no??

Cowboy hats -- a big thing in China and Tibet. Funny to see them along with the junk jewelry on the little tourist stands.

Andi - Yak butter -- for me it is very smelly. In the temples and monasteries candles are burning in big copper bowls filled with yak butter. The pilgrims add more yak butter to these containers and they also have thermos flasks I think of yak oil they pour that in as well.

Been offered yak butter tea but I just CANNOT go there. The smell puts me off completely. We have eaten yak meat and that is really just like beef some good, some very tough. Just depends on how it is prepared.

At one monastery our guide Buchang took us into the Monk's kitchen. Wow what a smell of yak butter. Did not bother Ken but it really was not pleasant. Tons of copper pans in this kitchen this Monastery used to house 12,000 monks. The barrels for cooking rice etc were HUGE.

He is a good guide, his father was a Regent for the Dalai Lama, he was taught by a master whose picture is everywhere. His uncle and father were jailed for many years as they were both high up in the Monastery and assisted the Dalai Lama. It seems he knows all the monks and everyone in town. He said he spent many years in a monastery.

He knew the stairs were getting to me (at this altitude it is more difficult) and he talked the Chinese military into allowing us to drive up to one monastery and avoid about 300+ steps. Only one other car up there everyone else was walking from the parking area.

We have been checking out western food restaurants as well hard to find a good one. Today we are eating at a Tibetan Hotel where we met the owner/chef he used to work for Radisson Hotels. We will see how this is today. Chicken cordon bleu Tibetan style? Lots of westerners here and we will check out a room today. I love the St. Regis but a good idea to know if there is a lower cost alternative for those that do not want to spend the money for the St. Regis.

Ken is doing another monastery today and I am going to pass on that and go into a department store by myself and check things out. The Monasteries are amazing but there are 300+ stairs each time and I want to be sure that I do not do my knee in again. Okay now but want to keep it that way. Who knows I may come out of there in a Tibetan or Chinese outfit!

Okay time to meet the guide and explain that I am "changing the plans" AGAIN. Drop me at the store and pick me up later. He is very flexible good thing when I am wanting to run around restaurants, check toilets and never keep to the scheduled plan. In fact the quality of the guides has been really high, particularly Bruce and Buchung.

Fred, I meant no disrespect to the butter...LOL

Most of you know I am a researcher by trade and Ngaire's posts intrigued me, so I looked it up and found "Yak butter tea is a daily staple dish throughout the Himalaya region and is usually made with yak butter, tea, salt and water churned into a froth. It is the "Tibetan national beverage" with Tibetans drinking upwards of sixty small cups a day for hydration and nutrition needed in cold high altitudes. Sometimes rancid butter is used which gives the tea a different taste."

I'm sure it does!!

Gosh Ngaire, I wish I could remember the restaurants we went to when we were there. They were western and while not "Regent Quality" not too bad. If I remember the french onion soup we had was awful though. Maybe Marc will remember them and make a post.

Arlene, Ngaire wouldn't eat the onion soup anyhow!

LAST DAY IN LHASA, TIBET:




Potala Palace.


Wall of 1000 Buddha.




Quite a fashion statement.


Famous Tibetan Singers.


Heaters for Tibetan homes, the fuel of choice is wood or Yak dung.

We found two okay Western restaurants.

At the Tibetan Hotel restaurant I ordered chicken cordon bleu. It had a very heavy fried breading but once I took that off it was fine. Very reasonable, about $8.00 for the chicken with fries and a small serving of vegetables.The rooms are about a $100 a night pretty basic but clean.I would not want to stay there but if you are on a budget and are not fussy it would work. There were westerners staying there. I would pay the money for the St. Regis personally. A MASSIVE difference.

Makye Ame seems to be the favorite restaurant and has a reasonable ambiance. We did not eat there not enough meals to try them all out. This may well be where you went right at the Jokhang temple in the Bharkhor district?

The food at the St. Regis is good and tonight we both had a hamburger that was REALLY good. It is expensive at the St. Regis two burgers, one beer and one sparkling water about $75.

Finding any diet drink is almost impossible even the St. Regis does not have any diet sodas.

I went to the Lhasa department store today it is huge. BEAUTIFUL clothing nicer than you see in our stores. VERY expensive with the least expensive sweater I saw was about $125 and up up up! Extremly classy classic clothing in very small sizes of course. The items like toasters, applicances were about the same price as our products. Did not buy a thing.

Tibet has been an adventure in many ways and we are now ready to move on to the next adventure the Yangzi Explorer cruise.

Yayy! We are waiting for the Yangtze Explorer portion of your adventure. Safe travels.
------------------
Helen

We are all finding this trip fascinating. Love the pictures and the reports-

Signing out from Tibet. Not sure how it is going to be with the internet on the ship we will have to wait and see.

Mitch and Bert you would probably be in HEAVEN trying out all the different foods!

Ngaire I hope you see this before you board the ship. Try and see if you can watch them carry your luggage and take it onboard the ship Tell Ken to get a pic if he can

I don't know about the food, Ngaire. We are adventurous, but I would pass on the "aged" yak butter and yak butter tea, as well. I have already decided against trying the fermented whale blubber in Reykjavik, but will be happy to try and bring a sample aboard if anyone on Shamrock wants to try it. Bert is considering trying puffin-I hope that doesn't horrify too many of our LCT friends. When I saw the picture of you on the chair being carried up the stairs, I was wondering if they have a chair built for 2, in case Bert and I go along the next time you do this itinerary. Don't blame you for avoiding all those stairs at altitude-

Okay it is looking good on the Yangtze Explorer!!

DINNER
After struggling with meals tonight was like a dream. This was the Western menu they also had a Chinese menu. Everything was great. The mango and shrimp had a great sauce (maybe plumb sauce) The mushroom soup was as good as I have ever had anywhere, the filet was ordered medium rare and came perfectly cooked. Not the best filet I have ever eaten but tender and cooked correctly. The wine was a wimpy red but was okay.

Marriage of Shrimp and Mango
Or
Organic Mixed Greens

Wild Mushroom Soup

Entrees
Filet of Beef with Red Wine Sauce
Baked Potato and Vegetables
Or
Pan Fried Fillet of Dory
On Dill cream sauce, buttered potato and broccoli

Apple Crumble with Vanilla Sauce
Fresh Fruit

THE CABIN

We are in a deluxe suite 420 square feet. It is one big room (not separated into two areas) with lots of counter space, drawers and areas for a lady to do hair and make up with good light in the bedroom and in the bathroom. No bathtub but a large shower. Full sized balcony in all cabins with two chairs and table. A 46” flat screen TV. The air conditioning is individually controlled and is working perfectly.

I saw a standard cabin at 333 sq ft and that is good as well, again not divided into two rooms but one big room with a full wall of counter space. I also saw the big cabin it was a WOW cabin, 1183 square feet.

The colors are lovely and the woods very attractive in the cabins and all over the boat. I love the dining room and there is a two story theatre for shows.

It appears to be all Americans so far. Onboard are groups from A&K, Tauck and National Geographic. We talked to the A&K guide and she said she knew all the ships and there was no ship like this ship it was in a class by itself. So if we come this will definitely be the ship we use.

We arrived early and had a guide to see some of Chongqing. We visited the zoo to see pandas and it was a lovely zoo with big green enclosures for the pandas. Then we visited the key attraction The Peoples Hall ( I may have that name wrong it has been a long day).
It looks like the Temple of Heaven with the front area looking like the entry to the Forbidden City, a beautiful building. In the front of the building is a huge square with large banyan trees. At night people gather to line dance and I imagine this scene with the Peoples Hall lit up is an amazing sight.

Looking forward to our first day onboard, I must admit I just like being on a ship I think this is where I am the most comfortable.

So far it sounds great--sure a lot more luxurious than our AMA ship.

You are on the Yangtze Explorer, aren't you? From what I can see on the Web site, I infer that you are in a Deluxe Junior Cabin (39 sq. meters) vs. a Deluxe Cabin (31 sq. meters). (I did notice that on some Web sites, they called the larger Deluxe Junior Cabin a "Suite.") The only 4 "suites" listed on the Web site are about double and triple the size of your cabin.

--------------------

Eugene

Good to hear that all is to your liking so far, Ngaire. We would very much like to do this itinerary if you approve it!!
------------------
Helen

Do the biggest rooms have baths? Glad all is well.

Did anyone click on the web site posted by Dreps for the Yangtze Explorer because I did and a Trojan was downloaded to my PC. Now I an unable to open many websites, am unable to perform any search using any search engine, and if I'm successful at reaching a website, 9 times out of 10 I am re-directed to some other site. Sigh!

Andi not a bathtub on the ship but I will say as showers go this one works nice. Rounded BIG shower with over head and hand help shower. Glass doors no shower curtains. Huge bathroom Ken will post pictures.

Eugene have to fly now and will post stats on cabins there are are 20 like mine at 420 sq ft and about 30 with the 333 sq feet. Then about 4 large cabins.

Off for our first excursion. Croissants this morning BEST EVER.

I did! I'm not sure if I had a problem earlier, because I was having issues already. I did a scan of my computer from my "protector" which turned up nothing, and then rebooted and it seems fine since.

I clicked on it too. Have no issues at all.

FENDU - Our first stop on the Yangtze River trip

Two tours were offered. One was up the Mountain to “Ghost City” this is really a Buddhist and Daoism temples. Seen enough of this in Tibet we wanted to do something different.

We chose the tour visiting a relocation village and farm family, the local market and a kindergarten. This was a FABULOUS day. The old farmer answered any questions with the help of the interpreter and it was interesting. The market we just loved. The locals shop twice a day and the place was packed. What was surprising was how clean the vegetables looked. People everywhere all smiling and saying hello and the changing of money for goods a very busy place. Lot of odd vegetables, giant hunks of tofu, it was just a great sight. We then walked down a local street with shops on each side and caught the grandparents bringing the little children home for lunch. Ken took a lot of pictures.
This is the old side of Fengdu that was high enough up not to be covered in water and the new city is on the other side of the river. I wished we had time to visit the other side as well. The A&K, Tauck and the National Geographic did their own thing and the independents did a tour with a GREAT guide. There was about 25 of us in the group.

This afternoon there are a series of programs offered onboard, Chinese reflexology, traditional Chinese Medicine, the Mighty Yangtze, silk embroidery demonstration.

Today was the first time I could see the ship and I was shocked at how this ship looks on the outside. Our guide in Chongqing told us the ship looked bad from the outside but that is was beautiful inside. It really looks bad, the metal on the outside is dented and it really needs painting. This is an older ship they stripped and rebuilt the interior.

We were parked next to other ships today and people just poured off these ships they carry so many people. This ship was finished in 2008 and holds 124 people with a 121 staff. The cruise director is from New York and the General Manager Teddy is every where.

Kind of hate to sound so enthusiastic as if we do this your expectations will be too high BUT this was a super lunch. They had several meat dishes, great vegetables, pasta, pizza fish and chips and a lot of salads. For dessert there was ice cream, mango flan, crème Brule. It was a YUMMY lunch everything was excellent. So far the food far exceeds any of the European river boats and that really surprises me.

mcd, whoever you are, I'm very sorry about the Trojan if it came from the Web site. I removed the link to the Web site. I haven't had any issues either, but just in case.

I know that at work we have very "strong" firewalls, and that Chinese Web sites and hacking from there are a continual concern.

Ngaire, I read that the ship was built in 1994, and as you indicated, refurbished in 2008. Of course the photos on the Web site make it look beautiful -- even from the outside.

Interestingly, Chongqing was on the front page of the Wash. Post today--seems that the Communist Party Chief, Bo Xilai, was "dramatically ousted." He had jailed more than 4,000 people since 2007 supposedly cracking down on gangsters and lawlessness. Critics said, however, that he was punishing rivals and squeezing money from local businesses.

-------------

Eugene

Ngaire, I am glad you really like the Yangzi Explorer. When we sailed her in 2008, we sailed up river with only 33 passengers; it was fantastic then, too. The personal service and the ability to order your meals (versus buffets) was wonderful. I am curious as to bar service and prices. Alcohol was not all inclusive and it made sense to order "drink of the day" at happy hour; have they now made it fully all inclusive? If not, how are the prices?

It's been at least 5 years since I last had a virus. It really messed up my PC, but I had a geek over to the house today. It took him almost 2 hours to correct the damage, but my PC is back to working fine now.

PHOTOS FROM FENGDU, CHINA:




Huge Cucumber.








Always make sure your hat and shoes match.

Some pictures from the zoo in Chongqing and some pictures of our cabin that we are really enjoying. There are eleven drawers in this cabin and two closets. Lots of counter and storage space.

Marc we are totally full cannot imagine the ship with so few people. It is buffet for breakfast and lunch. The buffet lunch today was really so good. Dinner is A La Carte with choices. Tonight we had smoked salmon or salad, green pea soup, a chicken dish that everyone loved or ribs that I had they were great. Then for dessert a chocolate lava cake with ice cream. Not sure what you mean about ordering instead of the buffet perhaps it was a buffet a dinner as well when you were onboard.

There are some policies that we are not used to such as a charge for room service. Wine, beer, soft drinks, coffee and tea included at lunch and dinner. If you are in one of the 20 suites (420 sq ft or larger) there is a suite lounge where you can get soft drinks all day and in the evening there is free wine as well. Also there are two computers in the suite lounge with internet but I have not been able to make them work the directions are in Chinese. I saw one person on one of the computers but most people have lap tops and use the main lounge free wifi. That is a beautifully comfortable lounge with great views.

You pay for drinks in the bars. They have a lot of room dedicated to the spa Ken will take a picture of the spa menu for the prices and services. There is free wifi in the main lounge for everyone but it is in and out all the time. I think it is the mountains. Ken has been trying to post pictures with no luck. He will try again tomorrow but we may have to wait until Shanghai.

The crew of the ship did a show for us and it was really cute. We have found the passengers to be like Regent passengers. Super nice and friendly only a few Chinese and a couple of Australians the rest are Americans.

The scenery has been interesting down the river with combinations of small and large towns. This morning we are in the Wu Gorge (45 km) and saw the famous Goddess Peak. We docked in a city called Badong and went on a Chinese ferry and saw the last hanging coffin how they got that up the mountain is beyond me, they say it is 2000 years old. Our guides were Tu Jua minority. When the river gets too narrow we loaded into Sampan Boats manned by four rowers and a captain. This continued down the river.

I keep adding to this post since we cannot get the internet to work. Unfortunately I ate onions somehow and got a really bad case of “onionitis”. This is such a stupid allergy it is so easy to eat them and be unaware that they are in a dish. The ship knew and made dishes without onions for me but I must have picked something up on the buffet with onions. So I missed a lot of the last gorge and the transiting of locks, plus the trip to the Three Gorges Dam tour. Ken did everything and took pictures so will just have to use his pictures and explanation to get an understanding of what that was like.

Ngaire

WOW, more amazing photos from Ken. The pictures of the children are just precious. Interesting to see twin girls. What is that huge green vegetable the woman is cutting? It looks like a gigantic zucchini. Your suite looks quite nice and spacious and the bathroom looks just fine.

Ngaire, darn that your onion allergy kept you from the tours. Thanks for giving us such wonderful photos and descriptions of your trip!

The pictures are great. I liked the third one down, the one of the market, it looked like only tourists were there. I am so glad you are enjoying the Explorer, from the pictures it sure looks like it was updates since we have been on her. Would love to see some pictures of the public spaces.

Too bad about the "onionitis" Ngaire. Such an unfortunate allergy as onions can be in so many different foods. Alas, most deserts should be safe so you could just stick with those :D :D

Curious to know Ngaire, based on your trip and experience so far do you think you may be leading a group there in the future?

Our group were the only westerners in the market we were just all bunched up together walking through and Ken and I were in the lead so it just looked that way. that was a giant cucumber that lady was cutting up. I understand they have GIANT peaches in Lijiang as well. The oranges here terrific I do not often eat oranges but I eating oranges and the fresh squeezed orange juice more than I have in years.

Yes, I think I will consider that if there is enough interest. I think we can make it as comfortable as possible for everyone - it is the western toilets and food that provide the biggest challenges.

I will not take a group to Tibet though I think that is too challenging for many reasons. If people want to add that on independently through k&D they can do that.

Lijiang, Chendu and the 4 day Yangtzi Explorer will definitely be on the itinerary if I do a trip. Possibly with a pre trip to Beijing and Xian for those that have not been there before. Couple of other places I was not able to fit in this trip that may end up on the itinerary was well after I do some more research.

I will do a some work on this for 2014 with the realities of visiting China and send that to those interested. I need to have about 20 people to make work well. If so I will then work up final plans.