Quick update from China...
The good old V is currently docked in Qingdao, China. This past week we ported in Hong Kong, spent a day and night around the city, then flew to Beijing. Last night I flew to Qingdao to meet the ship once again. I saw the Great Wall, Tiannamen Square, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City and lots of other exciting places. I stayed at Peking University and got to hang out with some Chinese students for a few days. It was a really fun visit, the country is really gearing up for the 2008 Olympics and is lmost completely under renovation. Qingdao is really cool because there are absolutely no tourists or English speaking people anywhere. I heard today that the Explorer is the only cruise ship to have ever docked in the port. CRAZY! I know that I have been slacking in my blogging, but this stretch of our trip has been jam packed. The internet on the ship was also down for a while which doesn't help things any. We will be in Japan in a couple days already but I'll try and post more about the past few ports before then. I bought a Japan Rail Pass in Hong Kong and am planning on doing the entire country by bullet train! Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima...I couldn't be more excited!
