2013 - OCEANIA - THE GREAT WALL

I have one day in the port of Tianjin & get off the ship tomorrow.

Today it is a bus ride to the part of the Great Wall closest to the port.

A couple of views of the countryside.. Mostly, very rural.. except for this, I know not what..

& quite cold with Ice on a irrigation ditch..

Meat on it's way to market...

Again - who needs trucks...

Some buildings....a wall...The Wall? Nah..

A table tennis table.....the only one I saw..

A reservoir....

Is this the Wall? Nah..

but this just might be the first glimpse...

and here we are - the entrance to the wall... Bernard & his wife whose name I never got..

& start climbing & meet crew members already on the way down.

Anna the sommelier posing for me.

You can see the wall disappearing into the distance ... & note that there are no people on this stretch.

It was very steep & I did not get to the top...& even if I did, there is another 2 thousand some miles to go...

I did not stay a long time as It was cold & windy but exciting to be walking the wall & I am glad I made it here.

Waiting for the group, a girl on the street pointed me to a cafe. Remembering the scam, I took a chance & followed her. 5 tables covered with plastic inside. Not Starbucks. One occupied by some of the tour. Beer was cheaper than tea so I had a beer. No scams here. Just people trying very hard to make a dollar.

Here's something drying, peppers maybe, or what? Nothing much growing as yet.

This little chap playing near a bike.

and the ride back to the ship.....

I will lose count of the number of times I heard that the crane is the national bird of China...

Then it's back aboard the ship & my last bit of time with Niki & her buddy..

65 days on the boat.

Overall, I enjoyed the itinerary.

Most of the passengers were nice but more obnoxious people than usual.

It was spoiled by the incidents at the very beginning & the fact Oceania do not even come close to matching their billing.
Excursions for the most part were nothing better than any other cruise line & Oceania show a distinct lack in imagination in their offerings. Like other cruise lines, they just hand off the tours to on-shore providers & rake in their cut, which must be substantialy more than others.

Service ranged from really bad to really good when we are paying for exceptional all the time.

Same with the food.

I will never go on an Oceania cruise again..

So - that's it for the cruise - But not the trip....

IF YOU ARE FROM MELBOURNE & ENJOYING MY TRIP, WHY NOT INTRODUCE YOURSELF?

THE NEXT SEGMENT....