Day one of week eleven, time is hurtling past. This week is going to be hectic, sea day, two port days, sea day, two port days and a sea day. The weather is warming up again and should stay warm for most of this sector. The men won today's Battle of the Sexes, by one point. Apparently there are only 8 sea days for us to do battle on this sector. Barbara was taken ill and went to the medical centre this afternoon. She has been isolated in her cabin from...

We had moved from our berth overnight and the bunker was alongside when I woke up. The captain announced that fuelling had been completed and we were just waiting for permission to leave. It was imminent. That was at 11:00. We finally set sail about 13:00. He also said that we should still be arriving on time in Hong Kong, but he will update us tomorrow. I was hoping to meet James in Hong Kong, but unfortunately his work schedule won't allow it. Howeve...

We arrived about 45 minutes later than scheduled as the authorities boarded the pilot late. The weather was cold, showery and windy. It has been the first port day with unpleasant weather. The excursion first went to the observation point on the 88th floor of the Jinmao Hyatt Building. Because of the conditions we couldn't see as much as we'd hoped, but the views of Shanghai we had were stunning. We then went to the Yu Yuan Gardens in the old town. It ...

Cool and foggy outside. Lots of shipping about. Captain said that the temperature in Shanghai will be about 8 tomorrow, with cloud cover and possibility of showers. Watched 'Loosely Dancing' this afternoon. 5 entertainment officers and various members of the crew in a Strictly Come Dancing style show. One poor lad was an 18 year old Engineering Cadet. Strictly isn't something I watch, but I enjoyed the show. Another gold sticker in the evening Individu...

Yet another early day and the first day of week 10. Up at 5:15 for a 6:30 start. As we left the ship the Volendam was moored by us. Today was to be a day of ancient and modern. We drove to Tianjin railway station and boarded the Fast Train, in other words the bullet train. We reached speeds of 295kph and it took 33 minutes to reach Beijing. We then drove from Beijing South station to the Forbidden City. On the way we passed Tiananmen Square. We then w...