Ever since we completed our World Cruise, we have been catching up on house duties, taking care of family, and searching for the next adventure.
After some contemplation, we decided to book a three-week Viking cruise called the Jewels of China and Japan.
We are taking the pre-cruise excursion from Beijing to Xi’an to see the Great Wall of China, followed by the Terracotta Warriors, prior to boarding the Viking Yi Dun.
Due to strict internet restrictions in China, we’re unsure if we’ll be able to upload posts during the China portion of the trip, but we may give it a try.
Unlike the World Cruise, we’ll only be on the ship for 15 days, so we’ll have to cram in activities as best we can. Oh well, I guess it’s just another challenge!
We applied for our China Visa and fortunately recieved our Visa in only a few weeks – the Visa is good for 10 years and we found out that if you get a new passport, and you plan to visit China within 10 years, then you carry your new AND old passport (with the pasted Visa in it) and they will accept that Visa for your travel in China.
Fortunately, Japan does not require a Visa at this time.
We arrive in Tokyo on October 31st (Gina’s Birthday) and we plan to stay in Tokyo for 4 nights and head home on November 4th.