We finally started moving at 6 a.m. this morning and no one was more relieved than the captain.  I think he caught a lot of flack but it was totally out of his control.  He said that in the forty years he has been at sea he has never been delayed by fog for that long.  He did tell us that we were given first passage down the river, so that was a good thing.  We will have to miss the port of Halong Bay which is a pity but at least we are moving towards Ho Chi Minh and back on schedule.  We'll be there by Friday.  That means we will be going to Bangkok, so keep your TV's tuned in to the news.  We'll be there March 21st, riots or not although they looked very calm today.  I don't think I'll be wearing a red shirt that day!

It rained last night and I think that helped cut the fog down but we are still surrounded with fog even after sailing all day.  It's still cold and overcast so we are looking forward to returning to warmth and sunshine.  A little bit of heat wouldn't hurt either. 

Now that we are looking at Shanghai in the rearview mirror I can look at the city in a different light.  The weather didn't help our view of the city since it was cloaked in gray, damp, cold, foggy skies.  It really was the kind of weather Hollywood paints when filming a communist country scene, so the setting wasn't the best and sunshine would have gone a long way!  We also read in our port of call information that Shanghai is called the Queen of the Orient and the Paris of the East.  We can't quite see that but they are currently building a skyscraper that will be slightly taller than the Dubai's Burj Khalifa when completed.  Future plans call for another building almost twice as tall as, 4,000 ft high.  I don't know if I'd trust that height but China is going for it.  No Chinese engineering went into the Maglev train but Chinese labor built it.  So the city is trying to make its mark in the world and currently they are under construction everywhere in the city trying to get ready for their 2010 Expo.  So, our views were not glamorous or bright but they might have been with a little sunshine and no fog.  

Joe and Lee had been to China before and we told them about our map experience at dinner.  They said we had a 'bad' map.  I really didn't think there was such an animal.  Our map looked legit with advertisements, glossy paper, and the correct main streets but apparently there is no quality control in making them.  So things would have been much easier with a 'correct' map.  We, honest to God, thought we were loosing our minds trying to find our way around!  Joe and Lee told us we didn't get to see a good representation of China and we should really look into visiting again.  My mind is so foggy right now I can't even entertain the thought.

The funniest thing was that I bought this 'Lucky Cat', the kind that waves his paw back and forth, in Shanghai.  We saw them in HK and we really don't care for cats but for some reason I thought to myself this is probably the last place I could buy one of these classic cats so I did.  I got back on the ship, pulled him out of my bag and set him right next to the TV with his little arm waving.  He ran all night and all the next day but after dinner that night and being stuck in Shanghai for 26 hours I decided HE just might be the problem.  So I pulled the plug on him and took his battery out to see if we could get underway.  Well, I guess it finally worked - seven hours later.  I am very leery of turning him back on since there are storms scheduled to hit Vietnam.  What part, I don't know but I don't want to chance it.  Right now he is just sitting by the TV and that's all I'm going to let him do for now!   Ha, ha! 

By the Numbers

13,901 Nautical miles traveled so far

251 United States Passengers on board since HK

515 UK passengers on board since HK

481 Australians on board since HK

185 Germans on Board since HK

34 Hours delayed by fog

1 Port of call missed

$88 HKD foot massage at 10:30 p.m. + $12 HKD tip makes for best $100 HKD spent!

5 Golden tickets won in trivia out of last nine sessions!  (We're starting to kick -A)

1 Pirate drill to go

3 Empty washers and 3 empty dryers found on our floor at the same time!

1 Ring lost

1 Ring found in the vacuum cleaner

1 New British couple self-removed from our dinner table (they didn't like Americans) 

1 Happy dinner table!  (We miss our Aussies, Nan and Betty)

1 Ship - finally moving!

1 Happy Captain!

5 Days of no sunshine - boo!

Sandy