Beijing To Tianjin - 1 May 2012: and I'm An Idiot

The drive took about 2 hours; visibility was very poor all the way, at times only about 50 metres.

We had learnt on tv the previous night that the usual smog had been exacerbated by sand storms from Mongolia. We also learnt why there had been massive crowds and traffic jams everywhere: 1st May, of course, is a huge holiday, with China enjoying a 4 day long weekend.

Above, waiting to board

At this point, whilst C was shopping in the duty free, I realized my wallet wasn't in my pocket like it should be. When she finished I was hoping she'd say it was in her handbag, but it wasn't, and I realized I had left it in the Beijing hotel safe.

Did I have a stressful first hour on the ship!

Calls from the cabin's phone cost $5 a minute but luckily I couldn't get it to work. I say luckily because when I went to the main counter to organize the calls, they recognised it as an emergency and gave me complimentary calls to cancel my cards, etc.

The worst of it was when checking out, the hotel staff had reminded me to make sure the safe had been emptied!

Good Vibrations? from i82much on Vimeo.