2nd March, 2011 – Dalian

2nd March, 2011 – Dalian

Our last full day on the ship and we woke up to find snow on the ground. It really wasn't much at all but it was obvious as we got off the ship who were the Aussies and the Americans from the West Coast as they were the ones who wanted pictures. Temperatures have dropped to -2 degrees centigrade and all the warm clothes are now out of the case. What we have found amazing is the number of people who have come totally unprepared for the cold. A little research would have told them that February/March in China is usually cold; in fact , as I understand it, last year's cruise had to break through light ice on its approach to Beijing. Just watching the TV and it is -9 Centigrade in Beijing!!

Dalian is on the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula and is a popular seaside resort. Unfortunately it is at its best between April and October and very cold in the winter as we discovered. Once again we were surprised at the skyscrapers, modern buildings and designer label shops. We only had a few hours on shore and one of the places we visited was Russian Street. This street was built 100 years ago by Russian architects and is now lined on both sides with street traders selling everything from tat to (fake) designer goods.

Toilets – after my previous comments today was the day of the squat. We slipped into McDonalds for a coffee – 80p for a large coffee and watched a tv showing different adverts for McDonalds all in Chinese of course. Interestingly the tag line of 'I'm Loving It' is used here in English with Chinese underneath.

The cold finally won and we returned slightly earlier than intended. After a late lunch we had a rest in the cabin before going to watch the Passenger Talent Contest. For those of you who have had the pleasure of hearing either of us singing, I will just say that the quality was a lot better than expected – although Stephan was disappointed I wouldn't let him go on stage and sing 'Delilah' (an in-joke for those from Hull).

We have to put our cases out before dinner and have spent some time packing. It's quite sad as we have made some good friends. However we know where we are going for our holidays next year – we will start in Spain at Chris & Dave's, then on to Missouri to see Karen & Ted and then we will finish in Melbourne (actually just outside) at Faye & John's!!!

Stephan had brought with him a Russian style hat, the type with a leather top and woollen earflaps and as Dalian was cold he decided to wear it. He created quite a stir on the ship when he put it on and a number of people insisted on taking his picture. You would think people had never seen a hat before. We pointed out that when everyone's ears fell off because they were cold, Stephan would have the last laugh and guess what, when people returned to the ship later, a good number of them had been down Russian Street and bought a similar hat.

MY HUSBAND THE FASHION ICON!!!!