Shanghai the last stop 1 December 2014

Up early checked out of hotel but managed to have breakfast before departing for the airport, taxi not very comfortable, so pleased when reached destination, checked in and went to lounge to relax before flight. Nice man came with wheelchair to take me to plane, I was first on, young woman was sat in window seat, did not seem very happy throughout the flight. I settled in and watched a couple of films in the 5 hour flight, as usual food and drinks provided so time passed quickly.

only problem was person in seat in front who insisted in reclining his seat which restricted my legroom,  I was only economy so suppose cannot complain, my right leg sufferred so went for occasional walks, as I had remembered how cool the air con was previously I had put on long trousers and a t shirt and long sleeved shirt so did not struggle so much with the cold. The flight attendants were very pleasant and helpful throughout the flight, luckily there was no change in time zone but saw the temperature was much cooler at my destination.

The plane was very large and I was told I would be last off but did not mind this, was man doing pushing of wheelchair, he took no effort to relieve problems at steps etc, so felt impact, but did get me through customs and immigration quickly. I have never seen so many drivers waiting to collect passengers in my life, I spotted man with my name so off to his vehicle,  given the cost, the ride and manner of his driving left a lot to be desired, I later found out I could of travelled by train for a fraction of the price.

When I got to the hotel it was an upmarket one with commissioners on the doors, I was quickly checked in and off to my room on the 26th floor, WOW it had a view across the city and stunning view outside the room as was on a corner. It was very well laid out with a lot of attention to detail and quality, better still it had a bath, with lots of storage space instead of the occasional drawer, I forgot to say that there was a change of weather it had dropped from 23 to about 9 so now had heating on in room, put my summer clothes at bottom of the case as I felt they were not going to be needed any more.

I was to find issues with internet firstly it was very slow unless I paid extra and would not connect to Facebook, Google and lots of other things I would of expected to use including here on Blogger, so am writing drafts to upload later, I had a great idea eventually to ask Mandy to mention to others thay I had issues and could not update for myself or Chico but was ok. Luckily Skype was working so able to chat to Jane who was very supportive,  at least its the end of the holiday.

Remembering what people had said about my diet and where I ate, for a change I went to a local cafe and had one of their local dishes which had rice with meat noodles and some pickled vegetables it cost the princely sum of £1 80 followed by a cake from the cake shop. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and catching up on the internet, although the TV had about 40 channels most were in Chinese apart from news channels just one or two showing old films, so spent last of evening planning tomorrows trip.

One more week to go 26 October 2014

It seems so long ago since my first chat with my son about a trip to the Grand Canyon, that developed into this marathon of 30 days away with over 60 hours in the sky, 5 countries and 10 destinations for me. Now there are three of us the latest addition is Gulliver Chico Glasser, see previous blog for more about him, dont forget to follow him on Facebook, he hashis own profile and will keep you up to date with his travels as well as photos with me.

They will be with me on my first leg to London that origionally was just a train trip, but thanks to you Maggie is now going to be an exciting adventure, with visits to the Poppy garden at the Tower, then a trip down the Thames by boat, a meal at the O2, then cable car across the river before a train trip to Docklands.  If I time it right it will then be a trip to Heathrow after rush hour to rest before the start of the real trip with our first adventure in New York.

So far it seems we are going to visit staten island ferry, the Statue of Liberty, the memorial to the Twin Towers and the Air Sea museum, but the first adventure there will be to find our hotel, as it involves a trip into the centre first.

After a few days there we travel to Vegas hopefully to visit the Grand Canyon, it came as a surprise that it gets cold in Vegas and the Canyon so it could affect our ability to get there and my sons planned bike ride on the Rim, but we will see. I am still hoping for the chance to meet up with my Buzzer friend Geri if her health is up to it. My son informs me we are having a look at casinos and the Strip is obviously going to be included, think may need to hire a scooter to help cope with distances.

My son then travels back home then its me and my new trusty friend Gulliver Chico Glasser for the rest of the journey. If you read back a little you will read about him, he is with me to promote ME Chronic Fatigue Syndrome awareness and promote our local group as well as encourage people to sponsor him on the groups behalf.

The next leg is to Auckland for a couple of days, then to Oz, Port Douglas, Ayres Rock, then Sydney. I have found a place there to stay where  whem I come in on the ferry there are spectacular views each day of the Opera House and Bridge at each destination it will be an adventure.

Then its onto Malaysia with a trip to visit my friend in Penang followed by a trip to Singapore and finally to Shanghai before returning back to London again for the last leg home.

Its thanks to Sue at Ace Travel2 that its all been possible,  thanks Sue for all your time and patience over the months in the planning and sorting out paperwork for the trip as well as encouragement with the mammoth task, I must stop making lists as my luggage will be overloaded with them.

My visas are in place,  Sue is coming this week to go through all my paperwork to make sure I have my E tickets transfer and hotel vouchers, my GP has sorted out my prescription and  I should have a letter from her, so there are no issues for the medication I will be carrying for pain relief. I have had all necessary inoculations and more recently my flu jabs and just to make sure, have travel insurance to cover the trip.

After I thought about the cold in New York and possibly Vegas and the Canyon, I have made sure that I will have sufficient clothing that will cope with the hot and cold weather, I have tried packing my case and everything I can think of is going in and it is still under weight,  sorry have not included yet all of Chicos clothes some kindly donated by Caroline and  Mandy, do another task for me. I have decided as I am travelling with Chico that this time I will not take my SLR camera rather, my tablet, compact camera and recently purchased camcorder to record what I see on my travels and also to copy onto my blog but also to keep copies to show when I get back home. They will take up less room and be more inconspicuous I hope as I travel around.

Although it is now so close I still have not sorted out the best way to deal with money in the various countries, despite advice from my friend Paul which has been helpful on the subject and other aspects of my trip. But will finally resolve this week, its so complicated with a range of currencies to deal with in particular when I first arrive at destinations in the different countries and the first few hours whilst I find my bearings, so different as a lone traveller than with an organised trip, but much more exciting I hope.

Well I will close for now, hope you enjoy the read and will continue to follow the adventure as it unfolds.