Sydney-Tianjin-Bangkok-Turkey-Greek Islands-Norway by cruiseship, flights and ferries.

[woodyren]

Once my companions returned to the ship I took the stairs to the Aksla viewpoint for some wonderful views over the town.














Walked for an hour or so along the tracks on top of the viewpoint.







The sign at the base of these stairs states that they were originally built from Leggo but people kept pilfering the blocks. Not sure if true.



It also states at the bottom (I clipped the bottom when I took the shot) that these and the 400 or so above it are "Not suitable for wheelchairs" I would think that would have been quite obvious and anyway I think I had walked 50 or so steep stairs before I reached this point.

 

[woodyren]

raSecond last port on the Serenade of the Seas Arctic Circle cruise was Flam. Flam along with Gieranger were the highlights of the cruise.

First highlight was the sail into Flam with the early morning passage through the Sognefjord.

The morning was a little misty and breezy but still stunning.



A little hard o contemplate how people live in such isolation. Note the small farm on the cliff tops.









Arriving at Flam and the river that carved out the valley that we were to travel through later on the famous Flam railway.




Flam railway station viewed from the ship.

 

[woodyren]

I plan and organise most of our travels. Mostly we enjoy doing things independently in ports when we cruise. Cruise excursions can have a decent mark up from what you can source locally and they take advantage of those who like to take the easy way out of are worried about the ship leaving if they are late. Cruise excursion sales staff push this line constantly.

In Flam the ship had booked out all the available trips on the Flam railway and had sold all of the less expensive train trips which were a trip to Myrdal at the top of the valley and return. We almost gave up on a train ride and we just going to see what we could pick up in port but at the last minute the day before we arrived we decided to bite the bullet and pony up and book on the ship for the more expensive 9 hour tour called "Flam in a nutshell" or something similar.

So glad we took the tour. One of the great days in port.

The first part was a bus trip to the town of Voss. Travelling from Flam we passed through two 10+klm tunnels that final connected the town that was previously only accessible by rail and ferry to the rest of Norway.







Scenic Fjord and waterfall stops on the way as we wound through the valleys and mountains and lakes on the way to Voss.



The waterfall in the foreground was quite a sight but as the clouds cleared a little there was another even higher up. Really hard to do this view justice. Even in reality it looked like some computer generated image tacked on to the real scene.






The old original road that winds up out of the valley. Now only one way and travelled buy the tourists.

 

[woodyren]

Arrived at the town of Voss for a buffet lunch at a local hotel and a little free time to look around before we boarded the train for the trip to Myrdal to change trains and ride the Flam railway.






Voss station.










Our train arriving.

 

[woodyren]

Departed the main line train at Myrdal and waited for 30 minutes or so taking in the vistas at the station.






Train ride down the mountain was the highlight of a fantastic day. As a person who has worked in rail track maintenance and construction for almost 40 years I am in awe of the people who build and maintain these mountain railways in what are at times such inhospitable conditions.

 

[woodyren]

The sail out from Flam was even more spectacular that the arrival. The wind and cloud had all but disappeared and the reflections of the mountains in the glassy water were stunning.
















We barely cleared some of the power lines strung across the Fjord. Impressive how much effort has gone into supplying services to small remote villages.

 

[woodyren]

Last port of call on the Serenade of the Seas was Bergen.

Another port which was easily accessible from the ship with enough interesting sights to fill the day just walking around.


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​

 

[woodyren]

Serenade cruise finished where it stared in Copenhagen.

We caught the local bus from the port back to Osterport Station then the train to Copenhagen Central.



Our el cheapo hotel this time was Cabinn City which while again small and basic was ideally located a short walk away from Central Station and the city centre.

Dropped our bags and spent the day walking the city.





















Our hotel on the right.

 

[woodyren]

Up at 4am to travel to the airport for our flights from Copenhagen via Helsinki to Beijing on Finnair. Flights were Qantas award flights in business and were 65,000 points each.

We again caught the local train to airport and hoped for a few hours of relaxation and breakfast. On arrival we were told that check in at Kastrup only starts a maximum of 2 hours prior to flights so by the time we arrived at the lounge we only had around 45 minutes access time. Finnair's lounge at Kastrup is the Atelier lounge. Very colourful but a little underwhelming with it's breakfast items.








Unfortunately a little too early to sample the beers on tap.


Juices and smoothies were quite good.




A bit of football world cup livery. Flight was on June 15th and there seemed to be a lot of people travelling to Russia from both Copenhagen and Helsinki for the football.




Oresund bridge and tunnel linking Denmark and Sweden.


The one hour J flight to Helsinki was a typical Euro local J setup of regular 3 x 3 seating with the middle seat blocked out.

 

[woodyren]

Had a long enough layover in Helsinki for a quick trip into the city but after being on the road for quite a while we ended up deciding to stay at the airport and sample the two Finnair lounges rather than rush around for the day.

The first lounge was outside the Schengen area and after spending a little time there the staff recommended that we pass through immigration and spend our time in the other lounge which had better facilities.
















Passing through immigration into the Schengen area of the airport. Not sure why they bothered building more than 20 booths when they used one of them. Took close to an hour to check through.


For some reason that may or may not have been directly or indirectly linked to a few to many drinks I did not take many photos of the Finnair Schengen area lounge. It was extremely comfortable with excellent recliner chairs and stools as well as a couple of sleep pods.







Shortly after arrival at the lounge we were informed our flight was delayed by at least 4 hours due to a technical issue. As we had entered the Schengen area we were now unable to exit the airport and visit Helsinki. In hindsight we should have stayed longer in the non Schengen lounge and we would have been able to have at least 8 hours to spend in the city.

 

[woodyren]

Finnair flight from Helsinki to Beijing ended up being delayed by 6 hours.

This caused an issue with our bullet train connection the following day from Beijing to Shenyang which we had pre-booked but allowed for a 5 hour window after the scheduled landing time. More on this later.

Finnair J hard product, service and drinks were top notch. Food was fine but not up to the rest of their product. All in all though an excellent experience.









Loved the glassware and cups and one of each may have accidently fell into our carry on.









Flying over St Petersburg around 1am. Spectacular viewing on the tail camera.


Approach to Beijing.

 

[woodyren]

Arrived into Beijing around five and a half hours late and only just before our trains scheduled departure so we obviously missed our connection to Shenyang. This was exasperated by it being a holiday in China and holidays in China are hectic for travel at the best of times.

We caught the airport express to Dongzhimen station and transferred to line 2 for the connection to Beijing railway station. The connection at Dongzhimen is a little difficult as the older subway lines have no elevators or escalators and we needed to carry our luggage up a few flights of stairs.

Arrived at Beijing and Mrs woodyren headed off to the ticketing section to see what she could do about getting a new booking. Previous experience had me feeling quite pessimistic about our chances of a ticket at this late stage on a holiday and I was resigned to us staying in a local hotel and traveling the next day.

Luckily they exchanged our booked (and missed) reservation at no charge for a ticket on a train around 4 hours later. Apparently you are allowed one free of charge ticket change even if you have missed your train. The ticket was only standing room though but at least we would arrive back in Shenyang that night.

The contrast in travel from one day to the next.

From the uncrowded Finnair J lounge.....



To a 4 hour wait in a jam packed Beijing station on a holiday.





From the comfort of a lie flat sky bed……



To a standing room ticket where ever you can find a spot and a packed Chinese train.



Of course I managed to get an upgrade to the best standing room ticket in the train. Pro tip. You can pay porters to carry your luggage onto the platform at many Chinese stations. Mrs woodyren paid I think 20RMB for them to carry one bag and we got to accompany that bag with me carting the rest of the luggage onto the platform. This got us to the head of the line at a carriage of our choice and the pick of any standing room space.

My seat for the 5 hour train trip.



A final comment. Despite the difference in comfort levels I love the experiences either way despite the frustrations at the time.

 

[craven morehead]

Finnair flight from Helsinki to Beijing ended up being delayed by 6 hours.
Finnair J hard product, service and drinks were top notch. Food was fine but not up to the rest of their product. All in all though an excellent experience.
View attachment 134282

Loved the glassware and cups and one of each may have accidently fell into our carry on.

View attachment 134288

I actually pre-purchased 2 sets of each glasses on the TXL-HEL flight and they were then delivered to me in-seat on my HEL-SIN a few days later. Kept one set of each for myself and used the others for gifts. People really seem to like them

 

[woodyren]

Arrived back in Shenyang North China for our last 6 weeks of our trip. My days there are usually just spent relaxing, reading and taking regular walks around......oh and eating probably the best food I have ever eaten.

A few photos of what I am talking about. Most of the photos are taken at a top seafood place. Mrs woodyren knows someone who knows some one who knows the owner......it's how China works.

























This last photo was at a local BBQ place where some friends invited us to diner the night the Socceroos where playing Denmark in the world cup.

 

[woodyren]

The same person who owns the seafood place in the last post also owns a huge buffet restaurant. While it also specialises in seafood it has a huge variety of other foods available as well. Fixed cost covers everything on display apart from Lobster and King Crab which is an upcharge. They have ready cooked items or you can just select fresh ingredients and the cooks, who are situated behind the foods on display, will prepare and cook them in a variety of styles while you wait. Beers, juices and soft drink also included in the cost.

The food display and preparation area must be around 30 x 30 metres square and the whole place possible around half a football field in size. There are open table area settings and private rooms in a variety of sizes.

Another place that we get a regular invite to dine.

 

[woodyren]

An opportunity of a little trip within a trip became available toward the end of our stay in North China.

A cheap local tour to Changsha and Zhangjajie National Park and surrounding regions. Mrs woodyren was sent the flyer from a local travel agency and of course when I was asked should we go it was a quick "yes please" from me.

The tour was for 5 nights and included flights, hotels (3 star), admission and most meals. Of course all the tour group were locals and communication was in Mandarin. We have undertaken local group tours before and I'm fine with it as I just tag along behind the infamous tour guides flag.

The tour began with our flight from Shenyang to Changsha. Sichuan airlines economy flight was perfectly fine. As usual Mrs woodyren's nephew who works in the VIP section of Shenyang airport escorted us through queues and security.









Our Sichuan Airlines Airbus.


Above Changsha.



Approach to Changsha.



On the ground at Changsha.

 

[woodyren]

We were picked up at the airport early evening and transferred to our Changsha hotel.

Metro/light rail departing Changsha airport.



No hotel photos and I didn't even get it's name. Three star was a stretch but it was decent enough for a nights sleep.

Breakfast was at 6 am for a 7 am pickup from the tour company bus.

Downtown Changsha. Photos from the tour coach as we headed to our first stop. Orange Island Park in the middle of the Xiang River.

 

[woodyren]

Day 1 of the tour consisted of what turned out to be a Chairman Mao pilgrimage for the locals. Mao was born nearby and educated in the area I believe.

Orange Island which consisted of mostly parklands and gardens also featured a huge monument to the Chairman. We were given an hour or so to just walk around the Island or catch one of the kitschy tourist type fake trains that are, unfortunately, so much a part of many Chinese tourist locations.

The Island from the bus.



Passed on the train ride.



Enjoyed the gardens and the walk around.

 

[woodyren]

Next stop was a visit to Mao's family home. The whole area has been turned into a tourist area which I referred to as Maoland. While some parts were interesting I doubt the man himself would be impressed with the rampant commercialism that was present. Everything from the "limited addition" badges that our guide was peddling to the plastic Mao statures to the floral tributes that were sold and placed in front of his giant statue (only to be retrieved and resold to the next group lol).

The main entrance to "Maoland"









Mao booze.



Almost every group purchased these floral tributes at a path leading to the square then marched forward to place them at the foot of the statue. I then watched as people removed them from the back rows and carried them by motor bike along another path to resell them.

​

 

[woodyren]

Sorry for dragging out the TR but I have worked 7 days a week since our return earning money for the next trip at the end of Sept.....

We left Maoland which was at times interesting, occasionally wonderful but on the most part underwhelming and headed by way of a five hour bus ride towards Zhangjiajie national park. All the rest of the group of 30 or so were Chinese and only a few spoke some English but for most part our tour companions were welcoming and many were very interested to learn about why a Westerner had joined the tour. Mrs woodyren as usual translated most conversations.

Our lodging for the next two nights was a smallish lodge about half an hours bus ride from the main park entrance. Half the group stayed in the lodge and half in another nearby.

Quite good accommodation.







The place next door under construction and almost completed.


Our lodge was about 5 minutes walk up/down a steep road from the town. We had breakfast and in a restaurant here each day. While dinner was fine I'm not a great fan of traditional Chinese breakfasts (congee, some pickled vegetables etc) so I just had a couple of boiled eggs usually.




A few photos of dinner and our regular table mates.


Local beer night one.


Second nights dinner was interesting. A plastic bottle of what I thought was lemon cordial was placed on each table as we sat down. It turned out to be a local alcoholic drink made from rice wine and lemons. Quite good and I called it Chinese Margaritas. We ended up having one glass each and then three of the men at the table and myself finished off our bottle and then half of another that had remained unconsumed by an adjoining table of our group.




Fun night talking rubbish in two different languages.