The Grande Tour (Bucket list-2017)

Dear Reader, As many of you may know, Google, Gmail & Blogger is blocked in China; so no posts were able to be made until we reached Russia; and we can't get the internet on the train ...will try to catch up along the way. Regards, Di & Michael. ---NOW BACK TO THE BLOG---   Wednesday - July 26 Departed Sydney after an hour and a half delay at the airport because only one runway was in operation (for both landing and take off) due to strong crosswinds. Bye Bye Sydney - see you later Our flight was ten and a half hours, smooth and pleasant with good movies, food and wines.   At Shanghai Pudong airport we caught the Maglev train - an amazing German designed train that uses magnetic levitation over the ‘track’ and can travel at speeds over 400KpH. Within 8 minutes at 301KpH, we had travelled to the Shanghai Longyang Station - a distance of over 32Km. The Maglev indicator and our speed Although it was 9.30pm at night, the taxi took almost an ho...

Au Revoir a Sydney... Leaving Sydney -  a few things that will we miss (and they are free) Our last day can only be described as a classic winter's day... Cold start with an almost cloudless sunrise then warmer though the day until sunset. Sunrise over the Pacific Ocean at Freshwater Beach - We never get tired of this view. And.... Last week had to go to the city in the evening and travelled on the Manly ferry - one of the best rides in the world. , As we headed towards the city, we were treated with the classic winter sunset on the two Sydney ikons - the Opera house and the Harbour Bridge were beautifully silhouetted by the setting golden sun. I wish I had my camera but the iPhone was all I had to hand. À tout de suite. Off to warm Shanghai ..

Making Plans Opera on the Harbour - April 2015 From Left: Ian McCarry, Diane McCarry, Michael Mead, Diane Mead What will do on our 2017 holiday? - in the beginning After a great time on an APT tour of Myanmar in late 2016,  the McCarrys and the Meads decided to plan a trip in 2017. Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mandalay, November 2016 It all started with a discussion on a possible trip down the Mississippi on a Paddle Steamer but then evolved into "Why don't we go to some very different". "How about a train trip on the Trans Siberian Railway, -that's different". From there, the creative juices flowed and we reasoned to go on the Trans Mongolian and begin in Beijing which is far better accessed as a start point from Sydney than Vladivostok. So we searched and found we could include Shanghai with a non-stop flight and then why not go by the Fast Train to Beijing. Then our creative juices followed... "Let's have a relaxed journey without lots...