The holiday itinerary

Well I know roughly what the trip will include, but not the specifics.  The holiday company, Asian Horizons, tell me the complete itinerary should be with me about two weeks prior to departure.  I'm flying with Emirates out of Birmingham International on Friday the 10th, via Dubai.  I could have gone direct with BA, but fancied a little late night shopping en route! Err, yeah, right!
Into Beijing, extra day to get over the jet lag. Tour then gets under way and we take in the Great Wall, Tianenman Square, Forbidden city. Internal flight down to Xien, which is where the Terracotta Army is. Next stop Chengdu, and the bit of the holiday for Judy, because she will be with me as I go to the Panda Research and Breeding Centre. On down the Yangtze for a 3-night cruise, taking in the Three Gorges. And finally into Shanghai to finish. Flight back into the UK and Birmingham on Sunday 26th.

The tour is called the "Classic Middle Kingdom with Yangtze River Cruise" - details can be found on the link.  Includes internal flights, river cruise, train, coach and by the looks of it a rickshaw!

So UK apart, the world tour .....

The world tour has taken in some spectacular places

In no particular order, but all out of the UK:

• Paris
• Rome
• Venice
• Prague
• Krakow
• Tallinn
• Brussels
• Tunisia
• Jamaica
• Cuba
• Barbados
• Antigua
• Brazil (including a 3-day trip to Rio!!)
• Mexico
• Sri Lanka

Putting something on about these might keep me busy over the winter!

A chilly day in Prague

Welcome to Playacar, Mexico - 6 hour delay in Birmingham so needed a drink after a 25 hour trip!

Toasting the health of the Pope in Rome - 2003

West to east

China!

I need a break - the last couple of years have been very stressful. Even our last holiday, to Jamaica, was tough as Judy began to show signs of her illness. Everyone tells me how wonderful I was in her last few months, but sometimes it doesn't feel that way. Never have regrets - one big one is that I never was able to take her to New York the city of her dreams - but you do have regrets.

Everyone tells me that Judy would want me to do things - for us and for her memory. Don't think I could face a holiday as we used to have - relaxing and mooching round interesting places in the sunshine. So what to do? An email came my way, advertising fully escorted tours to many places. New York? No, too soon - but I will go there some day, Judy. Up popped China. Could I do it? Everyone tells me to go for it (thanks to Helen, Katherine, Debs and Emma in particular!) So it's booked. And as of yesterday I can say "I go to China next month".

Passport sorted. Visa granted. Jabs up to date. Guide book borrowed and bought; phrase books borrowed and bought. I can count to 5, say yes or no, hello and thank you in Mandarin. I'm learning "A large beer please!". A few bits and pieces bought, such as a rucksack, comfortable shoes, loo paper (I've read the guide books' key tips!).

So this is where we start. Day off work and England are shocking against India. I'm hoping to find ways of keeping people in touch with me, and have set up my Twitter account - @dspworcester - so the other suggestion from David Coleman was to set up a blog. As a Yorkshireman, it has to be free of course, so here we go!

On a restaurant cruise from Stratford - the Countess of Evesham