After leaving Australia, our first port of call was Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Beautiful harbour, and the people were really friendly. It was Aurora's first visit there, and we were made welcome, even the volcano behaved itself!
We then cruised on to Japan, taking 5 days to cross. First stop was Osaka, where we did a tour to Kyoto. Here is the Golden Pavillion, just stunning. Then on to Nijo Castle, which has an amazing timber floor that whistles just like birds. It's called the Nightingale Floor. This was to prevent the Ninjas creeping up on the Shogun.
Golden Pavillion and Nijo Castle 
Then on to Nagasaki, where we toured the Atomic Bomb Museum. Wow, it really makes you think about the consequences of war. The Japanese were so hospitable, friendly, and they all seemed to speak English. We were told that Kyoto/Osaka were the second bomb target, but the US Defence Secretary had been there, and said it was too beautiful and historic to destroy, so they bombed Nagasaki instead.
Peace Statue - he is pointing to where the bomb fell, and where it came from.
Origami Cranes are a symbol of peace, and are hanging everywhere
From there we cruised to China, stopping in Beijing to visit the Great
Wall after a ride on the Bullet train. It's a tough climb!!! Two people from the ship did their knees! Then cruised on to Shanghai, which was stunning. The architecture is just amazing, and the people friendly. We then set off for Hong Kong, where we spent two days sightseeing and shopping. Pretty harbour, and we chugged around in the ferries and sampans.
Will continue the journey shortly, enjoy!
