Part two……..

Wed Nov 25

Slept really good!  The bed is very hard….very, very hard!! But nice fluffy pillows and comforters.  I think they turn the heat down to zero at night.  Woke up to go to the bathroom and almost froze…it was really cold but OK once I got back into bed.

Didn’t set the alarm for this morning because we didn’t have an excursion until later.  At 7:30, thru the PA system, they start playing music or something and then a guy comes on and says “have you had your breakfast…..blah blah blah….!!!!  This was a good thing I guess because I think I could have slept for a few more hours.  Looked outside and there is another boat right up against ours….a cargo boat of some kind…..a man was hanging up his laundry and waved at me!!

Breakfast buffet was really good.  The bacon looked a little odd but tasted really good.  After breakfast we went to the acupuncture and TCM lecture at 8:30 with Dr. Lui.  It was very interesting.

Our shore excursion today was back to the ancient city of Jingzhou (where we were supposed to start the cruise).  First we did the wall, which surrounds the old city and was quite lovely.  There was also a “ancient” pagoda (with shops underneath).  Lots of little shops across the road.  Shirl and I bought “bracelets”, which are really prayer beads, made from apricot pits.  Donna bought a couple of bottles of “Great Wall” wine (which was NOT good). Quite a lot of history and really quite a very nice place.

https://www.chinahighlights.com/jingzhou/attraction/jingzhou-ancient-city.htm

Next stop after driving thru the “old town” (any city name with “hou” on the end means it’s the old or original town name).  Lots to look at going thru this city of 4+ million people!  In a matter of one day, yesterday, I was in 4 of some of just about the biggest cities I’ve ever been in in my whole life!  Xi’an has 9 million, Wuhan 14 million, between Jingzhou and Yichang, another 10 million or so…..the population of the 4 cities is just about the entire population of Canada!

Had the best lunch yet!  or dinner for that matter.  It was in the old walled part of the town.  Lots of great dishes……sweet and sour pork, sautéed beef, fried and breaded fish, cucumber and fungus (really good!), some sort of a roll filled with yams and maybe lotus paste (breaded too), rice of course and even more dishes than I can remember now.  And beer….only one glass was free but you could get a big bottle for 20Y.  The restaurant had a big moving sign that said “Welcome Sinorama Tour Group”.  Definitely the best meal, and most food, we’ve had so far.

After lunch we drove thru the town again…..after the bus did a U turn on a very busy street!  So much activity on the streets here.  I really like the cooking shops/pop up restaurants, or whatever you would call them, that have all the big pots and woks or steamers set up right on the sidewalks. I bet that food is fantastic!  Lots of people on the street, shopping, visiting etc.  Took a picture of a very old lady sitting with a guy selling chestnuts and peanuts, then he wanted some money!!  So I bought some of the roasted chestnuts….he wanted 20Y but I only had 7 so he took the bag back and took some out….lol!

There were no highrises in the old city…..the rule is no buildings over 7 stories but off in the distance you can see all the huge mega story apartments…..there is never just one building….they build at least 3 or 10 exactly the same.  Some are still brand new, some not so, and most seem pretty empty.  They build them in anticipation of more people moving to the city.  Lots of laundry hanging off both new and old buildings….they have spiffy clothes line contraptions that can extend out a few feet giving them more clothes hanging room.

Many modes of transportation…..

On to the Jingzhou Museum.  Very nice museum with the 2000+ yr old mummy that is extremely well preserved.  Some really nice lacquer ware found in the excavations, all quite well preserved and in great shape and ancient silk garments and other fabrics.  The museum is in a couple of pagoda buildings with a little lake and lots of trees.  Even some bonsai.  Pretty baskets and pots of what look like those small winter mums, which had been trained to tumble over the sides.  The grounds could have been very beautiful and may well be come summer.

The drive back to Yichang was about an hour and half.  All through the countryside, which was really very nice.  The houses, or at least some of them, are bigger and look much like houses at home.  Some stand all alone in the middle of nowhere, others in little hamlet type communities.  Very beautiful and well tended gardens and rice paddies.  There are ponds (presuming for irrigation) all over the place, almost like little lakes….even with men fishing on some of them.

Back into Yichang.  Huge railway station with bridges crisscrossing in every directions.  Tons of new building complexes here too.  A real mix of old and new, all with laundry! Love it!  Again, lots of new buildings that have no one living in them.  All the highrises here and in the other cities must be at least 50 stories or more.

Onto the boat with just enough time to shower and get ready for “formal night” and the captains “welcome aboard” dinner.  He (thru an interpreter) introduced all the important people on the boat and thanked us for joining them.

Buffet as usual.  Thought they might have something a little more exciting or fancy, but no……  After dinner there was a show, some dancers and then music for dancing….they played YMCA and the chicken dance, which got everyone up on the floor.  A few good songs but the bar and everything else was pretty much closed/finished by 9:30.

Long day today but a really good one!  Weather started out iffy but turned our quite lovely…..some sun! Very tired tonight.

Thurs Nov 26

Did not sleep well last night.  Woke up a 1/2 dozen times.  The light from the battery charger was bugging me….but did I get up and move it…no.  Tossed and turned.  Maybe got 2 hours sleep altogether.

At some point last night we left Yichang and started up the river.  We went thru the first lock just past Yichang….I guess not important enough to mention….maybe that was some of the noises that kept me awake….lots of banging and clanging.

Breakfast was good again.  Off to the “Water Village” tribe of the Three Gorges.

There are 4 Sinorama cruise ships…most of the “ports” can only fit 2 of them, so whoever gets there last has to tie up to the one that is already docked so you have to get off your boat and walk across/thru the one that’s tied up…..not always a cruise ship either!

The Water Village is man made but at the original tribal site from eons ago.  It was a bit of a walk from the ship.  First we had to get off the ship by crossing over what appeared to have been an old freighter or may not have been??  I think they use these a piers or docks.  No bus for this excursion….a very long walkway along the river….seems like we walked for miles. Very pretty with benches that were covered with trellises shaped like a “C”.  The path then turned and went along side a small river/stream.  Well worth the walk once we got there. They had some junk type boats and fishing net things set up to show what life was like on the river villages years ago.  There were some rock statues that looked more Mayan than Chinese along the way.  It was all very pretty, especially with the big bamboo forested hillside. They put on a “wedding show” for us…..volunteers from the audience to take part.  There are monkeys too!  We seen 4 or 5 of them at first.  When we got to the end of the walk there was a temple or pagoda and a very pretty waterfall.  A person was sitting in a little house/shed that was calling the moneys….and we think feeding them.  One was on the rocks in the stream and the others came flying thru the trees and across the platform that we were standing on.  One of them had a baby on her tummy.

We walked back on the other side of the stream so got a bit of a different view.  I really liked all the bamboo!!  So pretty, blows so gently in the breeze….very softly and gently.  Most of the trees still have leaves , some were starting to turn to fall colours here and there.

There was a little market/food stall place near the end.  The food smelled so good! Some of it didn’t look too terribly appetizing tho.   All in all, man made or whatever, it was a really interesting, entertaining and fun morning.

Back along the river again and on to the ship.  We sailed just a few minutes after everyone was on board.  Buffet lunch and cruising the river until around 2.  Donna and I had some quiet time after lunch…..made some tea and sat on our balcony (with coats and scarves)…..was very pleasant just sitting and watching the scenery……so beautiful, almost mystical with the mist/haze hanging over the river and the mountains and cliffs.  Lots of bridges!  Old ones and new ones!

Three Gorges Dam this afternoon.  Picked up by buses after walking thru a market selling all sorts of stuff….souvenirs, food, clothes etc…..very aggressive vendors!  Tour of the Three Gorges Dam was really interesting.  It is huge of course like everything else and not without a lot of controversy….. environmental, political and social issues….though of course, none of this is mentioned anywhere…but just the size of it boggles the mind!  The largest hydroelectric dam in the world.  We visited the information centre first where there is a great big scale model of the dam and locks.   Then back out and up some mega escalators, 5 altogether….all big and one really big one (was a bit scary even looking back down).  This took us to the top of Jar Mountain, so named because of the thing/building/monument, or whatever it was, that they built at the top that looks like a jar!  We were able to see the ship locks from there.  There are five locks but sometimes, depending on where they have the river level, the last lock is not used.  The locks are HUGE.  There were at least 3 or 4 ships (freighters, car carriers/ferries) in each one.  There is also an “elevator” that will be in use by 2016 sometime for smaller boats, which are still pretty big.  It’s a massive project and like everything else here everything that goes with the dam, such a the information centre, the viewpoints, lookouts, parks (2 or 3) etc. is big too.  There are also a few towns (BIG…..1-3 million) in the area that were created for the workers, but most of them are almost empty now that the dam is mostly finished.  The city on Jar Mountain has some people and they hope more will move  there.  There are hotels, sports stadiums, hospitals etc., most of which don’t get used.  Kind of bizarre really……a lot of expensive ghost towns!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam

It was a bit chilly to start today and biting cold at the top of the mountain, so was good to get back down and on the bus.  We stopped in a market, on the reservoir side of the dam, clothes, souvenirs, food etc.  Bought some sweet potato chips (good).  I think the lady may have given me a fake 5, so I bought a bunch of oranges and used that bill!  Winston warned us to not buy wine or beer from vendors like this….they actually sell fake beer and wine (which I think Donna and I have already discovered!).  How they fake beer, I have no idea….it looks pretty much the real stuff to me in 6 packs with the plastic holders and all!

Not a good day for pictures 😦  too dull.

Our boat stayed at the dock for most of the evening until just before 9 when we got in line for our turn to go thru the locks.  The locks are big enough to hold our boat, a small car carrier and one of the sand/rock barges, with room to spare!  It took 40 minutes or thereabouts to go thru each lock.

Lots of clanking, clunking and banging going on, mostly from the boats rubbing on the side of the locks.  Donna and I went down to the room and on to the balcony and touched the wall (the dry part!)….it was just right there!  Managed to be on deck (very bundled up!) to go thru 3 of them but went to bed before we went thru the last one.  Certainly not all the hoopla like when you go thru the Panama Canal….I don’t know why because it was really quite interesting and I think we would have enjoyed it much more if it had happened during the daylight hours, but appears commercial traffic gets priority.  Regardless of all the controversy surrounding this project it really is quite amazing to see it.

Fri Nov 27 (Happy birthday Linds!)

Up early again!  The breakfast was pretty good today.  They had bacon(ish), beans and a potato something…..the egg guy and today a waffle guy too!  Funny though….he flipped my eggs and I told him I would like them “well done”, so he gave them to the person behind me in the line up and cracked two more for me!!!  Ah sigh…..but I had coffee so all was good.

Excursion today was on a smaller boat thru the Lesser Three Gorges.  We went 2 hours or so one way and then back the same route.  It was pretty nice.  Each of the three gorge areas was just a little different.  One famous place was the “3000 year old” wooden coffin in a cave up the mountain with no sign of any access.  Story has it that they built a cantilevered walkway along the rock side of the mountain to get it in there and then tore it down after so no one could get to it and pillage it….hmmmm.  Don’t think anything wood would last that long!  Good story though.

The gorges are quite narrow with just about sheer rock walls that are fairly high…..it’s hard to imagine just how steep and deep the gorges were before the dam was built…..water level, depending on what they’re doing at the dam is 300 – 500ft higher than pre-dam.

The boats that we were one were pretty big, probably holding a couple hundred people.  There was only a tiny indoor area where you really couldn’t see too much, so we stayed outside, bundled up again as it was pretty chilly on the water.   Was really very pretty thru those gorges.  Little villages or a house or two clinging to the side of the hills, terraced gardens and near the end/turn around point, fishing traps or weirs.  There is a ferry, more like a big rowboat that is like a water taxi to take people across the river.

Chatted with some people from Bus 6…..from Argentina!  Maria and Alfredo…..got some good tips on where to stay in Buenos Aires for our trip in April next year.  Fun bunch but a little overbearing after a while!  (DO NOT STAY IN SAN TELMO not safe at night, she says…good to know!)

We just stayed on the same side on the way back so see the other side of the gorges.  We saw monkeys.  Except near the turn around point, everything pretty much just clings to the sides of the mountains…..it’s very pretty going thru this area.

There always seems to be food for sale everywhere we stop…..even on the dock/pier when we get off the ship, if not a market.  Loved some of the signs!!

Back on the boat around 12:30 for lunch.  The lunches seem to be a little better than the dinners but still not terribly good….at least there is enough food.  Spent the rest of the afternoon in the bar, watching the scenery go by.   I had the one Bacardi Breezer that was in the fridge.  When I went up and ordered another, it was warm so I asked if I could have a cold one and he took the bottle and put it in an ice bucket??  I asked if I could have a glass with some ice instead.   Kathy from RI ordered a gimlet, which was one of the 1/2 price happy hour specials for the day, and they brought her a vodka martini with two black olives in it…..I think gimlets are gin??  We had to go up to the bar and order our drinks from a lady, who then, while you were standing there, told the guy behind the bar what you wanted (in English!).  Once in a while a waiter was on the floor and would take your order but he could only take one order at a time???  Ah well…..made for an interesting afternoon!  It was really an enjoyable afternoon….good to just sit and watch the scenery for the day.  We did move the big screen TV that was right in the middle of the front window…..it’s  for a game where you can drive the ship.

Donna went for a foot massage…..one hour….said it was great.  We have been tracking our walking on her fitbit and it’s been at 10,000 minimum a day.  One day it was almost 20,000!

Went for dinner around 6:45.  Unfortunately the only good things were the dumplings, chicken wings (spicy) and yam rolls.

Back to the bar/lounge after for the guest talent show.  Lots of fun!  A couple of the buses entire groups put on a show…the best one was the ladies from Seattle….their flight was cancelled , then they showed up in Beijing without anyone there to meet them….they reinacted the whole thing…..lots of laughs.  One group did tai chi and a bunch of ladies did their dancing.  One group danced to a Neil Diamond song sung by one of the men (Chinese….could not speak English!!)….very good!  And one of the Argentinian groups did a striptease….lol.  They were actually quite rude and pushy a lot of the time on the boat….sort of taking over areas, loud etc.

Just before bed time we passed another “mega” city.  Tons of new buildings, 30 – 50 stories high, all light up….not just regular lights but ones that changed colours or looked like waterfalls or zigzags or whatever they could think of.  On top of one of the hills was a building that looked like St Peter’s in Rome (was probably just as big too!) with columns and all.  It was lit up gold.  There was some huge, like bigger than our BC Place Stadium, thing that kind of looked like an upside down satellite dish or UFO that was lit up and changed from silver to blue and back.  Then we came to the massive stadium that also changed colours….blue, green, red, purple, orange etc. and a street that went up the hill that was also lit up with all different coloured lights.  We passed at least one city like this every night.  Margaret (from China….now lives in Seattle) said they turn the lights out as soon as the last ship goes around the bend???  There were 4 cruise ships in a row (we were #3), so only one behind us.  I think I might actually believe her in that we should have been able to see the lights of that city up over the mountain, reflecting off the clouds for miles…..but all we seen was darkness behind the last boat.  That is pretty ridiculous, if true!

Sat Nov 28

Up early today for our excursion to the Shibaozhai Pagoda.  Breakfast was good.  Apparently coffee is very expensive in China.  There is no freaking way to get a cup of coffee before “early bird” coffee which is only a 1/2 hour before the dining room opens…..and today they didn’t have it because the dining room opened earlier for the excursion…..not good if you’re up at 6AM!  Seriously will remember to take instant packets next time regardless of where I go!

Very pretty…..we sailed in past the pagodas.  One was part way up a hill/mountain on the river and because it would have been underwater, or at least part of it, when the dam was built, they created a coffer dam around it.  To get to it you walk thru the town/city of Shenbao, where there are tons of vendors selling anything and everything.  Shirl and I found some cute pajamas we really like and tried to do some bargaining.  We thought we were going to get 2 pair for 60Y but she meant TWO PIECES….lol. Top and bottom, not two pair.  Winston was trying to help us but suggested we just keep moving on to the pagoda and try again on the way back (when the ships are going to be leaving as well as any profit!!).

The walkway or boulevard to the pagoda was also lined with vendors selling the same stuff.  Mostly scarves, jammies and really cute sweaters.  Once you’ve walked thru the town and all the vendors you come to a bridge, sort of a suspension type, that will get you to the pagoda.  It’s all very pretty.  The pagoda was built right into the rock.  All the grounds around it have been preserved by the coffer dame, which is what you walk on to get there.  There are supposed to be 99 steps to the top of the pagoda…..not sure there are quite that many but definitely a lot of them.  They’re very steep, small wooden steps, so you need relatively strong legs to get up.  You can tell the stairs are old by the way they’ve been made.  We (Loyanne, Donna and I) made it all the way to the top.  There was also a stone set of stairs that you could go up with a chain for a railing.  It was even more steep than the wooden ones.  Once at the top there is the temple that has 3 chapels…not sure exactly what you’d call them, the rice cave and the duck cave, each with their own story.  It’s a Buddhist temple but parts of it looked Hindu.  No monks anymore, just a couple more vendors selling the same stuff the ones below sell.  I did by a pillow cover….very pretty with mostly gold, some black figures and a red circle.  The views from the top are pretty  nice.  You get a view of the bridge, the town, the river and all the ships tied up in port.

To get back down you take the new, wide and easy to use, stairway.  Getting back to the ship you have to walk the same way you came in thru all the vendors.  I bought a very pretty scarf for 60Y, thought I’d done OK until another vendor offered exactly the same scarf for 25Y!! Oh well, I like it and I guess that’s what really counts.  I was trying to take a picture of some strange fungus that was for sale and the guy that was selling it came running up to me and tried to stuff a piece of orange in my mouth!!  Ewwww.  We did buy some oranges, which are really good.  We had started to see orange groves on the hillsides as we’re getting closer to Chongqing.  So juicy and sweet….we almost wondered if they hadn’t been injected with orange juice!  It’s really easy to be skeptical of everything after you hear some of the stories…..

Caught up with Neil and Shirl for the rest of the walk back.  Neil bought some “silver” US coins…..against the advice of Winston….but he thought he was getting a deal.  Seen a lot of others selling the same ones. Hopefully he didn’t get ripped off.  Shirl and I found the same jammie person and proceeded to bargain with her again.  She still wouldn’t take our 2 pair for 60….offered us 2 for 70 but after all that we didn’t think they’d fit after holding them up to our hips! They were size XXL!!  She didn’t have any XXXL so we kept going.  Another vendor said she did have XXXL.  I tried them on OVER my jeans to make sure they fit and they seemed to be OK so we offered her 2 pair (or 4 pieces!) for 60….which she wouldn’t take either, she wanted 80…..told her the other lady up the street was 35 per pair…..she said BUT these had more material so were more expensive…lol  Not a terribly good way to make a sale! We ended up paying 80, which was OK.  We did have a lot of fun.

Just before getting on the ramp/walkway or whatever you wanted to call it (very wibbly sheets of metal laid against more floaty things….only in China!) there were people washing their clothes in the river….yuck.  I thought they were staged for our benefit but then saw more people doing the same thing a little further along around a bend.

Back on the ship by 10ish and we headed to the bar after all the excitement!  Had a Breezer at 10:45!!!  Called Linds to wish her happy birthday (it’s 7PM yesterday at home….so she was at dinner with some friends).  Fun to talk all the way from China!

Lunch buffet was good today.  Had a special counter with someone making noodles and ground pork in a really tasty broth.  Some of the things in the buffet had strange names such as “chicken gristle” for one.

After lunch Donna, Shirl and Loyanne went to see the movie, The Last Emperor,  They said it was good. Dave and Neil were napping.  I enjoyed some quiet time….reading, journaling and watching the scenery.  Was quite pleasant outside so sat out there for a while.

Off to Captains Farewell Dinner at 6:30.  It was a “special sit down dinner” not buffet…..which was too bad!!  The captain made a speech and then they had some door prizes for people that filled in the favorite crew cards.  Dave and Loyanne’s name was drawn….they won a cell phone holder.  They sang happy birthday to a few people.  Winston found out it was Neil and Shirl’s 43rd anniversary so gave them one of the little snuff bottles that the guy was painting in the ship store.  It said 43 and then long life and happiness……very nice of him to do that.

Dinner was absolutely the worst yet!!  Dishes included……one smaller than a normal small PIZZA with cheese and green peppers cut into 10 slices, French fries, beef and bok choy (only really good thing but as usual, not enough….someone took most of the beef!), deep fried prawns (one each) on a bed of frozen corn, braised celery with “cashnuts” (10 cashews), a sticky rice packet with a bone with no meat on it in the middle, tomato soup….broth of some sort with chopped up tomatoes, thinly slice beef which we decided was tongue based on the texture.  Dessert was one piece of cake each and a plate of cantelope and cherry tomatoes!  Luckily there were buns available where the buffet usually was.  We think they had ran out of food for the buffet and basically put together a dinner with whatever they had left in the fridge!

After dinner I finished packing and then up to the bar.  Had a Breezer that was in the fridge this time.  Sat with the Mexi family and RI people.

Good day….fun day and quite nice weather wise….definitely warmer here.

Sun Nov 29 (end of cruise)

Had to be off the boat by just after 8 this morning.  Settled up our bills last night…..mine was 646Y which is probably around $160CDN (had to pay extra for the Water Village excursion for Donna and me), not too bad really.

The good and the bad……

• rooms good
• breakfast buffet good
• room steward(ess) very good
• food was really hit or miss….more miss than hit!
• excursions were excellent
• bar service was hit or miss and just kind of silly to us
• no coffee until just a 1/2 hour before breakfast

Not quite the cruise experience that you’d normally get if you are used to Princess or even Carnival, but hey…..where we were and what we saw made up for all things lacking.

Watched them bringing on all the new supplies….mostly vegetables, some meat.  It is all amazing that the only way to get this stuff on board the ship is by “Coolies” (sounds terrible but that is what we were told they’re still called!) walking from the end of the pier to the ship with this stuff loaded on their backs or on the end of their sticks on their backs.  Definitely back breaking labour!  The chefs were out there weighing things and taking inventory I guess.

A day in Chongqing and on to Shanghai next……..