3 Gorges, old rustbuckets and Trev and Nance

11Nov: We thought we had until 1pm to get to Chongqing but we must have got the express train, as at 10am the staff came to kick us off the train. We had a bit of a rush but it was great as it meant we had more time to sort the cruise down the Yangzi river. Leaving the our bags at the station, we got a taxi to the port. After a few negotiations, we finally got a boat with a 2nd class berth. We wandered around Chongqing. We couldn't believe how very, very packed and busy it is. It is also extremely foggy most of the time. We decided it was too much and headed off to the Ciqikou Ancient town, built in the 15 hundreds. It was packed with tourists but was still absolutely fab. The little shops and streets were just gorgeous and we had the best kebabs ever without being ripped off. It had very arty shops packed with items I have not seen anywhere else. We even had a chance to go to a tea house and listen to some traditional Chinese music while we sipped.
It was then time to head to our luxury 4 star cruiseship. Or rather a large rust bucket packed with Chinese tourists. It was spot the foreigner, all 7 of em. We thought we were going to have our 4 berth cabin to ourselves but at the last minute our roomates arrived. A 40 something couple, with no English. But they seemed pleasant enough. Wazza nicknamed them Trevor and Nancy.
We tried to get on deck but it was another 55 yuan, wandering around, we realised we had no option but to pay, if we wanted to see anything. Another bad mark. We came on deck and got beckoned over by some Chinese, who welcomed us in to their group and I got my photo in to yet more chinese family albums. Wazza and I had our pot noodles with the rest of the "gang". It was fun. Then 3 guys came along from Farid(Paris), Chris(England) and Dave(Scotland) and joined us. They had all met at work in Paris and now worked throughout Europe. We broke out the wine, Wazza and I had bought. Then another 2 guys came along. Tim from Cornwall and a Canadian called Attila, yes that is his name and yes I thought he was joking and yes I took the pee. Luckily he was well able to take it and give it back and it set the tone. They were all going to the Ghost town tour. Neither Wazza nor I could be bothered to rise at 6am. Went to bed early.

12Nov: We realised that Trev was typical Chinese and hacked his lungs up into the bathroom, this morning. We were grateful that he was not hacking on the carpet or smoking in the cabin. Many of the Chinese hack their lungs up or blow their snot out of their nose along the corridors and in the restaurants etc. The government in an effort to reduce this offensive habit and to please the Olympics committee before the Beijing Olympics, has launched a campaign and fines to stop it. It has apparently reduced but it bloody well hasn't stopped.
When Trev and Nance left, I went into our bathroom there was a huge glob of hack on the floor which I tried to wash with the shower. Between that and the smell of urine coming from the squat toilet, I started to gag and actually had to leave. I went to the public toilets instead which were more tolerable. The fog was clouding everything and the view we had, was of cruddy cities. It did not bode well. I felt dissapointed and a little bad for Wazza, as this had been my idea. Trev and Nance came back from the tour to the ghost town and gave me oranges and tangerines. They are soooo sweet. I met the 3 guys again and they taught me a new game of cards. Pretty cool. It was fun to play cards again. I will have to teach the gang in Cork. The game is called shithead. I think the Cork gang will appreciate it. Wazza and I went on our tour of the Qinglong waterfall. The 1hr drive was spectacular, all luscious green paddy fields and amazing views, to the top of the mountain. The waterfall was 64.5 metres high and105 metres wide . The best thing was you could walk behind the curtain of water. I loved it. We bought some food as well, so were happy. A few hours later, w stopped at the Zhang Fei Temple. It was nice and we bought food from the stalls at teh bottom of the temple , which tasted great. We broke out some wine again with the 5 boys. We had such a laugh. They have a great sense of humour and bounced well off each other.

13Nov: Next day we all skippped the 6am tour but Trev and Nance bless em were up and hacking. The toilets had improved or maybe it was just a once off the first morning. The view from the deck had changed dramatically and we were in the 3 gorges area. Huge walls of rock on either side. Sometimes the gorges were 3oom across sometimes, 100m. We all went on the 3 lesser gorges tour which necessitated getting into mini cruisers then even smaller boats with about 20 seats. Our drivers even sang. It was breathtaking. As Wazza said it was "Gorge"eous. It was kind of weird to see these signs for 175m at different places along the river. Since the dam has been built the water levels have risen to about 15om higher than they were before the dam began. Many towns and villages and historical sites have been lost to the waters. The water will be further raised about 20 m to 175m in 2009, hense the markers to show where the the new level of the river will be. We saw the tops of houses that had been flooded and saw many more that would be under water in a few years. I had been trying to do the cruise down the Yangzi river because I thought they had not raised the water levels that much but they have and there is not much more to go. However, as we had not seen what it was like, what we saw was still pretty inspiring but the rush to see things had been unnecessary. We stopped a few times at little places where the locals spread their wares and food was plentiful. At one stop there were these roasted birds but they looked like little ducklings. Chris saw one Chinese man just stuff the bird's head in his mouth and chew and swallow, bones and all. Chris and Dave tried the bird and said it tasted like roast chicken. I skipped it, but it did look good. Later, we saw live ones swimming by the shore. That evening I went with the 3 guys to get somefood when we landed at this temple for a show. None of the 7 of us bothered with the show but we got to eat some nice kebabs.

14 Nov: Last day of cruise. Kind of sad to leave the old rust bucket and Trev and Nance and the boys. Wazza and I rushed to the front to get in the first batch so we could go to the 3 gorges dam and get to Yichang before it was too late for Wazza's flight to Shanghai. We were first on the bus, having walked instead of the cable car but still were one of the last buses to leave, as everyone else faffed. However, the dam was damn impressive. It is an unbelievable feat of engineering and well worth the visit. When we finished, I didn't know what to do, as I had not sorted onward transportation, so went to the airport with Wazza, as trains were few and far between to get where I wanted. So I decided to take what ever flight would get me out of Yichang. I am now in the airport for a few hours waiting for my 9.20 flight to Kunming. Not quite the original plan but it was part of what I had thought about doing some time ago but due to time constraints thought better of it. I didn't bank on yichang being such a pain to get out. Anyway updated my blog. The Airport at Yichang is lovely. Small but very modern and the most funky exterior I have seen. Basically a concrete murial. Flight was easy and got to Kunming in 1hr 15 min. All for 58 euros. Got a taxi to the hotel for the price I wanted. Getting better at this bargaining lark. Til the next time...