Yangtse Cruise - Tuesday 10th April

We woke bright and early feeling fresh and ready for anything that the day would hold. The crew were preparing for departure and we went up to the top deck to watch the proceedings before venturing down for breakfast. The cruise manager, Howard, had suggested the previous evening that passengers might like to watch the departure before breakfast as the scenery on this first leg of our journey would be interesting.

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We looked down at the ramshackle quay from which we had boarded last night.  Perhaps it was just as well that it had been dark and we saw nothing but the traders and the welcoming group of crew members. In the cold light of morning it all looked a bit rickety. We were swathed in damp morning mist and many of our views today would be through mizzle  (misty drizzle)

Our excursion today would depart at 9am so we would not be going too far along the river this morning. Time to go down to the restaurant and have a good breakfast. As with almost every breakfast in China it was buffet style. A wide selection of Western and Chinese dishes and fruit.

Shortly after we set sail we arrived in  the dining room to have breakfast. We found that our table was one of the first as we entered the dining room so, we put down our backpacks and went to collect our breakfast. We tended to have a western style start to the day throughout our holiday. Although I would often add some wonderful steamed buns to my bacon and egg. We did not find any fried eggs, just as we had failed in Shanghai but, there was a very good selection to choose from. We had just settled in our place when our table mates started to arrive. We could see that they were not Chinese but we had no idea what their native language was - maybe German? So, we smiled and mumbled a greeting. The chap opposite me leaned back in his seat and demanded  'Are you Poms?' So, now we knew that these were Australians. 'Yup!' We said.  'So am I' said the guy who introduced himself as Alan, a Pom who had emigrated to Oz a lifetime before.  From these new friends we learnt that for fried eggs we had to ask the grill chef who was stationed right by our table and was making omelets to order. We would know what to do in the future.

All of our table mates were Australian and they were all part of the same tour. We were actually the only English on board and also the only independent travellers, commonly known on the excursion lists by our cabin number - 425. There were a few other Australians who were associated with different tours to our table mates, quite a few Americans, a large contingent of German speakers and many, many Chinese. One of the Officers on board was himself German, Kristoff. He had worked in China for twenty years or more and was fluent in Chinese and English in addition to his mother tongue.

We seemed to hit it off with our table mates right away. It helped to share the same  sense of humour. Kerry and Daphne and Alan (the Pom) and Marylyn ( known to her friends as Maz ) were long standing friends from Sydney. Kate and her young daughter Michelle were also, I think,  from Sydney,  and Allan and June were from Perth. It turned out that we had all booked to take the Dragon Valley excursion that morning. Comfortable flat shoes had been recommended as a longish walk would be involved and the paths might be slippery.

The entrance to Dragon Valley viewed as we docked.

By the time we had finished breakfast we had docked and the guides had boarded to take us on our way. Each guide took a smallish group and our table were all together, all being English speakers. Our very attractive guide was absolutely delightful. She entertained us with  traditional local songs and told us a little about the  culture and old lifestyle of the area. I never saw her without a smile or a giggle on her lips. All of the guides were dressed in a uniform based upon traditional local clothes.

The valley was one of the newer 'attractions' along the river. Whilst the wonderful valley scenery was totally natural everything else had been artificially created to give the visitor an idea of how life had been in earlier times. The walk to the end of the valley and back would take about two and a half hours but that would include many stops for photo opportunities.

The 'sleepy' harbour

Any moment you expect the crew to arrive and set sail

The walk was very pleasant and the mist was clearing. In fact, although a little damp, it was a lovely morning, made all the better because of the very enjoyable company that we found ourselves sharing.

'Ancient' rock paintings

No comment!!

We passed a number of drawings on the rock face and a series of statues, some rather comical. Mick thought that I might have been the body model for two of them. Sadly, I think that gravity has taken it's toll over the years. Actually, to be honest, I don't think that there was ever a time when gravity did not play it's part. The 'ancient' statues were mostly fibre glass and the rock paintings probably owed a lot to acrylic but, none of the guides tried to imply that these were old and even joked about how new they were. 

Hear No Evil, See No Evil?

A good stride is needed to step from stone to stone

We crossed this part of the river by stepping stones. No particular problem for the able bodied but I could see that these might present a problem for anyone with a disability.

Looking back towards the stepping stones

At every step of the way there was a new view and photo opportunity.  We tried to make the most of it.

Cormorant Fishing Boat

Traditional Chinese music

Family San pan

All along the way we would come across groups in traditional costume acting the parts of villagers. A young woman playing a traditional Chinese instrument, a flautist, cormorant fishing boats, women doing the washing and even a village wedding.  As each group of visitors approached the 'villagers' would play their parts.

Flautist

It didn't matter that these were staged performances, isn't every type of 'theme park' experience in the West staged in the same way. It really was a very pleasant morning and we were so glad that we had decided to take the excursion.

A woman's work is never done

We had a wee chuckle at all of the performers who would relax a little between the visiting groups and, as we approached, we could sense them saying to each other, 'Quick, look busy, here comes another lot.'

One of the local residents

Who do you think you're looking at Mate?

There is a tribe of wild monkeys living in the valley.  They stay mainly in one area but scamper across the rocks and seem to be perfectly happy in this environment. They do come right down to meet the visitors so there are many photo opportunities but, always remember that these cute creatures are wild animals and so could do you a nasty mischief if provoked. Keep a tight grip on your bags and cameras. They probably knew the The Artful Dodger.

At the heart of the valley there are beautiful waterfalls. These are the Dragon's Tears. The legend tells of how a dragon came to the valley and fell in love with a beautiful young woman from the village. His love was not returned and the waterfalls represent the tears of the distraught, lovestruck, dragon.

Coffins in a cliff niche

It was traditional throughout the region to 'bury' the dead in coffins set in niche in the cliff face. In this valley the practice has been recreated for the benefit of the visitor but throughout the cruise it is still possible to see the real thing, although you often have to look very carefully up at the cliff face. 

At the far end of the valley there is a re-enactment of a traditional wedding but we were not able to get a clear view of all of the performance due to the huge numbers of Chinese tourists. Our guide was most apologetic. It was not possible to wait for the next performance as we had to start to retrace our steps and return to the ship for lunch.

Our ship Century Star is the large white ship with a few
others having joined her to enjoy this excursion.

As we made our way back on board members of the crew were there to greet us and welcome us back. As we entered the lobby area we were given refreshing towels and tea. This would be the norm after every excursion.  

And so...... to lunch. Lunch and dinner would be similar meals, buffet style. There was always a large selection of dishes with a good mix of Chinese and Western styles together with two different soup choices, a salad bar and two grill chefs just inside the dining room. The chef close by our table usually had a pasta dish to offer and I kept forgetting that the chef on the other side had a different choice. The one time that I remembered, he was serving  delicious roast goose. Being buffet style it was possible to return to the servery several times if you  were still hungry or particularly enjoyed a dish, so there really was no point in piling the plate so high that it was difficult to carry. Needless to say there were many who did carry plates that were almost over flowing. The Chinese do not often eat desserts but the chefs made a valiant effort to provide a good selection. A wide assortment of bite size apple tart and many flavours of cheesecake  or fruity dainties was the norm. There was always fresh fruit and a hot choice.  However, there was one small problem.

Our UK friends will remember the early days of the package holiday when it seemed that certain groups of European tourists went down to the pool side at 2 or 3am to place towels on all of the sunbeds in order to reserve them for the day. I am sorry to say that we had the same situation on board. While most people were still enjoying their soup, one particular group were emptying the dessert table before they had even started to eat anything at all, leaving precious little for the rest of us. Such a shame but, these things seem to happen everywhere.

The view as we docked to visit the Dam

Right after lunch we would be leaving for the afternoon excursion. This was a trip to view the Three Gorges Dam and, I have to be perfectly honest, this was the part of the cruise that I was least looking forward to. It turned out that I was in for a surprise.  We disembarked close to the impressive traditional gate  through which the village could be entered and took a short walk through the usual market stalls to our coaches. This market did have items for the tourist but was also obviously supplying the locals with fruit, vegetables etc. and tasty hot  snacks. The trip to the Dam would take roughly half an hour.

The Dam is under the control of the Army. The procedure on arrival is very strict. Everyone disembarks the coaches and must go through an airport style security screening. Bags may  taken into the complex but must not contain alcohol or other combustible materials, cigarette lighters and so forth and they must pass through an x-ray screen. The reason for this and the Army presence is the terrible destruction that could occur in the event of any terrorist attack causing a breach in the Dam. It doesn't bear thinking about. 

I have to hold up my hand and admit that the sight of this great feat of engineering is certainly impressive. A short talk is given to each group of visitors about the building project and the benefits to the area and the local people. Huge panoramic photos are unfurled on the ground to show the vast area affected by the Dam. There was a slight drizzle when we first arrived so part of the Dam was shrouded in mist.

 

A large diorama shows the full layout of the Dam.  From this hall one passes into the sales area. Not all souvenirs though. There was a vast assortment of packaged Chinese food on sale here. It seemed rather a strange thing to be selling in a place like this. I did buy a fridge magnet from here to add to my slowly growing collection and I was very surprised to find that haggling was the expected norm in here just as it was in the markets. I had assumed that in here the prices would be fixed.

The future viewing area

Close up of the bronze relief



There is still work continuing although the Dam is now functioning but, the work force is far smaller than during the peak of the building when many thousands lived and worked on the site. The views from the new visitors centgre will be fantastic.

Garden areas are being beautifully landscaped and a new visitors viewing area is under construction.

Part of a series of locks.

We would be making our own way through these vast locks later in the day.

Even here there are gardens to  gladden the eye.

A consignment of new cars pass through the locks

We were on a strict schedule to return to our ship as she would have to take her place in a queue to pass through the locks. We did make a small purchase before boarding, a pack of six beers for which we haggled for a very good price. We put them into the fridge in our cabin just in case we fancied one later.

Our final view of the magnificent entrance to the village

It was tea time when we were back on board. The sun was now shining and we took our place on the sundeck with beverages, cookies and cakes and our e-readers.  A short way along the river we halted to await instructions about the time that we commence our progression through the locks. The passage might take up to 5 hours.

Time to explore a little before we prepared for our evening meal. In the lobby the official photographer had his stand. Here he would show the photographs that he taken during the day and clips from the official video. We had decided that we would buy a photo of us if we saw a nice one but, in actual fact we never really had the opportunity to have a good look at many as there were always crowds of Chinese, Germans or Americans around this table.

Also in the lobby there was a small souvenir stall. A pleasant selection including silk scarves, some jewellery, guide books and a few costume dolls. Although I did want to buy a doll, as I have collected National Costume Dolls since I was a small child, these were all in 'Court' dress. I really wanted a doll in the costume of one of the ethnic tribes.

On Deck 4, close to the bar, there were more items for sale. Here a shop was dedicated to pearls, jade and art work. I was hoping to buy  some jade jewellery but unfortunately all of the ear rings were set in silver. I can only wear silver for a few hours before my ears start to burn. I would have to keep looking.  On board there was an artisan painter / calligrapher who had his own working and sales area within the ship's gym. In addition there was another artisan whose speciality was painting on the inside of small glass bottles ( snuff bottles ) with a special tiny curved tip brush. He also  took commissions from the passengers who might provide him with a photograph of their grand children or whatever. His skill was absolutely amazing. In addition, there was a masseur and a beautician available. Naturally, the ship had a doctor on board in case of emergency. On one occasion  he would give a talk about  Chinese Medicine. One lucky lady would receive a soothing neck massage when the masseur introduced himself to the passengers.

This ship had been in commission for ten years but it was in magnificent condition. These glorious suspended lights adorned the centre of the stairwell.

We had been told to listen for an announcement regarding the time that we would start our passage through the locks. It was anticipated that we would enter the first lock  round dinner time and make a slow progression of up to 5 hours. Before dinner we would attend the Captain's welcome cocktail party and after dinner the staff would be performing their show. 

        There is room for more than one ship at time in the lock.

The long wait for the lock to fill.

We would pop up to the top deck to view our progress in between events, starting with a quick look just before the Captain's party.

The cocktail party was lovely. The Captain, his officers and senior members of staff were dressed in pristine 'whites'. All formerly greeting each passenger as we entered the bar area. Drinks and snack were being served. Whilst we sat to finish our drinks Howard, the cruise host, introduced the Captain and these key staff members. Toasts were made as the Captain passed through the throng to greet everyone with smiles. He did not speak any English.

" Hi, I'm Minny. How are you? "

A quick look up top before we went down for dinner and then, after dinner, there was time to go up top to see how we were progressing through the locks. There was a bar up on this top deck so refreshments were available if required. Then, back down to the lounge bar to watch the staff show where the few young passengers had not been forgotten.

Bearing in mind that these were amateur performers, the show was very enjoyable.

The young performers had a variety of routines and many costumes. The whole performance was very enjoyable. Waiters passed through the tables to take orders during the performance. The show ended with the crew in evening dress encouraging the tourists to dance with them.

Then, once again, up to the top deck via our cabin to collect jackets as it was now rather chilly.  You might think that it would be very boring just standing waiting while each lock filled in order to progress to the next level but, we were all fascinated. In each lock there was room for two ships side by side.

His camera is bigger and a lot more expensive than mine.



Preparing to pass through to the next level.

As the evening wore on it became quite chilly and drizzly and so we retired to our cabin to sit and enjoy one of our recently purchased beers rather than using the top deck bar on this occasion.. We would return to the top deck shortly before the anticipated time to pass through the last lock.





It was very strange to be sitting on our wee balcony sipping a cold beer, with the walls of the lock within touching distance, whilst the ship was so obviously being carried upward by the rising water level.

The final lock gate opens and many people have returned to the top deck to watch the opening of these final great doors

And so to open water again leaving the magnificent locks behind us. Oh well, that's that then. Might as well go off to bed now or.....maybe we had better pass by the bar first, just to be sociable you understand.

Wednesday 11th April

After another very good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast we prepared for a trip along the Lesser Three Gorges. We were to transfer onto a smaller boat for this trip whilst the cruise ship remained moored to await our return. The morning was hazy and threatened rain but, fortunately, this would clear as we made our way along the river.

 

 

 

 

The scenery was magnificent. Each bend in the river brought new wonders to view. The visibility at times was poor due to the weather but as the morning progressed the skies lightened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guides on board had themselves been rehoused when the Dam was built and their original homes were flooded. Our guide spoke with great pride and enthusiasm when she pointed out the apartment block where she now lives with her husband and son on the fifth floor. She now has a kitchen, indoor plumbing and separate bedrooms for the first time in her life. Things that most of us take for granted. Our guide did say that, although she was very happy with her new life, it was certainly true that many old people had found the enforced move distressing despite the improvement in their living conditions. Another of the guides lived in the same block on a lower floor. Both had views overlooking the river but those views would soon be lost to them as a new apartment block was in construction between their own homes and the river..

The infamous brew

Refreshments were available on board. Daphne was going to buy tea for the four of them. She returned with four glasses of a very strange brew indeed.

 

It looked as if the glasses were filled with grass cuttings and the whiff was not exactly pleasant. Despite the pong a tentative wee sip was taken. There were most definitely no further sips attempted. Although our Australian friends very generously offered us both a taste. How very kind. Later on the trip someone would pass by with hot water offering a refill. It was politely declined.

All along the Yangtse that are interesting rock formations perched high on the cliffs. The guides would tell stories about some of them indicating when some resembled mushrooms, faces, a pig, a dog and so on. You had to sometimes squint a bit and use a bit of imagination while the guide urged everyone to agree that they could see whatever was being described.

 

 

Locals were sitting on the rocks whilst taking a pause in the working day waved a greeting. These were real locals and not paid entertainers installed there for our benefit.

At one point along the way our guide told us to look along the rocks on the bank as there were wild rhesus monkeys scampering  there. I didn't see any either with the naked eye or through the zoom lens on my camera. Not to worry - we had seen the monkeys in Dragon Valley yesterday.

 

 

 

From time to time small fishing boats would pass us. The day's work must go on. The fishermen were often family members, father and son, brothers or cousins.

Markers were set into the high banks at intervals to show the level to which the waters could rise each winter during the flood season. That level was way way above our heads.

 

The high water marker seen in the context of the bridge. The Chinese seem to have cornered the market in reddish orange paint which adorned many of the bridges that we would see throughout the Yangtse cruise.

An enclosed area of the walkway

 

 

Even higher than this a walkway was being built so that energetic tourists could travel the gorges on foot. I think that I will keep to the ferry if I ever pass that way again. 

 

 

 

Toughened glass forms a short section of the path. I have walked across short areas of glass at previous locations and I found it very disorientating. Even though I absolutely knew that doing so was safe I had a hard time convincing my brain that it was so.

Not all of the walkway is enclosed. There are long open sections where walkers can simply drink in the atmosphere.

 

 

The walkway was not open to the public at this time but we saw a lone employee stalwartly walking along above us wielding his broom to clear any fallen leaves and minor debris.

The walkway even crosses a bridge in order to continue its way.

After some time the ferry moored and we split into small groups to board sampans. Now we had a new guide and a boatman as we wended our way at gentle pace along this shallower and narrower, section.

 

 

 

On board the sampans the wearing of bouyancy aids is obligatory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look in the hoop behind the guide and you can see a section of the walkway.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Look!! Here we are taking photos of you, taking photos of us.  See you back on board for lunch.

 

 

 

We would experience entertainment once again. Singers and musicians along the way. Some standing up on the banks and some waiting on board sampans ready to spring into action as we approached in order to serenade us as we passed by.

 

Unfortunately this photo is a little blurred but it gives you an idea of the colourful costumes worn by the entertainers.

We were also entertained by both  the guide and the boatman who serenaded us with traditional local songs. Perhaps not the most tuneful to our western ears but interesting to hear.

 

Along the bank there were some reconstructed traditional dwellings and more coffin niches. If you look carefully you can see the coffins just inside the niche.

 

 

At one point the boatman produced traditional wet weather attire. We were invited to have photographs taken wearing the costume and pretending to steer the sampan. I managed to persuade Mick to have a go so that I could take a photograph.

Then it was time to make the return journey and re board the ferry for the return journey to our ship and.......lunch. Just before we reached the end of our journey a man swam past us. He must have been crazy - the water was freezing. We had the impression that it was perhaps his regular daily exercise.

An optional trip had been planned for the afternoon to White Emperor Castle. As with the Dragon Valley yesterday this would be a trip requiring additional payment. It did sound quite interesting but we were unsure about participating. The description said that there would be a lot of steps to climb and, after the long walk in the valley yesterday, we were not sure if we wanted a walk with a climb today especially as the weather forecast for the afternoon was poor and the steps would be slippery. It seems that a lot of people must have had the same thought as the trip was cancelled due to insufficient interest. In fact, our ship simply continued along its way without stopping as, we were told, that the mooring fees could not be justified if the tour was not going to take place.

Despite the overcast and windy afternoon many of us spent some of the time outside on the top deck as we cruised. A commentary was being given about interesting things to see and a little history. For those who preferred to remain inside there would be talks and demonstrations each afternoon on such subjects as Chinese medicine, scarf wearing and tying, painting on the inside of snuff bottles, Chinese dancing, Hot Pot cooking and the beautiful Chinese pearls. Later during this afternoon we would enjoy an interesting talk about the pearls from the South China Seas.

After dinner there would be Bingo in the bar on the top deck. Not really our cup of tea but we decided to join our Australian friends although Mick was adamant that he would not participate. When we arrived in the top bar Daphne had already ordered a set of 3 cards for each of us so Mick had no option but to join in. There was a long delay before we started. Apparently the crew had been overwhelmed by the number of people prepared to join in. More cards were being printed. The three games were nothing like the games normally played. Strange combinations of letters and numbers were required to win. It was a shame that no one had considered that, in view of the numbers of people paying to participate, slightly better prizes could be offered. The prizes amounted to a scarf for one game, something similar for another and the star prize for the final game was a bottle of wine.  Kerri won the wine and said that he would share it with our table the following night at dinner. The wine was Australian Jacobs Creek. In fact most of the wine being sold on board was imported and most was Australian. Being imported wine meant that  the prices were astronomical. At home we always drink wine with our evening meal but on board we declined, as did most people.  I am certain that the cruise company should reconsider this situation. There are some very good wines in China at a fraction of the price for imported wine. Even if 100% was added to the price it would still have been more acceptable than the prices of the imported wines. 

We decided to retire to our cabin after the Bingo to relax with one of the beers we had haggled for and maybe watch a little television or read. The Chinese really do enjoy all kinds of sport and there is a channel that broadcasts in English dedicated to sport. So, relaxation might involve watching a little football ( English Premiership ) or snooker. A major snooker tournament was taking place in Shanghai during the first week of our holiday. It just so happens that we both enjoy watching most kinds of sport. There was also the channel HBO available in English so, from time to time, we might watch a late night film although, on most nights, we simply fell into bed.