Advertisement
Published: April 6th 2007
Edit Blog Post
On the Minor Gorges
When in China... Do as the Chinese! Shanghai to Yichang, Fendu and Chongqing
Matt and Ed
Matt doing the Time Warp Ed:
I’m turning 30 this year. So you would think in that time I would have learnt a thing or two about responsible drinking. Alas, our last night in Shanghai proved me wrong. By the time we had bonded with some expats over a few (and I don’t use the term lightly) vodka, lime and sodas over five hours into the late evening (or morning?), someone amongst our new made friends suggested we do a round of shots.
Now to the responsible drinker, this would have been the moment to pull the rip cord, raise the white flag, and cut and run back to our hotel given we had a flight the following morning. But to your author, this meant downing shots of the most potent of all shots in a Shanghai barman’s artillery: tequila!
Much of our memory after said shots is pretty blurry at best. All I know is that upon waking the following morning, we missed breakfast and managed to get up just in time to meet our guide at 11:30. Anyone familiar with the effects of a hangover will understand the huge struggle it was to pack. And it also will be no
surprise to find that we had to return to the hotel after we realised that we had left our passports in the hotel room safe!
So after a quick stopover for lunch (and here’s a hint to fellow travellers: although pigs’ ears and stewed eel sound like the perfect hangover cure; they are not) we headed straight to the airport.
Now, I don’t know if it was the tequila shots, the pig’s ears, or our crazy driver, but by the time I was sitting on the plane I knew something wasn’t feeling right. In fact, I felt dreadful! Now, to avoid getting too graphic for our audience, all I will say is that an aircraft toilet is not the most suitable venue for nausea… but unfortunately it’s where I spent the entire two hour flight to Yichang spilling my guts out. I hate tequila!!
By the time we landed, I was feeling mildly better. We were met by our next guide, who arranged to do a ‘tour’ of a tapestry factory where I learned that we have difficulty saying no to polite Chinese sales ladies.
So after making a totally unnecessary purchase (by the way, one
of you guys is getting a lovely silk print for Christmas) we stopped for dinner before being dropped off for our transfer to our Yangtze River Cruise.
Up to this point, I have been pretty impressed with the tour arrangements. Guides and transfers have been very organised and on time. So it was with some disappointment and confusion that our guide plonked us on a bus full of German and Malaysian tourists with little explanation of what was to happen next.
After a two hour bus trip into the black unknown, we arrived at a ferry terminal. There were about five cruise ships docked in the same spot - and of course we had no idea the name of the one we were booked on (we’d left our itinerary somewhere back in Shanghai - thank you again tequila). As we scrambled through crowds and queues, we were fortunate to bump into Kathryn, an English girl who seemed to be in a similar predicament but seemed to at least know which cruise she was headed to. Luckily it turned out we were all in the same ship and before long we were shown to our room which would be
That Damned Dam
It's HUGE (the dam... not us!) our home for the next four nights aboard the MV Emperor.
The following morning we headed straight to the Three Gorges Dam - the largest in the world. Standing 185 metres high and two kilometres long, it’s a pretty bloody huge structure. Although quite the feat of engineering, the dam will not win any awards for aesthetics or the harmony of its design with the surrounding natural environment!
Whilst at the dam, our guide rattled off fact after amazing fact about its construction and cost. The more telling section of the tour though was reserved for our guide’s description of the massing relocation effort that accompanied the dam’s construction. Along the river, more than two million people had to be moved and relocated in advance of the rising waters. It was curious to note that the guides would paint the impact of the dam on the effected communities in a very positive light. We were told that the new towns that replaced the villages lived in by families for centuries include apartments with such comforts as air conditioning and plentiful electricity generated by the behemoth of a dam. Unfortunately for the locals though, it was more a choice
Three Gorges Dam
In all its obnoxious glory of move or drown and the Chinese Government’s definition of luxury in an eight story apartment block does not include elevators.
Shortly after lunch we set sail and began our cruise up the Yangtze and the Three Gorges. Matt was like a little boy brimming with excitement - being something he has wanted to do all his life. By 1pm we had entered the Xiling Gorge and later that afternoon Wu Gorge. The cliffs along the gorges were breathtaking and the scenery beautiful all around. We managed to find a secluded spot at the front of the ship on one of the decks and along with Kathryn we sat all afternoon taking in the magnificent views (with the occasional side comments on some of the odder passengers on our cruise!)
That evening, after an entertaining performance put on by the crew - Matt, Kathryn and I (being the only people on board between the age of 25-30) had the whole bar to ourselves and we bonded over a few bottles of wine whilst talking about our favourite topics (travelling and relationships) late into the night.
The following morning we had a stop over in Badong to take
Cruising Down the Yangtze
Half the bridges are named 'Bye Bye Bridge' as by the time the dam is completed they will be under water... a smaller boat to the Lesser Three Gorges, which were my personal favourites. After taking a ferry for two hours, we hopped into smaller canoes and explored minor streams and were serenaded by local singers as we sailed along these smaller but no less impressive peaks. It was quite amazing.
That afternoon we decided to have a break from drinking and decided to stick to tea (this pattern of intoxication-detoxication is something we have developed throughout our time overseas)! However it wasn’t long before we were on the wine again and that evening we ended up in a Karaoke room belting out the usual songs. Singing down the Yangtze - you just can’t beat that!
The following morning we arrived in Fengdu and did a tour of the City of Ghosts, so called because it was believed that the afterlife resides here. There are a number of temples with ghoulish statues and images of Buddha. It wasn’t scary by any means, although when we were warned not to turn around if your name was whispered otherwise your soul will remain there, no one dared turned around!
By this time our ship had well and truly left the
Wu Gorge
On more than one occassion Matt was inspired to paint. Luckily for me he didn't have a palette... romantic scenery behind and, the last day of the cruise included vistas of chemical factories, power plants and decrepit wharfs. Hardly inspiring stuff!
On the last evening, it was open mike night on stage and Matt and Kathryn decided to entertain the crowds with such classics as the Time Warp and Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I decided I’d spare the audience from my vocals - plus there was a scary German in the crowd and he didn't seem like the type who would embrace two boys singing I Will Survive!
Alas, by Friday morning, we had docked in to the not-so lovely dock of Chongqing and the cruise was all over.
The MV Emperor was billed as a 5 star cruiser, and although the amenities were not what I would describe as such, the experience and service certainly were. Cruising down the Yangtze was a magnificent experience. I recommend if it's something you have been thinking about doing - don't leave it too long as the cliffs and the panorama will not be as it's once the dam is completed by 2009 and you may find yourself having to scuba dive for a glimpse of
Aboard the MV Emperor
Matt and Kathryn entertain the crowd with a game of musical chairs! the gorgeous Gorges.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.172s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 17; qc: 86; dbt: 0.0965s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
Jessie
non-member comment
Go superman
Haha! Love your super powers Ed! I'll look at the time warp video when I get home - don't want to scare the people at work! See you soon!