To all boat trip people:
We are leaving on Wednesday the 25th of April 2007 on the 7pm sleeper train from Hangzhou to Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. It arrives at 8am.
((we are acutally leaving from our place in Deqing which is 30 minutes by highway from Hangzhou)
From there we take a bus another 3-4hrs. to our starting point on the Gan River (The Gan runs into the Yangtze not much further down, see our homepage for a map of the area). http://www.blackzebra.com/travel/jiangxi/channel.htm
We will go back the same way on the 2nd of May 2007. The full moon is on the first of May.
We will lend a cell phone to anyone whom needs it. There will be a guide for every two guests.
We will provide top end flashlights if needed.
We spent a lot of work looking for a suitable ancient looking section of a river that also had a good supply of furniture to collect. We were sad
that we could find nothing on the Yangtze River. It was all too modern, which goes to show that the antiques are just about gone. The area of the
Gan River we are going to is just right. Bring cameras or video for great footage
From the Gan we will go by boat and will stop at least three and possibly four wharves for loading furniture.
We will have blankets and pillows for everyone. We provide rain gear if needed. We will sleep on the boat or in local hotels. Most people think that the idea of sleeping on the boat is romantic. For one or two nights it is then hotels seem much more attractive. Hotels will be clean and safe, but will not be star hotels as there usually aren't any in the areas we are going to.
We will have a steady supply of cold beer and other drinks. We should have the boat wired for great music. We will supply breakfast and dinner every night
and probably do some BBQ also. We will eat well and can accommodate vegetarians. We will have some good wine. If there are drinkers of western booze or wine
they should buy it in advance and we will arrange to have it delivered to the boat.
Customers will go out in the daytime with their guides collecting. The guides will help negotiate prices and transportation of goods to the docks for loading, if you
need additional laborers or help the guides will help you arrange it.. The guides should also make sure that everyone's goods are marked and keep a list of all goods with any instructions as to what to do with them.
Exactly how the different customers co-operate will be up to them. It will often make sense for people to team up and share information as to where the good antiques are etc., but some people will want to be on their own. We will do our best to co-ordinate with customers regarding this matter.
We will be on a 300 ton boat that is a little over 100ft. long so there will be lots of room for goods.
The above is what we are sure of. The weather should be mild even if it rains and the temperature should be in the low 20's to low 30's celsius. We of course hope for a week of sunny weather. We will set off some great fireworks on the night of the full moon.
This is not a trip for the faint of heart. Please travel as light as possible and expect to get dirty just about every day. What you don't have you can get on the road.
We will have our nine person passenger van running alongside the boat for running errands.
There will be some orientation needed for any parties that haven't been on collecting trips with us in the past. Just some basic guidelines to keep everyone safe and happy. Most of the places we will be the local people have never seen a foreigner before.
For some examples of our previous boat trip see our home page at: www.blackzebra.com/travel/scavanging.htm. This was on a much smaller boat, close to home, and not nearly as exciting as this trip will be.
The above schedule will be kept. If parties need to come late or leave early their guide will co-ordinate with them.
Most parties are serious collectors and will be hoping to buy as many antiques as possible for business. Some will just be along for the experience but we
sincerely hope that in the spirit of the trip that everyone will want to find at least a few treasures to take back.
The exact daily schedule will depend on how things go. There will be a lot going on and nothing is for certain on this trip. No insurance is possible that we know of. We will do our
best to keep everyone healthy and out of trouble.
Cost is 1,350usd/person and includes all the above. As soon as we have 10 paying customers so that we can break even then the trip is on. We think we already have
10 persons but won't know for another couple of weeks or so.
Email me or Cricket for any further details. Contact Cricket to arrange payment.
All parties are welcome by our place for as long as they like both before and after the trip. To see jpegs of our new 8th floor guest apartment see www.blackzebra.com/travel/eightfloor.htm
Regards,
Patrick Branigan
www.blackzebra.com
o. 86-572-8270970
c. 86-13587211343
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