Blogs from Fengdu, Chongqing, China, Asia

Geo: 29.88, 107.709We are in the Fengdu area of the Yangzte River today. You pronounce that like fondue – like the melted cheese pot. It is, to me, the most beautiful area of the river. The plants are more lush, we are sailing closer to the riverbank, the mist is heavy over the tops of the mountains. There is no way a picture or words can describe how amazing the view is from our room – constantly. There is also a slight rain today but it adds to the misty mystery.This morning was a relaxing but informative morning. After breakfast our tour guide had reserved a room for all of us to meet and have a discussion about the differences between Chinese culture and American culture. He has been a tour guide for 10 years now ... read more

Geo: 29.88, 107.709The 146m-long ship has 600 passengers over six decks. It is decorated a little garishly but it advertises 5-star facilities. (PS. Now in retrospect, the facilities were fine but the food was pretty awful. Our Yichang guide confirmed that the river cruisers were notorious for poor food.)We joked with a waitress last night and aim to get a Corona with a lime/lemon wedge from the bar. We managed a slice of lemon, but need more work to describe the wedge and its placement in the neck of the bottle. PS. She got the idea, but then they ran out of Coronas on board!The cruise highlights the Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge, collectively called the Changjiang Gorges. We'll hear more about the Three Gorges Dam shortly.We eight sang "Waltzing Matilda" in the cruise ... read more

We sleep well despite the hard bed, and wake up to find the boat moored next to another at Fengdu. We can see straight into the neighbouring rooms, and you could leap across the 1m gap to their balcony. Better keep the blinds closed until we get dressed! Overnight, despite being near the stern, we’d been mostly unaware of the boat’s engines. Now and then the boat would turn a little and the room would shake a little, but no constant vibration like the ferry to Palermo. Admittedly we are on the fifth floor so well isolated. Drycleaning is cheap. Using my rather peculiar comparison method, clean undies are ¥10. Time to use the in-house services!. We put out a load with shirts (¥15ea) and shorts (¥20ea) (we’ll still clean our undies and socks ourselves). Breakfast ... read more