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Published: June 12th 2004
Hello all,
Danielle and I are in Yi Chang waiting for our train to Xi'an. We just finished our Yangtze river cruise and it was an incredible experience. Every time we do something amazing, something that can’t possibly be topped, something else happens that's even better.
We met a travel agent in Chong Xiong who booked us on a local tour boat on the Yangtze. We figured to spend a lot less money to travel with the locals, but we had no idea that we'd be the only westerners on the boat. People would stare at us and wanted to take pictures with us. We were the oddity on the boat and our tour guide spoke very little English so we didn't know what was going on. Also the toilet is in the shower and stunk like a toilet in the shower would. At first, it seemed like we made a huge 3 day and 3 night mistake. However, as luck would have it, a group of Chinese teachers who taught English were on the boat as well. They helped translate, but we didn't need it after a day because everyone was so great. Sure, there was that initial
Our Tour Guide
She spoke three words of English and we got along beautifully.curiosity, but after they ate with us, drank with us, and laughed with us, it was all good. It was like we were their little brother and sister. When we would go on excursions (which were visually incredible), they would look out for us, making sure we didn't get lost and even would bargain with the vendors for us so we didn’t get the tourist prices. Being in a country where we don't know the language or culture, we felt completely secure. Add to this the beauty of the Yangtze, and it was a flawless time.
The last night, some of our friends bought us some good luck necklaces and around 20 people toasted us, China, and the United States. There was a group of Chinese politicians on the boat. They had titles like 2nd Minister of Secondary Education and Special Minister of Animal Well-Being. Whatever their title was, they could sure as hell drink. They bought Danielle and I beer after beer and even though their English was suspect, they were very warm to us and the feeling was mutual. We were waiting for the locks on the dam to open (this is the huge dam project that
China is working on that will be ready in 2009), they started singing traditional Chinese songs and dancing. Being really drunk and with their insistence, Danielle and I danced as well. We did our best swing dancing and they cheered for us. Imagine how loud it would be if Danielle and I were actually good at swinging. They also wanted us to sing a traditional U.S. song. Danielle refused so they looked to me. Being drunk and feeling like it was karaoke time, I sung Do Wah Diddy and Only the Good Die Young. They were clapping and singing along (trying) until the dam opened and we went through. This is an experience that I cannot put into words how good it made me feel. This is going to sound amazingly cliche', but it really makes you realize that all over the world, people are the same. Sure they may hock loogies, pick their nose,and have really bad toilets, but the U.S. has some bad stuff as well. I mean look at Ben Affleck.
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Esme, planetesme.com
non-member comment
Nice entry
Hi, I was looking for images of children from China for a school presentation, and I came across your entry. Really enjoyed it, it made me laugh out loud ! Thanks for your good humor , and for sharing with the world.