The ship sails along at a pleasant 25 KMH and I awoke at 0530!！Headed up to the Yangtze Club for early bird cup of tea and to admire the view as we started our way through the first of the 3 major gorges- Xiling Gorge。Beautiful，peaceful streams and caves to enjoy before heading to breakfast at 0800 where I met my dining companions for the tour- 2 Germans and 6 fellow Aussies!！We docked at Sandouping before going ashore to inspect the i...

Arrived in Yichang about 1530 hours and it was straight from the airport to the cruise ship, about a 1 hour drive. All aboard the Victoria Anna, my luxury 5 star home for the next 4 nights。 I have a cabin on the Promenade Deck and being winter we only have about 90 passengers on a ship than can carry over 300- so plenty of space and no waiting in lines!! We are allocated tables in the dining room and I’m told I’m with a table of English speak...

A successful train trip this morning from Suzhou to Shanghai- no falls, and escalators that worked…YEAH!!! First impressions…Shanghai is HUGE……Full of skyscrapers, many of which I can't see the top of due to the fog/mist/pollution - I’m not sure which!! With a population around 18-19m you can imagine the traffic, its like constant "peak hour". My guide here is Tony – born and bred Shanghainese – and very proud of his city...

Suzhou is located in the southern part of Jiangsu Province- same province I will be living in this year。Since ancient times, the city has been referred to as "Land of Abundant Landscapes" and the "World of Gardens" and it is easy to see why. I visited 2 of the famous four gardens and even in winter without the flowers they are exquisite. The Humble Administrators Garden is known as the "number one" of the four and dates back to the Tang Dynasty. It is huge...

Well I think the worst managed to happen…..first off while the Chinese may have mastered the art of having fast trains going 350+ KPH they haven't managed to design their railway stations without steps. I was heading down to get on the train when I was pushed and next thing I’m falling down the steps with suitcase (all 24kgs) and bags all attached, almost got knocked out when my head hit the concrete AND then had my hand stepped on by some Chinese man...