After Several Train rides we decide to go by Plane from Lijiang to Chongqing. We meet a lovely couple on the plane who insist they will takes us to our hotel once we land. Very grateful of their kindness we accept we know its going to be late and we arenot sure where our hotel is.. Lucky for us mark booked us in at the Holiday Inn a major step up from where we have been staying. Some of the accomadation I would not try and describe to you only to say it was basic...

So plane grounded and luggage collected we stick with our new found friends.  His MAN  greets us takes all our bags and marches us off to the black limo WOW  now this is style . We speak very little but he did say to us that he felt responsible to see us at our hotel safely. Now this lifts your heart doesnt it..!! We have met some lovely people here all very helpful.. It jus when they are all together its different...

Anyway Thanks all around to our friends and we are off too bed Oh white Linen clean towels hot bath!! You can work out the rest!!

Revived we are now sourcing our next trip A Trip down the Yangtze River.. We choose a nice boat at a reasonalbe price and we are due to leave thefollowing day Perfect.. !!

Our guide collects us at 17:00hrs and delivers us to our boat.. Ther are hundreds boarding the boat we knew it would be busy we manage too choose the busiest week in China first week in Oct is public holiday. We chose the boat with the locals thats what we are here fro not 5* westerners boat!! There are maybe a dozen westerners on this one... and maybe 200 of us in total. Well living as closely as we were with the locals teach you a lot about their way of life Another Story another day!!!

We take several trip from the boat to temples and cities. I think the one that impressed me most was Ghost city built inb the Quatong Dynasty wow there was some ugly creatures there.. Devils & Demons.. The other city was White City Now this place will be completly under water when they flood the Dam.. Oh what a shame we will loose so much in the eye of progress.. Our 2nd day we take a smaller boat out onto the little gorges where we cruise by some stunning mountains .. We are all searching for the coffins situated high into the mountain rock face. I manged to find one with out being shown. This part of the gorge will be under water soon the water will rise we see the markers showing the expected depth of the gorge some rising as much as 175mtrs.

We are truly humble to see yet another wonder of the world before it disappears!!  On the fourth morning we disembark this is as far as the boat goes.. Oh man this was an experience on its self we are crammed into tiny walkways everyone apart from us pushing and shoving to gain an extra foot step which isnt there. We have to acsend by cable car to the river bank we are crammed in like sardines. It could only happen here!! now we travel by bus to look at the Dam Project visitng an Aquarium which shows some real gruesome species they found whilst working on the river (see photos)!!!

We visit the  Dam by trolleys over the top of the dam.. We have to be searched first and everything has to be taken off that may fall below. This is an amzing project they will be running water pipes to Beijing I dont know any miles that will be!! just amazing but at what cost.

Ok we are now on the bus heading for Wuhan where we can catch a train onto Beijing mmh best plans!!!

The bus gets a puncture its pouring with rain its about 230:00hrs been up since 05:00hrs nothing we can do just sit back and wait.!!

We eventually arrive in Wuhan 23:30 hrs well not quite true we stop in Hankou a supberb of Wuhan the driver JUST refuses to take us to the station as paid fro he throws our bags out onto the streets and drives off...

We get taken in by a local girl mmh Im asuming the worse but we will follow her to her hotel... HOTEL not likely its a slum the worse we have ever been in enough said