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Sat 19th,sorry folks not been able to get an internet connection so a bit behind with the blog.Left Xi'an on the 20.20 overnight sleeper heading for Chongqing,the 3 of us were together in our 4 berth cabin we had decided to pay a bit extra to have what they call a soft sleeper,only 4 in the room and a door that locks,there is a hard sleeper the difference is 6 sharing and just a curtain to cover your blushes,the journey was a bit bumpy again but not to bad managed to get a few hours sleep.Arrived in Chongqing about 9am to be met by John our contact through Xi'an who was going to help us book our cruise,We had looked through the lonely planet book to find ways of making our way across to Shanghai and the 3 Gorge cruise along the Yangtze river looked fantastic,now it was down to John to get a good deal for us.We did'nt get much of a choice on the boat(you can pick the boat you like)only 1 Chinese boat that we couldnt even see because it was'nt in the dock but showed us a similar 1,he gave us a price but then bits and pieces were added eg trips,food etc to push the price up,a few things put us off,the constant smoking,spitting,staring but the final straw was the toilet just the hole in the ground job the alternative was a 5 star boat costing y3,400(£340),we walked off and got a couple of other quotes.got the same 5 star boat for y2,700 so John matched it so a bit of luxury here we come,we were booked onto the 22,30 departure, we were 1 of the fisrt passengers to arrive(about 7ish)as we boarded we were met by a small band and some of the crew which felt funny,us 3 with our rucksacks being treated like royalty,I could get used to this!!!.There were no 3 bed rooms so I did the decent thing and let Jamie and Ian off the hook and said I would share the other room with the stranger,as you can see on the pictures the cabins were lovely,it got even better when Dexter(our English guide on the boat)informed me because it would be awkward sharing with a Chinese man I would have the room to myself,bloody quality!!!myself and Jamie were left to try the local beer while Ian found the tv remote and tried the local tv stations.
Sun 20th,After a lovely night's sleep we docked in Fengdu to see the Ghost City,passing by the crew members dressed in thier long red coats and wishing us a good trip we met up with our local English speaking guide,we looked around for about 2hours looking at some nice temples and taking some picturers of some strange sculpturers before heading back to the boat to be greated back on by the staff all saying welcome back and being handed a warm flannell and a hot cup of chinese tea lovely!!in the evening it was the captains reception,I wore my new aquired Chinese shirt,being a westerner and wearing the shirt I oviously did'nt draw attention to myself, we watched the crew do a cabaret show which was pretty good,got dragged up to do a competion where a spud was tied in between my legs and I had to swing it to knock another spud over the line,I was cheated and finished second good laugh though,stayed up with a couple of the locals for a few shandy's.
Mon 21st,Nice breakfast at 8,30,going through the Gorges today,the 1st one was the Qutang Gorge,really great views as you can see from the photo's,2nd the Wu Gorge and it was just getting better unbelievable views,or pictures don't do them justice,docked again about 2pm and got onto a smaller ferry which took us down the Shennong river a tributary of the Yangtze,here we stopped off and got into small rowing boats about 20 of us,at the front were 3 local rowers and 2 at the back with 1 steering,great experience being in the gorge and so close to the water.Back on the boat,tonight was the farewell dinner nice mixture of different Chinese dishes,we waited up to see the boat go through a group of 5 locks each taking 4 hours,since the dam has been built the water level has risen 155m thats why it takes so long,we only watched the 1st one and retired to bed.
Tues 22nd,Last day of the cruise today,our only trip was to the 3 Gorge Dam,a lot of concrete and not a lot else although or English guide(Maggie)was nice,sad to say goodbye to the boat but that was it all over,got picked up by a pre arranged taxi who dropped us off at the coach park,one extreme to another,from 5 star luxury to travelling with the scum again,one woman sitting at the back with us spittting on the floor,quality bird,6 hours later we finally arrived in Wahung,another dirty smelly place so pleased we were only here to pick up or train tickets and clear off.Caught the 21.46 over night train to Shanghai,Ian in another room with a couple of strangers,good that he is spreading his snoring about.
Wed 23rd,Arrived in Shanghai after a nice journey on the new Z train,they are faster and more comfortable than the other trains we have been on,got to the Shanghai internationl hostel about 7.30 in time for breakfast,this was the only Hostel we booked before leaving England as we did'nt want to be left homeless at Christmas with a party hat and some soup,it was a good choice thoug its a nice big place,clean and comfortable and just across the road from the subway,did'nt do a lot today and to be fair there is'nt a lot to do here,so we had a walk around the town and found the people's park in the centre of a lot of tall bildings,a lot of people use the park,old boy'splaying cards and some others playing a game that looked like chess but best of all was the tree cutters who just clim up the trees and hack away at the branches with no saftey net in sight and tough luck if you were sat on one of the benches near by.
Thurs 24th,Again not to much to report,met some more nice people here including Marcus,Max and the gang from Stolkholm.Myself and Jamie went for a walk to see the Bund,a lot of buildings with lights at night,we took the sightseeing tunnel from one side to the other which goes under the river,it's quite a wierd experience because you cant see anything and they have just tarted the tunnel up with some psychedlic lights,when we got to the other side it was like a building site as they are digging the place up ready for the Expo next year,will be nice when it's all finished as the builings look a bit Georgian,got back to the other side and had a Mc Donalds ice cream then got hassled for about 20mins with people trying to sell us a laser gun thing,quite funny when all you hear is laser laser laser and us saying yeah lovely boo yaoo(dont want),back to the bar for a few drinks with the lads.
Fri 25th,MERRY CHRISTMAS,got up a bit late as the Swedes celebrate Christmas eve a bit more than the main day so being embassadors of our country we thought it would be good relations to join them for 1 or 2 drinks.We had decided the night before to meet up today for Christmas dinner so the 10 of us,3 Brits,4 Swedes,1 American,1 German and our Chinese(and a partridge in a pair tree)translator Heidi,went to a lovely chinese restaurant and had a mixture of dishes including ducks brains which were actually quite nice,it was good all sharing Christmas together,you do meet some great people in the hostels,we all chipped in y40 each 4 quid and headed back to the hostel for a couple more drinks.We had planned to stay here till the 28th because it was cheap but the train was sold out and it only goes to Hong Kong every other day,so we will be leaving here tomorrow,although Shanghai is fairly new and clean there is'nt a lot to do or see here so will be glad to move on,looking forward to spending the new year in Hong Kong.
Sat 26th,Packing up and moving on again,catching the 18.26 from Shanghai to Hong Kong, 18hrs so have booked a soft slepper will need a bit of comfort for that length of time,am alredy thinking of things and words to use for our I spy game,we could be on for a world record,not sure how many times we can use window,bed,door etc but hey live life on the edge,said our goodbyes to the foriegn legion and had the nice hostel manager drop us off at the station,we have been really lucky with the places we have stayed in and all the fantastic people we have met.China has been great but as I might have mentiond before there are a few things I will definatley not miss eg:smoking,spitting,rudeness oh and the dirtyness,soap box over and time to let go aaahhhhh.
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