Let's get the awkward stuff out of the way up front. Yes, we went on a cruise. Yes, it was weird and wrong. Yes, there were quite a few older people and yes, there was a cabaret show. It was like we had jumped four decades into our future.
It was also the only way to see the spectacular three gorges, and as it turns out we met some very fun people and ended up having a great time. So clearly we are all about the cruise (it was in my blood anyway - thanks, Grandpa Noller!) and are planning our retirement as we speak.
Due to lack of any proper planning, we took the cruise on the Victoria Anna, an American owned line of ship that does pleasure cruises. It had the capacity to hold 300 passengers however our cruise only had 80 people on it. And 150 staff. Awkward.
We left Chongqing on a rainy night.
We were welcomed on board by the Fozzy Bear sound alike who was also the concierge / MC / Western tourist pleaser. After the hour long 'what to expect on the cruise' session, we had to take ourselves to our room, sit ourselves down and give ourselves a stern talking to about not jumping ship there and then. The drinks we smuggled on board helped with this.
The ship sailed through the night.
We awoke docked at Fengdu, an ancient ghost town. At least, the original Fengdu was. When the Yangzi dam was completed in 2003, the water levels rose from 40 metres to 175 metres (at capacity - it was about 150 when we sailed). This meant that the towns that were previously located on the water's edge had to be demolished and moved higher up the hill. So all the old temples and statues have been rebuilt into a giant tourist attraction complete with shops and cable cars. Decidedly odd.
It was very interesting hearing the guides (all of whom were local to the various towns we visited) deliver the party line about moving towns. It's hard to know whether it was welcomed or not - we got the impression that the older generations (the farmers and the people who had been there for some time) didn't like the change however the younger people did as it offered them housing and work opportunities. However there was really no way to tell - guides were very structured in the way they told the tale ('we were well compensated by the government to move').
It was quite surreal visiting ancient cities and temples and seeing ancient statues that were still in the process of construction.
An 'ancient' tradition in Fengdu is that the man who can move this piece of rock from the ground to the top of the pedestal, as the gentleman below has succeeded in doing, will make the best husband and is the best of the men.
Tim gave it a red hot go but only managed to put his back out. Bless.
You could imagine that the previous city was quite impressive - it was on a hill and had a beautiful outlook over the river.
Not all of the excursions off the boat were included, but we made a pact to get off it as much as humanly possible. The excursions were all to various temples or cities along the river - some still retained the original features however all had some element of rebuilding.
See how happy we are on land?
Even in the faux temples you could find street food (although I think these were actually offerings of some kind. The ship's food was so bad though that these wee lizards looked appealing).
This was a fake old bridge over to a genuinely old pagoda. The bridge was hilarious - it hadn't been finished, and the wooden slats were makeshift and not nailed to the actual structure. Hilariously dangerous. But, again, the cruise was such that we were happy to flirt with death.
The new old trees had to have IVs.
Behind us is the genuinely old pagoda, built into the mountain. It has 12 floors and no nails were used to make it. A theme they continued with the new bridge, apparently.
You can probably tell by our faces that Tim has cruise fever and I am terrified of returning to the boat.
There were relics salvaged from the old towns scattered throughout the new towns.
The pagoda's inside - rickety stairs up the side of the mountain.
On the left (out of focus) is a sign that says 'No Striding'. I think I was hoping to be arrested so as not to return to the Victoria Anna.
This gentleman playing the mandolin was a god that was said to give a headache to all those who heard him play. Tim insisted that this photo be included as well as a reference to your accordion playing, Mike.
Chinese people have a lot of superstitions - ladies have to step over temple doors with their right foot, gents with their left (if I heard the gag 'ladies are always right' once, I heard it a gazillion times), and there were many bridges that had to be walked over in a certain number of steps to ensure health / wealth / luck etc. This one had to be done in three steps, starting with the left foot, to ensure longevity.
Tim made it, but I would have preferred him to do it on the wealth bridge.
This is a photo to warn everyone against cruising, and to remind us how lucky we are to have our land legs back.
Staff. Fashion. Show.
Enough said.
The gorges, though, were wonderful. Spring was springing and our first glimpse of the gorges (at some horrid hour of the morning) was shrouded in mist (genuine mist! Not pollution!) (we know cos it cleared later).
I think someone said something hilarious just before this was taken. Oh yes, it was Tim saying he intended to be in the magic act of the cabaret show later that night.
Vanessa and Lilly, fellow passengers and countrymen (they hail from Adelaide). Lilly is six and was Tim's new best friend for the trip.
Below is a coffin (and lots of one jigger bills - people loved throwing money into attractions) - along the cliffs of the gorges coffins had been stashed in ancient times as a burial for respected tribe members.
This was the view from the boat as we sailed through the first gorge. You can just make out the cliff on the left.
Lots of sailing through breathtaking cliffs. It made up for a lot.
Obviously in real life the coffin in the cliff does not come circled for viewing convenience.
See these holes / caves? That's where the coffins are hidden. They aren't really sure how they were placed there, but in the 'ancient' towns some 'ancient' wall paintings gave three possible scenarios.
The cave below was high up in the gorge and housed a whole village (up to 1000 people) during the WW2 when Japan was invading China.
River fashion, hot hot hot.
In case you need to make a phone call.
Tim hearts flag shots. Lots.
All along the river there were measurements like this. There was also a 20 metre section of rock of a different colour uniformly along the river so you could clearly see where the water would go to. Again, it added to the surreal feel of the trip.
Cocktail hour! Watching the sun go down on the last night on board was lovely (mainly cos of that there wine!) - the light reflected on the water and the mountains and the mist had gone - it was dreamy.
The sunset behind our boat.
Please see comment above re Tim's feelings for flags.
Likewise about the magic show. He was not kidding. The magician was also our table waiter (even with the huge excess of staff people had to double up on jobs).
Tim also did a dance as part of this routine which I am relieved to say is not captured on our film.
On the last night, the ship had to pass through a series of 5 locks to go down 113 metres. It's the largest lock system in the world and takes four and a half hours to complete. This was lock number one.
We had intended to go to bed, but a bottle of gin and our new friends Oli and Steph (also known as 'coupley' until we actually met them) (they called us 'the Australian couple, so it's not too horribly rude) changed that plan. I made it through most of the locks but Tim and Oli saw all all them.
The locks can hold up to 6 ships at a time.
This was the final lock opening. The blurriness is also indicative of the level of sobriety. In fairness, we sat through a cabaret show so we deserved to let our hair down.
Shops going the opposite way on the locks the next days.
The 'shops' above is a typo, but I have decided to leave it in so you can experience the weird location of shops in any possible location, just like we are on this holiday.
A view across the dam at the end of the cruise.
We left the cruise (with relief, nasty hangovers, and some new friends) at Yichang and legged it to the airport for Shanghai. The cruise in every way was quite an experience - but all else aside the gorges were spectacular, and we've never done anything like it before.
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