Three Gorges Xiba Yichang

... to converse with me in their native tongue, with regular breaks for more foreigner photos. Bizarre but all very jolly! <br><br><br>Ps If you're wondering why my blog for this trip has so many more entries than my other trips, it's because there is free interent all over the place along my route so i'm typing it all instead of keeping my journal - that doesn't mean you have to read them all if you're bored!<br><br>

... gorge dam. The dam is situated on the Yangzi river and was about 40 minutes away. The dam is a massive project and it has been recorded as being China's greatest engineering feat since the great wall was built and is classed as the biggest dam in the World. The building of the dam has had some critisism as it cost triple the original budget, with a total final cost of coming in at around $75 billion (50m pounds). A fact ...

... sleep. We liked the room so much we book a second night! <br> <br>We were up and Adam at the break of the lunch hour! It was soooooooooo hot by then but we had to persevere and see the dam Dam! We came this far and there was no way I was not going to drag the kids to it and they were going to like it. The highlight was hitching a ride back to town on a tourist bus full of Chinese teachers from Shanghai. <br> <br>Trains and more trains... <br> <br ...

... at the 2km wide, 185 m tall dam. The down side is the diminishing of the towering effect of the gorges, the relocation of one and a half million people, some to other provinces and potential ecological problems. We were seeing part of this, as now that the flushing effect of the river has gone, great rafts of leaves, twigs, debris and litter were gathering on the surface, pushed into the centre by the passing ships, as a kind of debris central reservation. In early ...

... Three Gorges. I imagine a Lesser Lesser Lesser Gorges will pop up as soon as someone grabs a shovel and starts digging trying to capitalize on the tourism. The scenery all day was very nice, even got some pictures of the beginning of the Qutang Gorge which can also be found on China's 10 RMB currency note. This day was also a lot of fun because many people on the boat realized I wasn't dangerous and could speak a little Chinese, so you might see ...

... to say, including that as the river slows, so will its ability to oxegenate. The untreated waste that pours in from 40 towns and 400 factories could well create another record for the dam: a 480km-long septic tank - the world's largest toilet! Our boat took 4 hours to pass through the 5-stage lock gate. The next highlight was the first gorge - Xiling Gorge. As you can hopefully see from our photos, the scenery was amazing. On day 2 we boarded a smaller ferry and ...

... The first night was some sort of feast. We had about 15 different dishes to share between 10 of us and the decorations were just great. You will see pics of a carrot made into a bird, watermelon into a dragon....so fun to see that side of their culture. Layton was thrilled because they had something (either chicken, pork or fish) that was sweet and sour every day! BINGO. Jana really enjoyed a fried rice bun which ...

... to continue producing just about anything for the entire globe. My landing off the train in Yichang was uneventful. Again, I was the only noticeable foreigner on the train, and after arriving I eventually found a reasonably priced hotel near the train station. Yichang is not exactly one of the main backpackers' destinations, not that I was ever looking for them, but I was to discover that the city is quite upscale, judging from the omnipresent name brand clothes stores (I'm ...

... Ick. We returned to our large boat and packed our backpacks again. In the afternoon we cruised through the 2nd and 3rd gorge which we absolutley spectacular. They were so high, even though the river level has risen so much due to the dam project. We alighted at a town called Feng Jie. We had to climb 175 steps which wasn't too hard for us as our packs weighed less than 10kg and we could just hoist them on our backs ...

... ve had the whole trip. Drinks menu maybe needs some work - a choice between beer or milk! We wander down to the river and have a look along a the the murky brown water. The thames looks distinctly carribean in comparision. Now we are treated to Yichangs finest ballroom dancing - the waltz to be precise! We go to a bar called Oldstreet (something or other) and try a couple of cocktails (now that my drugs make me feel like a new man!). We ...