Cruising down the Yangtze

We had our first taste of Chinese public transport travelling Shanghai west to Wuhan. We can not help but compare everything here to India and after thousands of kms of travelling the Indian rail system China's 2nd class 'hard' sleepers was like travelling first class - blankets and pillows, hot water, regular cleaning... we were very impressed.

Crusing the Yangtze

We arrived in Wuhan and headed straight for the ferry terminal (after first going to a hotel that according to Lonely Planet was 'budget' but has since become 5 star - an indication of the pace of change in China). We eventually managed to book ourselves on a Yangtze river cruise but were frustrated to find out that we had to spend half a day travelling by bus to Yichang before we could commence the river trip, oh well another day on the road. Wuhan is just another big Chinese city that, like Shanghai, seemed very modern and not at all conforming to our pre-conceptions of China!

Locals playing cards

The next morning we arrived at the travel agents ready to board the bus only to find out that the boat we were booked on didn't go exactly where we wanted (or had been told it would go), a communication problem really, so we got our deposit back and found a bus to Yichang to try again. We managed to find an English speaking agent in Yichang and bargained a deal for the boat trip that included a nights accommodation in Yichang so feeling a little more organised we had some local cuisine and beer and headed to bed.

Cruising the Yangtze

The Yangtze River is the third largest river system in the world, and the Chinese are trying their best to control it, building what will eventually be the largest hydroelectric system in the world by a $70 billion US, 185 m high dam. Our boat was more like a cruise ship with cabins equipped with bathrooms, televisions (Chinese channels only) and huge windows to watch the passing scenery. We passed through the famous and spectacular three gorges, some up to 900m high (much of which will be submerged once the dam is completed), visited some nice temples along the way and drank lots of tea on the deck. We also discovered that most Chinese seem to talk very loudly (yell) and smoke continuously - most seemed to spend the three days sitting in their cabins playing Mah Jong, constantly smoking and drinking warm beer.