The Boat, all but Grotty

  Chongqing, China
Monday, January 21, 2008

Day Nine - the wide open river
The boat left the Chaotianmen Docks at around eleven P M and began its journey down China's longest river; well, at least part of it, and crucially the most important.
As I look back on this voyage part of the trip, I'm left wondering where all the money goes to besides paying the boat crew, tour guides, replenishing the boat's provisions, because the non-luxury liners are badly in need of refurbishment? The cabins are naff: shabby toilet squats and wash basins with constricted - if not blocked - waste pipes, no hot water or heating in the adjoining room. The mattresses are hard. Yes, really; tantamount to sleeping on boards. The carpets in the corridors and lobby areas are stained, have cigarette burns, are messed with sunflower seed shells, garbage bins that defy description, left for the cleaning workers to sweep up and empty. The restaurant floor was covered in a plastic coating, and stools - not chairs. The tables had thin flimsy plastic instead of tablecloths laid. A more practical solution to slops and bits of rice and food unavoidably dropped. I was talking to a Chinese-Canadian guy who felt just the same, expecting not too much, but something a bit better than this. What's the excuse for all the run-down?  Is it because Chinese have no respect for standards and well-being? Do they want to hoard or squander the cash on other things, or just don't have enough? I'm sure the latter isn't the reason. Maybe, once the river rises to its maximum height, 175 meters, this whole tourist jaunt will pack in, and there's just no point in future upgrading.
Still, doing the Three Gorges 'the hard way,' was an adventure, and the present scenery at places along the river more than made up for the run-down, as did the experience traveling by wide-open river. And I don't want to appear a moaning Minny, do I? I use the word 'present' in describing the scenery because it will again become totally different once the  Three Gorges Project (the Dam) is completed in 2009.
Chinese men smoke like Chimney pots. Jack, a sprightly Korean tourist, knocked on our door:
"can I come in and share your room, and have one of the spare beds?"
Me and Violin hesitated.
"The guys in there are smoking. It's suffocating."
We continued to dither, and hadn't the stomach to answer.
...."OK, I understand your feeling, but I don't need to ask your permission, OK. Have a good trip!"
Whoops, had I dropped a clangor? Created an enemy who wouldn't want to speak to me for the remainder of the voyage? Guiltily, I laid back on the bottom unoccupied bunk, trying to reconcile my ambivalent feelings. If he asks again. I wouldn't stand in his way. It didn't turn out like that. Next morning he seemed as cheerful as ever and more than ready to begin conversation:
"How's your room?" I broke the ice. "Is everything OK?"
"Yes, it's fine. Me and the Chinese men are friends, now. We shared some liquor last night."
Oh well, all's well that end's well. In fact, me and Jack got on very well for the rest of the journey and had plenty of conversations exchanging taking pictures of each other on deck with each other's cameras.
The first port of call was a tourist spot called 'Ghost City.' It's a temple area supposed to be a place of the dead and a habitation of devils. All it really is, is a replication of mythical sculpted figures and stone statues. A tower-pagoda exists on a nearby hill as part of the temple.The girl at the hostel didn't recommend it, so I decided to save my money, have a lie-in keeping warm beneath the duvet and wait for the dormant docked ship to leave. Right aligned photo tag:

Docked at Ghost City

However, it was a good three hours before doing so, so I ventured out with Violin and a Chinese student he'd made friends with who was occupying a six-berth third class bunk which was crammed with six others and their luggage piled high against the back wall. He was on his way home to Wushan for the Spring Festival break. The ship isn't exclusively for the tourist, though, it's also for passengers, too. When peering into the cabin on the first floor watching some of the student occupants playing cards, Violin commented: "overcrowded situations are quite common in China."Left aligned photo tag:

Student friends playing cards

The hawkers were out in force:
"Hello, hello!! Here here!!"
One guy was selling Mao memorabilia. I toyed briefly with the idea of getting a copy of the Little Red Book, a cornerstone of the Cultural Revolution; now just a souvenir. He read my mind in a flash:
"Mao book. Yes, yes, Mao book." He anxiously pursued with a fixed bright grin.
I waved my hand using negative body language. The temple entrance, being too far away, we clambered back on board. However, it was still an hour before the ship left.
The rest of the day was a steady yet rushing glide past terraced banks, the odd village, town settlement, some industry, the river forming numerous water inlets. Left aligned photo tag:

Typical landscape of the day

I stood gazing at the fast  receding scenery, never to be met again, listening to the hissing rush of the water's foamy torrents that met the boat and dissipated into the calm riverRight aligned photo tag: Left aligned photo tag:

The boat kept rushing

The rest of the day was sitting in  the cabin fully clad reading Nineteen Eighty-Four, eating a dehydrated pot noodle carefully arranged by Violin.Right aligned photo tag:

Violin asleep

By nightfall, the boat made its second port of call; Baidi Temple. Right aligned photo tag:

Baidi Temple, lit up

I toyed with the idea of giving it a tour, even though it wasn't recommended. It's regarded as an important part of Chinese cultural heritage because it's a memorial to one of the army captains who was also a close associate of Liu Bei. Despite the captain's war victories, some conflict swelled among the soldiers, and he was treacherously murdered in his sleep, although with his eyes open.
The temple contains some cultural relics: calligraphic stone tablets, Right aligned photo tag: models of the key figures,Right aligned photo tag:

Statue of a guy flogging

a few other statues. It wasn't worth the 40 Yuan entrance fee I payed in a hurry. It reminds me of the courtyard of the witch's castle full of live creatures turned to stone in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Left aligned photo tag:

Statues, Baidi Temple

The temple, due to the Dam project, has had to be moved further up the hill, so is re-located. I rushed back to the boat down the cobbled steps, past many vendors selling all sorts of nick-knacks beneath lit bulbs, working late into the night. The temple's lights went out once all the tourists had left.
The only other temple past that day was one entirely made of wood sitting on top of a gigantic oblong of concrete, lining the river. The boat dramatically hurried away from it during the afternoon.Right aligned photo tag:

Wooden temple suspended on concrete

Left aligned photo tag:

Side of the deck, quite narrow

It also sped away from Baidi Temple into the gloom of the river into the night's darkness.