We sailed all night and arrived in Fendu early morning. We ate another buffet breakfast and I’m really getting tired of all the food. Yesterday I limited myself to a hardboiled egg and tea and today I had one fried egg and tea. I did go to Tai Chi at 7 am and really enjoy it. We are tied up next to two riverboats and had to walk through their lobbies to get to the pier for our morning excursion.
The city of Fendu was flooded by the dam project and the residents were moved to the new city built across the river on higher ground. We visited a ghoulish temple complex(City of Ghosts) by climbing up a long staircase from the docks and then using large golf carts to town. We went up on a chair lift to the temple where there were many levels and lots of places to burn incense and pray. There are tests there to determine if you are a good person. One place you stand on one foot on a brass mound for the count of three. Women stepped over every threshold with their right foot and men with their left and make sure not to touch. Lots of skeletons and ghouls in the area that resembled hell. Reminded me of the dias des mortes in Mexico. Lots of building going on here and a four star hotel is being built on the top of the mountain.
Came back and ate lunch. Hamburgers and french fries to Jeff’s delight! This afternoon I played Mah Jongg with Laura and Mike. We watched some Chinese players and they basically play gin rummy with the tiles. The cool thing is the electric table which shuffles the tiles and delivers them up through a slit in two rows in front of each player. Afterwards Jeff and I had massages. Mine was great, but a little rough and my neck was sore for the next two days.
Riding along the Yangtze is such a special experience. The river is wide, muddy brown and full of trash. We did see one trash boat plucking out some stuff, but it seems an endless task. Along the way are these new cities on high ground with vast complexes of apartment buildings. On the water’s edge are farms and we see a few cows and livestock. Terraced green areas are farms with two story houses as the farmers do pretty well here. We passed a few industrial sites that were vast and wondered what is going on in there. There is lots of traffic on the river with barges going up and down, many transporting coal. Lots of tourists on the riverboats. Many small boats ply the waters too and ferries go across delivering passengers to small towns and villages.
A nice farewell dinner and then back to pack.
The city of Fendu was flooded by the dam project and the residents were moved to the new city built across the river on higher ground. We visited a ghoulish temple complex(City of Ghosts) by climbing up a long staircase from the docks and then using large golf carts to town. We went up on a chair lift to the temple where there were many levels and lots of places to burn incense and pray. There are tests there to determine if you are a good person. One place you stand on one foot on a brass mound for the count of three. Women stepped over every threshold with their right foot and men with their left and make sure not to touch. Lots of skeletons and ghouls in the area that resembled hell. Reminded me of the dias des mortes in Mexico. Lots of building going on here and a four star hotel is being built on the top of the mountain.
Came back and ate lunch. Hamburgers and french fries to Jeff’s delight! This afternoon I played Mah Jongg with Laura and Mike. We watched some Chinese players and they basically play gin rummy with the tiles. The cool thing is the electric table which shuffles the tiles and delivers them up through a slit in two rows in front of each player. Afterwards Jeff and I had massages. Mine was great, but a little rough and my neck was sore for the next two days.
Riding along the Yangtze is such a special experience. The river is wide, muddy brown and full of trash. We did see one trash boat plucking out some stuff, but it seems an endless task. Along the way are these new cities on high ground with vast complexes of apartment buildings. On the water’s edge are farms and we see a few cows and livestock. Terraced green areas are farms with two story houses as the farmers do pretty well here. We passed a few industrial sites that were vast and wondered what is going on in there. There is lots of traffic on the river with barges going up and down, many transporting coal. Lots of tourists on the riverboats. Many small boats ply the waters too and ferries go across delivering passengers to small towns and villages.
A nice farewell dinner and then back to pack.
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