Tai Chi at 6:30 am and I was in the front row. Must have looked good because Dr. Ou asked if I have studied Tai Chi. I did many years ago and loved it and may start again. After breakfast we entered the Wushan area and sailed through scenic areas of the Wu gorge which is one of three gorges. The scenery was right out of the movies or photo books of China and truly amazing. It was misty all morning and that only enhanced the panoramas. Along the way we passed a boat collecting trash out of the river which seemed like an endless task. At 8:45 we disembarked at Wushan, a city of 100,000 that is a relocation city for people misplaced by the dam and boarded large ferries to sail along a tributary of the Yangtze called the Daning river. We were advised not to drink water, tea or coffee on board and that the toilets were “mama hoo hoo” and that is not good.
For 1½ hours we sailed on the river with more magnificent scenery and then reached a primitive area where we got off the ferries and onto peapod boats where we had to don life vests and sit on wooden boards. The boats were real low to the water and we had about 25 people and the guy in back who ran the engine. We floated through a canyon and looked up to see caves with hanging coffins inside. Wealthy people were buried this way and no one knows for sure how they got the coffins up so high in the cliffs. The dam project has raised the water level about 150 meters so entire cities have been submerged and we saw one island that used to be the top of a mountain a few years ago. In the boat we all got a chance to come up front and wear a native cape and hat made from palm leaves while pretending to use a long pole to move the boat. Good photos. We were lucky enough to see some monkeys by the riverside and our guide sang a lovely folk song to us.
On the way back I slept and got back in time for lunch. Today the buffet had several pork dishes, chicken strips, pizza and cold noodles. Green salad, egg salad, steamed veggies and bok choy were among the other dishes. Flan for dessert and, of course, watermelon which ends every meal. The dining room is very nice and the food is hot and plentiful.
After lunch we decided to try to play Mah Jongg. There is a room with covered tables and we found out that they are electric and shuffle the tiles and bring them up in two stacks in front of each player. They charge $15 to use the table for an hour. The tiles were much bigger than the ones we use and we have no idea how to play the Chinese version of the game. So we abandoned the idea for now and headed to our rooms.
Right now we are tied up to another riverboat so that folks can go on an optional afternoon excursion. The boat is literally two feet from our balcony and full of Chinese tourists who are waving and talking to us. Very funny. Today is National Day, a big holiday here where everyone goes traveling and everyplace is crowded. Luckily we are on the river with a finite number of people on the boat and tourist sites.
It’s a rainy afternoon and I enjoyed tea and cookies at 4 pm and then met Jeff for a Mandarin language lesson at 4:30. Laura and I watched the Chinese play Mah Jongg and think we have it figured out to be like rummy with tiles. Tomorrow we will attempt to play. Jeff signed us up for massages tomorrow and that will be a treat.
A little rest and then dinner. After dinner Jeff got into bed and read. I opted for the show and it was entertaining. Crew members put on a production of Chinese, dance, music and magic. Our waitresses played two-stringed instruments in a small orchestra which included a bamboo flute and two large dulcimer type contraptions as well as several ukele type instruments. Costumes were very professional.
For 1½ hours we sailed on the river with more magnificent scenery and then reached a primitive area where we got off the ferries and onto peapod boats where we had to don life vests and sit on wooden boards. The boats were real low to the water and we had about 25 people and the guy in back who ran the engine. We floated through a canyon and looked up to see caves with hanging coffins inside. Wealthy people were buried this way and no one knows for sure how they got the coffins up so high in the cliffs. The dam project has raised the water level about 150 meters so entire cities have been submerged and we saw one island that used to be the top of a mountain a few years ago. In the boat we all got a chance to come up front and wear a native cape and hat made from palm leaves while pretending to use a long pole to move the boat. Good photos. We were lucky enough to see some monkeys by the riverside and our guide sang a lovely folk song to us.
On the way back I slept and got back in time for lunch. Today the buffet had several pork dishes, chicken strips, pizza and cold noodles. Green salad, egg salad, steamed veggies and bok choy were among the other dishes. Flan for dessert and, of course, watermelon which ends every meal. The dining room is very nice and the food is hot and plentiful.
After lunch we decided to try to play Mah Jongg. There is a room with covered tables and we found out that they are electric and shuffle the tiles and bring them up in two stacks in front of each player. They charge $15 to use the table for an hour. The tiles were much bigger than the ones we use and we have no idea how to play the Chinese version of the game. So we abandoned the idea for now and headed to our rooms.
Right now we are tied up to another riverboat so that folks can go on an optional afternoon excursion. The boat is literally two feet from our balcony and full of Chinese tourists who are waving and talking to us. Very funny. Today is National Day, a big holiday here where everyone goes traveling and everyplace is crowded. Luckily we are on the river with a finite number of people on the boat and tourist sites.
It’s a rainy afternoon and I enjoyed tea and cookies at 4 pm and then met Jeff for a Mandarin language lesson at 4:30. Laura and I watched the Chinese play Mah Jongg and think we have it figured out to be like rummy with tiles. Tomorrow we will attempt to play. Jeff signed us up for massages tomorrow and that will be a treat.
A little rest and then dinner. After dinner Jeff got into bed and read. I opted for the show and it was entertaining. Crew members put on a production of Chinese, dance, music and magic. Our waitresses played two-stringed instruments in a small orchestra which included a bamboo flute and two large dulcimer type contraptions as well as several ukele type instruments. Costumes were very professional.
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