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Hong Kong, Beijing, and Yangtze River Cruise

Vacation in China

Rf
2004-08-10 14:43:35

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It was beautiful. We could see where the ancient Ba people once placed their dead in wooden coffins high up on the gorge walls with wooden pegs. It was really fascinating. Of course at the beginning and end there were people selling crafts to the tourists. Everything was so inexpensive, I always paid the first price I was quoted. I never had the need to bargain. The trackers got to ride in the boat with us downstream, and I was generous in tipping them because I felt guilty that they pulled our boat full of big ass tourists upstream for 45 minutes.

The third and last excursion was to see the Three Gorges Dam. It was so ugly!!! I didn't take a single photo. The air was very unpleasant from all the rock blasting they're doing. The camp for workers looked like a really horrible shanty town. I really hope the dam achieves its objective because there's no turning back now. The area there is nothing but construction. The dam is enormous. I think there's no way to save the towns and artifacts that will be underwater when the dam is done. I hope it really does help with flood control, as it's supposed to.

Our last stop was Wuhan, where our guide, Charlie, and a driver picked us up at the pier. We arrived late due to a barge that had gotten stuck on a sand bar in the middle of the river. We'd already lunched on the boat, so Charlie took us to a temple and rock garden before we went to the airport. In order to avoid changing money and to give Charlie and the driver a nice tip, Marsha and I each gave them 100 Yuan ($12 USD) each. Charlie said it was the biggest tip he'd ever gotten and bought us both a box of the locally made rice candy as a gift.

That was my trip. I am definitely going back for another adventure in China. I'd love to see more of the city of Wuhan and to see the gigantic Buddha carved into the mountain at Leshan, among other things. I highly recommend a vacation there.

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