YANGTZE RIVER CRUISE

A quiet week here in OK Falls hence the lack of a blog and even with this entry I have to delve back into the past for something to write about. What follows are soem brief thoughts of my time as a tour guide travelling along the Yangtze River in China with tour groups.


The Yangtze River cruise usually lasts for three days and nights. The group travels on one of the many tourist boats that ply their trade upon the Yangtze River. Now when I say river boat or ferry you are probably thinking of a little dinky boat that takes twenty or so passengers. I expected as much when I first came here.


Well, actually the boats are very big and can accommodate up to 600 passengers. The boat is about 70 metres long and reminds me of a Mississippi riverboat without the paddle wheel. Upon the boat there are different standards of accommodations ranging from cabins of six people on the lower decks where passengers are accommodated in Spartan bunk beds to twin share cabins on the upper deck.

Fortunately I get to stay in the later.


The company with whom we deal with has twelve boats and each boat varies in facilities, décor and cleanliness. To date I have been lucky and I have traveled on the good boats. The cabin is set out with two signal beds, separated with a night stand table complete with inter-room telephone, There is usually a couple of comfortable chairs, a writing desk, colour TV and en-suite bathroom. There is no shower cubicle in the bathroom, which means, if you so desire you can sit on the toilet and shower at the same time which is a bonus for those with time management problems.


The best feature of the rooms I believe is the large picture windows. These windows afford the passengers an extraordinary view of everything that goes on upon the river. A favourite pastime is lying propped upon my bed and looking out the window watching the ever-changing scenery pass me by.

You can buy meals on the boat though we only usually eat dinner on board. The meal is fair and if you are booked for say 6pm your dinner will start arriving at your table at that time. If you are late too bad your dinner will sit there getting cold. Everyone usually brings a hoard of “food” on board which ranges from breads, biscuits, pot noodles, chocolate and a range of alcohol.


The boats have a lounge at the bow and to use this you have to pay a little extra. Some boats have a disco and most have karaoke a Chinese favourite. Like everything every trip is different and sometimes there are wild parties with singing and dancing, whilst at other times it is very quiet and people tend to stay in their cabin’s and just “chill out.”

Of course the major attraction of this three day cruise is the cruise along the mighty and majestic Yangtze River. Along the way we stop at ancient temples and ogle at the mighty gorges that rise steeply from the river and whose tops are often covered in cloud.

When I was last on the Yangtze the huge Three Gorge Dam project was in full swing. Many communities, farmland and wild areas had already been swamped by the rising water. One city of over 500,000 people was evacuated elsewhere as the river waters rose.

Unfortunately there have been many instances where families were removed from their ancestral homes and lands as the water levels rose.