Yin and Yang on the Yangtze, Part Two
The Yangtze, the Dam and steps, steps, steps
After a sightseeing trip to the Panda House at the Chongqing Zoo and cocktails at a local hotel, we headed for the Yangtze and our river boat, the Victoria Cruise Lines’ Katarina, which would take us through the famous Three Gorges during the next three days. This cruise line is an American-managed company with International multi-lingual cruise directors. Our bus pulled up about 6:30 PM to a parking area high above the river. I expected to see some kind of elevator or funicular to take us down to our ship which was now visible many feet below in the middle of the river. And then our guide told us that we had to go down over 200 old, stone, steps without railings (here is an example of the type of steps we navigated) and then across some pontoons (that may or may not be bouncing in the water) to reach the ship.
Knowing that we would have a rather difficult trek from the bus to the boat, Tauck had arranged for our carry-on luggage to be transported from the bus to the boat along with our checked luggage. We were on our own to get down the steps and across the floating docks that were between the stairs and the boat. I was in a genuine panic — it was approaching dusk and visibility wasn’t too good, there were so many steep steps and no railings!
I said to Don “I think I will spend the next three days in a hotel and meet you when you disembark”. But he convinced me that if we took it slowly, with me using my seat cane on one side and holding his arm on the other, we could do this. Annie had warned us that we would be accosted by men called ‘bong bongs’ wanting to carry our bags for tips. Well, since our carry ons were being handled by the porters, the bong bongs tried to help us. They grabbed some of us by the arms making like they were guiding us down the steps. They were not easily shaken off. It was a frightening experience for some, at least.
Employees of the cruise company awaited us on the floating docks to greet us, and I suppose to keep us from veering off into the water. But we had already escaped the bong bongs and walked the planks and made it that far, so the effort seemed moot. When we arrived on the boat, we went directly to the dining room for dinner. I was so shaken from my experience with the steps, that I had lost my appetite.
Once I calmed down, I had another shock — although the five storied Katarina is the most recently renovated boat of the Victoria fleet, it has no elevator. Only the brand new ship Anna has elevators. Annie asked me what floor I would prefer. I decided that the first floor only gave me access to the dining room. Since most activities on the ship took place on the fourth floor (the fifth was a viewing deck), I decided the third floor would be the most practical choice for me — two flights down to eat, one flight up to socialize.
When we finally reached our cabin, my mood at first lightened because the room was small but quite nice with a private balcony to view the passing Yangtze scenery and feather beds. But then I saw the bathroom. It was fitted with an Asian style soaking tub, short in length and over three feet deep. There were no special hand-holds or steps to assist getting in and out. Almost everyone experiences some degree of difficulty getting out of these tubs, especially if the tub is placed in an alcove. I had used one on a Japanese cruise, but a step stool was provided. (Since the floor of the bathroom had a drain and the shower head could be hand-held, for the three days on the ship I sponge bathed using the sink and rinsed with the shower head).
The schedule for the next three days included a daily excursion to visit villages and sites on shore. Since I would again have to navigate many steps (not 250, though), I decided not to go on the shore excursions but sit on my balcony and enjoy the view, have tea in the lounge, or take a nap while Don participated in the excursions.
The shore scenery was pretty, but the river was brown from the silt released as it consumed former farmland, and full of flotsam, including many single shoes, especially rubber flip flops. It was also polluted with sewage and industrial toxic waste.
Day two’s activities included Tai Chi lessons, a lecture on the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges, a lecture on Chinese medicine, and free coffee and Bloody Marys, all before lunch.
After lunch, our Tauck group went ashore at Fengdu to visit with a family that had been displaced from their farm when the river was flooded and relocated to a brand new city in a modern apartment, quite a culture shock for poor farmers. I stayed on the ship and sat on my balcony, enjoying the most relaxing few hours I had experienced thus far on the trip.
That evening we had the Captain’s Welcome Reception, followed by a wonderful set Chinese meal. All of the meals served on the boat were quite good, a mix of Western and Chinese dishes. Following dinner, we were invited to a Victoria Katarina Fashion Show with the crew modeling a variety of Chinese traditional costumes from all regions and periods of Chinese history.
Before breakfast the next morning, our ship entered the first of the Three Gorges, the Qutang Gorge, and passed through in about 20 to 30 minutes. Although I had expected to stay on the boat until our final disembarkation at Yichang, our guide, Annie, said that the day’s activity involved moving from our boat to a smaller motorized ferry boat that would be docked right next to the Katarina, making it easy for me to negotiate the transfer. The ferry would carry us through the picturesque Lesser Gorges, along a tributary of the Yangtze, the Daning River. One drawback of the trip was that the small vessel would probably not have a Western toilet and the roundtrip took four hours. After some debate, I decided that I would skip breakfast, not have any liquids until lunch and carry my Urinelle, just in case.
The trip was very relaxing, with beautiful scenery and lovely weather. At the end of the Lesser Gorges, we could transfer to a small sampan that would take us down even narrower gorges, but as the boat seemed to be very flimsy and rocked a lot, I decided to forgo that experience and stayed on the ferry. We returned in time for a buffet lunch, a welcome sight for my food and liquid deprived body.
During the afternoon we traveled through the second gorge, the Wu Gorge, were offered a lecture on a foreigner living in China and viewed a Chinese Tea Culture exhibit, and then entered the third gorge, the Xiling Gorge. Just after 6 PM our ship approached the Three Gorges Dam and began preparation for a three-hour passage through the five stage ship lock. That evening we had the Victoria Cruises Farewell Banquet and enjoying the final minutes of the ship’s lock passage before packing.
The next morning after breakfast, our group headed out for a visit to the Three Gorges Dam Project. Since this involved a lot of uphill walking as well as steps to the bus parking lot, I did not go. After the group returned, the ship sailed through the East Xiling Gorge and then through the Gezouba Dam Locks. We disembarked from the ship in Yichang after lunch and climbed up about 100 stone steps without railings to the bus. We then drove to the Yichang airport to fly to Shanghai. At this point in my narrative you can probably understand why the tour guides refer to China as the “People’s Republic of Steps.”
Editor's Note: Wall Street Journal reporter Shai Oster won a George Polk Award for his article, Reservoir of Fear, In China, New Risks Emerge At Giant Three Gorges Dam, exposing the consequences of the dam's construction. Read the subsequent articles on reactions and plans for the dam's future.
