We pack our bags, have breakfast and load on buses for a tour of the Three Gorges Dam. The dam is impressive but the tour was disappointing. We were able to view it from a distance but we were not taken into the dam, we didn’t see any of the generators or other machinery, we didn’t even cross on the dam.
Back at the boat we place our luggage in the hall. It will all be moved to the lobby for our departure after lunch. We say good-bye to the friends we have made these past few days: our table-mates Judy and Karen, Sara and Johnny, a young couple from Sweden, Jen and her Mom from Clermont, Florida and, of course, the superb staff. Our waitresses, Cherry and Joy have helped us all gain a few pounds plus the bartenders Jack, Art, Tom and others were great. We also have received a lot of personal attention from Luther and Shirley who gave several lectures and classes.
As we leave the boat we are met by “Coffee”, our interim guide. All our gear is loaded on a bus and he gives us a brief tour of Yichang, a city of over one million. Coffee walks us through the train station and to our rail car. It is immediately obvious this operation is not “customer oriented: luggage has to be dragged over tracks with concrete stairs and no side ramp, the aisle of our compartments are filthy and reek of stale smoke. Betty is not a happy camper. It is not so much that she personally is uncomfortable, but since she made all the trip arrangements she feels responsible for insuring that all of us are well cared for, plus she thought she had arranged for us to have only two per compartment now we are told that they have only 4 berth compartments. Oh well, we will spend the night and get into Xian (pronounced – she-ahn).
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After leaving our great cruise and its attentive staff, this day turns into a study of contrasts. Mr. Coffee is our guide – he’s a bit odd. He takes us to the dam in Yichang which was something of a practice project for the Three Gorges Dam. It does look quite similar – only smaller. It creates enough power for the entire province of Hubei. We stop at an Embroidered Art place. I picked up a red silk tunic. We boarded the train where we find disappointing accomodations – but this is a trek, and not everything can be known about in advance. Up to now we have been more than happy with our accomodations. Fran