Aug 28, 2012 - River Cruise

I spent three days on a cruise of the Yangtze River along a stretch known for it’s scenic beauty. I knew in advance that many tourists consider this a highlight of a visit to China, but I didn’t give it much thought beforehand. Once I arrived dockside in Chongqing the size and features of the boat took me aback. I was expecting a nice but small boat like the one I sailed upon in Halong Bay, Vietnam. It turns out that this was a 6-story boat with accommodations for up to 400 guests and all the features of a cruise boat—including extravagant...

Aug 28, 2012 - Chengdu & Chongqing

Two stops on my brief tour of China were the cities of Chengdu and Chongqing, both which I reached via train. Chengdu is primarily known as the home of one of the better Panda Research Centers in the world. Pandas are an endangered species that is only found in the wild in China---and in only three of China’s provinces at that. As a result of both human encroachment and of the inherent difficulty pandas have in breeding successfully it is estimated that only about 1,600 of these creatures still survive, including those in zoos worldwide....

Jul 6, 2012 - Chongqing

Today consisted of a very long 7 hour bus ride to Chongqing. We used the public but which meant that anything that could be carried on board, was. This included building supplies, an air compressor and a chicken in a bag. The chicken was kept in the luggage compartment as there was also a dog on board but at each stop a 'chicken check' was done to make sure it was still alive.. The scenery was beautiful on the way but the roads varied a lot from autoroutes to rutted tracks which were actually part of the main highway and served as a detour...

Jun 30, 2012 - On the Yangtze River

Yangtze River Cruise March 25 to 28 ‘[By] October of 2010, the water level in the reservoir of the Three Gorges had reached 175 meters. Therefore, it fundamentally changed Three Gorges from a river now into a huge brand new man made lake.’ ‘After the Three Gorges Project stored water, the ancient Fengjie town and the well-known passageway Yidoumen was submerged in the river regretfully.’ ‘Walking into the new Wushan County, people can strongly feel that the great Three Gorges Project not only brought the resettlement of the town, but also...

May 3, 2012 - Chongqing to Board Riverboat

We had an early bag pull this morning; bags out at 7:00 a.m. But, it’s really great because they take care of transporting the checked bags to the airport and checking them in for us. We just need to pick up at our destination and hand them over again to someone else who takes care of everything; service abounds here. With the bags ready, we had a lovely breakfast at the AZUR Café and we were ready for our sightseeing departure at 8 a.m. Because we did the City Wall last night, we had a relatively easy morning. First stop was at the Great...

Apr 12, 2012 - Chongqing to Xi'an

After four nights on the ship, we disembark and travel to the Chongqing National Zoo to see their Panda Bears who are their for conservation and are part of a breeding program. With a population of almost 33 milion in Chongqing, I think we'll all be glad to fly off to Xi'an in the afternoon. We depart on Sichuan Airlines # 8805 at 13:45 and arrive at 14:55. ............................................................................................................................. 12Apr – Chongqing; Naional Zoo- Panda; flt to Xian We’re off...

Oct 13, 2011 - Flying back to Guangzhou.

Flight was pretty uneventful, excepting for a couple of instances of turbulence, enough that hot drinks were not being served for a while, but not enough to be frightening. I was amazed at just how long we flew over snow covered mountains for. It would have been nearly an hour and a half of flying time. That really gave me an impression of the expanse of the Himalayas. Just awesome. We flew from Lhasa to Chongqing, and had about an hour to wait for the next leg of our flight, to Guangzhou.

Apr 9, 2011 - Xian and Chongqing

After a late night, we had to get up early and get ready to head off for our tour of the Terra Cotta Warriors (also referred to as the Terra Cotta Army). We like the term “warriors” better, so that’s what you’ll see from now on out.) Before we get there, a couple of other things first (I always do this to you don’t I.). First, after traveling for a few days, we tend to lose track of what day it is. I don’t know about you, but it sure happens to us. Our hotel in Xian is the Shangri-La. Perfect name, yes? It’s an older hotel, but is very...

Apr 1, 2011 - Chongqing - Sailing Away - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYNTHEA

The power went off at precisely midnight – HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYNTHEA. There wasn’t even emergency lighting out in the hall. The only problem during the night was when “someone” found that “someone else” had left the toilet seat up. Oops. Should have taken the torch, eh. We were woken at 3am with a Happy Birthday text (thanks Irene), and then at 6am when the power came on all the lights in the room had been left on. We were up at 7 to finish packing and headed down to breakfast. An empty restaurant, just for the two of us, and enough food to...

May 20, 2010 - Alive and well in Chongquing

We are alive and well in Chongqing after 4 days cruising the Yangzi River with very limited internet access. Everyday, we stop early, get off the boat and travel ashore. This is a real adventure! We have visited the Three Gorges Dam (the largest dam project in the world), traveled through the Three Gorges and one deep gorge via San Pan (a narrow row boat), visited Taoist Ghost Temples at the "City of Devils" at Fengdu. China is not for the timid of body or mind. We are having a lot of fun and we promise to get back to the stories and...

May 4, 2010 - Xian to Chongqing

Just a quick one with some pictures I couldn't upload yesterday, plus a couple from today. Today was a transit day with a flight from Xian to Chongqing--from a city of only 8 million to one with 32 million! This afternoon we walked around a section that is the oldest part of the city. We tried some crispy fried cake things from a street vendor (like funnel cakes?), and Ruth got some ginger candy. Then to our hotel, which is really nice, and one of our favorite travel things, exploring foreign grocery stores to see what different kinds of...

Apr 16, 2010 - Chongqing

16th April Long early bus trip to chongching, got there about midday And then had 5hrs to look around before we got the boat. We got some amazing street food and then walked into town to just look around. Found some more bakerys with the most elegant cakes for so cheap. We tried various diffeent pastries which were all fantastic and people watched. Tom got chatted up by an extremely nervous guy and we saw some poodles with shoes on. We got groceries for the confinement on the boat and then were given our tickets, lou and I were in the same...