Another day, another city this time Chongqing, known locally as the city of fog. Known to me as that dump with the hills. We arrived this morning on the sleeper train and jumped into taxis. My driver was the only one that appeared to know where he was going and took great delight in weaving in and out of the traffic and taking late turns in an attempt to lose the following taxis. He was really enjoying himself and I’ll admit my my concern for my fellow travellers was tempered by my laughter as we performed a u-turn at one set of lights as three taxis passed by us at speed. The city has hills like San Francisco and a hell of a lot of construction. We had a hotel booked for a couple of hours to have a shower and it was a complete hole, as you may expect from a place that charges by the hour. We were only here however to catch bus to our boat for our cruise through the Three Gorges, something I’m hoping will be a highlight of the entire trip, not just China. The bus turned up over an hour late, which is hell of a long time to be waiting with a heavy backpack and a four hour drive ahead. But the coach itself was comfortable, even if we had another driver with a horn fetish. It appears I’m not the only one whose patience with the horns is wearing thing. Katie, who was sat next to me was just falling asleep when the driver honked for a good thirty seconds solid. She just sat up and shouted a volley of abuse and then crashed back into her seat. I echo her sentiments exactly. Arriving at the boat we were very worried. We were shepherded though this disgusting set of room and thankfully emerged the other end of the boat where our own was moored. The boat isn’t luxury, but it is very nice. I’m sharing a room with Elisabeth for the journey and the room itself is nice a comfortable. There is a nice bar, and lots of room up top to watch the world go by. I can’t wait to get started.
DigiDonkey 