Monkey see, Yangze do

The Yangtze is China's longest River (and third longest in the world) — it tumbles from the roof of Tibet, flows through the heart of China, and finds its way to the sea at Shanghai.  At least 400 million people live in its watershed,which produces almost half of the country's agricultural products. Along the middle of its route, the river carves a tight steep valley through the central mountains, creating China's famous Three Gorges.

Since my boat was not leaving until later in the evening, I checked out of the "Xi-Er-Dun" as late as possible enjoying the comfy room for as long as I could. One odd downside to the place was they charged for internet, a steep 10 bucks for the first hour. I declined being ripped off.

Although I normally shy away from touristy cruises, this time around it was a welcome relief to be in an all inclusive package. About half the passengers are foreigners -- Americans, Brits, Austrailians -- but I am surprised to find out I'm the only from Canada on board. I get a kick out of listening to a big group of New Zealanders of Chinese descent speaking with heavy Kiwi accents and not being able to speak the local language just like me. Since I paid a relative last-minute bargain for this cruise I have to share a cabin, and my roomie was a Chinese man who unfortuantely spoke no English.

There is a slew of activites as we sail, from Tai Chi lessons in the morning, to lectures on Chinese language, culture and traditions in the afternoon, and at night the crew puts on quite a show. There are several off-ship excursions, including a visit to gargantuan Three Gorges Dam.

During meals I was assigned to a table with a bunch of British and Austrailian tourists who were all travelling independently. Other tables were occupied by people on larger packaged tours. Our group hit it off quite well, and the conversation was always non stop and filled with humour.

Our first port of call was the City of Ghosts near Fengdu, one of the large communites that was completely displaced by rising waters of the new dam's reservoir. The relocation figure is astounding: 1.3 million people had to be moved, and brand-new cities and towns had to be built to accomodate them. The touristy spot they toured us trough was a mixture of old and new temples, consolidated into a dense attraction not unlike some of the contrived heritage villages we have in North America. It was fun nonetheless, and it offered a glimpse of some of the old traditions and beliefs in the area.

This is Yama, the judge who decides whether to send you to heaven or hell

Everything was easily accessible for the next few days, albeit for a bit of a premium that put prices on par to what they are back home. I got a much needed haircut on board, and a few fancy drinks at the bar while meeting other passengers. Suddenly it felt a cushy relaxing vacation.

As part of the cruise, on the second afernoon they piled us into smaller boats which  took us into the narrower Lesser Gorges where we got into even smaller wooden boats. Apparently before the dam, this excursion would have been like shooting the rapids with boatmen using bamboo poles to push the boats upstream, but now it is a tame verson on flat water. The rising water level has made more of the upper gorges accessible, however. The steep forests are populated with small monkeys who swing down to the water to drink. Old tribes living in the area long ago had the custom of hanging coffins up on the cliff caves to bring their dead closer to heaven, and a few were visible from the boat.

A stroke of fortune saw the sun come out on cue as we reached the most scenic part of the route. This is apparently be the best time of year to visit — the  summer brings unberably hot and humid weather, while it is constantly foggy later in the winter. The scenery is stunning, like walking into a traditional Chinese painting.

On the last day, we approached Yichang and the big dam. We were bused into the dam site, passing brand new towns that were still being finished up. The communities look like orderly versions of traditional villages, the main streets lined with little shops selling everything from raw metal to quick meals. They are typical of Asia; someone might be welding up a wagon in one shop, and other people might be slurping bowls of noodles next door. The streets are always filled with noise and smells, and people become immune to it all.

The Three Gorges Dam is an impressive piece of infrastructure — the huge investment is rationalized by the government as floods in the lower Yangze have caused billions in damage and hundreds of thousands of lives in the past. It was also supposed to supply 15% of China's electricity when it was planned, but with all the rapid growth, it will now only satisfy 3% at the most. These and other facts are systematically drilled into every visitor by the official tour guides. The dam is obviously a point of pride for the Chinese, and thousands travel out here everyday to see it for themselves.

The Goddess Peak

Our final destination is dock outside of Yichang, and while the large tour groups have their buses to pick them up and other independent travellers have pre-arranged transport, I am left to the gouging taxi drivers waiting outside like a pack of hyenas in for the kill. I have no choice but pay Y100 (about $15) for the ride into the city since the dock is quite remote and I have no maps to navigate with if I biked. My stint in the High Life ends in a bumpy ride on a pothole riddled road to my $30 hotel room.