We didn’t write anything while we were on the boat, because the Internet was rety much intolerable. Now that we’re back on dry land, it’s time for a quick rundown. Recall that we were on the cruise up the Three Gorges.
On the 24th, we really just got through the locks at the dam and cruised up the river. At the end of the day, there was a “crew cabaret”. I was expecting an ironically funny variety show, but it was actually pretty good: much more entertaining than the Peking Opera. After the show, they announced that the dance floor was open. As the cast went out to find people to get the dancing started, one of the girls grabbed me. Against my will, I was dragged up on stage, only to find that they had started playing the Macarena and that I was trapped. Do you have any idea how goddamned long the Macarena is? Then, they shouted “everybody stay in the circle” and played the Chicken Dance. Kat was properly amused.
On the 25th, we look an excursion to see the Lesser Three Gorges. Most notably, Kat was the first to spot monkeys that live wild along the gorges.
After lunch, the boat cruised through the Qutang Gorge, which is pictured on the 10 Yuan bill. That makes three of the currency images we have seen: the 1 yuan in Hangzhou, and the 100 yuan from Tiananmen square.
In the afternoon, we took an excursion to Baidi Cheng, the White Emperor City. It occurred without incident.
I spent much of the evening sitting in the top-floor lounge pretending to read while I watched a scene unfold around me. The only occupants were four guys playing Mahjong, the girl at the bar, and me. Then, we were joined by a group of Chinese guys who had been drinking in the dining room since dinner. They were very… boisterous.
As the evening went on, we were joined by another girl at the bar. Then, a guy in a security uniform. Then the hospitality manger, another security guy and the cruise guide. I didn’t get much reading done. Every little while, the bar girl would come over and apologize for the noise, but I was just waiting for the fight. Apparently the evening ended without incident at about 1:30. I was later told that this group (of maybe eight) had 7 bottles of wine in the restaurant before they came up and 48 bottles of beer after they came up (although they may not have drank all of them). Beer bottles here are probably 1.5 times ours.