Had a good sleep up just after 06:00 could not shower as there was no hot water. Breakfast at 06:45 poached eggs on toast and Penny stayed in bed. 07:45 we went down to Level 2 to go ashore at Zhong Xian and visit the Shibaozhai Pagoda. They had provided a guide just for Penny and I which was great as we could go at our pace and not have to wait for the Chinese. Our guide spoke a little English and we got by okay. We made our way to the Shibaozhai Pagoda on foot, before they flooded the 3 Gorges dam area they built a flood defense wall around the pagoda. The guide said this is one of the 8 most important Pagodas in the world. Apparently alot of the local people come to the Pagoda daily and pray for good luck and fortune. From there we walked through to the town Zhong Xian first passing all the tourist shops. We bought some T shirts and a lovely red Chinese jacket for Penny. One shop wanted 285 yuan for a T shirt over £30 I got it for 50 yuan £6. Some of the shop owners were right in our faces and Penny get really pissed off with this and will not deal with them even if they have something she likes. We walked past some senior citizens and apparently they liked my beard so I sat next to the old man with 3 teeth in his mouth and Penny took some photos and he was laughing away merrily. Walked back down to the pontoons which lead back to the ship, there were people washing their clothes in the Yangtze, our guide said these peoples houses were small and did not have washing machines. Back on the boat at 10:00 back to our cabin and the vessel departed at 10:30.
Had lunch they had sweet and sour pork unfortunately the pork was tough as old boots. What is a bit worrying the food lids are open and some of the Chinese people are coughing all over the food. Even Penny had some bread today as she was not happy with the food she had selected. Jeffrey the Cruise director came and joined us and run through all the activities today, Penny was keen on making dumplings. Tomorrow our bags will be collected at 07:00 and taken up to the terminal and we have to be off the ship at 08:00, which is a bit early and Penny is not happy with that not being a morning person. But it is what it is. We went back to our cabin for a siesta good to catch up on sleep. Penny went to the Jade and Pearls lecture but unfortunately the guy did not speak English and no one else turned up. At 15:00 Penny went to the, how to make Dumpling course and she was back in the cabin in 5 minutes. Apparently there were 4 kids and her and they were throwing the dough around and the chef was not looking interested so she called it quits. They have other activities today but we will give them a miss.
Maurice's Travel 