Up just before 05:00 showered, cup of tea for Penny and finalised the packing. 06:00 taxi was waiting for us and it was a 30 minute ride to the airport. Nearing the airport there were colour lighted trees on both sides of the dual carriage way, they looked spectacular. We went through security and found the China Express Airline check in desk. Penny was just over the 20 kg and I was 18 kg. Then we queued for security with our hand luggage once through made our way to our gate. There were alot of international named shops but they were shuttered up and empty. We got on to the bus and was shuttled out to our aircraft a Bombardier, wings and prop at the aft end of the plane. For once we departed 5 minutes earlier than scheduled, the flight took an hour and a quarter was great to see the sunshine above the clouds for a short while and arrived in a wet Guilin. Got our bags and took the bus in to the city center. Arrived there 30 minutes later and we got a taxi to our hotel just across the road from the lakes and gardens.

The check in ladies both spoke English makes life so much easier and they gave us a map of the city and marked a few locations. There was a notice board with the tours they offer so we booked the afternoon tour to Reed Flute Caves at 13:30 and for tomorrow the 07:30 full day tour of the River Li boat trip. The room has a slate floor and a window raised large lounger with a mattress to lay or sit on. Then we found an eating place around the corner I ordered 2 burgers with meat in them Chinese style and Penny got the pasta ribbons in a broth. I called it tape worm soup as the ribbons were a meter long. There was a spicy sauce for you to dip the ribbons in but no Penny decided to pour the contents into the large bowl of the broth and pasta and she got told off by the restaurant lady not to do it, we had a laugh and so did the other customers. Back to our room and Penny had a siesta before the Cave trip.

The transport was 30 minutes late there were 2 other Chinese ladies and us. The driver did not speak English parked the car and we had to climb some flights of stair and we queued as he bought the tickets. He told the Chinese woman what to do afterwards but no one could tell us. We arrived in the cave and a Chinese guide was talking a lot and it was packed with Chinese people, we let them get ahead of us and we were able to take photos with out any issues. It was spectacular in the caves and the coloured lights accentuated some amazing features of the stalactites and stalagmites. About 40 minutes later came out to the exit and then we made our way out through shops as they wanted you to buy things. Came across a guy doing glass blowing/crafting different creatures and things. I bought Penny an amethyst coloured flower who said I did not buy her flowers for Valentines Day and a frog. She had the cheek to say she has to kiss the frog to find her prince ( I don’t know where I fit into this?) LOL.

Back to the hotel and it is slightly drizzling don’t like this kind of weather, going to venture over to the park before we eat out tonight.

Even though the bed was hard we both slept well, just tired after getting up at 06:00 every day on the cruise. Got Penny a cup of tea and reminded her it was Valentines Day which suprised her. Got a big wash on and after it was finished hung it up on hangers all over the apartment, looking like a Chinese laundry. We had a lazy relaxing morning and at midday went to reception to tell the guy we needed a taxi to the airport tomorrow at 05:50. He does not speak English but a couple who arrived spoke a little and helped me out and he booked it and paid for it I had to give him £12.

Penny fancied some dumplings so she had some 6 for a pound. Then we tried to find our way up to the city above us, one option was blocked off so we walked along a road under a tunnel and took some turns and steps and we were amongst the hustle and bustle of Chongqing apparently the largest city in the world with a population over 33 million people. Penny was again fascinate by all the different food shops. Found Carrefours and I needed to buy some shaving cream and we got a few other items. Then we come across a meat and veg market in a disused car park the most veg we have seen in one place here in China, we bought some peas in their pod and large radishes and it tasted bloody good with some salt. We made our way to the cable car but had to wait 5 hours for the next available ride so we cancelled that idea and walked half way across the bridge great views and we looked down on to the Century Paragon which is still tied up. I came across a hairdressers and negotiated a hair cut and beard trimmed off for £9. Got it washed first cut and then washed again and off came the beard it feels good I wonder if I will now get stopped for photos? Found an easier route back down to our street which we had not spotted from our street as it was hidden.

The washing is nearly dried going to back the bags and then head out for dinner. We have a 08:15 flight to Guilin tomorrow morning staying in a converted Tea House the weather is going to be cooler and wet.

The Century Paragon tied up alongside another cruise ship around 07:00 in Chongqing. We were told the night before, leave your bags outside your cabin at 07:00 and they will be taken down to Level 1 and we had to leave the vessel not long after that. Well no one picked up the bags and we found out we could have stayed on the vessel until 09:00. We got off at 07:30 speaking with a couple from Hong Kong and I asked what they thought of the food on the cruise, not very good poor quality meats. We had to walk through one cruise boat to the pontoons and a 100m walk to the shore followed by alot of steps and then a steep path up to the main street. There were alot of guys willing to carry our bags which we declined, one guy hassled Penny trying to snatch her bag off her, I was ahead of her at the time and I heard her yell out no leave me alone. I swung around with my bag on my back and yelled at the guy, touch her again I will knock your fucking head off, he got the message and so did his mates. We made it to the top and there were not many taxis around I showed our address to a guy and he said 60 yuan around £8 told him to bugger off as I was told it was a 15 minute walk to the apartment. I found out what direction it was and a 2 km walk we were there. Had to wait an hour for the room to be cleaned as we were a little early.

A 1 bedroom apartment kitchen with micro wave and stove but there are no plates cooking pans or pots no cutlery. Mentioned this to the guy and he tried to give some of his kitchen stuff which was not the best, I declined it, told him we will eat out. The couch has not much stuffing in it basically sitting on hard boards and the bed is not much better, the body will be aching in the morning I am sure of that.

Went out and found a place which did won ton soup, we had one each something we could relate too did the job filling us up. Afterwards found a couple of places which have various meats, squid and veges on a stick which they cook for you, we have had it before and will have it tomorrow night.

The Cruise on the Yangtze was okay for what you pay and they call it luxury you would have expected better quality food. The WIFI was practically non existent. The ship was the newest in their fleet and the staff were polite and helpful, the ship was kept clean compared to the others we saw. The entertainment was pretty basic to our standards. Our last day of cruising we had 8 hours of daylight cruising which was great to see the scenery prior to that all the sailing was done at night time so we missed alot unfortunately. It is not wheel chair friendly or for the elderly who need assistance. Plus got alot of misinformation which was annoying.

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.

Had a good sleep Penny did not as I had turned the temperature up to 21 C. We had a tour at 08:30 boat excursion to Goddess Stream I was up at 06:30 showered and had breakfast 2 poached eggs on toast, the Chinese type breakfast covers every thing from rice noodles to sweets and fruit. Our ship tied up alongside the pier in the middle of nowhere with other ships. We had a bit of a walk to these small boats and the were over 20 of them. Our group of 30 odd followed our guide who spoke quite good English. She told us she lived up on top of the mountains and it was a 2 hour walk from there down to the boats and when she finished it was another 2 hour walk back up. I asked where she learned her English and she said from watching English TV programs. The boat trip took us along the tributary of the Yangtze River inside the mountains. We sat on the aft end of the small boat the Chinese sat inside as they don’t like the cold. The scenery was breath taking. You could see caves high up on the mountain faces and the guide said her grand parents are buried in there. We cruised for an hour a long the tributary there were about 20 boats carrying sightseers.

We got back to our ship around 11:00 and chilled for 30 minutes and then went had lunch. The ship was back cruising along the Yangtze and we sailed past a newish city about 20 years old, most of the apartments had amazing views of the river and mountains. Lunch was nothing special. There was a tour at 15:30 which we decided to miss. We both had a good siesta we were both tired and Penny was cold after the boat trip. I put both throws and duvets over her and put the room temperature up to 21 C from 18 and she was happy after that.

At 16:30 we went ashore to the small town where the ship is tied up alongside and the sun was out which put a smile on our faces. This town is surrounded by mountains and we walked up and down the main street and had a look at the pagoda. People were buying alot of oranges they certainly love them. Dinner time soon and we will be cruising during the night along the Yangtze.

Different sleep with 2 single beds pushed together with the 2 single duvets. I asked Jeffrey did they have queen size duvets, no. The internet on here is crap I do not know what the internet speed is but with 500 crew and passengers it is non existent. If I can get my blog up I will upload the photos later.

Up at 06:00 showered and breakfast started at 06:45. Jeffrey our camp cruise director got on the intercom at 06:30 to Penny’s delight telling people going on the Three Tribes Gorges tour get their arses out of bed, go and have breakfast then meet up on level 2. We as 17 people from Hong Kong and Penny and I met up with our guide and navigated through 3 cruise ships until we reached the quayside and made our way to the bus. The bus journey took 50 minutes where we stopped and waited for the ferry boat to take us up the river, it was well decorated pagoda houses stuck on top of the vessel. It was cold and damp around 5 C, cloudy just not nice, having thermals on helped. The ferry ride only lasted 15 minutes where we reached the 3 Tribes Gorge and disembarked, it was slow the Chinese certainly don’y move fast. We followed the path up the Gorge and we saw local people pulling a boat in and singing, a lady on a boat waving at us, man and woman in costume looking cold, then a mock wedding staged. The scenery was beautiful, high rock faces and mountains plus an assortment of vegetation. We saw a half dozen macaque monkey’s high up in the vegetation they were swinging from tree to tree enjoying themselves. At the mock wedding ceremony the bride threw her bouquet towards Penny and she was thinking shit and then this guy jumped up and intercepted it, we had a good laugh about it. Made our way back to the ferry 15 minute ride and we got off and hopped on to the bus. Back to the ship once again navigate through 3 vessels up to level 6 lunch time. Salads, fruit and the french stick were good rest of the food was okay.

After lunch we made our way to reception for our tour to the Three Gorges Dam this trip is a freebie as the morning tour cost £33 each. The bus ride was 30 minutes and when we arrived at the Dam site all had to go out go through security whilst the bus meet up with us once we got through security. From there we were taken to escalators which took us to the top of the viewing area. From there we could see the length of the dam of about 3 km long. To the side there was a double lock for the boats to go up and down. One side is 65 m and the other side is 15 m and it takes 48 hours to go through the 5 or 7 gates. Came across a lovely looking rock acclaimed to be 20 million years old. Finished the tour and bus back to the cruise terminal navigated through the 3 vessels and got back to our cabin. Been a long day but enjoyed both tours.

Got ready for dinner Penny looked lovely in a dress and flat shoes, she looks different from not wearing hiking boots and trousers. We went and had dinner out table is by the window thanks to Jeffrey. The salads were good, the rest so so, I will not be putting weight on this mini cruise. We commenced sailing at 19:30 Jeffrey got on his micro phone and announced that there were 6 birthdays in the past couple of days with the passengers and Penelope was called with 5 others. They put a red hat on her and everyone sang happy birthday in Chinese and again English. The 6 birthday people were presented with a birthday cake which tasted quite good. We had some and kept a couple of slices for later on and I shared the rest with the Chinese couples near our table which they thoroughly enjoyed.

20:45 off to see the Captain Welcoming party see what he has to say. He turned up with the big chef and few or the senior services ladies. The show was compared by Jeffrey. There was dancing afterwards and a few canapes to be eaten. Then we called it quits and returned to our cabin.

We got a check out at 14|:00 which was good as we had to check in for the cruise at 18:00 a kilometer down the road from the hotel. Penny wanted to get a few things for the cruise tried to find some where decent to eat ended up at KFC which I ate and then Penny wanted to go to her favourite restaurant with the dumplings, she was happy and took away a goody bag for latter on.

We got down to the cruise check in and there was a queue which we joined. The English complain about the Germans pushing in and not queuing ,well the Chinese are bloody good at doing it. It was going slowly and this pusher ins just made it worst. Eventually we checked in and then had to wait for a bus. After 30 minutes we had to follow a woman through a Chinese emporium which took 4 minutes and then reached the xray machine, put our bags through and then we found our bus. The bus depot says luxury cruise place nothing luxurious so far. What is disconcerting I see alot of Chinese people with bags loads of food, cooked chickens, noodles, pringle type crisps etc etc. What do they know about the food on this vessel?? The bus takes about 90 minutes to reach our destination the driver certainly knows where the horn is. Get off the bus collect your own bags nothing luxurious yet then down about 50 steps to where there are 3 cruise boats tied up along each other. We have to snake through 2 of the boats to get to ours on the outside. We are shown to the level 2 dining area and Jeffery the very camp cruise manager introduced himself to us. He informed we are the only Westerners on this trip which does not bother us. He said we could have an upgrade from Junior Suite to Executive suite for 100 pounds and the internet in for free as well and the use of the swimming pool, you have to buy a cap to wear whilst swimming.

I got settled in all unpacked bag put away and there was a life boat muster drill at 21:30. Penny found the complimentary bottle of red Chinese, which is ideal for cooking purposes only, but she is sticking with it. Put the life jacket on and went to level 5. Well the Chinese came in dribs and drabs some with and some without their life jackets and I am sure alot stayed in their cabins. The crew should have got all people out of their cabins. Penny and I had a dispute as she reckons life boat musters are not mandatory and I am saying they are according to SOLAS international marine law.

We are booked on a tour for 07:45 Tribe of 3 Gorges back at lunch time and then off to see the 3 Gorges dam after lunch. We then sail after 18:00 tomorrow night.

Had a good sleep needed it. I decided to go to the train ticket office and get seats booked from Chongqing to Guilin. We finish our cruise in Chongqing and spend 2 nights there before moving to Guilin. I got the assistant manager to write down in Chinese the train time date and destination plus for the taxi driver to the ticket office. I looked at it on Google Maps and only a 10 minute ride. Got a taxi and the driver was confused but I told him what directions to go and we found it. Spoke to information center and told I had to go to Yichang East railway station a 30 minute taxi ride. It is raining today first rain I have experienced since I was in London early November. It is cold showing -1 C. Got a taxi and told him to put the meter on, was 22 yuan then he said he wanted more money I told him meter says and I paid him and got out. Found the ticket office and the lady spoke a little English and the only train that day was standing only for 4.5 hours I said no and the next train was 4 days later. I got the taxi back to the hotel with no issues.

I emailed the Chinese Travel Company I have used for air and rail travel and to book me the flight from Chongqing to Guilin as they were seats remaining. Got them booked and paid for. Had Burger King the photos they have of the burgers does not match to what you actually get, but it filled the void. Penny then went for a swim and sauna and I caught up on travel paper work. We went out to dinner the same place as last night they sell beer and give you warm water to drink, the food was spicy hot, no soft drinks for sale.

We can check out tomorrow at 14:00 there is a bus close to the hotel which departs at 18:00 which takes us to the berth where our cruise boat is about 90 minute ride. The forecast next 2-3 days foggy and cloudy which is a real bummer.

Started packing after 08:00 and we left the apartment at 09:30. Got a taxi to Chengdu airport, checked in the bags and went through security. We had time so Penny looked at some shops and was totally delighted to find a shop that sold Panda T Shirts, she chose one but I spotted an issue with it so got it changed. Made our way to the gate and then on to the bus which took us to the plane. We were first off and got on the plane and we departed 15 minutes late, which is a vast improvement on our other 2 flights. It was a hour 25 minute flight and we were given a hot meal the service was excellent.

Once we landed waited for the bags to arrive and we made our way to the taxi rank. The drivers were swarming over us like vultures and asking how much. I showed one driver our hotel address and he wanted 150 yuan I quickly told him to fuck right off. A 30 minute ride should be around 60 yuan. I said to the next driver I pay the meter got an okay and then put the bags in with Penny in the back I got in the front and then he wanted more money. I told him straight to his face fuck off and we got out. The other taxi drivers thought this was hilarious, but no meter no ride. Then a taxi guy said meter packed the bags and Penny in the back and me in the front. The first 5 km the driver just followed the white marker of the lane a bit of a concern. It was foggy and signs mentioned it too, then we came up to a a right turn off and the driver was in too minds which does not inspire confidence. Thirty minutes later we arrive at out hotel 62 Yuan was the bill, I now get pissed off when taxi drivers try to rip me off and I rightly tell them so.

Booked into our 5 star hotel as it is Penelope’s birthday today and she deserves to be spoiled. Got checked in and went to our room and 2 single beds, I about turned and done 19 floors to reception and said one bed not 2 and they changed us, we are both happy. Unpacked and we got our cameras and went out to look at the Yangtze River across the road, it was foggy and becoming cooler around 7C, not nice we want sunshine. There is a big shopping center next to our hotel we went up to the top level and the place is full of restaurants. Penny found one we sat down they gave us a paper menu and you tick what you want. Chose a variety of dishes, unfortunately the spring rolls had just run out and Penny did not get her beer, but we got the other dishes they came in dribs and drabs. Found a cake shop and got a portion each and carried on to Walmart came out with some clothes for Penny and some snacks. Back in the hotel room unpacked the shopping and chill time. The weather is not good for the next week which is unfortunate, we were hoping for some sunshine.

We had steak last night for dinner, it came from Australia a bit chewy but that is understandable with onions mushrooms and mixed veg our first decent Western dish we have had for a while and we enjoyed it. Penny burnt the only pot frying the onions and mushrooms I had a prick of of a job cleaning it with a well used scotch brite pad, but I won.

This morning I made welsh rabbit on toast we both enjoyed it. Today was a chill day I went out whilst Penny read. In the afternoon we went down to Tianfu Square still a crowded place, Chinese NY lasts for a week. Below Tianfu Square is an underground shopping mall, food places and crafts shops. Walking back to the apartment took a new route found a sculpture in a garden and Penny found a massage place and had a massage I went back to the apartment.

Penny cooked scallops for us and baked potato place a salad that is the fridge food all used up, it was tasty. We depart here around 09:30 in the morning to the airport and got a flight to Yichang. We have 2 nights there then we join our boat for the cruise up the Yangtze River 5 days, which we are both looking forward too.