I saw the advertisement in "Connecting." After taking a look at the website, www.travelbuddiesworldwide.com and emailing Gloria about the trip, I had less than two weeks to make up my mind. I needed to get the deposit in by the end of March. I had never traveled without dealing with a local travel agent. All the correspondence would be with someone in British Columbia who I had never met. I live in Ontario.
After meeting the group in Vancouver (six were already in Shanghai), we boarded our 12-hour flight. When we landed in rainy Shanghai, the bus proceeded to our hotel and broke down. We transferred to another bus, quickly introduced ourselves at the hotel lobby, went to our room to splash water on our faces and then headed off for dinner.
Good thing our three meals a day were included. Who had time in our busy touring day to worry about where to eat? Except for our western breakfasts, I used chopsticks at every meal. I liked them as they slowed my eating.
We took three flights within China. The first one was unforgettable. Everyone felt like sardines squished in their seats. Two days prior on the highway, we saw a truck carrying pigs. Behind me one man quipped, "The pigs have more room than we do."
The Victoria Prince cruised along the Yangtze River. We never made our destination at the exact time. This was an adventure. We didn't care. Our daily tour in the ports of call were short – no more than two hours. I didn't mind since I enjoyed the sailing and the scenery.
The massive project of The Three Gorges Dam started in 1993 and is to end in 2009. It will provide electricity along the region. I hope the Dam will be a boom for the people. Buildings at the foot of the river were torn down and new buildings built up on the hills. Once the flooding is complete, the water will rise 175 metres high.
We were supposed to dock at Chonquing at nine in the morning. Due to heavy fog, we were four hours late. Although we skipped a few tours on the itinerary, at least we saw the pandas.
The crème de la crème of the China trip? You guessed it – the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square. The Great Wall is recognizable from the moon – it is that long. The section of the wall we climbed was Juyong Guan. This part was constructed in the 5th century and considered most strategically important because of its position as a link to Beijing. Huffing and puffing, I climbed as far as I could. The steps ranged in sizes from small to steep. Since I hadn't been at the gym the past two weeks, I was surprised my thighs weren't more sore.
Tiananmen Square is the largest square in the world. It is best remembered by the 1989 rally when tanks and soldiers cut down the pro-democracy demonstrators. We passed by this famous square at night when it was lit up. I wanted to return in the evening and walk around it. But I heard there were demonstrations a few days prior, so I decided not to go.
Where had the two weeks gone? Feeling depressed at the end of the trip, I knew there would be plenty of wonderful memories – from the bus breakdown to the small dinky airline that took us from Shanghai to Wuhan.
Questions?
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