Faces

Chinese people really are so beautiful. Especially the older people, warmth, heart and genuine curiosity and amazement at us westerners. The other night getting off the river boat down the Yangtze i was surrounded by about 9 little elderly ladies, at first they just pointed, and then i said, Ni Hoe. and they came over and giggled and hugged me and laughed and pinched me and said stuff, i think they were saying that i was fat. so i took out my camera and showed them the picture of the panda and then pointed at me, the laughter was hilarious. i also think that they are amazed at our almost transparent white skin. I've been taking lots of photos of the people, they are just so interesting. The funny thing is that they stare and stare but if you wave they giggle and wave back.

I've been on a river boat for the last three days, cruising down the Yangtze through two of the three gorges. Prior to that we took a bus for 8 hours from Emni to Chongqing. The bus went through real china, towns with no roads, only a dirt track, old men and women sitting on the side of shanty towns drinking tea and watching the world go by. It was a million years from the plush opulence of Beijing, or the shiny facade we had been shown since we got here. I loved it. On the bus the locals just peed in a bucket, they didn't seem to care, but to all of our relief there was no spitting on the bus. a bit of vomiting but hey that's nothing to the Chinese spit.
Chongqing has to be seen to be believed. I haven't seen that degree of smog and pollution in my life. The place is just brown the entire city is just enveloped in a cloud of thick brown gunk.
The boat trip was nice in so far as i got a chance to just relax and do little. I have now been on the go for 58 days, I have stayed in 16 different places (not including over night trains and buses}. The main down side was that the freaking sun didn't shine at all. In fact until today hadn't seen the sun since the Forbidden City and the others on the trip hadn't seen it at all.
Had a bit of a shocker yesterday. Anyone who knows me knows that i have a terrible fear of heights, especially steps. Well yesterday i went on a tour of the little three gorges, we stopped at this port and the guide told us that we were going to be there for 1 and a half hours. I looked at the 300 hundred steps going up to the town and saw quite a lot of railings and thought yes i can do that, but oh my god i have never ever in my entire life been so frightened. I had the worst panic attack, and totally hyperventilated. If it wasn't for this one couple from New Zealand, Mike and Elizabeth, i would never had made it. When i got to the top, Elizabeth, who is about 55 hugged me and embraced me and i sobbed like a child. They helped me back down when we had visited the Chinese equivalent of a tacky corny historical theme park, the types of places in Ireland we have for American tourists. My roommate Patricia was so lovely to me when me got back to the boat, i just couldn't stop shaking and crying. But she stayed with me and was just so kind. I let the rest of the group go by themselves and i stayed on the boat, i was too freaked out. I couldn't sleep at all. We went through the second of the three gorges this morning at 6.30, i watched it from the cabin and then went back asleep. Then i slept and it was better. There is a bit of a cold going around the group. my nose and throat feel like i have been snorting fibreglass. but the rest today helped.
We are in Yitaching and tomorrow we take a five hour bus ride and from there at 17 hour train ride. It will be interesting. our guide has said that we will have no more steps.
Today we were brought on a tour of the three gorges dam. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/three.gorges/ i suppose there are pros and cons. i think more cons than pros but then again i am a Lilly livered liberal tree hugging pinko.