It seems that upgrading to VIP was a smart move. Only eight of us took the package which gave us a fruit basket, unlimited wine and beer at lunch and supper and our own dining area. (The fruit basket was finally delivered the next day after I mentioned to Tony how we had missed it last night.) The main group has found that they are fighting for space in the food lines even though there is lots of food in their dining area on the second floor. It is also so noisy that it is difficult to carry on a conversation.
We have no problem like that on the sixth floor. We have our own reserved table where the staff are continually checking to see whether our drinks needs replenishing. Food lineups are short and we have ample opportunity to relax, eat and chat.
None of our group took advantage of the morning activity but we took the time to settle in and explore the boat. Tajinder even had a massage and reported its excellence. Some of us were able to get a bit of wifi from the sixth floor sun deck but it was very poor quality and only intermittent.
After lunch we were herded onto a bus with a local tour guide who inundated us with a barrage of facts and figures that very few of us could catch. We were driven to the huge Three Gorges Dam that was built just a few years ago and which supplies a huge area with electricity. They are trying to reduce their dependency on the dirty coal generators.
We only got to see the dam from a distance – no tours through the generator or anything. There was a park on a hill overlooking the massive dam where you could climb up top of a structure commemorating the building of the dam and from which you got a spectacular view of the dam, the locks and the ship elevator used to move ships up or down the Yangtze.
We got back to the boat in time for late afternoon tea which consists of tea or coffee and sweets. Meals on the boat have been really quite good. They are buffet style (as most of our meals have been) consisting of stations for fruit, sweets, salads, local food and western style food. Breakfasts always have congee but also cereal and pastries. I’ve been eating a mix of Chinese and western food – trying to eat more and more Chinese. I even try to use chopsticks at each meal but sometimes that gets messy.
There was a Captain’s Meet and Greet in the evening but both Jan and I were too tired so hit the sack early.