Traffic is awful, so we take 40 minutes to get the 2 or 3 miles to the Forbidden City. We pass through some of the "slum" areas where redevelopment is taking place - the people are being moved from old single storey accommodation to, and I quote, "beautiful high rise buildings".
The walk from the bus to the entrance is quite interesting around the walls, with street-side barbers, and locals doing their morning exercises.
Having passed the entrance we part company from the group, knowing we have to meet at 11.00 at the other gate, and wander through at our own pace - we have been before and "done it" photographically in 1992, so I spent most time with the video and took only the occasional picture.
We get to the gate in good time and Jack eventually finds us, I then get a lecture on punctuality and discipline - as tour leader I should have had everyone ready at 8.30 that morning instead of making him wait until nearly 9.00. What a [expletive deleted] cheek.
Everybody back on the bus, and another trawl through traffic to the restaurant on the edge of Tiananmen square for lunch, but not before we’ve had a wander around the square itself.
Lunch, like all the meals to come, was a traditional Chinese table meal with umpteen dishes being deposited on the table - if only I ate Chinese food - Val, of course, is happy enough with any food
Everybody back on the bus and time for the tour leader to the collect airport tax! At the airport, I am introduced to a China Travel rep who is with another Jules Verne group, but he isn’t looking after us, too - our tour leader is. After paying the airport tax, I check in the group and distributes boarding cards...."can I have a window/aisle seat", "which gate is it", "do we get a meal on board", "what time will we get to the boat tonight", "is there a tour round Wuhan first".
The flight is delayed a couple of hours, and the in-flight meal is lousy - meat dumpling thing with dough tube with sweet stuff in it. The plane, a 757, is a bit rickety, with the cover to the mouth piece things that drop down in the case of depressurisation looking well used and badly fitting.
We arrive at Wuhan at about 6.45, with tour leader having to check all the baggage before we transfer directly to the restaurant for dinner.
On then to the jetty, wandering down dimly lit alleyways to get to the boat. We then have a briefing (at 10.15pm) about what the programme is for the next 5 days, given by our tour guide for the Yangste River trip, whose English name is Kathy. I had met Kathy earlier when the other China Travel chap “kindly” introduced me as tour leader for the "other group".
We eventually get to bed at 12.30am.
The boat, the Yangste Paradise, described as a luxury cruiser is billed as being built in 1991 - never in a million years was that built in 1991. The rooms are comfortable, reasonably well cleaned, and we have a balcony to look out at the port side of the river.
Go to Yeuyang Tower
Copyright © 1997 Andrew J White