chungking express

well, i’ve left beijing and have arrived for a brief stay in chongqing (or chungking in the old english spelling). hooray, it is a bit warmer (with a low of 3ºC as opposed to a high of 3ºC as seen in beijing)! the business center of chongqing is situated on a peninsula where the jialing and yangtze rivers meet, making for some dramatic skyline and steep streets. these steeper streets have also led to the need for porters who wait around on the streets of chongqing with bamboo pole and rope in tow in order to help carry anything through the city. and when i mean anything, i do mean anything...vegetables, fruits, tvs, luggage, trash, shoeboxes, knickknacks for sale, etc.! and these aren’t always young and spry men, but men of all ages who seem to walk quickly and nimbly through the streets and traffic. as a tourist, it almost looks like they’re dancing too since they sashay as they carry their heavy load so that the loads bob along in sync with their walking stride. i’ve even seen them lugging pallets on wheels or pulling large dollies on the street like they’re a car, which of course pisses off all the other real motor vehicles.

i then embarked on my first ever cruise (i know it’s only a riverboat cruise) down the yangtze river in order to see the three gorges up close and personal before the three gorges dam is completed and the river environment is forever changed. luckily i had the foresight to book a 1^st class ticket so that i can sail down the river in relative chinese style with free karaoke and tea. too bad the cabins aren’t heated or that there’s no hot water to take a shower in my shower/toilet/sink closet...well i am in china! i did meet a super nice family of 5 from minnesota (the Scharenbroichs) who have the cabins next to me and have been kind enough to let me join in on their family vacation. i believe the rest of the chinese people on board think that i’m their tour guide...heheh...a poor one at that since i couldn’t translate everything the tour guide was saying but i did my best, especially when it came to ordering food. in any case, the scenery is beautiful and can be enjoyed from the deck or the relative warmth of the cabin.

on the day that we were to enter the three gorges, the sun came up!! a

very exciting moment since the previous few days were shrouded in fog. besides making the scenery that much more colorful, the sun also added a nice touch of warmth. photos cannot capture the immensity and grandeur of the three gorges, you kind of have to be here to experience and take it all in. the water level of the yangtze river has already risen 50m and will rise another 20m by 2009 (indicated markers scattered along the river). it’s odd to see houses and terraces filled with crops that will eventually be underwater in a couple of years. my river cruise was capped off by a tour of the area around the actual dam. i don’t know if it is the largest dam in the world, but it is dam impressive!

oh and one last thing...