Cruising on the Yangtze

We were happy to sleep until after 4 am this morning. We read until around 5 then I went up to get tea for us. A little before 7 am Cindy came over so she and Mary could do their Tai Chi class. I went up to the 6th level observation deck and looked over the fields and quarries that we passed. There was a good deal of haze from the fog as well as smoke from fields that were being burned. There was a lot of barge traffic, mostly stone but we saw loads of sulfur and other cargo.

Tai Chi demonstration on the Viking Emerald

Mary, Cindy, Mark and I went to breakfast around 7:30 which included Chinese and Western choices. I enjoyed the rice porridge (congee) which is a local favorite. This hot cereal isn’t sweet at all but has a meat stock and other savory flavors. We all enjoyed the yogurt which is made by the chef onboard the ship. Cindy and Mary reported that they enjoyed the Tai Chi class but they needed to watch some follow up videos to reinforce what they learned. They are looking forward to lessons throughout the week

After breakfast there was a mandatory safety drill, required by Chinese law. This necessitated everyone returning to their staterooms to don life jackets then reporting to muster stations. The drill only took a few minutes and provided some amusement getting into and out of the life jackets.

Sampan on the Yangtze River

Since the ship would be traveling up the Yangtze all day there were a number of optional programs onboard for passengers to choose. At 10:30 the ship’s physician did a presentation on traditional Chinese medicine. He started by having his assistant demonstrate Tai Chi and discussed the health benefits from the daily physical and spiritual exercise. The doctor’s assistant is the instructor for the onboard Tai Chi class. He went on to discuss acupuncture, acupressure and cupping as techniques for the treatment but mostly prevention of a list of ailments. Near the end of his session he pulled two people from the group to demonstrate. The lady we met from Cincinnati had been troubled with sore feet so he used acupuncture to relieve her discomfort. An older gentleman is scheduled for knee replacement and has pain when we walks. The doctor used cupping on his leg to extract bad blood and toxins that were causing him pain. It didn’t appear that either of the demonstration subjects was overly impressed with the techniques. However, in fairness, the doctor made it clear that nontraditional medicine is seldom a single treatment solution and may require weeks or months of treatments. He was not a terribly compelling speaker and, in some ways, reminded us of a faith healing televangelist or a traveling snake oil salesman. In any case, the presentation gave us an interesting insight into traditional Chinese medicine.

Water buffalo grazing along the Yangtze

Lunch was interesting. I tried the poached fish which was a large carp covered in Chinese vegetables. I was able to get past the issue of eating a fish that is considered a trash fish in the US. However, after a few bites I confirmed why it is considered a trash fish. The flesh was flaky like a good whitefish fillet but had an odd flavor that seemed oily. The major problem is the tiny bones throughout the fish. I gave up on the fish and opted other lunch choices. There were many fresh and dried fruit options so I was able to get a good lunch. Mary & Cindy had soup and salad and Mark had a sandwich.

After lunch, the program director, Angie, did an interesting presentation on the Yangtze River. She had a lot of old maps and photos showing what life was like along the river before completion of the Three Gorges Dam and how the dam has changed the economy, agriculture and culture of the area.  We learned that the Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world.  It is the world's longest river that drains a single country.  It has the sixth largest water discharge of the world's rivers.

The next presentation was by the river guide, Elliot, with a lesson on Chinese language. He went over the characters a bit but focused on common phrases and pronunciation of the very tonal language. He had a very useful handout with translations words and phrases that we may need out in the towns. Elliot’s English was perfect. He is educated as an English teacher but told us that he lacked the patience for the job. He said that he has been speaking English so long that he is now more comfortable with English than his native Mandarin.

The afternoon concluded with 4 pm tea and a lesson in Mahjong. It wasn’t unexpected that Mary and Cindy took to the game quickly and became proficient soon after learning the rules. In some ways the game reminded me of gin rummy since players draw and discard in an effort to get a run or three of a kind. They played for a little over an hour before returning to their preferred cribbage games while Mark and I sat up on the sun deck watch the landscape go by as we sailed upriver. Many areas along the banks of the Yangtze are planted in neat grids of trees. We do not know what kinds of trees these are but we suspected that they are being grown for possible transplant to more urban locations. Perhaps they are just there for erosion control. We saw several crops that we were unable to identify. One looked like it might be sugar cane since farmers were cutting the stalks in arranging them tepee style in the fields. There were also extensive fields of what appeared to be a grain crop. We wondered if it could be sorghum, milo or canola.  We could not find anyone on the ship who knew either of these crops. We saw several herds of goats as well as cattle and water buffalo. Many of the cattle are large heavy bodied animals with long thick horns. The water buffalo were much larger than we expected. These animals were often along the river bank as we sailed past.

We returned to our staterooms to dress for dinner. Prior to dinner there was a champagne toast with the captain and crew. With the help of Patrick as translator, I enjoyed talking with the captain about his 35 years as a ship captain on the Yangtze. He was very pleasant and was happy to answer my questions about the river and the ship. I look forward to getting a tour of the wheelhouse later in the trip.  After the social with the crew our program director gave us a brief preview of Monday’s schedule of activities then we made our way to dinner.

The evening meal was a traditional family style Chinese dinner where items were placed in serving dishes on a lazy Susan in the center of the table. There were scallops, braised pork ribs, sweet and sour fish, duck breast, Shangri-La beef and Kung Pao chicken. We had a choice of mango pudding or green tea ice cream. We enjoyed the others who shared our table, a couple from Chicago, Jim and Mary Sue, and a couple formerly from Michigan currently living in South Carolina. Because their home is on the western part of the state they were not threatened by damage from Hurricane Florence.

We were tired after dinner so we opted to not attend the demonstration of painting inside a bottle; that was offered. We weren’t ready for bed yet so Mary and Cindy continued the cribbage game until 9:30. We hope to get a good sleep before our full day of activities on Monday.