My Trip Up The Yangtze!

Part of the Grand Tour of China includes a 3 day river cruise along the longest river in the work (which can be seen from space by the way!) I’m talking about the Yangtze. So as you know for those who read my blogs, I visited China recently to experience the ‘Grand Tour’, and after an exhausting but exhilarating tour of Beijing, Xian, Pingyao, Chengdu, it was time to relax on board the MV Katarina.

Our luggage was taken aboard by local porters carrying our luggage on bamboo poles, down some rather steep steps to the ship. Those of you with walking difficulties, be warned, these steps are not for the fainthearted! It didn’t help that it was raining, making the precarious climb down to the ship slippery as well as steep! However once on board we were welcomed by the crew, and assigned our cabins.

Now I have to say at this stage that the cabins we were given were adequate. Basic, but adequate, oh and rather ‘bijou’. You do have the choice however to upgrade to one of the 2 Suites on board. You will be offered this option when you step aboard. However my tip is to barter for a much lower price than advertised! A couple of our colleagues did this and paid a few hundred US dollars to upgrade to a magnificent spacious Suite with a fantastic balcony at the front of the ship! I definitely think its worth paying the extra to upgrade.

So once settled in we explored the ship, which has a very welcoming bar/lounge area, where the crew perform traditional dances for the passengers.

It also boasts a hairdressing salon with treatment facilities, such as acupuncture and hot stones. There’s a large open dining room, with a choice of Western & Chinese food to satisfy most palates.

As part of the Yangtze Experience, you have optional excursions each day. We chose to visit Feng Du, The Ghost City which has a collection of Buddhist & Taoist temples on top of a hill known as Ming Mountain. Unfortunately the day we disembarked, the heavens opened and the rain poured throughout our tour. Definitely worth the struggle off the ship (there’s quite a trek to get up the banks of the river, before heading off to the Cable Cars to take you up the steep hill to the top).

Another excursion is to the White Emperor City. Its 2300 years old, and was inhabited by China’s most renowned scholars & poets. The city also sits outside the entrance to the Qutang Gorge. More about this feat of engineering in another blog.