Day 18
A day of weekend tours again. Which means early waking up at 5am to do the final preparations and meeting at 630am in front of the admin block in the campus. All of us were pretty stoned and you can see people nodding off to sleep here and there. The bus journey was horrendous. A pure 5 hours ride, stopping only once for a toilet break and a gas top-up. I never knew that a gas top-up for a bus can go up to 1000 yuan which is approximately about S$200. Looks like gas tank was really starving. All I knew when I woke from my motion sickness medication induced stupor was that the bus had (thankfully) stopped moving and that half of the group on the bus had alighted for stretching. I wanted to leave my seat to stretch but decided against it as it would mean having to wake Jehanne who looked like she had just managed to settle in a deep sleep. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted through the air and stung my nose. One thing that we could never get used to it the fact that smokers can smoke leisurely anywhere and anytime. Our driver who was apparently a heavy smoker, smoked his way through the journey, polluting the air-conditioned bus. Do they even know the effects of second-hand smoke? It was bad enough that the passengers in the front had to take the bulk of smoke but to have the smell lingering due to the poor ventilation of the bus and torturing us by making us breathe the polluted air was worse. In Singapore, we were used to smokers smoking only in designated smoking areas and that no smoking is to be done in any air-conditioned places. I felt that this is another area where we have taken for granted thinking that it would still apply in other countries. I guess it never occurred to me that there will be so much changes in the areas where I had thought about the least as I had always thought that since I don’t smoke, it will not affect me. Guess I was wrong.
The next half of the journey was spend in the similar way I had spend in the first leg of the journey; sleeping. I was rudely jotted out of my sleep by laughter that was rolling around the front end of the bus. Shaking off the lethargy, I went about checking about what happened. It turned out that Tony was trying to learn basis Japanese and they were laughing as he started to repeat the greetings to Dr. Tan. It was finally lunch time at 12 noon, a whole 5 hours from the time we left the campus. The lunch here was much better than all the other lunches or dinners we had in Wuhan combined. After the satisfying lunch, I almost fainted when I learnt that there was another one and half hour more journey to the expressway for the Three Gorges Dam. According to the guide, this dam is directly under the control of the Central Government and thus, the security there is pretty strict. To enter the dam, one has to pay either a student price or the normal adult price. This is unlike that of Singapore where the concession on prices only applies to a certain age range (e.g. zoo entrance fees) or to a certain height like in the case of the MRT. I didn’t think that there would even be concession for students as I had thought that it was usually for a certain age group like for 15-18 years old. In a way, this is really something new for me because in Singapore, there are little places of attraction whereby there are concession for those group of people named students. As long as we were over a certain age, we were declared as adults despite having students as our occupation. Another difference in this learning trip that once again made me think about why these differences existed.
We headed to the first destination on the internal loop service and saw some of the dam gates we were to pass in the later part of our journey when we get onto the cruise. The first destination was the three gorges project model room where they had a huge model showing the different gates and the dam itself. Our guide started to explain to us about how the dam operates along with the 6 controls room and many more. I was really fascinated about the portion on the gates. But from what I inferred, it will take an extremely long time for one cruise ship to enter and leave a gate. The guides in China really do try their best to get to know at least some of us. Apparently, they liked to make new friends and share different knowledge. This is one side of them where I think is worth learning. They can overcome the barriers between strangers and start talking like long-lost friends. I think this is really the basis of making friends or even just acquaintances and is something which I think I’m really lacking in. I guess I do not have the courage to make the first sentence for I’m really afraid that the reply I get will be something I will not be able to catch up.
Exploring of the park that is just next to the model room was a much more enjoyable experience. The air was much fresher as compared to the places in China and even that of in Singapore. We walked through the other attractions and then left for the final destination which is a garden where one can see the front of the dam. In the garden, there were many pyramidal stones which were said to be used to stop the flow of the currents and there were also heavy machinery which were said to be used in the construction of the dam. It was a first to know that pyramidal stones can be used to help to reduce and stop the flow of the heavy currents. Up till now, I have always thought that squares or rectangles are the most commonly used shapes for this type of construction materials. It was only until the guide explained this fact to us that I realized how out-dated I was (in a sense =X). This shows how advanced and different architecture can be. Another learning point to remember!
Leaving the garden behind, we set off towards our next destination, one of the smaller restaurants near the outskirts of town to have our dinner. Having satisfied our tummies, we headed for the cruise boarding port. As usual, the place was choked full of the hard-to-breathe tobacco smoke and was really crowded. We huddled near the ticketing booth as the air around there seems slightly filtered and safer for breathing. As like all the things that usually happen in China, the ship was late, this time for one and the half hours and by then, our group was going pretty down in dumps as we were all pretty tired and we loathe waiting for such long period of time. When we finally boarded the cruise ship, I was thinking that the main lobby’s decorations were still pretty nice and that this could probably still be a not too bad cruise after all. However, all of our opinions changed when we entered our rooms. The air of the room was stale and it stank heavily of a pungent odor similar to that of animals. The toilet was much better in the sense that it is much more similar to the toilets we have in Singapore, aside from the fact that the water is probably not filtered properly. The reason why I say this would be that the water running from the sink is not clear and instead, of a murky color which puts all of us off. The room was not really clean and it was difficult to breathe in the room. Coming from Singapore, we were really used to clean environments and better quality of life. This is where it kills us, because we have to adapt to the different environment here and it’s hard to the change the mindset that we have for the (what?) last 16 or 17 years or even more. But it’s kind of good in a sense, in the area where we are able to see, learn and experience first-hand on how different things are in different countries. This way we will not become detached from the rest of the world and whatever we learn we can apply in the future.
Day 19
Woke from my slumber to the sound of the door being torn down. Fine, it was not being torn down but the wild knocking made it sound like it was being removed from its hinges. So was the shouting behind the closed doors. Decided to open the door in order to shut up the knocking and shouting. Ushered the rest of the people in my room back to their individual rooms and started to wash up using the mineral water that I have. I really can’t stand washing my face or brushing my teeth using the brown murky water. *shivers* Comparing the cruise (e.g. star aquarius) and this cruise, the difference is great. Casting the issue of cleanliness aside, the way of wake-up call holds a great difference. Though I would say the cruise here had a more effective way of waking me up, in a sense, this way of waking people up is ruder though it was a call for breakfast.
Breakfast was, not too bad. There was nothing that was oily or salty, which was really great! We had been warned beforehand that the standard of the food might not be of our usual standard that we have in Wuhan, but I thought that it was still decent enough. At least it fills the tummy.
The first place we debarked for is 白帝城 which was made famous by Liu Bei and then by Du Fu. It was a place of great historical value and this place has been linked to the three kingdoms of the past during the warring period. That aside, the flights of stairs were really horrible. There were no railing and the steps were almost corroding. A misplaced step will probably send me plunging down and then the domino effect will start. Due to the change in the weather, the whole area was cloaked in mist, which gives the whole place an aura of mystery and tranquility. Walking on the bridge towards the mountain where the 白帝城 is situated, flags with Liu, Guan, Zhang written on it were lined up on the 2 sides of the bridge. It really brings a feel of the past where battles took place and the flags were really there to boost the morale of the soldiers. The climb up near to the peak was smooth and we reached the gate of the mountain fort. Another 400 steps we reached the main compound. As usual, another temple greeted us and we entered to see the various sights it has to offer. With a quick glance, we descended and made our way back to the loop service bus and back to the cruise ship.
The next scenic spot we made our way to is the Shen Nong Stream, the place where the legend of Shen Nong taste 100 herbs originated from. To better enjoy the scenery, we changed to a smaller mode of transport. On the way down the Shen Nong Stream, I managed to catch a glimpse hanging coffins. It seemed to be a custom of the Tujia tribe who were living in this region. Apparently, hanging coffins from a high area means to 升官发财 (being promoted and raking in wealth) if my memory still serves me well. We ended up getting on shore to change to an even smaller “sampan-like” boat. All the rowers were of the Tujia tribe and most of them were in their late fifties, however, their back muscles were all well developed. Our guide told us that the rowers for a single boat were guys of the same family. They row these boats until the day they can no longer pull it, which can be at an age of 70. The sampan is their mode of transport from shore to shore and to town and it can be considered as their tradition. As tourists, this is probably the gist of what we wanted to see. However, if we were to stand in their shoes, is this really what they want to do, showing us and spreading their tradition by the word of mouth? For me, if this is a tradition of my tribe, I probably would try to keep my tradition to myself because it being sacred to me, I would not want others to criticize on it.
Aside from rowing the boats up and down the stream, the rowers also have another job; pulling the boat through upending currents when rowing upstream. This is where we saw how tiring it could get. Seriously, there is no way to describe the turmoil of emotions when I see that they were starting to pull the boat and they are just doing this because there is a bunch of tourist who are here to see them pull the boat. As our boat turned back towards the starting point, our guide, who part of the Tujia tribe motioned to us the place where he stayed and briefly mentioned about some of the culture they have there. He talked about the age of marriage in his tribe, where the customs states that one have to marry before the age of 20 else they will be exiled from the tribe. No idea why this is so, but it seems to have been passed down from generations to generations.
We headed back to the Golden sun cruise ship we came from and we sailed off once again toward the Three Gorges Dam. The sun had already set when we reached the first gate of the dam. I was dragged out of bed to see the “spectacular” view which is merely the closing of the dam’s door. There was nothing much to see except for the water marks on the wall of the dam when the water is slowly removed and I decided I had enough of the day and went back to my stinky room and drifted reluctantly off to sleep on the lumpy bed.
Day 20
Woke up the same way as yesterday, except that was aroused from bed by my friends who were worried that I didn’t make it back into the room when I left alone last night. A quick breakfast and we were off the cruise ship. Good riddance. Took the tour bus back to campus and once again experienced the 5 hours ride whereby I was out for the better parts of it. However, during the moments when I was awake, I was pondering about this tour trip. All in all, I did learn some new information, especially about the customs of the Tujia tribe and narrowed down the fact that the standard of living in China varies greatly in different places. Naturally, in the more rural areas, the standard of living is slightly lower. However, the opposite might not stand true for the urban areas. It may look like those living in the urban areas have a better standard of living but hidden in dead-ends and deep corners are dilapidated houses which looked like it will come crashing down at the slightest of breeze. It would appear that the standard of living is really not evenly spread out among the different provinces in China. I believed that Singapore is similar to China in a sense, though in a minor sense. Singapore, too, has certain housing districts whereby the houses look ancient and is less developed. However, unlike China, Singapore government is trying to spread its resources evenly among the country. Building attractions near the districts and setting up posh shopping centre to meet the needs of the locals living in that area. China probably could not adopt the approach as I have to admit, their country has a simply humongous land area and it’s difficult but not impossible to tend to the different provinces. Sooner or later, I hope this problem could be solved.
12:01 AM