After 12 hours sleep we were still up before the sunrise and were delighted to see that other people had joined us on the boat. The dining room had assigned seating, and we were lucky enough to be paired with an 8 person group traveling together from Canada, Minnesota, and Poland. Everyone was very friendly, and they had been traveling together for about a week already. Breakfast wasn’t bad, a mix of Chinese and western food, and we then made a shore excursion to the Three Gorges dam site. We learned about the dam project and stopped at a couple sites to take pictures of the dam and the locks. Due to the rise in water level from the dam project, the government is displacing about 6 cities and 1 million people to higher ground. After that, it was back on the boat for a little free time before lunch. They served a number of dishes and had wonderful presentation, especially with the fruit, turning watermelon rind into a sculpture of a dragon. The food itself was pretty good, and the meal was prepared in a fashion with historical significance. At 2:30pm, we were welcomed to the cruise and given some information about the Three Gorges. We all stayed on the 4th deck to learn about Chinese Reflexology and then to watch a demonstration from the ship’s artist on traditional Chinese painting. At the painting demonstration, they had a drawing for 2 prizes, and we were the 2 winners! Susan got 50% off any of the artist’s paintings and Nathan won a free calligraphy painting of his Chinese horoscope and name. Susan ended up using the discount on one of the artist’s unique hand paintings, and she also got a matching calligraphy painting. We were alone at happy hour (it seemed to be a trend), but at least the drinks were pretty affordable and good. After a little reading on the deck we went to the Captain’s welcome “party” on the 4th deck. After a warm greeting, the Aussies on the boat ate all the food before we even had a chance, and we went down to our first banquet dinner. At dinner, one of the waitresses poured our tea out of a crazy kettle with a spout at least 3 feet long! The dinner was followed by a “cabaret” show by the boat’s crew. There were a few dances and games, but we ducked out early after being only mildly entertained. We then fell asleep to Evolution on the laptop at about 11pm.
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