Yichang, and travelling on the Yangtze...

We left Xian, and there has been absolutely no time to miss the hostel. We caught a train at 9:00 AM and arrived in Yichang, on the Yangtze, at about 10:45 PM. Yes, it was a full day on the train. We originally had hard sleepers, which we were familiar with from our night journey, but we found it too noisy/smokey/cramped and opted to upgrade to the soft sleepers. Despite the name, the soft sleepers are not much softer than the hard ones. They are, however, much more private, with four bunks in a private room rather than six in an open room with no door. Most of the time we shared it with one other man who just slept. The ride was not as bad as we thought. With much sleep, hanging out in the dining hall, and a little bit of chess as well, the time passed fairly quickly.

Ever since arriving in Yangtze, we have had so much help from Pan-Pan's family that I feel like a VIP rather than a student backpacker. PP's aunt had someone pick us up at the train station in Yichang, and he took us to a very nice hotel. In the morning, some activities were already set up for us. We had a private driver, in a black car with "VIP" on it, take us to a beautiful site on the river, with old temples and great views. Then he took us to a hot pot restaurant, which was delicious, and not unbearably spicy when washed down with Tsingtao beer. All of this, of course, was paid for by him.

In the afternoon, another man picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the boat we took down the Yangtze. He is a friend of PP's aunt, and quite powerful, apparently. Everyone was surprised that he was taking us there himself. He also got us free tickets on the cruise, because he is friends with the owner of the boat. We were so surprised when he showed us to our berth and it was a nice private room with a TV, air conditioning and a bathroom! Although the TV and airconditioner didn't work, and the bathroom smelled simply awful, it was still one of the best rooms on the boat. It was quite an interesting cruise down the beautiful Yangtze, through the locks by the big dam and then through the Three Gorges. We arrived in the morning and were picked up by PP's aunt Hong.

Since then, we've been living in luxury. PP's aunt and her uncle have been unbelievably gracious hosts to us, as is the Chinese way. The food they prepare for breakfast and lunch is delicious. The last three nights we have gone out to fancy restaurants with large parties of friends and assorted dignitaries (I've met a bunch of top city officials around the table--and at one restaurant the owner came and joined us for a while). The feasts are massive and I feel bad about all the food that is wasted. I've tried some exotic things like pigs tongue (they taste like pork and are pretty tasted--I had a few of them), chicken intenstine, shark fin soup (actually quite good), and fish stomach. These meals have been a wild experience. Everyone is drinking and smoking and "cheers'ing" and we are, of course, considered VIPs. I have made a couple awkward attempts at toasting by standing up and saying in Chinese "Thank you everyone very much for this delicious meal--I like China very much" which always elicits much laughter and applause. The food is lavish and delicious but me and PP actually miss our simpler meals at the greasy hole-in-the-wall joints in Beijing and elsewhere.

The first two mornings here, I played basketball with PP's uncle at the community courts (waking up at 6:00 so we could play before he goes to work at the government). The courts are full of people shooting baskets, playing badminton or doing group calesthenics like Tai Chi--you'd never see this in North America. It's a lot of fun. Apparently I am getting known around town as the foreigner of Fengjie. It's a very different experience for me.

A couple nights ago, on Monday night, we went to the big market square--the Jiangs and I--they made me dance a waltz with Pan-Pan in the square with a bunch of other people to a band. It was something, with the moon overhead and the traditional Chinese music being played. Then Pan-Pan's feet hurt so I danced with her aunt. When the music ended, the MC said something like "... and welcome to our foreign friend" and the audience (hundreds of people) applauded. There was a huge crowd around us as we played carnival games--PP won a couple ceramic toys from a ring toss game!

Yesterday we visited Yan-Yan's family across the river. Very rural experience. We saw their fish farm which is this small structure built on the water and we took an ancient looking skiff to get there. This place was very rural--I imagine some people had never seen a white person before, judging by the way they stared at me. Her family there was also very nice, and we had a huge lunch including fresh fish. On the way back across the river, it started thunder storming very hard, and our boat actually got pushed against the rocky shore by the waves, and we had to achor against a rock because we couldn't get past the breakers! I must admit, it was a little unnerving. Finally the storm subsided enough that we could set out again across the river, but we had to wait for about 20 minutes.

This morning I went with PP and her aunt to the local hospital and tried out some traditional Chinese medicine techniques, since her aunt is friends with the town's best acupuncturist and I mentioned an interest in it. So I tried two things for my back (which is holding up but still weak, especially in the morning). First he put this electric pillow on my back that sent electric pulses to my back muscles, which felt like thousands of pins and needles poking me at various intensities and frequencies for half an hour. It felt very weird. PP tried it too but she didn't like it and cried a little so she stopped a few minutes into it. Then I had some apuncture, just a couple needles to try it out. It didn't hurt so much after they were in. I'm not sure it did any good. I probably needed more needles and more time. It was a really cool experience, anyhow.

We just had noodles at a place that is supposedly famous in Fengjie, and later today we are going to PP's grandparent's farm in the country. It will be another night of feasting, no doubt. Hopefully I can get a nap in before that. I had a bit of a cold yesterday but I feel better today.

All in all, I've had a wonderful time here so far. I'm learning more about the Chinese people, particularly about how important family is. We have literally not had to pay for one thing the last few days, despite our attempts. One of PP's aunts even bought me a new belt, because I needed one. It's really incredible. Family ties are considered very, very strong. I've also learned how useful connections are. We've gotten an awful lot from people just because of who PP is related to, and what strings they can pull for us. Her mom is apparently pretty famous around here.

It will be difficult getting used to being humble backpackers again after all this VIP treatment of feasts at five star restaurants and private drivers.