10/25/02 - Entering the three gorges. Excursion: Shennong Stream & trackers.

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During breakfast, I went around the three tables to make sure that everyone knew about this and was okay with it. I also told them that we would only be delivering messages from the cruise to the group, and nothing else. For example, we would not be responsible for making sure that everyone was accounted for on an excursion. It was their own responsibility to follow the tour guide. In addition, messages would be delivered during mealtime. We were not going to call every single room. After all, we were on vacation too.

I also noticed that Mr. Jefferson was sitting alone at a separate table from Mrs. Jefferson. When I asked him why, he said it was because her table was full. While that was true, I couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't moving to sit with him. But I accepted his answer and didn't ask any more question. As it turned out, they were apart for the rest of the cruise trip. They didn't do anything together and did not speak to each other. We were all guessing they probably had a fight the night before. Mr. & Mr.s Chen also noticed. The Chens were saying how obvious it was that the Jeffersons had a fight. Although none of us knew what happened.

Mrs. Professor then told me that she had asked Barry, the cruise director, to arrange for a Chinese story-telling session for people who did not wish to attend the Bingo game. She wanted me to work it out with Barry. Since I was on my way to find Barry to let him know that I would be the main contact for Super Vacation on the cruise, I told her that I would ask Barry to contact her for a follow up, but she would have to work out the details herself with Barry.

When I finally caught Barry and deliver the message for Mrs. Professor, I could tell that Barry wasn't exactly thrilled about this additional request. Although he did say he was going to try to make it happen. He asked me for the number of attendees, and I told him to talk to Mrs. Professor directly since I was not part of her plan.

The main event today was cruising through the three gorges. I was running back and forth among the top, 4th, and 3rd decks taking pictures of the Qutang and Wu gorges.

While we were on the top deck, we started talking with this one guy. I forgot how the conversation started, but it might be that we asked him to help us take photos of us. His name is Jeffrey Chang, a lawyer based in SF. He was taking a bunch of California senators and assemblymen on the cruise. He asked if we were registered to vote in SF and learned that we were residents of the Sunset district. He started lobbying for Fiona Ma, citing how qualified she was. He even offered us absentee ballots. He said he could bring the ballots back if our trip were to end after the voting date of November 5. We told him that we would be back in the states before that and we promised to vote.

Then we went on the excursion and visited the Shennong Stream. Because each peapod boat could only take 15 passengers, two people from our group of 17 were assigned to another group, an English-speaking one. Mrs. In-law was very happy and wanted to be one of the two to join that group. That left one more open spot. Since the Politician was the only one traveling alone, we figured that he would be the one. Mr. Chen went over to talk to the Politician about this, and I just heard the Politician said "I know I am the one that needs to go." I felt bad for him, but not bad enough that I would switch places with him. At this point, the only person left speaking with the Politician was Mr. Liang.

We were taken on the local's peapod boat (because of its shape), and went upstream, with the tracker's help pulling our boats manually, to take in the breathtaking scenes closely. It was truly a treat to see Shennong Stream because the water was so clean and pure, the complete opposite of the Yangtze River. One of the trackers were nice enough to pick up three small rocks for me. I was thankful for the hard labors the trackers put in to get us there, but also felt bad for them. It was really hard labor. Can you picture 4 people pulling a boat with 18 people?

The local guide told us that it would take the trackers 5 hours to get home (upstream). Assuming they didn't have to take as long to get to work (downstream), I am estimating that it takes these trackers at least 7-8 hours a day to commute. Thinking about this, the one- and two-hours commute in the bay area don't seem like much.

The trackers are 6 in a team. No. 1 and No. 2 stay on the peapod boat to control the directions. No. 3 to No. 6 are the ones to get on shore to pull the boats. I saw pictures of the trackers from the earlier times, and they were all naked. I've heard two theories why the trackers were naked: (1) fabrics were expensive, and when you are doing hard manual labors, it's easy to rip them. (2) Since the trackers get wet a lot, it was uncomfortable for them to wear clothes. In addition, the friction caused by the wet clothes can bring damage to the skin. Which do you believe?

About Shennong Stream
Shennong Stream starts at Mt. Shennong Jia in Hubei Province north of the Yangtze. It comprises of Parrot Gorge and Dragon Boot Gorge with breathtaking scenery.

Sailing through the treacherous gorges with lush pine and translucent water, visitors can see spectacular sights like ancient plank roads, ancient suspension coffins, aqueous caves, rainbow fountain and wild lives. It is also perfect to experience the cultural of Tujia minority. Visiting Shennong stream on a willow-loaf sampan is a sensational experience.

Our local guide also sang a folk song to us, and taught us a few phrases to sing along. That was fun. This girl was from Tu-Jian Zhuang, a local tribe. She told us their marriage and funeral customs. Wedding is a sad occasion. The girls start to learn a specific marriage song when they turn 12. The song basically curses at the matchmaker, and talks about the girls regret about not being able to repay her parents' and siblings' love. The louder and harder a girl cries during her wedding procession, the more virtues she is believe to have. Their reasoning is that if this girl cries about leaving her parents, then she must be a very caring person and would in turn care for her in-laws. On the other hand, funerals are happy occasions. Tu-Jia Zhuang people believe that the deceased would go to heaven, so they celebrate the passing.

On our way off the peapod boat, Mrs. Professor wanted me to announce the Chinese story-telling program to the group. I explained to her that she should wait until she knew that it was actually going to happen, get the time and location, before she asked people. And she should be the one doing the asking since this was her brainchild.

On the way back to our cruise ship, Marie had the idea of getting our local guide's telephone number for Earvin. We had planned to mask the idea by saying that we would like to be able to contact her and learn more about the area. But when we were actually in front of her, I just asked her straight out. She hesitated for a moment but gave us her cell phone number. Earvin came up from the back and told the girl that we were asking because we were lesbians. I think the girl was a bit taken back, but she gave it to us nonetheless. We gave the number to Earvin, but have no clue whether he would make the call.

After the excursion, we decided to stay in the room instead of going on to the deck to watch the ship entering the last of the three gorges, Xiling gorge. We just chitchatted among ourselves and with a crewman who happened to be there. He told us Princess Sheena was the best cruise on the Yangtze River. He also pointed across the river to tell us where his wife was working as a tour guide. As with any other people we spoke with, he praised about how good a life we must have in the U.S. We tried to be friendly and told him that we were from the same province, Hubei. But every time we mentioned it, he had no reaction and no comment. It was an awkward moment. Maybe he only saw us as foreigners who just happen to be Chinese.

Along the river, we saw a boat that was half in the water. There were a few other boats around, but it didn't look like a new accident. Since there was no one to ask, we didn't pay much attention to it. After a few minutes, we saw a dead body flowing down the river, passing our ship.

At first I thought it was a dummy. I was so sure of my answer since I didn't see the head. While we were debating whether it was a real body or not, another crewman came over and told us that it was a real body. He said the head was underwater so it wasn't visible, but the belly was filled with gas. He also told us that there was an accident about three or four days before our arrival, and two men were still missing. That must have been one of the two missing ones.

Then Marie and I went to have our facials. From our conversations, I learned about these two girls' lives on board. They have both been on the ship for the last 10 years. One started 3 months after giving birth to her son. The other one (Mary) right after she got married. Mary told us that they usually get to see their husbands for about 2 hours every 10 days. They get ½ day off after 9 days (which is one round trip), and they spend half of that available time riding the bus. Mary's husband is a teacher. They just bought a house so both of them must work in order to pay the mortgage. It's amazing to see how they can have a relationship for 10 years when they only get to spend 2 hours at home every 10 days. Do you think this is possible in the U.S.? I am sure it is, I just haven't seen any.

Tonight, we skipped out on the Bingo. Marie, Earvin, and Todd took some shots and then we went to the top deck for some Karaoke. When we arrived, there were some of the people from Shanghai Triad. They were pretty friendly to us. They would cheer when we sang and we would do the same for them. Half way through the Karaoke, they went back to the room to take a few more shots and I was left to hold the table. One of them approached me and asked if I were left alone. If so, he was going to invite me to join them. I thanked him and told him that my companions went back to the room to get something and would return shortly. We chatted a bit until Marie, Earvin, and Todd returned. We called it the night shortly afterwards.