M-whY

"It's so you have time to shop around for food before leaving. Food on board is more expensive," they explained. I had a hunch that statement was made in half earnest. I could just as well buy my rations here in Chengdu. And even if the food on board is more expensive, how much more could it cost?

The price of the tour included transportation though, so I didn't make a big fuss and went along with the flow. I was the only one from the hostel to leave from this particular day, and someone took me down to the station to catch a bus.

"Someone will be at the Chongqing to pick you up," I was told. "If not, here's a number you can call."

The ride was pleasant enough. The driver actually enforced the no smoking policy, making everyone wait until toilet breaks. We got there around midday. Arriving in Chongqing was akin to arriving in a smog basin. Pale skin is a symbol of beauty in China, and they say Chongqing has the most beautiful girls in the country. Because the sun never penetrates the haze.

The city isn't the only Chinese metropolis to be plagued with the problem. I've read somewhere that of the world's 20 most polluted cities, 75% are in this communist state. As told, a man holding up a sign with my name (mispelled of course) was waiting for me. He hailed us a cab and brought me to the office, where I could store my bags until it was time to board. As a travel agency, they offered to book bus, train, and plane tickets for me after the cruise was over, and asked if I would be interested in any other tours after my Yangzi cruise. This was probably why they had wanted me to get here so early, so they could throw me some sales pitches. I passed on the group tours - if you can't tell by now, I dread being stuck in one of them - and had them arrange bus and train tickets for me instead.

"Do you smoke?" the guy I was talking to asked.

"No."

"Do you want to upgrade your ticket to first class? Chinese people smoke a lot, you might not be able to handle it." I was currently in second class, meaning I'd be sharing a room with three random people. First class rooms had only two bunks, decreasing the chance I'd end up with someone offensive. I gave it some thought, then decided to pass. Upgrading would've doubled my ticket price.

"That's okay. I'll take my chances."

I still had plenty of time to kill, and so just in case ship food were steep, I went out to buy a bagful of snacks. I also stuffed myself on deep fried chicken and pork, so I'd save myself dinner on the ship. At 5:00pm, I returned to the agency to be led to the ship.

Now I wasn't expecting Carnival Cruise Lines or anything, but I was still shocked at the condition of the vessel. Old, rusty, dirty... It was like a cargo ship outfitted with beds. Madness began pretty much as soon as we got on board. How things worked was each travel agency organized their own tour groups for the cruise. So on board, there were probably a dozen or so tour guides trying to keep track of his/her tourists. Rather than placing everyone from the same group in adjacent rooms, we were spread out all over the ship. As rooms filled, families began getting split up, causing people to throw fits. All this and we hadn't even left port yet.

I ended up in a grungy room (they were all grungy) that looked like it could use a good scrubdown. Four beds were crammed into a space more suitable for two. The shower had hot water and cold water dials, but only one of them worked. I gave the toilet a test run, and the flush was merely a trickle of water. Yeah, I'm not using this bathroom unless I really have to.

My roommates for the next three nights weren't any better. On the upper bunk across from mine was a guy who seemed to be always sleeping. On the lower bunks were a middle aged couple who were arguing every other minute. I couldn't understand their dialect, but judging from the woman's expression and attitude, I'm guessing she wasn't too thrilled about her living quarters either, and was letting her husband know about it. The husband turned out to be a chain smoker and real slob, making a mess of the carpet in no time at all. Not only am I not going to use the bathroom, I doubt I'll be spending much time in the room either.

So we finally left port around 8:00pm, me being stuck in a second class room on a third class ship, sharing fourth class facilities with fifth class compartment mates. First class looks really good just about now...

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!