Sunday 20 August 2006
Highlights: Difficult overnight Train, Boarding Victoria 2 (cruise)

Well the overnight trip to Yichang could not have really been worse.   The train itself was very old however we managed to get the windows open which helped cool the air down to around 26-28 I’d say.

I’m not sure why I was effected (maybe the food the night before) but around 4 am I woke up and could not get back to sleep.   I had chest pains which I put down to the hard bed at the time.   By the time the train trip ended at 10 am I could barely stand.   Luckily my group carried my bags to the waiting bus.   During the bus trip I found myself getting much better and I carried my own bags to the ferry. Despite not be 100% I did actually have lunch as I thought it good to get some food into my system.   I also had dinner as well (but not a full dinner).   I realised later that actually throwing up would have been a good idea.

We travelled on the Victoria 2.   I shared my room for the first time with our Tour Guide, Brett, and as a result I got to watch his collection of ‘The Family Guy’ on his laptop (seems I continue to be lucky).   The highlight I the day was going through the ‘lock’ system so our ferry/boat could be raised.  We went through 6 locks and it is amazing how fast the boat gets lifted.   I’m guessing we went around 70 metres higher. The surrounding area of the river is stunning and it promises to get better tomorrow when we get deeper into the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River.