After a little extra time this morning to pack and have our last delicious breakfast at the Waldorf- Astoria, we started our journey towards Yichang and the Three Gorges and famous dam. At the airport we made friends with a Chinese gentleman who spoke English pretty well. It turns out he is an English teacher at a private school in Shanghai and was travelling on holiday to climb a large mountain a couple of hours away from our embarkation point. He wanted to practice his English and we were glad to oblige. Stopped at a park next to the Yangze river to waste some time as we were a bit early. Saw a bride getting her pictures taken which is a common sight. Although this one was a bit simpler, the ones we saw in several of the hotels tended to be more elaborate with multiple photographers, bridesmaids, parents, etc. Brides wear either the traditional red, or the new modern white dresses. Many who wear white for the service have another red dress for the reception.

Our ship, the Century Legend is very nice. It's very modern and about three times larger that the river boats we've sailed on in Europe. Most of the passengers are Chinese and there are a surprising number of kids running around. So far, we are the only foreigners to be seen, but I'm pretty sure there are more.

There seems to be a class system on this ship. We have access to a special lounge with coffee, tea, water and snacks and eat our meals in a small dining room on the top (6th) deck. Dinner was ok but not up to Shanghai standards. Onto bed after doing some laundry. Tomorrow we visit the Three Gorges dam.