Overnight and afternoon train to Yichang

Killing time in the train listening to my MP3 player. Note also my discolored big toenail courtesy of trekking in Nepal.

Our train for Yichang (1474) left at 21:47 hours.  Running a bit late and we were only boarding the train at about that time after returning to the train station from dinner and a quick e-mail check at a local internet cafe.  It had been a long couple of days so I took the opportunity allotted to me and quickly headed to sleep.

We were on the slow train this journey which meant that we were stopped often for trains passing in the opposite direction.  This made for a long journey towards Yichang.  We woke up mid-morning and just lounged around for a bit.  Played cards with Paul and Katie while the other four remained in their compartment next door.  We had soft sleeper cabins available this time so there were only 4 berths per compartment instead of the six in the hard sleepers.

Bridge over the Yangtze River - Yichang

Eventually the journey came to an end.  All in all these were just small warmups for my train rides to come in a few weeks, but it still seemed like a long time on the train.  Yichang was another large Chinese city of one million plus (and another 3 million in the surrounding counties) and it was quite fascinating to see the growth that was occurring in all these areas.  The plan for Yichang was to explore the riverfront area, stock up on some groceries for the 3-night river cruise and then head for some dinner at a local restaurant.  After dinner we would board our boat and settle into our accomodations.

Yichang and Yangtze R. at night

Dinner was again delicious.  I wish I knew the names of many of the places we ate, but most were written in Chinese characters which I can not translate.  Suffice to say just wander around and find a place to visit and I'm certain it will be great. 

Heading to the boat we learned we were among a small number boarding this evening (most would be joining tomorrow at Sandouping after the Three Gorges Tour).   We would not be leaving until the morning so we were just sitting at the dock tonight.  So we explored the decks of our ship, enjoyed some beverages, and chatted about some of our previous travel experiences all around the world.