Last night we found out that we couldn't do any work this weekend so everybody on my team decided to leave Wuhan for the weekend. James, Jun and Leon all left to go see their families. Since I have no family to visit in China, I decided to do some sightseeing. Leon offered to show me around Hong Kong and Macau, but I really wanted to see the Three Gorges before they are submerged forever. I figured this was pretty much my best/last chance to do so. Hong Kong will probably always be there, at least it will be there longer than the Three Gorges. After some last minute calls around to different travel agencies in Wuhan last night we found a tour operator who was leaving for the Three Gorges Saturday morning (today) and returning Monday morning. I decided to go for it, and at only 760 Yuan, it seemed like a pretty good deal.
This morning I got up to go to the tour bus, but on the way there Jun called to verify things and they told him that the price was different for foreigners. Instead of 760 Yuan it was now 1800 Yuan. Jun was not about to take any crap like that so we went to a travel agent we were walking by instead. They found a tour (probably the same one the other guy was going to sell me for ~700 Yuan. I paid extra to have my own room, so the total was 1250 Yuan (about $150 US). We finished the arrangements at 10:15, and the bus was leaving at 10:30 so we ran out the door of the travel agent and over to where the bus was.
Turns out we didn't have to rush. The bus didn't end up leaving until almost noon. I was nervous about going on the tour myself because I don't speak any Chinese and I have been dependent on either Leon or Jun the whole time I've been in China. This is the first time I've ventured out on my own. Jun assured me that the tour guide would most likely speak English and that things would be okay. Well, my it turns out my fears were well founded. The tour guide does not speak any English. Fortunately, there is another person on the tour with me who does speak English. His name is Huang and he has been very helpful. He is from the Chinese province of Fusan, across from Tiawan. I also met a very nice Tiwanese man named Paul who also speaks English. Paul is an airline pilot for Eva Air. Between Paul and Huang I think I'll be ok without an english tour guide.
It's pretty clear that I'm not on a "foreigner" tour. The boat I'm on is pretty crappy, even if it is a "4 star" boat. Nobody on the boat's crew speaks English, and there are no pretty pictures in the menu. I'm very grateful for Huang's assistance. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have had dinner tonight.
Hi Moonbeam,
since i am curious, what were your options on the menu, translated by Huang?
if he had not been there, would you have gone hungry rather than order the wrong food?
is it considered bad form in china to order something and after tasting not eat it?
sometimes i order food i haven't heard of before, just to see if i can eat it. most of the time i am pleasantly suprised sometimes not.