The violent and torturous eternity of
hell was facing us around every corner as we made our way up the 400
steps leading to the devil himself. Careful now, men step with the
left foot first, women with the right, is it superstition or caution
making us follow these procedures?
For the last day of our cruise along
the Yangtze we awoke at 7 for breakfast and then made our way to the
dock for a short walk to the Ghost City. First though, we had to
cross the inevitable tourist gauntlet of souvenir salesmen and food
hawkers.
Fengdu,
or the "Ghost City," is a group of temples depicting hell
on earth. It is said that all people are going there after death.
Much of the Ghost City was submerged by the construction of the Three
Gorges Dam and what we visited is mainly a reconstructed depiction of
the original Tang Dynasty village.
This half-ball weighs 200 kg and it is
said that only honorable men can roll it three times around the
circle and then lift it to a balance point on the spindle. One of our
group tried but was not able to get it even off the ground an inch, I
guess I'll steer clear of him! The man pictured does this trick for a
living.
This picture shows Lucie rubbing a
calligraphy sculpture for good luck! Women use your right hand, men
your left!
This cute little girl was looking for
her own luck.
This shot of a dragon wrapped around a
pole was very cool.
Near the top we had to make our way
through a walkway guarded by statues depicting the 12 sins of man
(and women). These are a couple of them, can you guess their sins?
These are two judges that everyone must
pass before meeting the devil himself. The devils chamber was
relocated in its entirety before the dam allowing us to visit this
1,500 year old structure.
Finally, if the devil decides to
recruit you, your destiny awaits in gruesome torture and
dismemberment.
From the very top, the view was
breathtaking.
Our return to the ship was
significantly easier going downhill. Back on board, Lucie offered to
treat for me to a Chinese massage which they were providing by
appointment through the SPA on board. I happily accepted and made an
appointment for 2 o'clock that afternoon. A Chinese massage is very
physical in that the masseuse, a young lady of about 90 pounds, puts
every ounce of her strength into her fists and elbows, seeking and
finding every knot in every muscle in your body. For 60 full minutes
her hands never left my body and while there was a great deal of pain
throughout, the relief I felt in my muscles was dramatic. I felt
great afterwards, highly recommended.
Tonight we dressed for the Captains
dinner, a table service rather than the usual buffet. It was
delicious and very spicy. After a short entertainment show featuring
song performances by some of the passengers we retired to our cabin
for one last night on board. Tomorrow we debark at Chongqing where
will be treated to a visit to the Giant Panda Zoo.
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