Yangtze River

[Paul Motter]

We took a cruise up the Yangtze River once, from Shanghai to Chongquing. If you are seriously considering this trip I really urge you to think about the pollution you will encounter there. There is a reason why you see pictures of people wearing masks, it is so thick you often can;t see the tops of the buildings in the cities. If you have a lung problem, or if you are prone to getting infections I would think twice.

Thanks for your advice about the Yangste. I have Asthma and this is important info. Have you been to Canton? Is there a similar problem there??

Canton is now called Guangzhou. On the weekdays it can get pretty bad with the pollution. Ask anyone you know who adopted a daughter from China as this is the only city in PR of China that Americans can get papers for their daughters to enter the USA from the US Consulate. They end up staying there a few days waiting, shopping, and sightseeing. Look at www.fwcc.org for travel information on cities in China.

[adamken]

testing

I am really glad that you posted that, Paul. The prices for the Yangtze River Cruises are excellent for a new ship and a larger crew-to-passenger ratio than other Viking River Cruises. But air pollution is a serious problem for even those of us who don't think it is.

We should wait until they clean up the pollution before we cruise there. They want our tourist dollars, so perhaps we will be able to help the locals by staying away until they do.

Interesting. One always thinks about the SARS problem and China, and I hope our cruise directors on the ships have specific instructions when we make the ports there.

We have three days in port at Hong Kong and I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot of the city while we're there. We can protect ourselves only so much, and airborne viruses will be a risk we can't avoid.

Slinkie