[Leica] The Cruise

[Jayanand Govindaraj]

After Shanghai, we took a flight to Yichang a town on the Yangtze, to
board our ship for a cruise of the Yangtze, to the Three Gorges Dam
and into the reservoir to Chongqing. The river was shrouded in a heady
mix of Fog and Smog throughout the three days we were on board, making
for low visibility, and a sameness to the vistas around that made
photography difficult.

At Yichang, we had a few hours to spare, and nothing to see in this
nondescript town, so the tour guide (surprise, surprise) took us to a
shop specializing in embroidery, which to be honest, was very good:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141012-258.jpg.html

Then we boarded the "Yangtze Explorer", and this is what it looked
like from our cabin balcony:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-286.jpg.html

The next morning we were off to our first excursion, "Tribes of the
Three Gorges", which was a totally staged costume drama disguised as a
walk. I got this kid at the pier as we disembarked:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-509.jpg.html

As with all tourist attractions in China, you enter and exit by
running the gauntlet of trinket and food shops:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-506.jpg.html
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-500.jpg.html

I feel the colour red is an important compositional tool in China,
especially as everything around you is enveloped in smog, making
things look distinctly gloomy:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-470.jpg.html
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-349.jpg.html

A couple of young pretty guides:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-426.jpg.html

The ship's paparazzi at work:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141013-453.jpg.html

Then we went on - towns would come and go out of the fog/smog:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141014-1303.jpg.html

A detail from the dramatic Qutang Gorge:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141014-1090.jpg.html

Finally, Coco, a staff member on the boat:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/China/China-20141014-1479.jpg.html

Please see LARGE

Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome

Cheers
Jayanand