The End of the Road

By now it's likely that Mama Tink & Lisa are firmly ensconced in their tiny airline seats, well on their way home. The return flight must seem endless; they always do. I have no doubt that this was an incredible journey for them and I am all atwitter in anticipation of listening to their stories and seeing their pictures. I imagine that they're anxious to get home and are looking forward to sleeping in their own beds for a change. And having upright toilets.

There are two last places I want to visit with you in China: one, the Three Gorges Dam, which I touched on yesterday; the other I've chosen just because I like it's name: Repulse Bay. Doesn't it sound disgusting? I'm intrigued. Tomorrow I will respond to the whole two questions posed about China and then we will say our goodbyes to this fine, complicated, beautiful land.

We already know that the Three Gorges Dam is highly controversial. It's scheduled to be completed in 2009 and will forever change the landscape of the area. On the up side, it is hoped that the dam's hydropower turbines will provide up to one-ninth of the nation's electrical production; this adds up to as much electricity as 18 nuclear power plants could produce. And no less important its impact on flooding in the area, which has claimed more than 1 million lives in the past century alone. The challenges, of course, include a relocation project for 1.2 million people, the loss of unique archaeological and historical sites, and the environmental ramifications of having pollutants and toxins leaching into the reservoir.




Yuck. Let's move on to something more repulsive.

Repulse Bay has turned out to be more of a gem than I ever imagined. Read what Wikipedia has to say about it:

In 1841 the bay was used as a base by pirates and caused serious concern to foreign merchant ships trading with China. The pirates were subsequently repulsed by the British Fleet; hence the name. Another theory holds that the bay was named after the HMS Repulse which was stationed at the bay at one point.

Oh...ma...gawd!! Pirates! You know how I love them so, particularly Johnny Depp. But I adored them long before he sashayed onto the scene, so I know my love is pure. Now that the pesky tyrants of the ocean are gone, Repulse Bay is home to shrines, markets and, most interestingly in my book, a floating village of junks. Thousands of people spend their lives and make their livings on junks and sampans in the harbor. What a life that would be, although I'm sure it seems perfectly reasonable to those living it.



When the day comes that I disappear into another life, look for me on a sampan in Repulse Bay.