Chongquing Peninsula, Old & New. Oh Dear!

Rose early to get a taxi to airport for 07:30. Normal fare to airport 60 Yuan, driver asked for 200 Y. I had expected 120 Y but settled on 150 Y. Got to publicised check in desk before it opened, closely followed by a large party of holidaying locals. I wont try to describe the ensuing chaos, just add that we were extracted from the melee and treated to a VIP check-in procedure. Just the same as a normal check-in, but more polite and quiet.
Uneventful flight to Chongquing and follow-on taxi ride to the river quay area to drop off our heavy luggage. Bit of trouble finding the correct office however with interpreter service provided by a passing New York Buddhist Monk, we managed to get there.
We then had several hours to kill so we wandered around the centre of this huge city. Where we were, on The Peninsula, on a loop in the Yangtze at the confluence of the Jialing River, was the site of the original town of Chongquing, which had been rich in temples, pagodas and many fine traditional Chinese buildings, until the Japanese bombed hell out of it during WWII. Very little of the original remains and what replaced it is a hideous mix of strange architecture from the 50's onward.
I don't know exactly what it is about Chinese cities, but I just don't like them in general. Something about the lack of colour in the immediate post communism arrival utilitarianism, which is quite different from today's minimalism. Put simply, it is drab, in the extreme. Terrific amount of construction going on with many new multi-storey housing multiple blocks and several major bridges within the city which sprawls for miles in all directions.
Waited about, did a bit of internal restoration at a nearby hotel, posh but cheap @ £7 for 3 large beers and 3 plates of delicious fodder, did some food shopping for the boat, during which we got a strange phone call which made me think perhaps there was a timing problem as we had been told various times to be back at the tour office.
After much-ado-about-nothing, we eventually made proper contact with our tour agent who steered us to the actual quay. More nonsense ensued as we had not purchased tickets for the cable car which runs down the river bank to the waiting boats. More M-A-A-N and a bit of cursing & swearing, largely sotto voce, saw us into our "First Class" cabin. Remember, we had chosen the best available, but on a Chinese boat, not a Foreigner's boat. Swing a cat you could not, and the toilet facilities were . . . . . . Well, we had chosen to save money and would just have to put up with it.
A few minutes after being put in our cabin, a lady steward knocked on the door and sold us a key for it. £2.00 Minutes later said lady steward returned with a crony, demanding 300 Y (£30) for we knew not what. Eventually they dragged me off to a different cabin, or "Suite". This we could have in exchange for £30. It had a double bed, separate lounge(ette) with a torn settee, side windows, and a forward facing window. We accepted and paid, then realised that the forward window looked out onto a deck, which was filling up with rubber necking Chinese folk. We are just about the only Europeans in town, and have been stared at continuously whilst out and about.
Now we know how goldfish might feel, if they were capable. (Perhaps they are - more respect for goldfish, please.) Forward curtains closed, and so they shall remain.
Boat undocked at 22:00 hrs as scheduled, and started on it's way down river. We had supper - Nescafe with pre added whitener & sugar and some black creamy biscuits. Bedded down and went to sleep dreaming of a non-smelly bedroom somewhere / anywhere else, but holding on to the thought of the £300 each we were saving by going "local".