After William went I had a few days just doing nothing. It was the chinese new year celebrations which werent really as excting as I thought they would be. And all the firecrackers and fireworks got really annoying because tehy were just non-stop all week.
9th February
My friend Sunny had invited me to go for a meal with her and her family during the New Year celebrations, so I got a bus near to Sunny's house and we went to the restaurant to meet her family. They were all really nice, and Sunny's Aunt gave me a really nice gift. I got to try lots of interesting food, like fried fish skin, frog meat, and lots of other things, but I'm not really sure what they were. It was really good to try all the local shanghainese food. During the meal Sunny's cousin said he would like to be a gentlemen and take me home to make sure that I got back ok, but I said that it was ok, but he could show me how to get back to the bus stop because I didnt have a clue where I was.
10th
This evening we had a night out because Frankie's friend from home was visiting and she wanted to experience a shanghai night out. We went to a bar called Blue Frog first which was really nice, but it was a bit too posh for us, but we found a dingy bar further up the road which was a lot better. We walked in and it looked pretty dead and not very good, but just as we were about to leave, the bar woman said that if we stayed we could have buy one get one free drinks, so of course we stayed. We all managed to get into one taxi to the club even though there were five of us, but I was ducking down in the back so the taxi driver couldnt see me. When we were in the taxi it was midnight on the last day of the New Year festivities and so there were fire crackers going off all the way down the streets that we were driving along. They were so loud that it sounded like we were driving through a war zone with bombs going off all around us. But we got to the club ok and it was really nice, and it seemed to be the place where all the young rich chinese people go.
11th
This evening we all went out for tea to a place called Steak and Eggs which is amazing, good western food that isnt too expensive. And best of all, they had apple pie!
13th
This evening I went to teach the naughty class at school who were being so annoying, and it was a singing lesson which I hate!! During the break I was just sat at the front of the classroom, and I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye, and there was a cockroach crawling down the board, it was awful. But my assistant was very helpful and she managed to get it on a piece of paper and put it in the bin.
16th
This evening I had to teach the naughty class again, BUT for the first time ever, they were really well behaved. My new assistant is really good because whenever they start shouting or being naughty she gets really cross with them. I had a really easy class because I had to teach them O and P, and then sing and song about an Otter and a song about a Panda.
22nd
Didnt do much today, just tidied up a bit and then went to the supermarket. I got a call from Rich saying that he had got off the boat and that he was getting a flight up to Shanghai this evening so I went to the airport to meet him.
25th
Uni started again this morning, and it was such an effort cycling there in the rain. We managed to stay in our class for about 20minutes, but it was just impossible so we left and changed to an easier class.
26th
This morning I started in my easier class which was so good because I could understand everything that was going on. Didnt do much else today, had writing class in the afternoon, and then I was teaching in the evening.
27th
After class, Rich and I went into town the the fake market, but I was very good and didnt buy anything. And then we walked all the way down Nanjing West to go to the Portman hotel because they have a western supermarket there, and Im still on a mission to find some Ribena in Shanghai. But when we were walking down the road we walked past the hotel without realising, and we only realised when we were really far past it and couldnt be bothered to walk back.
This evening we went to a French restaurant for tea which was so nice!
29th
This afternoon we went to the Jade Buddha temple because I'd heard that it was really good and all the guide books said that you should go there, but it was pretty crap. The jade buddha was pretty small and it just wasnt very exciting. We went to a bar on the bund afterwards which was really nice because it was really good views across to the other side of the river.
This evening we all went out for a curry, but the food took soooooooooooo long to arrive, but it was worth it because it was so yummy. We went to windows for a few drinks afterwards, but it was really smokey and there was a crap live band playing.
2nd
This morning I was forced to get up early, and we got the metro to the other side of the river. It was a really nice sunny day so we had lunch sat outside by the river. After lunch we went to the observatory deck on the 88th floor of the Jinmao tower, and luckily it was a nice clear day and the views were really good. We had a wander round the shopping centre afterwards but didnt get anything exciting.
4th
This evening work was a nightmare (just for a change) because I have a new assistant for my tuesday class and she is so crap and she never tells them to shut up, and she gives them stickers when theyre being really naughty and shouting. But after work Rich and I got a taxi to the airport and went to Beijing
5th
This morning we got up early and went to the forbidden city which was just a short walk away from our hotel. We got our tickets and got inside, and I really hadnt realised how big it was, it was huuuuuuuge!!!!! Some of the bulidings had scaffolding on which was annoying, but it was still really interesting walking around. (altho it did get a bit repetitive towards the end because all the buildings look the same). Afterwards we went up Tiananmen Gate where Mao used to make his speaches, and there was a really good view across Tiananmen Sq. After lunch we had a wander round the Sq and then we got a taxi to the Temple of Heaven, which was even bigger than the forbidden city. We spent a couple of hours walking around there, but i was so tired by the end of it so we just got a taxi back to the hotel and I had a nice bath.
We went to the night food market just near our hotel and someone sold us some snake, which we were pretty sure was actually eel because it tasted a bit fishy, and then further down someone else sold us snake which I think might have been the real thing, but it was minging and I had to spit it out.
6th
This morning we got up early and went to find a bus to the Great Wall, but it was quite hard trying to find the real one because there were loads of poeple trying to rip you off and make you go on a tour, but we found the right bus in the end. It didnt take too long to get there, and we got our tickets and set off up the Great Wall. It was soooooo steep though and it was such an effort to walk up it. I got about half way up and sat down and said I wasnt walking any further, so Rich carried on walking up to the end, and then we walked back down. We decided to get some lunch and the ticket person was very nice and said we could go out and he would let us back in so we wouldnt have to buy another ticket. Walking up the South side of the wall was much easier, altho it was still quite steep, but it was a lot quieter, and I almost managed to walk to the end of it.
We got the bus back and then went to a garden behind the forbidden city which was really pretty. We walked up to the Pagoda at the top and the views across the forbidden city were really good. We walked back down and then went to Tiananmen Sq for the flag lowering ceremony at sunset, but it was so busy and I couldnt really see what was going on.
We had beijing duck for tea which was so nice.
7th
This morning we had a bit of a lie in cos I was so tired from all the walking, and then we went to the Lama Temple which was really good and there was a massive buddha there. We went to the Summer palace in the afternoon which was so nice, and it was a really nice sunny day too. But it was so big and my feet were hurting so much by the end of it. We went for tea at the same place as the night before, and then we went shopping for a bit, but I got a bit cross because my legs were aching and my feet hurt so we went back to the hotel.
8th
This morning we got up early and went to the airport to get our flight back to Shanghai. But the airport was really crap because it had the wrong check in desk on the board, and then they'd printed the wrong boarding gate on our ticket. We got back and it was cold and raining in Shanghai and then I had to go to work. We went to an all you can eat place for tea which was really good, lots of nice meat and chips and salads.
11th
This afternoon we went to Century park which was really nice, and it was a nice sunny day too. But we couldnt stay there too long because we had to go to the airport to meet Gill!! We got a taxi back to mine and then went out for tea to the banana restaurant near uni. After Gill went to bed we went to meet everyone in town, and we went to a bar called I love shanghai because it was ladies night so free drinks for ladies!!!! Had a really good night, and the pole dancing was entertaining!!
Friday 21 March 2008
Wednesday 6 February 2008
Back in Shanghai & William's last week
28th
This morning when we got up the weather was really bad, there was lots of snow!! We went into town and went to the urban planning museum which was really good. They had a boat ride thing where you sat in a boat and there was a video screen in front of you could drive the boat around this port thing. When I went on it, it actually made me feel seasick even though I was on a boat that wasnt moving and I was just looking at a big tv screen!!! For lunch we went to one of the Japanese chain restaurants that are everywhere and william really enjoyed it, but I chose something that wasnt very nice which was annoying, but it was really cheap.
We went to the market for a bit and william got some fake designer stuff and then on the way back home william wanted to go and have a look around people's square. We went in and there was loads of water and slush all over the pavements and my feet got really wet. After a couple of minutes I got really cross because I was so cold so we got the metro home.
When we were back I was getting ready for work when I got a call from one of the teachers who told me that I wasnt actually needed to teach the class that night - it was so annoying, but we went out for a nice tea instead.
29th
Today when we got up it was still snowing but the weather wasnt as bad as it has been. We went and had a walk along the bund. There are always people selling random stuff along the bund for all the tourists like plastic models of the pearl tower and other crap. But there was an old lady selling the most random and funny thing - she was selling those glasses that have a big nose and moustache on them. And whenever a white person went past her she'd go over to them and she actually thought people would want to buy them. Although I have to say I was quite tempted to get one.
We went on the bund sight-seeing tunnel which was so wierd. It is a little tunnel that takes you under the river from the Bund to Pu Dong. You just sit on a little train and there are loads of random flashing lights going off and ghost type people and random music.
We went to the superbrand mall and had a nice chinese lunch at burger king and then had a look around some of the shops. We went to have a look at the pearl tower afterwards, but we didn't go up it because it wasnt a very clear day so we didnt think it would be worth it. We went to the Jinmao tower afterwards to have a drink at the cloud 9 bar, but it was closed so we went to the hotel bar instead which was really nice and very posh!! We had a nice hot drink each and a pudding. I got crepe suzettes which were soooo yummy. It was very pricey though - two drinks and two puddings came to 300yuan which is usually my weekly budget in Shanghai.
We went back home afterwards because I had to get ready to go to work. Teaching was really good tonight because I had the good class and I just had to teach them new words which is really easy.
30th
This morning we had planned to get up early and go to a garden on the suburbs of Shanghai, but the weather was so bad when we woke up, so we went back to sleep for a couple of hours. When we were finally up and ready to go out, we got the metro into town and went to the french concession and had a walk around there. We went to parksons afterwards which is a bit shopping centre that has a western supermarket in the bottom of it, but unfortunately they didnt have any ribena there. Nowhere seems to sell it in Shanghai, its so annoying. We went for a nice lunch, and then we walked to the antiques market, but a lot of the stalls were closed because of the weather. We had a walk to the old town and did a bit of shopping - we went to my new favourite shop, the 2yuan shop!!
31st
This morning we managed to get up early and get on the tourist bus to the gardens. When we were there the conductor on the bus tapped william's knee which meant that we were supposed to get off. But when we got off the bus we just appeared to be standing next to a busy road in the middle nowhere. We decided to walk up the road to the next junction and see if there were any signs for it. When we got there william spotted a map and we quickly found where we were and discovered that the gardens were quite close by. We set off in the direction of the gardens and quickly found ourselves in the middle of a really busy shopping area, and 5 minutes later we arrived at the gardens, which only cost 5yuan to go in!! The gardens were so pretty - maybe my favourite gardens that I've visited in china!!
Afterwards we went to get some lunch and we went to a Japanese restaurant. Even though we had only gone an hour away from the centre of the city, the food seemed a lot cheaper here. We ordered so much, I had some salmon sushi, fried bananas and a bowl of chicken, vegetables and rice with a nice sauce - it was a really random mixture of food, but it was good.
We had a wander around the shops and then we got the bus back. The bus took ages - about 2 and a half hours - because the traffic was so bad. Will wanted to go to a bike shop near the stadium when we got back, but the man in the shop was so annoying and insisted on following us all around the shop. But he wasnt just walking a bit behind us to incase we needed any help - he was actually walking right behind me which made me feel really uncomfortable, so we didnt stay very long. We went to the supermarket and then went home.
1st February
This morning we went to the zoo!!! Unfortunately we couldnt see all the animals because it was still snowing so they weren't all out. But we got to see some good animals like pandas, lions, leopards, labradors!! Yes, they actually had normal dogs on display at the zoo!! It was so wierd, they just had an area called "Pets" and it was just full of different breeds of dogs.
We went to peoples square afterwards to get some lunch and then we went to the market because william wanted to get some stuff to take home. Afterwards we went to a bookshop because william wanted some books to help him learn chinese but it was just closing when we got there so we were a bit rushed. We went to raffles (a shopping centre on peoples square) after to get a snack and then we got the metro home.
When we had got changed and warmed up a bit we went to pizza express in Xintiandi which was so yummy - it might be one of the best meals that I've had in Shanghai. We ordered so much food and I couldnt finish all my pizza so I asked if I could take it home and I got a really cool pizza express bag to take it home in. Even though I couldnt finish all my pizza, I still managed to eat half a piece of chocolate fudge cake.
2nd
This morning we went to the stadium to go ice skating. But by the time we had got there my feet were really wet and cold and I was in a bad mood (again) so I just sat and watched while William went ice skating. I enjoyed taking photos though and laughing at people who were falling over.
We went to Guilin road after where my uni is because I had to go to the post office, and we had a nice lunch on campus. We went to one of the dvd shops afterwards because Will wanted to get some films to take home because theyre so cheap and then we went back home because I had to get ready for work.
Teaching was a nightmare this afternoon. Only half the class was there - i think it was because of the weather and because they might have already gone away for new year. But they wouldnt listen to a word I was saying, and I had a new assistant who wasnt helping at all. Shes supposed to tell them to stop talking but she just spent the whole class giving the children lots of stickers.
3rd
This morning we got up early and got a taxi to the airport. It was so busy with everyone going away for new year, and William had to queue for ages to check in, but I was nice and I waited for him - although I didnt actually have anything else to do.
This afternoon was really boring. I cleaned the apartment because it was in a bit of a state and then watched a couple of dvds.
This morning when we got up the weather was really bad, there was lots of snow!! We went into town and went to the urban planning museum which was really good. They had a boat ride thing where you sat in a boat and there was a video screen in front of you could drive the boat around this port thing. When I went on it, it actually made me feel seasick even though I was on a boat that wasnt moving and I was just looking at a big tv screen!!! For lunch we went to one of the Japanese chain restaurants that are everywhere and william really enjoyed it, but I chose something that wasnt very nice which was annoying, but it was really cheap.
We went to the market for a bit and william got some fake designer stuff and then on the way back home william wanted to go and have a look around people's square. We went in and there was loads of water and slush all over the pavements and my feet got really wet. After a couple of minutes I got really cross because I was so cold so we got the metro home.
When we were back I was getting ready for work when I got a call from one of the teachers who told me that I wasnt actually needed to teach the class that night - it was so annoying, but we went out for a nice tea instead.
29th
Today when we got up it was still snowing but the weather wasnt as bad as it has been. We went and had a walk along the bund. There are always people selling random stuff along the bund for all the tourists like plastic models of the pearl tower and other crap. But there was an old lady selling the most random and funny thing - she was selling those glasses that have a big nose and moustache on them. And whenever a white person went past her she'd go over to them and she actually thought people would want to buy them. Although I have to say I was quite tempted to get one.
We went on the bund sight-seeing tunnel which was so wierd. It is a little tunnel that takes you under the river from the Bund to Pu Dong. You just sit on a little train and there are loads of random flashing lights going off and ghost type people and random music.
We went to the superbrand mall and had a nice chinese lunch at burger king and then had a look around some of the shops. We went to have a look at the pearl tower afterwards, but we didn't go up it because it wasnt a very clear day so we didnt think it would be worth it. We went to the Jinmao tower afterwards to have a drink at the cloud 9 bar, but it was closed so we went to the hotel bar instead which was really nice and very posh!! We had a nice hot drink each and a pudding. I got crepe suzettes which were soooo yummy. It was very pricey though - two drinks and two puddings came to 300yuan which is usually my weekly budget in Shanghai.
We went back home afterwards because I had to get ready to go to work. Teaching was really good tonight because I had the good class and I just had to teach them new words which is really easy.
30th
This morning we had planned to get up early and go to a garden on the suburbs of Shanghai, but the weather was so bad when we woke up, so we went back to sleep for a couple of hours. When we were finally up and ready to go out, we got the metro into town and went to the french concession and had a walk around there. We went to parksons afterwards which is a bit shopping centre that has a western supermarket in the bottom of it, but unfortunately they didnt have any ribena there. Nowhere seems to sell it in Shanghai, its so annoying. We went for a nice lunch, and then we walked to the antiques market, but a lot of the stalls were closed because of the weather. We had a walk to the old town and did a bit of shopping - we went to my new favourite shop, the 2yuan shop!!
31st
This morning we managed to get up early and get on the tourist bus to the gardens. When we were there the conductor on the bus tapped william's knee which meant that we were supposed to get off. But when we got off the bus we just appeared to be standing next to a busy road in the middle nowhere. We decided to walk up the road to the next junction and see if there were any signs for it. When we got there william spotted a map and we quickly found where we were and discovered that the gardens were quite close by. We set off in the direction of the gardens and quickly found ourselves in the middle of a really busy shopping area, and 5 minutes later we arrived at the gardens, which only cost 5yuan to go in!! The gardens were so pretty - maybe my favourite gardens that I've visited in china!!
Afterwards we went to get some lunch and we went to a Japanese restaurant. Even though we had only gone an hour away from the centre of the city, the food seemed a lot cheaper here. We ordered so much, I had some salmon sushi, fried bananas and a bowl of chicken, vegetables and rice with a nice sauce - it was a really random mixture of food, but it was good.
We had a wander around the shops and then we got the bus back. The bus took ages - about 2 and a half hours - because the traffic was so bad. Will wanted to go to a bike shop near the stadium when we got back, but the man in the shop was so annoying and insisted on following us all around the shop. But he wasnt just walking a bit behind us to incase we needed any help - he was actually walking right behind me which made me feel really uncomfortable, so we didnt stay very long. We went to the supermarket and then went home.
1st February
This morning we went to the zoo!!! Unfortunately we couldnt see all the animals because it was still snowing so they weren't all out. But we got to see some good animals like pandas, lions, leopards, labradors!! Yes, they actually had normal dogs on display at the zoo!! It was so wierd, they just had an area called "Pets" and it was just full of different breeds of dogs.
We went to peoples square afterwards to get some lunch and then we went to the market because william wanted to get some stuff to take home. Afterwards we went to a bookshop because william wanted some books to help him learn chinese but it was just closing when we got there so we were a bit rushed. We went to raffles (a shopping centre on peoples square) after to get a snack and then we got the metro home.
When we had got changed and warmed up a bit we went to pizza express in Xintiandi which was so yummy - it might be one of the best meals that I've had in Shanghai. We ordered so much food and I couldnt finish all my pizza so I asked if I could take it home and I got a really cool pizza express bag to take it home in. Even though I couldnt finish all my pizza, I still managed to eat half a piece of chocolate fudge cake.
2nd
This morning we went to the stadium to go ice skating. But by the time we had got there my feet were really wet and cold and I was in a bad mood (again) so I just sat and watched while William went ice skating. I enjoyed taking photos though and laughing at people who were falling over.
We went to Guilin road after where my uni is because I had to go to the post office, and we had a nice lunch on campus. We went to one of the dvd shops afterwards because Will wanted to get some films to take home because theyre so cheap and then we went back home because I had to get ready for work.
Teaching was a nightmare this afternoon. Only half the class was there - i think it was because of the weather and because they might have already gone away for new year. But they wouldnt listen to a word I was saying, and I had a new assistant who wasnt helping at all. Shes supposed to tell them to stop talking but she just spent the whole class giving the children lots of stickers.
3rd
This morning we got up early and got a taxi to the airport. It was so busy with everyone going away for new year, and William had to queue for ages to check in, but I was nice and I waited for him - although I didnt actually have anything else to do.
This afternoon was really boring. I cleaned the apartment because it was in a bit of a state and then watched a couple of dvds.
Sunday 3 February 2008
Travels part 2
21st
This morning we went to the bakery to get some breakfast and tried to find the kowlon metro station, but we couldnt find it so we just got a taxi there. We got the metro to the disney stop which was very exciting. They have a special disney metro which is all decorated in disney style and the windows were mickey mouse shaped!!
We got our tickets and went into the park. We got a map and went to adventure land first. They didnt have many rides but it was still really fun. We went to tarzan's treehouse and then we went on a boat ride, which was really fun and the guy kept making funny jokes. Afterwards we went to see the lion king show which was so good, and they sang all the songs from the film. We watched the parade afterwards which was really good, we saw all the stars.
Before lunch I was very brave and went on space mountain. I was getting really nervous before I went on it, but it was fine because there were no loops or anything. We went and had a typical disney lunch afterwards - sweet and sour pork and wonton soup. We went on a winnie the pooh ride which was suprisingly good. William wanted to go on a car ride afterwards, and we had to queue for 45 minutes, and loads of chinese people kept pushing in which was really annoying. Then we went on our favourite ride of the day - Buzz Lightyear astroblasters!! You had your own little car with a gun and you had to try and shoot emporer zurg and all the targets - because we're cool and because it was so much fun, we went on it twice. After that we still had a bit of time before it closed so we went to watch the 3D orchestra.
When we got back we went to watch the light show at the harbour again and then we went to find something for tea.
22nd
We had a bit of a lie in this morning. We went to Lantau island today and got the cable car ride to Ngong Ping. This is a mountain that has an old village, monestary and huge buddha on it. The cable car was so long (5.7km) and you could see lots of really pretty scenery while it went up to the mountain. We had a walk around the village first (which was a complete tourist trap), and then went to look round the monestary. It was amazing, but there were lads of people burning insence and the smell was so strong! We walked up the 260 steps to the buddha next - it is the worlds largest outdoor seated buddha and it was amazing. Finally we had a walk along the wisdom path, which was large pieces of wood with chinese carved into it. When we got there a monk (or a man dressed as a monk) tried to give us something, but I said no because I knew he would ask us for some money afterwards. William didnt quite believe me and so we watched him approach two other western people and they took the thing that he gave them, and sure enough shortly afterwards the man was taking his wallet out to give some money to the monk!!
We were really tired so we went back to the hostel and had a little nap. Afterwards we went to find a payphone because william wanted to phone Nelson to see if he was free to meet for tea. He said he was so we agreed to meet him after we had got our boat tickets. However, it was a nightmare trying to find the ticket office and it was getting late, so william went to meet Nelson and I went to find the tickets. However when I eventually found the place it was closed!!! I went to starbucks and had a nice tea and then went back to the hostel
23rd
This morning we got up very early and went to get our boat tickets and get on the boat to shekou on mainland china. The boat was really quick, it took just under an hour. Rich met us at the boat place and we went to get a drink. We had a walk around shekou afterwards but there wasnt a lot to do and so we went and spent the day sat in the Irish bar. We had a really nice day, and it was nice to sit out in the sun all afternoon.
Later in the afternoon, William and I had to go to Shenzhen airport and get our flight to Guilin. The flight was very exciting, it only took 50minutes!! In Guilin we got a bus to the centre of town and then got a taxi to our hostel. Guilin was sooo cold and the hostel room was really cold too! But it was a really nice hostel and in a really good location.
24th
This morning we got up and packed our bags and left them in the luggage room at the hostel while we went for a wander round Guilin and tried to find a boat to Yangshuo. However we couldnt find a boat (we later discovered that there werent any at this time of year because the river is too low) so we just got a bus to Yangshuo. On the way there we saw some amazing countryside and went through lots of interesting little villages. We got there and went to find the hostel but the most annoying man in the world worked at the hostel. When we got there he told us that he was going to organise a bicycle tour for us to go on and then tomorrow he would book a boat ride for us. We told him we didnt want to and that we were going to get some lunch, but then he said there wasnt time for lunch because we had to go on a bike ride straight away. Eventually I got a bit cross and said that we werent going on a bike ride or a boat tour and we went to our room to leave our bags. But the annoying man followed us in and kept offering us lower prices for the bike and boat but we both got cross and then he left.
We went to get some lunch and then hired a couple of bicycles and bought a map of the surrounding villages. The bikes were only 20yuan for a whole afternoon - what a bargain!! We cycled for miles and miles (approx 25) and saw lots of nice mountains and paddy fields and little villages. I was getting so tired by the end of it though and it was getting dark so william was pushing my bike (while i was still sat on it) at the same time as cycling his, he's so nice. When we were back we went to book a boat ride for tomorrow (which was a lot cheaper than the price the annoying man at the hostel was offering us). We had a wander around the shops in the old streets and then we went to get some tea. The restaurant was empty and we had to wait quite a while for our food. And then a guy came into the restaurant with loads of take-away boxes, which were taken to the kitchen, put on a plate, and brought to our table. It was still really good food though.
We went back to the hostel to check our emails, but the computer was really slow, and the plug was sparking so we werent on it for very long.
25th
When I work up it was sooooooooooooo cold. We went to a bakery to have some breakfast and then we had a walk around a park which was really pretty. The weather was so bad today, it was raining and so cold. We left the park and had a walk to the river and wandered around the old bit of the town, but we got so cold that we went to sit in an internet cafe for an hour, and it was only 3yuan for an hour!! We went to KFC for a nice warm milky tea and then went to the travel place to go on our boat trip. But the woman said we were an hour early, so we went to the hostel for an hour to try and get warm. When we went back to the travel place the woman took us to the bus stop. We went on a "bus" (very old and small minibus) to a town called XingPing. When we got off the bus, the woman told us that we would have to wait a while before we could go to the boat so she took us to a little empty buliding where a couple of chinese people we sat around a little fire and we went and sat with them.
10 minutes later our "bus" arrived to take us to the boat - this bus was more like a golf buggy. We got on the boat and we were joined by en English man and his wife, and a group of young chinese people. We set off and the scenery was amazing!! The young people were taking lots of photos and the each asked to have a photo taken with me, and then they all wanted their photo taken with william. And then they started practising their english on us which was really funny, and one guy was teaching william chinese.
We eventually got off the boat and walked back up to the bus stop and got the bus back to Yangshuo. When we got off the bus it was raining so heavily and we ran to KFC to get a cup of tea. William very kindly offered to go to the hostel and get my umberella and put the heating on so that it would be nice and warm when we got back. We went shoping for a bit and then we decided to go to a restaurant and try some of the local beer fish. So we went to a restaurant that said beer fish outside it in big bright lights, but then when we were looking at the menu they didnt even sell it! So we had to settle for beer chicken instead which was very nice. We went to the internet cafe for a bit and then went back to the hostel. I had a nice warm shower and then went to bed.
26th
This morning we packed our bags and tried to find someone who was working at the hostel so that we could get our deposit back. But the woman was so annoying and spent ages searching our room to try and find something wrong so that she could keep our deposit, but she couldnt find anything so we eventually got it back. We went to a cafe for breakfast which was really good, and then we got the bus back to Guilin.
In Guilin we checked back in at the same hostel and then went to a park where they had a peak which we were hoping to climb. We paid 50yuan to get into the park, and then when we were inside we found that we couldnt go up the peak because aparantly it was dangerous because of the ice, the cave was closed, and so was the grotto. So there really wasnt much to do and it was a waste of money. We didnt do much today because it was really cold again and I was in a bad mood.
Earlier in the day we'd seen a restaurant called The Good Luck Restaurant so we decided to go there for tea. We had such a nice meal - honey roast pork, perch and chili cucumber, it was yummy, and i think they under-charged us too because it was so cheap.
27th
This morning we got on the bus back to Guilin airport and we were a little bit early so we went to get something to eat. But all the food there was so expensive so we just had a coke and some steamed buns. We went to check in and the woman told us that our flight had been cancelled - GREAT!! She said we could get on another flight though and she sent us to a different check in desk. When we were checking in I asked the guy when the flight was leaving and he said "now". So william and I panicked and quickly went through security, and ran to the gate. When we got there it said that the flight to Kunming was leaving from that gate so we went to ask someone and they sent us to gate 13. However that still wasnt our flight so we asked someone else and they said 13 was right and that we should stay there. But a couple of minutes later they announced that our flight was actually boarding at gate 15. It was so unorganised!!
But we got on the flight and 2 hours later we were back in Shanghai. We went out for a nice tea and then watched a couple of dvds.
This morning we went to the bakery to get some breakfast and tried to find the kowlon metro station, but we couldnt find it so we just got a taxi there. We got the metro to the disney stop which was very exciting. They have a special disney metro which is all decorated in disney style and the windows were mickey mouse shaped!!
We got our tickets and went into the park. We got a map and went to adventure land first. They didnt have many rides but it was still really fun. We went to tarzan's treehouse and then we went on a boat ride, which was really fun and the guy kept making funny jokes. Afterwards we went to see the lion king show which was so good, and they sang all the songs from the film. We watched the parade afterwards which was really good, we saw all the stars.
Before lunch I was very brave and went on space mountain. I was getting really nervous before I went on it, but it was fine because there were no loops or anything. We went and had a typical disney lunch afterwards - sweet and sour pork and wonton soup. We went on a winnie the pooh ride which was suprisingly good. William wanted to go on a car ride afterwards, and we had to queue for 45 minutes, and loads of chinese people kept pushing in which was really annoying. Then we went on our favourite ride of the day - Buzz Lightyear astroblasters!! You had your own little car with a gun and you had to try and shoot emporer zurg and all the targets - because we're cool and because it was so much fun, we went on it twice. After that we still had a bit of time before it closed so we went to watch the 3D orchestra.
When we got back we went to watch the light show at the harbour again and then we went to find something for tea.
22nd
We had a bit of a lie in this morning. We went to Lantau island today and got the cable car ride to Ngong Ping. This is a mountain that has an old village, monestary and huge buddha on it. The cable car was so long (5.7km) and you could see lots of really pretty scenery while it went up to the mountain. We had a walk around the village first (which was a complete tourist trap), and then went to look round the monestary. It was amazing, but there were lads of people burning insence and the smell was so strong! We walked up the 260 steps to the buddha next - it is the worlds largest outdoor seated buddha and it was amazing. Finally we had a walk along the wisdom path, which was large pieces of wood with chinese carved into it. When we got there a monk (or a man dressed as a monk) tried to give us something, but I said no because I knew he would ask us for some money afterwards. William didnt quite believe me and so we watched him approach two other western people and they took the thing that he gave them, and sure enough shortly afterwards the man was taking his wallet out to give some money to the monk!!
We were really tired so we went back to the hostel and had a little nap. Afterwards we went to find a payphone because william wanted to phone Nelson to see if he was free to meet for tea. He said he was so we agreed to meet him after we had got our boat tickets. However, it was a nightmare trying to find the ticket office and it was getting late, so william went to meet Nelson and I went to find the tickets. However when I eventually found the place it was closed!!! I went to starbucks and had a nice tea and then went back to the hostel
23rd
This morning we got up very early and went to get our boat tickets and get on the boat to shekou on mainland china. The boat was really quick, it took just under an hour. Rich met us at the boat place and we went to get a drink. We had a walk around shekou afterwards but there wasnt a lot to do and so we went and spent the day sat in the Irish bar. We had a really nice day, and it was nice to sit out in the sun all afternoon.
Later in the afternoon, William and I had to go to Shenzhen airport and get our flight to Guilin. The flight was very exciting, it only took 50minutes!! In Guilin we got a bus to the centre of town and then got a taxi to our hostel. Guilin was sooo cold and the hostel room was really cold too! But it was a really nice hostel and in a really good location.
24th
This morning we got up and packed our bags and left them in the luggage room at the hostel while we went for a wander round Guilin and tried to find a boat to Yangshuo. However we couldnt find a boat (we later discovered that there werent any at this time of year because the river is too low) so we just got a bus to Yangshuo. On the way there we saw some amazing countryside and went through lots of interesting little villages. We got there and went to find the hostel but the most annoying man in the world worked at the hostel. When we got there he told us that he was going to organise a bicycle tour for us to go on and then tomorrow he would book a boat ride for us. We told him we didnt want to and that we were going to get some lunch, but then he said there wasnt time for lunch because we had to go on a bike ride straight away. Eventually I got a bit cross and said that we werent going on a bike ride or a boat tour and we went to our room to leave our bags. But the annoying man followed us in and kept offering us lower prices for the bike and boat but we both got cross and then he left.
We went to get some lunch and then hired a couple of bicycles and bought a map of the surrounding villages. The bikes were only 20yuan for a whole afternoon - what a bargain!! We cycled for miles and miles (approx 25) and saw lots of nice mountains and paddy fields and little villages. I was getting so tired by the end of it though and it was getting dark so william was pushing my bike (while i was still sat on it) at the same time as cycling his, he's so nice. When we were back we went to book a boat ride for tomorrow (which was a lot cheaper than the price the annoying man at the hostel was offering us). We had a wander around the shops in the old streets and then we went to get some tea. The restaurant was empty and we had to wait quite a while for our food. And then a guy came into the restaurant with loads of take-away boxes, which were taken to the kitchen, put on a plate, and brought to our table. It was still really good food though.
We went back to the hostel to check our emails, but the computer was really slow, and the plug was sparking so we werent on it for very long.
25th
When I work up it was sooooooooooooo cold. We went to a bakery to have some breakfast and then we had a walk around a park which was really pretty. The weather was so bad today, it was raining and so cold. We left the park and had a walk to the river and wandered around the old bit of the town, but we got so cold that we went to sit in an internet cafe for an hour, and it was only 3yuan for an hour!! We went to KFC for a nice warm milky tea and then went to the travel place to go on our boat trip. But the woman said we were an hour early, so we went to the hostel for an hour to try and get warm. When we went back to the travel place the woman took us to the bus stop. We went on a "bus" (very old and small minibus) to a town called XingPing. When we got off the bus, the woman told us that we would have to wait a while before we could go to the boat so she took us to a little empty buliding where a couple of chinese people we sat around a little fire and we went and sat with them.
10 minutes later our "bus" arrived to take us to the boat - this bus was more like a golf buggy. We got on the boat and we were joined by en English man and his wife, and a group of young chinese people. We set off and the scenery was amazing!! The young people were taking lots of photos and the each asked to have a photo taken with me, and then they all wanted their photo taken with william. And then they started practising their english on us which was really funny, and one guy was teaching william chinese.
We eventually got off the boat and walked back up to the bus stop and got the bus back to Yangshuo. When we got off the bus it was raining so heavily and we ran to KFC to get a cup of tea. William very kindly offered to go to the hostel and get my umberella and put the heating on so that it would be nice and warm when we got back. We went shoping for a bit and then we decided to go to a restaurant and try some of the local beer fish. So we went to a restaurant that said beer fish outside it in big bright lights, but then when we were looking at the menu they didnt even sell it! So we had to settle for beer chicken instead which was very nice. We went to the internet cafe for a bit and then went back to the hostel. I had a nice warm shower and then went to bed.
26th
This morning we packed our bags and tried to find someone who was working at the hostel so that we could get our deposit back. But the woman was so annoying and spent ages searching our room to try and find something wrong so that she could keep our deposit, but she couldnt find anything so we eventually got it back. We went to a cafe for breakfast which was really good, and then we got the bus back to Guilin.
In Guilin we checked back in at the same hostel and then went to a park where they had a peak which we were hoping to climb. We paid 50yuan to get into the park, and then when we were inside we found that we couldnt go up the peak because aparantly it was dangerous because of the ice, the cave was closed, and so was the grotto. So there really wasnt much to do and it was a waste of money. We didnt do much today because it was really cold again and I was in a bad mood.
Earlier in the day we'd seen a restaurant called The Good Luck Restaurant so we decided to go there for tea. We had such a nice meal - honey roast pork, perch and chili cucumber, it was yummy, and i think they under-charged us too because it was so cheap.
27th
This morning we got on the bus back to Guilin airport and we were a little bit early so we went to get something to eat. But all the food there was so expensive so we just had a coke and some steamed buns. We went to check in and the woman told us that our flight had been cancelled - GREAT!! She said we could get on another flight though and she sent us to a different check in desk. When we were checking in I asked the guy when the flight was leaving and he said "now". So william and I panicked and quickly went through security, and ran to the gate. When we got there it said that the flight to Kunming was leaving from that gate so we went to ask someone and they sent us to gate 13. However that still wasnt our flight so we asked someone else and they said 13 was right and that we should stay there. But a couple of minutes later they announced that our flight was actually boarding at gate 15. It was so unorganised!!
But we got on the flight and 2 hours later we were back in Shanghai. We went out for a nice tea and then watched a couple of dvds.
Monday 28 January 2008
Travels part 1 (there is too much to write in one go)
The train journey & Hong Kong
18th
This morning i got up and went to uni to get my exam results. Managed to pass all of them which was good, but not great. We went to the train station and waited for our train to arrive. While we were waiting a man attempted to make conversation with me to practise his english, but he couldnt say very much so luckily it was a short conversation.
We got on the train and found our beds and managed to get our bags onto the racks. There wasnt much space in the train. In our little bit there were 6 beds and 2 little fold down seats by the windows, and I had managed to pick the beds with the least space which william was really pleased about, we couldnt even sit up properly, but william managed to get one of the seats which was good for him. We played cards for a bit and i read my book for a while but i got bored after about an hour and a half.
I went to sleep quite early because there was nothing to do and we were arriving at shenzhen at 6.30am so i would have to get up early.
19th
Didnt sleep well last night at all. The bed was so uncomfortable. And then man beneath me was snoring a lot, and there was a baby a bit further down the carriage that was crying a lot. We got off the train and went to find the ticket office to get tickets for Shenzhen to Guilin. However because everyone is buying tickets at the moment for spring festival, there were about 2000 people queuing for tickets. Even if we joined the queue it would be very unlikely that we would be able to get tickets. So I phoned ctrip and booked us some flights. We went through passport control and entered Hong Kong, it was very exciting. We got the metro to kowloon near to our hostel. The hostel was nice, and you got exactly what you paid for! The room was tiny, but it had everything you needed (apart from a window)
We went to get some food but ended up at McDo because it was the cheapest thing we could find - food was a lot lot more expensive in hong kong than in china. We had a walk around the harbour and then we went to the space museum and art gallery which were good. On the waterfront they had one of those hollywood star things where it has names of famous people on the floor and some of them had handprints. We only recognised three people tho, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li.
In the evening we went to the markets - there was a flower market and a bird market. The bird market was disappointing because a lot of the cages were covered up and it smelt. We went to some of the other markets after that just sold general crap, I got a really cool t-shirt which says I love HK.
Then the most exciting thing happened - I found some ribena!! I've been looking for some for ages in Shanghai, i even emailed ribena to found out it they sold any in shanghai but they never replied.
We went to a really cool sushi restaurant for tea that had the food going round on a conveyor thing. William ate loads of wierd and random food, and I was really exciting and had smoked salmon.
20th
This mornng we got up early and went to one of the nice bakerys for breakfast, and then we went to see a little temple just up the road. We went to get the metro to Hong Kong island which was really nice. There were loads of huge buildings, and lots of hills and nice scenery too. We got the tram up to victoria peak and then went up to the sky terrace. From there you could see views all around Hong Kong, and it was a nice clear day too. We went and had a nice lunch on one of the terraces, and I got sunburnt which was very exciting. I dont think ive ever been sunburnt in January before.
We went for a walk around the peak and then got the tram back down. We had a walk around Hong Kong park which was cool and then just wandered around the island for a bit. In the evening we went to the harbour because they had a really cool light show and all of the majoy buildings had set up a coreographed light and sound display.
We went back to the hostel after this because we had been walking for miles and my feet were really hurting.
18th
This morning i got up and went to uni to get my exam results. Managed to pass all of them which was good, but not great. We went to the train station and waited for our train to arrive. While we were waiting a man attempted to make conversation with me to practise his english, but he couldnt say very much so luckily it was a short conversation.
We got on the train and found our beds and managed to get our bags onto the racks. There wasnt much space in the train. In our little bit there were 6 beds and 2 little fold down seats by the windows, and I had managed to pick the beds with the least space which william was really pleased about, we couldnt even sit up properly, but william managed to get one of the seats which was good for him. We played cards for a bit and i read my book for a while but i got bored after about an hour and a half.
I went to sleep quite early because there was nothing to do and we were arriving at shenzhen at 6.30am so i would have to get up early.
19th
Didnt sleep well last night at all. The bed was so uncomfortable. And then man beneath me was snoring a lot, and there was a baby a bit further down the carriage that was crying a lot. We got off the train and went to find the ticket office to get tickets for Shenzhen to Guilin. However because everyone is buying tickets at the moment for spring festival, there were about 2000 people queuing for tickets. Even if we joined the queue it would be very unlikely that we would be able to get tickets. So I phoned ctrip and booked us some flights. We went through passport control and entered Hong Kong, it was very exciting. We got the metro to kowloon near to our hostel. The hostel was nice, and you got exactly what you paid for! The room was tiny, but it had everything you needed (apart from a window)
We went to get some food but ended up at McDo because it was the cheapest thing we could find - food was a lot lot more expensive in hong kong than in china. We had a walk around the harbour and then we went to the space museum and art gallery which were good. On the waterfront they had one of those hollywood star things where it has names of famous people on the floor and some of them had handprints. We only recognised three people tho, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li.
In the evening we went to the markets - there was a flower market and a bird market. The bird market was disappointing because a lot of the cages were covered up and it smelt. We went to some of the other markets after that just sold general crap, I got a really cool t-shirt which says I love HK.
Then the most exciting thing happened - I found some ribena!! I've been looking for some for ages in Shanghai, i even emailed ribena to found out it they sold any in shanghai but they never replied.
We went to a really cool sushi restaurant for tea that had the food going round on a conveyor thing. William ate loads of wierd and random food, and I was really exciting and had smoked salmon.
20th
This mornng we got up early and went to one of the nice bakerys for breakfast, and then we went to see a little temple just up the road. We went to get the metro to Hong Kong island which was really nice. There were loads of huge buildings, and lots of hills and nice scenery too. We got the tram up to victoria peak and then went up to the sky terrace. From there you could see views all around Hong Kong, and it was a nice clear day too. We went and had a nice lunch on one of the terraces, and I got sunburnt which was very exciting. I dont think ive ever been sunburnt in January before.
We went for a walk around the peak and then got the tram back down. We had a walk around Hong Kong park which was cool and then just wandered around the island for a bit. In the evening we went to the harbour because they had a really cool light show and all of the majoy buildings had set up a coreographed light and sound display.
We went back to the hostel after this because we had been walking for miles and my feet were really hurting.
Exams and William's arrival
10th January
I managed to go to both classes this morning altho it was an effort. In speaking class we played chinese whispers for a bit which was good, but we had the old japanese man in our group and he was really slow so we kept losing.
Did a bit of revision this afternoon, and then this evening beki came back which was tres exciting.
11th
This afternoon Mr Tu came round because we'd texted him about a problem with one of our lights. He came round and said he would get us some new lightbulbs and bring them round soon. But he came back later that day and brought a man with him to mend the light. It was very exciting, I love Mr Tu!! He's so nice. He was asking us if everything was ok with the apartment and said if we have any problems he will sort them out for us.
12th
This morning instead of revising, I spent hours trying to organise mine and william's travel plans. This afternoon I went to teach. It was the naughty class so i wasn't really looking forward to it, but I had Eva as my assistant so it was fine. All of the children are really scared of Eva because if they say anything or dont do what i tell them to she goes mad and shouts at them. I had to teach them fruits and then I had to sing a song for about 45minuntes called "what to you like". The children weren't impressed with my singing.
14th
This morning I had my writing exam which went so badly. I actually thought it would be alright cos id done a bit of revision, but it was sooo difficult and i didnt know anything. I couldnt concentrate on the exam because william was arriving this morning, and Justin had very kindly agreed to go and meet him, but i was worried that there would be a problem and william would end up lost in shanghai.
I finished the exam pretty quickly and went back to my apartment to see if william had arrived, but he hadnt, and id completely forgotten that id given justin my key so i was locked out. Great!!! But they arrived half an hour later so it wasnt too bad. I took william for a little tour around where i live and around uni which im sure he found very exciting. We werent out for too long though because i had to come back and do some revision.
This evening I had to go and teach the naughty class. I had to sing a song about a monkey and do monkey actions which was very embaresing, but it kept the children amused.
15th
This morning I had my reading exam which i thought went quite well. I came back and took william to get some dvds and some food so he could amuse himself while i was revising. This afternoon I had my speaking exam which went quite well too, there was only one little sentence that i didnt know.
This evening I went to teach (again) and I just had to do a review lesson which was easy. But while I was at work I missed seeing Mr Tu. He'd come round to collect our rent, but aparantly he stayed for ages. He said that he wanted to be our friend as well as our landlord!
16th
This morning I went to uni for my last exam - listening. When we arrived the koreans came rushing over and told us everything that was in the exam which was pretty helpful. After the exam i took william into the centre of town. We went to people's square and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Then we had a walk up Nanjing Road and went to the bund. We went and got something to eat in Raffles (one of the big shopping centres near people's square) and then went back. We all went out to a jazz bar where they had a ladies night. It was really good, they had some really good live music and FREE drinks!! We went to zapatas after for some more free drinks. Before we went home we decided to have some tacos at zapatas (theyre so cheap and very yummy), and afterwards we wre very naughty and stole the plates to take home because we didnt have any.
17th
This morning I got up and waited for my plane tikets to arrive. Afterwards, william and I went to the centre of town. We went to xintiandi first which is an area where they have restored some of the old buildings, and its been turned into an area with nice shops and restaurants. Its also where the communist party had their first ever meeting! We had a wander round there and we decided to go to one of the posh chinese restaurants for lunch. We only had wonton soup and fried rice with pork, but it was sooooo good. William said they were the best wontons he's ever had!!!!
Afterwards we went to the Yu Gardens and had a wander around the old streets. The gardens were really pretty, and afterwards we went to the tea house. I had some nice flower tea and william had some wierd tea that i hadnt heard of before, but it was nice. When we were walking around the old town we found a 2yuan shop (14p) so we bought loads of crap stuff because it was cheap.
William wanted to buy an erhu which is a traditional chinese musical instrument, so we went to musical instrument street (the street with all instrument shops) and he managed to get one for only £20 which he was very excited about. And i saw a pink guitar which im going to go back and buy one day. We went to the market (my fave place) and william got some trainers which i managed to haggle down quite well.
We got the metro to carrefour and tried to find somewhere near there for tea, but everywhere was so busy and i was very tired and hungry, and i had a bit of a tantrum so we ended up eating at KFC. We went to carrefour and got a few things to take on our train journey tomorrow and then went home.
I managed to go to both classes this morning altho it was an effort. In speaking class we played chinese whispers for a bit which was good, but we had the old japanese man in our group and he was really slow so we kept losing.
Did a bit of revision this afternoon, and then this evening beki came back which was tres exciting.
11th
This afternoon Mr Tu came round because we'd texted him about a problem with one of our lights. He came round and said he would get us some new lightbulbs and bring them round soon. But he came back later that day and brought a man with him to mend the light. It was very exciting, I love Mr Tu!! He's so nice. He was asking us if everything was ok with the apartment and said if we have any problems he will sort them out for us.
12th
This morning instead of revising, I spent hours trying to organise mine and william's travel plans. This afternoon I went to teach. It was the naughty class so i wasn't really looking forward to it, but I had Eva as my assistant so it was fine. All of the children are really scared of Eva because if they say anything or dont do what i tell them to she goes mad and shouts at them. I had to teach them fruits and then I had to sing a song for about 45minuntes called "what to you like". The children weren't impressed with my singing.
14th
This morning I had my writing exam which went so badly. I actually thought it would be alright cos id done a bit of revision, but it was sooo difficult and i didnt know anything. I couldnt concentrate on the exam because william was arriving this morning, and Justin had very kindly agreed to go and meet him, but i was worried that there would be a problem and william would end up lost in shanghai.
I finished the exam pretty quickly and went back to my apartment to see if william had arrived, but he hadnt, and id completely forgotten that id given justin my key so i was locked out. Great!!! But they arrived half an hour later so it wasnt too bad. I took william for a little tour around where i live and around uni which im sure he found very exciting. We werent out for too long though because i had to come back and do some revision.
This evening I had to go and teach the naughty class. I had to sing a song about a monkey and do monkey actions which was very embaresing, but it kept the children amused.
15th
This morning I had my reading exam which i thought went quite well. I came back and took william to get some dvds and some food so he could amuse himself while i was revising. This afternoon I had my speaking exam which went quite well too, there was only one little sentence that i didnt know.
This evening I went to teach (again) and I just had to do a review lesson which was easy. But while I was at work I missed seeing Mr Tu. He'd come round to collect our rent, but aparantly he stayed for ages. He said that he wanted to be our friend as well as our landlord!
16th
This morning I went to uni for my last exam - listening. When we arrived the koreans came rushing over and told us everything that was in the exam which was pretty helpful. After the exam i took william into the centre of town. We went to people's square and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Then we had a walk up Nanjing Road and went to the bund. We went and got something to eat in Raffles (one of the big shopping centres near people's square) and then went back. We all went out to a jazz bar where they had a ladies night. It was really good, they had some really good live music and FREE drinks!! We went to zapatas after for some more free drinks. Before we went home we decided to have some tacos at zapatas (theyre so cheap and very yummy), and afterwards we wre very naughty and stole the plates to take home because we didnt have any.
17th
This morning I got up and waited for my plane tikets to arrive. Afterwards, william and I went to the centre of town. We went to xintiandi first which is an area where they have restored some of the old buildings, and its been turned into an area with nice shops and restaurants. Its also where the communist party had their first ever meeting! We had a wander round there and we decided to go to one of the posh chinese restaurants for lunch. We only had wonton soup and fried rice with pork, but it was sooooo good. William said they were the best wontons he's ever had!!!!
Afterwards we went to the Yu Gardens and had a wander around the old streets. The gardens were really pretty, and afterwards we went to the tea house. I had some nice flower tea and william had some wierd tea that i hadnt heard of before, but it was nice. When we were walking around the old town we found a 2yuan shop (14p) so we bought loads of crap stuff because it was cheap.
William wanted to buy an erhu which is a traditional chinese musical instrument, so we went to musical instrument street (the street with all instrument shops) and he managed to get one for only £20 which he was very excited about. And i saw a pink guitar which im going to go back and buy one day. We went to the market (my fave place) and william got some trainers which i managed to haggle down quite well.
We got the metro to carrefour and tried to find somewhere near there for tea, but everywhere was so busy and i was very tired and hungry, and i had a bit of a tantrum so we ended up eating at KFC. We went to carrefour and got a few things to take on our train journey tomorrow and then went home.
Wednesday 9 January 2008
Back in Shanghai
Sorry for not writing anything on my blog for ages
I havent really been doing anything exciting since ive been back
My exams start next week so im supposed to be revising, altho i seem to be spending most of my time trying to organise my travels. So far I have booked a sleeper train to Hong Kong and a hostel there, but thats about it. The sleeper train should be an interesting experience!
The most exciting thing since Ive been back was my trip to Carrefour. I bought exciting things like english butter, english chedder cheese, heinz tomato ketchup, heinz baked beans, and other nice proper food!!!
I shall make more of an effort to keep my blog updated, but Im afraid I dont think it will be very interesting until I go on my travels after my exams are over!
I havent really been doing anything exciting since ive been back
My exams start next week so im supposed to be revising, altho i seem to be spending most of my time trying to organise my travels. So far I have booked a sleeper train to Hong Kong and a hostel there, but thats about it. The sleeper train should be an interesting experience!
The most exciting thing since Ive been back was my trip to Carrefour. I bought exciting things like english butter, english chedder cheese, heinz tomato ketchup, heinz baked beans, and other nice proper food!!!
I shall make more of an effort to keep my blog updated, but Im afraid I dont think it will be very interesting until I go on my travels after my exams are over!
Saturday 8 December 2007
the new apartment
29th
Today I went for a run!!!
1st December
This morning we went to the christmas market. It was alright, not as exciting as I thought it would be, and everything was quite expensive. Got a few christmas gifts for people tho. This afternoon I was teaching and the first half of the class went really well, and my assistant just sat at the back and did nothing. But in the second half of my class I got Michelle as my assistant and shes so annoying because she always talks to the children in chinese when im trying to teach them and it just makes it impossible, and they all started shouting so I was having to shout over them.
2nd
This morning I got up early and went to work and I had to give everyone a test. But I was nice and gave everyone a good mark cos they all tried quite hard. Altho one of the children kept coming over when I was giving everyone their test and telling them the answers.
Didnt do anything else today.
4th
Today frankie and I went into town and frankie bought a saxaphone which was very exciting. We went to starbucks afterwards and they didnt have any hot chocolate, outrageous!!! But I had a nice cup of tea tho, altho it was the same price as a meal at some of the places near campus!
Went to work again this evening and I just had to review the whole book which was pretty easy, just played games for an hour and a half and sang various songs.
5th
This evening we took Beki to buy a bike, and then we cycled to our apartment to meet Mr Tu (our landlord). Some woman who also met us spent ages writing down what furniture and stuff there was in the apartment, and then we paid him our rent and we got our keys!!!!!
6th
Today I was lazy and only went to the second half of class. And then in speaking class today I actually had to speak which was a bit of an effort because usually I just sit at the back and dont say much. We went back to halls and started packing which didnt take too long, and then we got a taxi to our apartment and started to unpack everything. We didnt have time to buy bedding so we went back to halls and decided to stay there for another night. We went out tonight. We went round to our friends apartment first and played what was supposedly a traditional finnish drinking game. Basically you put a pack of cards on top of a beer bottle, and then in one breath you have to blow some cards off. And you lose if you dont blow any off, blow them all off or if you leave an Ace on top, it sounds pretty easy. but I couldnt actually blow any of the cards off, and then when I actually did I blew the whole pack off so I lost quite badly. After finishing a bottle of 60p chinese spirit (which was disgusting) we decided to go into town. However when we were leaving their flat we saw a little play area so I decided to go down the slide - but it was a bad idea because it had been raining and there was a big puddle at the bottom of it so i got quite wet.
We went to a club called MT club which wasnt that great. The music was good, but all the men were really pervy and at one point loads of random clowns on stilts came in and they set up a volleyball net across the dance floor and they started playing volleyball so no one could dance!!! We werent really enjoying it there, but there was another club downstairs called bonbon so we went there and saw the tallest man in the world again. There was a random dancing competition thing on the main dance floor and it was packed, but luckily we found a quiter dance floor near the back.
7th
This morning we got up and packed the rest of our things and left halls. But they wouldnt give us our deposit because we didnt have our receipts. So we packed the rest of the stuff onto our bikes and cycled to our new apartment to look for our receipts. Luckily frankie found hers and when we went back we both got our deposits back.
We went to ikea in the afternoon and get al new bedding and stuff, and we had a nice lunch there too. I went to tesco in the afternoon which wasnt as exciting as i thought it would be because it was the same as any other chinese supermarket.
Today I went for a run!!!
1st December
This morning we went to the christmas market. It was alright, not as exciting as I thought it would be, and everything was quite expensive. Got a few christmas gifts for people tho. This afternoon I was teaching and the first half of the class went really well, and my assistant just sat at the back and did nothing. But in the second half of my class I got Michelle as my assistant and shes so annoying because she always talks to the children in chinese when im trying to teach them and it just makes it impossible, and they all started shouting so I was having to shout over them.
2nd
This morning I got up early and went to work and I had to give everyone a test. But I was nice and gave everyone a good mark cos they all tried quite hard. Altho one of the children kept coming over when I was giving everyone their test and telling them the answers.
Didnt do anything else today.
4th
Today frankie and I went into town and frankie bought a saxaphone which was very exciting. We went to starbucks afterwards and they didnt have any hot chocolate, outrageous!!! But I had a nice cup of tea tho, altho it was the same price as a meal at some of the places near campus!
Went to work again this evening and I just had to review the whole book which was pretty easy, just played games for an hour and a half and sang various songs.
5th
This evening we took Beki to buy a bike, and then we cycled to our apartment to meet Mr Tu (our landlord). Some woman who also met us spent ages writing down what furniture and stuff there was in the apartment, and then we paid him our rent and we got our keys!!!!!
6th
Today I was lazy and only went to the second half of class. And then in speaking class today I actually had to speak which was a bit of an effort because usually I just sit at the back and dont say much. We went back to halls and started packing which didnt take too long, and then we got a taxi to our apartment and started to unpack everything. We didnt have time to buy bedding so we went back to halls and decided to stay there for another night. We went out tonight. We went round to our friends apartment first and played what was supposedly a traditional finnish drinking game. Basically you put a pack of cards on top of a beer bottle, and then in one breath you have to blow some cards off. And you lose if you dont blow any off, blow them all off or if you leave an Ace on top, it sounds pretty easy. but I couldnt actually blow any of the cards off, and then when I actually did I blew the whole pack off so I lost quite badly. After finishing a bottle of 60p chinese spirit (which was disgusting) we decided to go into town. However when we were leaving their flat we saw a little play area so I decided to go down the slide - but it was a bad idea because it had been raining and there was a big puddle at the bottom of it so i got quite wet.
We went to a club called MT club which wasnt that great. The music was good, but all the men were really pervy and at one point loads of random clowns on stilts came in and they set up a volleyball net across the dance floor and they started playing volleyball so no one could dance!!! We werent really enjoying it there, but there was another club downstairs called bonbon so we went there and saw the tallest man in the world again. There was a random dancing competition thing on the main dance floor and it was packed, but luckily we found a quiter dance floor near the back.
7th
This morning we got up and packed the rest of our things and left halls. But they wouldnt give us our deposit because we didnt have our receipts. So we packed the rest of the stuff onto our bikes and cycled to our new apartment to look for our receipts. Luckily frankie found hers and when we went back we both got our deposits back.
We went to ikea in the afternoon and get al new bedding and stuff, and we had a nice lunch there too. I went to tesco in the afternoon which wasnt as exciting as i thought it would be because it was the same as any other chinese supermarket.
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