Chinese new year, Beijing and various visitors

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!!