Tea anyone?

Tea anyone?, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Well we're finally off out to enjoy our final day in Shanghai and indeed in China. I can't believe it's gone so quickly yet at the same time it feels like it's been a very long time since we were at home - I think we both miss everyone and there's a bit of us both that's hankering for a decent cup of tea :) We've both said that when we get home that's the first thing we'll want - to put the kettle on, get out the Tetley's and sit down and just have proper tea. LOL. We are such philistines aren't we? Although we have got quite partial to Jasmine tea if only for the smell alone. I shall be happy to offer anyone a cup of jasmine tea, who wants to try it, upon my return.

Stinky things

Stinky things, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Two things. Firstly we've noticed that most men, mainly the overweight ones, pull their shirts up and walk around like this rubbing their stomachs. Some younger lads do it but it's mainly the middle aged men. It's quite amusing to see but at the same time ... well it would be nicer if they didn't.

Secondly, we know we're good at bartering now because today we watched some Chinese people buying some of these stinky things. Remember the ones that we got 10 for ten, reduced at a good price for 5 for 10? Well she didn't do anywhere near as good as us - she got 3 for 10! I'm very pleased that I can barter better than a local! HA :)

Hutong, Beijing

Hutong, Beijing, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Beijing is full of these hutongs. Basically hutong means alleyway and they are just interconnected little alleys that are just communities. Some of them have lots of little shops in, others are more where people live but they are all connected like a huge maze. A few years ago there were thousands but now there are less than 400 left as they are pulling them all down to build new things for the Olympics. Everywhere you go there are just huge fences of metal and behind that you can see what's left of the buildings that were there once.
Apparently different worldwide groups are trying to get China to slowdown in their building works and telling them not to destroy all their history but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. I've never seen so much building going on in a city at once. I'm sure it will all look lovely when it's finished but you have to wonder at what cost. And I can also bet that however lovely it will look there will still be men hawking up all over it. :)

No honking

No honking, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

I know this won't mean much to anyone reading this blog but after being over here for more than 3 weeks one of the things we won't miss is the constant honking of car horns. Oh my God. It never stops. The weird thing is though it's never done in aggression like it is at home. If a car is driving along and someone is riding a bike that they're going to overtake then they'll toot a very times just to let them know - thing is there are hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians and then you've got the cars that they just overtake so it's a constant cacophany of tooting car horns that basically no one pays any attention to because everyone does it all the time.

Obviously, I needn't add that this is the only sign we've seen like this and of course no one was paying it any attention whatsoever. I've yet to find any road laws that anyone seems to obey anyway so why they would heed a warning sign I don't know - a red light doesn't really mean stop over here so a sign with a line through it isn't really going to cut it :)

No lookie!

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

We've started to realise that while it's ok for Chinese blokes to stare and stare and stare at us if you turn round and stare back or, even better, get the camera and take a photo of them, they really don't like it at all. It's quite a good plan actually because you don't even need to take the photo half the time :)

It means good luck, love and longevity

It means good luck, love and longevity, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Or so Wendy told us - I guess until we learn the language ourselves we'll just never know!

So this was at the fitting last night. Beth has got a skirt, a shirt, this jacket and a suit and we had to have them all tried on, altered and pinned before going out for dinner. We'll pick them up this afternoon.

This jacket is beautiful - there were loads of different silks to choose from but I liked this one most of all and I'm glad Beth chose it to have something made from - she's been after getting herself something Chinesified since we got here and I guess it can't be moreso than having something made especially :)

While trying my stuff on last night I managed to injure myself on all the pins that were pulling my trousers in and so I know have a huge scratch down my left thigh that is similar in length to the Great Wall of China. Nice.

Oh well - I got over the pain with a couple of beers in Hooters. All better now then.

Today we're off to visits Tian'anmen Square properly. We're not sure if we'll get in to see the frozen body of Chairman Mao and see if his ear really has fallen off or not - you're not allowed to take photos (I wonder why!) so I'll just have to let you know. Then we'll be going to visit some Hutongs (little alleyways with shops and foodplaces) and then we're going swimming before picking our clothes up. We may even take photos of us all dressed up with nowhere to go and post them on here later, just so you can see us in all of our tailor made finery! :)

See you all later my little lovelies
xxxx

Getting measured up

Getting measured up, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

As part of our Big China Adventure we decided we'd get some clothes tailor made for ourselves. So with that in mind we visited the Yashow Market - up near the Worker's Stadium - in Beijing. From all the different guide books we'd read it seemed like this was one of the better ones and the fact that they do stuff in two days fitted in with our itinery too.

So along we went on Saturday night - chose our material, got measured up by Wendy and then paid our deposit. I'm getting a suit and two shirts and Beth is getting two suits and a shirt. In total it's costing us just under £200. Not bad really. The suits are about £48 each and the shirts £8. We had to go back the next day for a fitting and we'll pick them up today (Monday). Our next problem is going to be how exactly we will fit them into our suitcases. I'm wondering if they can make us one of those too.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Yes we finally got there! After more than two weeks in China we got to visit the Great Wall.

It's just spectacular. That's the only way to describe it. We got a taxi from our hotel in Beijing to the section of wall in Mutianyu. It's about 55 miles north of Beijing and the second most popular part of the wall for visitors to go to. So we figured that that actually meant that hundreds, probably thousands, of people go there everyday so we did the sensible thing. We realised that most people go as part of a tour group and the tours don't leave Beijing until 9am. So we got up at 5 and left Beijing 3 hours earlier than them and I'm so glad we did. It was the best decision we've made all holiday.

We got there at 7.30am - it opens at 7 - and we didn't see another soul until about 8.30. We got a cable car up - more like a ski lift actually - one of those ones you have to jump on while it's moving and then just dangle your feet over the edge until the end when a little Chinese bloke grabbed us and unceremoniously dragged us off so we didn't end up going back down to the bottom again.

Once up there we were approached by a bloke who we though was some sort of ranger - he spoke to us in good english, took our photo with our camera and talked to us about the wall for a bit, saying how beautiful it was. After about 5 minutes of chatting he asked if we'd like to buy some carved walnuts his brother had made. Yeah right. Unless his brother has a plastics factory somewhere in Beijing I doubt very much that his brother carved them by hand... Needless to say we got two and were pleased to see, when we reached the bottom later on - that his brother had been very hard at work and they were indeed available on every souvenir stall we passed - all 100 of them!

However the wall itself is far harder work than I had envisioned. It climbs up and down - really steeply - in a lot of places and although this section of the wall has been renovated so it's 'safer' for visitors, there are still parts of it that you literally have to climb up on all fours.

Another good reason for getting there early was the heat. By half 8 it was already scorching hot and with all the climbing we were doing it felt hotter than anything we'd been walking in whilst we've been here. In fact we've had the best weather since we've been in China - we have only seen rain once, on our last night in Shanghai when England played Germany. Apart from that - it's been bright sunshine the whole time.

So the Wall itself is very difficult to describe really - it is just that - a huge huge wall stretching for 4000 miles. A lot of it is dilapidated and unpassable but some parts, like the bit we visited, have been restored and you can get an idea of what it was once like the whole way along. It really is just incredible and both of us could have just stood and looked at it for hours as it twisted and turned over mountain ridges. Every now and then, you'd catch sight of another watchtower way off in the distance on a peak and you'd realise that it's just another part of it and it's all connected.

The only problem is, with all the pollution in Beijing, and China in general, you can't see half the mountains you should be able to see for the haze - it really is that bad. You can see it in the air - or really it's more what you can't see that makes you realise how bad it is. Both of us were wheezing climbing up the Wall yesterday and you can feel it on your chest all of the time. I don't know what they are going to do in time for the Olympics but they need to sort it quickly or the athletes are all going to suffer.

Beijing Metro

Beijing Metro, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Yes, we figured if we can find out way around the London Underground we can do it anywhere. We had a lot of strange looks but it's easy enough - get this - there are only 3 lines, red blue and yellow. The stations are all in Chinese and English and it only costs about 14p each per trip. I hope you're reading this Mayor Ken!! 14p - no matter where you're going. Not bad value for money I'd say, even if you do get stared at for having freckles and being western :)

Chairman Mao

Chairman Mao, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Overlooking the very huge and beautiful Tian'anmen Square 30 years after his death. His face is still on every bank note and everywhere you look there are photos of him - Chairman Mao is still, very much, China.
Behind this building (you walk through tunnels - I think you can just see them underneath each of the red signs on either side) is the Forbidden Palace - so this whole area is just massive. The square on it's own is the size of 63 football pitches - the biggest public square in the world. I would hate to guess at how big the Forbidden Palace is. It just went on and on and on. Building after building, all beautiful in it's own way.

This isn't the square by the way - I'll have to post a photo of that later or tomorrow - this is just the exit / entrance to it. The place is just vast and to get to the square you have to either risk your life crossing a 6 lane road or use one of the underpasses.

We decided to just hop on the underground and try to get away from the crowds - not an easy task in a city with about 800 billion people!

Off on our travels again

Off on our travels again, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

After arriving in Pingyao late at night (well it was dark anyway and no one was about) we decided we'd get our train tickets then and there for the following day while the ticket office was empty. It was only then that we found out that you're unable to buy anything but hard seat tickets (basically think cattle class and then minus about 100 from it) - people hanging out of windows, sitting on top of each other and smoking the whole way. We could get those tickets no problem - and sit there for 10 hours.

So off we trundled with no tickets in hand wondering how on earth we were going to get out of Pingyao. We thought we'll leave it to the hotel, they'd definatey be able to get us some 'soft-sleeper' tickets.

No they couldn't - apparently Pingyao station isn't allowed to sell them. For whatever reason I can't imagine - maybe they've been bad in the past or something, but there you go, the station is no allowed to sell soft-sleeper tickets so every poor sod that leaves Pingyao by train does so and ends up with an achey arse and probably quite a few new friends.

We decided that our only option then was to get a plane from Taiyuan - about 50 miles from Pingyao and the only way to get there was by taxi. So that's what we did. At 2.30pm on Friday we were picked up by a lovely taxi driver and all the girls from the Yide Hotel came and saw us off and waved us goodbye and off we set on our travel again.

It was quite a nice journey for the first half an hour and then we noticed, in the mirror, that our driver was falling asleep. I guess we'd not really noticed before that he was changing lanes a little erratically because, well, that's just very normal here. But then we saw him in the mirror and his head was dropping and his eyes were completely closed until he'd snap his head back up and pull the car back over. Problem being, just as this started to happen we also found the motorway to be much busier than it had been.

Hmm - what do you do when you have a driver you can't talk to in order to keep him awake? Well I started coughing quite loudly and we both started talking much more loudly and laughing at completely inappropriate moments but I guess it just wasn't working so in the end we did the only thing we could think of and just as he fell asleep and looked destined to go up the car in front's arse I shouted "Wooooooaahhhhh". :)

It seemed to do the trick and then we got our phrase book out and in our best Chinglish accent asked him if he was ok, was he tired and did he need to stop. He seemed pleased that we were talking to him anyway and so I took the opportunity to get him to teach me my 1-10 in Chinese. I already sort of knew it anyway but he seemed more than happy about it and I don't know whether it was the fact that at 37 I was only just learning how to count or if it was my very odd accent that did it but it made him laugh anyway.

Luckily we didn't have far to go and he took great pleasure in pointing out the countdown in KMs to the airport until we finally got there. I hope he got back ok .... we told him to be careful and to have a sleep but he just laughed and drove off.

At least I learned how to count to twenty though :)

Chinese men perch

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Yep they do. And they do it anywhere. You walk along the street and it just seems that anywhere you look there will be one or two men just perching - sometimes just watching the world going by or having a fag, sometimes chatting, sometimes waiting for a bus but whatever they are doing you can guarantee they'll be hankered down and balancing perfectly. I keep trying it but I don't seem to have the knack yet - I'm going to keep practicing though.

One way to get rid of a cold

One way to get rid of a cold, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Beth has had a bad cold for the past few days and had read in a book she's reading at the moment that if you go and have your back scraped - although it's painful - your cold will be gone by the next day. So last night in Pingyao we went to have a foot massage - very very nice. The woman doing Beth's feet asked if she had a cold and then said she needed a back scraping. So after a little deliberation Beth decided she would do it - at least that way she would (a) know what it was like and (b) hopefully get rid of her cold.
So she went and had it done after we'd eaten dinner. They scraped her back for about 10 minutes and then decided they should do some cupping too. Thing with cupping is, it leaves your back looking like this for about a week! Beth says it's not too sore, a couple of them are a bit tender but this is what everyone in China does when they have a cold so we have our fingers crossed it's going to work.
It's the following day as I'm writing this and the cold is definately better than it was but not gone completely so we're hoping it'll be gone by tomorrow ...

The toilet facilities on the train ...

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

OK so we're on a massive huge train going from Xi'An to Pingyao. We've now been on it for 7 hours and it's actually been a really nice trip. I was dreading it thinking it was going to be boring and hot and horrible and apart from me not being able to have a wee it's been brilliant. Well that's not true - I could have had a wee and in fact I did right at the start of the journey but it's a hole in the floor straight through to the track and because of that it clearly states "NO OCCUPYING WHILE STABLING" but the thing is I don't understand the announcements that probably said - we're coming in to a station - so I didn't know that. So I went in. It wasn't very nice and then halfway through me realising that I cannot aim where I'm peeing to save my life (these trainers are being thrown away when I get home) we pulled into a station! There's me trying desperately to squat, hold my trousers out of the way, trying to wriggle my feet so I'm not pissing on them and holding onto the bars on the wide open window and we pull to a stop - with a platform right there!!! Oh my god. All I can say is I'm glad Chinese people are quite small and that it was only the tops of their heads I could see. I'm not sure how much of me they saw but whatever they saw I'm sure it wasn't very nice. God bless network rail and their wonderful chemical toilets.
(This was written on Wednesday when we were travelling from Xi'An to Pingyao).

The Terracotta Warriors

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

OH.MY.GOD.
They are just brilliant. Beautiful. Wonderful. Amazing. Pick any word and it will describe the warriors. No photo could ever do them justice and just the sheer scale of them is unbelievable. It's like a huge aircraft hangar they are in so it's lovely and big and light and you just walk all around the outside of them. Some of them - a lot of them - have been perfectly restored, others have been left as they were unearthed, broken into a hundred pieces and all piled up on top of each other. I can't believe that these statues were built two thousand years ago. They were supposed to be buried when the Emperor died but it sounds like he wasn't the most popular person and when he died suddenly, while inspecting the site, his dynasty was overthrown and the new bloke on the job sent in his troops to smash the warriors up and burn everything before burying them. So that's what they did and that's why nothing was ever written about them. There doesn't seem to be any written evidence about them before they were uncovered in 1976. The whole area has been done brilliantly and it was just staggering to see it for myself. I guess I can tick that off the list of things to do before I die :)

Sunglasses

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

No one wears sunglasses. And I mean no one. We've been here for two weeks now and have probably seen thousands and thousands of people - yesterday we saw two traffic policemen in the middle of the street in Xi'An directing the traffic and they were wearing them - they were the first Chinese people we've seen since we've got here. I know. I noticed it on the second day and have been looking ever since. I was quite excited to see them yesterday. I want to know why.

The magic mountains

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

I have no idea what they are really called but I think they should be called the Magic Mountains. They are everywhere here but these ones are the ones directly in front of our hotel and our view from the room. They are beautiful. They get quite hazy during the day just from the heat I guess but in the morning and at night you get the most beautiful view and you could just sit looking at them for hours.

First thing in the morning if you sit and listen you can hear all sorts of birds and animals calling from them. This whole area is very rural. Unfortunately there is a little town just about 15 minutes away that is just solely designed for tourists and is a nightmare to go into but come out this far to our hotel and there's nothing. It's beautiful and relaxing and I'd love to stay here another few days but unfortunately, as I'm writing this, I'm sat in the lobby waiting for the taxi to take us back to the airport.

Next stop Xi'An. Our flight is at 7.45pm and then we'll be somewhere different again.

I love China. What a fantastic place and what a great holiday this is turning into :)

I'm going to miss this view so much though! Oh well, I've got the photos and I've got a feeling I may well be coming back here...

Tuk tuk tuk tuk

Tuk tuk tuk tuk, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

We didn't see these in Shanghai but they are brilliant. I want one.

Everyone rides one over here. They are basically a motorbike with a box attached round them that can carry two passengers in the back - or tons of stuff that you wouldn't be able to get in a lorry :)

Basically everything and everyone travels quite slowly so no one has to look if they're pulling out, they just pull out and if there's anyone behind then they'll just pull out around them and if that means you're on the other side of the road with cars and bikes coming towards you - so what? :)

Coming in to land

Coming in to land, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Taken from the plane window on the little camera so not the greatest photo in the world but I just wanted a photo of all the paddy fields and how green they all are! It's the strangest sight as you fly over them - green, really green, as far as you can see and then weird little mountains. This is just as we were coming in to land at Guilin airport in Southern China - more in the middle of the country (East/West) and much further south than Shanghai.

The heat here is much more oppressive too - far more humid than Shanghai and just hotter all round. It's a beautiful place we're in though. It took us an hour and a half to get here by taxi but it was a nice journey and we got to see plenty of small, non-touristy towns on the way - oh and loads of really really stupid driving :)

Some things are not just restricted to Shanghai :)

A little too much beer perhaps?

A little too much beer perhaps?, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

In one of the now famous - with us anyway - Shanghai taxis. After a little too much beer. Actually I found that travelling this way is actually far more relaxing than getting in one totally sober. I didn't worry once on this journey.

We did have some great trips while we were there though - taxi drivers and cyclists and mopeds alike all seem to go where they want when they want. There doesn't seem to be any speed limits and for the most part nothing seems to stop when the lights turn red.

As for mopeds, well they all drive on the road and the pavement and just spend their entire time with their hand on the horn to let you know they are there and for you to get out of the way.

Oh we also had a row with a taxi driver on Thursday. We kept getting charged different amounts to come back from the same place. The first time it cost us 18Yuan (£1.20) the second time about £1.80 and the third time the ruthless little bugger wanted to charge us 35 Yuan (£2.10!) The cheek.

So we refused to pay him that much saying it was way too much - he just say there shrugging and pointing to the meter saying that's how much it was. So in the end we gave him 25 and told him that was all he would get.

When we got in the hotel I went to the front desk and asked them how much a taxi should cost from Pudong to the hotel. What were we told? About 35-40Yuan.

Oops.

Come on England!

Come on England!, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

I've just realised I've not posted anything yet about the England games! Duh.

Well as you can see from the photo - taken at half time - there is plenty of support for England. The Chinese have got loads of kids that come along to fill the seats up, all dressed up the same - in some kind of white uniform - and if it rains they all pull on the same colour raincoat/pacamac sort of thing but the weird thing is they are in blocks of colours. So everyone sitting in one block of seating will have orange, the next block will be in blue, then yellow and so on. It's all so uniform it's very odd.

But anyway the games so far have been brilliant - lots of fun both watching and after the game. Actually the first game I wasn't feeling too brilliant so we didn't hang around afterwards but the second game, against Germany we had a great time. Absolutely no idea what time we go back to the hotel but I do know that we drank plenty and met lots of new people - no idea now what any of their names are but I'll pretend that I remember :)

So the next match is in Chengdu but we won't be there - we're hoping we'll find a bar with it on in Xi'An before we catch the overnight train to Pingyao.

Our house in Shanghai

The Astor House Hotel, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

I guess I should have posted this sooner but this is inside the hotel we were staying in while we were in Shanghai. The Astor House Hotel is described in all the travel books as "a backpackers paradise" but I'm not sure where they get that from - it's not overly expensive but it's not the £2 a night that you pay in a hostel over here either.

The best way to describe this hotel is like a really old lady who was once the queen of the scene :) It's been patched up and painted over in more places than I could count but the basis is all there and you can see what a wonderful hotel it once was - and still is.

We're now thinking of changing our booking for the end of the holiday. The hotel we're booked into is three times the cost of this one and in a really crappy area. Not by Chinese standards, but by ours. And we both really loved the Astor House Hotel. I'm thinking we're going to go online and change our booking :)

Oh did I mention the porters all wear kilts? No idea why and they are like no kilts I've ever seen before - they come down almost to their ankles :) I'll get a photo when we go back and you shall see what I mean.

One last thing for today

On the ferry on the way home, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

If you have to take your own toilet paper with you. Please do. Do not take Kleenex Balsam.

It just isn't a good idea - it's meant to make your nose feel better - it does not work for your noo noo :)

Right I'm out of here - going to go and have a drink and get ready to cheer the girls on tomorrow night at 8pm. Oh and did I mention that I have still not got my voice back from shouting on Tuesday evening? Ooops. Better shout less tomorrow - as long as we beat the Germans I won't have to shout too loud will I?

Laters my little lovelies :)

xxxx

Well and truly had ... again :)

Well and truly had ... again :), originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Ok so I've already explained that the Shanghainese have an ability to pick us out of a crowd and sell us any old tut right? Well today they did real good.

Three very nice, very well spoken students approached us as we came out of People's Square and were just taking a moment having a sit and a drink to cool down. They started chatting away in perfect English and after chatting to us for about 10 minutes asked if we wanted to go with them to a tea ceremony about 5 minutes down the road.

I thought something might be up but figured as long as I was aware of it nothing too bad could happen - good job.

It was actually really nice but we were told before we started that it would cost 38 Yuan (approx £2.50) per tea we tasted each and £2 each for the tea ceremony itself.

After 6 teas I was completely aware that the three of them were obviously on a commission so waited for the final bill to come along - and as predicted they suggested that as they are students would we mind paying half the bill and the would pay the other half. This was after we had refused to buy any tea to take with us as ridiculous prices.

So, although it went against everything I usually do, I just said that we couldn't do that because we were travelling and on a tight budget so they would have to pay for themselves. They didn't seem too happy but couldn't really do much about it. Doubt they worried too much as they got about £40 out of us for an hour and a half.

We were a bit annoyed to start with, after we got out of there, but then I figured that we had actually had a really nice time and had got to try loads of different teas that we probably wouldn't have managed - including this one with a flower in it. Not quite Tetley's but it's quite close :)

Tomorrow I shall find out how we'll be had again and shall let you know - these little Shanghainese, they very very crafty little buggers but I can be craftier! :)

How do they know we're tourists?

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Oh my god we are getting fleeced left right and centre at the minute. LOL we are trying so hard to not look like tourists but I don't know whether it's the map in hand, the Time Out city guide or the lack of communication skills, but somehow the Shanghai locals are figuring us out and they will not leave us alone.

Every second step we get someone showing us pictures of "nice Rowlex, puma, trainers, bags ladies?" It seems that although everyone understands no thanks, it doesn't actually matter as when they do eventually leave you alone, someone else will come along and ask the same question. We're trying not to be rude and let the side down but it is getting increasingly difficult.

Now this girl - and loads more like her are just out to get as much as they can from us and they aren't doing too bad but we're getting real good at this haggling thing. This one started off asking us for 100 Yuan for 2. Hmmmmm didn't seem like a bad deal until we remembered that the night before we'd been offered the same thing for 1 Yuan. So I asked her and she was laughing and then offered me 1 for 50. Getting closer. I then said to her 10 for 10 at which point she laughed but agreed. As I'm getting the money out of the bag Beth heard what was going on and said "Do we need 10? Surely five would be enough?" :)

Funnily enough the girl who's English up until that point wasn't great, certainly understood that bit and agreed that five was enough - as long as we still paid 10 Yuan for them :)

It has to be said that we didn't really need 10 anyway even if they do smell really nice :)

Stay tuned for the next fleecing episode - it's already happened I just need to tell you about it ....

Awwwww :)

Awwwww :), originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Everyone is so proud of their babies - they even ask you to take photos of them sometimes. To be honest I think that is just a ruse to take a longer look at the weird western ladies but hey - we like to think it's because they are proud of their babies.

Kipping on the job

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Everyone, but everyone seems to kip on the job in China. Well not actually on the job but in every given break they have. And it doesn't seem to matter where they land, that's where they'll sleep - if you look, this bloke even has a fag half way through. I stood and watched him for a minute or so and he never moved. Not sure if he just wakes up when the fag burns him and that's how he knows his break is over or not but I have to say - even I, the master sleeper, am deeply impressed by the Chinese ability to sleep. I am going to investigate further ....

Oh and sorry I'm not able to blog every day - we're on holiday - we get in late - we've been drinking. Sometimes I'm just not able to type :)

Beth's not-quite-vegetarian vegetarian meal

Beth's not-quite-vegetarian vegetarian meal, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Bwahh haaa haaa

Yep. This was Beth's best 'vegetarian' dish so far. Mange tout with a sneaky bit of salami mixed in :)

Luckily she's not freaked out by it and they were big enough that she could pick these bits out :)

OH and another thing, I've no idea if this blog is working as I can only write it from Flickr and I can't access it from the blog page as a lot of things are blocked in China so if someone gets a minute can you send me an email at sazzab@mac.com to let me know if it is posting or not.

Thanks

Room for a little one?

, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

Well, we finally made it. After months of waiting we're here in very very sunny and hot Shanghai. My god it's a busy place, so many people and luckily we've done pretty well in being able to communicate as a lot of people have pretty good English - better than our Mandarin anyway although we have been trying with the aid of a phrase book. We're making a lot of Chinese people very amused :)

Hey at least we're trying! :) In restaurants we're ending up just pointing at pictures and words in the book - it works!

Oh and this photo isn't how we get around the city but it is quite a common site to see someone riding a bike with this much stuff on it - basically if two people can lift something then it can fit on a bike and be ridden around :) I'll get some more photos to show you.

Will post again later as I"ve found a great little internet cafe right in the hotel. Actually I'll go and get some photos of the hotel while Beth is asleep. I've had breakfast, tea, orange juice and she's fast asleep :)

All packed up

365_241, originally uploaded by sazztastical.

YAYYYY

I'm all packed and ready to go.

I'm hoping that Beth is too - she's coming over in the morning as she had too much to do to get over here tonight. I can't believe it's finally here - well almost :)

Is it Christmas yet?

It feels like Christmas Eve - well apart from the fact that it's not December, it's not cold and there's no decorations or presents anywhere. APART from that it feels like Christmas Eve and I can't wait for tomorrow to get here.

Beth is still at home packing up her room as her parents are leaving while we're away, so she had to get all of that done PLUS buy a house PLUS pack for the holiday.

Oh well - it'll all have to be done one way or another by tomorrow because then we'll be leaving. 2.35 sharp (I hope) from Heathrow and we'll be flying for about 13 hours and arrive in Shanghai about 8.30am on Sunday morning which is 1.30am in London. We're going to be tired little bunnies but excited ones too who will just want to go on the fastest train in the world (430mph) and then try to find a taxi driver who knows where our hotel is. I have a feeling we could be looking for some time.

So, until I manage to get online again I shall bid you au revoir :)

Less than a week to go

OH.
MY.
GOD.

I can't believe that after planning this trip for over a year it is almost upon us and I've still not got everything organised! You would have thought that with 12months + I would have every minute planned out wouldn't you? But no. Not a bit of it.

Well it's not that bad - I've got most of it planned and know where we'll be for the most part, I just haven't booked all of the hotels and flights and trains yet. I figure that it'll be done before we leave on Saturday.

I'm a bit mixed at the minute with how I'm feeling about it. On the one hand I am so excited at the prospect of going on a big adventure to a country I've not been to before. I'm also excited about being away for almost 4 weeks. But at the same time I am finding the whole communication thing a bit daunting. Everything I read about travelling in China says the same thing - don't expect to be able to find people who speak English - they are not everywhere. How is that possible? :) I thought everyone spoke English so I don't have to learn any other language. But apparently no, that's not the case in China.

I have just found out though that because of the Olympics in Beijing next year, every student going to University in China has to pass an English exam or they don't get it. Wow. Can you imagine if everyone who was going to university in this country had to pass an exam in Chinese? I reckon all the universities would close down within a year. Bwahh haaa haaa

So I have my fingers crossed we'll actually be able to talk to people when we get to Beijing and Shanghai.

I guess the next time I post here will be when I'm in China - if I'm able to. I'll try ....

Just over a month to go

Well it won't be long until we set off on our Big Adventure to China. Originally the main reason for us going was to watch the Women's World Cup as England qualified for the first time in 12 years. And while we are going to watch the ladies play their matches, that seems to have taken a backseat as the main reason for going.

I realised when we first started planning this trip that I had absolutely no knowledge of China whatsoever. I'd heard of Beijing and Shanghai and that was the start and end of my knowledge. Reading about places and cities over there I am overwhelmed with the amount of huge cities there that I've never even heard of and trying to decide just where we're going to get to and how many places we'll actually get to see is one of the hardest things ever.

What we do know is that our trip will start and end in Shanghai. We know that we're going to Beijing for a few days and we'll also get to see the Terracotta Army in Xi'An. Apart from that we're a bit undecided but a decision is going to have to be made soon as to what route we're going to take and what cities we are going to visit as we need to book hotels.

Oh what to do and where to go .... quite a nice predicament to be in to be honest.