Travelling tales from China, places to go, observations and tips
I was woken up at 8am on my day off by my teaching assistant banging impatiently on my apartment door (anyone who knows how much I like my sleep, will know that this is starting badly!). “We need to leave urgently, you have to go to Son Yuan to get a new visa. Today!”. So…
Roy Walker’s classic quiz show catchphrase “It’s good but its not right” from the classic ‘80’s TV show of the same name, gets a regular outing in Asia, particularly China. From the “Spoony” shoulder bag of the loveable, black and white cartoon dog and “Boos” the well-known men’s aftershave, to the comedy translations found on…
Despite giving my passport to my ‘employer’ to get a work visa two weeks prior to its expiry, I found myself sitting at the Personal Security Bureau (PSB) in front of a stern but friendly enough immigration official questioning my intentions for the following 30 days. ‘Why do you want to stay in China?’, ‘What…
[slideshow] Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA) is not in Tianjin, nor is it 29 minutes by bullet train from Beijing as I was told when I accepted the job (whilst standing outside Hong Kong Botanical gardens in the pouring rain!). TEDA is an hour Chingway ride to Tianjin and half an hour from Tanggu (rough…
[slideshow]I LOVED Hong Kong. Despite a traumatic arrival, it was a place where acquaintances became life-long friends, I was re-energised to tackle the world and, above all, I had a really, really great time. After being put in touch with an old school mate through a mutual friend (Facebook does have some benefits), a suggested…
[slideshow] The general consensus on the best (and cheapest) way to get from China to Hong Kong was the sleeper bus to Shenzhen and then on the MTR…”It’s really easy and low cost. So straight forward you can’t go wrong.” Yeah right! Collected at 8pm from Monkey Jane’s by a tiny Chinese lady in a pink…
Despite being in central Shanghai – one of the most cosmopolitan and forward focussed metropolises in the world, finding basic toiletries such as deodorant was somewhat of a challenge. Antiperspirant, it seems, is not a common item in Shanghai, even in the most Western of stores. Having searched every supermarket, Seven Eleven and Family Mart in…
[slideshow] For some reason Shanghai was like my own personal Mecca. Arrival signified that I had made it overland across China and could do this traveling lark after all! It was a welcome (albeit brief) reunion of fellow Vodkatrainers, lost to individual itineraries for a few weeks. It also signified my first real taste of solo…
Sick and tired of travelling, feeling dirty, hungry and technically Chinese, after spending four days as one of the only two Westerners on a Chinese “cruise” boat down the Yangzi Jiang (Yangtze River), we stopped in a filthy car park in the middle of Yichang. Without so much as a chance to catch our breath, take in…
[slideshow] At Chongquing bus station, we were hurriedly handed our passes and bundled onto a coach full of over excited Chinese holidaymakers. Four hours later we arrived at Wanzhou to board the Yangtze River Cruise ship – and, if anyone is thinking luxury liner around the med at this point…don’t! Following the crowd down the…