Map stuff - where we've been and all that...

Got an hour to kill this evening, so just having a go at embedding a map of places we've been/going to in Beijing into one of these posts.

At the moment it just has a placemark for our lovely hotel, as well as for a couple of the sites we've visited (Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City). You may have to zoom out a notch or two to see all 3. Click on the placemarks for more info (if we've had the time to add it) and maybe a photo if you're really lucky! :-)

If it works out OK and doesn't take too long on a regular basis (and if people like it), then maybe I'll continue to do it for the other places we visit.

Namaste!


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We've only gone and got 'em！

... The visa extensions, I mean.

What a palava, honestly! But that's a tale for another time - I doubt our tale of woe will be bringing you, dear reader, to the verge of tears.

Thankfully we no longer need to stress and fret over whether the nasty man from the visa office was going to kick us out of the country (with a £50 per person per day fine thrown in for good measure for overstaying our welcome!).

Passports - and control over our own destiny - back firmly in our own hands.

Namaste!

The 127th Annual Beijing Spitting Contest

This long-standing and popular competition takes place each year towards the end of November in the grand setting of Tiananmen Square, not far from where Chairman Mao used to be cheered by the book-waving crowds.

Prizes are awarded in different categories: Distance, Volume (capacity - measured by the beakerful of phlem collected from the pavement), and Volume (noise - measured by the number of birds startled from their once-restful perches by the throaty, gutteral hucking sound that precedes the spit). A new category is proving especially popular apparently: Dry-Spit Duration (the longest continuous spitting sound that can be produced, but without actually spitting). Perhaps the 'enjoyment' in this case is somewhat similar to the Fruit Pastilles advert - can you eat a whole one without chewing?

Unfortunately Haze and I won't be in Beijing to witness the festivities first-hand as we depart for Xi'an tonight, but it's been delightful witnessing the locals undertake their preparations and training with such relish. In our time here we've probably seen people capable of podium finishes in all categories - I've even been tempted to cheer on some occasions!

On a separate but related note, Haze has promised me on a number of occasions that if anyone dares to spit in her vicinity when we're on public transport then she will insist (language barrier be damned!) that they clear it up there and then. I'm wondering whether such cirucumstances will arise - I for one will be interested in seeing the sparks fly - be sure, dear reader, I will keep you informed of any developments!

Namaste!

Pete fell down a manhole - but he's OK!

So we were strolling around a park, minding our own business, when Pete gave a yelp! and half his body disappeared down a manhole, lucky for him he was able to pull himself out with only minor grazes to his ankle and slightly bruised pride.

Been in Beijing now for 16 days and we leave tomorow on a hard seat night train to Xian to see some pottery soldiers. i am told they are worth the journey.

Been to most sights now and we have eaten so many dumplings we are in danger of becoming dumplings.

People here are helpful but i am managing to put into use my G.C.S.E in bad drawings, today I drew a boat and a large parcel at the post office. Tony Hart would be proud of me.
Hazel xx

Great place - shame about the visa bods

Just wanted to fire off a quick post so that people know we're alive and well.
Everything here is really cool - we're both loving it. Have done a lot of the tourist things so far: Great Wall, Forbidden City, food markets, Silk Street, etc etc.

Gotta go for now - Hazel wants us to head off to the park!

Days 1 & 2: Leaving UK, arriving in China

We'd both quit our jobs at the end of September, giving us the first few days of October (2nd-7th) to go to France for Ian and Collette's wedding, then 3 nights staying at Nick and Marsha's flat in Moseley (our flat was being rented out from the start of October), before getting our flight to China on Saturday lunchtime.

Despite our best efforts (well, mostly on Hazel's part!) to get us organised weeks and months in advance, there were still a few last-minute issues to resolve before leaving. Not the least of which was N-Power assuring us that our close-of-account gas meter reading requires we pay them over £5,000, also my car insurance insisting my policy wouldn'that in order to add another driver to my policy would require them to fax the form to me and me fax it back - not something I wanted to be doing at 9 am Saturday when our flight leaves in 3 hours! The final straw was opening a letter on Saturday morning from Direct Line, who regrettably had to inform us that despite us specifically asking before we took out our Pet Insurance policy with them (for our 2 cats) that no, the policy would be void if we leave them in the care of a friend or relative. All things considered, you can understand why I'm delighted to put my troubles behind me (some would say 'grinning like an idiot) in the shot below as we prepare to board our plane:

Emirates totally lived up to expectations. Our 14 hours of flying time was nicely split by a 3-hour stop at Dubai - whose duty free was less than I expected unfortunately. I managed to squeeze in Hancock, Prince Caspian and The Happening on the 2 flights, and we arrived at the new, impressive (biggest in the world?) terminal at Beijing Airport at about lunchtime on Sunday.

Rather than get a 150 Rmb taxi from the  airport into the city (at 12 Rmb to  the pound that's about £12 or so), we were rather pleased with ourselves to 'do the traveller thing' and get the bus instead. 45 minutes - and a few frayed nerves - later, and everyone piles out at some place we know is near to Beijing Railway Station - except we can't see the station anywhere. After fighting off the overly enthusiastic approaches of a man with a shabby, dilapidated tricycle to take us to our hotel we instead get some very helpful people to give us a steer. The web site through which we'd booked our hotel (www.chinahotelsreservation.com, I think) provides an invaluable service on their site: when your booking is confirmed they email you a 1-page printable document that says in Chinese and English "Please take me to hotel blah", and the address of the hotel as well. Through this info our helpful passers-by tell us to go to the nearby subway, and get line 2 to Xuanwumen.

20 minutes later we're at Xuanwumen, although still none-the-wiser as to where our hotel may be - the web site isn't yet advanced enough to provide a map! It's now getting dark and all the taxis seem to be busy. So we get a pedestrian to assist, and he flags a cab, speaks to the driver (conversations of this sort seem to take twice as long as in England for some reason), and we're then in the cab for the brief ride up the road to where the hotel is... supposedly. After being given a bum-steer by a couple of people, and dragging our bags down the intimidating-at-first-but-fine-once-you're-used-to-it alleyway, the Hedong Hotel rises magnificently out of the darkness in front of us.

Surprisingly un-jet-lagged, we check in, the pop back out to the alleyway to one of the restaurants to grab some dinner before bed.

Here's a picture of us both getting on famously with the locals. If only our food ordering skills were as good, then perhaps our first meal in China wouldn't have consisted of rice with bits of egg in, with a side dish of broad beans in vinegar... Ah well, can't win 'em all!

Namaste!

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The fun starts here...

Finished job yesterday.
Packed up and left flat today.
Flying to France tomorrow for a pre-traveling wedding.
Supping on fine wine with Nick and Marsha tonight...

Life is good. :-)

px.