So Now I'm in rainy Shanghai (23rd October)... I haven't updated the blog in ages because I can't access it in China and so even this post was written as an e-mail to myself to post when I am out of the country. Last time I left off I was just going to Mongolia... so much has happened in this time it's a bit daunting to have to try and catch up! Well, China has made a great impression since we/I got here. Basically we spent a couple of days in Ulaanbattar in Mongolia and then to a Ger camp in the wilderness of a national park (well it was wilderness but there was a golf course there!)... Mongolia was awesome... then we took a two day train to Beijing and shared a compartment with a Chinese boy with almost toxic smelling feet... the smell didn't bother me too much but Kate seemed to have a sensitive nose and came close to hurling a couple of times when her head came into close proximity with the boys' trainers... add to this the fact that I had a fairly heavy case of man flu during this train and it really added up to the worse train journey of the trip so far... In Mongolia our path crossed with that of another VodkaTrain group taking a slightly different tour to us... there was 24 of them and for this ill fated train journey they were in our carriage... At the Chinses/Mongolian boarder they change the wheeles of the train and for some reason a near carnival atmosphere erupted amongst the group of 24... as if a school trip had had their lunches spiked with more E numbers then a Skittles factory (of taste the rainbow fame)... as the party began, I lay in gloom and the the thick air of feet feeling sorry for myself (violins please)... ... but anyway, we got ther in the end and I got completely betterin a day or so (not without a consequential bout of apparently excessive snoring, to the dismay of those in my dorm)...
... but to China (I'll catch up with Mongolia in the fullness of time... for the moment, China is fresh in the mind)... China has made a really great impression on me and this is despite the VodkaTrain tour ending and me now being all on my Larry Todd ... (N.B. Just looked at bbc and read about all this Rooney crap... yawn... boy wants stupid wages so pretends he wants to leave... I wish he'd forced himself into a corner, had to leave, had no takers from the big teams and so had to join Bunyouncore in Uzbekistan (if you're a massive football geek like me, you'll know that team)) ... I spent about 6 days in Beijing, it was too long but still very enjoyable... I saw most of the touristy stuff: The great wall (beautiful and autumnial... must have been incredibly difficult to build... it's the greatest wall I've even seen... but it's still just a wall), the forbidden city (nice but a bit samey), The summer palace (a lovely lake), The birdsnest olympic stadium (you can ride Segways down the 100 meters strip... I didn't though, cost like 150Y (although this is only 15 pounds... sounds a bit stingey when I put it like that)), some park where an emporer hung himself (a lovley little park where Old people while away the hours... I especially enjoyed watching the 70+'s doing Ti Chi with what looked like real swords), Tian'men Squard (It was a crap square if I'm honest... a mere pretender compared to Red square... it may be bigger but size isn't everything... really it seems that China can't do squares... I went to the 'peoples square' in Shanghai today and it was actually a park!! ... but there again, maybe I was in the wrong place?), the silk market ("No, I don't want to buy a bloody Prada bag!") and much more... ... ... Chinese people seem happy and smiley and helpful and really nice... I know I've only experienced them in a certian context, as a potential customer, as a randomer etc but my impression is still positive... ... in fact I think I have been instilled with some magical powers here... I've had someone come up to me and say, "You are very handsome" not once, but TWICE! ... both time it was women aswell... blimey!! ... I think that is all the proof I needed that I am in fact some kind of studly man:) ... the other side of people coming up to you in Beijing is less enjoyable... it starts with a nice conversation about how they want to practice their English and asking where you've visited etc... then soon enough you get invited to some Art exhibition... then you get the hard sell of some crappy pictures... either traditional or "Modern art" (read 'Crap')... by the end of my time there I figured out where they were situated and the usual conversation would go as follows:
Chinese person: Hi
Me: I don't want to buy art.
Chinese person: Oh.
Me: Goodbye
... ... I'm gonna end this installment here... I don't want it to get rediculously long.
Keep well everyone:)
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