Beijing pictures

Pictures from Beijing la!

Inside a guard tower on the Great Wall. (which really is great by the way!)

My great head sticking out of the great wall.

This is me and Nicolas inside the Forbidden City in central Beijing.

Without him being the guide I would have been lost without a doubt, it's a confusing city, especially if you can't speak the language!

Me at Tiananmen Square with the entrance to the Forbidden City behind me

A closer look at the entrance with Mao overlooking things

Speaking of which, here is some very patriotic Chinese graffiti

Me outside the gates to the Temple of Heaven with a couple of big knockers.

for a fraction over 1 quid you can eat an entire turtle at some food establishments. I'm sure the taste is 'unique'.

Whilst on the subject of food, anyone for duck? The two bits of meat on the head are taken from inside and are meant to be the best bits... yum.

Overall my impression of Beijing is hugely different to what i expected. It had far more modern western elements than I imagined. I walked past a Wall Mart, a Gucci store and loads of other similar western establishments that I never thought to see. Having said that, it is the first time in a while I have been in a country with no substantial colonial influence to its history. I can't begin to explain how much stuff I learnt and how interesting the city is. What i do know though is that if I visit there for the 2008 Olympics (which is my plan) the city will have changed vastly. I'm not joking when I say the entire place is being torn down and rebuilt ready for the games. It is changing things from taxi drivers having to learn English to the skyline of the city itself.

I need to write a big thanks to Nicolas who was my host and guide in Beijing. I know he reads this little blog so I have to say thanks to him for everything. Nicolas and his family friends were very welcoming and he was a brilliant guide in what could be a very confusing city. I know that without his local knowledge my time in Beijing would not have been half as worthwhile so. THANK YOU NICOLAS!!!

bx

Things you should know about Beijing

Things you should know about Beijing

1. If you wish to cross the road DO NOT assume that the green flashing man means it is safe to do so. Cars ignore this green man and make you wish you took out extra life insurance. This is especially true when crossing TEN LANES of traffic!
2. In Beijing taxi doors only open on the right.
3. If a structure is more than a few years old it will be pulled down in preparation for the Beijing Olympics
4. If a structure is new and shiny it will have been built for the Olympics
5. Do not use pictures to order food, unless you are happy eating the stomach of a duck
6. If you want to visit the great wall then be prepared to take a bus to the nearest town then barter with a complete stranger who owns a car to drive you there. Believe it or not there is no public transport route to the good parts of the great wall.
7. Don't worry about visiting any theme parks in Beijing. Just take a taxi and get the thrills and danger for a fraction of the cost.
8. Learn some of the language before you arrive. If I did not have someone who could speak Mandarin with me I would not have been able to even find a toilet without having to mime actions.
9. Be prepared to be stared at sometimes.
10. It is an amazing place.

I'm still in Beijing at the moment. I will fill you in on what I have got up to when I arrive in Hong Kong. Having a great time and it seems Robyn has some stories to tell me when I get back!

It's my birthday tomorrow!!!

bx

Busy busy busy

Sorry about the lack of posts, i'm recieving emails about it already so I thought I had best give a quick update. Robyn and myself have been pretty busy lately, she is organizing her school play (a cross between pinochio and cinderella) which should be very funny i'm told. I meanwhile have been getting ready for my trip to Beijing next week for my birthday, doing office stuff and teaching 100+ students how to dance the salsa. Yes you did read that last part right, part of a programme that our organization runs involves working with college sudents. Quite how i was persuaded to use the medium of English to teach a big hall full of them salsa (which i preformed with my very good teacher Rachel) is beyond me. But it happened and I can now do some very basic salsa steps. There are some pictures floating around that I ill get on here at some stage. In the meantime here is a pic of me and some of the college students.
Today (saturday) I have been at a school all morning helping out with an English funfair. It's pretty rare to work on a saturday morning but sometimes when schools have open days and stuff you lend a hand. It was really good fun though and afterwards I got a chinese massage at a place just up the road from our flat, which made it all seem worthwhile.

Tonight is a friends birthday party, so sunday will hopfully be spent sleeping on a beach! (weather permitting)

Anyway, Robyn has just walked through the door after a trip to Stanley so i'm going to annoy her now.

bx