It's (finally) beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Photos

Season's Greetings!

Just a short one to basically round up before I go on holiday. Last weekend was a taste of the old stuff and we went to listen to an old-style Rockabilly band. And I am amazed to report that Elvis is alive and well, and in Beijing! He's had a bit of work done but he sounds as good as ever. All the girls were rather taken with him and I did have a fight on my hands to make him my own. I felt I deserved him most though cause I did get all dressed up for the occasion...

So, as it's officially freezing now (we had out first snow day on Monday), I'm escaping the winter and heading to Singapore and Malaysia for Christmas holidays. Singapore to see some old friends, and Sarawak to see Bornean Bearded Pigs. I'm heading to Bako National Park, Malaysia's oldest National Park, to see Proboscis Monkeys, Hornbills, pitcher plants, mud skippers and trek the natural beauty of Borneo. I leave tomorrow so I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Eat much. Laugh often. Hug a loved one.

P.S. I'll leave you all with a taste of my favourite comic strip, Christmas style...

Improv - The Art of Making it Up as You Go Along

Photos


A weekend of creative arts and performances, Saturday night was the Beijing Improv troupe's show "Ice Cold and Unscripted", which gave me my first chance to see Vinny do his thing. The first rule in Beijing is if Vinny invites you something then, GO. And since I've not been to an improv night in years I wasn't going to miss it.



My neighbour Cyril survived his month long journey through Kazakhstan and the frozen wastes of Siberia so I dragged him along too. He bought me a furry hat (how did he know about my fetish for furry hats?) and combining it with the wig I bought that afternoon with Tash at the Russian Markets, I looked a true Ruski.

My mission to go incognito that night failed miserably. Those who knew me wondered where all the hair came from, and those who didn't wondered "who's the girl in the fabulous furry hat?" Well, I may have added the 'fabulous' part, but it IS fabulous. The Improv was great, and Vinny is a very talented man.





Afterwards, we went to see a great band "Dead Roses" with a very charismatic lead vocalist in a stunning little silk dress with great pink pumps. I was also introduced to cheap drinks at the Boat Bar (inventively named as it's a bar in the belly of an old boat) and sauntered all the way home when we couldn't find anything else open.

That night, I also had my first taste of my 2 minutes of fame. I met a few new Couch Surfers at improv, and while speaking to one he sort of squinted at me and said, "Hey, aren't you the girl on the cover of That's Beijing?" (which is quite impressive as I was in disguise). Yes, the new issue of the magazine is out and well, I'm one of the people on the cover. The link to the cover and summary is here (click the "Current Issue" tab near the top and scroll down a little) and the article is here.

At Improv and at Swing class on the next Monday, people were coming up and saying they saw me in That's Beijing which is very cool but what do you say to that? I get all shy (don't laugh) but now reply with "No, that's not me, that's my Evil Twin." It always gets a laugh and usually follows with, well if she's the evil one, what do you do?! I am, I tell them, a Saint. God bless you my child.

But I know that I won't ever get too impressed with myself though, cause I have people to keep me grounded. Like one particular Couch Surfer who I've met him plenty of times but always get the blank look from. This weekend I was once again introduced to him (for the 5th time) and, as always, I looked for a hint of recognition in his eyes... and still got none :)

But Sunday night was the Swing dance competition! It was a fantastic night, with Beijing's only Swing Big Band playing live, though I have to admit I very nearly chickened out from going. I somehow got the notion in my head that I was capable of joining the Jack&Jill competition, which was an individually judged free dance competition where you swap partners every song. I was assured it was more about having fun and just enjoying it than technique but the more I thought about it (after I agreed to join) I was not confident enough in my improv skills to do it! So, in preparation I took a workshop on Sunday morning at 10am (which was killer as I'd only got back from the night before in the wee hours), tried to perk up in the afternoon, donned the Red Dress and hit the club Salsa Caribe. Watching the intermediate and advanced dancers compete, and watching the demonstrations by the judges was my favourite part. It's amazing to watch the pros at work! I have videos here, you have to check it out.

But I spent the evening getting more and more nervous. Everyone else was dancing in the breaks but I was only a beginner and too nervous to move out of the shadows. I did pluck up the courage to ask Vinny for one dance but by the time the Jack&Jill was about to start I was a ball of nerves. Luckily, extra people had joined the competition for fun who had never had any lessons so my first partner was a Couch Surfer who took me for crazy fun spin around the dance floor. After that, I was fine and I even got to dance with some of the more dashing and talented men from class, so that was a definite bonus. They are so good they even made me look half decent and I made it to the second round which I was quite pleased about! It was great to watch the more advanced guys just winging it and having a great time.

It was a great night and walked out on a cloud. I've been told I've got an unusually optimistic view of Beijing for a normal Beijinger but when there's nights like that to be had, who wouldn't love this city? You just have to get out there and do it and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the lesson I learned from tonight's tale...

Out with the old and in with the Lu Kewen!

Photos

Right after posting my last update I went to the Australian Embassy to vote in the Australian Federal Election. And I gladly did my civic duty, supporting 'Kevin 07' as the campaign was called. It was also a great excuse for some out-of-town friends to come to Beijing on the auspice of voting, and (hopefully) have a party in celebration of the outcome.

Election night was also all I had hoped for, and more! A landslide victory in every sense, it is only the second time in Australian history that a Prime Minister has lost not only his government but also his seat. That was a gift we had hardly dared hope for. It flies in the face of any government who think people won't seek a change when the economy is strong; watch out the rest of the world! The people have spoken!

We partied it up in the new Irish bar 'Paddy O'Sheas' which is opposite the Australian Embassy and had full election coverage. The China branch of the Kevin 07 support faction had arranged for Australian beers to be available. It really was like being at home: in an Irish pub drinking Boag's! (Yes, Boag's not Coopers people! Next someone will tell me Crownies over Cascade. Madness.)

So, we all watched Howard bow out (rather gracefully I have to admit, which I had to admire him for) and then Lu Kewen as he's known here came on the screen and there was a roar from the crowd! It was a truly magnificent moment, and I remember thinking at the time that I don't think I've ever seen an Australian crowd so excited about something that didn't involve men moving a ball around. Don't get me wrong, I'm missing my football and cricket, but it was nice to have something so momentous to celebrate.

And celebrate we did! It was an awesome night, but because we are 3 hours behind the East coast we started the election watch at about 6pm and when I was exhausted and wondering what crazy hour of the morning it was, I looked and it was only 11pm. It was a big but early night for me.

The next day, the only thing anyone was good for really was more sitting round and chatting. So I took Claire to a little Chinese institution I've been meaning to try for ages, the 'e For Time' Teahouses. With many branches around Beijing and China wide, it's usually an entire floor of tables and booths, with games and magazines available. But the best part is you pay RMB18 at the door and then can have unlimited tea, coffee, ice cream, bubble tea, juice, yoghurt and even a few unidentifiable drinks. There are also snacks available without limit (though I had to spend a whole RMB1 on popcorn, tsk) and Claire took full advantage of it all! We sampled all their wares and whittled away the afternoon. This is another new institution I can definitely get used to...

The Language Issue

Photos

It was a week of farewells. I was sad to say goodbye to a friend who has been in a remote area of China these past four months, and has now gone home, but we showed her a good time while she was in Beijing! For one thing, we went to an awesome live music venue, 2Kolegas, to see some great Chinese punk bands. She's now enjoying the comforts of home so I look forward to seeing her when I'm next in the 'Berrra. I also had a work dinner to farewell our outgoing CEO which was a lot of fun, and I was mercifully "killed" in the first round of Murder in the Dark, which was a little complicated as I was a "murderer" too. Hmmmm.

Last weekend I found my long-searched-for sanctuary in Beijing: a coffee lounge called "Waiting for Godot". It is my getaway from it all and great for those time when you want a little down time. I also explored more, and found an great new market where I bought bicycle "mitts" (they're like fur-lined oven mitts that fit over my handle bars). It's amazing the difference they make! I think I'll be able to ride through winter now. But it was coming back from that market that will forever stick out in my memory.

Coming back from the Market, I took a rare trip on the subway (I cycle everywhere). I stepped onto the subway carriage and stood patiently with my purchases. My mind was on the labyrinth that was the market, so when the girl next to me said something to her friend it took me awhile to register what she said. I got the distinct impression she was talking about me, though she was looking out the door. I'm not entirely sure what she said since I wasn't really paying attention, but I heard something about pretty, so I guess what she said wasn't bad. Anyway, she said something else which I also had the gut instinct was about me but this time she was looking at her phone, and I wrote it off as my addled brain playing tricks on me as I couldn't really recognise the words she was saying. The girl with her then said "Which station is next?" and I realised that I could understand them, but not pick out words, because they were speaking Cantonese.

They then discussed (in Cantonese) how many more stations to go, and I smiled to myself because they obviously would never think that I could understand what they were saying. Basking in the warmth of, for once, being able to follow someone else's conversation, we stopped at another station and I moved to let someone in, nearly stepping on the toe of the second girl. I apologised (in Mandarin) and while looking at me a little wide-eyed, the girl said to her friend (in Cantonese) "She's speaking Chinese!" obviously thinking I wouldn't understand her. I couldn't help myself, I grinned broadly and said (in Mandarin) "Yes. And I speak Cantonese."

Well, their jaws both hit the floor! The girl astonished replied (in Cantonese) "We also speak Cantonese!" to which I replied (in Cantonese), "I know. I'm from Hong Kong," grinning like a Chestershire cat.

After a long moment, the first girl dropped her head and covered her face with her hand in embarrassment. "She understood me," she said quietly to her friend. The irony of the fact I could understand that statement too was lost of them both I think, though I had a little chuckle to myself. I wanted to say "don't worry about it" but thought that any further comment would probably make her feel worse. There was an embarrassed silence, while they processed all this and I was trying hard not to laugh. I was enjoying myself immensely! It was one of those very rare times when I was the one person who understood exactly what's going on and what everyone was saying, and I was going to savour it! We pulled into my station and I turned to them both and smiled. I said "Goodbye" (in Cantonese), and they both meekly replied "Goodbye" (in English). I couldn't keep the grin off my face all the way home.

But it's made me think of some of my other favourite language issue moments. I've never been annoyed or upset about them cause frankly, they're petty darn funny (I think anyway). For example, I bought some corn the other day and asked her "Zheige yumi, duo shao qian?" ("How much is the corn?"). The young girl looked at me blankly and I smiled, and repeated it slowly. She then realised I was speaking Mandarin and told me the price. As she was putting it in the bag she turned to me and said very slowly and deliberately "Nii shii naa guo renn?" ("Whaaat couuuuntry aaare youuu frooom?"). My Mandarin is a little rustic but I'm not feeble!

The slow talking has happened a few times, most recently at my now favourite Muslim restaurant. The first time I went in (and all in Mandarin) I ordered, had a discussion about does this dish have a lot of oil, told her I don't like oil, and can they recommend a tofu dish? I went with their suggestion, ordered another vegetable dish and the food was great. I wanted to learn how to say it the tofu dish so that I could order it next time so I asked her what the dish was called. Completely seriously she says "Zheige jiao dooo fuuuu" ("It's called toooofuuuuu").

But my favourite (other than the subway moment) was the other week when I was in a tea house and I hailed a waitress. "Can I please have a menu?" I asked her in Mandarin. She looked blank. Totally in Mandarin, I tried asking a different way.
"Do you have a menu?" Still blank.
"Menu?" She started to look around for someone to translate.
"Can I order?" I asked, now running out of ways to ask the same thing.
At that point she said very calmly, "Dui bu qi, wo ting bu dong ying wan" ("I'm sorry, I don't understand English"). I actually dropped my head in my arms for a moment to hide my laugh.
"I'm not speaking English," I told her in Mandarin, "I'm speaking Chinese." Another half a second and the penny dropped. "Ohhhhhhhhhhh!" she said walking off to get a menu. I could just about hear her saying to herself "Why didn't she say so in the first place?"

You have to love this city!

"Return of the Blob - Beijing's Revenge"

Photos

Well, I ended the last update with tales of being unwell and harbouring an alien lifeform in my lungs, and it dominated my week really. I got worse and worse after Sunday and was putridly sick by Thursday. I awoke in the morning, reenacted scenes from "The Blob" in my bathroom, wished I was dead, messaged my work colleague, and went back to sleep. I guess I needed it: I didn't wake up until 1 in the afternoon and even then, that was only because I wanted to be able to sleep that night. I also got up then because I swore blind to my colleagues that I would not miss teaching another English class, so I went into work at 4pm and struggled through. My counterpart had kindly messaged me back saying if I was unwell that I should stay home, but I turned up and (I think) won big brownie points coming in when I was so sick. I had the vindication of everyone baulking mid-greeting at the state of me when they came into the room I hold class. Clearly they'd never been taught by the Undead before.

Anyway, I had the same problem as always; two of my colleagues are at the most basic level (about my level of Mandarin) while the rest range from proficient to quite fluent. So I chose to show them a snippet from "Top Gear", a brilliant UK car show that is more like a comedy skit show. I showed them "How to Kill a Toyota" which if you haven't seen is an absolute must (here's the link). Basically the TG boys find out what it takes to stop a 13 year old Toyota Hilux working. Their hosts speak very clearly in a crisp British accent, and the footage almost speaks for itself so I thought that even if not every one understood everything they would find it interesting. Well, I wasn't entirely right on that one. Though I kept stopping to talk about what was going on, those who didn't understand it either thought there was more to it or simply didn't find it as amazing as I did. The latter is more likely.

We talked about TV shows afterwards and, at their behest, I found a snippet from the Australian version of "Next Top Model". They seem to prefer listening to an American accent but the Australian edition was the only one I could find on youtube that showed the very first episode. As I listened to the Aussie twang and felt a pang of homesickness, I explained a few of the choice words we came across, like "muffin top". It really is a top-notch useful education I'm giving them.

Friday morning it was scenes from "The Blob" again, so I couldn't face going to work but the day was so beautiful that I couldn't bear to miss it either. I slept in and then made my way to the Ming City Wall Ruins just south of my house. It is a remaining section of the old Beijing city wall and there is a nice park running along side it, making it a pleasant walk. The sky was blue, the air was crisp. Just my luck there was media thing on that night so I couldn't climb up to the guard tower but it was nice to walk the 2kms of wall nonetheless and it gave me a chance to try out my new camera.

Saturday, I was moderately better but sick of being sick if that makes sense, so I headed to The Vineyard Cafe again for brunch with Pip, Andrea, and Tash. Afterwards was shopping down Dongsi Beidajie again and then I went home to crash for awhile, eating in my favourite local restaurant behind my apartment block who have never tried to overcharge me, then heading out to a friend of a friend's "Funk" party. I didn't last long, but I did meet a celebrity (the weekend Weather girl on the only local English-language TV station) and sadly could not find a stall selling my favourite BBQ'ed steamed bread with spices on the way home.

Sunday, I felt the restriction of only have two places to eat on a weekend morning so I set out in search of "Beijing's best-kept secret brunch cafe" according to "The Insider's Guide to Beijing". The American Cafe was listed as having Wi-Fi so I took my laptop in the hope I would get some writing done and set off. Well, it's location is described in the book, it is marked on the map in the book, and is virtually next to the subway station. Simple right? Not in Beijing. I walked for 2 hours trying to find the fecking place. Around and up and down that street, I knew I was in the right general area because I knew the restaurant that was marked as being next to it on the map. What was supposed to be "next to" turned out to be head north, left at the lights, down the road, through a guarded gate and in the basement on the right of a courtyard. That is exactly why I won't take someone somewhere new unless I've physically been there first.

But, thankfully, it was worth it. The ambiance was warm and inviting, the staff were very sweet if a little vague, and the food is fantastic. I stayed for 3 hours, mostly because I was so exhausted from the recon I had to regain the strength to move again. I ate a late lunch, had coffee, then Tash came and I had an early dinner and coffee. So at least I made the most of it, having found it, since it sucked up most of my day.

I did slowly get better though I've only just (2 and a half weeks later) stopped sounding like a pack-a-day smoker. It's getting really cold in Beijing now but we've seen nothing yet I've been told. We've already had a snow day, but not in the city sadly. It doesn't get above 10 degrees Celsius any more but I'm holding up. A nice hot Christmas holiday is what I need.

And, as most of you know it's the Australian Federal Election tomorrow. The Embassy has requested us to go in and pre-vote to avoid crowding on the day so I'm off to the Embassy to cast my ballot and will watch the election coverage tomorrow with baited breath. A friend nominated herself to run around the block naked if 'Kevin '07' pulls it off so while I'm hoping to celebrate tomorrow night, I'm also hoping for a warm evening...

Back into the Swing of things

Photos

After Mum and Dad left on the Wednesday it was (sadly) time to return to normality. On the Friday night with the temperature plummeting and having been out of contact with my friends for awhile, I went to have hotpot with my friend Pip, but stupidly took us to a very fancy place and ordered chicken gizzards. Bless Pip, she was very sweet but it really was revolting even to look at. My first true failure on the ordering front! But because you cook hotpot at your own pace it's one of the few kinds of restaurants that they don't throw you out after 20 mins, so we achieved our aim of sitting and catching up for a few hours. It was also Mike's last night in China so despite the fact I was supposed to go to bed early, I went out and, to my great sadness, fared him well over a a drink or two.

The reason I was supposed to go to bed early that night was because I had my interview with the reporter from "That's Beijing" on Saturday morning. First thing Saturday morning in fact, because I stupidly volunteered to take the first slot at 9:30. I know that's not particularly early, but you're talking to the girl who barely gets into work at that time and lives a 10minute bike ride away. And I found it a bit of a struggle to be coherent enough to be witty and charming for the interview, and also well-presented for the photographs. The article is for their feel-good December issue about people "working for causes bigger than themselves" as the journalist put it. I had to spend a lot of time running through all the things I would say because I'll have a paragraph or two at most since I'm only one of ten people. I needed to be succinct and quotable, so I got up early and by the end of my second cup of coffee I was feeling somewhat ready. Choosing what to wear was a much harder task though! I know, I know, that's really dumb but give me a break, I'm a girl. That crap matters to me :)

Anyway, the interview went fine and the journalist was really nice. He was an Aussie from Canberra no less so we discussed the great divide between North- and South-siders, and how everyone bags out Canberra without actually ever spending any real time there. Having brushed up on the details of my projects and messages, I had a mild panic when he explained that the article was more about the individual than their organisation. I wasn't expecting that! He asked me about why I got into what I do (because I was accepted?), my previous work experience in the field (er, none?) and my motivation for doing the job (cause I think it's important?). I stumbled through somehow and then was subjected my first "shoot", with explicit instructions not to smile; then a little bit of smiling; smile please; and, finally, showing teeth. Luckily, I hadn't eaten breakfast so I didn't have to worry about any food stuck in my teeth at least.

Afterwards I had a much needed brunch at a trendy new brunch place (sorry Grandma's) with friends, then shopping in a nearby area I had discovered when wandering with Mum and Dad. Sunday was dedicated Tash-Time and back to Grandma's we went. The resident cat who normally sits in Tash's lap was greatly perturbed by the presence of a little grey Schnauzer pup who was getting all the attention, much to the cat's disgust. I was happy though, as it was great to be round a dog that looked clean enough to actually risk touching. In the afternoon we headed down to Tash's area so I could see her new pad, which is a fantastic flat to the East of the Temple of Heaven. She has a bakery with a coffee shop above it literally next door so we ruminated over coffee and, in my case, ice cream because my throat was sore as all hell. As it turned out, that was only the beginning of my malady and I proceeded to develop a truly magnificent Beijing cold and cough (though I absolutely refused to spit in public even at my sickest). It was exacerbated by the deadly pollution that settled on the capital. It made me understand why people spit all the time, and why when they do it's so solid it almost cements the cracks in the pavement. It was the worst pollution I have experienced in my time here and, as always, it happened exactly in Beijing Time (not quite the worst possible moment, but almost) when I was just getting really sick. It was disgusting, some of the things that came from my body were almost their own lifeform.

But, that didn't stop me getting to my language classes, or Swing dance which had just started a new cycle of beginners class. So I went from Loser to "Oh, I remember doing this!", and knew what I was supposed to be doing for once. That was two weeks ago however, and I'm still sick though I'm finally on the mend. It was a frustrating time as I don't really get sick at home, and this really knocked me off my feet for awhile. But, there's no rest for the wicked as they say and too many things to do in Beijing to take time off so as always, the adventures continue...

The Epic tale of Mum & Dads' Trip to China (Pt 2)

Photos

Back from Xi'An and still drunk the next morning from Mike's birthday celebrations, we had a gentle day for all involved as Mum's knee, Dad's ankle and my conscious state were all a little iffy. So we took a stroll down the famous LiuLiChang Art Street and I finally bought a painting from an artist that I really adore, having been there many times but never being about to choose.

And I am now officially a "hero" because I climbed the Great Wall. We went to two sections of the Great Wall (at Badaling AND Mutianyu). Since before I came to Beijing everyone told me "Don't go to the Badaling section of the Great Wall!" because it is so touristy and absolutely crammed with people at the best of times. So, instead I arranged to go to another more beautiful section of the Wall. Mum actually felt unwell that morning so Dad I went ourselves, but Mum didn't miss too much because our luck ran out with the weather and it turned pea-soup appalling. As beautiful as Mutianyu was, we couldn't see enough of it to appreciate it! But, we did climb the steep section of it and very proud of ourselves we were. It's a lot steeper in many parts than it looks in the photos I can tell you now. And I was so impressed by the oldies who managed to get around. They build 'em tough over here!

But that did leave Mum without the experience of having seen the Wall at all, so later in the week we went again. This time though, against my most stringent warnings, to Badaling. We went on another tour, but at least we also went to the Ming Tombs which I've always wanted to see. It is where 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) were buried, and each tomb is located at the foot of a separate hill. We went to the Changling Tomb, home of the the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle and his Empress. Built in 1413, the mausoleum extends over an area of 100,000 square metres. The Soul Tower, which tells people whose tomb it is, rests on a circular wall called the "city of treasures" which surrounds the burial mound. We were rushed through the tomb, told we couldn't see the real tomb anyway as it hadn't been excavated before shoved back on the bus to go to somewhere else where they could flog their wares at us.

But after lunch we went to the Great Wall at Badaling and luckily, it being Beijing, the weather had turned again overnight and we had a glorious day. All the better to see the other million people on the wall with us! Badaling is the most famous section of the wall, the closest part to Beijing, and was made famous by Mao who climbed it and declared that you are not a "real man" (which the tour guide artistically translated as "hero" instead) until you've climbed the Great Wall. So it seems that every man, woman and child in China pilgrimage to Badaling, and the Chinese phrase "People mountain, people sea" sprang to mind when we were there.

But when you reached a pinnacle of a section of the Wall you did have an awesome view and I can wholeheartedly say I did enjoy Badaling. I'm glad it wasn't my first experience of the Wall, as it really was the human version of Beijing CBD at rush hour on a Monday morning, but it was great to see the Wall snaking its way through the mountains just like you see it in all the photos. As a bonus, I even found my "Mao coat" there! For only Y50, bargain. It weights a tonne though, it's already broken one of my coat hangers. So it sits (well, practically stands up by itself) in the corner now.

Actually, I had another of those moments I'll always remember when while standing on the pinnacle of the Wall, I got a call from the editor of a local magazine, "That's Beijing". She got my number through a mutual friend and asked if I would mind being part of the cover feature for their next issue. As it's a Christmas issue, she explained, it's about people who work for causes or NGOs in Beijing and they are looking for 10 people to feature. I'm not to proud to admit I was really excited about it all! So, overall, Badaling left a pretty good impression on me.

The rest of Mum and Dads' visit consisted of visiting the beautiful Temple of Heaven, the trendy 'Nanluogu Xiang' street, and the enormous Summer Palace. On their final night, we went out to a special Pre-Birthday Dinner for Mum, as her birthday was the Friday after they left. We went to an amazing Shanghainese restaurant, and to my great amusement, we were ushered by a Chinese John Cleese (really! see the photos!). We had crab because it's Mum's traditional birthday food, and the most enormous but delicious Taiwanese shaved ice mountain of a dessert. Though the photos look like we had one each we actually only had one between us, but we just all needed to have a photo with it!

It was very sad to see them go, but I think they liked what they saw enough that a trip back to China in April might be on the cards. I'm holding thumbs.

The Epic tale of Mum & Dads' Trip to China (Pt 1)

Photos

This entry should properly be called "Michelle's Ultimate Tour of Beijing and Xi'An" because Mum and Dad came all the way to Beijing to see me and I showed them the best China has to offer! I was so crazy happy to see them, it was so great (but strange) to have them here, in my town. We did so much, I really think they really have seen more of Beijing than a lot of people who've lived here awhile. And my god did we eat, we ate nearly every cuisine Beijing has to offer and I thought I was kidding when I told them we were going to eat our way around Beijing. As it turned out, I wasn't! I actually lost the desire to eat in their last few days which is unprecedented. But, aside from their first night (we had very limited options) the food was all amazing and varied and it was great to be able to try out new places with someone who could read the menu.

I used mum mercilessly for her superb Putonghua language skills, constantly asking her what a word meant, or how to say something. In return though, I taught them a few things about Beijing. Well, warned them about a few things to be more accurate. The look of horror on their faces when I told them that you can't flush toilet paper down the loo because the sewage systems can't handle it was very cute. I told them the general rule is, if there is a rubbish bin next to the toilet that's what it's for. The horror, if possible, increased. "But there's one in the hotel bathroom!" my poor mum exclaimed. "Yeah, well..." I shrugged apologetically. "But there's no lid on it or anything, it can't be. It's an international hotel!" Again, I shrugged but they found it hard to believe. "Ok, well please don't do it in my toilet!" I begged, as I know of plenty of stories of toilets backing up for that reason and I didn't want to have to clean that mess up (incidentally, and mum and dad will hate me for saying this, but their toilet did stop working after a week...)

So, on their first day I had to take them to Grandma's for brunch of course! Dad had been duly warned about the lack of decent coffee in Beijing and the exorbitant prices of even the nasty stuff, but I had to ease him on the caffeine slowly so Grandma's bottomless cup awaited us. Food out of the way, we had a very good shopping effort that first day, all finding something to purchase. Mum wanted to see the Silk Markets as a few people had told her how famous it was, and I agreed that you have to go see them as a tourist but it personally my least favourite place to shop. And as it happens, in Mum's only other visit to Beijing many years ago, she went to the Government building that is at the end of my Hutong! In a city so large it's a pretty cool coincidence. The next day I took them to my office to meet my work colleagues who were all really excited to meet them, and I was very proud to show mum and dad off. And then the tour really started in earnest! I had avoided going to the main tourist attractions during my four months here because I knew I'd go with mum and dad. We were hellishly efficient and went to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Lamma Temple (Beijing's biggest and best temple), the Houhai Lakes area, and the PanJiaYuan Sunday Markets. And that was only in the first week!

So first we spent an afternoon of glorious weather at the Forbidden City, so named because no commoners were allowed to enter for over 500 years. Unfortunately, despite my warning that we would be doing a lot of walking while they were here none of us were quite prepared for the Forbidden City which has a circumference of 16kms and covers an area of 720,000 sq metres. It's so big it has a permanent restoration squad doing renovations. It takes about 10 years to restore the whole complex by which time they have to start again! It was an amazing historical site, and I'm so glad that Starbucks had been forced to close it's branch inside the Forbidden city.

Lamma Temple is Beijing's largest and most spectacular temple, and was beautiful and so peaceful. I had my second "celebrity/freak" moment where a man wanted a photo with me (I'm immortalised in someone's album somewhere mum said). The weather was behaving and showing it's best side for my visitors which I was really pleased about as Beijing is a really beautiful city when the weather is good. We shopped our way through the paraphernalia of the Panjiayuan Sunday Markets and then prepared for our trip to Xi'An the following day.

Xi'An is home to the world famous Terracotta Warriors, and each warrior is unique: each one has a different face. Xi'An is a really nice city, bigger than I thought, but I forget that even small cities like Xi'An have 3.25 MILLION people. It used to be China's capital, all the way back to the 11th centaury BC throughout 11 major Dynasties which makes it a major attraction for international visitors. It is the beginning of the fabled Silk Road and had many of the Hui (Muslim) influences that made Ningxia so interesting so our first stop was the fantastic Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque. We happily ate our way through the streets and probably would have gone around in circles a few times but dad was sharp eyed and saw the miniscule sign to a tiny alley leading to the Great Mosque. I've known people who have had to give up because they couldn't see the turn off anywhere so we did very well! The Great Mosque is one of China's largest, and was a beautiful example of a Chinese temple-styled Mosque. That night I discovered another of my weaknesses: YangRou PaoMo. It's a local dish where they break up special bread into a bowl with noodles and mutton, and add a delicious broth which is just soaked up by everything. It doesn't sound like much I'm sure but by god I'm really glad I don't live in Xi'An or else I'm sure I'd die of paomo overdose. Or a mutton broth induced heart attack.

Mum and Dad were keen on taking a guided day tour so we hopped in a van with Kitty/Kelly as our guide and several other tourists from other hotels as well. I met a particularly nice young man, Martin, who took a trip to Beijing to help raise money for an English charity and took a side trip to Xi'An before returning home. The tour took us to the Bam Po Neolithic Village, the official Gov Terracotta Warrior Replica Factory to make us buy stuff, a "Chinese-style lunch", a Silk Factory to make us buy stuff, and then FINALLY made it to the Terracotta Warriors which were everything we thought they would be. One piece of advice for anyone who is going: see the pits in the reverse order. Pit 1 is the largest, and Pit the smallest so see Pit 3, then 2, then 1 to get the full effect.

During the mandatory stop at the gift shop, I thought I was blocking someone's shot so apologised and moved back, but the lady kept pointing her camera at me. I kept moving back until another lady next to me actually grabbed my arm to stop me and I reaslied I WAS the shot. Penny dropping, I posed for them, and reciprocated by making her son stay in the photo I was trying to take too, though he was unimpressed with it all. With the visibility rapidly deteriorating due to pollution, we did manage to make it to the Big Goose Pagoda just in time to race to the top, snap a few pictures of the pollution and then we all headed back to our respective hotels.

The next day the weather had improved somewhat and we went to tour the Xi'An City Wall, one of the few city walls still fully intact. You can walk/cycle/take the motorised cart the whole 14kms around it so I hopped on the bike and saw the whole city centre from a unique point of view. I was impressed by the number of people cycling it and felt bad for the males because it was a little rough in parts where the bricks have large ruts in them, and I hope the ride didn't permanently impair their ability to have children.

Finally, we went back that afternoon and while Mum and Dad rested, I went out and partied at Mike's 30 (see previous entry). My parents must think I'm such a booze hound because even though I've only had three big nights out in Beijing since I've been here, two of them were during their trip. So concludes our first week in Beijing, exactly where we started it: having brunch, though this time it was me nursing the coffee cup like it was my tenacious grip on reality. God bless Grandma's Kitchen...

Revolutions and Birthdays

Photos

Mum and Dad came to visit me in Beijing recently, but this is a special little entry for the birthday booze-ups I've been going to.

My friend Vinny, the heart and soul of Beijing, was having his birthday party on the Saturday which happened to be the Guatemalan Revolution Day so his theme was "Viva La Revolution!" Totally fabulous, and slightly sensitive in the current political climate. China was currently having its 17th Party Congress Meeting in Beijing so security was tighter than Sid Vicious' pants. The only revolutions I had studied were the Chinese Revolution (and that was out) and the Russian Revolution so I decided to go as a Bolshevik soldier. And where better than the Russian Markets!

I got a fantastic almost blonde bob wig and a toy gun almost passable for Soviet-era but I couldn't not find the long communist coat "Mao coat" I called it, that many men still actually wear. It is still issued to soldiers by the Army here, but I couldn't find one for love nor money. I saw them everywhere in Ningxia, I was kicking myself I didn't get one there (not that I could have as they weight close to 5kgs). So without the coat I was really more of a Cold War Agent, and I channeled my old alter ego: Agent Micha.

The party was awesome and I met some very cool people, one of whom turned out to live in MY hutong! A few days earlier I had noticed a lao wai leaving the block at the other end of the complex and wondered if he lived there. I'd never seen another foreigner in my block before at all. And when, at the end of the party when we'd spent most of the night talking, I hopped on my bike and asked him where he lived and I nearly fell over when he told me (it was not the amount of booze I had consumed. Really). It was then I realised it was HIM I'd seen a few days earlier and I had shake my head; that was an amazing case of serendipity, even for Beijing. So we walked home (passed people preparing breakfast in the little dumpling restaurants!) and argued about whose hutong it actually belonged to, and who was going to be the one to move and give the other back the status of being the only foreigner there. I won, of course. He went to Kazakhstan a day later, probably never to return.

Also, Tash had her man visiting Beijing and it was the night of his birthday so in the spirit of I-don't-have-to-go-to-work-tomorrow, we had a fantastic night of "VnTs" (Vodka with no Tonic) at Huxleys, literally hundreds of photos between our 3 cameras and another fuzzy taxi ride home. It really was a great night, and I was still "enjoying" it when I woke up the next morning. Mum and Dad must think I'm such a booze hound because even though I've only had three big nights out in Beijing since I've been here, two of them were during Mum and Dads' trip. So concludes our first week in Beijing, exactly where we started it: having brunch, though this time it was me nursing the coffee cup like it was my tenacious grip on reality. God bless Grandma's Kitchen...

Trip to Ningxia Pt 2 - Yinchuan & the Tenegger Desert

Photos

Arriving in Yinchuan, I ate nearly an entire kilo of hot roast chestnuts (which are available on every corner, and very hard to resist). I inevitably felt horribly ill and while trying to walk it off we found a beautiful mosque in the middle of the city which we wandered around and waited to see if we could hear their call to prayer. Ningxia is actually called the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region because it is dominantly "Hui" people are Muslim Chinese. From Ningxia westward there are many Hui people as it is on the Silk Road and the "-Stan" countries of Central Asia. So there is huge Muslim influence and many mosques which gave Ningxia a really fascinating mix of cultures.

We had a massage (my first in China) which was excellent until we went to pay they showed us the small print on the price list which says "Double for foreigners". He told us Y30 each when we asked, and when we reminded him of that he said, still smiling, "Yes. Y30. Double." We weren't too pleased about that.

After dinner we went to a bar for a quiet drink and got more than we bargained for in a few ways! We got ice cream rather than a drink and thinking we were all ordering something different, it turned out to only be slight variations on the same alarming pink ice cream. More unfortunately, in the middle of my sundae the man from the rowdy table near us wobbled over with a small glass of beer which he offered me with the cry of "Gan bei!" ("Cheers!"). It is customary to skull the whole glass which I wasn't that keen on doing but it would have been very awkward and rude to refuse so I smiled gingerly, replied "Gan bei" with slightly less fervour and downed the beer. Not a good combo with pink ice cream but at least it wasn't the deadly chinese liquor you normally "Gan bei" with. Thankfully that seemed to satisfy him and he left. But it only got worse, with his friend the Chicken Man then coming over and plopping himself at our table. He was so drunk that he was incoherent and could only manage a variety of squawks though we did our best to answer the questions we could make out. I can honestly say my Chinese was better than his at that moment. He'd essentially trapped us there but when another man picked him up and carried him away we made a very quick exit! We really needed a drink after that so we found another bar that had no Avian Flu victims and enjoyed our night there.

The next day was a bus to Tong Xin where we ate in a little Xin Jiang place and discovered the joy that is 8 Treasure Tea. It is a kind of tea particular to the West and is utterly delicious, with tea, various flowers, dried fruits and a lot of sugar. A ridiculous amount of sugar actually, and we all made pains to get the excess sugar out, which is easy when the sugar was in rock form but mostly is was sugar granules. So, we had about 60 seconds between when they put the cups on the table and when they brought the hot water, which we spent madly ferreting out the sugar. I can't imagine what the waitresses thought, they put down four cups of their finest tea and return a minute later to find a mound of sugar in the ashtray: crazy lao wai!

We visited a stunningly beautiful Chinese-style Mosque on the outskirts of the town which was over 680 years old. Donning out head scarves again, we were received warmly and a little too readily to drop our bags and have a look around. As it turned out, they thought we were Muslim students coming to study and when they found out we weren't, they charged us for entry and leaving our bags. I think they may have started to have their doubts when one of us came in wearing a t-shirt on her head and another looking like a pirate...

A bus to Zhong Ning through more maize fields, and we all had mad corn cravings looking at it all. There were actually lots of great looking fruit and vegetable in the fields and being sold by the road. We then saw some terribly stormy weather ahead, which was really disappointing because the weather had actually been improving. As we drew we close we realised what we had seen was actually pollution smog pillowing from smoke stacks onto the people and land below from a particularly nasty looking factory. Probably either chemical fertiliser or petrochemical products. I didn't get a photo but I'll never get the vision of this place out of my head, it was like something out of an apocalyptic movie. Suddenly, none of us were hungry.

Finally, we were in Zhong Wei, gateway to our camel trek! There was more eating and walking but the camel trek was the highlight of the trip. They were Bactrians (two humps) and we were somewhat worried about the biting and spitting stereotype but they were actually very gentle and really well-behaved. The camel guy told us that "people" camels don't spit or bite at all, so I still don't think I want to meet a work camel. We of course name our camels so Charlotte asked the man if they had names. He looked at us oddly and told us "They are called camel." Charlotte explaining that we wanted to know what to call the different camels, but he looked at us blankly again "Their name is 'camel'." So "Camel" it was.

So I decided my camel was called 'Bevan' as he had a well groomed, blonde mullet which Charlotte told me was very like Bevan from Young Talent Time. Liz's camel was the BFG, Pip's was Warwick due to his uncanny resemblance to Warwick Cappa, Charlotte's camel was Eboni Rae as she was a lovely dark colour, and the lead camel was, of course, Camel. Words can't describe it, the photos speak for themselves I think. I felt like I was an extra from Lawrence of Arabia and walking the dunes was one of the few times I've been alone in China. There were factories on the fringe of the desert, and even a new one being marked out in the desert proper, which was really depressing. So we may well be one of the last people to see that section of the desert relatively untouched.

We saw looming sand dunes, wild flowers, plains, and even wild donkeys and camels. Our last night was at a salt flat that, due to the rain, became a lake and attracted lots of birds and other animals. It was just stunning and we were all quiet with awe when we came out of our tents on the last day to see the lake, birds and even sunshine.

Finally, the journey home was of equal note, though for the opposite reason. The girls were sensible and flew home on Sunday evening, but being a tight arse I decided I would take the train home. Problem was, I banked on getting a train ticket but couldn’t get one for love nor money. I had no ticket and no way home when the girls left me on Sunday afternoon but I managed to get a bus ticket for the next day so I stayed the night in a hotel, consoling myself with lots of food and reading my book tucked up in bed. The next day I had a great time actually, walking around Yinchuan and stumbling across a beautiful pagoda and courtyard museum about Ningxia, the Rock Carvings and the Hui People before heading to the bus station.

The bus was a sleeper bus, a strange Chinese invention, with three rows of small bunk beds that aren’t even high enough to sit up in, the logic being you’ll be asleep the whole time anyway as they are always overnight trips. We left at 5pm Monday and were supposed to arrive in Beijing at about 7am Tuesday but when I awoke at 6:30am we were still in the middle of nowhere. Not a good sign. In the end, we were 7 hours late: I was on that stinking fecking bus for 21 hours straight. For some reason, we kept going round and around and around Hebei (the province Beijing is situated in the middle of). We came to the expressway to Beijing several times but kept turning back and I had no idea why. When we did eventually get on it, there was major traffic issues, so I can only guess there was an accident or roadworks and the driver tried to get to get around it by going to another part of the expressway. But we went the looooong way round, and I mean like over mountains, through little tiny villages that looked like they were still working out how to make fire, and around lakes.

21 HOURS: No stops, no sitting up, no walking, no fresh air. I didn’t bring much water as I didn’t want to have to go to the grotty bathroom much, I’d only brought a few snacks which I’d finished that morning, and I was virtually flat on my back the whole time. The air was foul as the driver didn’t turn on the vents, people around me were smoking, and one guy was hocking up some serious logies for a good hour which I could only hope weren't going to slime past me down the aisle at some point. To boot, the grotty toilet had a gammy door so every time the bus turned we were all fanned with the fragrance of public toilet which by the 15th hour was stomach turning and by the 20th hour absolutely nauseating. We finally arrived in Beijing at 2pm and having spent all that time lying down, I had zero blood pressure. When I got up, put on my huge backpack and started to walk I nearly fell over! But I've never been so glad to see my tiny crappy flat.

But, the trip was fantastic, I would highly recommend Ningxia and camel trekking to anyone. In fact, come to Beijing guys, I've got a spare bed and we can travel. I promise it'll be a trip you'll never forget! Because you never quite know what's going to happen in China...

Trip to Ningxia Pt 1 - Beijing to Yinchuan

Photos

China's National Day (Monday October 1) is celebrated by a 3 day public holiday but a lot of workplaces take the whole week off. Happily, mine is one of those places and I had 10 days to explore China. My friend Charlotte was organising a trip to Ningxia, a small province to the West of Beijing and invited anyone to join, so I decided to get out of Beijing and go camel trekking in the desert!

Wasting no time, on the Friday night I took the train to Baotou (Inner Mongolia) by myself as there were complications with the tickets, but the girls were close behind on a train a few hours behind. Having never taken a train in China, say nothing of by myself, I did wonder how I was going to go but I chose to be the one going solo as it was a good practice run for me when I need to go home by myself at the end of the trip. The train was ok, I managed to get on the right one on time, and it wasn't too terrible at all, and even had nice little touches like fake flowers in the toilet. Getting to Baotou at 7am, I had nothing to do but wait so I ate breakfast in a little noodle place, and made one bowl of noodles last a whole hour. I was getting a bit of attention, partly because I was lugging my enormous backpack around but mostly because they don't get a lot of foreigners in those parts. A man who came to get tissues from my table asked me where I was from while blowing his nose, and after telling him I heard "Ao da lia" (Australia) being shouted around the place like a hot potato. I wasn't in Beijing any more.

People were not at all threatening or rude, just simply bluntly curious. After breakfast I went for a walk and when I rested in a park, I was swooped on being lovely old women who keep saying "Shao mao yi" (which I didn't understand until one lady showed me she was wearing three layers versus my t-shirt, and literally means "too few jumpers") to finding out if I was married and then trying to marry me off. The other girls arrived soon after, we found a hotel, and we went off to see the Wudang Lamasery outside Baotou. We took a bus to the nearest village, underwent a very similar experience to my breakfast with "Ao da lia" ringing from the rooftops, and hired a taxi to take us the last few kilometres to the lamasery. DJ Speed Racer I've dubbed him, as he diced death by crazy overtaking and driving on the wrong side of the road to the electronic remix of "My Heart Will Go On".

The Wudang Lamasery was awesome though, complete with monks on mobiles. There was the awesome moment too, when a monk came out of one of the temples, strutted to a motorbike, flung his cape over his shoulder and zoomed off all James Dean-like! We were dumb struck and sooo impressed! "Mastadon-sized ribs" called us for dinner (thank you Lonely Planet) which were actually pretty damn tasty, and I bought us each a cool army style hats for our camel trekking adventure. As we had to be up at stupid o'clock, Pip and I tried to sleep early but when it got dark we realised that the red neon sign for the hotel was just outside our window. What I don't have a photo of is the fact that my sleeping bag turned me blue. "The Smurf-maker" I've christened it and yes, every exposed piece of skin was rubbed blue from the lining of the bag. Not happy Jan.

05:45 bus to the border town of Alashan Zuoqi (still Inner Mongolia), arrived after a loooong bus journey at 3pm to find it cold and raining in the driest province in China. We visited another really beautiful temple, went to look at the "Precious Rocks Market" next to it, and we had to have Mongolian Hot Pot just to warm up! The next day We hired a driver, Mr Wang, who drove us to Yinchuan (the capital of Ningxia) via two local attractions, the Twin Pagodas and Ancient Rock Carvings.




But right on the border of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia was an old section of the Great Wall which was particularly exciting for me as it is the first time I've ever seen the Great Wall. They actually have bits of the Great Wall lying about the place but this one was so cool cause it wasn't reconstructed. On a very tight schedule, it was speed tourism and we ran to the Wall, took a zillion shots and ran back to the car, laughing the whole way.


The Twin Pagodas were beautiful, though I got suckered into giving them money after I took part in a prayer (fool that I am) and the rock carvings were amazing. I was so impressed by just the gorge that they were in, it was one of the most magnificent things I've seen in China and again we took a zillion photos of, yes, rocks. The carvings were strangely beautiful, drawn by nomadic tribes that used to live in the mountains. Some of them were a bit queer though, with drawings of what looks like a mobile phone, animals copulating, aliens, and even "human faces with facial organs representing the images of warriors which are outcomes of the ancient's worship toward their genital organs". True story.

Continued in Part 2...

Catching up before I go, go

Photos for Week 12 and Week 13

I have finally christened Beijing now that I have had my first big night out. It wasn't intentional, but it seems to be what happens whenever someone goes to 'Huxleys' for the first time. It might be the slightly seedy ambiance that lulls the senses; it might be warm hospitality of the owner, Mingus; or it might be the "GnT"s (Gin and no Tonic) Mingis serves. Either way, a fabulous time was had by all especially me who, despite Tash's protests to the contrary, was the embarrassing friend who is happy drunk in the corner oblivious to her own drunkedness. The trip home was fine except I could think of nothing to talk to the driver about except "I've had too much to drink" (never a good choice), "Have you eaten yet?" or "What's your favourite colour?" so I remained silent.

The next morning I awoke to find a box in my bed (don't ask because I don't know) and wondered who had been in my house: surely I could not have caused that much destruction between the door and my bed. So while the box (whose name I didn't catch) climbed out the window, I remembered that I had to give a presentation that afternoon for work. The presentation I had been planning in a vague sort of way for 2 months but had rehearsed zero times. Crap. My timing was, as always impeccable. Why I chose the night before a real work activity in front of 30 people to booze it up I don't know. I've clearly embraced "Beijing Time" (not quite the worst possible moment, but nearly) as my own.

A traditional brunch at Grandma's with Tash revived me, and the presentation went fine on the most part. I vagued out in the middle of one question but managed to cover it. That night we met up with some of the other friends out of Beijing who came for the weekend and I surreptitiously didn't drink.

Sunday was a quiet breakfast in a trendy little hutong we frequent frequently called Nanluogu Xiang where they had their first Street Festival. By the end of my leisurely breakfast and coffee over a good book, I checked out the Festival, bought only things for other people (I'm proud) and the world's largest bag of chocolate popcorn. Ate most of said kryptonite, before exploromg a new area of town to find "Ladies Street" (which is actually a 'Super Bar Street') and Laitai Flower Market where I purchased my very first (and more than likely only) plant.

During the week I made a day trip to the 'Green yard' organic dairy farm, China's first produced of wholly organic pasteurised (as opposed to UHT) mild and yoghurt, which are delicious. They even have sugar-free yoghurt (which also doesn't have artificial sweetener like all the others), and they wake their cows in the morning by playing classical music, bless them. There were fields of organic corn growing for them, and even an organic orchard out the back: those cows eat better than I do. It was a gorgeous farm, and so nice to be out of the city since that day was an extreme pollution day. I stupidly rode the 7kms to the meeting point and 7kms back after, but at least my lungs had a rest in between.

The week after I went to the Jiuchang Art District open day, called "artWALK". Jiuchang Art District is a new art district out in the middle of the old industrial area (Depresso-land we dubbed it). The galleries were amazing, all converted old warehouses, but I didn't get to see them all so I will have to have another trip our there. The exhibitions were great too (see photos) Chinese art is really fresh and exciting! Also, there was series of short presentations from various artists and creative types in a forum called "Pecha Kucha". Originally started in Japan (Pecha Kucha is actually Japanese for the sound of conversation), it is now a world-wide phenomenon. The idea is that specialists and creative people from various fields of work talk for 6mins and 40 secs each, showing 20 images to explain their work to you. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show. My friend Vinny presented his show on touring Bosnia, and I saw some great presentations on sculpture, graffiti and TV production.

And now finally I've caught up with the present week! This Tuesday was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and for those of you who aren't in Asia or used to live there, it's one of the most colourful and fun festivals on the calendar. I still wished I was back in Repulse Bay, balefully trying to light lanterns while not lighting them on fire, and balancing the world's flimsiest candles on the lid of a Mooncake tin...

It was celebrated in Beijing in a pretty big way, and I planned a dinner at a nice place I know for my friends, then a trip to Beihai Park to play with lanterns. But, since it's China, nothing went according to plan. The restaurant wouldn't take reservations, so I went really early to get us a table. So they reluctantly agreed to set a table for 8 people, but then handed me the set menu which was the only one they were offering that night. It was a whopping ¥1300 for 7-8 people so I left! All the other restaurants in that area, called Houhai, were doing the same sort of deal because it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. And everywhere was filling up so quickly I decided to make an executive decision and went to a bar I know that's away from the main area and has a lovely atmosphere about it. There are lots of red lanterns, with couches right on the lakeside and they'll bring you Xin Jiang food which is quite good. It's actually a bit of a dive bar really, but the ambiance is great, and it's quieter than the main stretch. Or so I thought...

I didn't realise the music gets played at ear splitting volume. And when it's Mongolian Throat singing, I do mean ear splitting. And because traffic was so horrendous I sat waiting for people for nearly two hours, slowly starving to death. Finally, people started to arrive and someone I don't know very well (and I have to admit I've never liked) got all holier-than-thou about it being Xin Jiang food, and there's no vegetarian options, and it's so far away, and drinks are expensive blah blah blah. I told her that the alternative was paying ¥160 per head, but I also wanted to say to her well, next time you get here two hours early and then YOU can choose whatever you want. She kept it up most of the night which I stoically ignored. She also sent an apologetic email the next morning, which I also stoically ignored. I'm not THAT good a person.

I also bought Mooncake for us all, which also turned out to be a bit of a disaster. I made sure to get a nut and honey filled Mooncake, not a traditional one. I had successfully differentiated and bought both before so I know I was asking for the right thing. The lady insisted, however, that the big one was the nut one, so I bought it but of course it wasn't. It was the traditional one, duck egg and all. And to top it all off we were supposed to go to Beihai Park after but the park closed at 10pm which was when we were just finishing dinner, because they all ended up being so late. But, I loved it all and had a great time. My good friends and the people they brought were brilliant and made the most of it, like I did. Spending the night with my friends was all I really wanted so I was happy, and the whingers can just do their own thing next time I say!

So tomorrow I'm off to the little province of Ningxia and won't be back until Monday 8 October as it's Golden Week (the week long public holiday for National Day). I'll be camel-trekking, Monastery-seeing, sand-surfing, tomb-visiting and even inflated-dead-sheep-boat-rafting for 10 days. But then again, maybe not... This is China, so who knows where we'll end up!

Fight the Power!

Photos

I have a new hero: my supervisor. I have been having ongoing fights for months now with my Real Estate Agent over various items in my house, one of which being the Niagara Falls that is my kitchen tap. And I don't mean water coming out the nozzle, it was pouring out of the base, seeping down to cupboard under the sink then flooding my kitchen floor. I've bugged them about it before and they sent a man to come look at it but the report back from the Agent was that is was an "expensive European" tap and so I would need to pay for it myself. But, oh, they'll provide me with a receipt. Ha! I wasn't born yesterday. European tap, my tush! And official looking bits of paper are handed around like one yuan notes and are worth about the same. Damn The Man! So I refused to pay and nothing was done, but it has been getting worse so I asked my counterpart to call them again. My supervisor was there when I asked and when it my counterpart translated my request to her, she tutted and shook her head about the way I've been treated, bless her. She is a very tall but tiny boned lady (I'm talking Size 0), sweet and gentle. She likes to mother me, in an endearing way. Her name partly means "flower" which suits her to a T. So imagine my surprise when my counterpart comes to me the next day and says that she went down to the Real Estate Agency that morning to talk to them and they are coming to fix the tap today, is 12pm ok? Oh, and you have a new Real Estate Agent, here's her card.

I couldn't believe it! I had this vision of my sweet little supervisor standing in the smokey dirty offices of my Real Estate Agency which is full of large swarthy men, and just letting them have it. In my mind, all the burly men are standing there with heads hanging down, like children who are being chastised. I nearly hugged her when she came back except I was scared to breaking her, and could only give her the packet of Yacult I bought her as a thank you. She's put the "super" back in supervisor! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

This week was also the media launch of a project my friend Charlotte has been working on: the United Nations Conservation Union's (IUCN) launch of "Countdown 2010 - China", a campaign to stop or drastically reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss by the year 2010. It's been launched by around the world before now but they've turned their eye to China now because it's one of the world’s megadiverse countries, believe it or not. China is home to nearly 15% of the world’s mammals, 14% of the birds, and 18% of the fishes. The IUCN were recruiting partner NGOs to sign up to the campaign and I got my NGO on board. Since then, I've also recruited her two more NGOs so my commission is in the mail she tells me. Anyway, I went with my supervisor though she did all the work; I was just there for moral support. It was interesting but slow as the keynote speaker, the big-wig Scientific Adviser to the UN, had to have his whole speech translated into Chinese. But then a member of each organisation had to make a very symbolic "signing up" to the campaign on a large poster to the side of the stage, very cute. The photo is me and Sheng Jianghua in front of said poster, she is very sweet insisting I be in the photo though really my only contribution was helping eat the food.

But the big news of that week was the totally rocking Beijing Pop Festival! Not a 'pop' festival at all, it was all about the Rock 'N' Roll and it was fantastic. The crowd were great, all about the fun and the music. It was a really lively atmosphere and anyone who has been to a concert in Canberra will know what I mean when I say it was nice to be in a crowd that got it is supposed to be "LIVE" music and you are hence supposed to act like you have a pulse. I think there was, however, a slight air of disbelief however that we were grooving to internationally reknown bands in a country that still looks at creative expression as something they found at the bottom of their shoe. The G have cancelled music festivals in the past, but luckily that hasn't happened to anything I've been to so far.

But, considering dissidence is virtually defined as anything they don't like, it's amazing it was allowed considering the acts the organisers pulled together. I mean, Public Enemy and Nine Inch Nails were the headline acts! How crazy is that? Public Enemy (or P.E. as they were billed because of the "controversial nature of their name", and that's a direct quote) had us all chanting "Fight the power" for half the show, it was wild! Other acts present were the awesome, New York Dolls and Marky Ramone, as well as Brett Anderson (ex Suede) and Band who was such a dag but the crowd added him. Also, Cui Jian who is the "Godfather of Chinese Rock and Roll", and a few lesser internationally known acts like Mando Diao, Mumiy Troll, Muma & Third Party, XTX and Rize.

The guards looked quite uncomfortable at times. Except for the few younger ones who you cold tell were actually loving it all. I saw one guy who just typified 'New China': a young guy, looking a little severe in his guard uniform except that his cap was just a little crooked, his shirt was just a little untucked and his body was rocking just a little rhythmically. Long live rock and roll...