Articles from this Category
12 June 2012
This morning I trained from Zhengzhou to Taiyuan (with a connection there on to Pingyao). I took my seat and shortly after a young lady took the next seat and proceeded to eat her yummy-looking takeaway dumpling soup. Then she produced a plastic glove; rather strange. Then she unwrapped a few ducks feet so my […]
11 June 2012
Linying Bus Station Toilet As I was slightly ahead with all the things I wanted to see, I had an extra day up my sleeve today. I debated between going to the Yellow River or to Nanjiecun. I chose the latter … more about what it is in a moment. Getting there involved a 2h […]
10 June 2012
Local hospitality My former boss Ivan from many years ago married Cynthia from Zhengzhou. They had recently been here but have now returned to Auckland. Cynthia’s brother Yao and his wife Suen offered to take me out for the day. They had planned on taking me to Shaolin and Longmen but I did the latter […]
9 June 2012
Moving On I stepped out of my hostel around 0700 on an empty stomach bound for Zhengzhou. I stumbled on the shop next door which was selling breakfast. After taking a look at what others were eating on the sidewalk tables, I popped my head in and ordered four dumplings. I didn’t realise that these […]
8 June 2012
Jaded at the start already I had no super-early transport arrangements left so I was going to let myself settle into local time. But the early sunrise didn’t help so I was awake at 0530. I made use of the time by asking to do my washing at the hostel at 0700 which took about […]
7 June 2012
Getting going I woke about 0330 today. I have to be up about 0530 but an early night and the fear of missing my 0745 train to Kaifeng must have turned on my body alarm clock. It does take time getting around Shanghai by metro and I set off from the hotel at 0545 arriving […]
6 June 2012
Hell hath no fury like … Naomi, Chris and I happened to be booked on the same bus to Shanghai, so we shared a transport to Wuyuan bus station. So it was our third day of doing thing together. The weather was wet … in fact wetter than the previous days. The bus journey was […]
5 June 2012
Local and Foreign Companions Yesterday’s transport arrangement worked well and we enjoyed each other’s company. It was a nice blend of foreign (Brit) and local (Fuzhou) company. So we agreed to sight-see together again today. Like Indonesia, I get a semi-local experience through my ability to converse and interact with the locals. It was a […]
4 June 2012
This is the real China I woke at 0530 (to the sound of someone chopping firewood) due to jetlag which I fully intend to use this in my favour with early buses and trains ahead. I had slept very well despite the bed being so hard. It felt like a plywood board padded with blankets. […]
3 June 2012
Prices in the new China I set off with my daypack today for a 3 night trip to the Wuyuan area which is about 6h (less 20min rest break) bus journey away. The bus journey was uneventful as the roads were either motorway or very good. This is the new China. Sadly the new China […]