The last trip to China 2018-19
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Posted:Oct 15, 2024 11:26 pm
Last Updated:Oct 16, 2024 5:59 am 3698 Views
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A very roundabout trip which started in November in Haikou, Hainan of all places. There I had difficulty getting a sim card, the government having introduced new strict regulations for foreigners and there being no sims at the airport - it's a piece of cake at Pudong of course, but Haikou is an insignificant port of entry.
To my surprise the very first thing I noticed was a cluster of large kangaroo statues, not exactly what you expect to find on arrival in China! A few days there, no sun and nothing remarkable, then by train to Kunming where I'd been about ten years earlier. Arriving near midnight, I couldn't find my prepaid booking in the phone, so I had to take the only nearby hotel, at nearly 4 times my usual price. Next morning to Dali by train then bus to Dali Old Town and lake Erhai, and with no hope of locating the right bus station for my Airbnb hostel till two lovely helpful young (female of course) students offered to help me, and disembarked with me then escorted me up the hill to the small hotel. Hospitality is lavished on old foreigners by Chinese women in particular.
1.Haikou Kangaroos
2.Dali Chilli crickets and chilli grubs - I didn't try them
3.Dali Gucheng the street with the running water
4.Near the top of canshan -by cablecar to a mid-station then on foot
5.Mid station cangshan cablecar top with lake erhai amd Dali old town
6.Dali old town and erhai lake just visible to the left
Next chapter Dali to Chongqing and Chongqing to Hankou/Wuhan
It was the end of November, no heating in southern China, my room temperature was about 5-7°c so I spent room time wrapped in a blanket. With the sun out, walking around the town was very pleasant.
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An old blog entry of mine from 2010 and Shanghai Shibohui
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Posted:May 28, 2024 10:54 am
Last Updated:Nov 24, 2024 6:43 pm 34270 Views
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A previous ID laogui32 from Japan friend finder 10/3/2010 12:30 am
Travel Notes
Shanghai first time
Arrive shanghai via Beijing late having slept very very little... meetings re jiujiang lu. The opera house opens for the first time thursday 22nd. Thursday: To Expo... saw India Russia Australia South Africa and that's enough of queuing for me
Queue for Saudi 8 hours? And why? 'Because the queue is long it must be good'. The young Shanghai woman flaunting her completed Expo passport, over two hundred pavilions and exhibitions all stamped, tells me it took 24 days - of constant queuing I guess. Both days were overcast which is great, it would be barely tolerable in a blazing sun and two days of Expo is quite enough, as is once in a lifetime. Transport inside and outside has been excellent - the Shanghai 地铁 Dìtiě is terrific (but forget about a seat you need to carry your starting blocks to get near an empty seat).
Ningbo first time
By car to Ningbo late Friday - wow! The Hangzhou bay bridge 杭州湾大桥 Hángzhōu wān dàqiáo joining Jiaxing and Ningbo is amazing; 36 km and saves soooo much time on the old 4-hour journey. Saturday raining most of the day, and Sunday too; Yunnan forecast is for rain all next week but I can't change tickets and go to Guilin instead. 24 dish banquet last night and some of the vegetable dishes and vegetable liang cai were really nice. I couldn't get a copy of the order so I could see what all the dishes were unfortunately.
Shengjianbao and Doufu nao for breakfast was exactly what I wanted; good chilli is hard to find though, I need to carry my own. Just wandering around streets and markets mostly. Tomorrow to wet cold Kunming. Last nights banquet featured
Duck tongue, goose web and stewed turtle. Bingtang Jiayu 冰糖甲鱼(Steamed Turtle in Crystal Sugar Soup) takes first place in the ten famous Ningbo dishes - maybe so but I found it very difficult to eat!!! . 鸭舌 Yā shé was no problem just a little flesh wrapping surprisingly bony cartilage, but no great delicacy either, and goose web (or duck web?) 鸭掌, 鹅掌 é zhǎng yā zhǎng I have always enjoyed. The 凉菜 liángcài are all great, and again the vegetable dishes are terrific.
The after dinner event was a surprise - driving in the back lanes, unlit on a rainy night, the driver took a wrong turn, well a non-turn, and we ended up (nearly upside down) nose down in the river, which luckily was only 1m deep - noone hurt, but the car looked rather sad in the steady rain. No barrier posts or railings between the edge of the road and the straight drop into the river. I guess that's a fact of life in China if you walk back a few blocks from the main streets.
To the post office 邮局 in the rain to mail off some information on the Chinese ancestry.
20101025
Seems I'm the only laowai in this suburban area. Still raining and slippery and having to look everywhere because you can never quite tell where a 3-wheeler or a motorbike or a lorry or bus is coming from. Every pedestrian crossing is a battle of wills it seems 'will this guy dare to walk in front of me - lets see!'
Every small business here seems to operate in half light at best or even ambient street light. Flight to Kunming 4pm.
Yunnan
Arrive Kunming - no buses and a long slow taxi queue, so outside to hail a taxi which proceeds to loop the same road twice while I laugh openly and he claims its a Kunming regulation
Hotel is ok, but I can never get a shower quite warm enough.
20101026
Cold and raining - trying to find a compass and magnifying glass (1) because there is no sun and (2) because the tiny chinese characters are a big challenge in low light
A long 44 bus ride to DianChe in the drizzling rain; here the suburbs are very modern the street wide and planted with shrubs and flowers, this is really lovely part of town. The lake on a fine day would be very beautiful - bigger by far and nicer than Xihu - but everything is shrouded in mist. Lunch is really nice; barbequed fish and doufu and mixed vegetables and ever present huajiao dodging the raindrops under the tarpaulin. Again I am the only laowai here, but there are few people walking in the misty cold wet day. There is a large grove of Eucalypts here, one of them is enormous... something of a surprise! Waiting until the 10pm train to Lijiang. The mix of cultures here is evident everywhere you look, fascinating place. Visit the ethnic museum.
20101027
Lijiang is very comfortable although there is nothing to see - arrive and disembark at 7am and there is a small coach to the hotel. I spend the day in suhe guzhen. Although it is a tourist area, the locals really live and work here so it is a curious mix of fake and authentic that has it's own charm. I cannot yet distinguish the various ethnic groups.
Tried the Yunnan coffee and it is quite fine; mist remember to try the huangpu wines
Shilin forest (Chinese: 石林 literally "Stone Forest") is a notable set of karst formations in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, in the Yunnan province of southwest China, approximately 85 km from the city of Kunming. The tall rocks seem to emanate from the ground in the manner of stalagmites, with many looking like trees made of stone, creating the illusion of a forest made of stone.
http://asiafriendfinder.com#return
20101028
In Lijiang ancient city - it is supposed to be crawling with tourists but in fact at this precise time of year there seem to be very few, and it is pleasant and enjoyable, an easy stroll through these old streets lined as they are by small shop after shop selling the local ethnic products. I did buy a Naxi t-shirt because the pictographs are fascinating, and I'll buy some more when I see how the price is outside.
Friday night (is it?) and Lijiang really comes alive, the riverside taverns are seething with people and singing and dancing, Naxi and Zangzu, great fun. Beer or rice wine seem to be the only options; the local bai jiu tastes fierce but seems not at all potent.
20101030
To leaping tiger gorge and a tibetan buddhist temple (first for this trip - I've managed to avoid them sofar) then to shangelila township for overnight.
20101031
Xianggelila, walking around the lake - not a patch on Jiuzhaigou but China is making a lovely job of preservation of its natural wonders, and of the 'greening' of China - their efforts far outstrip Australia's I think. Back to Lijiang.
I'll spend today in the third ancient city of Lijiang - a myriad of small shops I guess. Tonight overnight back to Kunming, no time for Yuanyang? rice terraces I think.
20101102
Arrive kunming and find a great army illuminated magnifying glass in one of the many markets, wander the streets and visit the ethnic bowuguan which is really interesting (for me0 with an exhibition of yunnan ethnic accounting/accounting history plus the lijiashan tomb excavation bronze findings (to follow up on google). Dandan mian and guo qiao mi xien have been useful standby meals here.
20101102
Arrive kunming and find a great army illuminated magnifying glass in one of the many markets, wander the streets and visit the ethnic bowuguan which is really interesting (for me) with an exhibition of yunnan ethnic accounting/accounting history plus the lijiashan tomb excavation bronze findings (to follow up on google). Dandan mian and guo qiao mi xien have been useful standby meals here.
20101103
Overnight train to Guilin (17 hrs), and spend afternoon rambling - Qixing gongyuan is very nice; scenery from the train and all around Guilin is amazing. No crowds at all - great season for this travel. Bus to Yangshuo in the dark is thrilling heart in mouth ride - par for Chinese road travel perhaps. Dinner in Yangshuo is Lijiang pijiu yu which is very good but way too much; everywhere I eat I leave half untouched - goes with travelling alone. Yangshuo main market is very lively, many more laowai than i have seen elsewhere.
201011006
Yangshuo - yuhong river
Yangshuo - Lijiang rafting
Guilin
20101107
Overnight to Hangzhou
Hangzhou
20101109
Fast train to Ningbo
Went up in the local mountains to Xuedou and turned around when I found out the entry fees - Jiang Jieshe's house is not worth Y120 and this local temple is not worth Y90 but the mountains lakes dams tea plantations and wil bushlands and birds have been way worth the effort
20101110-11
Nothing to report today - sunny but I'm down all day with a stomach bug and no eating till a light meal tonight; a little local Bei Lun shopping
Last day then return to Shanghai tomorrow
20101112
Across Hangzhou bay by bus to Shanghai
Meeting with builders and agents and lawyers
20101113
Back to Sydney via BJ
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Chinese Putonghua Guoyu English 国语 英文
Random Phrases from travels
上海世博会
人海人山
使山出了小丘 - to make a mountain out of a molehill
生煎馒头/生煎包 (outside Shanghai) Shanghai xiaolongbao originated in Nanxiang, a suburb of Shanghai in the Jiading District
豆腐脑 doufu nao 'brain tofu'
乡下人，外地人 xiang xia ren, wai di ren
Bai Hao Yinzhen 白毫銀針 Silver needle
Bai Mu Dan 白牡丹 White Peony
Gong Mei 貢眉 Tribute Eyebrow
柚子 yòuzi - pomelo - great for travelling on the train
甲鱼 jiǎyú
鸭舌 yā shé
鸭掌, 鹅掌 é zhǎng yā zhǎng
邮票 yóupiào
插队 Chāduì jump-queue
滑 Huá slippery
20101101
保险 Bǎoxiǎn insurance.
保险政策 Bǎoxiǎn zhèngcè insurance policy.
旅游保险 Lǚyóu bǎoxiǎn travel insurance.
封锁下沉 Fēngsuǒ xià chén blocked sink.
马桶堵塞 Mǎtǒng dǔsè blocked toilet bowl.
一种挫折感 Yī zhǒng cuòzhé gǎn a feeling of frustration.
满意 Mǎnyì satisfaction.
包括 Bāokuò includes, including.
夹杂物 Jiázá wù. inclusions.
利润 Lìrùn profit.
有利可图 Yǒulì kě tú profitable.
Recreational Maths
Reading and Study
Lonely Planet Guide - China (surprise surprise)
Kinshu (Autumn Brocade) - Teru Miyamoto 宮本輝 1982
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Talking about flogging a dead
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Posted:Jun 1, 2023 8:03 pm
Last Updated:Jun 6, 2023 10:10 pm 74829 Views
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Difficult to believe but Friend Finder keep this site 'alive' so to speak even though it has been progressively more comatose over the last decade. A curious recent development is that if I attempt to login using Chrome or Firefox, I am immediately logged out. However if I login using edge via J*panFri*ndF*nder, I succeed, as you can see from this post. I can also login to the Filipino FF site using Edge , but it is scarcely more active, the last blog posts being dated Fev-2023 J*panfr*endf*nder must have closed - it simply diverts here, showing J*panFr*endF*nder as the page title. F-F-F was hived off at least 15 years ago but still operates using the same software. The stars are to avoid the message 'denied'.
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Mundane Tuesdays - Staying alive - keeping the blog alive
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Posted:Sep 20, 2020 4:06 am
Last Updated:Jul 28, 2024 4:53 am 134784 Views
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Mundane Tuesdays (not really a poem all, make of it what you will)
Of course Tuesday is
itself naught mundane
being just one alone
and not every day.
and nor is it every day you see
a fridge walking down the hill.
I ask you as I asked myself
'When the f*ck did you last see
a side-by-side fridge ambling down
your street,
on garbage day what's more?'
Nimbly side-stepping the black Holden
rear-end poking across the path....
(the self same rear-end I had scraped
a two-dollar coin across
last time when on a dark stormy night
distracted by wafting flying fox wings
and watching not
I found myself on my own rear end
on the cold wet concrete
amidst the fallen red callistemon
that festoons our street,
but as someone profoundly irksome in the blogs
says so often 'I digress' )
...it remounted the kerb
and resumed the descent
as did I this time.
(try reading that between the brackets in one breath!)
'Mr Tudor Elgee' I said approaching
nearer, 'Wherefore walk you down my street?'
'Well it's a lot bloody easier than goin UP ain it'
Quoth he, with impeccable logic
'I see you struggling bike and helmet UP the hill,
You won't see ME doing that so often!'
So I resumed my thoughts of mundane Tuesday
Is it Yellow bin or Green this week?
If I cannot go TO Kamchatka or Sakhalin
An ambling fridge will pass the time,
Thai takeaway for tonight.
Weird deleted words! UP and ME as well as TO
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How to Identify a real person from a Democrat or Commie
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Posted:Sep 8, 2020 9:51 pm
Last Updated:Feb 24, 2021 5:18 pm 148975 Views
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Poking a little fun!
In the Great land of Liberty, Democracy rules. But ya know. ya godda single out them Demotards, Commies and Socialists. If they don't vote Trump they are Commies and Antifas and Anti American non-patriots and anti-guns and probably Kuller'ds or Wimmen or Spanics. Y'all know this grade Murika needs more Trumps
Now I askz yuzz all - have you ever seen anything more sincere and reverent than this?
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Australia's Prime Minister rattling sabres and beating the drums of war - anti-China rhetoric
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Posted:Jul 1, 2020 10:06 pm
Last Updated:May 30, 2024 5:08 pm 135943 Views
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What a tool! A clown. Saying We are in dangerous times and hark back to the 30's and 40's.
A pack of fools, showing Australia's might? Come off it, pull the other one.
The Trump virus is communicable and making the rounds.
Now here is another view of things, I suggest somewhat more balanced:
https://johnmenadue.com/category/foreign-affairs/china-series/
Sanity is in dire need in our government.
Three articles from the site of John Menadue – Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.
In response to: Morrison throws the switch to vaudeville
https://johnmenadue.com/state-based-cyber-actors-by-mark-buckley/
The Myth of Chinese Money in Australia
https://johnmenadue.com/the-myth-of-chinese-Money-in-australia/
Canberra Shuffles its China Briefcase to decouple,rather than improve relations.
https://johnmenadue.com/canberra-shuffles-its-china-briefcases/
Token photo no particular significance:
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Bigoted Taiwanese American
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Posted:Jun 25, 2020 8:39 pm
Last Updated:May 28, 2024 10:27 pm 139592 Views
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You know the one.
She practises Censorship and Libel, the first of which is the very thing she accuses the CCP of. Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of democracy. I see she has deleted two differing opinions in her blog article on the Three Gorges Dam - one mine, and the other of a Canadian Chinese member.
She also claims, and has done so before, that I am in the pay of the CCP. As is the head of WHO. This is just libel of course, with zero evidence or justification.
Silly silly woman. And grossly ignorant. Without any 'class' at all
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New Matches and Popular photos - Changes!
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Posted:Apr 5, 2020 7:41 pm
Last Updated:May 28, 2024 10:00 pm 141141 Views
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On the home page today, for the first time in years, I noticed changes. Well in the Popular Photos anyway, a small indication that this site is still marginally alive, showing faint signs of breath. That may be a consequence of the quarantining. new faces appear in the popular photos, American resident women. Has anyone else noticed such change recently?
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Qingmingjie, Quarantine in Taiwan and life as normal
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Posted:Apr 3, 2020 10:48 pm
Last Updated:May 28, 2024 10:29 pm 141356 Views
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With my Taiwanese economist+mother student yesterday, resuming lessons, the background noise was deafening. There she was in a coffeeshop or Familymart or 711, with noise laughter shouting bustle clatter behind her; yangmingshan national park between Taibei and XinTaibei. It's qingmingjie (tomb-sweeping day) holiday weekend now, so no work, and she had taken her daughters for cram lessons (as Taiwan tiger mums are wont to do) but today for fun in cake cookery class and as is also her wont, she had booked a lesson during waiting time.
My point? Life as normal in Taiwan, she's back to work, coffeeing, snacking, mixing mingling. Social-distancing? Obviously not. Why not? ' We learnt during SARS' So why is the Taiwan, the Hongkong result so seemingly successful. Beats me(why delete ME?)!
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Blocked bloggers changed their usernames to read my blogs IDIOTIC!
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Posted:Mar 8, 2020 10:47 pm
Last Updated:May 28, 2024 10:27 pm 147308 Views
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动动脑筋！
One of your recent boring articles shows 1967 reads. Unbelievable, but there it is! How many names in the list of Asia Friendfinder readers in the last month? 20? 10? Less? Who are the 1967 readers? Has someone read the rubbish 1940 times? Tax your brain and think for a change. No one can be bothered changing their name for you and your copied bigoted one-eyed news clips. Think. Try it, it might even work.
Oh, a thought just occurred, perhaps the 1967 readers are herself, visiting and re-visiting and admiring her deft copy-paste plagiarism work? 
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