Beijing Bus Tour

04/07/10

Jana, mummy and I went on a tour bus today. Jana and mum got on first so I got front seat with a stranger. After a little while, he asked me if the aircon was cold and I thought he was being seedy. We started talking anyway, it was inevitable and then I realised he was super nice! He was travelling by himself because none of his friends have holidays and he's always dreamt of going to Beijing. Throughout the day he just started becoming part of the family and hung out with us for the entire thing and more. For blogging purposes I'll call him Lai (Chinese name too hard to keep typing)

We all went to the Great Wall first, its such a beautiful place. Mum was lazy so she decided to just hand us over to Lai - a complete stranger - so she can avoid climbing. He was so adorable like a big brother, when it started raining he bought us all ponchos and at the souvenir stand he bought us all a Great Wall moment. He would constantly make sure we were all together and was so protective against rude Chinese people like a brother.

Like there were these two men harassing me for a photo and I was just thinking, you're here at the Great Wall and you want to take a photo with a girl!??!?! Eventually, Lai was just like NO! NO OKAY? IF YOU WANT A PHOTO YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH ME! Hahahahaa, we also got to dress up in Emperor style Chinese clothes!

Next was Changping, where my mum bought me a jade bracelet that I can never take off! Well, I can - with some soap and water. That place taught me how to distinguish between fake jade and real jade. And I can tell mines real because I always sound like a cat with a bell because my other bracelets chime against the jade. It was pretty expensive though - to my surprise.

We then went to a place where doctors read your pulse, amazing how they could pick up that I always have a sore back, can't sleep well and lately getting faint. All true! Kevin, remember when I told you I was going to faint the night we all went to Loft? I WASN'T FAKING IT TO GO HOME EARLY!

There were some other places of no significance to me but Old Beijing City was pretty cool. We got to gamble like back then and I only saw like one person win old coins back! We also went into the prostitute house to find some ugly, and fake prostitutes (fake as in you can't actually pay them to sleep with, not fake as in they look plastic). Then there was a show where there was a man with chi. He lifted heavy weight with his mouth, bent this really thick metal with his head, and then called Jana up to show that the metal balls are real and watch the whole thing. He swallowed two little metal balls, then sent it up where it came out from his EYEBALLS. Yuckk!

Our final stop was Olympic park, and wow its very beautiful! There was tonnes of people so I can't imagine how many people would have been there for the Olympics. From there, our family including Lai decided to go to Tiananmen to take photos in the day time. Afterwards we all went to a nearby restaurant to feast on some good Beijing duck. Yum yum yum, I am salivating thinking about it!

By the way, Germany for the win! That game with Argentina was beautiful!

Aw shleepy Deeny!

Beijing

03/07/10

We arrived at Beijing where we caught a taxi to the motel where we got denied again for being foreigners. Our aunty also didn't pre book so at first we hassled for a room but then the foreign rule came into play. We had to catch another taxi after walking for so long with our suitcase to another motel, and now because we didn't prebook - Jana and I are in our own room watching the soccer.

Damn my computer not being able to take ethernet. Always the ethernet cable, I am so angry. Isolated from the world…

My mum and aunty didn't know where the hell we were so I studied the map for 30 minutes figuring out where Tiananmen, Gugong, Beijing Zoo and Yiheyuan is. And how to walk to the station and catch the train from where we are. I am so proud, SO PROUD! I CAN READ ENOUGH CHINESEEEE!

I'm starting to miss home a little bit, and without the internet its even worse. I think I've watched every match of the soccer at least 3 times because there's nothing else interesting on and they always replay the soccer on a particular channel. 

We went to the markets and afterwards the oldies decided it was time for naps so Jana and I went to the Beijing Zoo. On the walk there we saw a man with no arms making money by doing calligraphy with his feet or mouth, we gave him money - but it was good to see he doesn't give up. A mother was so rude, her husband and baby were watching him and she was yelling at them to get back and leave with a disgusted face like the guy was diseased or something. But his arms were blown off in the war. 

My sister at the entrance..

At the zoo our main goal was the pandas, when we first went to see them they were asleep and far away. I looked at souvenirs and saw a crowd of people so decided to check it out and AW 4 all together eating!!! MY FAVOURITE ANIMAL!! They were so so so adorable, I just wanted to crack the glass and cuddle them!

What's going on here Pandies?

BABY HIPPO!

My makeshift block the sun job

Oh, just someone resting on the zoo bench HAHA

Definitely twins

At night we went to Tiananmen.

World Expo

02/07/10

We went to the World Expo today. Intense, like absolutely intense.

We waited in line for about 1.5 hours, just to get inside - and after getting security checks etc. in ultimate peak heat of over 35 degrees we got in there! Everyone was sweating so much. A guard thought that my sister and I didn't have tickets and he yelled at my mum and oh my, you should've seen her. She turned into like black attitude 'HOLD MAH POODLE' style, and was talking like ghetto while waving her arms around at them. We then took photos of marching guards and one of them turned to us to pose, we laughed for ages.
See him?

Then mum asked a staff if this was the right way to Taiwan Pavillion and the lady picked up her microphone (although they were face to face) and was like, "YES" right in our ears! We found that funny and stupid. I'm starting to realise that the stuff I put down into my book end up not being so funny when I type it out for you guys to read. Oh well..
Asian squatting to eat Pho infront of Vietnam Pavillion...

Haibao, the World Expo mascot..





Jana dared me to crump in the middle of a civilised area..

It was too hot so we decided we'd do the Asian and Middle East area, take photos, go get souvenirs and go shopping. Each pavilion's line up was like 4 or more hours so we couldn't be bothered. Australia's pavilion was across the river, and we were determined in the beginning but the heat won. We went into the city, time square and looked at some rich ass department stores before deciding it wasn't for us. We were amazed at the city, it was a complete contrast to the area we're staying in and we realised Shanghai has a nice side to it. Our family friend just isn't organised.

We asked the taxi driver where to go, and he was surprised we hadn't been to Yu Garden so he took us there. Thanks to him, otherwise I would've missed out on seeing such a cool area. The temples atmosphere was so beautiful and I finally got to get some souvenirs. I got Desh a papercut out owl, its so intricate! And I finally got to do some of my own bargaining skills. And I got some other stuff for a few others, but there wasn't that big of a variety so I'll get more later.


My sister and I got a papercut out portrait, its so cool! And for paper I'd say that it's pretty darn good. It looks like me and it looks like my sister. Astonishing. We caught the train back because we were meant to check out of the hotel by 6pm. We sat across from our mum and it was hilarious. There was this really snuggly pot couple next to her, who were both really really tall and huge and took up all the room. Mum was really tired so she just decided to lean her head onto the snuggling, sleeping couple until it was our stop. Hahaha!


Now we just got back and our Aunty didn't get tickets to Beijing like she was supposed to, so we're stranded and they've gone to try and get some even though its booked out. Plan might be getting messed up, eek! They've gone out to try and hassle some.

Jana and I got bored after the soccer finished, so we started taking cheesy photos where Jana was my cheesy model, we were laughing so much! They got back on a motorbike, and mum was so stressed and everyone was rushing to go to the station, because they got one for 9pm and it was already 8pm.
We were excited to hear we were waiting in the VIP area, then we saw this...

It was way cooler than the train from Shenzhen to Shanghai, we had our own little capsule for the 4 of us and it looked like we were in the futuristic Aeon Flux. It was a 9 hour train ride, where I slept for 4 of it. I am so dead.



How rank is my sister's feet?

The door to our shuttle area..

Bed.. but I don't know what I'm doing.. LOL

Sunburnt faces

Shanghai

01/07/10
There was a child with a mushroom haircut in the next section to us, and he was adorable! He would come over and play with me, calling me Aunty. He became attached to me after I fetched his ball from under my sister's bed. He kept giving me gifts and when I returned them he would tell his parents, "She doesn't want my gifts.." Hahahahahhaha, and in the morning he came over again and his dad asked, "What are you doing? People are still sleeping!" He was like, "I don't know…. but she's awake!" I wish I asked for a photo.
The train was slower than planned so it was close to being a 20 hour trip rather than 17. I ate like two cups of instant noodles and my stomach is now paying for it with pain. I finished The Book Thief and had like a rough 6 hour sleep. I wonder how Jana could've slept for nearly the entire trip.

Chinese people tend to be so rude, I was lining up to brush my teeth and an old lady came out and squirmed through the line. I didn't mind so much because she was probably washing her hands- and then, from her pocket came a toothbrush! Everyone in line was just like, UGH! I was grumpy. After we arrived, Shanghai just smelt even worse - and the city was covered in a doona sheet sky of pure grey. Through windows you would think that it was cold, but actually its a sticky 30+ degrees. The cars constantly beep everywhere, and mopeds, bikes and bicycles just go wherever they want. When we arrived at the hotel, we were… DENIED.

Apparently they don't take Australians in that particular hotel so we moved down the street to a motel. We're all going to take showers now, and then head back out. I wish my laptop took ethernet cable. I can see the blue wire calling at me to use it.

It is so mega humid and hot in Shanghai - we tried shopping but it was too hot! We went to the river where all the pretty skyscrapers and big foreign banks were and this little chubby kid came up to us to practise his English (so adorable). This old, seedy man slowed his bike down when he looked at me and was like "Woah" and then he ran into an old lady - I was like EWWW and my mum was like RUN AWAY! hahahaha


Oh mummy!


I finally passed the sick baton to someone else. Jana felt a bit sick today and we gave her a whole box of tissues, it took her like 30 minutes and we thought she lost herself in the shopping centre. She finally came out of the toilet and she was like, I had to resort to Bill Bryson. And I was like what? And she's like, I ripped a page out of my book because I ran out of paper (Chinese places don't really provide toilet paper). Anyway, I was laughing for so long, she probably gave Bill Bryson a 'Short History Of Nearly Everything' instead (That's what the book is titled, pun! hahaha).

This little boy came up to us to practise English LOL



We were in the train station and I saw the back of a little boy's head, and his parents had shaved like a huge smiley face into it! My sister and I were wondering if he knew what his parents had done to him hahaha!

My mum and our family friend aunty started arguing today and Jana was in the motel by herself, so I was in the awkward position of calming them down. Aunty is being stubborn with buying tickets to Beijing and I think the ladies were just grumpy from that intense 20 hour train trip and the humidity/heat. Our Aunty decided not to join us tomorrow and stay in our room.

This is how much bigger beer is served.. Australia is so stingy with their beers!

Why the long face Deeny?