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Published: November 1st 2010
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At this stage im pretty fed up。。。。 I was about to post a blog and it just disappeared so this will be brief。。。
The sleeper trains are rough as anything。 Beds sleep 6 per room with no door。 Toilets are very glamorous: a hole in the floor down onto the track and if anything should get stuck theres a wooden stick to poke it down through the hole。 People smoke in the carriages and spit everywhere also。
Arrived in Shanghai (29th) after 13 hour train journey and very little sleep. Had some food which Peter and I struck lucky with, people ordered chicken dishes which ended up being hens feet and all sorts. We then went and seen the Bund which is so amazing. Lots of high rise buildings with great architecture. At this stage it was starting to get dark so when the lights came on it was supherb. Shanghai is mental busy, our tour guide said about 20million people live in the city so you can just imagine the crowds. THe streets are full, the subways are full..... Ladies, the shops are amazing, lots of boutiques and shoe shops, if only i wasnt on a budget! Shanghai
is described here as the Young Ladies city because of its fashion. Hotel was really good, we were very happy with it and it was central, howvere, because of the huge size of Shanghai, to get anywhere you have to get the subway which is good.
Saturday, we had a busy day at the World EXPO....again, it was something like we have never seen before. It was probably like the sixze of Enniskillen, even bigger and jammed with people. Probably, you would need a week at it to get to all the Pavillions. It took us so long walking round the amazing buildings for each country that we only had time to got to th Ireland Pavillion. Strangely, Peter and I were the only 2 Irish people queing, the rest were Asian。Aw the memories from Ireland。 Its pretty cool though that we have been to it!We had to rush back as we were going to the Shanghai acrobats show。 THis was great fun, they performed lots of dances and tricks。 After this, ourselves and an Australian couple went for some “Pi Jao“ (BEER)。
Sunday, Peter and I headed to the French Concession area and walked round like the
typical tourists! It was very pretty and relaxed。 THen we went to the Old Town, where you have the typical Chinese style building but it was mental busy, people everywhere!! Here, we also went and seen the famous Yuauan Gardens which were so quaint and cute with trees, waterfalls, rockeries etc. After lunch we met at the Hotel as we were getting another sleeper train。 This we were slightly more prepared for and along with the Ozzies had some beer to numb the pain!In total we were on that train for 17.5 hours which was an eternity。
Finally we reached Xian, After a CRAZY taxi run to the hotel, we got freshened up and met for Xian cuisine which was fried rice with sour cabbage and lamb kebabs- all for over 2 quid! It was tasty!
The hotel isdire, we actually considered booking into a nice hotel across the road but decided to grin and bear It!Its raining and Xian is grey and dull。 We went for a walk round the
Muslin quarter and through the mosque. To cheer ourselves up we went for a starbucks and this done wonders for our depression!!haha...
Tonight we are going
for some Xian HotPot so that will be interesting! Tomorrow we are getting a private bus outside the city to see the Terracotta Warriors which should be good. And then possibly Karaoke tomorrow night inpreparation for another train journey on Wednsday from 9am til like 12 midnight so that will be tough again.
After a discussion. Peter and I have learnt the following about Chinese people:
They smell
They spit
They smoke
They are one of the most ignorant races in the world
Toddlers wear BUMLESS trousers (funny really)...you literally can see their bum and their front bits!
There are very few goodlooking people
At traffic lights, the green man doesnt necessarily mean its safe to go, some chinese people just drive on anyway, regardless.
I wont get any photos uploaded until I get a camera lead or a new camera in HongKong so until thn the descriptions will have to do.
We are having a good time and learning lots but sometimes it can be testing. We have became good friends with and Ozzie couple, Ryan and Carla. They are very like us 2 and we spemd lots of time together. The other people are always
winging and complaining so we just pass ourselves with them...They are ok though too!
For now, im signing off
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Martina
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Love getting these updates! Sounds mad over there, I would have a nervous breakdown with those toilets!! Id say you are both missing your home comforts but its a great experience to see all that. Cant wait to see photos. Its good you have another couple to talk to, 17 hours on a train would be a long time just the two of you. Those train journeys sound grim, i would probably spend my whole time sleeping. Looking forward to your next update...all good over here. Mum and Dad are well and missing you loads Peter, a am I....speak soon.xx