Lelde/ 30/01/2008 Nu tad ta, esam Vjetnama, bet nu visu pec kartas... 27 Janvari agri no rita pametam pilsetu, kura bija nodzivoti un nostradati musu dzives nedaudz vairak ka 6 meneshi. Protams, ka bija ta nedaudz jocigi un savadi, un no vienas puses nekur negribejas braukt, ka jau tas ir vienmer, kad esi pieradis pie lietu kartibas un iedzivojies kada vieta, ka ari darbs un kolegji patikami, bet no otras puse, parak lielas nostaljgjijas man nebija, jo pamazam jau gribas uz maju pusi rikteties un cik tad ilgi vienu un to pashu var darit, ka ari laikapstaklji bija palikushi nu ljoti [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ahh Yuletide approaches! Lessons have slackened off a little and we are left with a Christmas themed party for all the schools' students- bringing festive cheer to the office. In China, Xmas day is not a public holiday, but we are looking forward to a slap up meal on the day at a fellow teacher's place-mmmh! The days till we leave China are ticking down- about 5 weeks left now- we hope to head in the direction of Thailand in mid January. This being the case, we are relishing our time here- Cramming in the kung-fu lessons at weekends, stock piling [View Full Entry]

---

---

Steven/ Zhongshan gets a brief mention in the LP- summing up, not a place to divert travellers for very long, but we have called it home now for 4 months now. We've thrown ourselves into some learning and cultural pursuits. We started going to a Kung-fu class a while back. This is an extract from my diary shortly after starting: Oct 29th 2007 'We've just got back from our second lesson kung-fu lesson. The younger of the two teachers taught us. He looks like a chiselled acolyte - Lelde thinks he should be in the movies- ... the instruction is clear, [View Full Entry]

---

---

/Steven/ We were given almost a week's holiday from teaching, which happened to coincide with our visa expiry date, so with Hong Kong just 2 hours away, we arranged to take a break there. Just last year I was selling long-haul holidays to the Far-East, amongst many places, and dreaming of being able to make the journeys that my customers were making, so living 2 hours away from Hong Kong now means that those dreams in an office in England are now my reality. We took the ferry from Zhongshan, falling asleep onboard,due to the early start, and waking up to [View Full Entry]

---

---

We just completed a visa run across the Chinese border at Macau. This time we only stopped for a couple of hours- enough to see the some of Macau's casinos and to spot the sea. Macau has 95% Chinese inhabitants, 2 % Portuguese and 3% Macanese- a mix of both. I spent much of the short trip trying to spot the Macanese part of society without success- or maybe I saw them and didn't know it. Another fact is that Macau's territory is only 27.3 km squared, given to the Portuguese some time soon after the 16th Century for services rendered- [View Full Entry]

---

---

Steven/ So time is flying, We're in the office on a Saturday, thought we'd add an entry here so you you know that we remain as teachers. We've got more classes now- of all levels- it's a good challenge. We both celebrated birthdays in August. We have found a cool bar here with a live band and friendly atmosphere- the whole place sang "Happy Birthday" to us on each of our birthdays- strange as they're only eight days appart so it was a bit like deja vous. Lelde got to blow candles out on a cake, on stage- it happended to [View Full Entry]

---

---

As another tourist visa ran out we had to head for nearby Macau for the day to renew ours, especially in light of our jobs, . Macau is only an hour and a half away. The day started with a 7 am bus then straight to the Chinese embassy. We toured the city whilst our visas were being prepared. It was a rainy day, but Macau proved to be bursting with character. Having been an enclave for Portuguese setttlers it is quite different from nearby Guangdong province .The narrow streets are reminiscent of Europe with coulourful, pastel buildings and a lot [View Full Entry]

---

---

This weekend gone we decided to venture into Zhongshan and nose around the parks. What we found has changed my opinion of our home. Zhongshan really does have real life beyond the commerce and shopping. I was starting to think that all this place had to offer was endless shopping 'malls'! Zhongshan is situated in the delta of the Pearl River, so there have been foreign influences here for some time. At the mouth of the delta , on each side -facing each other-are Hong Kong and Macau, further up stream are what used to be called Canton( now Guangzhou) [View Full Entry]

---

---

Steven/ Hello there, We are now in Guangdong province. Our plan to travel strictly overland has been briefly interupted by a China East airways flight from Kunming, Yunnan to Guanzhou( used to be Canton). This was on Sunday. We were flown here to start teaching English. We are just getting settled in and hope to stay at least until October, if not beyond. I think that, with overland travel, you experience changes around you gradually, whereas if you fly then you find yourself suddenly in what can be a completely new situation.The reason for the tiltle is that here in Guangdong, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Lelde/ Nu ta, atkal jau kads laiks nav rakstits un tagad japagust atstastit jau sabijushus notikumus un tos, kas vel prieksha. Viens no jaukakajiem piedzivojumiem risinajas neliela miesta Chautu, kur atrodas diezgan slavena Lecosha Tigjera Aiza (tiger leaping gorge). Pirmkart jau ieejas biljete nebija (salidzinoshi) darga, ka ari viss pasakums daudz jaukaks un skaistaks sava zinja ka iepriekshejie. Tatad iebraucam Chautu pecpusdiena ap plks.15.00, kamer atradam viesu maju, paedam utt, uzsakam gajienu ap plkst17.00. Pa celjam visas nogazes garuma ir vairakas viesu majas, kas piedava naks [View Full Entry]

---

---