laoshi Paul

Well I was lucky enough to spend my birthday at home for the first time in 6 years. I spent the perfect day playing golf with my friend Tom. We don't get to play much these days but we played on the golf course we used to play on when we first started at the age of 14. Neither of us had played for a while and therefore some of are shots weren't that good! I've included a little video of me playing..........don't laugh! In the evening I went to my sister house to have dinner with the whole family. One of my favourite 'English' dishes is a very simple dish. In English we call it 'bangers and mash' Bangers are sausages and Mash is potato that is mashed up. It's so easy to make but ... read more

Well as I mentioned to you all in one of my English corners it is important that the groom has a 'Stag party' My friend Tom's party was last Friday and I spent a lot of the week organising it. In the old days a stag party was usually held the night before a wedding and the groom, best man and his friends would go to the local pub and drink lots of beer and simply walk home. However it has now become BIG business all over the world. We were pushed for time and therefore we had to hold it just over one day. Nearly all of the people attending came from London so this seemed the natural choice. I left my small quiet respectable village at 11:00 a.m on Friday morning and came back ... read more

(For any neutral readers this blog is intended for my Chinese students in Xiamen) I've now been back in England for 2 days and yes you've guessed it, it has rained everyday since I got back. The good news is that I don't seem to be suffering from any jet lag. It's been great to see everyone again and catch up. I spent Sunday with my friends Tom and Charlotte, the people who are getting married. They had a wedding get together where I was able to meet people from Charlotte's side of the family and also see many of Tom's friends who I hadn't seen for a long time. Charlotte gave us all a schedule which listed everyones responsibilities for the 'big day' Lots of people at the get together were really interested in what ... read more

Well what better place to finish my trip than Beijing. Its some five years since I last came here and I arrived eager at the prospect of visiting some of the places I missed out on last time around. Over the past few years Beijing has undergone a major facelift in preparation for this years Olympic Games. Although I haven’t spent a lot of time in Beijing it’s a city I love visiting and a complete contrast to that of Shanghai. In recent years Shanghai has become a little too Westernised for my taste. Speaking to other foreigners in Shanghai and, for that matter China, most of them seem to love Beijing for it’s abundance of historical sites and it’s more authentic Chinese feel. I arrived, much to my surprise to glorious sunny weather and crystal ... read more

My next stop hadn't made it on my initial plan but I'd heard through a couple of other people about an ancient town north of Xian named Pingyao which is covientantly placed therefore allowing me to to break up the trip onto Beijing. Having waxed lyrical about my experiences of travelling on trains in China in my previous blog. My opinion has altered slightly after my journey from Xian to Pingyao. I was forced to travel by hard seat for the first time and, hopefully last time. Hard seats are in effect the fourth class on Chinese trains and just one step up in quality from standing. I'd gone into the journey in high spirits, but a little apprehensive about spending the next thirteen hours sitting down. I was determined not to make a fuss of ... read more

My first train journey for a while as I headed from Chengdu into Shaanxi province and the historical city of Xian. Xian was formerly known as Chang'an and originally marked the beginning and end of the silk road. A former great metropolis it came to an end in the 10th century by the rebellions of the Tang Dynasty. Today it's home to more than three million people and retains its metropolitan feel yet at the same time this is nicely blended with the vast array of history surrounding the city. Before I start to talk about Xian itself I have to say I've missed the hustle and bustle of the trains having been taking busses through Yunnan. There is a certain element of chaos about them which in a sort of perverse way I enjoy. You ... read more