Blogs from Xiamen, Fujian, China, Asia - page 13

The rain fell like stair rods as we sheltered beneath a street awning in Bangkok, waiting for it to stop. It rained most days now. People were saying that the rainy season was starting earlier and earlier each year. Was this a sign perhaps, that the effects of climate change were beginning to affect weather patterns that could once have been predicted with a near perfect accuracy? Change was not always for the better. Other changes meant that we had to keep a watchful eye on the number of days we spent in the kingdom. New regulations affecting the amount of time foreigners could stay in Thailand during any 6-month period had come into effect shortly after our arrival in October 2006. Despite being careful however, the final 8 days of our current 90-day allotment seemed ... read more

I Cooked Some Tofu Today Asia » China » Fujian » Xiamen By mrobertsonApril 30th 2007 I have many mosquito bites, and just got another. I will probably get malaria soon. I have little to say, as it took me hours to upload all those pictures on this scanty internet connection. The enthusiasm from the beginning has long since waned. A few days ago, I saw two blood-covered men on the street, standing near large pools of blood and a big bloody knife. Either a pig started running away as they were slaughtering it, or there was some kerfuffle. Yesterday two taxi drivers engaged in fisticuffs in the middle of the street. It is getting very hot here, an... read more

The bus ride to Xiamen was comfortable and passed without incident. Although a particular highlight was the lunch break when I managed to hold a conversation(-ish) with some of our fellow travellers in my pidgin Chinese. They were quite impressed that Mum and I were travelling to Xiamen and to find out that I worked there. They also tried to teach Mum how to use chopsticks properly with hilarious results. Mum insists that it was all the attention that put her off and that she's usually actually quite proficient with chopsticks. I'll leave you to make your own minds up ; ) We arrived in Xiamen at about 7ish that evening and after giving Mum the guided tour of my flat we went for dinner at one of my favourite Indian restaurants in town, the temple-of-doom-themed ... read more

Time has certainly flown by. It's hard to believe that Christmas will be here in a matter of days. Unlike my Chinese colleagues I've got a few days holiday for Christmas and the current plan is to spend it with some of the other ex-pats here in Xiamen. I realised the other day that it'll be my first Christmas away from my friends and family and while (as I'm sure many of you know) I'm not a big fan of Christmas I will be thinking of you all over the holiday season. I don't have many weeks of teaching left before my first big holiday for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). In fact because I'm not needed for end of term exams I get a whopping six weeks holiday! It's also note worthy as it marks ... read more

On Nov 28, 2006, we left Yong Ding and took the bus to Xiamen. The bus trip took 4 hours, and a lot of Chinese smoked on the bus. Note: Some Chinese long distances buses do not allow smoking, especially the ones departing/arriving to Shenzhen. After we arrived in Xiamen, we were dropped off at the ChungPak bus station, which is quite a way away from the tourist area. We approached a travel agent to see if we can arrange a guesthouse. They will only referred us to a guesthouse if we joined their tour, which we declined. Another tout approached us and offered us the same tour, but throw in a free night stay, plus free transport to the guesthouse. So, we accepted. We were driven in a minivan to the guesthouse, near Chung ... read more