Blogs from Jinhua, Zhejiang, China, Asia

Fall is here finally. Today, Saturday, is in the low 20's C (just started to rain! Yippee!), which is still shorts and tees, but last night I found myself surreptitiously eyeing my sweatpants; managed to stave off the temptation, though. As soon as you slip those bad boys on, it's a slippery slope to admitting that you are snivelling weenie that can't handle a bit of a nip in the air. Still, it does make for a much more conducive environment for "teaching", if that's what we're calling it these days. The students are a little more perky, but only marginally so. They just had the Fall National Holiday break, so theoretically they should be all energized and zippy. I'm still waiting for the zippy bit. The students are still scampering around in cut-off denims and ... read more

I won't bore you with the mundane details involved in travelling from Nanaimo, via Vancouver to Shanghai and then on to Jinhua, Zheijang Province, PRC for my third teaching semester at Jinhua Polytechnic University other than it went smoothly and without serious aggravation. Even the security clearance procedures at either end were relatively painless, apart from long queues at the Air Canada counter at YVR as passengers for three Asian flights were all checking in more or less simultaneously. My flight was on a sparkly new Boeing 787 with all the bells and whistles like newest version in-flight entertainment and spiffy cabin 'mood' lighting. Shanghai was hot and humid and predictably smoggy, although not as bad as the media would have you believe. My Shanghai hotel was great as always: old school service and a solid ... read more

“Tianning Temple of Jinhua” With a late start, because we needed to grab breakfast at around noonish, Terry and myself set off in the light rain to our new destination. We used a taxi since it was safer than navigating the rain slicked roads of Jinhua on an E-bike. The ride felt long to reach Tianning Temple of Jinhua (金华天宁寺) but we soon discovered we were not as far off the beaten path as we thought we were. This temple was definitely inactive. As a typical tourist attraction, it held none of the flashiness other places use to draw in the crowd. It was in disrepair and time had not been kind to this small place. I must admit that at first we ended next door to the temple in the yard of a hotel. The ... read more

Another adventure for Michel and myself, as normal it started off with a late lunch at FeiRock Cafe but by the time we actually left it was too late to visit the spot we had originally had chosen to see. Which was the Jinhua Shuanglong Castle at the foot of the Jinhua Mountain, so having a backup plan of seeing the Taiping Tiangou Palace and the Shiwangs Residence of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. We both knew we were cutting it rather close when we left. When we did finally arrive we arrived at its gates we managed to see briefly on the inside when the guards informed us that they were slowly closing the doors that we didn't have enough time to explore the grounds. That the place was closing in 30 minutes. So sadly we ... read more

Paris is far behind me now as I sit in Jinhua. The flight from Paris boarded late delaying my arrival in Shanghai. I am happy that my friend Terry (travellingterry) was able to meet me. We did have minor issues to get ourselves en route to Jinhua, mostly due to my overweight baggage. I already knew the hardships of trying to manoeuvre my suitcase, carrier bag, and secondary bag while arriving and leaving Paris. None of this had prepared me for dragging it all around Shanghai, using it as a foot stool during the train ride, and rolling it around the streets of Jinhua at midnight. Terry settled me in at one of the outside restaurants as he went to a near by motel to secure me a room for the night (which became my “home ... read more