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Published: August 11th 2007
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For those of you who know us well, you probably won't believe us when we tell you that during this last week we bought a couch. Yes, BOUGHT. We paid for a couch. We didn't just wander the streets with a troupie and a trailer looking for a free bit of cushioning for which to plant our arses on. We actually went to a "shop", chose a couch, chose a colour and size and paid for it (after bargaining of course!).
You may all be wondering why we decided to purchase a couch, considering that we moved into a fully furnished apartment. Well, fully furnished included a park bench in the living room, so called a "couch". After 2 months of TRYING to relax on our "couch", we were sick of numb bumbs and wrecked wnecks, so we have now fixed the problem!
This "shop" also sold coffee tables, and after buying such a lovely couch, we thought we should get a table to match! Unfortunately, we couldnt find an upholstered red and yellow table, so we settled for a classy glassy and darky wood finish one (imagine Tony Greig reading that sentence - farck). It looks heaps better
than the crappy wooden one, for which we had bought an extra classy plastic tablecloth with tacky roses on it - gold!
Please see below for the before and after photos! Particulary entertaining is the fact that both the couch and coffee table were hand-delivered up 5 flights of stairs to our apartment! And the delivery men were surprised when we offered them glasses of water for their trouble!!! It was 35 degrees after all! The weather, not the water.
THE BIKE SAGA CONTINUES....
Well, well, well, three holes in the ground. The weather has been pretty bloody monsoonal this week. Big storms that arrive out of nowhere, drench and flood the city and then disappear, just like that (insert finger click). Shortly after one of these flashfloods, Zac was at a class and had to get home. Luckily, his bike one of the few still upright (go the tank!), unlike it's fully submerged counterparts eitherside - yes, that is how deep the water was, a handlebars depth (sorry, we're not sure how many ducks that is). The trip home consisted of riding in handlebar depth water, which of course means "feet are submerged completely whilst pedalling"
depth water. Yum. Unfortunately, the road was going uphill. And, was covered in now-invisible speed humps. It was like riding up a river - yes, we would have loved to have a photo!
Sof had a similar experience a few nights earlier. But she's still too grumpy to tell the story. Let's just say that all her books look a little similar to the books in the Barr Smith a few years earlier...
But, we haven't reached the climax yet, one more small story. Not even a story - just look at the photo. Can anyone work out how the hell Sof managed to bend her bike stand out on a 45 degree angle (whilst riding)? We can't.
So, the climax. When it rains here, bike brakes don't work. This isn't a problem when riding up a river as it is impossible to go faster than 3 km/h, however, when the rivers have subsided and most of the water has drained away it can be a massive problem. There's still enough water to keep your brakes wet. And don't forget that the tank has more inertia than any other vehicle in Beijing. And more height. Bigger than
The old living room!
Complete with park bench and kitsch table... a bus I tells ya.
Anyway, put 2 and 2 together, and check out the photo of sad looking Zac below.
The hospital trip was a saga in itself. AND, we even had a chinese friend to translate for us. The central bureaucracy must be run out of chinese hospitals. We now have a cool x-ray of Zac's wrist, complete with wedding ring!
BACK TO THE REAL WORLD...
We have actually had some blue sky this week, amongst the storms, which has been stirring some 'homesick for Australia' feelings. We had forgotten how good blue sky can make you feel. Bring on Autumn! But then again, we guess many of you don't know how good duck can make you feel either! hehehe.
It's not all fun and games and bikes in this country. In an effort to satisfy a G&T and icecream craving whilst watching 007 films of which we recently bought the entire set, we went for a walk late last night. We passed a man searching for plastic bottles in the bin. Wearing one shoe. A reality check. This city is definitely not third world, but it still has many problems.
Keep
The new living room!
And Sof christened the couch last night by falling asleep on it half way through a bond film... in touch. See you on facebook!
Zac and Sof.
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Ana
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Nice one Sof!
Good to hear you haven't given up your artistic talent of falling asleep on couches Sofy!